A Silver Wife's Life

21 Weeks and counting..

2012-02-10T15:46:00.001-06:00

The bump definitely looks bigger :)

Checking in

2012-02-09T22:19:00.001-06:00

- I finally feel like I'm consistently on top of cleaning our house :o) This makes me so happy! I love a clean house and I love feeling productive.

- We are officially in the homestretch with our most recent rental home updates. I cannot express how relieved I will be when this house is done AND rented. This will mean my husband will be home after work and on his days off. I'm not even counting his regular 70+ hour/week job. This rental purchase has been really rough on both of us. A true test. We've agreed that with the next house, we have to hire help. We also agreed to a gap of 5 years between this one and buying another. We will see... This family can never resist a steal on a house ;-)

- Keaton and I started attending a library class called "Babygarten". We've enjoyed it so much! Keaton smiles and laughs when I bounce him like a kangaroo or stomp his feet like an elephant :) It also gets us up and out of the house early and gives us a chance to have lunch with Daddy afterwards.

- So, if I'm being honest, the last couple (few?) months have really put me through the wringer. I think "going through a funk" is the perfect term. The cold weather, not bike riding, being pregnant, Keaton getting sick and Ryan being gone all the time really had me down. I think a separate post at some point down the road might describe this better, but I *finally* feel like I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I hate talking about this stuff, because I have a bad habit of wanting put off the "perfect mom" vibe.. But this pregnancy has been very different (emotionally) than with Keaton. Spring will bring fresh air, happier moods and more family time. I'm promising that :)

- I'm starting to feel a few aches and pains having to do with pregnancy. It feels good to do some stretching and yoga here and there. It's not enough (for me) but better weather will come soon, so it's holding me off.

- Despite my lack of exercise and cravings for bad food, I've managed to measure about the same as I did with Keaton. For this, I am GRATEFUL!

- I'm really looking forward to Valentines this year. Not because we are planning an over the top date (because we so aren't) but because I'm ready for an excuse to celebrate our love. Cheesy as that sounds.. Just some together time and dinner and dessert at our house sounds fabulous.

- We all know how much I love the Duggar family, and when I heard their show was starting up again this month, I was so excited :) After seeing the preview? I was even more ready to see this season, even though I've cried every time they've shown that preview..

Until next time..

20 Week Bump Update

2012-02-03T10:08:00.001-06:00

How far along? 20 Weeks! At the halfway mark!

How big is baby? About 6.5 inches long, 10.6 ounces. Size of a small cantaloupe. Wow! That seems huge..

What's going on in there this week? By the end of the week, baby will be covered in vernix. Also starting to produce meconium this week.

Total weight gain: 4 1/2 pounds! Official weight gain has begun!

Maternity clothes? I'm really considering getting some maternity leggings. I've heard SO many pregnant people say they love them.

Sleep: Going great! Aside from the 3 times I wake up to pee :)

Cravings: hmm.. Nothing really. Subway sandwiches have sounded so good the past week or so, but I'm a sandwich person normally, so that's not anything unusual.

Best moment this week: Dr. Appointment! I love hearing the heartbeat, and making sure the results from the anatomy scan were okay.

Movement: Lots! Starting to get a bit stronger too.

Gender: All BOY!

Belly Button in or out? In, but when I flex my stomach and push out, my belly button pops out, haha.

What I miss: Nothing really..

Weekly Wisdom: Um, get rest?

Milestones: Making it halfway!

Ramblings..

2012-01-31T10:09:00.001-06:00

- We had a delicious BBQ at my in laws this weekend. We took home leftover hamburgers, hot dogs (for Keaton), carrot cake (for me :) and some macaroni salad. I'm ashamed to admit what my breakfast consisted of yesterday. *ahem carrot cake AND macaroni salad (GROSS!) *ahem.

So then my dinner was a yummy hamburger. I was sooo looking forward to those other two hamburgers for lunch and dinner today.

This morning? I woke up and those same two hamburgers are sitting in the ziplock bag on the counter!!! Are you kidding me?!? Story of my life..

I won't admit to the ~~solid hour~~ two minutes I contemplated eating them anyway. Don't worry, I didn't!

- I'm ashamed to admit that I was too tired this morning (from being up since 3am toddler!!!!) to fix Keaton breakfast, so I made him a smoothie. At least he got some fruit and yogurt?

- I've read 6 books now since I got my kindle for Christmas. Yet, I cannot get myself through the one book that I absolutely must read. Written by a family member and it's not my normal reading material, so it's been hard to get into. I'll do it, I just have this bad habit of procrastination since I was, oh, about 2.

- I'm craving some exercise. Badly. It's been a challenge lately. I cannot get on my elliptical because Keaton can't entertain himself, same goes for riding my bike inside, the weather hasn't been super ideal for riding outside, so I've resorted to doing my exercise in the living room. Basically toning, stretching and pushups/situps, stuff like that.

So yesterday when I told my husband I was exercising in the living room, he asked if I was "doing my Jane Fonda". Yes, husband, we've suddenly gone back into the 80's.

- I had this dream last night that my car broke down. Not only that, but none of my family would come get me!! Geez fam, see what my subconscious thinks of you?! :-)

- This morning I had coffee (decaf) for the second time during my pregnancy. I hate not liking coffee. I used to be obsessed. Then? Pregnancy just stole it from me. Then, I tried slowly getting back into it after Keaton was born and then I'm preg again. I feel there's no hope. I'm not sure I'll ever drink it 3x a day again.

- Keaton now knows how to say "poo-poo". For obvious reasons.. So now, when his diaper reeks, I tell him "You stink! You poo-pooed!" and he brings me his diaper, haha. Someone once told me if they can hand the diaper to you, they can potty train.

- On that note, I'm so not ready to potty train! Maybe I'm the only parent in the world that feels this way, but it really doesn't bother me to change diapers.. I guess (for now) I feel like he'll start when he's ready and I don't feel like pushing him.

- Which also reminds me, I'm not ready for the toddler bed either. I can't imagine how that would work anyway! He's upstairs and there is no way he would stay in bed if he could get out, resulting in potential broken bones by falling down the stairs. Yea, I guess we could lock his door so he couldn't get out.. But that just seems so unnecessarily cruel to me. So, for now? Two cribs in the house it is!

- Last (but not least), I didn't do a bump update for 19 weeks, because not much changes from week to week right now, but I did take a picture.

I feel like it looks a lot bigger than it really does..

Anyway, that's what's been going on here!

18 Week Bump Update

2012-01-23T16:24:00.001-06:00

How far along? 18 weeks and 3 days.

How big is baby? Baby is the size of a bell pepper, about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 7 oz.

What's going on in there this week? Bones are hardening and baby is able to hear more sounds outside the womb.

Total weight gain: None, that I know of.

Maternity clothes? Same, couple tops here and there if I'm wanting something looser. No pants yet.

Sleep: Sleep is going well!

Cravings: Not too much. Fruit and whipped cream, iced tea, anything sour.

Best moment this week: Finding out we're having another boy! Seeing him move during the sonogram for an hour!

Movement: Lots. He is quite the mover.

Gender: All boy!

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Working out, for sure.

Weekly Wisdom: ---

Milestones: Sonogram.

I am a...

2012-01-23T16:23:00.001-06:00

BOY!!

All about the food..

2012-01-17T14:59:00.001-06:00

I'm a foodie.

No, not a gourmet loving, snobby foodie.

I just love food. I like shopping for it, and I love finding new things.

So, it's only natural then when I'm pregnant, I think about it 1,000x more!

So, my most recent obsessions..

1) Salad with ginger dressing and edamame. Oh my goodness! Edamame is amazing! I've already consumed a box and bag of it and Keaton and Ryan love it too! This is definitely not a bad craving to indulge.

2) Fruit and whipped cream. YUM!!!! We never buy whipped cream so when my husband came home he asked why I bought two gigantic bottles. My response? They came in a two pack!!

Like my whipped cream to fruit ratio? Keaton loves this craving too:

No, I absolutely did NOT spray whipped cream in his hand and let him lick it..

What can I say?? He takes after his mom :)

3) Hummus. I've pretty much been eating this since I was about 9 months I'd imagine, so it's not so much a craving. This is our family recipe and it's the best out there! It's so incredibly easy to make and it's really not all that bad for you. I've even made it without the tahini (which is the fattiest ingredient in it) and its still very tasty. We love it on veggies, chips, crackers, sandwiches, everything!! Keaton loves hummus and it's usually a good way to make sure he's eaten his veggies. So, I'm going to share the recipe from our family cookbook, but obviously you can tweak to your own preference.

1 lb sesame tahini
2 14 oz cans garbanzo beans
2 fresh squeezed lemons
3 cloves garlic
3 cloves mashed garlic
Salt
Olive oil
Parsley

Drain one can garbanzos; reserve liquid from the second. Pour beans in food processor until very smooth. Add tahini, garlic, and lemon juice to the garbanzo mixture and blend together until smooth. You may have to add the reserved liquid as it blends because it will be thick. Add salt to taste; and more garlic and lemon to taste. Garnish with olive oil, paprika and parsley before serving. Serves 8.

Here are my adjustments, in case you're curious.

I do not do 1 lb tahini. I do a couple spoonfuls and add if necessary. I don't do garnish because I'm usually eating it myself, haha. I also love salt (bad!) so I usually add more than normal. Some people say its very "garlicky" but we are a "garlicky" family. So, maybe do a little less if you aren't used to it.

It's so good! Try it!!

No big deal..

2012-01-14T22:35:00.001-06:00

Oh, it's just a normal day for us..

Eat some edamame with Mommy, play on (yet to be put away) Christmas decorations, play with bubbles, nap.

It's a tough life, but someone's gotta do it.

17 Week Bump Update!

2012-01-13T09:09:00.001-06:00

17 week belly :)

Just for fun, a little comparison of me at 17 weeks with Keaton and this time:

I think I'm definitely showing quicker. I can't really tell if I'm carrying higher or lower this time though.. Not a huge difference to me, I thought I'd be so much bigger this time!

How far along? 17 Weeks today!

Total weight gain: hmm I'm really not sure. I'b bad at estimating this. I didn't even look at my last appointment. I would guess maybe a pound or two?

Maternity clothes? Again, not really necessary yet, but I am wearing a few shirts, because they are soooo comfy!! Also, maybe it helps people decide between me just being chubby or actually pregnant, haha. I'm still in my regular jeans, without a hair band through the button hole! Crazy.. I figured I'd need maternity pants way sooner!

Sleep: Going just fine! I'm not super tired like I was with my pregnancy with Keaton.

Cravings: The only craving I have had lately is one for the ginger salad dressing they serve at one of my favorite restaurants. We stopped in and bought the dressing and it was sooo good.

Best moment this week: Finally feeling some definite movement! Even now, I'm sitting here feeling some kicks or punches from the outside as well! That feeling never gets old :)

Movement: Well, there ya go!

Gender: Will know on the 23rd!!!

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Hmm.. Can't think of a thing!

Weekly Wisdom: I can't think of anything!

Milestones: I think not being as sick with this pregnancy is definitely a milestone!

Favorite Moments: Feeling kicks.

Goings on

2012-01-10T00:11:00.001-06:00

Let's see...

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I think I understand the concept of toddler = messy house. Well, if I didn't get the severity of this before, I do the past few weeks. I picked up 14246 things today. Then proceeded to put the same 14246 things away at least three times. I feel like I'm cleaning 24/7, and then it's still a mess when Ryan comes home. I can imagine him at work, thinking we live a carefree, eat and sleep all day routine. Um. No.

****

Speaking of being busy at home, we are slowly but surely (?) weaning. All I will say about this for now is that I'm following the "don't offer, don't refuse" rule. He seems to be ready to cut feedings down and maybe out altogether and I do think this will make things easier with a new baby coming. I might write a post on this once we are completely done. I'm not sure.. It's a mixed emotion subject.

****

On the topic of pregnancy, awhile back I mentioned that I curbed those fast food cravings. Well, I was actually doing fine eating what I would normally throughout the day and maybe a small snack if I was hungry. So the past couple days?? HUNGER MANIA.. Omg. It's like I can't just stay full for more than an hour or two. Very frustrating! So, I'm trying to make some healthy choices in place of eating so dang much, but you know, cravings can be ~~impossible~~ kinda hard to ignore.

Chocolate chip pancakes = not a healthy craving, but delicious.

I have had this craving for salad with ginger dressing lately that I fulfilled tonight. It was heaven.

16 week belly:

My favorite part is that little hand at the bottom, haha.

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All the Christmas decorations are gone. This makes me really sad. I hate that period after Christmas. It's so freaking depressing! I love Christmas, and it flies by so fast, there's no way you can possibly ever get enough. Which just means that I'll have my Christmas music continuing to play in my car until I'm just so embarrassed or tired of it. My guess is the former.

****

I think I have a problem.

I'm addicted...

To my kindle.

As if I needed another electronic device to become a slave to.

****

As if Christmas didn't leave fast enough, our weather just completely disregarded Winter and has gone right into Spring. Ugh. Yea, most people might be happy for that, but seriously Texas, can we just pretend there are seasons other than Summer?!

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One perk of that weather is that I was able to ride my bike twice. It was mildly depressing, but still exercise, so I'll take it. Going from riding a bike hardcore back in August during that 60+ mile race to 16 weeks preg and dragging a toddler in the trailer?! Slight difference .

****

Keaton is just talking up a storm and is now obsessed with calling people. It's hilarious! He just gives the same responses: "Dada, uh, uh-huh" and other random noises. He screams bloody murder when I try to take the phone mid-conversation.

He's also learned to climb on everything.. Kitchen countertops, chairs, coffee tables.. And likes to riverdance on them, haha. So, we've definitely had to reinforce "no" a lot in the past few days. Cause, you know, getting rid of our furniture (like everything else we couldn't baby-proof) just wasn't the best solution.

Dental hygiene is very important :)

****

One last note. We will be finding out the gender of our sweet pea on the 23rd! I'll post the news as soon as I get a chance that day, but keep us in your prayers that the scan goes alright. I always get nervous with this stuff :-/

Until next time...

Ring Bling

2012-01-03T10:19:00.001-06:00

Just a fun little link up I thought I'd participate in.

I don't think I've ever shown a picture or told the story of my engagement, so I decided to do it now!

My engagement/wedding ring:

The description (I'm not good at this, so I'm summarizing from my insurance description) :

It's a 14k, white gold, 2.2 diamond weight ring. Center, pear shaped brilliant cut 1 carat diamond. Surrounded by 10 brilliant cut diamonds. Clarity is si1/i1/g/h.. Again, NO CLUE what that means, ha.

Wedding band: 14k, white gold, 18 diamond custom designed wedding band.

For some reason, the company did not make a wedding band to go with my engagement ring, so we had to have a jeweler make one.

I think it's just perfect! My husband sure got it right when he picked this out for me :)

I'll admit, when my husband proposed, I had NO CLUE about jewelry or rings all together. Kind of shameful for a girl, really.. I had just never owned a piece of "real" jewelry until my husband.

So, naturally, like any girl, when I received my ring, I thought it was the most beautiful one in the world :) Still do..

The story:

So, we had been dating for a year. When our anniversary came up, we planned a date, I thought, this is it FOR SURE! I was so excited and just knew this was the time he would propose. I'll also mention that for most of that year, I was hoping, nagging and fighting with my husband about when he would propose. Poor guy. He just wanted to wait a reasonable amount of time and then surprise me, but I sure made that difficult :) Well, we went on that anniversary date and to say it was our worst date ever would be putting it nicely. My expectation, combined with poor planning, combined with an unexpected trip to academy sports, cemented my disappointment. It wasn't happening.

So, fast forward one month, to my birthday. A dinner at my parents was planned as usual. As I'm opening gifts, a small box was handed to me last. I opened it and there was an empty jewelry box. I looked up in confusion and Ryan was down on one knee. He asked me to marry him and of course I said yes! It was a surprise and definitely a relief! It was the beginning of all the best moments in my life!

15 Weeks- Bump Update

2011-12-30T11:02:00.001-06:00

How far along? 15 Weeks

Total weight gain: Lost one pound as of my appointment earlier this month.

Maternity clothes? This time around, I'm actually anxious to wear them. They aren't really needed yet.. But I have thrown on some of my baggy shirts to "feel" more pregnant. I figured with this being my second pregnancy, I would be growing out of my clothes much quicker, but I guess that's a good thing, huh.

Sleep: With a toddler that sleeps on and off in the his crib and our bed, it's always different. For the most part? Pregnancy hasn't affected my sleep. There have been those times where I have woken up nauseous, but not too often. Of course I'm up to go to the bathroom constantly, but I can't really say that's because of pregnancy either, ha!

Cravings: I am craving iced tea with this pregnancy just as much as with Keaton. Along with salty, bitter food. Like pickles, salt/vinegar chips and such. I curbed my fast food addiction, thank goodness! I have still stopped occasionally for something, but I will not let it get that bad again!

Best moment this week: Thinking about having two kids at Christmas next year. I can't wait!

Movement: Again, this is one of those things I thought I would feel much sooner than last time. I felt Keaton move between 17-18 weeks. I'm at 15, so it's looking like it'll be closer to the same as last time. I'm very ready to feel movement!

Gender: No inklings yet. Hoping we will find out at our appointment in February.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Working out. This is my own fault, nothing to do with pregnancy. I just haven't been as consistent as last time. Maybe the second trimester will kick me into gear.

Weekly Wisdom: I guess I would say that pregnancy is definitely different with your second. Not the pregnancy itself (at least for me) but the attention, the details.. It's just a little less "hyped up" with the second. Just very busy with Keaton.

Milestones: I don't think it's a milestone.. But I am happy that my body seems to be doing exactly as it did with Keaton. Slowly adjusting to the baby and not packing on the weight.

Favorite Moments: Asking Keaton where the baby is and he runs to me and rubs my belly. I love it :)

I HATE SEWING

2011-12-29T14:42:00.001-06:00

Well, I guess I can't say that's totally accurate..

Because I still can't figure out how to freaking sew!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

This is the most frustrating thing ever...

YOU, are NOT written in English:

I don't even know your language..

Which is why I bought this:

And apparently I need a book called "Sewing for complete morons"... Because I don't understand this book either..

Has no one else never understood what a bobbin, loom, feed dog, grain line or any other sewing term is?!? Weren't we all beginners at once? Apparently not.. I can't find any reference that helps me figure out how to do any of this.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, "easy" patterns. Yea, not so much.

I am so lost!!!

So now?

All of these nice gifts I received:

May just never get used..

And if I ever do learn to sew?

I am making a picture book for, you know, those utter idiots like me :)

*** Tips and encouragement are appreciated ***

Christmas Recap

2011-12-27T20:52:00.001-06:00

Can't believe another Christmas has gone and flown by!!

Although my last post contained a bit of negativity about December.. this Christmas turned out wonderful, albeit, one minor mishap..

The few days before Christmas, I spent lots of time baking!

I made biscotti and some chocolate/pretzel treats (thank goodness for pinterest!!) for our families, which turned out to be a hit!

On Christmas Eve we were getting ready for mass at 4 pm. I was just putting on some jeans when I heard a clank and then a scream from our bathroom. Ran two steps and discovered Keaton had pulled my (still on) hair straightener down from the counter and tried to pick it up.. by the hot plates!!!!

Enter panicked mom mode!!!

Poor guy was screaming so hard and I was trying to console him through tears and shaking. Ran his hand under water for about 20 minutes, then sat down and held him while he cried on and off until he allowed me to put some ointment on it. About that time Ryan came home and saved the day by running to his work and grabbing the supplies to wrap his hand.

After an embarrassing amount of bribes.. I finally got him calm enough to think about leaving the house.

We had completely missed mass, so we just headed to my grandparents. Stayed there until about 9 or so, visiting with family, eating & opening gifts.

Keaton and my grandfather.

We came home and Keaton was already passed out from the car so we laid him down and got all of his gifts laid out. So much fun :)

After that we opened our gifts to each other. Ryan got me the most amazing knife set!!

I couldn't wait to use them!! He also got me my favorite Chanel perfume, a new sonicare toothbrush, a couch blanket and the last Harry Potter movie. I think I made out like a bandit!! I got him a watch, new shoes, and a sweater.

Like most insane parents, we woke our child up at 6 am because we were too excited for him to see his gifts from Santa.

He loved this tent and tunnel!

We had some awesome french toast casserole (thanks again pinterest!!) and then got ready to head to my inlaws.

Boy did we have a great Christmas there! Keaton got more toys than imaginable, I got my beloved kindle fire and a sewing basket full of tons of sewing supplies!! Ryan got boring money ;-)

After lunch and gifts at my other grandparents, we headed to my parents for.. Well, you guessed it, more gifts. This year, we decided no gifts for the adults and had adopted a family instead. Ryan and I had delivered the gifts a couple days before Christmas. It was such a fulfilling thing to do :) So, at my parents, only the little kids opened gifts. Keaton got a cozy coupe!

Which we ended up putting together at almost midnight that night! Exhausting!

He also got tons of books, which I love.

We headed back to my inlaws for dinner and "kindle time" for me. I'm obsessed with this thing!

The next day we spent shopping and resting.

And since then? We've just been relaxing, finishing off leftover goodies and playing!

It was a fabulous Christmas and I'm already looking forward to next Christmas with two kids :)

Cheated

2011-12-21T00:45:00.001-06:00

I feel somewhat cheated out of Christmas this year.

Between buying a new rent house and having my husband gone working over there quite a bit, having Keaton sick for one week and in the hospital for a few days, plus me being sick with something sinus related for almost a couple weeks now..

I just don't feel like we've gotten to do all the things I wanted us to do.

No Christmas cards this year, no looking at christmas lights (aside from attempting to while Keaton was sick- and it was a fail), I didn't make any of the decorations I had my heart set on, I think we only had one night of Christmas movie watching, no running to Starbucks for festive drinks, no going to the fantasy of lights in town..

I just have a big frown.

It's definitely not how I pictured our month of December.

However..

I am SO grateful for..

- Our (mostly) good health

- The wonderful care of some great nurses and our pediatrician

- My amazing-times-a-million husband who never ceases to surprise me with his thoughtfulness and patience

- Our little angel. He completes our lives. I can't imagine life without him or our little one on the way. They both fill our hearts with so much love

- Our families who are always there to visit, be an ear to vent to, and cheer us up

- My husbands steady job. Which, frustrating and time consuming at times, provides us with a fabulously blessed life

- Last but not least, our faith. It's definitely been an up and down journey over the past 3 years, but me and God? We've never wavered. Church is something I'm trying to resolve my anger over, and that takes time.. But I am very grateful to the kind church members that have shown us compassion

It's important to remember the blessings we do have. Not the traditions or fun things we might have missed.

So this has been our December 2011 so far. Good or bad.. It was a month of memories. For those? I'm grateful.

Home Sweet Home

2011-12-15T00:40:00.001-06:00

I'm so incredibly exhausted right now I can't even think about writing a whole post. I will write one, just once my family gets a chance to recover and get some rest.

Our baby boy was admitted to the hospital Monday morning for Pneumonia (he also had an ear infection), this was the first time he's ever been truly sick, so it was pretty traumatic.

We were released today and have been resting and trying to get things back in order.

My stubborn cold hasn't made things (or my mood) any easier.

For now, I'll say that Keaton is doing so much better than Monday. Even though being in the hospital wasn't something I wanted to do, I know he received great treatment that will help him recover more quickly than being at home.

I am so grateful to our family and church for all the prayers and thoughts for us. Once again, I'm reminded how good people are.

And most of my thanks? Goes to my wonderful husband. He was my rock this past week. He spent all of his time making sure his family was taken care of, whether it involved making multiple trips home for conditioner, a straightener and extra clothes, or bringing Keaton a welcome toy for distraction, and in general, being patient with me as I was an emotional wreck. He does so much more than he gives himself credit for :)

Post to come soon..

More Tidbits

2011-12-09T00:59:00.001-06:00

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Pumpkin spice marshmallows are ridiculously good. Not too bad sugar and calorie wise, and happen to make a pretty good snack for a hungry toddler :) Next we are devouring the gingerbread man ones!

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Chocolate milk sounds very good right now. Interesting. I do not drink milk. Never have. Can't stand it. However, this week? It sounds like heaven. I'm toughing this craving out...

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I've consumed no less than 25723 gallons of decaf lemon tea in the past couple months. It's ridiculous. It's the one constant craving I've had. I guess that's a pretty safe one, huh?

Thank God I can work that ice tea maker.

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On that note, water has sounded fabulous lately. My normal cravings for soda (while not pregnant, mind you) are just.. Not there right now.. I'll try to open one and end up taking a few sips and leaving the rest (drives the husband crazy too), sure do miss them! And coffee? Yea, you can just forget that. Makes my stomach turn about 99% of the time. *sigh* gone are my coffee addiction days..

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And speaking of coffee, my keurig that my wonderful husband gifted me last Christmas somehow broke. Sad face. Good news? He called their customer service and 5 minutes later a brand new one is on its way to our front door. Absolutely free! Like we needed another reason to annoy everyone by talking about it being "the best coffeemaker ever!!"

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So, my child is the new Dr. Dre? Eminem? Whoever the latest rap singer is lately.. We've figured out that this kid only dances to rap. Blah. This momma is not a fan. Lets never speak about the times my mom threw away my Eminem CDs during my "wanna be rap phase", mmkay? Luckily, my cousin introduced me to some Christian rap, haha. My son will only be listening to the Grits for now!

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First the rap. Then I realize he's discovered that anything with a ninety degree angle = a gun.

(that's the nebulizer, obviously he's too quick for me!)

Typical boy.

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I had my second checkup at the doctor this week. Not much to report. Gotta love those 5 minute check ups! BP- perfect! Urine- perfect! Baby heartbeat- 160+ and perfect! Weight- down one pound. Not gonna lie, was pretty excited about. Ha.

Interestingly enough, even though I lost a pound, I have developed a small, noticeable to pretty much just me, pooch. I know it's all baby because I can't suck it in :)

Commence baby bump!!

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Have I mentioned lately how unbelievably amazing my husband is and how lucky (and undeserving) I am to have him?!

Well, yea.

He's all that.

Keaton is teething right now. Which pretty much ~~usually~~ ALWAYS equals fever, coughing, a few breathing treatments and usually some sleepless nights thrown in. Sounds fairly simple, because we do have a routine and all. But for some reason? Those sleepless night just kill me!! Gosh that sounds selfish :( I'll say, though, even though I think I'm an good mom (not bragging, confidence), that is one area I really need to work on.. I'm just bad news when I'm tired. Poor guy just doesn't feel good and then he has a mommy that is a bawling, embarrassing mess. Yea and pregnancy while teething? Bad mixture.

So what does my exhausted, usually gets like 4-5 hours of sleep a night, works 17 hour days so we can stay at home, husband do??

He comes out to the living room, takes Keaton, sits down with me and takes over. Tells me I'm okay to feel exhausted. To cry. To be a completely selfish baby (ok, those are my words), basically is my prince charming at 3 am to a snot/booger covered, baggy-eyed, (probably) bad breathed, mommy.

God. I'm lucky.

I do not tell him enough.

He's so amazing and he would probably be shocked at the moments I most recognize this "amazing-ness" :)

He's sooo my white knight.

Love that man.

On Big Families

2011-12-08T19:00:00.001-06:00

I wanted to write something about this back when they announced their pregnancy, but after hearing some things people had to say about the Duggars' losing their 20th baby, I definitely had to comment.

I don't normally write about anything other than my personal life on here, I guess because I just don't like debating things, or anything like that.

However, being that I was raised in a big family (7 kids), I just really relate to them.

Trust me, in over 27 years of being in a big Catholic family, I've heard all the remarks..

"Don't your parents know what birth control is?!"

No, they are complete dumb-asses and have never heard of it. That's what I usually want to tell people. Drives me nuts. First of all, who asks questions that personal anyway?! RUDE! Second, it's just really none of your business whether people use birth control.

"Did your parents just forget how this happens?" Uh-huh. Yep. Refer back to that first response. It couldn't possibly be that someone WANTS to have a big family.

"Your mom just needs to stop, her body just can't handle any more." Umm.. Unless you are her or her OB, you have NO CLUE what her body goes through. Women know their bodies and what they can do. Give them a bit more credit.

Which brings me to the WORST. Yes, someone has actually said this to me. "If I found out I was pregnant at your mom's age (42- with last baby), and had already had 6 kids, I would have ABORTED IT. It just seems selfish"

Wow.. Just.. Wow.. I had actually kinda forgotten this one.. Now I know why. I don't even think this one deserves a response (aside from a vigorous slap in the face) but I'll just say, if you have a negative opinion, you should KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. I look at my 10 year old brother now and think, how could he NOT be a part of this family?! God knew what he was doing. HOW DARE YOU CALL HIM A MISTAKE.

So, I think it's safe to assume that the Duggars' have heard all of these and many, many more. They are on TV after all. One thing we've all learned about people on TV. Everyone watching has an opinion.

My thoughts? This family has NEVER, ever, received assistance from the government. No food stamps, no disability, no unemployment, etc. Wow, that's better than probably 3/4 of the country. Not only that, they have NO DEBT. None! Wow. Maybe better than 90% of the country! They do an excellent job raising their children. Granted, we are only seeing what is filmed on certain days, but I think it's safe to say they have some of the most polite, Christian, responsible and well behaved children I've ever seen. Yes, they have 19 children (18 living at home), so obviously the other kids help out a lot. That's really no different than any other family. We have all done chores, helped with siblings, meals, etc. In a big family, yes, there is more responsibility. That never once bothered me. I loved having built in friends. I never had to have friends at school (though I did) because I had so many at home! We had so much noisy fun growing up! There's nothing like a big family. I was (and still am) very protective of my siblings. That's just natural, not something my parents forced me to do. I wanted to make sure my siblings were taken care of. I think they are extremely blessed to have such a close, wonderful family. They are very lucky to have the opportunities they do. They get to take lots of trips, traveling everywhere and doing everything. My family wasn't able to do those things. But I guarantee you if someone offered us a TV show and those were the perks? We would've jumped!! What's wrong with that?! They are making some wonderful memories and the show doesn't seem to have negatively affected the family, so I don't see why not.

All that said, would I have 19 children?

No.

It's just not something I'm going to do. Doesn't mean I don't agree with it. I think children are the biggest blessing of all. You are lucky to have the love of one child, let alone 19. It's a gift.

If anyone is going to do it? They are the perfect example.

I don't agree with quite a few things on their show. But that has nothing to do with the type of family they've raised. Just because I wouldn't do something, doesn't make someone else unsuited to do it.

What I don't understand? Is people that get upset about it.

What are you upset about? That they chose to have 19 kids? Why? Is someone forcing you to have them? No. So it's really none of your business. I don't exactly agree with people that choose to abort children, but I don't go around blasting them either. Yea, I realize they put themselves on TV, so they just have to take the criticism. Ok. Well, have you ever watched Jersey Shore, Real World, Real Housewives, or any other trashy, negative, poor example of human beings show? Crazy how those shows don't rile people up, but the sweet Duggars do. ..Crazy..

You're "concerned" about her health? Like I said above. No one knows a woman's body like herself and her OB. Sometimes OBs don't even give our bodies enough credit. This woman is in INCREDIBLE shape! She's very healthy and I don't see anyone better suited to birth a 20th child!! Truthfully? I know women who have criticized her and I've seen them down the pills, sodas, junky food 24/7 and stay overweight. I mean, really. That's fine if you want to do that, it's your body, baby and labor. But to criticize her?! Oh goodness.. Know your subject before criticizing. Not to mention, I've known PLENTY of women to go on and have other children after having a preterm baby. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Now that I've gone and ranted.. I'll end this by just saying..

I feel so terrible for this family. A miscarriage has got to be one of the worst things in the world. I would never wish that pain on anyone. Prayers and positive thoughts to them. If they decide to get pregnant again, best wishes. If not? My hope is that they will feel peace. What a difficult and sad situation.. Let's remember to have some compassion people..

Baby Bump? Not so much..

2011-11-30T11:49:00.001-06:00

No baby bump as of yet..

*But, holy cow my mirror needs to be cleaned! That's just gross!*

I know it's still really early. I'm only 11 weeks. So really, it's no surprise there's nothing there.

Didn't start showing with Keaton until about 20-25 weeks, so I'm hoping I'll show sooner with this one :)

My doc says I *need* to gain 20 this time, so I'm almost positive I'll get that baby bump quick!

We also haven't taken any monthly photos yet, like we did with Keaton. So until I can remember, mirror shots it is!

15 months!

2011-11-30T10:53:00.001-06:00

I don't normally do these updates on my blog, I usually just do a letter for Keaton's scrapbook, but I just had the urge to post his update on here, so here we go.

He actually turned 15 months on Monday, but I wanted to wait until his checkup yesterday to post all of his stats.

-We've thought, for sure, for months now that when we go in he'll break the 20 lb mark. But*... Drumroll..*Nope! In fact, he actually lost a little! I had taken him in a little over a month ago for a different issue and he was 19.9 and yesterday he was 19.5 Which doesn't even make the chart in percentiles..

Not a big issue. The kid eats like a champ and doesn't look malnourished AT ALL! So, just a tiny baby I guess :)

-He has grown a couple inches, and is in the 25% for height.

-Head is about the same.

We had just one shot yesterday, which was nice. No flu shot for this little guy, hopefully we won't encounter too many people this holiday season.

-He's STILL in size 3 diapers and wearing anything between 6-9 mo. clothing all the way up to 12 month. I'm ready to pull some new clothes out for him! :)

-He's eating almost anything now. Just depends on the texture (something he could choke on) or too spicy or just plain bad for him.

-I'm slowly letting things slide in the food area, but I absolutely refuse in the drink area. No juice or really anything but water yet. He loves his water so I just figure, why mess with a good thing? He did try some chocolate milk the other day at his grandparents' house. I let him have about a quarter sippy cup of it only because his cousin thought it would make him happy. Of course, he loved it! Ha.

I swear, it's something new everyday that he understands or does or says. It's SO.MUCH.FUN!!! It's just amazing to me that I can tell him to bring me something and he not only understands, but does it! I can't believe I was holding this sweet boy for the very first time just 15 months ago! It's unbelievable how quickly they grow. Keaton is the center of our universe and we are so blessed to be his parents. We love him so much and can't wait for this next phase, a new brother or sister and all the things he's bound to learn and do before then!

I think he knows he's adorable :)

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T11:13:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful day filled with family and of course, lots of delicious food!

Here are the only pictures I managed to get that day:

Keaton on the right, two of his cousins to his left. I thought this picture was so adorable, I've looked at it about a million times since then!

My parents and siblings/siblings-in-law/nieces.

Our little family :o)

I actually did get a few other pictures on my camera, and I would say I'll upload them later...but.. We all know how those promises go, haha.

Best day of the year.

2011-11-22T22:14:00.001-06:00

Well, that's probably an exaggeration, but it sure comes close!

Black Friday.

Oh.Em.Gee.

I absolutely love this day!

Every single year, I get more and more excited!

Of course I love Thanksgiving, I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love that food?!

I love seeing family, and I love giving thanks.

Because this family?

Is very blessed, indeed.

A husband and wife who love each other more every day (or with every kid, ha), one perfect baby and one on the way.

God had blessed us amazingly.

As much as I love Thanksgiving though, I must say, my excitement is no more evident than when I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (eeek!!) and when I look at those coveted ads later in the day. Yes, ad watching is scheduled. It is something I do later on in the day after I've stuffed myself silly at three, yes three meals! I look at the ads with my sisters and we plan our route.

It's serious business folks.

Last year, things got rough. I had a brand new baby, and ya know, traipsing him through the freezing cold to wait outside for hours wasn't exactly.. shall we say, responsible?

So, yea, I left plenty of milk and bottles at home with my sweet husband and ventured out with my sisters.

At about 4 AM, my husband indulged his crazy wife and brought the baby up to Target. I nursed him in the car and we sat in the heat until they opened. We walked inside and were still able to join in the craziness.. From the sidelines :)

Black Friday doesn't stop for anything!

So, anyway, I'm very much looking forward to hitting up Black Friday this year and I think Keaton's crazy habit of waking up at 4am is actually going to come in handy!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pregnancy.. Blah

2011-11-17T09:47:00.001-06:00

So, pregnancy.

Probably the most annoying thing ever is a sensitive stomach.

Everything sounds disgusting except iced tea and.. Well.. That's pretty much it..

I've definitely had cravings for certain things, like one day it was queso, so I made a HUGE pot of it (for two people.. I don't know why) and ate one serving and it just tasted disgusting. So I made everyone else eat it so it wouldn't go to waste.

Next craving was buffalo wings. YUM! Now, I ate the entire bag I bought of those!

And then, there's the worst part..

I CRAVE fast food. I know that sounds dumb. There's a million things to eat in our house. But? I swear, I wake up craving something from sonic, or taco casa, and usually right when I get it, I don't want it. It sounds so bad. But? I force myself to eat some of it so I won't get even more nauseous from not eating.

I'm not sure whether the nausea is better this time or I'm just able to ignore it from being so busy or what.. But it's definitely not as... consuming?

It's just frustrating to not know what to eat, or fix something, then not want it. Plus, I'm just hungry 24/7 and that's so annoying. I never feel like I'm satisfied. Ever. I hate that feeling.

I am, however, looking forward to thanksgiving food! Hopefully that will satisfy me!

No weight gain yet, all my clothes still fit like normal. I'm still thinking that I'll be showing a little by Christmas, just because it's my second time around. I've heard your body just remembers where to inflate, ha.

I'm hoping we will find out the sex at the beginning of February.

I'm so ready to start picking things out :)

3 years, (almost) two kids..

2011-11-16T16:37:00.001-06:00

So, I tried posting this yesterday, but as I mentioned, my blogging apps are so finicky, so I never know when they'll just up and delete something.

Anyway, yesterday was my husband and my 3rd anniversary!

We exchanged gifts a couple days earlier, which I always love :)

Here's my beautiful necklace:

It's a pearl wrapped in a diamond strand. Pearl will be the new baby's birthstone!

I got Ryan some drill thing he's been wanting.

You can tell I'm not the repairman in our family, ha

We went out on a date and it was fabulous!

We saw "Courageous". Oh my goodness, crazy good movie! We both agreed that the acting was much better than "Fireproof" (same director) and it was just so good! Be prepared to cry, but go see it if you can!

Then we had a really nice dinner at a seafood restaurant here in town. I had stuffed tilapia- so yummy!!! And Ryan had shrimp wrapped in bacon- I can't remember the name of his dish, but it was really good!

We have some really good conversation, food and an awesome time.

I love date nights :)

Now if only I could remember to take pictures!

Randomness

2011-11-15T22:02:00.008-06:00

Because I can't wrap my mind around one single thing to post...

*************

Has anyone else seen the new pampers commercial, "Every baby is a miracle"?

Wow.

I'm already a hormonal, mushy mess over absolutely nothing, so thanks a lot pampers.

**************

I was in Walmart the other day and they started playing Christmas music. A little early? Perhaps. I did stay an extra ten minutes just singing along and bouncing to the music with Keaton though. I love Christmas music :)

**************

The other night, I had just laid Keaton down in his crib upstairs and Ryan and I were downstairs watching tv in the living room when we heard this BLARING, loud! as! heck! alarm going off upstairs. I was freaking out that someone had broken in and was stealing Keaton. Which, didn't make any sense because we have an alarm system, but it isn't hooked up, haha. So we run upstairs and the fire alarms both right inside and outside Keaton's room are going off. Apparently, when we had turned the heater upstairs on that night, it had just triggered the alarms. Keaton? Was snoozing away peacefully. I shut this kid's bedroom door every night because I'm alway afraid the downstairs tv will wake him up. Umm, yea. His door remains open since.

**************

Why, why, why does our newspaper delivery person insist on leaving our paper either at the VERY end of our driveway or in the street?! It's so incredibly annoying. Especially when I'm in my pjs at noon and trying to be as discreet as I can. Yea, there's always a friendly neighbor out when that happens.

**************

I swear, only in Texas can you wear coats and tanks in the same day, as well as use your car heater and AC in the same day. Doesn't make any sense..

**************

My husband went on his annual "man date" to red lobster's Shrimp Fest the other day . I love to give him a hard time because he insists every year that I cannot go. Why? 1) He says I won't eat enough for the $14.99 price tag. My answer? Dude. I'm pregnant and nursing a toddler, enough said. 2) It's the one time he gets to get away and hang out with his friend, so I guess I'll give him that. :)

However, he is kind enough to bring me home some yummy biscuits. They were amazing.

**************

I absolutely loathe laundry.

I do not understand how three people (well, actually two and half) can accumulate so much in just a week?!

I try to do it once a week, because I hate getting so backed up that I end up doing like 10 loads. Ex: today.

I'm normally the type of person that drags things out as much as possible, but if I did that with laundry, I would be doing it a continuous 365 days a year. Um, not fun.

Not to mention, this little guy just loves to "help":

************

Have I mentioned how much I hate not only blogger, but my stupid blogging apps.

They can all do different things so I can't use just one. However, blogger on my computer is being a HUGE pain in the butt and timing out when I am trying to upload pictures.

Plus my blogpress app is a GINORMOUS pain in the butt and will not let me go back into drafts I have saved, nor will it let me exit the app and get back into a post. It just deletes it. So much for "convenience".

So, if I'm not blogging too regularly, just know that I probably wrote a huge post and then one of the two deleted it right as I was about to post.

Yea, it's a lot of fun to do it again, so I normally don't.

My family can thank blogger when our memories aren't recorded :)

So, you know, that really helps move things along quickly :)

A picture IS worth a thousand words..

2011-11-10T00:50:00.002-06:00

Our second beautiful baby, how lucky are we?!

And in the words of my dad, "Where is it?!"

Well, that's what he said about Keaton's first sonogram:

And I actually thought that one was kinda obvious.. So I can only imagine his comment on this one ;-)

It's always such a relief for me to hear that first heartbeat. Baby's heartbeat was holding strong at 163! It was such a beautiful sound and I don't think we'll ever get tired of seeing our children on sonograms. Awesome moment..

I'm actually a little curious now that we might not be as far along as we thought, just judging from the sonogram. Only time will tell though.

Nevertheless, our due date was confirmed (for now) to be 6/22/2012. Which, just so happens to be my niece's first birthday! Although, I'm sure by that month, my feelings won't be hurt if our little one decides to see us a couple weeks early :)

We are so excited and appreciate all those kind words you guys have left us.

We are so incredibly blessed!

My BIG boy!

2011-11-08T00:47:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd post a little update of what Keaton has been up to..

First, words.

Just recently, I've seen a huge leap with him. He's added words to his vocabulary and he's understanding so much. Right now, I'll say, "Keaton, do you want to go bye-bye?" he'll drop what he's doing and stand up and look and me and say "bye?" over and over. It is so so cute!

"Uh-oh" has been a favorite for awhile now. Unfortunately, he tends to throw things and then say "uh-oh!" I still can't help but laugh when he does this.

"Ball" is a favorite too. We have a couple soccer balls that we keep inside and we've created a makeshift 'goal' with a turned sideways laundry basket. He thinks this the the best game ever! He "scores" and daddy and I yell, "GOOOOOAAALLL, YAAAAYYY" and clap for him. If we forget to do this (even just one of us) ? He will look back at us like, "come ON guys!" sometimes he'll change it up by stopping between each goal and running to give Daddy kisses and hugs. Not Mommy, DADDY! :)

Speaking of Daddy. When he gets home at night (usually between 7:30-8pm) Keaton and I are either relaxing on the couch nursing or playing in the living room. So when Ryan opens the door, Keaton will immediately stop, look at me for reassurance and bolt to the door to see "Da-Da". I love it. I have really fond memories of all my siblings and I practically crushing my dad with hugs in the driveway when he would get home. I'm so glad Keaton gets so excited to see his Daddy. He just knows he's lucky to have such a special Daddy :)

One of the (million) cutest things Keaton does, he follows me everywhere.

It makes me smile so big.

I love that he loves being around his Mommy. If I go to cook? He's at my legs. If I go to shower, he's right at the glass door. If I go to the bathroom? Yep, you guessed it, right outside the door. I've heard from someone really smart that "From dependence grows independence" :)

The past couple months, he's become practically obsessed with bananas, or "Na-na?" haha, another cute thing, everything is a question.

He loves the little food pouches, which, get so pricey, I wish I didn't love them so much! They are just super convenient! They used to be a diaper bag treat only, but now, he has them all the time. I couldn't resist though! He knows exactly where I keep them in the diaper bag and will bring it to me and motion for me to open it. How can you deny him?!? :)

That's another thing, he loves going through my diaper bag. I leave it on the floor for him and he will pull random things out and play, or pull my wallet and all the credit cards and such out.

He has this birthday cake toy that he got for his birthday (duh) and just recently, he's started playing with it all.the.time. So much that I can now sing most of the songs it plays. Ugh. The candles light up and it tells you to blow them out and he always looks up at me to blow them out. We haven't quite mastered that yet.

He loves to dance in the car! I will turn the music up and say, "Dance Keaton, dance!" and he'll wiggle around and smile the biggest smile.

Cutest thing ever.

Ryan and I bought another rent house, which I'll update more on later, but Keaton loves to be over there. He's surrounded by tools, sanders, brooms and ladders!

Oh my! One day he watched Ryan sand down some texture on a wall and ever since then, when he sees the sander, he will grab it and run to that same wall and do it just like Daddy.

He always looks so proud and smiles so big! He loves it when we tell him, "Good job!" and we tell him often! I'm trying to be more about positive reinforcement than punishment. Which, there's not much punishment that goes on around our house, ha. I'm hoping this will really aid in our 'no spanking' agreement in the future. Anyway, we brag on him all the time and you can tell he loves the attention.

He's gotten really good at listening to me. Instead of just grabbing my phone or the remote from him and putting it out of his reach, we've been telling him he can play with it, but no chewing.

Then, when he (inevitably) puts it in his mouth, we tell him no and to bring it to us and we put our hand out. And he brings it right to us immediately.

Very smart, our little boy :)

He brings SO MUCH laughter and joy to our lives!!!

I love him and being a mommy so much I can hardly contain it!

I cannot wait to experience life with two!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This time will be different.

2011-11-06T22:12:00.001-06:00

The past few weeks (heck, since Keaton was born!) I've had thoughts here and there about my pregnancy, birth, and afterwards with Keaton and had some things that I was SO glad I did and some things? I'll do differently this time.

First of all, I had the most healthy pregnancy I feel like I could have. I was lucky enough to be able to exercise, drink tons of water and avoid caffeine almost completely. I felt wonderful and it made my labor and recovery so much better!

That part is something I'm striving toward. I've been drinking lots of water, very small amounts of caffeine... But haven't quite gotten the hang of a regular workout. I have GOT to get better! I think it is hard with a toddler, but not impossible. I'm very good at making excuses :)

Let's see..

This time, I hope to be a LOT more comfortable breastfeeding. It was just all so super awkward in front of people or in public for a long time with Keaton. I'm hoping it's something I'll be much more comfortable with this time around, because I swear, hardly anyone paid attention last time!

On that note, this time, I want to take a lot more control in my recovery room at the hospital. I remember not wanting to tell people to leave or give us a bit of time so I could feed Keaton! I was trying to get the hang of it all and there were only about a MILLION people walking in and out! I don't mind company, but it was overwhelming while trying to nurse and bond with my new baby, that's something I'll be more commanding about.

This time, I WILL do my sitz bath!!! I won't elaborate, but I should've last time, and didn't. Could've avoided a LOT of pain and discomfort.

This time, I will RELAX! This will be a work in progress, I'm sure. See, I think I confuse who I WANT to be as a mom with who people think I SHOULD be as a mom. This leads to me saying things that I think will make people happy, instead of just saying, "well, this is what's best for OUR family". I will never fully agree with one side or the other of our families, not on every single thing, so I wish I could be a little more outspoken and just say that we do things different. I witnessed something a few months ago, and it really opened my eyes. So, my older sister and I were getting manicures together. She had just had her second little girl and had brought her with us. So, my sister sat down while i was holding the baby and one of the nail techs asked me if I wanted them to hold Elizabeth while I got mine done at the same time. Immediately, I was like, "NO STRANGER! We have no clue where you've been!" I didn't say this, haha, it was in my head, but I did politely decline. Then, my sister did something that would've NEVER happened with her first. She told me to go ahead and hand Elizabeth over and get my nails done.

You know what happened??

That nail tech sat right beside my sister the entire time, rocking Elizabeth and humming lullabies to her.

And you know what?

Elizabeth didn't get sick or anything. What a novel concept :)

I learned something that day. My sister didn't feel that she needed to impress me by insisting that I hold the baby or spraying sanitizer into the tech's hands. She just calmly let the tech do what she could to soothe Elizabeth and she just enjoyed getting her manicure.

She was RELAXED. And you know what? She had a really good time doing something she did before kids, while at the same time bringing her 3 week old baby.

Now I'm not saying that everyone that DOES carry sanitizer or deny strangers from holding their baby goes overboard. Not at all. However, I think that sometimes, in the right situation, a little relaxation could really benefit a new mommy :)

This time, I'll try harder on baby carrying. Last time, I didn't get the hang of my sling for months! Why? Well, because I'm one of those people that throws things down in frustration after two unsuccessful tries, only to pick if up again much later. This time, I'm determined. I kinda have no choice really, with a very active toddler! So, I'm planning on sewing myself a Moby wrap and maybe another sling. That way, I always have one with me and hopefully, I'll get the hang of it much sooner.

This time, I'll be a tad less rigid in my delivery room. I came with PLANS! Oh the plans! We had done a birthing class (it was similar to the Bradley method) and I was hell bent on about a million things. I had a birth plan, my birth activists standing on guard (husband and mom, haha) and the most negative view of hospitals. I came out with about a 4 hour labor at the hospital. Hardly anyone bothered our "natural birth" plans, they just let us do what we needed to do, while making sure the baby and I were safe. I had one of the most unconventional births I've ever heard of, but the staff was actually pretty cool about it. While I'm glad I had my birthing ball, birthing class sheets, birth plan, and about a thousand other distractions in my hospital bag for my labor (which, *ahem* got left in the car and wasn't missed), I think I'm a lot more open to things just happening the way they will. We will just play it by ear and hope everything works out as close to the way we are hoping as possible. A healthy baby trumps just about any bad birth experience anyway :)

In short.. I just hope to be a more relaxed, calm version of myself with this next baby :)

Happy (belated) Halloween!

2011-11-02T23:09:00.001-05:00

Some pictures of Keaton's second Halloween!

Omg. Teething is hell.

2011-10-27T05:32:00.001-05:00

I HATE, HATE, HATE teething.

I swear to God, I become a different person while Keaton is teething.

The lack of sleep, frustration, the begging & pleading (dear God, just stop whining and go to freaking sleep!!!), the general feeling that I just have to get out of the house. Which, inevitably never happens, because something always comes up. Husband works late, no one to watch Keaton, etc.

So, here I sit, at 5 am.

Wide awake (yet I've been up all freakin night).

With throw up x3 all over me. Anyone who says throw up isn't a part of teething is full of crap.

I'm also feeling kinda nauseous, which makes it oh!so!fun! when I'm miserable and I have a whining, screaming, toddler at my feet while I attempt to pee, or move him slightly off me so I can sleep (which doesn't ever work).

I'm also crying. Yes, crying over this whole teething business. It's awful.

Most of the time, I feel so lucky to stay home, to be the primary caregiver, to be able to be with Keaton 24/7.

Today, however?

I just want a "break" from being a mommy.

I want to sleep, uninterrupted. Like, sleep in till 10!

I want to shower, blow dry and do my hair without a little person whining, screaming and pulling at my legs. I want to actually do my hair. No messy bun!

I want to eat breakfast. Without getting up 137690 times to pick up sippies, to give more snacks, to hold Keaton while juggling food into my mouth, without sharing my own food!

I just want to be "Amy" again for a few hours. Not Mommy, not wife, not anything! Just be completely selfish.

And?

Because I'm a good mom & a good wife, I'm going to go try to rest my eyes and wake up to thinking I'm spouting frustration, just venting about our (otherwise) perfect life. I am lucky.

I do love being a mom.

And wife!

But?

I still think a solo trip to sonic every now and then can be very therapeutic. :o)

The one with all the details..

2011-10-26T19:12:00.001-05:00

So.

Sorry to announce that big news and leave you all hanging without more detail. I'm sure you were all holding your breath in anticipation, right? (just humor me..)

So, anyway, onto the more important things.

I've promised some details, so here are the details!

When did we find out?

A couple weeks ago. We had been trying and like usual, I just cannot stand to wait, so I took a test when it was very early, but luckily, that second line showed up and we (well, me) were shocked! One neat thing that we did with Keaton and this time around was that I have Ryan look and then can tell from his reaction. It's just sort of a neat thing for him to break it to me. :)

We had planned on going out of town the next day, so we knew that it would be a few days before our families would know. A lot of people like to wait until a few weeks or even the first trimester is over to tell people. I totally get this. We, however, are not that strong, haha. We are both pretty impatient when it comes to this type of news. So? We waited until we were back in town, which did give us a bit of time to come up with a cool way to tell everyone. We went out and bought Keaton a "Big Brother" shirt and a "Big Brother" storybook as keepsake. We were actually not very creative in this department and just put the shirt on him and let him walk into each of our parent's houses and have them figure it out! Oh well, it was neat to see their reactions and of course, everyone was SUPER excited for us!

How far along are we?

I am almost 6 weeks. My husband has this weird opposition to the way this is counted, haha. As anyone who has ever been pregnant, or had a child knows, your pregnancy is counted (by the doctor) from the first date of your last period. That's just how it is. Yes, we all know that it's not completely accurate, but that's the closest they can get because it's nearly impossible to know when you conceived. Unless.. well, I'm not even going into detail, it's just difficult to know. So anyway, as we would tell each person, they would ask how far along I was and I would say, "four weeks" and Ryan would addd, "well, not really" Grrrr... haha. So, yes, I'm 6 weeks. :) So, by this calculation, I am due around the end of June. We have a TON of birthdays and things like that in our families in June, so we are bound to hit something.

Are we hoping for a boy or girl?

Honestly, this is the most cliche statement ever, but once you've been pregnant, you (probably) felt the same, As long as he/she is healthy, it does.not.matter. No, really, I 100% do not care at all. I would be so overjoyed at either. God knows the perfect fit for our family and I trust that. On that note, yes, we will be finding out the sex. We aren't real patient in that area either :)

Am I feeling any symptoms yet?

Not a thing! I'm really hoping that's a good sign and maybe that will continue? I've heard lots of different things when it's the second. That you don't have time to feel symptoms because you are too distracted, that it's better/worse with the second, so I guess only time will tell. So far, so good! I am also still nursing Keaton quite a bit (like 4+ times a day), so I'm really hoping I don't have any soreness.

And, no, I have no idea when we will stop, we are playing it by ear.

Ok, that's all I can think of for now, I will do some pregnancy updates when things really get rolling!

Eating for two... Again!

2011-10-19T23:04:00.001-05:00

Yep, you read that right!

I'm pregnant again!

I swear, he really is happy to be a big brother, this was just one of "those" days..

We are so incredibly excited and cannot wait to share more news!

I'm working on a more detailed post with everything.

For now? I've gotta get to bed, I'm up way past my "pregnancy bedtime"!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for a healthy (and sickness free?!) pregnancy :)

These boots were made for walking..

2011-10-12T17:51:00.001-05:00

Look at my first pair of cowboy boots!

They are too cute. We found Ryan's first pair of cowboy boots the other night and they are the same size we got Keaton! Weird coincidence.

Also, you'll notice that dang fly swatter making another appearance. It's become Keaton's latest obsession, carrying it everywhere!

Yum-o!

2011-10-11T10:56:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been wanting to get better about family dinner. We never sit down for dinner and it's something I want to get in the habit of. Now, normally I would have popcorn, turkey cheese rollups, or some chips and salsa for dinner, so I really wanted to do something a little bit more fancy...

I found this recipe the other day on one of my favorite blogs and couldn't wait to try it!

Taco Pork chops!

Now, I'll warn you, I forgot to take pictures of each step, so if you're interested, just follow that link above, because she laid out the steps and pictures. But the above picture? That's mine :)

I did make my own diced potatoes. I really didn't know what seasoning to use, so I just tossed them with some olive oil, garlic and pepper and threw in the oven. They were pretty plain in my opinion. It was okay because the pork chops had so much flavor, but next time, I'll probably make onion potatoes.

The pork chops? Well, take it from my husband, who declared it: "One of the best meals I've ever eaten!"

The avocado spread makes it awesome! I've never cooked pork chops before, and it was super easy. I cooked them on my stove top. If I was well versed in the grill, I would've done it that way because I like the taste of grilled food better.

Anyway, meal success!

Yep, a picture post

2011-10-06T23:12:00.001-05:00

Look how calm I am while getting my nails clipped!

Yay!! No more accidental scratches!

Playing with (CLEAN, BRAND NEW) fly swatters is so much fun!

Mommy, look at my big belly!

How cute are my new shoes?! ..Checkout the baby cankle, ha...

WHEW, that was exhausting!

Is there anything better??

2011-10-03T22:39:00.001-05:00

Than a Popsicle the size of your head?!

I think he likes it :)

Mommy's Famous Healthy-sicles:
-Store bought Popsicle makers
-Berry yogurt
-Berries
Alternate berries and yogurt in containers and freeze. Run under water to remove. SOO good!

Unplugging myself

2011-09-29T23:01:00.002-05:00

So, a couple days ago, I made a decision.

For awhile now, I've thought that I spend way too much time online. Specifically, Twitter and Facebook.

It's annoying to my husband, it's annoying to me. I just got sick of it.

I've heard people compare it to being addicted to smoking or drugs and while maybe a tad dramatic? Actually, not that far off..

Anyway, I decided one day after getting annoyed with Keaton after I was trying to check my twitter and ::gasp:: he wanted my attention. I suddenly realized how awful that was!!! Seriously?

Annoyed with a baby cause I wanted to check my twitter??

Really, it's embarrassing.

Right then and there, I decided, no more social networking.. For the time being.

How long is that, you ask?

No clue, really.

I'm annoyed enough to say quite awhile.

While it's a great way for our families to keep in touch, to see pictures of Keaton, blah, blah..

It's gotten out of hand.

Badly.

One day I looked at someone's twitter. A fellow stay-at-home mommy like myself. I was looking at her timeline for a recipe she'd posted before. I realized she had 30,000 tweets. Had joined just one year ago. I thought to myself, "How in the world?!?!"

And I noticed that she was posting like twenty times every hour.

In fact, once I started thinking about it, a lot of the girls I followed did the same.

Really?!?

Sorry, but it was a little excessive.

I just kept thinking, how tuned out is she in her everyday life?

And you know what? Maybe she's not. Maybe I'm the only one who has trouble multitasking and it leaves one area lacking in attention. Maybe she's doing a great job! I really don't know, I just realized.. It's not for me.

Having 20,000 blog followers, twitter followers, a million Internet "besties".

To be quite honest, a lot of the blogs I followed from the beginning I just couldn't keep up with anymore. I started following the "authors" on twitter and it just became like "High School, chapter 2".

Not my thing. I don't have a lot of friends besides family because it's too much drama. I'm a mom now, a wife. I just don't have the energy to go "clubbing", talk about guy problems, or get drunk.

Maybe that makes me snobby. I don't know.

It's just...

Not something I feel like I can devote enough time to w/o my family coming second.

And that's just not acceptable.

So?

My blog I am keeping. It's just for me.

I don't follow blogs anymore, hardly ever get on my computer anyway.

No twitter, if I can ever figure out how to delete myself, my profile will be gone too.

So the past couple days, I went to check FB and twitter, out of habit, and realized they were deleted off my phone. Then I remembered, it's so not needed.

I had fun with my family instead.

I think we could all use a break every now and then.

Try it!

Quack-Quack!

2011-09-24T01:11:00.001-05:00

It's Keaton's first trip to feed the ducks!

So, we're experts now, right?

2011-09-20T23:49:00.001-05:00

On marriage that is.

HA! Hardly.

Wait, let me backup. So, this past weekend, Ryan and I attended a marriage "retreat" of sorts.

It was required by our church to get our original date of marriage recognized. We weren't married in the Catholic church, so it got a tad complicated.

Anyway.. This has been a long process (3 years now) waaay to long to even explain. So, needless to say, we've been anxious to get it taken care of. This was the last step, and it was sprung on us last minute, so we were a little upset. I really didn't want to do it.

Number 1) because it was just one more roadblock that they were putting in front of us. Number 2) I've never left Keaton more than like 3-4 hours. This class was held 2+ hours out of town and lasted from 9AM-4:30PM.

I was pretty nervous leaving him. I just kept thinking, "this will be some good bonding time for Ry and I".

So, we dropped Keaton off in the (more than prepared) hands of my parents at 5:30AM and headed out.

We talked the whole drive there and stopped for some breakfast before going in to the class.

My attitude? It was no bueno. Bad.

We get in there and there is a couple teaching it that have been married 20+ years with 4 kids.

At first, it was a little cheesy, which I expected.

As it went on, I got more and more into it.

It really started hitting me in all the right ways.

At some point in the afternoon, as Ryan and I were talking during a discussion question break, I just had this peace come over me.

We've always had a wonderful relationship. Sure, every couple has their issues. We are no different. We argue over the dumbest stuff. That's it. We have no big issues. Just petty junk sometimes. Well anyway, as with any couple, when you put two people together, you are bound to have different views and that can be rough.

During this question discussion, I was reminded just how perfect we are for each other. Seriously, it was like peace just melted around me. All the issues that you should talk about in marriage, but most people don't? We were discussing all those. And? I love this man. He is so amazing to me and for me.

Not that's there's any doubt in my mind anyway, but I think God gives you moments in life to really appreciate your marriage and how right your decision to marry was. This was one of those moments.

I know I take advantage of how caring and wonderful he is to me and I can be really difficult sometimes. I've really tried making an effort since we got back to turn that around. I think there's always room for improvement, no matter how perfect your marriage is.

This was exactly what we needed! God really knew what he was doing and boy, do I feel dumb :)

What a wonderful way to be reminded of how lucky we are and how worth it the work is!

And Keaton?

He was just fine! He had an absolute blast and came home with 3 inches of dirt on him, so you know he had fun!

Never forget to make marriage a priority, especially for those little ones, they depend on us parents!

Turn your head for a second..

2011-09-14T23:43:00.001-05:00

And this will happen:

(bridge of nose).

Poor baby :(

Ryan and I were doing some Fall cleaning and happened to be distracted in the kitchen when we hear Keaton's walker hit the ground and him crying.

We ran, scooped him up and nurse Daddy gave him a little checkup and announced that he was fine. Just a tiny bit of blood in his nose and what looked like the beginnings of a nasty bruise.

So, what did I do?

I did exactly what used to happen with me when I was a kid and got hurt.

I gave him his first sucker for being such a brave little boy and only crying for a minute.

Of course, it got all over both of us as I held him. That's ok though, you should have seen the smile on his face!

I should add that he's also been giving the best hugs lately! Geez, my little heart could just burst. He lays his head down and grasps around our shoulders, it's precious.

Angel :)

10 years..

2011-09-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

9/11.

Cannot believe it's already been 10 years..

It sure doesn't seem like that many. I remember those events so very clearly. How can it already have been a decade? I guess that has less to do with time passing too fast, and more to do with my getting older.

I was in my junior year of high school. I was in my first class of the day, consumer and business math. The husband of my teacher in that class (he also taught at our school) walked into our room and whispered something to her. She gasped and then turned to us and said, "A plane just hit the world trade center."

At that time, all of the TVs in our classrooms were turned on and we spent the morning glued to them.

Watching the smoke, more attacks unfold, and watching the collapse.

Horrific.

I was only 17, but, it hit hard. Watching it all live made it surreal.

I had never seen anything like it. The Oklahoma city bombing happened when I was in 4th grade, far too young to have watched everything on TV and really couldn't grasp the severity and devastation. This time, I knew what was happening.

My mom was about 6/7 ish months pregnant at the time.

My mom has always been in tune to what I might be upset about, or what things I might have trouble handling. Sometime that morning (can't remember what time), she showed up at my school. I remember walking toward her, crying. I may have been 17, but the things that went on were very hard to watch for anyone, let alone a carefree teen.

Later that afternoon, we interrupted our TV watching to hold a memorial service at school. Parents, church members, relatives, anyone who knew showed up. I think it gave everyone a little bit of comfort to be together, safe, and in prayer.

When I got home, we remained glued to the TV.

A few hours later, in an attempt to get away from the chaos on TV, I decided to go pickup my paycheck from work. I worked at a small grocery store chain in our city. I got there and the lines for gas were out.of.control. I got inside and the "staples" were gone. Water, bread, etc.

I guess it's hard to explain if you weren't old enough to remember, but everything that day (even weeks and months to come) was so unknown. That morning, things were happening every hour, 30 minutes, almost constantly. It was hard to know when and if it would stop. Where it would stop. Maybe that's why people were scrambling to grab necessities.

I grabbed two newspapers (special papers printed that night) and went home. I still have those papers and a People magazine from the event.

In the months after, the only positive thing to come out of those horrible attacks was the kindness and patriotism that people showed.

Even in my little old city, far from NYC, people were nicer. At work, customers I encountered showed their pride, flag stickers were handed out to place on cars, donations were taken, blood drives were held.

It was a sense of togetherness. Even a 17 year old could see it.

.........

In ten years, my life sure has changed. With school, career, meeting and marrying my husband, buying a home, and having our sweet boy, I guess it really can be possible that ten years have passed.

This year, as 9/11 rolled around, I did something I haven't done since.

I watched the specials, the TV shows, even the actual broadcast as it happened that day.

I don't normally watch them.

It's hard. No, I didn't have relatives there, no unique bond, just someone who gets a bit emotional reliving it.

A couple years ago, my husband and I bought the movie "World Trade Center". That was the first time I actually watched anything about it since it happened. It was very hard to watch. I guess because it was the one movie I've seen where I lived it.

I don't know why it seems personal for me..

Now, watching more footage, seeing more detail, it's scarier to me now than it was then.

As I watched, I thought to myself "How will I ever explain what happened to my kid??"

How can you really really explain it to where he understands, feels those events and emotions?

I don't think you can.

...........

Praying for the families and everyone that was affected. I'm sure it doesn't get easier, even with ten years.

*God Bless Them*

We Play

2011-09-07T00:33:00.001-05:00

So, the biggest perk of the "stay-at-home-mom gig"?

Is that we get to play 24/7.

Sure, there's the occasional day where I tackle laundry, cleaning, errands (I usually try to knock those out in a day so we can have our play days uninterrupted), but for the most part?

This mommy and baby play till our heart's content!

I swear, having a baby is a thousand times more fun than anyone ever told me!!!

Fabulous. Just Fabulous.

2011-09-05T13:40:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd show off my little ol' birthday present:

I am so super excited to start using it!

My husband spoils me rotten. I really don't deserve it, but I sure do love it :)

Now to get some thread and fabric..

Now for some much needed pictures of this little guy!

The night before his birthday, just one week ago.

Silly birthday boy on his special day, with Daddy.

Playing with one of his presents

"All these balloons? For me??!"

"Party decorations are so fun!"

Look who found some leftover party chocolate!

"This is my hiding spot!"

"Look at my awesome new pool!"

"Yum, I love pool toys"

"Chewing on drawstrings is fun too!"

"Mom, animal crackers! I want some!"

"Watch how fast I eat them!"

"Here mom, I'll show you how you do it"

"Eating string cheese in mom and dad's bed at 9:30pm, man, do I have mom and dad wrapped around my finger!"

Our silly boy. Loves to play in bed.

Why I shelter him.

2011-08-31T23:14:00.001-05:00

Over the past year, I've gone through so many ~~crazy hormones~~ legit emotions as a new mom.

Sometimes, I look back and yea, maybe I should've/could've done some stuff different.

One thing I'm very firm in, very confident in, is that I shelter my son.

Yep, there, I said it.

I'm a "helicopter mom" right now and you know what?

I think it's a good thing.

When it was just me, heck even when it was just me and the Mr., I really didn't think too much about the friends I had, family I had, behaviors, personalities, etc.

However, since I've become a mom? I've found myself ~~thousands~~ a few times thinking, my son will never know how this person treated him.

As in, when I feel he's getting the short end of the stick.

I'm an emotional gal, it's true.

I've been known to throw some fits, give the silent treatment, and generally, be a tad emotional.

Yea, I know, my husband's a lucky man ;-)

So anyway, as a mom, I feel myself wrapping my arms around him and closing his eyes when I see anything happening that I feel isn't fair to him or something he should even be involved in.

This is hard to write, because I know it's vague.

Not about one particular thing or person, it's something that has reared it's head many times since I've taken on this "mom role".

Just something I feel really strongly about.

No matter what, my son will
grow up knowing that his whole family loves him unconditionally and that they would do anything for him.

I'm sure there were "behind the scenes" issues within both my parents families as I was growing up, but I was never involved and never knew anything about it. I think that's the best way to do it.

Let kids be kids.

Let them know they are loved.

He's my baby, he's perfect and he's our entire world.

Our angel turns one!

2011-08-28T10:43:00.001-05:00

Keaton,

I knew this day would come, of course.

However, maybe, as a parent, you are never prepared.

You still feel like the little baby we brought home from the hospital.

That 5 lb, 15 oz little bundle of love and happiness.

The baby we fought over to change diapers and hold (ha!) and the baby we loved from the first second we found out we were pregnant.

I always knew I would have a boy.

I'm not sure what made me so confident, but I just knew.

I imagined how much fun having a little boy would be, but I just wasn't prepared for it!

We have such a blast with you, sweet boy. From running around the house with your walker, to the funny faces and noises you make, to your personality, which reflects both Mommy and Daddy's all the time!

You are very impatient (Mommy), you are very inquisitive (Daddy). You are loud (hmm.. Maybe both) at home and shy in public (Mommy).

You are the perfect combination, with plenty of your own personality thrown in!

Keaton, you've made Mommy & Daddy's lives so much more exciting and I can't imagine our lives without you!

You are our sweet angel baby, who loves to give kisses, stand at my legs, be held, play in our bed in the morning, who loves your sippy with water, your snacks, playing with Daddy when he comes home from work, giving us "the look", shaking your head "no", waving at everyone & just being the light of our lives.

The day you were born, I felt the most pain and love I have ever had my entire life. I'm so glad that God helped me work so hard to bring you into this world. You were worth it more than ten times over!

I am so very excited to see your personality develop more and watch you grow. You are already such a smart little boy.

We love you so very, very much, birthday boy!

Love, Mommy & Daddy

The ride of our lives..

2011-08-28T01:28:00.001-05:00

Literally.

Today, Ryan and I rode a ride here in our city called, "Hotter'n Hell".

Well, the name pretty much describes it, as it's hotter than hell here right now.

You might remember me mentioning this ride in a little post called "Keaton's birth story" about a year ago. Yep! It's the same ride he was born during last year!

Honestly?

We hadn't trained, like, at all what we should have.

I still wish I would've gotten to ride more this Summer, but with the heat starting so early in the morning and Keaton riding with me, it's just been way too difficult.

So, seeing as how I had barely ridden and Ryan works like, ummm, 95% of the time, so he's obviously not up for riding daily, I was a bit skeptical (mostly about myself) that I could ride the amount we signed up for, which was 50 miles.

Ryan has been pushing for me to agree to do the 100K, which was 63. I just kept telling him there was no way.

So, with Keaton's birthday being the day after the ride this year, I haven't had much time to think about the ride itself. Which means I couldn't get too nervous.

However, last night?

That all came crashing down.

I. Was. A. Wreck.

I could barely have a conversation with anyone because I was so concentrated on being nervous. When it came time to go to bed, I went early and ended up laying there for two and a half hours before falling asleep.

Yea, that was fun.

Just couldn't sleep. No matter what I did, my brain was wired.

Then, after I finally did fall asleep, Keaton is crying over the monitor like 2 1/2 hours later.

He ended up falling back asleep.

I, however, did not.

I laid in a dark, silent room for about 30 minutes before just throwing my hands up and going to the living room to watch TV.

Around 4:15 AM or so, after watching some "I Love Lucy", I finally fell asleep, only to be awoken at 5AM to get ready to leave.

We had to drop Keaton off about 20 minutes away, drive back, and get downtown to where the race would begin.

Once we got there, I tried to calm my nerves, but it just wasn't happening.

We got to the start line and after the gun went off, we stood there for about 15 minutes waiting for the thousands of people ahead of us to go.

The decision to do the 50 mile or turn off and do the 100K came up about 12 miles into our ride. At the last minute, I just decided to keep going and try.

The first 20 miles were rough for me, and I'm not sure why, because I've obviously ridden 20 miles before.

After that though?

I was on a high.

We hit this amazing stride and started averaging 15-20 mph. It was awesome.

We were able to talk, and do something really intense together, and that was pretty cool.

About 15 miles outside of the finish, we stopped and just looked in on Keaton. Our route took us right by my sister in law's house (which was who was watching him), so it was a quick stop in and out.

Photo-op at our stop:

He was with 4 of his cousins, and Aunt, so of course, he was perfectly content!

Next, was riding through our Air Force base.

That was where I got emotional.

Here we were, riding in a bike race, and here are these airmen, standing outside, giving us high fives as we rode by, cheering us on, clapping for us. I felt a little unworthy of it, but it was awesome.

As we got closer, I just kept pushing it, couldn't believe I was about to finish the most intense ride I never thought I could attempt!!

Crossing the finish line was (again) emotional, I just never thought I could do it and, well..

WE DID IT!

It was pretty awesome to have our baby boy waiting for us at the finish, too:

After getting some much needed sleep, and a motrin later, I'm doing a lot better! Bit of a sunburn (seriously, why forgets sunscreen on a 4-5 hour bike ride?!) but we are feeling good and VERY proud.

Now, on to celebrate the biggest birthday of the year!

Just Because.

2011-08-24T00:19:00.003-05:00

Ever feel sooooo incredibly tired that you can't sleep?

Yea, me neither.

So, I'm up at 12:30 AM (baby is sound asleep, boy, am I cra-zay) posting.

................

Horribly, massive headache that's been killing me for hours.

One of those ones where only sleep can truly cure it.

................

Also, have my third, yes THIRD replacement Iphone coming in the morning.

"What in the WORLD could possibly happen three times?" One might ask.

I'll stand by my statement that the first two were just faulty and the third? Well, since I've been training, oh so hard (wink, wink) for this bike ride on Saturday, I went on my last (probably) long ride a few days ago. I had ridden about 18 miles when I realized I was about out of water in my bottle and better fill up at the nearest fountain. I get to it and as I'm filling my bottle up, I'm thinking.. "This water would feel amazing poured over my head!"

Yes. That. Happened.

So...

As my music cuts out on my Ipod (in my phone), I look down and silently curse myself out.

Anyway, once I got home, I stuck it in a bowl of rice for awhile and let me tell you, going w/o a phone when you are a "no land-line" household, is pretty difficult. I had to communicate with the hubs like in the ancient times.

Over email and facebook.

Of course, when I turned it on, it was all wonky and kept going to voice control. The home button wouldn't work, so that resulted in my having to restart my phone everytime I wanted to go to a different app or text or call someone. Anyway, not fun.

Sent it off just crossing my fingers that they wouldn't notice that, you know, freaking gallon of water I poured in it.

Anyway, luck was on my side once again, I guess.

It was covered and my brand spanking new Iphone should be at my door around 10:30 AM tomorrow.

My year warranty is up in about 10 days, so you will have officially washed your hands of me Apple!

*I can hear them rejoicing now*

....................

Tomorrow's plans include watching my friend's son and doing a few more birthday preparations.

....................

Also wanted to add: my son learned to somersault today. HA! Totally with my help, but he tucks his head and puts his hands down and everything, it's freaking adorable!

....................

Off to bed, going to get rid of this headache and try to get some sleep since my baby is up at the crack of dawn now that we have this sleeping all night routine down.

Have a great Wednesday!

Blurby, blurb, blurb.

2011-08-22T00:24:00.001-05:00

So, for anyone wondering?

The whole crib sleeping thing is going AH-mazing!!

The very first night, he cried for about 15 minutes (mostly just whiny crying) and that was about all my poor heart could take! Then he head bobbed for a little bit and finally laid down.

I was so glad that it was (fairly) easy the first night but wasn't holding my breath. However, that whole week and up until now, I nurse him, he goes to sleep before I can even make it back down the stairs and sleeps the.whole.night.

People, that is monumental! He has never (well, maybe once?) slept through the night! Almost a year of waking up at least 2-3 times a night and we are finally getting some quality sleep!

The best part?

When he wakes, it's usually around 6 or so, so I bring him into our bed and he and I cuddle and nap for a couple more hours :)

I like to call it the best of both worlds.

................

We also got the front top two teeth in! What a process that was.. But it's done and it's pretty cute!

................

We are in the home stretch with party planning. Less than one week!

I realized a few days ago that in my quest to have everything "perfect", I was trying to find time away from Keaton to finish my projects.

Well, how silly is that?? It's his birthday!

He doesn't care if he has the perfect monogrammed banner, the perfect felt/ribbon birthday hat, the perfect 6 color pretzel molds, etc.

So, I'm surrendering.

My little angel's birthday will be perfect.

Because he's in our lives and it's been the best year imaginable. We'll celebrate the first year of his life with some cake, family, and his two most favorite people in the world: Daddy and Mommy, of course!

...............

We've also been training for a bike race in the midst of birthday planning. Remember, the one Keaton was born during last year?

Well, this year I'm not pregnant or in labor, so we are doing it!

50 miles (maybe 60ish), depending on how we feel.. I've been trying to train as much as possible. With these ridiculous 100+ temps from about 11am-10pm though.. It's a bit challenging.

Hopefully we can do it.. Pray for us!

...........

Also, I've been having the weirdest tension in my jaw lately. It just feels sooo tight and I have no clue why?? I keep trying to pop it and massage it, but nothing is working and it's so frustrating...

..............

I guess that's about all that's happening.

Just doing some last minute birthday stuff this week.

Hope everyone has a great one!

Not Enough Time...

2011-08-18T18:29:00.002-05:00

"There's no time!"

"There's never any time!"

"There's no time to wash my hair, I don't know what to wear"

**Bonus points if you can name where that line comes from.

**Double bonus (or embarrassment) if you own the seasons.. I do..

Moving on..

This is the theme of my life lately, it seems.

Let me tell you a story about a girl.

This girl was young, decent looking (if I do say so myself :) and had THE life. You know, go out with friends, had fun, slept in until noon if her little heart desired. Pretty much, the life of any young person.

Girl meets Boy.

Girl nags him until he proposes.

Joking. Kinda.

Boy and girl move into their dream home, feeling that life can not get better than this.

Boy and girl vacation, visit family, friends, spend time alone, being selfish.

Girl dreams of having baby.

Boy says no, not yet.

Girl nags (again..sensing a theme??) for a baby.

"Honey", she says, "I'll never want another thing as long as I live!"

Boy relents.

Nine months (to the date, how good are we?! ;-) and almost one year later, girl is busy chasing baby around the house. Trying to find two spare seconds while not attempting to shower, eat, sleep, or workout.. To BLOG! Yea, that old pastime she used to do daily.

So, here I am, with a free moment. Baby is busy knocking things off shelves and chewing on the computer mouse I gave as a distraction.

And?

I can't think of a thing to blog about.

I want to write about our daily happenings. But by the time I make it to the computer/phone to put my thoughts down, I've forgotten what they were!

I guess that's the way it is with a baby though.

No time to really unwind.

You're always "on".

That's just fine with me though.

My baby is one of the best things to ever happen to me (my husband shares this spot now :) !!

Maybe someday I'll make it back into the 'blog world' daily again.

For now though, I'm busy being Keaton's mommy :)

**Oh and that show? Saved By The Bell.
One of the best shows ever! That episode? One of the most hilarious episodes ever!

Calling all parents!!

2011-08-08T23:55:00.001-05:00

Help is needed.

This mommy needs some help.

Remember way back when... I said that my sweet little guy would sleep in mommy and daddy's bed forever?!

Um. Yea. Can I take that back please?

Yea, "Family Bed", not for us.

I think it's wonderful, seriously! This was an awesome thing to do for 11 months. And when baby #2 comes along? They will be right in our bed for awhile, too.

Until then?

Mommy is ready to have her bed back.

The problem?

It's just not that simple..

We were actually on a good run. I had setup his crib all nice, comfy & lowered (since he hasn't ever slept in there) and I started having him nap up there just to get used to it. We had done a few naps where I just laid him down after he fell asleep nursing and he slept for quite awhile.

Yay me! We did it, easy as pie!

Wow, seriously, I was naive..

Then came the weekend. Ry and I got sick, so I obviously wasn't marching up two flights of stairs to keep it going.

Then Keaton got sick and well, yea, he stayed in our bed even longer.

So, yesterday, trying to go back to where we left off, I laid him down in his crib to nap.

Immediately opens eyes, on all fours, screaming.

What the..

Okaaay... Fluke, yea, just a fluke.

Tried to lay him in pack'n play in our room thinking he'd feel better in there.

Freaking eyes open wide as can be, all fours, WIDE FREAKING AWAKE, screaming, of course.

What in the world?!

So, since then, I've tried numerous times and he will not do it.

No matter how long I sit, making sure he's "sound asleep", still manages to know exactly what I'm attempting to do.

So?

Here I am.. Sitting in our (husband and I- NOT us and five kids) bed. Wondering how in the WORLD to do this.

I am SO out of my element.

Thought I'd wanna have my baby sleep in our bed for years.. So I never started out doing anything other than just that.

I'm in need of some major help.

My only stipulation with advice is?

~~Cannot~~ Will not do "cry it out".

So, other than that, pleeeease throw out some advice! Keeping in mind that he's 11 months, so we're kinda past the swaddling, paci (won't take one) stage.

One other thing, we are still nursing a few times at night when he wakes up, which I would like to cut down to once, if possible, but if I can at least get him in his room, I'll deal!

What worked for you guys??

Time for ME.

2011-08-03T15:07:00.003-05:00

Today has been one of the most trying days in a long time.

That's a lie.

This week, has been one of the most trying weeks in a long, long time.

This is really hard for me to write.

It may sound silly to some.. Because it seems simple, happens to everyone!.. But for some reason, I feel like this is such a deep, personal issue for me.

GUILT.

I've posted this before, I'm sure. So, please, if this is annoying, click the "x" at the top right.

I just have to get this out. Blogging has always been a good outlet for me, so here I go.

I'll start from the beginning.

When Keaton was born, I was planning to return to being a realtor. At this job, I could bring him with me, stay at home, etc. It was essentially the perfect job.

However? 6 months in, I realized that the amount of guilt I felt leaving him (the rare time I would have to) or going into my office (maybe once a week) coupled with the fact that I was putting in minimal effort, led us to the decision that I should quit my job and stay home full-time.

Enter: guilt from not contributing financially.

When Keaton was about two months old or younger, he went through this "witching hour" phase where he would cry from about 7-10 or so. NOTHING could soothe him. Talk about driving you to the looney bin. It was a doozey. It was really rough. Ryan was attempting to make it through a season of flag football at the time, so I ended up taking him home a few times crying, just wanting to do something outside the house.

Wife guilt for not being there.

I attempted to do a cake decorating class at that time as well. That ended up a big fail as well. Try decorating cakes while holding a crying baby in a sling and trying to not annoy everyone else that had paid for the class.

We made it through two of the 6 classes.

Mom guilt for being selfish.

Ryan and I have had maybe 3 date nights in the (almost) year since Keaton was born.

Why?

GUILT. Every time I leave him, I feel it. I know we need time alone, I know it's good for us. But, on the other hand, we are adults. We can handle some time away from him, he's a baby. Can he?? Is it fair to him?

I can count on my hand the number of times Keaton has been teething so far.

That doesn't mean it hasn't been brutal.

Truly brutal.

There were some nights where I just cried because no matter what I did, nothing seemed to soothe him.

In turn?

Nothing soothed me.

Yet, so far, only two teeth have come in. Thus making it truly frustrating.

Enter: anger at myself for getting frustrated.

I mean, he's a baby, he's supposed to cry. I know it's natural, I get it.

It's just hard for me to hear.

I feel like other moms do it better. They don't get frustrated. They don't blog about the time they just had to set the baby in the crib to cry because they just had to walk away for a minute and gather some sanity.

I've done it. Most recently today. And, it's very emotional.

I feel guilty for putting him down. I mean, he just wants to be held when he doesn't feel good. That's perfectly understandable! Sometimes? I just can't do it. I gotta just "be" for a second.

I don't take those moments enough.

As a stay at home mom, whose husband normally works 17 hours days, I am
with Keaton 24/7. I am so lucky. I want to make sure I state that. I am so glad I can stay home. There's nowhere I'd rather be!

Along with being there 24/7 though, is the fact that I'm usually the only one who he wants to be held by when he's upset or put to sleep by. Obviously, because we nurse, that's a factor too. I don't resent my husband for the fact that I'm usually the one up at night, in the morning and all day with Keaton.

That's not to say I don't have my days where I just need a break.

But?

I don't take it.

GUILT.

Today, I realized after hours of on/off whining, letting the husband sleep in while I hadn't had much sleep myself, sobbing on the couch, that I need some time.

Time to just be me.

Be Amy.

Not mom, not wife, not diaper changer, human burp-cloth, NOTHING.

Just an hour or so every couple days to scrapbook uninterrupted, workout, have a drink while reading a book, take a bath, walk around Target.

Some time to make me human again. A less frustrated, frazzled and moody version of myself.

In order for me to be a better mom and wife, I have to take this time.

I have to be selfish.

There's nothing wrong with being a giver, with being a SAHM. However, I believe everyone needs a little "me" time. How much and when is a personal decision. I just think it's important.

For a long time, I had this illusion that I would be "that" mom. The one who didn't need that indulgent time. Who lived only for her child and husband and never needed to be away from them for a second. I thought that those couples who needed their own rooms in their home to do whatever they pleased were selfish. Why would you want to be away from your spouse? I thought those moms that went to the gym alone, got massages, etc were just not connected with their child like I would be.

Like they say, you're always a better parent before you have kids than after.

Because that's the thing, we all have our needs. Maybe it's that manicure, that massage, that 30 minute run, whatever.

That's what I wish someone would've told me when I had a brand new baby.

You are not a bad mom because you want to just drive to the nearest Starbucks and have a coffee for 20 minutes alone, with no crying.

If that's what keeps your sanity, do it.

Take those moments and enjoy them.

Because, there is nothing better for a baby than a sane mommy :o)

*I am turning off comments on this one. As supportive as I know some readers are, I also know some can be vicious. I'm feeling particularly vulnerable today and really just can't handle anymore emotions. Hopefully, I've helped someone else or at least gotten some relief of my own. Thank you for listening to me ramble ;-)

I'm a nerd.

2011-07-31T00:40:00.001-05:00

That still remembers things like this from elementary school:

Preposition Song (sung to "Yankee Doodle")

Above about across after along among around at.

Before beside between against within without beneath through.

During under in into over off to toward.

Up on near for from except by with behind below down.

*I was singing this a thousand times today in my head. Had to get it out somehow*

These?

2011-07-29T23:17:00.001-05:00

Are the days of our lives..

Causing havoc.

Baby-proofing our lives away.

Dances with my niece.

Dancing with my sweet boy :o)

Mastering the walker.

Making mommy's day more bearable.

Searching for toys at 11 PM.

Discovering the art of bubbles.

Lounging in bed till 9am.

Eating spaghetti for the first time.

Nap time cuddles.

Playing with cousins.

First taste of Mexican food.

*Phew*!! My busy boy is tired!

11 months (and 1 day) ago..

2011-07-29T23:06:00.001-05:00

I met this little guy:

My sweet, gentle, high energy, little boy.

He is my little buddy.

We spend practically every second together!

Couldn't imagine my life without him..

11 months and one day ago, I was dying of pain, just wishing he would hurry it up.

And?

2 1/2 weeks early, my little guy made his appearance right at the exact moment his daddy was supposed to be riding in a bike race.

Takes after his momma.

Likes to steal the spotlight ;-)

I love being his mommy!

Random..

2011-07-22T10:24:00.001-05:00

Just some random thoughts that went through my head this week.

Yes, I wrote them down because I wanted something to blog about and I knew I'd forget..

1) The temps have been soaring lately, like 110+ degrees. Yet, I still have to have my blanket when I sit on the couch.

I know.

My only defense is that it's 75 degrees inside. Is that a defense? Oh well.. I'm crazy, I know.

2) I am so not a heel person. As in, the shoes. I've tried. It just doesn't work. I wear them sometimes, I have lots actually. When I used to work outside the home, I would wear them to work and then have either a pair of flip flops or slippers at work that I would wear while at my desk.

No lie.

The office made fun of me.

I just cannot wear them for long periods of time.

And? If I do wear them, they have to be ones with a strap over my foot. If not? They slip off and I look so awkward. Like a twelve year old trying to wear mom's heels awkward.

3) I am so uber paranoid about what Keaton eats.

Honestly?

It's annoying to me. I try to stop myself, but I can't. Like, if someone gives him a crumb of a chip or dessert or something?

I flip.

In my head, at least.

I just don't like it. It irritates me. Sometimes.. I think people do it because they know it annoys me, hmmm..

4) Speaking of food.. Keaton tried dried apple slices the other day and loved them.

I'm thinking we need to buy a dehydrator now...

5) Speaking of buying.. I am
such a sucker for buying things. Little things really.

Seriously, it's bad.

Not like, "$20,000 in debt shopoholic" bad (because I have an amazingly frugal and wonderful with money and savings husband. No debt, just like to spend hubby's paycheck!

Actually, we are better off than probably 3/4 of people our age.

Despite my tendencies, however..

In any event, we like to joke about it and I'm providing humor in our marriage, so I think it's something I should continue. ;-)

6) I'm realizing so many things I want to do differently or so many things I want to have for my second child. Not that we did a bad job the first time around. Actually, he's turned out pretty well so far! Just things I've realized and things I wish I would've either spoken up about or things that would've made my life easier.

Live and learn. It's my new motto.

7) I cannot wait until Keaton is old enough to be able to cook/bake with me. I know to some people it can be annoying or time consuming when kids help. However, I'm not really that good, or an expert, so it can't really mess anything up. I just enjoy doing stuff in the kitchen and it'll be fun when I can put a mini apron and chef hat (yes, I've already found one) on him and he can be my "helper". I think about things like that.

So?

That's it. That's what's been on my mind this week. I'll leave you with some pictures..

Already helping mommy "cook"

Noodles + sauce = MESS!

Love tomatoes already!

Chubby baby legs are the cutest.

Further proof that I'm disorganized

2011-07-18T01:25:00.002-05:00

I have gotten several ~~demands~~ suggestions from certain people that I post more often :)

So?

Here I am.

I'm making no guarantees that I can cram everything in, nor will it be organized. However, I promised I would be better.. So here we go..

Last week, we held bachelor/bachelorette parties for my brother and his fiancée. Separate places of course. These guys (not girls) are not the "couple bachelor/bachelorette" parties types.

I think these pictures describe the parties perfectly:

This is one of my brothers & my hubby. The boys went to camp and float the Guadalupe for a few days.*ahem*noalcoholconsumed*ahem*

And then, we have this party:

Yes, that is the out.of.control bachelorette party you are seeing.

And yes, I am that mom that brings a basket of toys. Somehow that was funny to everyone there? :)

The girls all rented a hotel room and had pizza, snacks, desserts, swam, watched movies, held babies ::squeal:: and just chatted, as girls do!

We had a fabulous
time and I know the guys did too.

Keaton slept pretty well there, here's my proof:

My child sleeps very well, just like his momma :)

I was kinda worried that his 'up five times a night while teething' routine would bother the other girls, but they seemed to sleep ok.

Since Daddy was gone for a few days, we tried to keep ourselves busy.

What did we do?

Sent Daddy lots of silly texts.

Like this one:

And this one:

Visited our waterpark:

Cooked up three meals a day, of course!

Played only with "safe toys". Nothing that could be a hazard:

Lots of silliness in general:

Daddy coming home was ~~calming~~ refreshing, because I ~~sorta was in a funk~~ just partied too hard while he was gone ;-)

Adding to my happiness, Ryan suggested we go see a band play the other night at the ~~bar~~ church we met at. I was so excited to get a date out! We were only gone a couple hours, but it sure was nice!

I told him that this happens so infrequently (like, our third date since baby, I know) that I have to document.

On Thursday at midnight I went to see the last Harry Potter movie (tear!) with two of my sisters.

It was very bittersweet. We grew up reading the books and watching the movies. We used to get the books when they released and read them in like two days (we're all big readers) and just basically obsessed over anything HP. It really was sad to know there wouldn't be any more midnight movie showings!

Aside from that, the movie was awesome!! We loved it and it stayed very close to the book, which I always breathe a sigh of relief about.

Today, we took a short roadtrip to Plano. We had a appt, then went to eat and shop a bit. It was nice to get out, even just for the day. Plus, it sure does wear babies out :-)

So, yea, that's kinda a summary of the past couple weeks.

Wanna see my favorite picture this week?

Precious, angel, baby hands!

I love those sweet hands. I kiss them constantly. I'm so afraid I don't document stuff that I'll regret, so I'm trying to get better. Hence, the hand picture.

Well, things will only get crazier with last minute wedding stuff this week and my brothers wedding this weekend, so, hopefully I can get it together and post more.

::crossing fingers::

Happy Monday!

My new ride!

2011-07-01T22:45:00.001-05:00

One step closer to "soccer mom" status:

Yesterday I purchased the third car of my life..

A Navigator!

*yes, that is my hubby in the bottom left, I'm not very good at taking pictures, but this car looks amazing no matter what!

It's gold/tan and so big!! It's the "mom car" I've always dreamed of!

I've got DVD player, automatic everything, heated/cooled seats, a third row, and tons more!

All I want to do is go drive it :o)

Baby Language

2011-06-27T01:02:00.001-05:00

Because most of my conversations throughout the day are with a 10 month old baby (who, mind you, cannot respond), I'll catch myself speaking and just laugh to myself.

Why?

Well, sometimes, when you have a baby, your voice suddenly reverts back about 20+ years.

Don't know what I'm talking about?

Some examples of the highly intelligent conversation that goes on around this house:

Sidenote- imagine all this said in baby voice. Yes, we do baby voice.

"Keaton, did you poopy in your diapey for mommy/daddy?!"

"Oh, that's a no-no. No touchy."

"That's yucky/stinky/hot!"

"Keaton, do you wanna take bathies with mommy?"

"Let's go nigh-nigh!"

"No chewy on flip-flops, yucky, yucky!" (gross, I know)

"You wanna get bites? Do you want cheesy/muffin/puffies/snackies?"

"Get the sippy!"

"Someone needs a nappy. Is someone cranky pants? Yes, they are!"

"Oh, what a big boy! Keaton is such a big boy, yes, he is!"

"Is someone stinky pants?"

....

Yes, I think you get the idea.

So before you go thinking that you are some sort of "different parent" and will never speak baby talk to you your child (the horror), mark my words:

Never.Say.Never.

Meet the new addition!

2011-06-22T17:04:00.001-05:00

Our sweet niece was born this morning at 8:30 AM.

Introducing:

Elizabeth (as yet unnamed middle name) McCartney.

5 lb. 12 oz. 18.5 inches long.

Her mommy and daddy barely made it in the hospital before she started pushing!

First family picture:

My first time holding sweet Elizabeth!

Her Uncle Ryan taking his turn. We both said we want another while holding her, haha.

Keaton ready to see his new cousin!

The best picture ever.. Big sister Emma was not too thrilled, as evidenced here..

What a perfect baby :o)

Turn, Turn, Turn

2011-06-15T00:30:00.001-05:00

Look at these adorable photos we had done! Isn't he just presh?! Love my sweet angel.. :o)

I love baking for him. It's getting more and more fun the more things ~~I allow him~~ he's able to have.

I made him some banana muffins the other day and he loved them!

Not only did he love them, Daddy has had a few ~~hundred~~ too.

I secretly want to be "that mom" someday that bakes all the goodies and is in charge of class stuff. Can't wait!

For some reason, he is obsessed with this toy right now. He sits on it and I push him around. He squeals, kicks his legs and has a vice grip on that handlebar!

Not only is he pushing this toy around, he gets anything he can find and just pushes it across the room while crawling or walking.

He's learning so many new things all the time!

We visited Daddy at work the other day and he waved "hi" and "bye" to everyone! Such a little ham!

He loves the attention, even though he buries his smiling face anytime anyone talks to him. It's SO cute!

He loves to scream with happiness and blabs "Da-da" and "Ma-ma all the time!

Everywhere we go we get compliments on his eyelashes! So beautiful and long!

I lent some newborn clothes to my sister the other day.

She's due any day now with her second baby.

Going through those clothes was really emotional...

Sometimes I feel like I'm just too hormonal, but it really is hard. It just doesn't feel like he should be this old! Time is flying by too fast! I am cherishing every.single.moment. It's SO exciting seeing him develop, learn new things, get bigger, be so proud of himself, and getting the most unique personality.

But?

It's emotional.

Because he was just that sweet, 5 pound baby in my arms.

Why does time have to rush so fast?

I feel like he will be in college tomorrow..

Lord help me (or my husband for dealing with me) when that happens :-/

My Brain Hurts.

2011-06-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

Yep, it does.

I have no clue why, could be the enormous amount of junk going through it right now.

Just random thoughts, nothing major.

I'm one of those people who make lists in their heads. You know the ones. They fail to remember anything and usually have a million post-it notes lying around everywhere.

That was actually me before I got my iPhone. Did it ever annoy my husband! I like to think that he feels my disorganization is one of my endearing qualities (but he doesn't.)

Now, I use those notes in my phone like cra-zay.

Speaking of my phone, had another issue and sent it in because I'm still under warranty. This means I'm stuck with the 3G phone right now and have no video capabilities :(

However, this means I randomly was able to go through my old texts on this phone along with some pictures and of course, it ended up making me weepy and baby crazy (umm, what doesn't?!).

This is my sweet niece Emma. This was taken a few days before I had Keaton. My great uncle had passed away and my sister (who, by the way is due any day now with her second!!), Emma, and I met up for breakfast before his service.

I was contracting through the whole thing. Horrid.

I sent this pic to my hubby a few days before I had Keaton. I think I was showing him how misshapen my tummy was. I miss that!

First picture of him taken on my phone. My precious boy.

My sweet sister complying by not breathing on him while she had a cold.
*benefits of hubs being a nurse- endless supply of ~~crap~~ stuff like this.

Ahhh!! I miss wrinkly baby!!

Daddy kisses :o)

Ok, this outfit was preemie and swimming on him! My tiny 5 pounder! *tear*

Threw this in for fun. This is my 9 YO brother as a baby. My mom sent me that right after I had Keaton. Can you say TWINS?!

Ok, now that I'm officially craving babies MAD.. I'm retiring for the night.

Pray that my sanity returns tomorrow :)

The perfect mixture.

2011-06-07T08:37:00.001-05:00

My hubby and I like to joke about certain traits that Keaton takes after both of us...

He says that Keaton sleeps in crazy positions and flails all over the place like me..

But I think his crazy bedhead (taken after his Daddy) trumps that!

He's a mess. A cute one though :)

2011-06-07T08:23:00.001-05:00

Hi Mommy, look what I found!

I pulled out a whole roll! Aren't you proud of me?!

Mommy, I do NOT want to take a picture!

Watch me pose!

Mmmm. Cheerios are yummy.

They are fun to kick you legs in.

Want some?

Eating.. Always. At the waterpark!

I love my Mommy.

Daddy helping me turn while I push my walker everywhere!

SO proud of myself!

Be calm & breathe (repeat..repeat..)

2011-06-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

I am in the midst of chaos.

That's putting it lightly..

For the past few days, Keaton has been teething.

This equals more crying and whining than imaginable, wanting to be held 24/7, and just general unpleasantness.

That itself?

Stressful.

Add to that fact that I've been working on a few things for a bridal shower for my soon to be wonderful sister in law.

So picture this:

I wake up at 6 AM after who know how many wakeups in the middle of the night *I seriously don't even remember waking up most of the time. kinda terrifying*

I put the baby in his crib in our room to finish sleeping.

Proceed to get some decaf coffee (really, I don't know why I feel like I get a jolt from it, but I do).

Start process of making apple/cheddar turnovers for shower.

Had tested this recipe a day prior just to make sure it would go smooth (because that stuff always happens to me last minute) and whaddya know.

Turnover fail.

Stuck to pan and will.not.come.off.

In the middle of that, baby wakes up. As I'm baking, he is crying and whining at my feet, begging for me to hold him and it's just breaking my heart.

My process was hold, put down, check oven, pick up.

I realize that these turnovers aren't gonna cut it and speed to shower to get both of us ready to get to the store ahead of time to find something. Anything.

In the shower and Keaton is still crying (in shower) to be held, poor baby..

Trust me, all I want to do is hold him, heck I get antsy when he naps too long. I just love having him in my arms. But on a day where things have to get done? It can be frustrating. However, I get what it's like to feel yuck and just want someone to hug you and love on you.

Anyway, I finally get cleaned up, legs half shaved, and get a chance to nurse him. This finally puts him to sleep and I lay him down.

Seriously just want to cuddle him right them.

I realize that planning to straighten my hair would just be asking for him to wakeup.

So I go with the "messy, bed head, wavy look". Which, I'll have you know that two people actually complimented me on, go figure!

Ok.. Now to my point.

In the midst of all the craziness, stressing about freaking turnovers of all things, I realize, way the heck I'm thinking?!

This is the perfect message for a card for the new bride and groom.

Life is stressful. There's times when you wanna rip your hair out. You wanna scream and think everyone will just focus on that store bought treat because you promised homemade and can't deliver. Your baby is gonna scream and cry and beg for your comfort and sometimes you'll just want two seconds of silence. You know what I did when I found myself flipping.the.crap.out?

I stopped, picked up that sweet baby, loved on him, decided the hair, clothes and makeup really didn't matter. Decided I would bring the first goody I laid eyes on at the store, decided I would put on the first thing that I picked up and let my hair "fix" itself. I ran through my head how incredibly lucky.. *ahem* BLESSED I am and said a couple prayers for that.

I mean, could I write a card any better? That's life, and it can really kick your butt if you let it.

Today?

I chose to kick life's butt and just let everything BE.

Victory of mine for the day!

Oh and that card?

Yea.. It remains firmly "written" in my head.

I was too busy holding my sweet boy :o)

The goodies?

Well, the leftovers are sitting on my counter right now.

And one in my hand.

Who doesn't love store bought mini cinnamon rolls??

Very Tired..

2011-05-30T21:57:00.001-05:00

Why?

Well, guess what we've been up to..

Keaton and his grandparents

My brother

We LOVE the water!

Grandma again.

Yep, you guessed it, we've been swimming our booties off!!

My parents got Keaton and I season passes to our water park so that we will have stuff to do while the hubs is working. Oh yes and maybe for the little thing called "grandparent time"..

Plus, my cousin moved to a house with a pool and we've be frequenting that as well!

What an awesome start to our Summer!!

The only thing missing?

Daddy..

Guess someone's gotta pay the bills!

Brain Spillage

2011-05-28T01:27:00.001-05:00

I can't sleep.

When I can't sleep, my mind wanders to everything.

Need proof?

First birthday plans. They need to be made.

First birthday pictures.

Decorations.. Cake.. Games.. Outfit.. Food.. Desserts..

The fact that I'm slacking on my letters to Keaton. It makes me feel so guilty. Sometimes I write in them that I'm usually so busy playing with him that I just don't get a chance. Maybe he will understand why some months there is only one.

When I see other babies doing certain things and it makes me wonder if I'm stimulating his brain enough. Am I doing enough? Do I pay enough attention to him?

The fact that I really need to start his scrapbook. I have pictures, stickers, embellishments, punches, etc. I know it needs to be done. It's just hard to sit down and do it.

The fact that sometimes I'm so tired from the day or human interaction that when my hubby comes home, I'm ready to relax and watch some TV or take a bath. ALONE. However, as a parent and a wife, my priorities are my husband and baby first, luxurious time for myself, second. This makes me feel guilty too. My husband works soo-ooo-ooo incredibly hard for us. He's so unbelievably understanding of my shopping habits. He even takes the baby for me while I take a bath or just chill. And then I go and do something selfish like complain. Arrgg..

A second baby. Everyday it's a different thought. "I want one today, no, not for a year or so, never mind, today is good".. You get the idea.. Would I be able to give the baby the same attention Keaton got as the first? Would Keaton get the same attention as now? Is it selfish to want another baby while my baby is still a baby (in my eyes)??

I'm a mom. I love being a mom. What else am I? Cook? No. Scrapbooker? Sometimes. Housekeeper? Ehhh...

I don't have a career anymore. Trust me, I LOVE being a mommy and wife more than life itself. But have you ever wondered, aside from those things, what do you provide to the world? I don't mean that as a depressing thought or cutting myself down. It's an honest question. I'm not sure what else I'm providing. Maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit or maybe I need to get more involved in things.

Guilt.

So.much.guilt.

It's constant, really.

The thing is, I don't know if it's warranted or not.

I'm just a guilty person I guess. Too many things to even go into and they aren't serious, just so jumbled and hard to explain. Maybe it's a woman thing?

Sometimes I feel like I've got this mom/wife/life thing ALL figured out.

But then?

I realize I'm just like everyone else.. Just trying to do my best.

Our morning..

2011-05-23T11:20:00.001-05:00

Tug at my heart..

2011-05-20T01:33:00.001-05:00

I was on iTunes just a bit ago and came across the song:

"In my life" - The Beatles

This song holds very special meaning to me.

Ever since I was way little, my dad and I shared a special bond over the love of old rock/folk/pop songs. Something about that music just clicked with me.

When all my friends were (probably) listening to Britney Spears, Usher, 'Nsync, etc, I was mostly listening the The Beatles, Neil Young, the Allman Brothers Band, Bob Dylan, The Who, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the list could go on and on..

Not only did I love the music, I loved that era. The 60's and 70's. I would spend hours at the library reading books on it and just soaking in every event or person I read about. I would casually drop a subject in conversation with my dad and off he would go. I loved hearing his stories and his take on everything.

I guess it was just something we bonded over and could talk about forever and never get tired!

I've always been a Daddy's girl.

I was way too much like my mom from the beginning :) I have her looks, her fierce opinions, her emotions (oh lord..), we always clashed because of that. Pretty normal mother/daughter tiffs, but still.. I always ran to Daddy when my mom upset me. Although, behind closed doors, they probably were both frustrated with me, my dad would hug me and just tell me he would talk to her. He was my guy.

Then, along came my husband and he became that guy in my life. Boy, did he swoop in and steal me away! I was head-over-heels!

So, at my wedding reception, I knew our Father/Daughter dance would be an emotional one. I mean, I am the one whose tears can rival Niagra Falls..easily.

The song was a big deal to me.

I wanted something that represented our relationship. Going through all my old music, this song stuck out. I knew when I listened to it again, it was the one.

So, at our reception, with tears rolling down my face (I'm not sure about my Dad's, couldn't bear to look), and my hands clinging to him, I danced with the first love of my life.

To this song.

Hearing it again is making me well up.

I told you, I could fill an ocean people, seriously!

Just thought I would share that special memory.

Mish-Mash

2011-05-18T02:22:00.001-05:00

Don't even know what to title this.. So I won't. Just some cute pictures of our week.

I'm an expert at standing and walking with my toys!

Waiting patiently for food!

Peek-A-Boo!

Wanting to be outside..

A nice treat for mommy!

Flying!

"Helping" mom take pictures while she should be doing situps.

Finding the stairs!

Bathtime! Our favorite time!

Baby Food Coma

2011-05-18T02:08:00.001-05:00

I spent yesterday looking through recipes, looking for ingredients, steaming, chopping, blending, and freezing baby food!

I've never done that much! Don't get me wrong, Keaton doesn't get three "meals" (which consists of a couple cubes of whatever I've cooked up) a day of food, far from it. We are still nursing all the time.

He usually has one "meal" (at most two) and snacks all through the day of veggies puffs, yogurt bites, frozen fruit in the net feeder or cheerios.

Since he ran out of frozen food the other day, I decided to bite the bullet and make a ton of stuff- a ton to us at least.

I have a couple recipe books, but I normally do my own variations according to what I have on hand, do/don't want him to have or whatever the case. Books are a good basis though. I also use a few different websites for reference.

My "go to's" have always been sweet potato and applesauce. For some reason ~~laziness~~, I've always (like it's been so long, ha!) stuck with both of those. They are very simple. I peel skins off most everything, cube, steam, blend and season, then freeze.

This time. I wanted to try some new stuff. What can I say, I was bored!

First, I chopped sweet potato into sticks, dabbed a little olive oil onto them (very light!), sprinkled with cinnamon (also my "go-to"), and then covered in crushed cheerios. I had steamed the sticks for about five minutes before I decided to bake, accident! Just bake them! I put them in the oven for about 10 minutes, pulled out and they were in that crispy/mushy stage, which is perfect since he only has two teeth.

He loved them!

I whipped up more sweet potato and apple, steamed and blended fairly well (very small, mushy lumps), and mixed both together with cinnamon. Sooo good!!!

I then decided to buck the curse of inevitable "baby diarrhea" and whipped up some black bean/corn/shredded chicken.

Let me tell you.. That was the best recipe out of the bunch! Very good!

The diaper? notsomuch...

Moving on...

What baby could live without dessert??

Berry/fruit/yogurt blend. Yummy!!

Obviously, I freeze everything in ice trays and then put in either Tupperware or gallon freezer bags. It's so easy to just pull a couple cubes out, heat up/thaw and serve!

I'm sure not everyone wants to read this type of stuff, but maybe it can be useful to someone. It's so easy to do! I just enjoy taking my time, but you could easily simplify foods and save more time.

Much cheaper too, which = a very happy husband. Trust me ;-)

Battered and Bruised

2011-05-10T13:20:00.001-05:00

From my child!

My sweet, gentle, giggly, kind, 8 month old is beating me!

Kinda embarrassing..

But it really hurts.

Before I scare someone into thinking that I have a little "hell child", I'll reassure you that (apparently) this is normal.

My child batters me while he nurses. When he fights sleep, (or maybe he's just passing the time?) he jerks on my necklaces, yanks them away from my neck, pulls my hair, slaps my chest, basically anything that's in his path.

I looked this up. 'Cause let me reiterate that it.hurts.

This is normal and now I feel kinda like a baby (heh-heh) because every other mom that commented on this said how cute it was that they "caressed" them! What the..

Maybe I do have the devil child.

I kid, I kid..

Why I love occasions..

2011-05-07T11:58:00.001-05:00

Because I get beautiful arrangements like this:

My favorite flowers, from my favorite guys.

I am so lucky (cue cheesy music) to be a mom! I am so lucky to have the most incredible husband in the world! Being a mom has been the best, most rewarding, happiest time in my life! We are so blessed to have the world's cutest baby and I am going to cuddle, hug, kiss, and love on him ALL day tomorrow!

Ok, cheesy novel over.

Just wanted to point out a little obsession I have going. With my arrangement today, I received this beautiful (hand-picked separately by my husband I might add) vase:

I have an obsession with vases.

I also have an obsession with flowers.

Luckily, my hubby indulges that for me quite often.

Ex. 1:

Valentines Day- 2008. I love this vase and it was perfect for Vday! My hubby arranged the roses himself, which made it even better!

Ex. 2:

My Birthday/Engagement Day- 2008. One of the happiest days of my life! Gorgeous vase to match = perfection!

OMG, husband will kill me, can't remember what occasion this was for.. But I love it!

So the new one will go right in here:

No clue where.. As there isn't much room left!

..and I have a number more, but I won't bore you with details. :)

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommies (new and old!) out there!

Google Win

2011-05-04T14:34:00.004-05:00

I love this commercial.

It was featured during commercial in an episode of Glee and it is just perfect.

If you have a minute, go to their site (itgetsbetterproject.org), it is really neat.

There aren't many that can make you cry (well, if you're me, there are A.LOT.), but this is one of them!

For the most part, you couldn't PAY ME to go back to Junior High or High School. I LOVE my life and I just can't imagine going back to that.

I had an okay time in high school, I wasn't the most popular kid in school, but I wasn't made fun of either. I was captain of the cheerleading squad, played volleyball, basketball and because my family was pretty well known around the school, it kind of gave me an "in".

Being on that side though, I can tell you, it isn't much better than the side that gets made fun of.

I think we probably ALL look back and disliked at least part of it.

I hated the girls that made fun of people, I couldn't stand the arrogant guys, I tried to befriend most everyone, but c'mon, I know I could've been nicer.

Anyway, I know high school is even harder now than it was when I was there. Lots more pressure and things like that.

This commercial kinda says it all for me, "you just have to tough it out".

That advice sucks.

It truly does.

But honestly, kids are cruel. Kids can be mean, mean, mean.

What I do know?

Is that it does get better.

Randoms..

2011-05-02T10:53:00.001-05:00

See, I can cook when I want to! Healthy breakfast pizza on Saturday, yum!!

Whole wheat crust, turkey bacon, green chilies, eggs, mushroom with light cheese. It was awesome! I know I should've used egg whites but I didn't want to go to the store, and actually this would be great without cheese, there were already plenty of flavors!

Look who got to try noodles!

He still hasn't quite figured out how to get things from hand, to mouth, let go and chew.. But it's a work in progress. and pretty cute, I might add!

He loves to "help" do laundry. Mostly just sucking on a pair of rolled up socks (clean!).

And in very exciting news, since I started cutting some things out of my diet and really watching it, I lost 5 pounds! I know this isn't an earth shattering amount, but let me brag, as my goal is really like 10, 15 or so. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Hmm..

2011-04-28T22:13:00.001-05:00

What we do when we're bored..
apparently:

Ahh yes, and someone is 8 months today!

And still loves strawberries!

Tired..

2011-04-25T22:59:00.001-05:00

Since Keaton was born, I've always gotten this question:

"So, is he sleeping through the night?"

Even at like 2 weeks old, I would get this question. Anyway.. After mindlessly answering that, no, in fact he is usually up at least a couple times a night to eat (this is now, of course he was up pretty constant as a newborn) I would get a shocked faced and a variety of responses..

"OH NO! You have to get him to! Train early!" - not even sure what "train" means..

Or the ever popular:

"It's not good for him (you, husband, etc.) to not sleep through, it's not normal!" - oh gotta love that "normal" line.

Anyway, honestly, the sleeping arrangements have been so laid-back for us. I always knew I wanted the baby to sleep in bed with us (yes, I know the risks, etc.) but I wasn't sure of how long we would both agree was necessary.

I also haven't worked since Keaton was born, so the amount of time he sleeps at night is a bit more flexible with my situation than someone who does work outside the home.

Maybe that's why I never felt the need to "train", or let him "cry it out", or whatever the method may be. For us, it just wasn't necessary.

Keeping that in mind, he still sleeps very well, naps around 3-4 times a day and usually wakes up to eat a couple times a night. I realize that, at this age, he doesn't need to eat during the night, most likely. I just like bonding with him and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. He latches right on and drifts right back to sleep. It's actually very peaceful for us.

Well, a few weeks or so back, when his first teeth were coming through, he was up seriously like every hour at night.

talk.about.frustration.

I felt awful for getting frustrated with him, but I guess that's what lack of sleep does to ya..

So it went back to normal and now?

The past few days have been back to that. Up to nurse so much that it's wearing on me a bit..

I am not sure if it's teething.. I don't feel anymore teeth coming in, but I didn't at first with the other two, so that doesn't mean much!

I've tried giving him a pacifier when he first wakes at night, but he's never routinely taken one, so he doesn't care much for it.

I'm kinda at a loss and I guess we'll just wait it out?

Tips? Anyone? Anyone?

This mommy needs some sleep..

First Easter!

2011-04-24T22:54:00.002-05:00

What a LONG day!!

What a beautiful Easter it was! We went to the 2 1/2 hour (I think?) mass the night before Easter and that was slightly a challenge! It's a beautiful mass, just very long. Especially for a 7 month old.

We woke up Easter morning and the Easter bunny had brought Keaton's very first basket full of "Little People" toys, Disney movie, bunny ears and stuffed bunnies.

We played for a bit and then headed to Siti & Jido's (that's Lebanese for grandma & grandpa), my parents. Keaton got another basket there with more "Little people", a toy car & lots of candy and snacks for Mommy & Daddy. I'm a dud. I don't allow candy or anything I don't make for him yet. In due time..

Headed to my Grammy & Papa's for the best Lebanese food you will ever eat (I'm a little biased and proud of my heritage). I stuffed myself, of course.

Spent some time at Dede & Bebe's- Hubby's parents (those names are a whole other story! Basically they are a product of the "first grandchild picks the name"- but I think they're unique). Keaton got more toys that he ~~most certainly doesn't need~~ loves.

*Sidenote* my child is ridiculously spoiled (not just by us!) and I sincerely hope we aren't crippling him in the future, haha!

Back to my parent's (Siti & Jido) for another meal, some bocci ball (pretty fun!), and an Easter egg hunt, where Keaton "found" his first egg (for photo purposes of course), we called it a night.

We are exhausted, but it was a fun day and I'm really thinking that my best chance for him sleeping through the night could be tonight?? *crossing fingers!*

Going to get some sleep because we have a sister day planned tomorrow for some early bird shopping at Target & Sams for clearanced Easter stuff. My poor hubby, my shopping addiction will never die!

Happy Easter!

Luke 18:27

2011-04-21T18:32:00.001-05:00

"And He said,

the things which are impossible

with men are possible with God."

Not Interested.

2011-04-21T10:28:00.001-05:00

This has been the result thus far on the sippy cup:

Basically, it's a new chew toy.

I'm a mom alright..

2011-04-18T17:10:00.001-05:00

I don't even shower alone..

He is pretty cute though :)

Baby's First Bruise

2011-04-17T13:35:00.001-05:00

Not exactly a cherished milestone, but heck, figured it's something to blog about.

You can't even really tell, but there is a small, round, bruise on his cheek:

how could I let this happen?! Is what you might asking yourself.

Trust me, I've been running the whole thing through my mind ever since then (it was Friday morning.) and I still don't know what I was thinking!

I usually have Keaton in bed with us, unless there's that rare time when he sleeps through the night in his pack 'n play (three feet from our bed ;), he's beside me.

Hubs leaves for work around 4AM and puts a pillow on his side of the bed so there's still protection on either side.

I get up to go to the bathroom around 8 or so. I'm in there possibly 2 minutes. Keaton was asleep (I thought), when I walked away. As I'm walking out of the bathroom, I hear a small thud (later figured out he had bumped his head on my nightstand) and a cry. I run out and I see him hanging half off, half on the bed, like upside down. Terrifying for mommy. I run toward him, slamming my knee into the floor:

and just as I'm reaching out he falls (and it's prob a 3 ft. drop) I immediately pick him up.

All the books I've read, research I've done, that talk about these moments, stress how important it is to stay calm. They say to not show you're upset, just to soothe them.

To these people, I ask, have you EVER had this happen?!

I'm no fool. I knew if when this happened, I would flip the eff out.

So. I did exactly that.

I'm sobbing, screaming that I'm sorry. I try nursing him (my cure-all) and he refuses. He cried for maybe two minutes? I immediately call my mom in the process. I wanted nothing more than to call the hubs. However, I knew that anything I said would, not only be indecipherable, but slightly overdramatic in the moment. Not to mention, it's not like he can leave work at the drop of a hat. I decided that it was best to call when I was calm. Where he would know it wasn't an immediate emergency.

As I'm talking to my mom (how the HECK she understood sob-speak, I don't know), she asks what Keaton is doing because he got quiet. I look down at him in my arms and he's smiling at me!!! I kind of laugh/sob and say that I guess he's ok. Of course, being a mom herself (she's done this seven times!) she understood how important it was to not freak out, to calm me down, and reassure me that I had not, in fact, brain damaged my child.

When I eventually called the hubs to let him know what happened, I calmly explained what happened, then proceeded to cry again, as Keaton was happily screaming in the background. My hubby was wonderful of course (as if there was any doubt), he told me that this stuff happens! Further proof of that was this morning around 4AM, Ryan got up to Keaton making noise and Keaton had pulled himself standing up against the side of the crib, leaning over the edge!! So it could've happened in his crib as well, not just a result of him sleeping in our bed.

Today, we took out the raised part in the crib and now he can lay in the bottom, So many changes in the past month!

In one month he's crawling EVERYWHERE, pulling himself up to standing, gotten two teeth, sitting up with no balance issues, he's just so interactive in general, plays well by himself. It's just flying by!

I guess along with that comes some bumps and bruises..

Please spare this poor Momma's heart and be nice with comments. I know I was dumb, no need to rehash. Thanks :)

The Great Debate

2011-04-15T11:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, a heated (well, not really, it was a funny disagreement) began over what you will not believe.

First, let me state that, from the beginning, I have held food off from Keaton until necessary. We started at almost 7 months I think, and honestly, I'm not all that regular about it. I'll skip a day here and there. There's that oh so rare day where he'll actually be served three "solid meals". Why? Because, duh, that's where I come in!

I love breastfeeding. I love it way more than I ever thought I would. In the beginning, B.K. (before Keaton, of course), I figured it was pretty cut and dry:

Woman pregnant, woman have baby, woman attach baby to boob, baby eat.

Uh yea, can we say not so much?!.

It's a tad more complicated.

At first, it was super frustrating and time consuming. Not only was I hurting every.single.time I stood, sat, went to the bathroom, slept (you get the idea..), but I was adding hurting boobs every time he nursed! Which, let's be honest, was like at least every hour.. Ahhh!!!

Luckily, I have an ahhhh-maaaa-zing hubby who helped every.single.step of the way. He was my rock (still is!) and he did an awesome job of balancing taking care of baby AND momma (trust, there is tons of help mommas need after)! Not to mention, I have an awesome mother who is like my own personal BF guru. Thank God (yes, he did help too, I'm sure of it!).

While I knew that (as long as the milk was there of course), there was no other option with us, it was still trying at times. It's time consuming (ha! Laughing at that understatement!) and just as you think you're at your grossest (just after birth), just go ahead and spray some milk all over the place. Yea, it's hot.

But (yes, there IS a but), I would be lying if I said it wasn't worth it. Every night of waking on the hour, every hour, every plugged milk duct, every (PAINFUL) pull at my boob, every pump to make sure there is milk in case of an apocalypse, every (seriously embarrassing) leak through my clothes, or stare out in public.

It's more than worth it.

Because with every one of those, I have that (so cherished right now) ten-twenty minutes of holding, cuddling, bonding. We get "our time" during chaotic family nights. He looks up at me the whole time with those angel eyes and I just c.h.e.r.i.s.h that! He depends fully on me, and I love it.

So, as you can imagine, I wasn't super psyched to interrupt that with solids. I've actually gotten more excited about it since I make his food. I love knowing what he eats, knowing that it's ALL healthy, natural and that I'm giving him the absolute best I can! I'm neurotic about it, I admit (first step to recovery, right?!), I get irritated when family asks to give him food that I haven't made, or packaged baby food. I'm just weird like that.

So.. This is where the debate comes in..

Yesterday, while we had a few minutes out and about, I suggested a run to Target, where I knew I could find my trusty organic veggie puffs

I've been eyeballing ever since I started thinking that we need something dry to carry in the diaper bag for when he needs a distraction. I already felt slightly bad about it not being homemade, so I felt I was already giving.

Suddenly, I hear the hubs say, "Hey, let's grab these!". I turn around, and staring me straight in the face was this:

My heart dropped.

No.

No, no, NO!

Crazy. I know.

Disagreement ensues.

To save you 30 minutes or ridiculous argument, I'll sum it up:

Me: It's junk, no!

Hubs: Dear Lord, it's BABY food, not poison!

Me: I feel inadequate!

Hubs: That's dumb, it's baby food.

Me: Ok, we'll get both, you give him those, I'll give him mine (yes, because I'm sure he'll choose veggie puffs over yogurt melts).

Hubs: This is beyond ridiculous..

In his defense?

Yea.. Uhh ridiculousness! I realize that my need to control is kinda insane right now. I realize that, at some point, he will want "kid food" (chicken nuggets, fries, cupcakes, etc), and I'm okay with that. In moderation. Really, I am! I guess I just want to hang onto that control for as long as I can.

Here's the thing. Things come and go in marriage, that should, and NEED to be "discussed" (ahem, argued).

This?

Was so not it. I mean, really, this guy asks for hardly anything. He let's me take the reigns (for the most part) on the decisions with food, clothes, etc with Keaton. In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of times he's actually questioned my judgment. Like, disagreed, not that he didn't trust me. He's just that laid-back guy.

Me?

Yea.. Not so much?

Here's the other thing. It's baby food. So, for the most part, it's gonna be fine, heck even good, for him! Honestly, if the worst thing he's had so far is these, I think we're doing pretty darn awesome.

Moral of the story:

Some arguments are just plain ridiculous and not worth it. Though, they obviously provide blog entertainment! So, save your breath. Actually, take a deep one, suppress your inner B (gotta keep the blog curse free :) and go with the flow.

Life will be okay.

It will go on, swear!

Oh and the baby?

Made it through the night A-okay! Ha!

Disclaimer: this is all in jest. Poking fun at my neurotic self. We all have our weird preferences, so indulge me :) No offense meant, just wanted to blog a funny story.

Too fast, too fast..

2011-04-12T00:37:00.002-05:00

Our sweet boy is growing too fast!

Two momentous things occurred this weekend!

Over the weekend, we noticed his very first tooth coming in!

I thought to myself, wow, he is a great teether, no crying! I just must be the best mom in the world!

Ha, ha, ha. Sooo naive..

It hadn't broken the gums.

Then, we noticed another bottom tooth coming in.

Tonight.was.rough.

Poor guy.. It was so obvious that he was extremely uncomfortable. The past two nights, he's been up almost every hour wanting to nurse. So much, in fact, that I must've blocked it out because when Ryan commented on Keaton being up so much I was clueless.. Kind of a relief..kinda scary!

We tried everything tonight, distraction by playing, Sophie giraffe, frozen teether rings, nursing.. Finally some relief with ice in his feeder things. Hallelujah! Then, more crying and finally a bath (which helped). We nursed and now he's passed out! Poor guy, he's exhausted!!

The other momentous occasion?

My sweet angel said "Mama".

::my heart melts::

That was wonderful enough.

The fact that he said it hundreds (honestly pretty close!) of times??

Priceless.

Does he know what he's saying?

I like to think so..

If not, it doesn't matter.

I'm a mommy and my baby boy said his first word! I would've been proud had he said "poop".

Honestly.

Now? To work on "Dada".

The BEST Easter Decorations!

2011-04-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to decorate for holidays (except Christmas, of course!).

It's not that I don't want to. Quite the opposite actually.

My hubby likes to joke that if we did decorate for every holiday I get excited about, we would be:

1) Broke. Which we can all agree would not be fun.

and

2) Constantly rotating decorations in and out.

Which might be fun..

Anyway, I like our normal decor enough and I like having some spending money (a little too much- but that's another story..), so I'll deal.

This year, I put up my very first Easter decorations.

I think they're pretty cute, if I do say so myself :)

So cute, in fact, that our angel was chosen to be featured in the photo studio's magazine!

::braggy parent alert:: sorry..

Anyway, Easter is a pretty big deal in this household. We go to a very special Easter mass at church the night before, we will wake up early to see what the Easter bunny brought, and make the family rounds for lunch and such.

Our first Easter with our sweet boy, very special indeed!

Here comes the sun!

2011-04-08T18:42:00.001-05:00

Wanna guess what we did on this 93 degree day?!

In April. Only in TX..

"Ok mommy, this is much colder than bath water, what's up with this?!"

"Whoa, what's this? A toy? Outside? Awesome!"

"I think this pool stuff is my kind of thing afterall!"

Pictures = Love

2011-04-05T00:36:00.002-05:00

Some pictures are worth a thousand words and need no explanation.

The only conclusion we've reached from seeing these is that we have, without a doubt, THE cutest kid ever!!

We are lucky, he is loved and life is wonderful as always :)

.. And I leave you with this final picture:

Proof that this mommy is attempting to get back into shape on my new bike. My ever present tan is back!

A Little Update.

2011-03-28T23:07:00.001-05:00

Keaton is 7 months today! I can't believe it!

I also just realized I hadn't posted much about what Keaton has been up to..

- We had our 6 month checkup a couple weeks ago and here are the stats:

15 lb, 12 oz - weight (25%)
26 1/2- length (50%)

Dr. said that's perfect, he's just gonna be a small guy!

- We moved up to size 3 diapers. These seem to hold a lot more, even if they're a bit big. It sure does get us through the night a lot better!

- Still in 3-6 month clothes. He does have some things that are 6 month that fit, but 3-6 seem perfect. Good thing too, because I hate changing clothes out, ugh! Too much work!

- Size one shoes fit perfect, but he only has one pair, so I've cheated a bit and put the twos on with socks even though they fall off constantly. Ok, if my kid ever wonders why there are NO pictures of him in shoes, I will remind him of this! Again, too much work for me! It's why stores invented jammies with feet, right?!

- We've moved on from just sweet potato baby food to bananas, applesauce, avocado, strawberries, and today he tried carrots:

What a mess! I think I'm going to start trying some new recipes now that we know he isn't allergic to these things.

- We bought a walker for him, because he didn't have enough toys you know, and he is getting the hang of it! It's nice to be able to put him in there while I'm in the kitchen.

- Keaton has learned to spit. Yes, what a great trick.. :) I have to admit, it is pretty cute.. He just puts his lips together and tries to blow bubbles and spit flies!

- He's also learned how to lean, instead of sit-up on his own. He just pulls himself up leaning in sitting position on one hand, it's adorable! You also seem to face plant all.the.time poor guy!

- No teeth yet, but I'm checking all the time!

- He is a wild child now when he nurses, arms and legs flail, he kicks the arm of the chair we sit in, it's a riot. Everything just catches his attention!

- I've now heard him say a few times, "maaaa", but it's only when he's upset and wants me to pick him up. Does this mean mama? Who knows..

- He loves playdates with his friend Eli! Plus, we mom like to get together :) They are SO cute together!

A few pictures from our month..

Adventures in Babysitting..

2011-03-26T00:11:00.001-05:00

I've been pretty busy the past couple days. Doing what exactly?

Pretending that I've expanded my family I guess.

On Thursday, the wonderful hubby and I watched my younger brother, our niece, and our sweet angel of course! It was kinda neat to pretend we had two other kids for a few hours! We played with toys inside, played outside and changed some diapers. It was definitely noisier than normal (in a fun, big family way) and I am not sure I sat down a whole lot.. But I loved it!

As you can see, she enjoyed Keaton's toys as much as he did!

My sweet Em! I love her!

I continued on the trend by watching my friend's little boy for a few hours- who, by coincidence, was born two days after Keaton! We had a blast! It kinda gave me an idea of what twins would be like! Fun!

*yea, I realize that a few hours isn't exactly comparable to raising twins.. But I'm gonna toot my own horn. I rocked it!

It was so neat seeing them interact finally! Everytime before that we've gotten together, they haven't really been old enough to enjoy being around each other, so this was so much fun! Lots of baby screams, bonking heads on the coffee table, on each other, on the floor, etc.. Bottle for one, nursing for the other, naps, giggles, bouncing, just a day full of fun!

For some reason, even if I had them 5 feet apart, they found their way back to each other, it was pretty cute.

So, I think I'm ready for the next baby! Bring it on! :)

An early Mother's day/Easter!

2011-03-24T10:36:00.001-05:00

Yay! What a nice surprise! It's so gorgeous! My sweet husband wanted to update my bike very badly, haha. I can't wait to go riding!

They grow so fast..

2011-03-22T22:50:00.002-05:00

I know I'm cute :)

Nothing beats time with my Daddy!

Reading my new book of the month, "Roly Poly Pangolin"... Success!

In a nutshell..

2011-03-22T02:41:00.003-05:00

Confession time..

When the hubs has at least two or more days off, I pretty much go into either hibernation-mode or stick to the guy like glue.

Why? Well, my hard working guy works from about 4:15 am (give or take a few) till about 7:30-8 pm!!! Ridiculous, I know, but it more than keeps us debt free (BIG YAY!), gives us those lovely wants, a very cushiony savings account, allows me to stay at home, etc.

Ok and plus...

heloveshisjobblahblahblah. :)

Anyway, when he finally gets time off (which isn't much), I ~~insist~~ politely suggest that we spend ~~all of it~~ a bit of it together. Well, this weekend was no different! After looking forward to 4 whole days off in a row and then him getting called in one of them.. We still managed to have a pretty awesome 3 day vacay together. Our weekend, in pictures:

I have the best husband, who makes the worlds most fabulous breakfasts!

We (unintentionally) are supporters of the "family bed" apparently.

Attractive? Probably not, but I thought these were funny. Yes, I still sleep like I did when I was pregnant, pillow between knees.

I am not sure where my "mom skills" rank, but I found my son with ink (or something?) on his face from sucking on his fabric lined toy basket..

And then somehow gave him enough time to destroy a roll of paper towels, yikes.

Took some cute pictures in my robe :)

Sat outside in 80 degree weather (thank the Lord!), while mommy and daddy had "grown up juice".

He really did love it, despite this face..

Watched daddy setup our pool again. last year of a "fake" pool, thank the Lord again! We will be proud owners of a "real", in ground, fancy schmancy (to us) pool as of next Summer!!!

Watched more of Daddy doing all the work outside.

And had a short roadtrip to OK city (about two hours away), to look at furniture and eat at the cheesecake factory. Mommy snapped one picture (darnit!!), but it was pretty cute:

P.S.- Cheesecake Factory is AMAAAAZING! Go if you get a chance! Slightly pricey, but HUGE portions and seriously, to-die-for cheesecake (duh).

We couldn't live without...

2011-03-14T01:09:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd do a little post on a few things that I am SO GLAD we know about. Like anyone, before you have a baby, you are given or buy things that you (or family, friends) just know you'll need. Sometimes they pan out, and other times... They're downright useless. Cute, but useless, nonetheless! Anyway, here are some things I swear by, seriously, these rock!

1) Sophie Giraffe.

This is, by far, his most favorite toy, ever. We carry this thing everywhere. It is a teether, but he's been using it since before he was even teething. She also squeaks, which makes it even more fun for him. It's a splurge.. I've seen them range from $20-$25.. *gasp* I know.. It's a piece of rubber, that's insane! His was a gift, but, had I known how much he would use it, I would've bought it anyway. Invest!

2) Medela Breastpump.

This was my ~~best friend~~ lifesaver during the first few weeks after my milk came in. If you are breastfeeding, this is a very wise investment! Careful though, do your research on what one you need specifically to you. I received the single deluxe pump and just figured I didn't need to spend the extra amount for a double. Well, I used it so.much. the first few weeks that it ran the motor out. After a chat with their customer service (and replacement parts shipped at no charge-good service), I was notified that mine was ideal for occasional use only. I ended up borrowing my sister's double pump and using that every time I've had an abundance of milk. The single will be awesome for trips though!
It was so nice to build up a supply for the freezer! Now that I'm a stay at home mom, it doesn't get used as much, but there are still those occasions.

3) Along with the breastfeeding theme, nursing tanks.

Alright, confession time: "My name is Amy and I haven't worn a bra in over six months." Whoa, what?! Yea, I know, crazy, right? These are my saving grace. While I was pregnant, and just had to have nursing bras, I bought two. I had also bought some nursing tanks at the suggestion of my older sister. I wore them near the end of my pregnancy, all through the Summer. After I had Keaton, I realized how much better I liked these than the bras. With the tanks, your stomach is covered while nursing (see picture above), with bras, it's exposed. Now, you could always use a nursing cover. I just discovered these, so I didn't have access to that the first few months, maybe that would've changed my mind, but I absolutely love the tanks! It makes nursing so discreet while out in public or in front of others (even if you don't feel like you're being discreet). Plus, c'mon, getting away with no bra
(and not looking tacky), priceless!

4) Maya wrap.

Although I'll admit, they take some getting used to, they are so handy! I don't know what people did before slings! I can vacuum, shop, scrapbook, wash dishes, even workout.. All while holding my sweet baby, what's better than all day bonding?! I wish I would've been more determined to use it the first month or so, I get frustrated when I can't get the hang of stuff, so I kinda set it aside unless I had someone around to help me adjust it the right way, but had I kept using it, I would've had some easier days. Anyway, I use it constantly now and Keaton loves it! It just calms babies to be strapped to their mommies and daddies. I can't speak to other slings, as this is the only one I've used, but it's fabulous and one size fits all (the adjustable ring), so even grandparents and whoever can use it.

5) My Coach diaper bag.

(not the exact color of mine, but you get the idea) Ok, I know, having a "Coach" diaper bag is not a necessity.. But it's nice! Mainly, the diaper bag itself is a necessity. I do not know how people don't carry one. I still haven't figured out how they can't lug around all the extras that I constantly use. I have an obsession with purses. I've always had a collection and after I met my husband, he bought me my first Coach and I.was.hooked. Over the years and occasions, I had five. When I started thinking about what diaper bag to use (ok, so this was an oddly important subject to me), I looked all over and could not find one I wanted. Then, out of nowhere, my hubby surprised me with my very own Coach diaper bag! It was filled with all the necessities I would need. It was the best gift and has already gotten (and will continue to get) it's moneys worth from use. I guess I had a complex about those plastic (mom looking- sorry), diaper bags.. Just couldn't do it.

6) Bumbo Seat.

We've used this about 438586 times since Keaton could hold his head up. It's awesome! I feed him in it (when he's not in his table highchair), I put him in it to play (the tray is an absolute necessity!), when we are at restaurants, whenever! It's so perfect because with most other chairs, you have to wait until they can sit up, but this you can use as soon as they have head control. The plastic is molded to fit them in them in the sitting position. It's genius.

6) Last, but not least, the Beaba Babycook.

With Keaton's breakfast for tomorrow (applesauce) in it. This isn't a necessity I guess, you could always use a blender or whatever, but this is such a timesaver! It's all in one: cooks, reheats, blends, defrosts, etc. Can you beat that?! I'm having so much fun creating new recipes and testing things out! I know, my life is so exciting.. Be jealous. My hubs and I have even been known to eat the surplus food that our tiny baby can't yet digest. I know it's kinda pricey ($150-ish), but with all that money you are saving on baby food, you can splurge a bit!

Ok, so there's my "two cents".. I would LOVE to hear what little things everyone else has discovered!

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T09:13:00.001-06:00

Being Catholic, this day involves: fasting, no meat (I always forget that one!), reflection, mass, and the inevitable first day of what you gave up..

So what did I give up?

*sigh*

It's gonna be a tough Lent.

I gave up checking blogs (clarify- checking, not writing on mine), facebook (that one isn't that hard honestly), games on my phone (that's hard cause I constantly do that when I'm bored or have a few free minutes), and celebrity gossip (so hard, I'm obsessed).

::Whew::

This year I, not only wanted to give something up.

I really wanted to make an effort to do something as well.

So what will I be making an effort to do?

Making it to weekly mass. No negotiating, I've got to get better at it! I want to get in the habit now! I miss that reflection time. I want Keaton to be used to going as well.

I'm also making an effort to workout more and eat more salads. I've really got to get better about this one too. I'm tired of eating crappy :(

So.. Here's to a better me within 40 days!

*cross fingers*

Fat Tuesday!

2011-03-08T17:38:00.001-06:00

Eating, eating, eating, while trying to figure out what in the world I should give up for Lent. I would really like to challenge myself this year, so we will see!

Keaton is stuffing himself too! I found these awesome contraptions:

They are Munchkin Fresh Food Feeders. All you do is put some frozen/fresh fruits, meats, or veggies in them and baby sucks and chews on them and there's no risk of choking or eating seeds or anything like that. I even put an ice cube in there earlier since he's teething. It's so simple and Keaton loved it!

We had some strawberry today and it actually wasn't as messy as I thought it would be.

I love having cute pictures to post!

2011-03-06T23:46:00.001-06:00

I have lots of cute pictures, we did so many things this weekend! We had a blast!!

-We got Keaton a bath chair, which I quickly realized he's not quite ready for..

He can't sit up really well just yet, and he kept slumping over, so I got a few pictures, but it will probably just sit on the bathtub until he's a bit bigger (doesn't help that we have a tiny baby anyway!).
-I put him in (what was supposed to be) his St. Patricks Day outfit, yep, I'm that mom, but now I'm thinking, what was I thinking?! because the onesie is way too small, as evidenced here:

Hmm.. It is 0-3 months so I have know clue what made me think this would fit.. Well, I didn't have to think long because after Keaton woke up from his morning nap, I came into the room to find this:

..and no, nothing gets this out, I tried! So now we have no outfit, but a cute picture!
-On Saturday, my cousin had her bridal shower. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to get some "ooohs.." And "aaahs" about my little guy, so off my date and I went:

We never dress him up because 1) ~~I am incredibly lazy~~ he inevitably has a blowout and it pains me to throw cute clothes away, and 2) I always spend the whole time adjusting things or putting shoes back on, etc. Jammies are much easier. But he looks precious! Afterwards, while Keaton had a little one-on-one time with his Siti and Jido (grandma and grandpa- we are Lebanese) while my sister and I headed to the mall.

He loves walking outside with his Jido and looking at their pond, taking walks, etc. My dad is wonderful with babies too, so it works out well!

While they were having fun, my sister and I decided to be a little spontaneous.. We got piercings!

Nothing wild and crazy.. Just second holes in our ears.. But hey, I'm a mom, I gotta tone it down ~~I won't mention that's my normal personality anyway~~ a bit right?! We had so much fun! It's the little things people..
-On my way home, I guess I still had a bit of that spontaneity going, so I stopped at the store and grabbed a sweet potato and a couple avocados and ran the potato through my beaba. Let me interrupt here and say that is the coolest thing ever! I loved it! It cooked it super fast and then blended after that. It's so easy! Anyway, once Daddy got home, we tried it out. Keaton's first taste of real food.. *drumroll*...

SUCCESS! He loved it! We tried again twice today and, though he only ate about 10 half-spoonfuls total, it sure was cute! We froze the excess into ice cube trays and heated up one at a time and it was perfect, they eat so little (at first only I'm sure), it was more to get him used to it. He will still be getting breastmilk mainly, so this momma is taking it slow! Gotta keep up that supply as well. All in all, very eventful, but fun weekend!

Our first ER visit..

2011-03-01T23:09:00.001-06:00

After a few days of a worsening cough, hacking up some mucus, and running a worsening fever.. We decided to take Keaton to the doctor yesterday.. :( I tried so hard to fix it on my own, but it just got too overwhelming after he was refusing to eat a bit and up ALL night because he wasn't able to breathe through his congestion. Ugh, talk about making me feel like a failure at trying to not do ANY medication! Oh well, I realized that his health comes first and if he's sick and can be helped by some Tylenol or antibiotics, so be it! I'd rather him get some sleep and feel some relief rather than tough it out for two weeks and it get worse. Of course, I had to capture the trip:

Daddy is an RN (hence the scrubs) but not at the hospital.
I think this picture describes how miserable he was the best:

My poor baby :(

After some Tylenol, some sleep, and lots of cuddling with Mommy and Daddy, he is starting to feel a bit better thank goodness. It's nice to see him start to get back to normal. I missed his smiles and laughs! He even felt well enough to go for a short bike ride earlier:

I swear, we have the cutest baby in the world!

*The only silver lining of him being sick was that he has loved clinging to me. He was my cuddle buddy even more than usual. I loved it! Though, not under the circumstances..

I think we did pretty good, six months old before he got sick!

Parenting..

2011-02-27T23:07:00.001-06:00

It's tough.

The past couple days, Keaton has had a cough and runny nose. Suddenly, last night he couldn't sleep. We were up on and off through the whole night, only getting sleep when the other took over. It was rough. Luckily, we have a little one that, when he does wake up during the night, latches on and we both fall back asleep. Last night, that was NOT happening. All day today, he's been just off, can't even explain what exactly it was, just wasn't himself. There were lots of tears today, lots of coughing, and lots of worrying on my part. Worrying if I should've taken him to the doctor days ago, should I have given less kisses (in the hopes that he wouldn't catch whatever I had), should I have not taken him for walks because maybe he was too cold.. Yea, the list is long. I'm not one that likes to use a lot of Tylenol, mylicon, gripe water, etc, with him. My mindset is more, "nursing cures it all", haha. Which it doesn't. It so, totally, does not! Medicine has a time and place and we are lucky to have it, I guess I just like to avoid putting things in his body if I can. Just a weird thing I guess. So, I've thought that he might ride this cold (I guess?) out without anything. I even picked up a vaporizer the other day and filled it only with water, hoping that it might clear up the congestion he and I both have. So today was pretty heartbreaking. He just couldn't calm down, nothing was working. Not even nursing *heart breaking here*.. I finally got him in the big bathtub late tonight and it was like a switch flipped. The smile was back, he was relaxed, even splashing toward the end! I got a little misty-eyed, wondering how bad he probably felt today. Talk about relief! Remember, this kid has barely slept over the past couple days, so he needed it!

So like I said, parenting, yea.. It's rough!

There are times, like tonight, where that phrase just doesn't even seem to sum it up. It's really tough sometimes. It's emotional, draining, worrisome, stressful, irritating (on those nights where you get little to no sleep), and the list goes on.. BUT, those are the not so fun moments. Let me tell ya, with each and every single smile, giggle, and each time he falls asleep on me, my little boy cancels out every one of those feelings and replaces them with happiness, joy, so much love I could scream, the feeling that I'm, without a doubt, THE luckiest mommy (and wife :) in the whole world! I get to love on my baby boy every single day, that's my job! Could you imagine a more perfect world?!

I like to believe we all have those moments. Those, pull you hair out, wanna scream "just go to sleep already!!" moments.. (but you really don't scream :). I like to believe that even those "perfect" moms', have a mountain of regret the next day, for not knowing what to do, or reacting the best, for not being supermom. I like to think this is a normal feeling. We can't do it all, but I think we expect ourselves to. When we aren't perfect, bring on the guilt! Guess what I'm trying to say is, can't we just give ourselves a little break here and there?!

Over It!

2011-02-26T01:58:00.001-06:00

I'm definitely over feeling sick! I don't even know the right word for it.. I'm not sick, I've gotten out and about, no problem. I am just so tired of this darn ear infection! I can't hear out of my ear, it's all foggy like there's water in it (you know that feeling? Annoying!) and my throat is all clogged and scratchy.. Oh yea and that "oh so attractive" runny nose. Which pretty much guarantees that lovely rubbed raw nose. Yuck! Now my poor baby has a slight cough and runny nose :( Nothing more than that thank goodness, but isn't it funny how you can feel ten times as sick as they do, but one slight cough and you're worried about them so much that you forget about yourself? I seriously love being a mom :) It makes me have a lot less "woe is me" moments.. So, I've got a vaporizer going by his bed and hopefully that will clear it up. Notice I said his bed?! Yep, as of the past two nights, plus tonight (crossing fingers..well, kinda, it's bittersweet), Keaton has slept in his bed (in our room) and through the night, like "WHOA!" through the night! Umm.. Like 10+ hours straight! I'm hesitantly ok with this.. It's nice to get sleep, but I'm just not sure if I'm ready to not have nighttime feedings.. Ok, ok, call me crazy! I'm just not making a big deal cause I'm sure it won't last.. Ha. So, with being sick, not much has been happening.. Gathering more photos to continue scrap-booking and I just love this one:

Oh yea and had pedicures with my lovely sis last night. So nice to have sister moments :)

Hopefully the next time I post I'll be feeling a bit better!

A few of my favorite things..

2011-02-22T23:40:00.001-06:00

Photo Editing Apps:

The many faces of my sweet little boy:

Watching my hubby with his baby:

Not my favorite thing: having a severe earache after having what you thought was a cold for a week and finding out you have an ear infection.. Blah! However, this gives me a chance to try another home remedy for breastmilk. That's right, it may sound gross, but it's supposedly a cure all for everything.. We will see.. I also have some antibiotics, so if this doesn't clear up within a few days, I just may pull my hair out. I feel awful for babies, I guess I forgot how painful these are!

A Very Blessed Day

2011-02-20T23:12:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, February 19th, our baby boy was baptized.

It was such a beautiful day, service, and party afterwards. We are so extremely lucky to have such wonderful families! Our family friend, Monseigneur Olson officiated the baptism and brought two seminarians with him to assist. It was a big honor to have all of them there for our service. I teared up once during the ceremony, when he mentioned how a mother loves her child. It's VERY hard to believe we have a baby, much less one old enough to be baptized! Ryan got to hold Keaton while the water was poured over his head and I was glad, it's something they share together now :) Keaton did amazing! He fussed just a tad during the ceremony, took a nap at home, woke up during the party and had a blast! A few pictures of his special day:

Having fun with Daddy at the after party at our house: