Friday, August 30, 2013

The One with the Friday's Letters

I am linking up with Ashley over at The Sweet Season for Friday's Letters.


Dear Hubs,
Thanks for loving me and putting up with my occasional grumpus-ness.  You mean the world to me and I couldn't ask for a better man to share this life with.  I am very much looking forward to this three-day weekend with you and the boys.

Dear Max,
I love you to pieces crazy dog, but you need to stop the jealous stealing of everything that doesn't belong to you.  I know you don't get nearly as much attention since L arrived, but we still love you and you need to behave!
Dear New Students,
Please be a good group of kids and take it easy on your teacher who will really be struggling to stay focused on teaching while her baby is at home.  I promise to do my best to be an awesome teacher this year if you promise to try your best too.
Dear Weather,
Please cooperate and don't be too shitty this weekend.  I am looking forward to some outside time at some point.
Dear Mom,
Thanks for joining this crazy household and taking care of Liam while we work.  I know it won't be the easiest transition living with your control freak of a daughter but we are so happy and blessed that you can do this for us.
Dear Liam,
You are the best baby in the world.  You make me laugh and smile all day long.  Now please take a nap that lasts longer than 32 minutes so Mommy can maybe catch up on some sleep today.  K, thanks!

Link up with Ashley and post your Friday's Letters.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

Two days in a row with a post?  Who the hell is this blogger and what did you do with Jessica?

So life has been pretty uneventful lately (other than the whole getting ready to go back to school...more on that below) and I am soaking up every last second with the little man before I start working.
  • I have not tried on any of my capris or pants with zippers and buttons since I had Liam.  I don't have the slightest idea what I am going to wear once school starts if when they don't fit.
  • We had a few trial run days this week where I left for school around the time I would like to leave once school starts.  Obviously my mom and Liam were fine and I was a wreck.  The only thing that saved me was that I knew I could leave whenever I wanted and come home.  Next week will suck.
  • I really despise doing bulletin boards.  It's just one more thing to add to the list of things to get accomplished every month.  But it did turn out cute.
  • I've been trying to add a Pinterest hover button over my pictures.  All the instructions I can find tell me to find </body> in my blogging template.  I don't have </body> anywhere in my template.  Any ideas blogging friends?  I'm getting frustrated.
  • Today I spent an insane amount of hours reorganizing my classroom books.  It was quite the mess in there and it's definitely not done.  Maybe I'll just tell the kids they can't touch any of the books yet!
Hot effin mess.  And there are some many more books that aren't in this picture.
  •  L does this hysterical eyebrow raising thing.  His eyebrows are so blonde you can barely see them, but he is getting so expressive with them.
  • I have been reading other blogs but have been slacking on my commenting because I usually read them on my phone while feeding L. So I promise I am still reading and will try to be better about commenting. 
  • Sophie the giraffe is definitely laced with crack.
  • Max chomped huge bites into a bunch of papers that were in a bag on a chair that should have been out of his reach.  He got in big trouble.  Sometimes this dog drives me insane.
  • I need to decide on a fall bag.  I have been using the diaper bag as my purse since L was born but I guess I need a real bag again now that I am going back to work and am pretty sure I won't need diapers and butt paste while I'm there.  I think I'll pull out my fabulous polka-dot Kate Spade.
  • It's time for meal planning and lunch making again.  I am looking for some new dinner recipes and plan on spending some time with my Pinterest board this weekend.
L and I are off to run some errands while I can still go out in the middle of the day on a Thursday.


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The One with the August Cara Box

I participated in August's Cara Box exchange this month.  I skipped July because we were traveling but I was so happy to get back into this again.


Cara Box


Cara Box was started by Kaitlyn at Wifessionals in an effort to get to know other bloggers and receive super fun mail!  Each month has a theme and you can read more about how Cara Box works here.  This month's theme had to do with the "season" of life you are in.  I accidentally ended up in the wrong group (married 30's, as opposed to have children 30's), but everything worked out really well regardless.

I was paired up with Kristin at Celebrate the Goodness and Cate from Random Crafty Georgia Girl.  It was so fun getting to know both ladies and I enjoyed picking out items for Cate's Cara Box.  Head over to her blog to see what I sent her in the Cara Box.

My box from Kristin arrived last week and I was so excited when it came in the mail.  I love getting mail and this month was no exception!  She is so thoughtful and really sweet.

In the box from Kristin, there were such great things for all the "seasons" in my life.  There was a journal and a cookbook, a notepad, a pair of earrings, a framed quote about teaching (which I already hung in my classroom), a magnet with our last name, and a Starbucks gift card (which will come in quite handy once school starts!).

Thanks so much Kristin!



I had a lot of fun with this month's theme and am looking forward to doing this exchange again.  Kaitlyn is changing up how she organizes it (the exchange will be every 3 months instead of every month) and I think it will be great to have even more time to get to know the bloggers you get paired up with.

If you aren't already participating in the Cara Box exchange, I definitely recommend signing up in September.

(And on an unrelated note, I am going to try to be a better blogger...try being the key word in that sentence since I officially become a working mom next Tuesday).

Saturday, August 17, 2013

The One with Liam's Baptism

On Sunday, August 11th, surrounded by lots of family and friends, we baptized our son.

This was something that was extremely important to me.  I want him to be part of our church and faith community. 

We were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous summer day.  The weather was perfect - the awesome mix of warm sun and a gentle breeze off the water.  Many family and friends came from out of state (as far away as Florida and Illinois) to celebrate this very special day.

My best friend is Liam's godmother and my brother is Liam's godfather.  They were both pretty obvious choices for us when choosing his godparents and we are so happy they agreed to serve these rolls.

Commence picture overload...

 Outfit from here



 Liam and his godparents

 Liam and his Nana and Gramps (my parents)

 Liam and his Grams and Papa (Hubs' parents)





 He was pretty perfect during the whole ceremony.




 And of course, there was donut cake.  Two actually.

I ordered this onesie from this shop on Etsy to change Liam into when we got back to the house for his party.

I somehow managed not to take any pictures during the party, but I am working on getting some from family and friends.  We had about 70 people at our house after the baptism and everyone had a great time.

Our family is truly blessed.

The One with What a Difference

August 17, 2012...


Exactly one year ago, we (and about a dozen doctors and nurses) made a baby.

This little boy was part of our baker's dozen and we are so very lucky to have him in our lives.


Feeling unbelievably blessed and grateful today.

(And definitely not missing the needles and bruises.)

All my boys watching baseball.

What a difference a year makes.

Monday, August 5, 2013

The One with the Three Month Update

Liam Michael you are

THREE MONTHS OLD!



We are officially out of the newborn stage.  You are now ::gulp:: an infant.  Holy moly kid, stop growing already!

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?
You haven't been to the doctor since your two month appointment, so there are no new stats to report, but I am thinking you are probably close to 15 pounds by now and maybe a little longer than the 23 inches from your last appointment.  I am looking forward to going back to visit Dr. G next month and seeing how much you have grown.  Your hair is still blond and you are getting more of it.  Your eyes are still blue, but the shade of blue has changed to be a little deeper.

What are you eating?
Up until about 10 days ago, you were eating five 5-ounce bottles of Similac Advance formula a day.  When we got back from vacation, we made the decision to increase the amount of formula you were getting at every bottle in an attempt to get you down to four bottles a day.  We were successful and you now have four 7-ounce bottles of formula every day.  You have one every 4 hours or so.  You still have one 2-ounce bottle after your bath before you go to sleep.

When do you sleep and eat?
Your nighttime sleeping is still awesome kiddo!  You are sleeping between 9 and 10 hours a night and you even did an 11 hour night last week!  You usually wake up around 6:30ish and you have a bottle with Mommy in your room.  You hang in your bouncy chair for a while so Mommy can unload the dishwasher, put on some laundry, or get Daddy's lunch ready.  We talk and laugh together and you play with your hanging toys.  Sometime between 8:00 and 8:30 you take a little cat nap in your chair.  You usually get the hiccups right before you fall asleep.  The hiccups are nothing new, since you've been getting them several times a day since you were in Mommy's tummy.  When you wake up, we read stories or play on your mat so you can look at all the toys.  You eat again around 10:30 and then we usually go and run our errands for the day.  You almost always fall asleep in the car and depending on how long the ride is, you sleep around an hour to an hour and a half.  You eat again around 3:00 and are usually awake for a while after this bottle.  Sometimes we go for a walk or you hang out in the baby carrier during this time so Mommy can get dinner ready.  You usually take another quick nap between 5:00 and 6:00 and then you have another bottle by 7:00 before we start to get ready for bed around 8:00.  You are typically asleep by 8:30.

What do your routines look like?
We still don't have any set routine for naps and Mommy is going to work on that this month before she goes back to work.  You are a cat napper right now and as long as you keep sleeping like a champ at night, Mommy and Daddy are okay with the short naps. You are still getting a bath every night and we think it's one of your favorite parts of the day.  We have been slowly backing up when we start your routine and we started your bath at 8:00 last night.  After your bath, you get your massage with lotion and swaddled in your special blankets.  You have a 2-ounce bottle and we read one of your stories.  Mommy then makes the room darker, rocks you and sings you a song for a few minutes.  You then get put down in the Rock 'n' Play in Mommy and Daddy's room.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?
You are wearing mostly 3 month clothes and most of your 0-3 month clothes have been put away.  Mommy is going to be washing some of your 6 month clothes soon.  You are wearing size 2 diapers.

What are some things you love?
You love your bath and the water (you already had your first dip in the pool!).  You still love to be moving and calm right down in the car once we start driving.  You like to lay in your crib while Mommy folds your laundry and look all around your room.  You notice shadows and always talk to the air conditioning vents!  You love smiling and talking to everyone.  You like being outside and are always looking around at all the sights.  You are drawn to the TV but Mommy won't let you watch any yet!  You also love to show how strong you are by standing when someone holds you.  You find it very amusing when someone sticks their tongue out at you and blows bubbles.

What are some things you don't love?
You are still not a fan of tummy time.  You are one strong little boy but you have no interest in holding your head up when you are on your belly.  You don't like it when people aren't paying attention to you and want to talk and interact with everyone.  You still get mighty angry when someone interrupts your eating, but you are mighty good at giving us burps during your bottle.  You can get a little overwhelmed when you first wake up and people are in your face and we have had a few "I'm scared and startled" cries this month.  You just get kind of fussy when you are upset and very rarely cry.

What can you do?
You smile almost any time someone talks to you and we have heard the first almost laugh sounds.  You talk and make lots of noises when we talk to you.  You make this gurgling noise at the back of your throat when you talk that is just so cute.  You put your index and middle fingers in your mouth all the time and are starting to get better about keeping them in your mouth and sucking on them.  You have started to pull yourself up to sitting when someone holds your hands and gives you a little help.  You recognize Mommy and Daddy's faces and voices.  You can hit the toys hanging above or in front of you.  You have also found your tongue and love to stick it out.

Where have you gone?
You went on another big road trip with Mommy and Nana this month.  We went to Sunset Beach, NC to visit some more family members.  We also drove all the way to the other side of Connecticut for your cousin's graduation party.  You and Mommy take weekly trips to Providence to go to our Mommies' Group.  You also went into Mommy's school to pick up a few things.
 
What have you celebrated?
You celebrated Mommy and Max's birthdays this month (they are on the same day and yes there was donut cake!).  We also celebrated two of your cousins' graduations from high school.

Who has visited and watched you?
You met some more aunts, uncles, and cousins this month during the our trip and at the parties we went to.  Nana continues to be a great babysitter and has been a big help around here.

What was Mommy's Mother of the Year moment this month?
This wasn't too bad, but Mommy left you in the living room strapped in your Mamaroo chair while she washed some of your bottles.  This seat isn't very high off the ground.  Mommy peeked around from the kitchen every few minutes to check on you and all seemed well.  You suddenly started making noises and Mommy came into the living room to find Max licking your face over and over.  You didn't seem to mind too much, but Mommy felt so bad that your face was getting assaulted by Max's tongue!

What are some of your nicknames?
Peanut, Pita Pocket, Pumpkin, Cookie, Little Man, Sunshine, Cookie Monster, Mini Me (that would be in reference to Daddy because you look so much like him!)

What are we looking forward to in the next month?
You are getting baptized this month and we are very excited about this.  We are going to have a big party for you at our house after the ceremony.  We are going to do some visiting of friends and having some friends to our house to visit this month too.  One thing Mommy isn't looking forward to is getting back into her classroom to get ready for school...she's not going to talk about that right now.

And from our photo shoot...

 You talking to me?


 Already trying to escape!




 This was right before you spit up all over yourself.
 

Mommy and Daddy are oh so in love with you, sweet boy.  You are a joy and we are so lucky to call you our son.  It's so much fun to watch you grow and change.

Friday, August 2, 2013

The One with the Pool

When Liam and I went down to North Carolina a few weeks ago, Liam went in a pool for the first time.  It was quite a success (well technically it was the second time that was a success because we got thunderstormed-out the first time we tried).

He seemed rather unimpressed with the whole thing and Mommy was way more excited than he was.  I imagine he was thinking, "Ma I don't get the big deal.  It's just a giant bathtub."

We took him out later in the day to avoid the hot sun and made sure he was very covered during the short amount of time he was in there.

And now onto picture overload...


 Yeah you know you want my killer tan lines.



Looking forward to many more fun beach and pool trips with this little man in the future.