The Fenner Four

Well said.

2012-01-24T10:48:00.002-06:00

Dylan is delayed in speech. I won't lie, exaggerate, or make up things that he says. Maybe I'm a little harsh on him, but when other parents say their kids are saying words, then I hear the word, it just doesn't sound like it. I don't count words until other people can understand what he is saying. I'm not embarrassed, or concerned. We have been seeing a speech therapist once a week for several months now, maybe 10. I am getting him the help he needs. All of his words begin with D. Duice(Juice), Dhoes ( shoes),docks( socks) Doooouun ( Down) Doo( Dog) Daddy. Dye Dye. You get the picture. We have been working with him on using more consonants, because well, not all words start with D. He has made some great progress, and my favorite new word of his is Bubba. I figured brother was too hard to say, so I call Graham is little Bubba. So here you have it. My child saying a word that doesn't start with D. Turn up the volume. It's adorable!

our life on the Iphone

2012-01-18T18:45:00.001-06:00

I know lots of people do iPhone rewinds. I've never done it, but sometimes it's just easier to pick up my phone than my camera, which I haven't picked up in a few weeks sadly. So here are a few pictures from the past few months. I'll start doing it at the end of the month. Enjoy the pictures!

Dylan wanted to be swaddled.

riding , with Carson looking on

BEST BUDS.

loving on his brother.

he was not happy to be awake!

little brothers, hanging out at story time.

first smile caught on camera

I sleep with my hands in the air, don't you?

broken car.

loves to wear my Crocs.

Christmas wore him out.

Graham {3 Months}

2012-01-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

My tiniest man is a whole three months old. I remember with Dylan it seemed like it took forever to get to this point. Graham has skipped a few months I feel like. He has become much more of a "scheduled" baby this month. He takes three naps, a REALLY long one(3-4 hours) in the afternoon, and two shorter ones that are about an hour each. He has really started to show his personality. He is an observer. He will stare at me for a while, then crack a smile. I'm pretty sure he is already addicted to Mickey Mouse, and he loves to sing the itsy bitsy spider. I got my first giggle while making him do the hand motions!
The biggest achievement is sleep this month. The Friday before Christmas we decided to move him to his crib and do " operation- sleep in crib." We chose this day because Adam would be home with us for 4 days, so that we could take naps during the day. You see, Graham had been only sleeping in the swing. When I would put him down for a nap in his crib he would only sleep for an hour. Still does. I thought for sure we would be up every hour to calm him down and get back to sleep. Boy was I wrong. We put him down at 8, he slept until 2:30. It was his longest stretch ever. He loved his room. Over the last few weeks it's only gotten better. We even got an 11.5 hour stretch, though that did include a dream feed. We still have to feed him at night because the little booger refuses to eat during the day. He seems to only like to eat if he is swaddled. I think it's because he wants to eat his fingers. He likes to nom on his fingers . They are almost always in his mouth. He also prefers to eat standing up, I guess he likes the view.He is a mover, you put him down, he is flapping his arms, kicking his legs, even swaddled he can get himself moved all the way to the bottom of the crib.
If you remember, last month I mentioned that his pediatrician found a heart murmur and we had to visit the cardiologist. Well, as expected everything is fine, and it's something that he will grow out of in the next few months. So thank you to everyone who sent me messages about it. We successfully got him off of Similac and onto a much cheaper generic brand. That was Adam and I's biggest accomplishment this month. I can't wait until Graham is old enough to play with Dylan and Adam. Dylan wants him to play so badly, I just want to see them interact with each other, though I know there will be fights, I'm pretty sure they will be the best of friends.

Three Month Stats:

Weight ( Dec. 28)- 12 lbs 8 oz

Length- (Dec 28) 24.5 Inches ( Which I think was wrong because that means in a month he grew 1.5 inches?)

Size 1 Diapers

3 Month onesies and sleepers

Rolling over

Smiling all the time

"Half Laughing"

Resolutions

2012-01-04T08:49:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you have read a million and one 2012 Resolutions. But I thought that I would throw some of mine out there. Yes, I probably won't stick to them after about a month or so, but I don't think they are too lofty if I actually want to stick to it.

1. Lose weight: I might have been in my pre-pregnancy jeans after two weeks, but I can guarantee you, I'm about 20 lbs from where I was when I got pregnant!

2. Run: Complete Couch25K again. It worked once, maybe it'll work again.

3. Play soccer: Becca and I are going to a soccer practice this week for a women's team. I have not touched a ball in... oh, 8 years. It could get ugly.

4. Organize: MY house needs organizing in a major way. I'm starting with the pantry.

5. Projects: Personalize the house. I'm trying to talk Adam into hardwood floors in the formals. He blames Pinterest.

6. Read: I need to get back into reading. Once the boys go down, we try to catch up on TV, maybe a book wouldn't hurt!

7. Clean :Keep a tidier house: One where if someone where to stop by unannounced I wouldn't freak out and not let them in. That might not sound hard, but that means I'll be picking up toys like 1000 times a day!

8. Me Time: Take some more time for me. I got my hair cut, like once last year. Maybe I'll strive for twice this year!:) I also need to go have my eyes checked and get new glasses and contacts!

9. Save Money: Make a weekly menu and go grocery shopping with Adam on Sundays, less eating out. Go through cookbooks for more meal ideals.

10. Baby Food: I want to make Graham's baby food. I did a good job of it with Dylan, but once he got to the meats I gave up. It was WAY to hard to get the right consistency, so I just gave up. I hope to do a better job with Graham's food.

Oh Christmas Tree...

2012-01-02T18:25:00.000-06:00

Another Christmas has come and gone. This year, Dylan was another year older, yet still didn't really understand the concept of Christmas. He wasn't really interested in unwrapping gifts, as much as opening the toy that was wrapped. He would say, "WoW" for everything, then want to open it. Being the mean mommy I am, we let him open very little. You might remember that I like to spread the gifts out as to let him be amazed with each new toy, instead of being overwhelmed with a ton in December. So now his playroom closet is chalk full of new toys to break out over the next 12 months!:)

This year was special because we got to spend Christmas with Aunt Laura. She got to spend some time with both of her nephews and get to know them. We also spent time with Aunt Erin, and Great Grandma Lou and Richard. Christmas eve was spent opening all the gifts at Adam's parents house, followed by going home to meet Aunt Erin who came for the night. We ate Indian Food and watched Forest Gump on TV. A new tradition? Christmas morning, both the boys slept in ( thank goodness they don't understand yet, no 5 Am wake up calls for us) Adam went to get Dylan and down stairs awaiting a Easel for him,from Aunt Erin, as well as a toolbox of tools from us. We don't buy him much, since he has grandparents who like to buy him lots of things. He will probably always get necessities from us, and the "fun stuff" from grandparents.
After gifts, an Ipad, jewelry, and massage gift card for me, underwear and float session for Adam( I really failed this year with gift giving), we headed on over to his parents again for a Christmas feast, stockings from Santa, and football. It was a couple of long days and nights for my kids, but I am happy to say, they both did so great. Dylan didn't have any tantrums, despite being up past 10 a couple of times. Graham, as long as he was fed, he was happy. As many people have commented. We are so very fortunate to have children that can adapt to any situation. If Dylan doesn't get a nap, well he doesn't get a nap. I'm sure most days he wishes he didn't have to nap. If Graham has to sleep in the car, well then he will. I hope that their easy going personalities continue on past toddler hood. Fingers Crossed.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:00:00.001-06:00

Mommy's night out

2011-12-22T14:08:00.000-06:00

I love weekends. I think the United States needs longer weekends. Two days just isn't enough. Not enough for me, not enough for Dylan, and well Graham doesn't really know much yet. Dylan and I just love having Daddy home. I get some time to myself, and Dylan gets to play with Dada.

This past weekend started out as well as it could have. Girl time and alcohol. Luckily I didn't drive, so to say I was a little drunk was probably an understatement.

The evening started out at Casa Milagro, there were swirls, I swear if you haven't had one, run and get one.They are so good. I was pretty tipsy after just 1, though I did keep asking for water and the waiter wouldn't bring me any! " He lost it" So after two drinks there, we headed back to Courtney's new house. So cute by the way!

A large bottle of wine gone, broken wine glass ( which I still am going to replace) some " sizing up", TMI, party planning, vacation planning and good times had by all. I'm pretty sure I can honestly say, I was not the only one still drunk or hungover the next morning! Can't wait for the next time ladies!

Peek -A- boo

2011-12-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

Peek

Boo!

I see you!

Totally Addicting

2011-12-20T14:03:00.000-06:00

So who doesn't know about Pinterest? This website is the new "hot" thing. I'm not sure why, it's just posting things that people see online, you can pin, and others can as well. The sad thing about this website is that it is sooo addicting. Luckily for me, I've benefited from it.

I've made several recipes I've found, if I had more time to do them, I've found lots of cute crafts. I've found playrooms that I want to create for Dylan and Graham. The website really does have a lot of great things on it.

This is the first time I can remember I've ever given a teacher gift. I think this is a new trend, I don't ever remember giving my teachers gifts in school. But for this year, Dylan has two teachers. Both of which adore him, and tell me all the time they will take him off my hands. For Christmas I decided that instead of baking something for them, I wasn't sure they would eat, I would get them something useful. Gift cards to Barnes and Noble. But giving a gift card is kind of boring ya know? In comes Pinterest. They had this cute idea for make a snow globe with the card inside.

These were a hit with his teachers! I also made his class some M&M treats like I did for his birthday party. I think they all enjoyed them, and they were easy peasy.

Needless to say, I didn't need another website to suck me in like Facebook and Twitter have, but alas, Pinterest has done just that! Are you a member? I need more people to follow! Not a member? Comment and I'll send you an invite!:)

Days like these

2011-12-15T12:37:00.004-06:00

If everyday could be as great as yesterday. I would say it was the first day probably since Graham was born that we left the house and I wasn't completely stressed about it.

Graham seems to have turned a corner with his content-ness. Is that a word? He is eating better, sleeping better, though still in the swing, and just all around a happy baby. He will wake up and just be awake, not screaming, just awake. He loves the Christmas tree. We call it the feeding tree. If he is having a hard time finishing his bottle, we'll turn the tree lights on and go sit in front of it. he will polish off his bottle while staring at the lights.

Dylan woke up in a good mood, probably because I told him we were going to pump it up. Since it was the day after school he slept in. I got everyone loaded in the car, and headed to meet Becca, Casey, and Rachel at Pump it Up. Wouldn't you know though, it's closed. Sad day! So we made a quick backup plan to come play at our house. Then I thought about Metroplex Gym that does an open Gym, so we headed there. Dylan and Carson LOVED running down the long trampoline, while Caden was a fan of dancing to the Christmas music they had playing, as well as the small foam pit. I would say, we will be going back. After that we headed to Chic Fil A to eat lunch with Becca and Carson and to play a little more. WE got home at 1:24, by 1:30 Dylan was in bed asleep. Do you know what time he woke up? 5:30. Yes you read that right. a 4 hour nap. Graham went down shortly after and took a 3 hour nap, because he hadn't gotten his long morning nap. Needless to say, I took a 2 hour nap!

All morning Graham was so good. I was so proud of him. I am so happy that he is a content baby, and as long as he is fed, happy to be just looking around his environment. He also rolled over from back to belly last night. I'm pretty sure it was a fluke though because really that isn't a milestone for at LEAST another month or so.

2 Months/ 2 years

2011-12-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

This past Friday, the boys and I made a trip to the doctors office. Dylan for his two year check up and Graham for his two month check up. They didn't really want to go, and almost made us miss it. Both of them decided they wanted to sleep in, which meant mommy was sleeping too. My eyes popped open at about 8:30. Their appointment was at 9:10. I got them both up, fed, and dressed and out the door got to the doctor with even a little time to spare.

First up were weight checks. I made Dylan go first, because I knew that if Graham started crying, there was no way on Earth Dylan was going to do it.

Dylan:

23 lbs.

That's right people. He has finally made it to the growth curve. Even if it is like in the 1%ile:)

33.5 Inches

They asked me all the questions that they do, like, Does he drink out of a cup, Walk backwards, say six words, how he was eating, sleeping. He passed all of those with flying colors. Now since he started Mother's Day out, we have been to see Dr. Daniel a few times for infections. Dylan is never very happy about seeing him. But on Friday, he was so good. He let him listen to his heart, check his eyes, he still really dislikes his ears being messed with though. Interestingly enough, he had an ear infection again. The doc seemed to think it was the same cold as the one he had before thanksgiving, and the antibiotic just killed it enough for him to feel better, but then came back, so we are now on a 20 day antibiotic regime. Good thing he likes that stuff! We also got him the Flu mist. I thought that he had to get a shot or something, luckily for him he didn't. Graham on the other hand.

Graham was up next. I stripped him down and took him to the scale. I was really excited to see what he weighed. I knew he was going to be more than Dylan.

Graham:

11 pounds 11 ounces- 41 %ile - (The highest dylan ever got was 25th!)

23 inches- 43th %ile

They didn't tell me what his hear was, but they said it was in the 25 %ile, which is funny, I thought he had a big noggin!

Next up was his check up. I missed most of it because I was having to entertain Dylan, but for the most part it was good. He does have a heart murmur. I have an innocent one, and Dylan had a soft one that went away when he was four months old. Though apparently this one is not soft, so we have been referred to a pediatric cardiologist. But never fear, according to our pedi, " He doesn't have heart disease, he wouldn't be thriving if he did." I never even thought that he would have, our pedi just always jumps to this weird sayings. Like when Dylan was delayed in speech he told me. " I don't think he is autistic, so I don't want you to think that is what I'm saying." Hello, I NEVER would have jumped there. He is an odd man sometimes! Anyway, so I will make an appointment and we will go have his heart checked. I remember going to have mine checked, I must have been 3 or 4. My mom and grandma, Mere, went with me. They told me if I was good, I could get black patent leather shoes from Payless. See, I've always been a shoe girl.

Graham was none to happy about getting 3 shots to the leg. He was a trooper and only cried a little bit, and by the time we made it to the car, he was already asleep. Though when he woke up I could tell his little legs hurt, because when I touched them he made the cutest sad face. Does that make me a bad mom? Saying his sad face is cute?

Monday Menu

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

We actually made it to the store this weekend. By we, I mean all four of us. Adam got a little taste, of Dylan being a pain in the store. Now maybe he understands why I hate going to the store!:)

Sunday- Braised Chicken Thighs, mashed potatoes, and broccoli

Monday- Smoked Pork BBQ baked Potatoes

Tuesday- Chicken Tikka Masala, Rice, and naan

Wednesday- French Onion Soup, roasted cauliflower

Thursday- Enchiladas with Ground turkey

Friday- Crockpot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

Saturday- Left-overs if there are any!

Monkey Time

2011-12-09T13:12:00.000-06:00

My little monkey turned two. I still can't believe it. So how do you celebrate turning two? With a slightly Curious George themed party. Duh. As I think I have mentioned on here before, Dylan loves "monkey." It has become his lovey. He takes it to school with him, gets very upset if you take it away from him, sleeps with him, cuddles him, well you get the point. He loves the thing. While he also loves Mickey, I decided to go with a curious George theme. Well mainly red, yellow with a splash of blue.

I spent way to much money on a cake, but hey, until Dylan can tell me " Mommy, I want a racecar cake" I get to pick what they look like. I like to think of the cake as the center piece of the party. I'm pretty sure this one was, as well as last year.

I limited my crafty this year as well, seeing that I had a little less time to spend. I made a balloon wreath for the door, that will now be a staple for all birthdays in the family. It took me about 2 hours, and about 500 balloons to make, but I was pretty happy with the way it came out.

For favors I did Curious George books for the kiddos, and red and yellow M&M wand things for the adults. We also didn't make all the food this year. I ordered a chicken nugget tray from Chick Fil A, and we made ham and cheese sliders, had some chips and dip and veggies. Even though we purchased stuff this year, my sister and I were still technically "late" to his party. Luckily everyone else was too.

I would say the biggest hit was the balloons. I ordered 2.5 dozen, and since they got to the party late, most of them just ended up on the ceiling in the formal dining room. The kids loved playing with them though. Dylan would take them from the short ceiling and let them go up into the entry way that is two stories, then say " Uh Oh" It's his favorite. Though he hasn't learned that if you do it on purpose, its not an uh oh!

Dylan was spoiled by all the gifts as well. He got some great toys, books clothes, and lots of cars! I need to think about rearranging the playroom and adding more storage so that they all fit. Because we haven't even gotten to Christmas yet!

My picture taking was pretty poor this year. I didn't get any pictures of Dylan with Grandparents, or just me, or my sister or Adam's sister. It was pretty gloomy outside as well, so the lighting stunk. So I used my on board flash, so the quality of the pictures isn't that great either. But I think there were some cute ones.

I will do an official Two year post once we get his stats at the Doctor on Friday!

Graham { Two months}

2011-12-08T10:41:00.000-06:00

Another month gone. Everyday we get more into a "routine." As much as he lets us anyway. This month, still has not brought us sleeping through the night, he still has not brought us consistent eating, but it has brought us smiles, coo's and lots of love! Cheesy I know!

It's amazing how different my two babies are. While at this point Dylan was unswaddled, sleeping in his crib, through the night, and on a pretty predictable schedule. Graham is none of those things. Though he still is a pretty laid back baby, he is taking his time. His arms are like helicopters, we can not leave him unswaddled at night. You might remember from his one month post we were not swaddling anymore, well we learned he slept better wrapped up. He refuses to sleep anywhere for longer than an hour or two, except the swing. Yes yes, he is still sleeping in the swing. Though mommy is desperately trying to change that.

He is very impatient. He wants food NOW. Not in the 10 seconds that it takes to make a bottle. While I'm still nursing, we are mostly on formula, and supplementing with breast milk I like to say. I would say I still nurse 3 times a day maybe. Enough that he hasn't gotten sick with his brothers three colds.

He is giving more smiles away, loves to be held, and is getting better at putting himself to sleep. A great quality. He is loved by so many people, and if he is anything like his brother will be spoiled rotten by his aunts, grandparents, and family friends.

Two month highlights:

Weight- I'm going to guess about 10.5-11 lbs. We will find out on Friday.

Not sleeping through the night. One day he gave us a 7 hour stretch, I was hopeful. Fail.

0-3 month onsies

Eating anywhere between 2-4 oz bottles. Frequently.

Still loves bath time

Not a big fan of having snot sucked out of his nose!

Everyday he gets more content, and that makes us happy. A happy baby makes for a much more peaceful, and stress free day.

Beep Beep Beep Beep

2011-12-06T10:27:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Seriously, where did November go? I'm kind of sad at how fast our lives are going these days. I guess that is what having kids does to you. Thanksgiving was pretty low key this year. No traveling, unless you count a trip to Adam's parents house. They got lots of visitors though. Adam's Grandma and her husband, his aunt and uncle, and a cousin and her boyfriend.

The weekend started off with a beep on Wednesday night. Adam and I were waiting for his sister and cousin, Erica, to arrive at our house. It was probably 9:30 or so ( way past my bedtime) when we hear Dylan's carbon monoxide detector going off. Right. By. his. head. That thing is really freaking loud and I'm not kidding you when I say it was about 4 inches from his ear. Amazingly, he slept right through it. So we were kind of freaked out, Adam took Dylan out of his room until we could assess the situation. I on the other hand was like, oh it's probably just a battery going dead, the thing is 2 years old. I know I know, we are bad about changing batteries. So once we figure out that the beep that was going on was a dead battery beep and not the " four quick beeps with a 5 second pause" we felt we could sleep better.

Erica and Laura get to our house and we tell them about it, then we hear four beeps. all of us get kinda of freaked, we considered calling the fire department just to be safe, but we didn't. It wasn't a continuous beep like the instructions said it would be. We were fine. We changed the battery and plugged it back in, all was good. We all chatted for an hour or so, mean while the damn detector would beep randomly freaking us all out. I think we stayed up so late because we were afraid to go to sleep. We joked about leaving a note that it was beeping, just in case! Morbid I know.

Finally, we were all upstairs and the thing beeped four times again. But it wasn't as loud as I thought that it should have been. I had the idea to go and rewind the TV to see if that beep had been on there. Sure as shit, it was. It was Top Chef the whole time. They were being timed on a challenge and the timer would go off, beeping four times. So every time the carbon monoxide beeped, it was just the stupid TV. Other than the first time of course, that luckily didn't damage our child's hearing.

That is the long story sorry. The rest of Thanksgiving was great. WE went to Adam's parents house for turkey, stayed and watched too much football. Friday all the "kids" went to the Stars game. It was fun. We pimped the Mini of course. I knew it would come in handy!:)

Two.

2011-12-02T08:23:00.000-06:00

one million, fiftey one thousand two hundred minutes. seventeen thousand five hundred and twenty hours. seven hundred thirty days. one hundred and four weeks. two years.

Sophisticated Palate

2011-11-15T10:36:00.002-06:00

Well just like I said Dylan would be a shoe salesman, because of his love of shoes. I'm pretty sure Graham will be a food critic. Now as most of you know, no matter how many Fenugreek pills I take , currently 9 a day, no matter how much I pump, currently at least 15 min after every feeding, no matter how great his latch is my body does not produce enough milk to keep my little boy happy. We like to think it's my payback for having great pregnancy's. No morning sickness? Well, no milk either! So from about day 5 we have been supplementing with formula.

We started out with Similac Advance, because I got a huge sample in the mail, then we switched to Enfamil Newborn becuase I got 8 cans from my pediatrician. After about 3 cans of that, we switched to Similac Sensitive because I had a can of that, the enfamil was making him really gassy. My plan was to switch to Enfamil Gentlease after the Sensitive was gone, because well, that's what Dylan used, and you can get a generic super cheap at Sam's. Sunday evening we ran out of the Similac. We made the switch. Well, lets just say, at 9:30 PM, I was in the car on my way to Walmart to get some Similac. The child flipped out. He refused to drink it, and screamed bloody murder once it was in his mouth.

Last night Adam made him a bottle, he ate a little then refused it again. Daddy was getting his feelings hurt because he wouldn't eat from him. A few minuets later Adam realized that he had made the Enfamil. Graham has a picky palate. He also already has expensive taste!!

Graham- {ONE MONTH}

2011-11-11T10:50:00.001-06:00

My My My how quickly a month goes by. I can't believe my baby is already over a month old, I'm a little late as usual. I asked Adam the other day if this was as fast as time was going to go for the rest of our lives. My boys will be getting married before I know it. Yes, I will cry. I am that mom.

Having two kids under the age of two is hard. Anyone who says that it is peaches and rainbows is a liar. Dylan is a great kid. He plays independently, he is sweet, rarely throws tantrums, and listens as well as a two year old does, but he is still hard to manage while dealing with Graham. luckily, we've gotten into kind of a rhythm. My key is to just keep Dylan entertained. That sometimes includes letting Dylan, "help" with Graham.

Graham has been a great addition to this family. His brother loves him, but of course has shown some jealousy. Mostly when I'm nursing and he needs something that I can't get up to give him. But he is full of kisses and hugs for Graham. He will bring me his paci, and hand me his bottle. He is a great little helper. I know he wants to know why he won't play with him, and just sleeps all the time.

One Month Highlights:
-Probably weighs around 9 lbs.
-Size 1 Diapers
-Newborn sleepers and onesies
-Has been hit in the head with a "D" sized battery( Might have been an accident), a tennis ball( Accident) and Dylan's hand numerous times. He is going to be one tough kid. Though Dylan better watch out, chances are Graham is going to be bulkier than him!
-Eats all. the. time. He will give us one long stretch at night, like 7:30- 1:30, but then is up again at 3, 5 and 7. It's really annoying. I know it's just because he doesn't finish his bottle because he falls asleep.
-He is no longer swaddled. We stopped a few nights ago and it's been going well.
-LOVES baths.
-Is so gassy. We are trying everything. Poor guy, I hope it gets better for him soon.
-Actually like tummy time.
-Have incredible head strength already. Love to stand on our laps, you will be walking before I know it.
- Fountain pee-er. Like the comical, over his head, in his mouth pee-er.

Need more Graham?

Busy Bodies

2011-11-09T08:52:00.001-06:00

This past Sunday was a very busy one for us. Luckily, everyone was healthy again in this house. We really probably booked ourselves for too much, seeing as it was the first day of the time change. First off, we started with the newest addition to our family getting Baptised. When Dylan was baptized, he cried ,screamed really, through the whole thing. Granted it was at like 7 PM because it was an Easter service. We knew we needed to make sure that Graham was younger, and that the service wasn't late at night. Sunday it was. Unfortunately, I had already booked us for our family pictures in the afternoon. I even had to turn down a birthday party because I knew I needed Dylan to take a good nap in order to be in a good mood for pictures.

The service went well, Graham was pretty good, anytime he got upset we just fed him, because of course, we had to wake him up to get him there. The only problem was me. I really have a hard time packing a diaper bag for two kids. I get to church and realize that I didn't bring a burp cloth. Luckily, Graham's Godmother, Becca came to the rescue. She didn't have a burp cloth either, but she had a blanket. The next was diaper changes. Graham is a pooper. Like his big brother. So we get to church and before it even starts, he stinks. We go change him. We come back, not ten minuets later, he pooped again. Problem- I had already used the diaper I had! Becca to the rescue again. Thank goodness for another new mom!

Of course, when planning all these events I didn't really think about the time change when I was agreeing to do all of these things. Dylan was not in a good mood by the end of church, mainly because to him, it was already 1 pm. Nap time is usually between noon and 1. Now, I'm going to say, on days that he doesn't get a nap, he usually doesn't act like a pill, but those days he doesn't wake up at 7:20. So he just wasn't in a picture taking mood after the service.

He fell asleep in the car, ALWAYS bad. So when we got home and he had time for a two and half hour nap, well he probably only got 45- 60 minuet nap. Needless to say, I'm not sure you all will be seeing a smiling Dylan, or Graham for that matter, in our Christmas card photo this year.

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-07T20:03:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind, but please, cut me some slack, it was a rough week last week. I'm taking you all the way back to October. Can you believe we are already a week into November? I can't.

This was the first Halloween for Dylan. Alright, not the first, but the first he got to participate in. He couldn't walk last year, and I think taking kids Trick or treating that can't walk is like teenagers not in costumes coming to my door. He went as a giraffe. Now you see I'm pretty frugal ( or cheap whatever) and I didn't want to buy him a costume that he would wear once, but luckily Becca had a costume that was too little for her guy, so we got to use it. As It turned out, he got to wear it twice too, once to school for the pumpkin patch, and once to trunk or treat.

We actually didn't even go trick or treating. We went trunk or treating.
Now many are probably thinking, what is Trunk or treating. Well it was a thing that Becca's parents church put on. Cars lined up, with their trunks decorated in variouss themes and handed out candy. It was really a great idea. Dylan was a little shy at first, probably because he can't say trick or treat, but he quickly got the hang of it and would lift his basket for people to put candy in. He was even being environmentally friendly and picking candy and empty wrappers off the ground and putting them in his basket!

Overall, I would say he was successful in his first Halloween. He doesn't even seem to be afraid of the "scary decor" that comes with the holiday. The one bad thing about it though, is that he can't really eat many of the different types of candy, you know, snickers and things. So what does that mean? Mom has too!:)

The Great Outdoors

2011-11-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Remember when I said that Dylan could live outside? I wasn't kidding. He will wake up and point to his feet and say "shoes" He will bring Adam and I our shoes from the closet, in hopes that we put them on to go out. He has become quiet the soccer player, and ball thrower because of the great outdoors. Though, Daddy has taught him some things I wish he wouldn't, like throwing and kicking the ball against the garage, and the wall ( as well as inside the house). I guess the wall isn't too bad, but there are windows.

I can't wait to get him into soccer, though we will have to work on him not picking the ball up with his hands.

Monday Menu

2011-10-31T11:16:00.002-05:00

I don't have much of a menu this week, but I thought that I would post anyway.

Sunday- Get yo' Man chicken, Cesar salad, Garlic Bread

Monday- Chicken Sandwich's, sweet potato fries

Tuesday- No clue.

Wednesday- Laura gets in from Australia, so we are going to Adam's parents for dinner.

Thursday- Chili and Corn bread

Friday- Maybe out, maybe something from the freezer

With my addiction to Pinterest, I'm hoping to try out some new recipes soon.

{Three}

2011-10-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

Three weeks have passed since Graham entered our little family. I feel like it's been a really long three weeks, but then other times, I'm like "oh my, he's almost a whole month old?" He and Dylan are very different babies, that's for sure.

I took Graham for his 2 week checkup. He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs. 2 oz. So right there that is a difference. He is gaining weight. Adam and I wised up, and when he would still be screaming after nursing, we figured out that my supply was once again, not there. So supplementing with formula it was. Dylan wasn't 8 lbs until at least a month old. Graham eats all the time. I feel like he eats, sleeps and of course poos. We have had two blow outs this week. I can't even remember Dylan having one.

Graham needs to be swaddled. All. the. time. I have very few pictures of him where he isn't a burrito. If he breaks a foot out, or hand, he goes ballistic. Therefore this week we started doing the double swaddle. It seems to have worked, he hasn't gotten his arms out yet. I know, you would think if he is getting his hands out, maybe he doesn't want to be swaddled. Trust me, he still wants it. I hope he gets over that soon.

He also sounds a little like a pug. The kid didn't stand a chance in this house to not get a cold. Dylan was sick, then Adam got a bad cold for a week, I got a sore throat and runny nose for a few days. Luckily, he isn't that bad, but you can tell he has some stuff in his nose, I can't get it out with the bulb though, so that's no good. Poor little guy.

I can't believe next week he will be a month old. It's going to be a busy second month. He is getting baptized, his aunt Laura is coming in for a few months from Australia, and his first family photos, so we are sure to be busy! Hopefully, I'll be able to stay up to date with photo's because I know there will be many.

Big Brother

2011-10-26T14:55:00.000-05:00

One of the many things that I was concerned with , with bringing a new baby into the house was how Dylan would react. I was worried he would think we didn't love him anymore, and I was worried there was no way that I could love Graham as much as I love Dylan. He is my little monkey, my first born, and my wild child. Boy was I incorrect.

Yes, Dylan is a wanting a little more attention. His new favorite thing is to carry around his shoes, saying " Dooes" ( Sounds a little like Jews), and pointing at the front door, the child could live outside if we let him. He is also a little more hitty, if you will. If he doesn't get what he wants, he starts flapping his hands around hitting whatever comes his way. Including, his new baby brother's head. Now of course this is unacceptable, so he goes to timeout. I'll be honest though, when you have one child attached to a boob, and one that is being bad, it's a little hard to get up and put him in timeout. Off subject, but I never thought timeout would work for my kid. You mean, tell him to sit in one spot and "think" about what he did? I will tell you though, it works, he will sit there, and stay, and if I keep getting onto him, saying " We do not hit" he gets this big tears in his eyes. I think I hurt his feelings. I'm just surprised he will stay in one place.

Dylan's saving grace for being a naughty little monkey, is that he is super sweet with his brother. He will hug him and kiss him. Without me even saying to. He will just sit and watch him. He will rock him in his chair. He will pat his belly if he is crying, and he pet's his head. He will try to give him back a pacifier if it fell out. He just melts my heart. I knew he would be sweet, but I never guessed that he would be as good with him as he has. Now as our pediatrician told us, that will probably all change once Graham is mobile and stealing Dylan's toys!

So to say the least, Dylan is a great big brother, and we are surviving, and possibly even thriving as a family of four. Everyday we get a little more adventurous. This weekend, we went to dinner with Adam's parents. Saturday, we went over to Becca's parents house to watch the Rangers game. We stayed until after 10. Dylan was great. Graham screamed the entire way home. He was starving. The kid has Dylan and Adam's metabolism I think. He can eat until the cows come home. Though he still has frog legs! He does have him some cheeks though!

The first two.

2011-10-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Graham is two whole weeks old. Time sure does fly. As I had assumed, he doesn't have nearly as many pictures taken of him, he gets put in some kind of baby contraption as soon as he falls asleep, and overall, has much less stressed parents.

Having a newborn in the house again has been an adjustment. There are many things Adam and I had forgotten about having a newborn, like, did you know they don't hold their own heads up? That's something we forgot. I hate to admit it, but his head has almost fallen off a few times from forgetting this little bit of information. Did you know they cry for no reason? How about they don't sleep through the night? Though I can't really complain about this. Adam and I have a pretty good system going. I get up for the first feeding, then Adam handles the second. We are getting 4-5 hour stretches because well, we like sleep, I know he is gaining weight, and well "don't wake a sleeping baby!"

Graham has been a great addition to our family, Dylan loves him, most of the time. The only time he has shown real jealousy is when I am nursing him. Dylan has become very interested in my boobs, as well as pacifiers and bottles. As long as I'm not nursing, Dylan loves his brother, he will lay next to him, kiss him, give him hugs, and say " uh oh" when he is crying. He loves to rock him in his chair, as well as the swing. Sadly, Dylan also thinks that because "baby brother" can play in these items so can he. Luckily, he doesn't exceed the weight limit on the swing yet, because if he breaks that, he is a dead kid. ( only kidding of course, we would just buy a new one.)

I'm adjusting to having two kiddo's pretty well I think. This week, I managed to get to the grocery store, while Dylan was in school of course, I even took both boys to story time at the library, and I would have been on time if I could have found my phone. After that we ventured out to lunch with our friends Becca and Carson. Graham slept the whole time, so that makes it easier. It will be much harder to do anything I think once Graham is awake more and requires more attention. But for now, I will savor his sleepiness.
Graham has gone on walks in the neighborhood, had his first "real" bath, which he loved, and gone to one of Daddy's soccer games. He has been a busy boy in his first two weeks. I can't imagine what the next two hold for us in this house.

Grahams Arrival {part two}

2011-10-15T15:34:00.000-05:00

Friday morning, my Dr. came in around 9 AM, and had the nurses start the dreaded Pitocin. He wouldn't start it until I had gotten the epidural though, so that was what took so long. I love epidurals!:) So they started me on a drip and also put an internal monitor on Graham. He was moving around so much, they were having a hard time keeping a monitor on his heart rate. At this time, I had gone from 2 to 4 cm, just on the meds they gave me before. My cervix was still very unfavorable. I wasn't happy to hear that needless to say. After about 45 min on the pitocin, I was contracting well so they came and checked me, 5 cm. I also didn't know at this time that they were going to turn off the pitocin. Graham was having some heart rate issues. So for the next 2 and a half hours I was just contracting and dilating on my own. Then when I got to an 8, they turned it back on to finish it out. My Dr. thought that I would have delivered already, so he wanted to get me complete. My epidural started to wear off on my left side, so I felt a ton of pressure. I called the nurse to tell her. She said that I was close but not ready. About 5 min later I called again, my nurse had gone to lunch, this is what the other nurse said.

Me- I'm feeling LOTS of pressure.

Her- Megan went to lunch, can you wait 20 min for her to come back?

Me- I guess.

2 min later she comes into the room. " Dr. Chester called and wants me to check you. Oh yeah you are complete. I'll call Megan and Dr. Chester"

Megan comes in and since Graham had been really high and not dropping, wanting to try some practice pushes, to get him to come down a little. The first push, she stops me halfway through telling me he is RIGHT there, and that I don't need to "practice." Dr. Chester took about another 5 min to get there, I was really afraid Graham was going to just fall out. After one and a half pushes he was here. My first thought was that he looked a lot like Dylan.

I know many people are wary of inductions, but other than a few hiccups, I had a very successful induction. Less than 4 hours from pitocin to delivery. They said why the other stuff sent my body into fits was that it was just way to strong. So aside from that, I would be induced again. It was kind of nice knowing when it was happening and having a plan for Dylan. But of course I wouldn't do it until I was 40 weeks.

We are surviving as a family of four. I won't lie, it's hard. Dealing with a newborn and a toddler who wants attention. Dylan loves his baby brother, and hopefully my next post will be on how he is adjusting:)

Graham's Arrival- {Part One}

2011-10-14T09:30:00.001-05:00

I am writing this mainly for me, so I don't forget anything. It was semi eventful. I'll do two parts because it's kinda long.

They say every baby is different. Graham has been different since his arrival. "They" say, the second baby comes earlier, and faster. Well, "they " are not always right. With this tid bit of information, I expected to have a September babe. When October rolled around, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad that I was still pregnant. Now, even though my husband will always remind me of how much complaining I did at the end, I still enjoyed being pregnant, I was just "done." So when I went to my 39 week appointment, and was told I hadn't made much progress and that my blood pressure was going up, come on people, I was STILL pregnant, it took all I had not to cry in the Dr. office. He wanted me back the next week to check my blood pressure, if it was high, he was going to induce me that night. Fast forward to that Monday. Dylan woke up sick with a fever, so my plans of dropping him off at Becca's were off, but he wasn't going to help my blood pressure. I made Adam meet me at the Dr. yes, it was an appointment that took 5 min, but I knew my pressure would be high with a sick, crying baby with me! After the check, my Dr. asked me if I wanted to get on the induction schedule for the end of the week. I would be 40 weeks, he wouldn't let me go further than Saturday. We were to be at the hospital at 10 PM on Thursday night to start the process, IF I didn't go before then. I didn't.

We get to the hospital, and after all the paperwork, and IV's and set up, I don't get my meds until about midnight, by then I was exhausted, and ready for bed. They offered me an Ambien, I denied, but after about an hour of just laying there, went ahead and asked for it. When she brought it in, she asked me if I could feel all of the contractions that I was having. I could not. My blood pressure was pretty high, of course, so she had me flip onto my side, and try to get some sleep.

About an hour or two later, I can't remember, Ambien, remember? I woke up with about 6 people standing around me. One was putting an oxygen mask on, one was adjusting the contraction monitor, one adjusting Graham's heart rate monitor, one jabbing me in the arm with something to stop my contractions, and one telling me that I was contracting constantly, and they needed to give my uterus a break, and Graham's heart rate had dipped significantly. It was a good time. Shortly after, all was good, and we would reconvene around 9 to discuss the next step.

The Fenner Four

2011-10-10T13:49:00.002-05:00

Introducing...

{The Fourth Fenner}

Graham Wesley

10-7-11

7 lbs. 6 Oz.

Breakfast of Champs

2011-10-04T10:08:00.001-05:00

I've never been a big fan of breakfast food. I eat breakfast because I have too most of the time. I'm a huge fan of eggs Benedict, but it's bad for you and takes forever to make! Since being pregnant, I've really just had to eat breakfast. Usually it's a bowl of cereal . Though recently I stumbled upon a recipe that was not only healthy, but easy to make and well, didn't last long in our house. Baked Oatmeal. I'm sure I'm not the last person to try this, but it really is so much better than your plain oatmeal made on the stove top or microwave. I love that it has a nice crunch, and you can really add anything to it you want. I made one with just banana's, and then this one last weekend I made with blueberries and bananas. It needed to be cooked a little longer because the blueberries make it a little more mushy. Other than that I highly recommend giving it a try. It takes me about 3 minuets to put together then you just have to wait for it to bake.

Baked oatmeal with bananas and blueberries

1 Cup Old fanshioned rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped nuts- if you want them, I don't use them
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 cup milk
1 large egg- slightly beaten
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 ripe bananas
1 cup blueberries

Pre-heat your oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 2 Qt. baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine rolled oats,half of the nuts ( if you are using them) baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. combine with a fork. In a measuring cup combine maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Spread your banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of your dish, top those with half of your blueberries. Next sprinkle the oat mixture on top of that, then top with the liquid mixture. Put the rest of the berries, and nuts on the top of that. Bake for 35-40 min, until the top is brown and the oats of set. Now if you have the patience, let cool for 10 min before serving.

You can use any fruit you would like. Unfortunelty this can't really be made in advance, but it makes for really good leftovers. But like I said, Adam and I can finish a whole pan!

Oh yes, and I'm still pregnant. Graham seems to have missed the memo that the second baby is supposed to come earlier than the first. Oh well!

Fall Fun

2011-09-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Not only has this very pregnant momma loved the recent cool down in weather, but I know of a couple of toddlers that have as well. You remember me telling you that Becca and her family moved into the neighborhood right? Well that has proven to be great for both of us. Both being pregnant, sometimes our hyperactive boys drive us nuts. So almost everyday, we try to get them together, becuase when they are together, they leave us alone. We get to sit on the couch and talk and relax.

div>Last week, we headed to the park for some early morning fun. Lets say, there were slides and bubbles involved. Once the bubbles were brought out, there was nothing else at that park though. Who knew that soapy water would be such a hit with kiddos. I wish I was "Mr. Bubble" and invented them!

Last week we also hit up a indoor safari park. The boys had lots of fun. They had two large ball pits, which of course were a hit, as well as a trampoline. It was Dylan's first time on one, I had video but my phone crashed the other day ( go back up your phone now people I lost so much!) he really didn't know what to do, but he has been "jumping" ever since.He jumps on the bed, on the floor, on the couch, he's a wild man, luckily his feet don't actually leave the floor yet! They had a great time, and it wore them both out, so they both took great naps, which means us momma's got good ones too!:)

{The Reveal}

2011-09-25T17:47:00.000-05:00

Alright, I know it's not completely done, but I'm tired of waiting, we need to move the recliner into our room, so here is Graham's humble abode. It is VERY different from Dylan's. Dylan's is much more of a kids room. With Graham, I wanted to do a more modern feel. I knew I wanted to do gray walls, so after selecting 9 different grays to slap on the wall, I finally found the "perfect" gray. I also can't help myself with stripes for some reason. Maybe it's because I didn't have to paint them myself this time, who knows.

This room was a little bit of a challenge for me because I had to find a color scheme to work with that involved a red recliner. When I purchased it for Dylan, I didn't really think about having to use it in another room. Because it was so expensive, though great, we decided to move it to Grahams room and purchase a cheaper, not as comfy or convenient, chair for Dylan's room.

I still need to work on the bookcase. It's hard, because whatever is up there, Dylan can pull off, which is why the bottom two shelves are lacking a little in "decor"

I am usually completely anti- monogram. I think that people go over board with them, but with this room, I wanted something different, so I had a piggy bank made, as well as put a G on his bedding. The coo coo clock was my moms. That was the one thing she requested from Adam and I's trip to Germany. It was brown, so a little spray paint, and it works in the room.

This time I went with custom bedding. I know Graham will not care at all, so I picked a damask, a little girly yes, but I LOVE IT!

The art work is 100% done by Big brother to be. All I did was paint the background and let him have at it. The middle one, he had brushes in his hands. The outside ones, I took the brushes away, so they look a little different. I'm super happy with the way they came out, and I also learned that buying canvas' and letting him paint is a really good way to kill time during the day!

Love his name.

Adam the handy man's work. He had to hard wire this lamp into the ceiling, but hey, I originally wanted to put hardwood floors in, so he really lucked out.

I totally had to move Dylan's changing pad in for the pictures. We are going to see if we can get away without having to buy another one, so really the only thing on this is the lamp! Graham won't actually be living in here for a few more weeks anyway!

So there you have it folks, Graham's room. I'm sure I'm forgetting pictures of something that y'all want to see, so if so, feel free to email me and let me know! It's a far cry from Dylan's nursery yes?

Where does it go?

2011-09-23T19:26:00.000-05:00

While on a walk last night, we ran into a neighbor who has just had her 4 possibly 5th, i can't remember baby. She was carrying him in a sling, so of course I had to go say hi. You know what blew my mind? How TINY that little guy was, 6 lbs 10 oz at birth, so not tiny by any means. I just honestly can't remember Dylan being so small. Nor can I believe in two short weeks I will have another tiny little guy. I guess I should have known when I pulled out newborn diapers and Dylan's shoes were bigger than them.:) It's amazing how you forget everything about babies. I don't remember having to get up a lot with Dylan in the middle of the night, but I do remember moving him upstairs to his bed at 8 weeks. Adam says he remembers though, but not me!

It's such a cliche, but it's so true. They really do grow so fast. I'm loving this stage with Dylan, other than the terrible tantrums for no reason, but he is such a funny and sweet little boy, I can't wait to see him with his baby brother. He is like a little person now. He has likes and dislikes, and lets you know about them, as previously mentioned. I find myself, though sad he is getting so big so fast, wondering what he will be like when he is five, or even ten. Adam brought it up the other day. " I wonder if we will always have other kids at our house, or if he will always be at someone elses?" You know, when you were in elementary, were you always at someone elses house? No one was ever at ours, so I was always at someone elses, and Adam didn't have cable Tv , the horror, so he was always at someones house as well. I guess only time will tell.

Full Term

2011-09-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

This past Friday marked a big milestone in any pregnancy. Full Term. Graham can come now, whenever he wants, and he will likely need no medical intervention. This momma would prefer him to come sooner rather than later, but I'm sure he knows that. Not because I tell him every. single. time I think about it or anything. He is just ready to meet his parents and the big brother that keeps kneeing him in the head.

Now, of course I'm a little late in posting this, so I'm actually pretty close to 38 weeks now, which means, if he comes when Dylan did ( 8 days early) we won't be having a 39 week post. Again, I'm 100 percent OK with this. So for reaching full term, I thought I would get to answering some questions that every pregnant person toward the end gets asked.

- No my hospital bag is not packed, completely. I DO have some stuff in it.

- Yes, I'm minimally dilated, though I'm not sure that is an appropriate stranger question.

- Yes, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I mean aside from the fact that I don't have sheets on the pack n play, nor do I even own them;)

- I plan to nurse yes, but you know what, if it doesn't work, oh well. Dylan is a pretty cute, healthy smart kiddo, and he was a formula baby.

- If I have not gone into labor by 40 weeks, yes, my Dr. will induce. In his words " In 40 years of private practice, I've never seen anything good come from letting mom be 2 weeks overdue." - I am most looking forward to seeing what he looks like. I haven't seen his face this whole pregnancy, so I really want to know what he looks like.

There you have it. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask them. That's all I can think of right now. Hopefully soon, I'll have a birth announcement to post.

Monday Menu

2011-09-19T12:25:00.002-05:00

Hey, I actually have one this week. Probably because I made a point to go to the store on Sunday!

Sunday Lunch- Ham and Cheese Panini's, Strawberries, and Pringles ( I could eat a whole can yum)

Sunday dinner- Chicken Spaghetti - I was originally making this to freeze but since I had slaved, we ate one of the dishes for dinner.

Monday- Crock pot Southwestern Corn soup, cheese quesadillas

Tuesday- Steak Sandwich's

Wednesday- Crock pot Orange Chicken , rice

Thursday- Ham and Cheese Sliders, fruit, chips

Friday- leftovers or out to eat.

Weekend Getaway

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Over Labor day weekend, Adam and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend a wedding for a college friend of ours in Austin. I say lucky, because not only did we get to go, but we also got to go alone. Adam's parents took in our child for 4 whole days! I say it to Adam all the time, but really, if we didn't leave near them and utilize their willingness to watch our rug rat, we would do nothing! Anywho, we dropped Dylan off early Friday morning, and made our way down to Austin. Only pit stopping once, which is pretty good for being 36 weeks pregnant. That one stop was not even for a potty break really. We stopped in West, Texas for some Kolaches. I couldn't tell you the last time I had been to Austin, but every time I go I stop there. Yummy in my tummy. We even stopped on the way back to get some for our freezer, for after Graham arrives.

Friday was " boys" day. They played a little mini golf, drank some beer, shot some guns and ate some all you can eat BBQ. Could they sound any more Texas? The gals, we had a nice dinner at Bucca Di Beppo, which was really good. I liked the variety since well, everything pasta and carb, sounds so good right now.

I love that about every year someone from our college friends gets married. It's a great reunion time. Though we are running out of people. We sadly had to miss two of the weddings in the past, one because we were in Philly, and another because Dylan was like 2 weeks old. We are going to be missing another one in October because Graham will probably be about 2 weeks old as well. I really should time having babies better!;)

We spent Saturday, eating good food, shopping, and spending time catching up with folks we hadn't seen in years. I love how our group of friends will travel from everywhere to come to weddings, we had people from California, Alaska, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New York. How awesome is that?

The wedding was beautiful, the reception fun, though I didn't do much dancing for obvious reasons. Though Adam made me get out there for one song, it was a Miley Cyrus song where everyone jumped. There was no way that was happening!:)

The next morning at our hotel we were woken up by dogs barking, it took us a while to figure out that, no a dog show wasn't in town, but it was a bunch of people who had to find shelter from the wild fires. It was a mad house in there I tell you. I'm glad that we made the trip to see friends that we probably won't see for at least another year or so. I am also thankful that we were able to do so without taking Dylan. We probably wouldn't have gone other wise.

First Week

2011-09-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Last week was Dylan's first week of "school." We decided that a Mother's Day Out program would be great for him to get some social interaction with other kiddos as well as give this pregnant Momma a "day out." He is going Tuesday's and Thursday for five hours. Do you know how quickly five hours goes when you don't have a toddler to tote around with you? Very quickly.

Tuesday morning we got up and got ready for school. He was in such a foul mood, I ALMOST felt bad taking him and leaving him. Remember, he had just come off some ear infections as well, so that was probably part of it. He flat out refused to carry his backpack or lunch box, so of course I did it. He would only carry Monkey. They recommended letting them bring something for nap time, to encourage them to take a nap. haha. I dropped him off, he went to play on the slide, and I managed to slip out the door without him seeing me. This is the trick to no crying. His teachers said he did great when I went to pick him up, other than the fact he didn't nap. Mind you, he takes about a three hour nap everyday, so he was pretty cranky when I picked him up. I marked day one as a success.

Thursday. He was in a great mood when he woke up, even walked ALL the way to his classroom from the car. Once he saw where he was though, all hell broke loose. The poor guy knew I was going to be leaving him, so he started crying. The teachers had to pry him off of me to let me leave. I know he only cried for like a minuet after I left, but it was still hard. The report at the end of the day was that he cried more than Tuesday, but I'm guessing it was more tantrum crying, like making him do things he doesn't want to do, than scared or missing me crying! So we will see how this week goes.

I do have to say though, I can tell already that this is going to be money very well spent. I loved my time off, which was spent grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, getting a massage, and lunch with my husband, and I know he will learn to get along with other kiddos. His friend Carson is starting tomorrow, sadly though, they won't be in the same class. But hey, at least he'll "know" someone right?

I promise I had more pictures, but for some reason they are not on the card anymore. which is strange becuase I looked at them the other day? oh well

Want more?

2011-09-08T13:41:00.003-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that I just don't post enough pictures of Dylan. Too be honest, I don't see how that is possible, but either way. Want daily pictures? Follow me on Twitter. Granted they are just iphone pics, but hey, you get a daily dose of adorable!

@LindsayFenner ( incase I didn't link it correctly up top!:))

Words

2011-09-07T12:07:00.004-05:00

If a picture says one thousand words...

What do you think these pictures say...

I bet it's not what you think....

First

2011-08-31T11:18:00.003-05:00

It happens every time. The first time we were going out of town without Dylan, he got his first fever ever. This time? His first ear infections. That's right, there is an S on that. Poor little fella has one in both ears. Luckily, with the help of modern medicine, he is on the mend and hopefully will be his usual self with Grandma and Grandpa this weekend!

He also starts Mother's Day out next week, so we need to get him in tip top shape!

Peeves

2011-08-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

There are very few things that Adam and I don't agree on, but one thing we do is about our kids bikes. Now you might be saying, that's a silly thing to agree on. We agree that our kids will lose bike privileges if they leave them in the middle of the sidewalk. Almost every day when we go on a walk, there is a house a few doors down that ALWAYS, and I mean always people, has a bike or two laying in the middle of the sidewalk. Since we have a stroller with us, we have to run in their grass with it. Which I also hate.

When we were little, sure we left our bikes out. I vividly remember one instance when my mom and dad had told my sister and me not to leave them in the street when we went into a friends house. Of course, Erin and I did and when we came out they were gone. We freaked. My parents were so angry, but little did we know that they had been the ones to take them off the street. Proving a point I guess. Point taken I'm sure. We never had our bikes stolen after that.

So I guess that even though it will make us " hypocrites" we will not allow our children to leave things on the sidewalk. Sure, leave them outside, whatever. But not in the middle of the sidewalk for crying out loud!

Handy Man

2011-08-27T08:15:00.000-05:00

I usually always write blogs about the tiny men in my life. Today's blog is dedicated to the grown up one in my life. My husband. As most of you know, Adam and I have been together for a veryyy long time. Since we were 15. So to say we know pretty much everything about each other is probably an understatement. Though, when we got married and bought our first house in Philly, I learned something. He is very handy. Who would have thought it? Not me. I can't think of how many times I've heard him say, " I can make that." Do you know how annoying that phrase is when you just want a simple bookshelf? Well, a bookshelf he made. Do you know how long it took him to make said bookshelf? MONTHS. Cutting wood, sanding wood, putting together wood. It took months, did it look nice? Custom made? Sure. But it took forever. That is when we learned we have to add in his time as well to see if it would be cheaper to " Just make that."

Since moving into our new house, he has changed out a few light fixtures, added a ceiling fan to our bedroom, hung a media room projector, made a built in for Graham's nursery, and built a bench. The bench was his "nesting" project I think. He worked for a few hours a night for a week straight making this bench. That was after he did required research on bench building, as to have it be comfy for his short wife!:) He designed it, and built it, and once it gets to be cooler, I'm sure we will sit on it!

I'm lucky to have a handy man in my house. Though with all the things I make him do, he might wish he wasn't!

BFF

2011-08-26T19:30:00.001-05:00

Have you even known anyone who have been friends since before they could remember? Now I'm not talking about those people who say they have known each other forever, when in reality it's only been 15 years. I'm talking friends since birth? I'm excited to say that my kiddo's might be that lucky. Recently, one of my best friends, Maid of honor, and Cosmo lady twin, Becca and her family moved back to Dallas. Not only did they move to Dallas, they moved into our neighborhood! Adam went to elementary school with Becca, and I've known her, through soccer, since we were in the 4th grade. Here is the kicker. She has a son, Carson, that is 4 months older than Dylan, and we are both due with our second boys within 6 weeks of each other.

It's nice having a built in best friend for Dylan. Sure, Dylan will make friends in school, but he will always have Carson as kind of like a security blanket. They will be in the same grade, as will Graham and Carson's little brother. We've had many play dates since their arrival in Dallas, they are finally getting used to each other. When Carson left the other night, they gave each other a hugs, Dylan then body slammed Carson into the ground and made him cry. It was hilarious, and also sad, because never again in his life will that happen. Dylan just doesn't have the football gene's that Carson does.

The great thing about toddlers being together, they entertain each other. Carson was over the other day and I brought out the crayons. I didn't hear a thing from either of them for at least 30 minuets. Then they got restless and started coloring on things IE: The wall, blueberry, table, chairs, really anything. Thank goodness for washable colors! They had a great time together though, and I'm looking forward to many more dates with them and their new little brothers!

Rehomed

2011-08-16T12:47:00.006-05:00

Last year, when Mom died, some of you might remember that we got stuck with her animals. I say stuck, because when you already have 2 dogs, a cat and a 5 month old, any additions are a little much. I wish that she had had a 5 pound dog, instead of a 60 pound horse, who had never been around kiddos. We knew that we couldn't keep Gator forever. Which was hard on me, because whenever Mom would have the " If anything ever happens to me" speech with me, she ALWAYS asked me to make sure to take care of Gator. It was an adjustment at first, but we got used to it. Though he never got used to Dylan.
Once Dylan got more mobile, and curious of his surroundings, we really noticed that Gator had to go. He was just too jumpy around him, and well toddlers don't understand that you can't touch a dog when he isn't looking at you. I had asked around if anyone knew anyone who wanted a fully grown dog. Wouldn't you know, he wasn't too marketable. Several months ago, Gator finally bit Dylan, that was the last straw. He went up on Craigslist. Again, no one wanted a huge dog that isn't good with kids. I knew we needed to find him a home before Graham came. The sooner the better. I knew I couldn't put him in a shelter, no one would adopt him, he would be put down. I had enough on my conscious just getting rid of him. But I knew that Mom wouldn't have wanted her dog to be biting her grandbaby that she loved so much. Finally two weeks ago, I got a hit on craigslist. It was a woman who ran a "rescue" I say that word loosely. Upon loading Gator up an making an hour drive to Terrell, we came to the conclusion she was probably just an animal hoarder. It was horrible. I could never have let the sweet dog that we had come to love live with her. I wanted a good life for him.

Suzan, Adam's mom, after getting news that we couldn't leave him with her, sent out an email to her email list. Within days, we had someone else who wanted to meet him. Adam spoke with her on the phone. Now, if you know my husband, he doesn't really say anything bad about people. But he told me this sounded very promising and that she was just so nice. We made a plan to take Gator to meet her and her family on Saturday. I loved the idea that she had 2 acres of land, and 4 children, the youngest being ten. So old enough to know not to sneak up on a dog.

We arrive, her family meets us outside. Gator takes to them instantly. She truly was one of the nicest people I've met. They were all just so in awe with Gator, and Dylan of course. They threw the ball as far as they could and he would willingly go fetch it. They loved him. He loved them. It couldn't have been more perfect. I was so happy. Happy that I could give away the last piece that truly reminded me of my mother, and not feel guilty. He was going to a great family. The woman, she is a runner, so he was going to get to go out on runs every morning. It was perfect. I told her to send me pictures, and that I would probably check in every month to see how he was doing.

Not three hours later did we get a text with a picture of him sprawled on their floor, making himself at home. It made my heart happy. Then, they told us they changed his name to Boomer, because they are Sooner Fans!:) Gator to Boomer. Two quality dog names! So we are back to two dogs. Life is much more calm. You don't realize how many dogs three is until you go back to two. The cat is also happy he is gone, she has been all over the place this week.

Monday Menu

2011-08-15T08:15:00.002-05:00

Sunday: Homemade cream of Mushroom soup and steak sandwiches.

The rest are in no particular order!

Turkey Burgers with Zucchini, sweet potato fries

Chicken Parm, Salad

Meatloaf, mashed potato, roasted eggplant

Creamy Chicken Taquitos, black beans and corn

Countdown

2011-08-12T15:35:00.002-05:00

8 weeks to go. Where has time gone? As we draw closer and closer to Graham's sweet arrival. I get more excited and more terrified at the same time. I wonder how on earth could I possibly love this baby as much as I love Dylan.? I know every new mom wonders that, and I'm not alone, but it still has me worried. Dylan has been my life for the last almost two years. Sometimes I look at him and get tears in my eyes because he is just so sweet, and he won't have my full attention anymore, he'll be too young to understand why mommy can't hold him right now. I know once they are both older they will get to play together and that will melt my heart, it is just those first few months I worry about.

I worry about how I will make time to do the things with Dylan that we currently do, story time, pump it up, random Target outings just to get out of the house, trips to the park, how on earth will I do those things with a newborn? I know it can and will be done, but it makes me tired just thinking about it.

Luckily for me, Dylan likes to share, so I will probably have to be very vigilant that he isn't shoving goldfish in his baby brothers mouth, or coloring on him with colors.

I am most excited to see them together. They will play, be rowdy and wild. They will fight, no doubt, but they will be buddies who go explore. I am, like I said incredibly excited to welcome baby boy Graham into this world, though at the same time, I know our world as we know it will change, once again, for the better. There is and will be until the day he arrives, the though in the back of my mind, oh man, what did we do?

This last picture is 32 weeks with Dylan for comparison, one of the only ones I've got!:)

Twenty

2011-08-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

I wrote this post a week ago, when he actually turned 20 months but forgot to post it. So here you are!

Twenty months. How in the world is my baby boy 20 months old? He is much closer to being 2 than 1. I tell Adam almost every day, it feels like he should be older some days, but then other day's it feels like we just brought him home. He is such a wild little thing. Everyday he shows us more of his personality. He is such a happy little boy. He is funny. He is energetic. But best of all, he is a sweet boy. He loves to share, one of his favorite things is to take dog food from the bowl and hand feed the dogs. It is the highlight of his day. He shares his toys with his friends, and even strangers in the grocery store. He will hand people his food. I fear that he will be the kid with no toys or food because he gives them all away.

Dylan is going to be a great big brother. He loves to give kisses and to blow kisses. He is gentle but at the same time, a maniac. He will spin in circles until he is so dizzy that he can't stand up. He will run away from us while eating, just so we chase him and force feed him. He will not eat anything but yogurt for days on end, then he will eat anything and everything we offer him. He will go into these moods where he will just run around the house giggling for no reason. He loves to be chased, as well as to chase. Putting clothes on him to leave the house... HAHA he thinks it's a game.

That Mom.

2011-08-09T08:48:00.007-05:00

"Welcome to the dark side" That's what some have told me.

As soon as we knew Graham was on his way, we knew we needed a new mode of transportation. Sure, I drove an SUV, but it was a small on. Adam had a 4 door sedan, that was hard enough to get Dylan in and out of. We began thinking. For a few years I had been wanting a Murano, you know which one that is right? They have flooded the streets, because everyone else wanted one too! I still love the look, but I realized they were really that much larger than my Lexus.

I know some of you might be thinking, well we fit 2 car seats in my civic or whatnot. But fitting was not the problem, it was practicality. We still rear face Dylan, and a rear facing Britax car seat takes up a LOT of room. I wanted to be able to fit Graham in the center, because they say that is best, so it was going to be tight. Also, by the time Graham needs a convertible, Dylan will STILL be rear facing, so then we will have 2 rear seats! Anyway, I got to thinking. What car would be easy to get 2 kiddo's in and out of, doesn't eat gas like it's going out of style, and well will last us through ANOTHER kiddo? Enter...

The Man Van, the Shaggin' Wagon, whatever you want to call it. Folks, let me tell you. Mini Van's are not what they once were. The new vans are sleek and come stock full of convenient features, like a cooler in the dash, a back up camera, a DVD player,and reclining back seats. So I am proud to say that I am now that mom. The Mini Van Momma. While I have only had my van for 3 days. I LOVE IT. The only thing I can say is that the doors, they open themselves.

I ended up going with a 2011 Honda Odyssey. We fought hard for the price. Do you know how hard these vans are to come by? The # 1 selling dealership in Texas only had ONE with a DVD player in it. How crazy is that? Though I am excited about the free oil changes and free car washes. I have no excuse to have a dirty car now! All in all, we were at David McDavid for about 5.5 hours. I think they were ready to see us leave, we were giving them a run for their money in the negotiation. Though I did have to settle on a black van, I really wanted a steel gray one, I am very happy with it. As long as I keep it clean, it's a beautiful color. It has little multicolored sparkles in it!:)

Now that buying a car is done, it's time for operation nursery completion. We've just got to hang Dylan's art work, as well as the name letters. So hopefully, you'll get a new nursery sneak peek tomorrow, or lets be honest, maybe by next week!

Returning

2011-08-03T13:17:00.004-05:00

Alright, finally I'll let you know what you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats for. The return flight from Vail. Adam had the idea to check the car seat at the gate this time and let Dylan just sit in the seat so he could move around. With a little hesitation, I did it. We tried to strap in in between us, but the little kid is just so skinny that he could slip down and get out of the belt. So they made us hold me. I was in the window seat, so we let him look out. Also, he didn't have ANY water up until now. We dehydrated him if you will. So as we were taking off, he was occupied with chicken nuggets and water. Lucky guy!

He was 100% better on this flight. We colored, watched Baby Einstein and Mickey Mouse, colored more, and flirted with the girl behind us. He was a happy boy. That is when we decided that we would most likely not be going on the trip with Baby Graham and Dylan in March. Even though Dylan was great on the return flight, we were both exhausted, and figured if we wanted a vacation we could take the boys somewhere close like Sea World or something:)

Monday Menu

2011-08-01T11:44:00.002-05:00

This week's menu was kind of on the fly. We went to the store yesterday and kind of picked what we wanted while we were there! So here it goes.

Last night we had homemade pizza with pesto and chicken

Spinach Stuffed Turkey Burgers with green beans

Ribs, with potato salad and beans

spaghetti ( with hopefully enough homemade sauce to freeze some extra)

I can't remember anything else. So that must be it. I have a hard time remembering things these days!:)

Family Vacation

2011-07-26T15:11:00.008-05:00

No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make my pictures look "good" in text. I don't get it. Anyone have any tips?

So, in case you missed it, here is how it went getting to Denver. We had to fly into Denver, then drive 2 hours to Vail in case you were wondering. We got in late, I don't think we got to our condo until 9 or 10 because we stopped to eat. So Dylan was a little tired, but of course really excited to be in a new place that he didn't really want to go to bed.

The condo was a 1 bedroom with a loft, Adam's parents were kind enough to give us the bedroom because we had to share it with Dylan. He had a pack and play, but we knew if we couldn't shut the door, he would never take naps during the day, let alone sleep at night. The first night I was QUICKLY reminded why we moved Dylan from our bedroom when he was a wee little one. He is a noisy sleeper. Grunting, rustling, and rolling over kept me up. Not to mention that while it was only 60 something degree's in Vail, the condo hadn't been open, so it was 80 something in our bedroom. I was HOT. I didn't sleep very well.

The next few days are kind of a blur. The first day we ventured into Vail village to do some site seeing, and playing. They had this great pirate playground for the kiddo's Dylan enjoyed swinging, of course. Along with all the site seeing, we had some reservations to eat at some yummy restaurants. Which I'll be honest, were a little harder to enjoy with Dylan. But you know what? Toddler's throw food, silverware, crayons and napkins on the floor. People expect it. No biggie. We did learn that expecting him to sit through a three hour, 6 course tasting menu was a stupid,stupid idea!:)

Adam and his dad had 2 dates to play golf, of course. How could you say no to playing golf in 60 degree weather. I would have to say the highlight of my vacation was when my husband felt sorry for me and booked me a spa day. He felt like he was getting to enjoy his vacation by playing golf, and I was doing what I do day in and day out and that was hanging out with Dylan. He booked me a facial and a prenatal massage because he mom so generously offered to watch Dylan for me. It was amazing, probably one of the best massages I've had. I wish she lived in Dallas.

Then it was time to pack up and head home. A few days before we left, Adam and I drove by this new play ground so we stopped there on the way out of town. To get some energy out of Dylan. This is also where I took MOST of the pictures I took during the trip. Like I said, I failed at the picture taking.

Leavin... on a jet plane

2011-07-20T11:52:00.002-05:00

The first plane ride with a toddler is a bit daunting. As is the first long distance trip. I'm pretty sure I packed everything that I could think of. Luckily, I didn't seem to forget anything. For our first trip, we decided to buy Dylan his own seat, that way he could sit in his car seat and feel secure if for any reason he freaked out. So there we are. Traipsing around DFW airport with a toddler in a stroller, a car seat strapped to a rolling suitcase, a pregnant momma, and TONS of bags. I refuse to pay $20 a bag to check them, so we just made sure we could carry everything on. 5 bags in total. We had a lot of crap to say the least.

After making it through security, which was my biggest fear, it was smooth sailing. So I thought. I gate checked the stroller, we boarded the plane, got Dylan in his seat, and handed him a sippy cup. You know, to help with his ears. He chugged that cup. I gave him more. He drank all of that. I filled his cup up with the rest of the apple juice and gave it to him just in time for take off. That and some Goldfish, he was a happy camper. Luckily the flight was only an hour and a half. So we didn't have to keep him occupied for too long.

About the time the drink cart rolls around, this Momma really needed some caffeine, it happened. Dylan tossed his cookies. Goldfish and gallon of water/juice to be exact. It was terrible. He was strapped in and just kept puking. I guess he had kind of gagged, poor kiddo got my gag tolerance, and then the flood gates opened. The flight attendants were so GREAT. Sidenote: If you have never flown Frontier Airlines, I recommend. They give you cookies people. Not peanuts, cookies, fresh baked ones. Anyway, so after he was done I took him to the bathroom while I let Adam clean up the mess he had made. He is such a good Daddy.

I am happy to report that the rest of the flight was fine, and really we think he only chucked because he had a whole bottle of apple juice and a TON of water. Our game plan was to not give him any liquids until take off on the flight back. Stay tuned to find out how that turned out.

Monday Menu

2011-07-18T08:32:00.002-05:00

I'm BACK. I hope that I will get better about doing my menus. This weeks is kind of exciting for us. Lots of stuff we have not had in a while, and lots of new recipes!:)

Sunday- Tomato Basil Soup and grilled cheese sandwich's.

Monday- Shrimp and zucchini with bowtie pasta in a light tomato sauce.

Tuesday- Grilled Portobella mushroom quesadillas with a corn salsa and sweet potatoes

Wednesday- Lightened up Shepard's pie with biscuits.

Thursday- Crock pot BBQ chicken baked potatoes

Friday- Chicken avacado and corn spinach salad

We survived.

2011-07-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

We did it. We survived. I don't know when we will do it again. What you asked? Travelled with a toddler.

This last week we traveled for the first time with Dylan. By plane. It was a test run for a vacation we had been invited on in March. Yup, we thought about travelling by plane, with a toddler and an infant. Lets just say, I'm glad we did the "test run." While Dylan was actually really good, we decided on the way home that maybe it wouldn't be a great idea.

We went to Vail Co. Let me just say, as a six month pregnant person, it was HEAVEN. The weather was never above 70 degrees, and well other than the altitude making it hard to breathe while walking up stairs, it was so nice. Having Dylan there really limited the daily activities. We spent lots of time at the park, and in the condo for nap time.

I pretty much failed on the picture front really, so I only have a few. Once I get them loaded onto the computer I'll begin the details of the trip. Trust me, there are not that many, maybe 2 posts. I just like to drag things out for y'all.

Sneak Peek

2011-07-14T12:47:00.006-05:00

In honor of Graham's furniture being delivered tomorrow, I thought that I would do a little nursery post. Not that there is a lot to say or show at this moment, but hey, the nursery is one of the most fun parts of having a baby!:)

As mentioned in this post, we decided to use Dylan's glider for the new room because, it is awesome. So we purchased a new, not as awesome chair, for Dylan's room, and are using the red one for Graham. I am not a big "theme" person, so we just go with colors. Grahams room is going to have such a different feel to it than Dylan's. Much more modern and adult I guess you could say. Dylan's is definitely a kiddo's room, and I still do love it.

So far, all we have done is painted the walls, with hired help, and let me tell you, that was the BEST money we have spent. We went from "builder beige" to a nice Gray with white stripes, which I'm happy to report I LOVE! We have also hung a new light fixture, ( Not pictured at this time) and Adam made me a built in for the closet. I don't have a finished picture of the closet, but don't worry, it will be in the whole "finished nursery" post

I have also picked out some mirrors for above his changing table, a hamper, and some changing pads. With some help from other blogs and nursery sites, I pretty much know what else I need. Such as drawer organizers, a throw for the chair, curtains, and wall art. Luckily, I have a pretty good idea of what I want, and where to buy it, so this room will come together pretty quickly I do believe. Which I guess is good since I just passed the 6 month mark, and this little boy will be here in 3 very short months!

Baby Love

2011-07-07T09:40:00.003-05:00

Well, I see these all the time and since y'all have not gotten a good baby update, I thought I would do one! I can't believe it's almost time for the third trimester! They say the second pregnancy goes quickly, they do not lie!

how far along? 26 and 6 days
total weight gain/loss? 18-20 pounds maybe
maternity clothes? Oh yes, I love them. Though I did try on my regular jeans a week ago and could button them! That made me happy! But I wouldn't be caught dead in public in them!
stretch marks? No new ones, a few small ones from Dylan sleep? I sleep a lot. The last two night I have not even gotten up to pee. Must not be drinking enough water!
best moment this week? I'm pretty sure getting off a plane in Denver where the high is in the 70s' is going to be the best part!
movement? Yup, it's on of my favorite things about being pregnant:)

food cravings? I crave food in general. I finally gave in to my waffle cone craving. The guy at Baskin Robbins thought it was so awesome I wanted JUST the waffle cone, he gave it to me for free! I came home and filled it with Mint chocolate chip though!:) Yum.
gender predictions? I'm pretty sure he is still a boy!
what i miss: I don't really miss much. I guess margaritas. If I want a sip of beer I'll have some of Adam's but I can't let myself drink liquor for some reason!
what I'm looking forward to: I am most looking forward to finding out what he looks like. By this time with Dylan we had several profile ultrasounds and a 3d, but with Graham, we haven't gotten one. So I wonder what he will look like.
how are you feeling? I feel great. It's hot here so I try to stay inside or submerged in water most of the time. Other than that, I love being pregnant. A friend of mine said I should be a surrogate because it comes very easy to me. Though I will say, having a wild toddler to chase does make for a sore back in the evenings most nights!

"Get in my belly"

2011-07-04T09:10:00.002-05:00

Being that it is 100 degrees outside, as well as being 6 months pregnant, I have been trying to eat light refreshing things. I really had to try hard not to go to Rudy's BBQ the other day. I knew I would be miserable so I came home and made grape salad.

Yesterday for lunch I wanted something light as well. I had come across a new chicken salad recipe that I wanted to try. Let me tell you. I have a new one that will be my go to recipe. I made a full batch, and there isn't any left. It was that good. You must go now and mark this to try, I promise you. It's amazing!

Grape Salad: ( I halfed this)

4 pounds of grapes- I used all green because they were on sale.

1 Package Cream Cheese

1 Cup of Sour Cream

1/3 cup sugar - I used powdered

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

3 Tablespoons chopped pecans

Wash and Dry the grapes really well. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla together. Toss with the grapes and top with the chopped nuts and brown sugar. It's delightful.

A day in the life...

2011-06-30T12:35:00.004-05:00

Being a stay at home mom is different for everyone. Though it's probably not what you picture, unless you are in fact a stay at home mom. I don't get paid, unless you count kisses and hugs.Being a stay at home mom is very time consuming. I know right? I know you guys just thought that I sit around watching soap operas, making homemade goodies, and getting my hair done. Well lets face the facts. I wish. It actually involves chasing Dylan around in hopes of catching him so I can put his diaper on. It's our daily game. Once I get the diaper on, he takes off, then I have to catch him to put on his shirt, you get the idea, I have to do that about 14 times until we get him dressed to go "play." Which might actually be, the grocery store. I'm not above bribery people.

By the time his one nap a day rolls around, I'm pooped, speaking of, we had to play the above mentioned " game" 4 times yesterday. He pooped 4 times in about 2 hours. No more beans for him. Anyway, I'm pooped, therefore this blog has been abandoned. I am hoping the month of July will be better. No promises.

I thought that I would share with you what Dylan and I do, or don't actually do during a day. I'm going to use today for my model, though it's not always this fun.

8:15 AM- Dylan wakes up. I go get him and then give him a sippy of milk and a snack cup of cheerios while I get dressed.

9:00 AM- wrestle him into his car seat ( I made the mistake of letting him walk to the car himself, thus he thought he got to go out front to play) and head to Goodyear to replace ALL FOUR TIRES on my car. I was told that it would take an hour.

11:30 AM- After dropping several hundred dollars on tires, oil change and alignment we can leave. Please note how long we have been in Goodyear. NOT one hour:)

Noon: Dylan takes a nap, I go to mow the backyard. Yes, I'm pregnant. Yes, It's 900 degrees outside. Yes, it had been about 3 weeks, so it was like a jungle back there. Yes, that is my exercise for the day.

2:30 ( I hope)- Dylan wakes up, eats lunch, we head to the grocery store. Which once again, I've been putting off for a week!

After the grocery store, we might make the trip down to the pool. This 6 month pregnant lady needs to be weightless for a bit.

So there you have it folks, notice that there is no soap opera watching, or hair do-ing going on. I'll be lucky if I make it to the shower! Oh well, I wouldn't change it for anything.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T19:42:00.007-05:00

Dear Daddy,

I love you even though you steal my food.

I think we look alike, I don't care what Mommy says.

You give GREAT kisses!

I love you, and your the greatest Daddy in the whole wide world, so I guess I'll share my snack.

Love,

Your favorite son... for now.

Shoulda

2011-06-14T13:01:00.004-05:00

I have decided that instead of Dylan Kyle, we should have named him Dylan Monkey. Everyday, this little guy finds something new to stand on, or climb into or out of.

He is just loving going to the pool so much, he will sit in his float until I give in and take him to the water! Smart fella.

(Please excuse the hole in the sock!)

Doesn't he look like he knows what he is doing? Reality is... he's stuck. He will get there then yell for me to come help him. He hasn't figured out how to get down yet. Silly Monkey.

Pardon

2011-06-13T10:12:00.002-05:00

As you can tell, there are some updates going on around here. So please, pardon our appearance until all the kinks are worked out!

Monday Menu

2011-06-06T18:16:00.003-05:00

Monday- Mac and Cheese and corn

Tuesday- We have a Dallas Summer Musical, so we will be eating out.

Wednesday- Coconut Shrimp

Thursday- Chicken Caesar Pitas

Friday- Crock pot French Dip sammies, carrots

Saturday- Smoked Pulled Pork and some other BBQ sides I'm sure

Fun Weekend... late of course!

2011-06-05T13:53:00.006-05:00

I have no excuse for the lack of quality, if you want to call them that, posts. I've been lazy. It's impossible to post while Dylan is awake, and I'm either catching up on chores or sleeping when he is asleep!

This past Memorial day weekend was probably the best we've had in a long while. We got so much accomplished. I think Daddy's should always have 3 day weekends. It's good for a Mom's soul!

Friday went a little something like this. I was going to take Dylan over to the Grandparents at like 2, but he decided he wanted to take a four hour nap. We didn't get over there until almost 5. I dropped him off and went to enjoy a manicure. I decided to get a gel manicure, you know, those that are supposed to last 2 weeks. Lets just say, mine came off on Monday! Then it was a dinner date for Adam and I's four year anniversary. We enjoyed a nice steak dinner at Bob's steak house. Side note: I have yet to find a steak I like as much as Bob's.

Saturday, we got up so that Adam and Colter could try to score some NBA playoff tickets. That didn't work, because I'm pretty sure the online purchasing program is rigged. After that failure, Adam was searching Craigslist for a non-shady person who was selling their tickets. That preoccupied him most of the day. Luckily, I didn't need his brain to be there when we went to purchase furniture for the new nursery. I really just needed him to sit in some chairs and tell me if they were comfy or not. Mission accomplished. We then continued our child-free day with lunch at the Purple Cow. Ya'll, they have fried pickle spears. No one but Burger Island has those! YUM.

We eventually made our way down to Northpark Mall to meet some guy to buy his Mav's tickets for game 5. (Luckily, there will BE a game 5.) After going all the way down there, we treated ourselves to pedicures. I love me a good pedi, as does Adam. After we had to go and pick up our lovely little boy! We met Grandma, Grandpa and Dylan at Pappadeux for dinner.

Sunday, we had another fun filled BBQ to attend. Becca was nice enough to invite us to her family's get together. Dylan had a blast getting to play with his friends Carson, and Ryder. He loved carrying the soccer ball around. He wasn't to fond of the water slide, I think because the water was so cold, because usually he is all over the water, and slides for that matter. Heck, he even got to play some volleyball, and make a new Mimi friend!:) We had a great weekend.

Mind consuming

2011-05-28T08:45:00.002-05:00

Since finding out about kiddo #2, my brain has been consumed with nothing but nursery ideas. It's amazing, because as a second time mom, I should know that it isn't really all that important. I was the same way with Dylan though, I had to find the perfect bedding, paint colors, decor everything. It hurts my brain to think about it still.

Once finding out it was a boy, I was all set on colors and fabrics and furniture. Then Adam through me a curve ball. " Lets use the chair from Dylan's room, it's so comfy, we'll buy a new chair for his room since we don't use it much." It's a sad thing, but yes, my baby doesn't like to be rocked in his chair. He prefers to climb it! But anyway, off track. You see, the chair is RED. yes, what was I thinking? Red really threw a dent in my plains of green, orange and navy! So, we changed plans.

We are now doing gray, white and red. So of course, I bothered Adam with ideas for a week. I picked up 9 different grays to try out on the walls, and finally, on the 9th color found the perfect light gray, that isn't too light, or too dark. The perfect gray. It was hard I'll tell you. We hopefully we have the room painted in the next few weeks, so I'll post pictures along the way!!

Today, we are going to be purchasing new baby furniture, ordering baby bedding, and spending a nice day getting pedicures all the while, Dylan is spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa having a blast! I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

3-2-1

2011-05-25T11:37:00.004-05:00

Not a count down. The ratio of genders in my house come October. That's right. We found out Monday morning, we will be adding another Fenner lady killer into the world. Another boy!

I'll be honest. I'm a little scared. Having Dylan as a role model? I'm in trouble. I picture all the wrestling, holes in the drywall that will need to be repaired, bugs that are brought into my house. Though I still stand by, neither one of my boys will NEVER, I repeat never have a snake. They can have all the lizards and fuzzy animals they want, NO SNAKES.

The thought of having two little boys is exciting. Exhausting to think about but exciting. I just hope that I can keep up with them. Hey, they say boys are Momma's boys right?

Bouncing Baby boy

2011-05-19T09:15:00.006-05:00

No. No. Not kidlet #2. We still don't know what they are. I'm talking about Dylan. Anyone who has ever had a kid knows that usually the term "bouncing baby boy/ girl " is associated. But who knew that I would actually get a bouncing baby boy? I mean, Dylan has always loved to bounce. From the time I purchased his jumperoo until, well now. The kid needs a trampoline people. Is he too young still? It would really give Adam and my arms a break. Then, I suppose, I wouldn't get any arm exercise!

Since we moved here, I've seen the store front in kinda of a dilapidated strip shopping center that is titled, PUMP IT UP Jr. Well after further investigation, I just KNEW I needed to go. It's a building with nothing but blow up houses in it. But, I needed Dylan to turn one. He did. I needed Dylan to walk. He did. I needed to not be lazy. I did.

Last week we ventured the 5 minuet drive to pump it up. Let me tell you. It was the BEST $6 I have every spent on Dylan. He had such a great time. It was nice in the beginning because there weren't too many kids there, but by the end I would say it was pretty crowded. Yesterday, I met with a few women in a Mom's group at a Bounce U. It is the same thing but bigger. I actually preferred Pump it Up, because I feel like it was better for the smaller kids. In a couple of months, Bounce U will probably be better, but right now PIU is better for him.

It is something I will keep doing, because you know what? He has a lot of energy, and I liked that he took a really good nap when we got home!

picture post

2011-05-17T09:06:00.006-05:00

So, I promised a few pictures, here is what I have. There are a few i want to share but they need to be edited a little. I don't have time for that right now, so maybe you'll get to see those later!:)

Checking out his eggs with Daddy.

putting his find in the basket!

Playing in the water at the arboretum with Grandma!

Checking out some flowers

I was disturbing his TV watching.

For whatever reason, Blogger uploaded these backwards, sorry!

Monday Menu

2011-05-16T08:57:00.002-05:00

I actually put this menu together like mid week last week! I'm very proud of myself.

Monday- Adam is out for the evening, so I'm not sure what I'll have. Maybe leftovers.

Tuesday- Chicken and Wild rice casserole, salad

Wednesday- Crockpot beef tacos

Thursday- Honey Lime Chicken enchiladas, Mexican rice, and guacamole

Friday- Meatball Sandwich Casserole, Green Beans, and salad

Saturday- Mustard Molasses Flank steak, grilled mixed veggies

Sunday- Probably left overs to clean out of next week!

Tales from the bed

2011-05-10T13:02:00.005-05:00

Mind's out of the gutter folks. There will be no "Too Much Info" stories going on here. Actually, these are stories about Adam. I can't remember the last time there was a post about Adam, but I thought this was too funny not to share.

Everyone knows about sleep walking, and talking. But have you even actually experienced it? Thank goodness Adam doesn't sleep walk, that would freak me out. He does sleep talk, or giggle rather. There have been many nights when I'm woken up to him just giggling. I quickly figure out he is asleep, when i look at the clock and it's 2 o'clock. I will, just to humor myself, ask him sometimes what is so funny, but he rarely answers me. Sad. A few weeks ago we had an "incident" which has spurred me to write this post.

See, I hadn't ever really experienced a conversation with him in his sleep until we moved into this house. The first one I can really remember went something like this.

Standing on the bed, looking out the window above it...." Do you see them?"

See WHO?

Do you see them?

freaking out at this point because it's the middle of the night... SEE WHO?

The aliens?

Good Lord, he is asleep during this. Freaking me out. You see, MOST of Adam's dreams are about the world coming to an end unless he can fight off all the aliens, monsters, or whatever else is going to kill him. The VAST majority of his dreams are scenarios like this.

The most recent episode, that is appropriate to share on this blog, was a couple of weeks ago. I was woken up by a shaking of the bed. I rolled over to find Adam sitting up, waving his hand in the air. I thought he was pointing at the monitor, which he wasn't. It went something like this.

"What are you doing?"

"HIGH FIVE!!!!!!

"High five for what?"

"High five for solar panels!"

"Are you going to remember this in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Ok, so I'll be mad at you in the morning then."

"WHY?"

Then we rolled back over and went to sleep. He vaguely remember this encounter the next morning. They are great, because I , for the most part can go back to sleep pretty quickly, so it doesn't really bother me, and I can make fun of him the next morning!

Monday Menu

2011-05-09T10:37:00.004-05:00

This week we will be having....

Monday: Pork Snitzel with a mushroom sauce, and whatever veggies I find!

Tuesday: Adam is on his own, I'm going to be out.

Wednesday:Roasted Chicken with Herb waffles, Grilled veggies

Thursday: Greek Lasagna, green beans

Friday :Sliders of different varierties, sweet potato fries

WINNER!

2011-05-06T09:13:00.003-05:00

CONGRATS to Alex!!! Through a very scientific way of picking, asking a friend via google chat in New York to pick a number, you are our winner! I hope to have the warmer and your scents, in the mail to you by Tuesday! But no promises!:)

Update

2011-05-05T13:11:00.004-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that some of my lovely readers would like an update on kiddo #2, as well as Dylan! I scrolled through the last several posts and there wasn't one picture to be had. SAD. I'll be honest though, I havn't picked up my camera in a while. I think it's just becuase Dylan is all over the place, I focus on keeping him from putting things in the toilet, unrolling all the toilet paper, or throwing my phone down the stairs!

So, I always knew the second pregnancy would be differnt, but I'll tell you what, I CANNOT beleive I am almost 18 weeks pregnant. I really would have no idea I was pregnant, other than the fact I'm huge, and occassionally getting kicked in the bladder.:) Adam and I completed our "nursery renovation" of sorts this weekend(post on that later) I have a little over 3 weeks until we find out if Dylan will have a brother or sister, and let me tell you what, it's going to be a LONG 3 weeks! So, with Dylan, I started taking 'belly shots' at like 8 weeks. Well, I finally got one the other night at 17 weeks. I am going to compare it to my I beleive 25 week picture with Dylan! You definatly show quicker, and bigger with the second!

Dylan, wow what can I say? HE IS A WILD CHILD. He will NOT sit still, he is into everything. He spends a good portion of his day naked from the waist down. He can run now, so what does he do when he see's a diaper? RUNS. He thinks it is hilarious, and I generally don't really care. When he pee's we've gotten lucky and he has been standing on the tile! Can you beleive that he is 17 months old now? He has all 4 molars, and he is wild. That's all I can say. We went to storytime yesterday at the library, he was the only kiddo who wouldn't sit in his momma's lap.

So, I am so far behind, I haven't put up Easter pictures. We missed actual easter, but luckily our niehgborhood had an egg hunt the weekend before. He was a good egg hunter, he got 4 eggs. I wasn't one of the many women who grabbed eggs from other kids so taht my kid could have a basket full of candy he couldn't eat anyway!

I promise I will do a picture post in the next few days. I've got a few to share!:)

It's time!

2011-05-02T14:05:00.006-05:00

Alright, so I'm going to attempt my first giveaway! This is not being sponsored by anyone, I just really like this product, and I think my readers will as well!

I'm sure everyone has heard of Scentsy. I know I had read a lot about it, and with a toddler, it seemed like a great idea. One problem, I couldn't bring myself to pay at least $45, on getting started. I also don't really like picking scents without being able to smell them! So, I started doing some research, if you haven't figured it out yet, I do lots of research, and I found that Wal-mart offered a "knock-off" if you will. The warmers are $15, less than half of what a large Scentsy warmer is, and the scents are $2, which is also less than half. I AM IN LOVE. They make my house smell incredible, just like my Bath and Body Works candles.

So what I am going to give away is ONE WARMER( hopefully this one), and TWO DIFFERENT scents.

To enter: Become a follower,MUST be a follower to win, this is my attempt to see who all reads my blog;), and leave a comment on what your favorite candle smells are. Giveaway will end Thursday at NOON. I think you will be happy with this if you win! Tell your friends!

First Givaway

2011-04-30T09:51:00.002-05:00

I recently purchased a new product that I love. I love it so much, I'm going to give one of my lucky readers one! So keep an eye out early next week for details!:)

VIVA LAS VEGAS

2011-04-28T08:56:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, Adam and I took a little Vacation of sorts. We headed to the great state of Nevada. The weather was cool, perfect actually. The company was grand. And we didn't lose money! Adam loves to gamble, you see. I'm pretty indifferent on it, I love it if I'm winning, but hate it if I'm losing.

We met up with our friend David, from Penn, and his sister,brother in law, girlfriend, and her brother. They are all New Yorkers. Not much of gamblers either. They spent a lot of time at the pool. 80 degrees is a little too chilly for me to be at a pool, and well, it's warmer here, so i'll hang by a pool later!:)

We saw a show , ate at nice restaurants, they drank many cocktails, I had shirley temples. One picture was taken, a REALLY comfy bed was slept on, though not as much as I would have liked. I do believe a good time was had by all.

Adam and I ended up about $500 ahead for the trip, but mostly it was me. I won all the money, I don't mean to brag, but I'm much more lucky that Adam!:)

Meal Plan

2011-04-27T08:58:00.004-05:00

Late as usual:)

Monday: Slider assortment. Adam got creative with different flavors!:) And Onion Rings

Tuesday: Creamed Turkey and Eggs

Wednesday: Birthday dinner for Adam's Dad.

Thursday: Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole ( I use a slightly different recipe, but this one is close enough!) Steamed veggie mix.

Friday: Charity Dinner event.

Saturday: Possibly Chicken Parm, but maybe out or ordering in. We are going to be all alone!

Be Neighborly...

2011-04-25T10:37:00.003-05:00

So I'm really behind, but I'm going to start with this post.

So, we really have lucked out with our neighbors. The ones to both sides of us are friendly, we have each other cell phone numbers, and we wave every time we see each other. Across the street is the same thing. But, behind us is another story. One of the city ordnance's is Murphy is "no alleys" , which generally we love, but that means we share a fence with our neighbors. The neighbors behind us have an outside dog that Bailey loves to bark at, and run up and down the fence with. All cute, until we realize we don't have any grass growing up there!;) Well, the key word there was barking. You see, Bailey is a barker. She barks all the time, but never because she is upset, but because she is playing, or she hears someone! Well, apparently some of our neighbors can't just tune it out like we can!:) We have no idea what house it is, but they are for sure annoying. It started in January when Becca and her family were over for dinner. We put the dogs outside. We were upstairs when we noticed there was a cop at our door. THEY CALLED THE COPS! For the barking dog. The cop as really nice, didn't really care, asked us to bring them in. Sure thing Officer. Then, last month, my sister came over to take Dylan for the weekend. In exchange for my kiddo, I took hers, two beagle- basset puppies. FIVE DOGS. we put them outside. Literally, 20 min later, animal control showed up at my door. Someone had called the cops, for a barking dog. Mind you, it was 11 AM. I can completely understand if it was midnight. But COME ON. The latest, which spurred this post, was last weekend. Erin and Michelle were over, and we had put the dogs out that morning. Bailey started barking, so we brought her in. We were upstairs, I saw a cop slowly driving by, with his window's down. Adam went outside to talk to him. We just want to know who is calling on us. We want to give them our number, so they can call us instead of the cops. The Officer was more than willing to provide us with that information, but get this. They gave OUR address as the "caller". How Annoying.

So the point of this post. As someone who has been there, If you have a problem with a neighbor, GO TALK TO THEM!

Friday Menu?

2011-04-15T09:23:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys, it's been busy around here! This week we tried a few new recipes that we all three enjoyed, so I thought this was a good menu to post!

Monday: Southwest Beef wraps, Black Beans, mexican rice

Tuesday: Celebrated Grandma Lou's 86th Birthday at The Mercury! LOVE THIS PLACE

Wednesday: I was lazy, so we had burgers from BoomerJacks. The burgers were good, the fries sucked.

Thursday: Chicken Enchilada pasta

Friday: Erin and Michelle are coming for the weekend, Adam has poker, so we are ordering in indian food!:)

Saturday: Smoked pulled Pork, PW Baked Beans, and probably something else, green!

Kidlet #2

2011-04-06T13:05:00.002-05:00

Yup, in case you missed this. WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!! I made my announcement, then got bombarded with the questions. You know, How far along are you? when are you due? How far apart are they going to be? Were you trying, or was it a surprise? Do you want a girl this time? You know those. So today I'm here to answer them!

How far along are you? I am 13.5 weeks. Friday is my "week changer" So I'll be 14 weeks on Friday!

When are you due? October 7th is the official date. Dylan came 8 days early, so we shall see!

How far apart are they going to be? They will be roughly 22 months apart.

Were you trying? Yes. I always said I didn't want 2 under 2, but well, I got impatient. Of course you never think it will happen quickly, then it does and you go " Uh Oh, Dylan won't be 2 yet:)"

Do you want a girl? Of course I want a girl. I want one of each. Though, honestly, I can't picture myself with a girl now that I have Dylan. This will most likely NOT be our last baby, so if I don't get a girl this time, there is still time. Now, if you ask Adam this he will say " Yes, because then maybe she will pause a little longer before wanting another one" ;)

It's fun to compare the two pregnancies. So far they have been just alike. I would also like to thank my Mom, for passing along the no morning sickness genes. She always said she never got sick with Erin and I, and well, I haven't gotten sick either. Lets hope I don't. I got a stomach thing that Dylan passed along to me, and it wasn't fun!:(

I have no idea or guesses as to what this baby will be, though I have had two dreams it was a girl, and I don't remember any dreams like that with Dylan. So I hope that answers all your questions, if not, feel free to email me!:)

So Fresh and so clean!

2011-04-05T08:58:00.004-05:00

This year for my birthday, I asked Adam for one thing. He would not buy it for me though, he said it was " the lamest gift ever" I did not feel like it was. Turns out, I was right. I wanted a steam mop. Could I sound anymore " Betty Homemaker"? I know I know, I have said over and over again I don't like to clean. Unless it's fun! I love to vacuum, it's probably my favorite thing to do. No matter how messy my living room is, if I vacuum, I feel like it's clean. Any who, I knew I wanted one, and I don't do anything half-assed if you will, so I started researching steam mops. I learned so many things. The most important one being, that the steam has to get to a certain temperature in order to actually sterilize the floor. Of course, that was the reason I wanted one. Dylan was still crawling at that point, and it was really gross to see how brown his socks got. Granted we have lived here for almost 2 years, and I don't think I had EVER mopped. Gross right? We have beige tile, it hides dirt well. With 3 dogs, a cat and a toddler I needed it to sanitize.

I'm sure you all are on the edge of your seats wondering if the one steam mop you've heard of, The Shark, will sterilize your floors. The answer is, NO. Apparently, according to my Internet research, the steam doesn't get hot enough. I ended up going with the Consumer Reports top pick for a cleaner. I chose the Eureka EnviroSteamer.

Thanks to a Amazon gift card from Laura, my sister in law, I purchased my steam cleaner. The best part? It's not that expensive. It's only $65 on amazon. Now, I've only used this thing a few times, but I love it. It has these clothes that you use, which are machine washable, though I read not to dry them, and I'll tell you what, they are always really gross when I'm done with my floors. Granted, it does take some time to mop, you've got to go slow to make sure you're getting the floor nice and clean. But I don't have to scrub a thing. Got a spot? Just sit the steamer over it for a few extra seconds and it comes right off. I can do my whole kitchen on one tank of water, so refilling isn't that big of a deal! Overall, I'm super happy with my purchase, and I have no reason to have dirty floors.

Happy

2011-04-01T10:22:00.000-05:00

He seems to be happy with his new status!

Accomplished

2011-03-28T08:39:00.002-05:00

I did it. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I ran/ walked, thought about crawling but didn't, 13.1 miles. It was the hardest, most painful thing I've ever done in my life. It was way worse than having a baby. I have never felt so old in my life. I had ice on both my knees, and an ankle last night. I took two screaming hot baths, one at 1 PM another at 9. I can hardly walk. My feet hurt, like the bones in my feet. Never have I felt this. But you know what? I DID IT! My goal was to finish in 3 hours. I finished in 3 hours and 24 seconds;) So I'm counting it. Considering that the farthest I had run was 4 miles, I think that was pretty good. I also hadn't run in over 3 weeks, so my body was a little upset at the fact I was trying to do 13.1 miles! After about mile 6 I was ready to quit. I had no energy and no amount of GU gel's or fancy jelly beans were working. But I just walked, with a little running here and there! Even that was hard. I am also pretty sure, my idea of a mile is very different than everyone elses. They just kept getting longer and longer. But like I said. I DID IT. I will NOT ever do it again without proper training though. I don't advise it.

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-22T10:35:00.009-05:00

With it being the middle of March in Texas, that means we have a few good weeks before it gets ridiculously hot for summer. Although it's been really windy, Dylan and I have enjoyed getting outside and playing. I'll tell you what, he learned to walk at just the right time. Going to the park is 100% more fun that he doesn't have to crawl in the grass, or even just sit there. We've been to the park several times with his friend Caden, and FINALLY we were able to go with Daddy once. I think he had the most fun with Daddy!

We have been frequently Celebration Park in Allen, as well as Breckenridge. Though, I prefer Celebration, because it's so huge, no matter how many people are there it seems so empty. There are no trees though, so when it's really windy, you can't get away from it. It also has a duck pond, with big fat ducks that like to be fed! As well as a great walking trail that I think is probably about 2 miles long.

Pushing his stroller with his friend, though I'll be honest, he looks pretty happy to have left Caden in the dust!:)

I also purchased him a water table for the house. I figured he liked playing in the dog water bowl so much, he would probably get a kick out of actually be allowed to play in the water! The only problem is, that when we came in from outside, he stood at the back door and cried. I'm trying to convince Adam we need a swing set! I had a real crappy one as a kid, but I still loved that thing. I think we would get GREAT use out of it! ( Hint hint Adam... if you're reading this)

Need MORE???

Monday Menu

2011-03-21T10:20:00.002-05:00

This week, I learned that going to the grocery store with a menu in hand is far cheaper than me having to go every other day to find something to make. Last night, Adam made dinner, it was nice, Dylan played by himself, which usually when someone is in the kitchen these days, he is trying to climb up their leg and whining! So I got to watch some TV, and have dinner made for me! Of course it was yummy!

Menu:

Sunday: Schnitzel with mushroom sauce, with steamed veggies in cheese sauce. ( everyone should make this, it was SOO GOOD!)

Monday- Chicken Capri Pasta

The pizza from last week that we never got around to making!

Ribs, with baked beans and potato salad

General TSO's chicken, brown rice

Breakfast for dinner, Waffles and fruit salad.

I know I really fell off the wagon with posting menus. Maybe because I didn't think anyone cared, or looked. Adam and I fell off the wagon with MAKING menu's and started eating out a lot. Well the last few weeks we've made a menu and gone shopping on Sunday. Maybe a new routine for us? Anyway, I thought that I would start sharing them with you again, hopefully on Monday's but who knows really!

So this week we are having, in no particular order:

Eggplant Parmesan, Italian salad

French Onion Soup, salad

French Dips ( using left over soup)

Homemade chicken, spinach and roasted garlic pizza, probably a salad!

Chicken Tikka Masala, homemade pizza dough "NAAN", tomato and cucumber salad

Some random snacks and lunch items I made this week were granola, tuna salad, and breakfast burritos!

I feed my kid, I promise!

2011-03-07T11:36:00.002-06:00

I know, I know. Everyone thinks their kid is the cutest kid in the whole wide world. But I'm pretty sure, most people also think mine is. We can't go anywhere without people staring at Dylan, or trying to get him to smile at him. Which, I'll be honest isn't really that hard, he is kind of a flirt. Every restaurant, grocery store, church, every where Dylan is a huge hit. The other day, I think we hit the PEEK of stranger admiration.

I was at Sam's enjoying my $1.50 Nathan's hot dog deal. Then came this elderly man, maybe 80? He sat down next to us, and Dylan was flirting big time with him. He was also eating a hot dog, so I'm pretty sure Dylan just thought that he was going to share. Well, after about 3 minuets of Dylan flirting with this man, he gets up and leaves. Dylan is sad. Then this man comes back and hands me a hot dog. HE BOUGHT DYLAN A HOT DOG. The conversation was something like this.

Man-" Here, this one is for him."
ME-" OH my gosh, you didn't need to do that, I'm sharing mine"
Man- "Well he looked like he wanted his own."
Me- " Oh well, thank you so much" ( What I wanted to say... I PROMISE you I feed my child. Though he doesn't look like it. )
So I've never had a stranger buy my child food before, but maybe it's not a bad thing... I mean, I did get a free hot dog! Dylan didn't really eat but like 5 bites of it!:)

If he can already get strangers to buy him things, I'm pretty sure Daddy and I are in trouble!

Who would buy that?

2011-02-23T08:02:00.005-06:00

I don't know about ya'll but I get sucked into infomercials. You know the ones. Cheesey sales people, and pretty lame products. I don't know what it is about these commercials that makes me watch them, but I do. I always think to myself " Wow, that's pretty awesome" but never ONCE have a bought an infomercial item. Shamwow? I can't beleive I don't own one of those. Also, that GT Xpress 101. AMAZING! I want to make stuffed pizzas! But nope, never purchased. I have seen some pretty ridiculous as well as useful items on tv as well. So this is what inspired my post. WHO WOULD BUY THAT?

Pajama Jeans! Have you seen this ad? I mean come on. I'm as lazy as they come and even I can put jeans on! I don't care what anyone thinks either, they DO NO look like normal jeans. Look at those ladies ass's, terrible.

The next latest and greatest product I've seen is Style Snaps. Now at first I though, hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'm pretty picky about what my hems look like and this just doesn't cut it! What do you think?

What are some of your favorite infomercials? What products have you purchased from them?

Lazy

2011-02-21T10:10:00.007-06:00

I have no excuses. I'm lazy. So to my 5 readers, I'm sorry I haven't updated you on the happenings in this house in a while. Lots has happened in February! Adam and I celebrated our 10 year dating "anniversary", went and spent the night away in Paris (no no just Paris TX),we celebrated Valentines day and of course I turned 26. That's still pretty weird to think about. But I don't feel like I look or feel 26, so I'm not freaking out don't worry! This month seems to have flown by. I think it has something to do with the 2 weeks of freezing icy weather, that kept us locked in the house. Like my last post stated, I really loved being in, but this past week has been gorgeous, and I've enjoyed taking my little man to the park and sitting outside blowing bubbles!

I know that none of you readers care what Adam and I are doing, which is actually good, because it's not much. So I know y'all want a Dylan update. He is almost 15 months. Can you believe that? He amazes me everyday. He learns something new, and you can just see his brain churning. It's awesome. Oh yeah, and last week, he decided to walk full time. Yup, finally. He very rarely crawls anymore. Really just when he falls and needs to get somewhere quickly! He has tried running, but isn't quite there. He seems like much less of a baby now that he can walk. He is so cute doing it too, his back arches, and he really loves to carry things. The last couple of days it's been plastic baby coat hangers! He also really likes Daddy's putter.

Homebody

2011-02-03T10:27:00.002-06:00

I always knew that I preferred to be at home. Go to a bar? No, thanks, I'll stay at home and drink. Go to the movies? Naw, we'll watch Netflix. Being a home- body, really makes life cheaper too. It wasn't until this winter ice storm, that I realized how much I really like being at home. All I read on Facebook, is " gosh, I've got to get out of this house, or man, ANYTHING to get me out of this house." You know what? I've been inside ALL week. Dylan was sick this weekend, so I haven't left the house since Saturday. I'm not going stir crazy at all. I like being in my PJ's. Adam was home on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we just had a big PJ party. We through food in the crock pot, snuggled up and watched TV, and played with our favorite little boy. I don't plan on going anywhere tomorrow either. Call me a chicken, whatever, but the idea of driving on ice scares the crap out of me. Our street still looks like an ice rink, and our driveway is also. So I'll be sitting tight until Saturday when it finally gets above freezing to melt all this stuff.

But I am glad Adam went to work today, we are out of food!:)

Miss us?

2011-01-31T13:37:00.005-06:00

I've been terrible about posting this month, sorry! This post is dedicated to Dylan, because well, he hasn't had a post since his birthday one, and he's been up to a lot since then!

So he is almost 14 months. Man does time fly. He still isn't talking, but we are working on it! he is slowly but surly trying to drop his afternoon nap, which doesn't make this mommy very happy. I had a great system, nap #1, I got things done around the house, nap # 2, I took a nap. With nap #2 going bye-bye, that means I don't get a nap. So I've been going to sleep at like 10.

In other news though, he is WALKING! Well, I say that, but he isn't walking full time. He can walk. not very far, but he will do it! He is pretty adorable if I do say so myself when he is doing it! Everyday he gets a little better at it.

Friday, we went to Gymboree for the first time. He had a great time. He really was more interested in going UP the slide than anything else though. Of course, now he is sick though. He hasn't ever been around that many kiddo's at once, and to be honest, I don't know how much sanitizing they do. There were all kinds of balls in his mouth. Because we don't have ANY balls at the house to play with.;)

There is a lot coming up in the next few months as well. Friday, I'm helping my sister move, We have Adam and I's 10 year " dating" anniversary, my birthday, we are going to a silent auction with Erin and Michelle,Half marathon in March ( which I might die running... err walking!;)) and we planned a trip to Vegas for the end of April. Of course, we had booked it before I realized it was Easter weekend:( So we're going to be doing an early egg hunt with Dylan! So it's going to be a busy few months. I will try my hardest to be better about posting. I just don't have a whole lot exciting going on in my day to day life.

13.1

2011-01-19T12:33:00.002-06:00

not inches, not feet, but MILES. Do you know how FAR that is? Pretty freaking far. Somehow I was coaxed into signing up for my very first half marathon. Now, I had this goal, but I figured I wouldn't ever complete it, or I would a few years and babies after now. But noooo, I went to dinner with a friend of mine at Cheesecake factory, and some how I left signed up to run with her in the Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Here is the kicker folks, it's in less than TEN weeks. I haven't run since Thanksgiving. Well I went on a run a few days ago, and my legs still hurt. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need some walk breaks. TWO + HOURS of running? Yeah Right!

Baby...

2011-01-14T15:37:00.000-06:00

Nope not mine... Check it out, a BABY PANDA!!!

Hot Hot HOTTT

2011-01-12T15:33:00.004-06:00

So, since the new year has come I know most people have a resolution to get healthy, whether it be lose weight, or eat better or whatever. I am of course no different. I want to lose weight, I mean, yes I'm below my pregnancy weight, and probably lower than I've been since freshman year of collage, but you know what? When you have a baby your body, muscles, fat, they move around and land in places you don't want them to be! So along with running, which I don't think I've done since Thanksgiving... Oops, I am doing yoga.

That's right people yoga. But not your standard yoga, I've started doing Bikram Yoga. Not to be confused with hot yoga. Now I won't be all " Bikram Vs Hot " But they are different, and a REAL Bikram practicer might take offense if you say hot yoga. You know, kind of like a marathoner taking offense when you tell them you ran a marathon, when in fact you walked half of a HALF marathon?? Anyway...Bikram yoga has a room temperature of at least 105. Now, in my 2 classes that I've done, the instructor always messes with the thermostat during.

Now, I am not your typical yoga person. I've always been an athletic person, so luckily for me, I didn't feel too much like a fish out of water during my first class. It's hot y'all. I am a sweater. There is no way that I could do any form of exercise and then go to work or school right after. Today, my second class I sweat WAY more. I didn't even know it was possible. But I guess you could sweat if you were trying to do this. While not falling over. With a hip cramp. I can't do it. It's my goal.

Moral of the story. I like it. I might even love it. It's a good 90 minutes all to myself. I sweat, so I feel like I'm doing something. Thankfully I have Adam's mom to be a babysitter. Good thing she kinda likes our kidlet!

Oh Santa...

2011-01-04T10:26:00.014-06:00

Even with Dylan's terrible reaction to him, we were all 110% spoiled by Santa this year. We were lucky enough to have three Christmas'. One with my sister and Michelle on Christmas Eve, Christmas with Adam's family, then when more family arrived, Christmas the day after Christmas with Adam's extended family. It was lots of gift opening, and Dylan I don't think opened one thing. He slept, or played with the things that we opened.

Christmas Eve at Erin's kicked off the festivities. We ate homemade manicotti, which was so good, we ate it for three more meals after that, Salad, garlic bread, and finished it off with a homemade Italian cream cake, made by yours truly. Dylan was gifted with MUCH needed bath toys, and building blocks that he has yet to figure out, in due time I'm sure. He was in such a good mood for the whole trip, we also found out he would drink out of a sippy cup if we laced his water with about a table spoon of juice. Who knew!

Christmas day started with Adam and I opening our gifts from each other, along with the few small things for Dylan, which I'll be honest, I didn't even wrap because I knew I would have to turn around and open them all, so I just saved myself the trouble! My big gift from Adam is a "Face Machine" as he calls it. It's a Clarisonic. I'll do a review of it in the future. Don't worry. Dylan went down for his nap, and we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for what was sure to be a overload of gifts! We ate a turkey dinner, which Dylan was having none of, he would only eat crackers, finished up with pie, then got to work on this.

I will be honest and say, there were so many gifts we didn't even finish, we left some for the next day. Spoiled we are. That's all I can say. Between gift cards galore and toys for Dylan, we got everything we asked for an so much more. We are so lucky to have a great family that loves us and their first grand kid so much. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if my mom had been here also. Man, I would be tripping over Dylan's stuff forever.

The next day we went back to Adam's parents, because another aunt, Uncle and cousin came into town, as well as Grandma and her hubby. We feasted on a brisket meal, then followed up with the opening of more presents. I'm telling you, Dylan doesn't even know what was happening. He loved playing with the paper and the things that came from the paper! After loading up the car with all of our goods, we headed home to figure out what in the world we were going to do with all of this stuff!

Dylan and I got a gift certificate to Gymboree that we are pretty excited about. We got gift cards for food, clothes, shoes everything. Dylan got so many awesome toys, that I plan to " time release". He will get ONE new toy every month. I am pretty sure I won't ever have to buy him any more until his birthday. Though I do have a gift card for toys r us!

I will have to say, even without Mom, and this being the first holiday season without her, I had an amazing holiday. I was able to spend it with family. Could I have asked for anything more?

Resolutions

2010-12-31T09:14:00.003-06:00

As I sit here watching the tiniest man in my live devour a healthy breakfast of oatmeal, a pear and some Cheerios to top him off ( come on, it says on the box a good source of calcium and Vitamin D) I am reminded that this is the last day of 2010. How can that be? With a new year brings new "resolutions." Now if any of y'all are like me, you can NEVER keep up with them. Last year it was to floss every other day. HAHA, that lasted like two weeks! I hate flossing! But this year, I think I've come up with something more do-able. I made a resolution for a MONTH. That's right, I've only set my bar as high as the end of January. My goal? No baking, no desserts. I'm hoping to cure myself of the need to eat them!

My yearly goal? To run and or walk at least 500 miles. I know that sounds like a lot. But, it's less than 10 a week. When I go on walks, which is pretty often, I usually do a 2.5 mile circuit! So, maybe I can do it. I just need to get me one of those fancy Garmin GPS devises. Birthday, maybe?

My one last goal is to learn my new fancy flash, and camera better. So I'm going to TRY, to take at LEAST one photo a day, and post it to the Pictures section at the top. Now, I want to take pictures of more than just Dylan, but lets me honest, he is the best subject I have around and on hand 24/7. So I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything!

So what are you hoping to accomplish in 2011?

Party Animal!

2010-12-30T09:59:00.006-06:00

So even though it was roughly a month ago, here is the birthday party post! Dylan's party was on the 4th, the Saturday after he turned the BIG one! We had a pretty good turn out! Anymore, and he might have been freaked out! Luckily he was great for the whole thing, and didn't mind other people playing with him.

The aspects I was most excited about were his shirt, and his cake. I was so worried about the cake, because I had only given the baker photo's of what I was thinking, I was THRILLED when I picked it up that morning! It really made my day. Not only was it amazingly cute, but it was pretty tasty too!

For food, we had a Mac and Cheese bar, some fancy flavored popcorn, and your usual party going fair, chips and dip, fruit, veggies. All very casual.

It's hard to believe how spoiled Dylan was on his birthday, considering Christmas was right around the corner, ( I'll save that post for another time) but there is certainly no shortage of people who love him!

I know this wasn't much of a post, but y'all are just here for pictures anyway, I'm onto you!

Want to see more pictures?

Some of the photo's are compliments of Casey

Happy Holidays

2010-12-25T09:00:00.004-06:00

We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! Bring it on 2011!

Up&Up.. Thumbs down!

2010-12-20T16:46:00.002-06:00

If any of you know me, I'm cheap. Yup, I have very little brand loyalty. There are some things I will flat out refuse to buy generics of them, such as toilet paper, much to the dismay of my husband. He just doesn't understand that if it is thinner, I'll just use more, therefore it isn't cheaper in the long run. Having a baby is expensive. I'll be the first to admit it. But you know? It doesn't have to be that bad. While pregnant I bought two HUGE boxes of Pampers Swaddlers, for 40 bucks a box. What was I thinking. That is the last time I bought name brand diapers for my child to crap in, excuse my mouth! WE switched over to Target's Up& up brand diapers, I love them, they are cute and cheap!

I also received samples of Enfamil from signing up on their mailing list, so when we started Dylan on formula, we used that. After receiving a TON from our Pedi for free, we went to buy it on our own. HOLY CRAP. That's expensive stuff. So what did we do? Switched him to generic Sam's brand. 94 Oz. for $21! A DEAL!

Wipes, they are pretty cheap in my opinion. I mean a box lasted us like 6 months. I'm not kidding. Dylan didn't have too many dirty diapers that required a whole box! But you know, I cheap-ed out on myself and bought the Up&Up. I figured that I liked everything else from them why not. I HATE THEM. They are thin, they don't come out easily ( IE, you pull one, and you get 5!), the bottom ones are soaking so much that I have to ring them out before using them. The only positive I have about them is that they are textured, which is GREAT for scrubbing dried messes off of little hiney's! So of course I bought like the 1000 wipe box of these things, so now I'm going to use them, but next time, I'll spend the extra $2 on Pampers!:)

This is more just a little public service announcement for mom's, I've been very happy with everything else generic that I have purchased, but I wouldn't recommend buying the jumbo box of wipes until you have tried a little pack to see if you like them!

THE BIG ONE!

2010-12-15T09:14:00.009-06:00

Yes, that's correct, Dylan turned one year old * tear*. He is such a big boy now! Let me see, so much has happened since then, I hope I don't get things confused! His twelfth month of life wasn't to exciting in the way of milestones. We started off the month with a sick baby. Just another fever and feeling yucky, he got over it and we had our go go go babe again!

He can now cruise really well! he will walk along the coffee table to get to anything we move out of his way. He loves to throw things on the floor! He is an expert at feeding himself, he is a pretty good eater and will eat just about anything, though you wouldn't know it by looking at his weight! This month we celebrated his first Thanksgiving, and I would have to say he really enjoyed it. I think stuffing was his favorite! He got to spend some time with his Great Grandma, Great aunt and Uncle and his cousin to some power, not sure, it's Adam's cousin! Because it was his first Thanksgiving, that also meant his first ROAD TRIP! We traveled to San Antonio, and lets just say, he was a car champ! It took us 7 hours to get there, apparently we weren't the only one's who thought Wednesday mid day was a great time to travel! He also had to sleep in his pack and play, in the SAME room as us, two things that he hadn't done since he was 8 weeks old! He adjusted GREAT!

He is just a giggily little man, everyone LOVES him in the stores and places that we go with him. I was telling Adam last night, the number of adult men who pay attention to him, and play with him in public blows my mind, women yes, but men, I would never have guessed!

Let me see, wow, this might be the worst month post yet! We've been soo busy, my brain is fried!

So some of his stats:
Weight : 17 lbs. 10 oz. ( not even on the curve!)
Length- 29.5 inchs ( 50th %)
Still wearing 9 month clothes, and will be for a while
Doesn't do much babbling, but is making lots of noises, and "talking" if you will, I guess!
LONG eyelashes. That's what everyone comments on it goes something like this..." WOW, look at his eyes, his eye lashes are amazing... Oh, but mom has those eyelashes too huh?" Me: Yup, and so does Daddy!"
You still will NOT hold your bottle, it's not that you can't, you just won't. I think it's because you know I will!

Now that Dylan is one, we are trying to get him off of formula, and bottles. With him not holding his bottle sippy's are probably a little harder than they should be. He kinda gets it, but doesn't know to tip it back. I've tried the straw ones, but he doesn't get it! Oh well!

I promise that I will do a separate birthday post! And maybe even do a Thanksgiving day post too, don't hold your breath though!

Family Photos

2010-12-13T11:48:00.007-06:00

Back in October, we had a family photo shoot. I didn't want to post the pictures until we had sent out ALL of our Holiday cards. But now that the last batch has gone in the mail, I thought that I could put some of our favorites up. I will put some others in the pictures tab. Make sure to check back on the tabs, as I am going to be working on them soon!;) Enjoy!

Like I expected!

2010-12-12T10:53:00.003-06:00

So Dylan and I went to see Santa! I knew it could be good or it could be REALLY bad. Usually he will just look at something/ someone confused like if he doesn't get it. I KNEW I wasn't going to get a smile! So we waited in line, luckily it was only like a 5 minuet line, to see Santa! He was a great Santa, as soon as he saw Dylan he sanitized his hands, and said " You know he is going to hate me right?" I knew it was a possibility. But let me just say... he HATTTTTED Santa. Like shaking hands, terrified, screaming, hated Santa. Good thing I think those pictures are funny! I know I know, bad mommy. But look... it's adorable right?

Yes, this is a picture of a picture which is why the quality isn't fantastic. I guess Santa won't be stopping by our house this year!;)

Oh and I promise I will do a birthday party post eventually. It's just going to take time, and well, I don't have a lot of that:)