Longmired in Life

Tracey's Bachelorette Party

2012-02-08T11:50:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, several girls traveled down to Cancun for Tracey's Bachelorette Party! We had booked this trip back in August, so its been a long time coming. Also, I have to give a HUGE thanks to Ben who kept Wyatt by himself all weekend. (I'm pretty sure he was exhausted by the end)

Becky, Tracey, Erin, and I flew in from Atlanta and ended up meeting Mary Beth and Sarah at the airport in Cancun. Let me tell you something about customs at the Air Tran terminal in Mexico: they are efficient! Seriously! They have done extensive studies in queuing, and have found that the best approach to a mass of people is to let them stand in one big herd and fend for themselves. Mexican Queuing Theory - I remember reading all about it in my operations management books in grad school. Am I taking this too far? Probably so, but seriously, I believe we actually spent less time in the airplane than we did in that line. You can sorta see the herd of people in the background of this picture!

Once we met MB and Sarah, we got on our little shuttle bus and headed over to our resort!

Another thing about Customs/Immigration in Mexico? They don't feed you lunch while you're waiting in line! Therefore, once we got to the resort and checked in we literally threw our bags down in the room and went to have lunch by the pool.

After lunch it was a bit overcast, so we just wandered around the resort for a bit and took some pictures.

It looked like it was clearing up, so we went to our rooms and changed and went to the beach side restaurant for a snack and drinks.

That evening, we all got gussied up for drinks and dinner. Hilariously enough, the beach side restaurant where we had afternoon snacks and drinks was called Pina Colada by day and La Deva by night. They did have a different menu and the most delicious fried ice cream that I've ever had!

After dinner, some went to bed (it had been a long day) while MB, Tracey and I went to the hotel lobby for drinks.

Saturday morning, we slept in late (well, late by my definition), had a leisurely breakfast and headed down to the beach to relax! The weather seemed to be perfect - a little overcast so it wasn't too hot, but still nice enough to relax outside and read.

Around lunchtime, it started to look like it was going to rain so we went back to the beach side restaurant for lunch. It did rain so we ended up spending quite a while there just chatting and having fun. Here is our crazy bachelorette drinking green tea!! We're a wild bunch, I tell ya!

The afternoon turned out to be pretty rainy, so we just kinda hung out until it was time to get ready for Tracey's lingerie shower and dinner. We did make her dress up in silly bachelorette stuff, of course!

I wanted to get a group picture before or after dinner. Buuuuut someone couldn't hang (no names mentioned, Becky) so we did not. We did however, have a wonderful Italian meal and quite a bit of wine ....

We took it back to the lobby bar after dinner and unfortunately the only picture I took was of this Mexican Wrestler. I wanted to get a picture of his face, but didn't want to be too obvious!

Sunday was a short day, as we had to leave around lunch time so we all got up ate a quick breakfast and went outside to enjoy the weather for a while before leaving. Oh! And we also met a new friend!! (thisiguanadontcare)

We took a few more pictures on the beach before it was time to get ready to leave. It was a quick trip, but such a great time with girlfriends and of course we all enjoyed celebrating Tracey's upcoming wedding!

A Day in Pictures

2012-01-31T10:35:00.001-05:00

So I did this last year about this same time. Its just fun (for me) to look back months from now and see what a typical weekend is like for us with Wyatt! I have been wanting to do this for a few weeks now, but then when a friend asked me what I was doing and I told her my weekend plans her response was "you have such a hard life". The truth is that i don't, BUT it isn't as easy-peasy as one might thing given that there's a little toddler in tow with me ....

So here goes.

4:00 - Ben leaves to go to work :( They have a concrete pour and a call time of 4:30 am.

6:30 - Wyatt wakes up and we play in his room for a little while. Even though he is awake, he doesn't necessarily want to get out of bed right away. So I usually go in and play with him in his crib for a little bit.

7:15 - We head downstairs for breakfast. Our typical weekend fare is waffles, cereal bar, and milk. W refuses fruit in the morning so I don't even bother anymore. I usually have my coffee while he eats and after he's done I make my own breakfast.

8:00 - Daddy comes home from work! He's tired, but plays with W for a few minutes before changing and leaving for golf.

8:30 - We go upstairs to play for a little while and then get dressed to run some errands.

9:30 - We were almost ready to walk out the door, and I turned my back on Wyatt for just a second to find this. Apparently he saw his snack trap on the counter and decided he needed it right then! (Oh and the spoons and potholders all over the floor? That is our norm)

9:35 - We're off! First stop is the embroidery place. They're closed? On a Saturday. How am I to work with this?

9:45 - We get to Old Navy (told yall I would be going!). They don't open until 10. Ugh. Retailers really need to get with the program -- for people with small kids, 10am is pretty much afternoon! I decided I didn't want to wait in the car for 15 minutes so we headed to Target.

10:00 - I did successfully made my return at Target (that is never a given -- they have a pretty tough return/exchange policy). Then I promised Wyatt a toy for letting me shop. I told him I'd buy him a car, but he found this baby Elmo that he just HAD to have. He's been toting him around ever since so I guess it was a good purchase.

10:35 - we're back at Old Navy. Wyatt was SO GOOD! He ate snacks while I shopped and even played in the dressing room mirror when I was trying on clothes.

11:15 - We leave ON. I thought about going to chick-fil-a for lunch, but I decided we were probably better off just to go home so we did.

11:30 - We're back home and I start unloading the car. Wyatt's new favorite activity is to climb in and around my car after we're home. He likes to 'drive' and play with the radio!

12:00 - Wyatt eats lunch. Sorta

12:20 - I put W down for nap. He's tired so I hope he sleeps well. After I know he's asleep I shower, dry my hair, vacuum the house, do a load of laundry, eat lunch, paint my nails and sit down to catch up on DVR.

2:00 - of course he wakes up right as I turn on the latest episode of DC Cupcakes. That show is starting to annoy me anyway so its probably for the best that he woke up. I went in there and watched him play in his crib for a while before finally agreeing to get out.

3:00 - afternoon snack. then he decides he wants to help me sweep the kitchen. this kid LOVES the broom!

4:00 - We go upstairs and play in his room, the media room, my room. All over the house basically. Wyatt took a couple short trips to time out.

I stopped taking pictures at this point. But, at 5:00 I fed him dinner then we went upstairs so that I could fix my hair and makeup before we went to our dinner club. I got myself dressed, got W into his pj's, and ready for bed before the sitter came.

I have no pictures of Ben and I from before the dinner, but have to share this you tube video taken at the very end of the evening. Ben wasn't ready to go home yet .... (fast forward to about 48 seconds)

Wants and Wishes!

2012-01-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

So, I shop at Old Navy. A lot. Is that uncool? Probably so, but I don't really care. I often don't have much time to shop and ON is very close to my house and as long as Wyatt has ample snacks he will normally let me shop for a few minutes. Also, it is rare when I have to wear anything very fancy, so for the most part ON just suits my lifestyle.

All that said, I normally just buy staples there -- you know .... t-shirts, cardigans, etc. But I went in the other day and found the CUTEST printed blouses. (Does that word irk anyone besides me? I feel like that is a very old-fashioned word to use) I only bought a couple of them, but I'm going back for more - they are just so cute and springy. They must have hired new designers or something, because there are a million things that I want right now ...

I love this butterfly dress. I'm not sure how it will look in person though. That white may be too sheer for me.

Both of these tops are great for summer -- and I could even wear to work with a cardigan.

I love this dress. With a yellow or hot pink cardigan? Soooo cute

Love this one too. This one is good for early spring when you still might want something on your arms.

And also this one!

Wouldn't this top be cute with white pants or capris?

This one would as well. I think I could maybe pair it with jeans too.

I got this one. LOVE the birds!! They have a white one like this as well, which is also adorable.

They had some cute shirts this fall, too, which I bought only one of and I wear ALL THE TIME! Love all this stuff. I sure hope W is in a shopping mood this weekend, because I'm going to load up!

New Year's Eve 2011

2012-01-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

I suppose I'm a little late on this, buuuuut better late than never!!!

We went up to Charlotte for New Year's Eve this year. There was a huge group of us all going up to see the Dunaways and the guys all wanted to go and see Widespread Panic while the girls opted to stay home and cook a nice dinner and drink champagne. One of my criteria for NYE was that I wasn't leaving Wyatt, so we took him with us.

We really wanted to get a picture of the kids in their 'Happy New Year' hats, but someone wasn't very cooperative ....

See that sweet cooperative baby? Yeah, she is so well behaved that her parents took her all the way to Australia with them a few days later! (I think the badger would probably make it through that flight but he would likely give Ben and I heart attacks)

This ended up being the best photo of Wyatt and Anna that we could get.

We didn't get a group picture of the guys, but we did get this one of the girls prior to them leaving. (minus Sheri ... she wasn't there yet)

And the closest we got to a family picture was one of me and Wyatt (kindof) and one of Ben and Wyatt. Ha!

Oh. Can we please talk about Ben's mustache for a second .... this was just for fun for the concert! He doesn't leave it like that in real life! (I didn't really want him to do it this way even for the concert, but then I got accused of being the 'fun police')

Once the guys left and the babies went to bed, we got started cooking our fancy dinner! Actually, if I'm telling the truth, Sarah and I relaxed and ate appetizers while Sheri, Ashley, and Becky did the cooking. And if memory serves me correct, Sarah set the table so really I just sat and did nothing. Thanks girls :)

After dinner, Becky busted out Big Carl. (Isn't that the name of the huge wine glass on Cougar Town?)

From there, things just got plum silly.

Even Elmo stayed up to have fun with us!!

After the guys got home, they all took a turn with Big Carl too!

It was a fun NYE! Thanks for having us up to Charlotte, Dunaways!

And, because I can't resist sharing ... I took this on the car ride home. Wyatt LOVES his sunglasses (as well as his pacis)!

by the time Wyatt is 3, I will have a P.h.D. in feeding a toddler

2012-01-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

Fact: If my mother made my meals each day, I would eat WHATEVER she put on my plate.

Fact: A one-year old doesn't see it the same way. Instead a one year old will just simply refuse something on the basis of looks, texture, color, or their mood that day.

I've mentioned this before - but I have a REALLY hard time with thinking of new, fun, creative, healthy ideas for Wyatt's meals each day. I know all kids are picky, but Wyatt is extremely finicky. He actually eats a pretty decent variety of foods, but its his entrees/proteins that I struggle with.

I found this awesome website, which I thought was just going to change my life. It is full of creative recipes aimed at a child's palate. It would be so great to have a stockpile of (healthy) foods at the ready in my freezer and I was going to have his dinner ready in just minutes each evening! (Sidenote: I thought I was going to have tons of room in my freezer after I quit storing breast milk, but I was oh so wrong) Well, that didn't exactly work out. I just recently dumped out a batch of noodle pancakes and very berry muffins because he refused to eat them on about 10 different occasions. I've tried a few other recipes from that site with varying degrees of success. But usually? I'm just back to the normal cheese/spinach quesadilla, chicken nugget, whole wheat pizza rotation. On nights where I don't do one of those three meals, he usually ends up eating fruit, carrot sticks, yogurt, and a cheese stick and I send him to bed not all that confident that he has a full belly.

While I refuse to be that mom that feeds my child fast food all the time simply because it is most convenient, I also refuse to be that mom who says "if you don't want what is on your plate, then you'll go to bed hungry". At least not while he's still a baby ....

I'm sure in time our dinner struggles will become easier and maybe hopefully one day I'll be able to fix one meal that works for our whole family each night. (As opposed to now, where many nights I end up fixing THREE separate meals)

BUT. Soon, I will have to start packing lunches for Wyatt each day and I know this will bring a whole other set of problems my way. I was googling 'toddler lunchbox ideas' the other day and found that the latest craze is Bento boxes? OMG. And I'm dying all over again .... I have visions of sending Wyatt with these adorable lunches each day and getting great reports like:

"wyatt ate all his broccoli today" or

"wyatt is such a great eater! we never have trouble convincing him to finish his lunch" or

"once again, wyatt was a member of the clean plate club!"

A mom can dream, right?

Year in Review

2011-12-31T14:35:00.000-05:00

A little pictoral recap of our 2011. For me, it was fun to go back and pick a highlight out for each month of this past year. But, I'm a little worried I'm stepping over the sappy borderline so I'll spare you too many words and just put this little collage up!

Six Christmases

2011-12-28T14:44:00.000-05:00

So we've had a busy few weeks, but who hasn't? Before Ben and I were married, we decided that we would alternate Thanksgiving/Christmas with our families each year BUT that we would always celebrate Christmas with both families - even if we have to celebrate before or after. That left us this year with six different celebrations!

This was Ben's family's year for actual Christmas so we celebrated with my family the weekend prior. We had a wonderful dinner at Mom and Dad's house and the kids all enjoyed opening gifts and playing together. Wyatt even cooperated by sitting at the dinner table for forty-five minutes while we all ate (this is VERY a-typical of Wyatt).

What he didn't want to cooperate with was posing for pictures.

He loves his new tool bench!

We did get ONE family picture. I think this may have been the only one all Christmas

Then on Sunday, we went to my Grandfather's house and enjoyed lunch with all my cousins, aunts and uncles. Again, W didn't really want to pose in this picture of all the great-grandchildren.

Mom and I did take Wyatt down to ride the Pink Pig. I believe we took him on the Thursday prior to Christmas -- this may not have been the wisest move as we waited in line for about 2 hours. But hey, its tradition, right?

This was taken before he started crying but he was VERY ill-impressed :(

I called Santa and asked him to come a few days early since we were leaving on Friday to head up to Tennessee.

Santa obliged.

Wyatt loved all of his new toys and had a few minutes to play with each of them.

However, he was most interested in eating the leftover cookies that Santa didn't eat!

On Friday, we left for Tennessee to celebrate with Ben's family.

We had dinner with Ben's Aunt Weez and Uncle Bill followed by opening gifts. (Photog was too busy chasing after Wyatt so sorry for the lack of pics!)

The next morning, we did gifts with Ben's immediate family.

That afternoon, Ben's Aunt Susan and Uncle Al came to town and we had a fantastic dinner with them followed by more gifts.

We relaxed with family Christmas day and Ben and I even got a chance to go out to a movie! It was a good Christmas and now we're ready for NYE.

Whew! Longgest blog post ever? I'm tired. Oh and also if you're counting I believe that was more than 6 Christmases, but you get the idea right?

What's in my purse?

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, I sent out an email to a few friends that I knew had moved within the past year asking for their addresses so that my files would be updated and ready to go when I got around to addressing Christmas cards. One of them replied "wow, I hope to be as organized as you when I grow up"

I'm not exactly sure what my response was, but I'm guessing it was along the lines of "nope. totally unorganized but glad I've got at least one person fooled". (HI STACY!)

So, just to prove that point ... that I am tooootally disorganized I dumped my purse out on my desk and took a picture of the contents. Its pretty scary!!

I mean. Geez. I use most of those things, but certainly not on a daily basis. Its just amazing how things sink into the black hole of my purse. Maybe one day I'll figure out a better organization system!

Oh and just FYI that boarding pass? Is Ben's from our honeymoon. Over FOUR YEARS ago. Now that I see that, I remember finding it in a tote bag the other day and just couldn't let myself throw it away so into the black hole it went!!

Weekend Happenings

2011-12-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

I think this past weekend marks our first 'busy' weekend of the Christmas season! Who am I kidding, all of our weekends are usually busy ... Christmastime or not? Anyway, we were busy.

We kicked off Friday by Lolly coming down to keep Wyatt for the afternoon and evening. We had been looking for a babysitter all week because we had a party we wanted to attend, and weren't having any luck when out of the blue Lolly emailed us and asked if we happened to have anything coming up for which we might need a sitter. That's how we roll .... we import sitters from Tennessee!

Wyatt and his Lolly had a fantastic afternoon -- it was a pretty day so they spent tons of time outside and he even got to go down to the park! I think they probably wore each other out, and she relaxed at our house while we went to our neighborhood's progressive party. Wish I had pictures of it, but man, our neighborhood knows how to have a good time.

We went up to a cute little place called Farmhouse in the City on Saturday morning for Ellie's 3rd birthday party! All the kids had so much fun playing with the toys, dressing up, and painting pottery.


The Birthday Girl!

Ellie and Wyatt holding the Bunny

I'm pretty sure we have a budding artist on our hands. Here is mini-Monet in action:

The final product?

This may have turned out prettier if I'd helped him to paint left-handed as opposed to right. Oops!

Ellie didn't have time to open her gifts at the party, so she did that after she got home. Here is a picture of her teaching her little brother how to use one of her gifts. Doesn't EVERY three year old need an i-touch??

After we went home and Wyatt had a nap, he and I went to get his very first haircut! I've been putting this off for several weeks now, but since we were venturing into mullet territory I decided it was time! We went to Pigtails and Crewcuts, which was totally out of the way but absolutely worth the drive! Wyatt loved playing with the train set while we were waiting and then once he got in the stylist's chair he was not so sure. He started shaking his head "no" when she pulled out the scissors and started working. I tried to convince him with toys, animal crackers, books and none of that was working so I resorted to giving him a lollipop. That worked! (And he ate that thing down to NOTHING and then fought me when i took away the stick)

Here is a (not so good) shot of the mullet

Hair cutting in action

Final product! He looks so old now ....

We spent the rest of the evening/weekend working on Christmas decorations and getting our house picked up. We've got a little more Clark Grizzwwald-ing to do to the exterior of our house and I'll show pictures next week maybe.

Oh. And totally un-related to our weekend. Wyatt saw the same santa at the same mall both last year and this year. How is the mileage from the North Pole different from year to year? (Does that have something to do with the rotation of the earth or did they just miss that tiny detail?)

18 Months!!

2011-12-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

Oh my lawd. How in the world did this little dude go from this:

to this????????

Crazy.

Anyway, yeah so 18 months. Wyatt has completely transformed from a baby into a little boy. It is fun to see the new things he learns each day and how much he knows already! He is SUCH a little busy body -- has zero time to sit still for anything. Not to get dressed, not to get a diaper change, not to take a picture, not even really to eat. I am really disappointed in myself for not documenting specifics in the past, so I'm going to try to cover everything with this update. I'm probably the only person who will want to read this but I know at some point I'll want to look back and see detailed info about what he was doing at 18 months. You can just look at pictures if that bores you :)

Nevermind the rosy cheeks ... he was cranky and had been crying!

- He now knows everything that we tell him, and follows our commands (if and when he wants to - but it is obvious that he knows the things we are telling/asking him)
- He is VERY good at shaking his head "no" when he doesn't want to do something you ask him to. I've now learned to re-phrase things that I need him to do. (for instance, instead of "are you ready to get out of the bath?" i say "its time to get out")
- Currently, his favorite thing in the world is playing outside in the leaves. He loves to stomp on them, collect them in his bucket, look at them, etc.
- He is really becoming a good "helper" and quickly realizes the pattern of chores and pitches in. I was outside raking leaves the other day, and he kept walking over and putting leaves in the bag for me -- one at a time, but still the point is that he recognized a pattern of behavior and followed it.
- He has a lot of words (more every day) but seems to recognize a lot more than he can actually say.
- If you laugh around him (even if it isn't at him) he will start laughing. I guess he knows something is funny and wants to be "in" on the joke!
- His favorite word is "NO" ... says it all the time both to us and to things that he knows he isn't supposed to do/touch/play with
- Other words: hey, dog, ball, duck, bagel, mama, dada, no, bite, three, eight, four, ten, elmo (eeeh), airplane, eye, hot (ta)

copycats!

Likes
- playing outside
- leaves (if he sees one on the ground he'll point to it and talk all about it)
- airplanes
- Elmo (he doesn't even watch TV, so he knows him only from books and from his toys, but every time he sees him he'll point and say "eeeehhh")
- counting -- he LOVES when we count with him and its cute when we find him 'counting' by himself. (he definitley knows how and when to say 'eight' and will sometimes say 'three')
- singing -- he really prefers for us to sing to him, but sometimes after you finish a song he'll sing in response. (fave songs: ones that say his name, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, and ABC's)
- his paci - i dread the day we have to break this habit ....

Thanksgiving 2011

Dislikes
- vacuum cleaner or any other loud (foreign) noise
- washing machine
- being woken up in the mornings
- being told "no" (usually in response he'll either throw something or hit you ... we're working to correct this)

driving the Gator!

Schedule
- on weekdays I have to wake him about 6:30 and he DOES NOT want to get out of bed. I usually rub his back for a few minutes and get him up and a diaper change. He'll have his milk and a 'fake' breakfast with me before I turn him over to Ben to get dressed and to school. He usually eats a 'real' breakfast about 8:30 (on weekends he wakes up on his own at about 7 or 7:15 and we go downstairs and he will slowly eat bits and pieces of his breakfast all morning)
- he eats lunch about 11 or 11:30 am ... and if you happen to miss this window of opportunity he WILL. NOT. EAT.
- he goes down for nap right after lunch. on weekdays its usually 12pm on weekends sometimes (if he is cranky) its 11:30 or 11:45
- he usually wakes up from nap about 2 or 2:30. sometimes when he's super tired, he'll sleep until 3 or so.
- he gets a snack about 3 or so
- by 5:00 he is HUNGRY and if we're downstairs I can't keep him out of the pantry so usually he gets dinner about 5:30 or 5:45. Again, if you miss this window he'll become too cranky and just won't eat dinner.
- bath happens right after dinner
- he goes down at 7 - and sometimes even that is pushing it (as of late)

Mr. Serious

Food
This is a funny category because his likes/dislikes are constantly changing. He'll be obsessed with something one day and the next he wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. This makes grocery-shopping/meal-planning very tough.

Favorites: cheese sticks, yogurt, fruit squeezies, gummies/candy (of course), raspberries, kiwi, banana, cheese/spinach quesadilla, carrot sticks, noodles, bread, waffles, cereal, goldfish

Things he will rarely turn down: cheese sticks, yogurt, crackers, fruit squeezies, gummies, yogurt melts. (So when we have those nights where he wont' eat anything else, he eats a cheese stick, yogurt, a fruit squeezie, and crackers.)

Dislikes: most meats. he'll eat ground beef in spaghetti or something and a hamburger patty but generally speaking he's an omnivore.

I've talked about this before, but I am constantly searching for new (nutritious) recipes that I think he'll eat.

Stats
clothes: 18-24 months, and 2T's mostly
shoes: that's a tough one ... some of his are 5's but when buying them these days i go for a 6
diapers: 5
weight: 26 lbs (50th percentile)
height: 33 inches (70th percentile)

Sarcastic Tuesday

2011-11-22T08:37:00.000-05:00

I had intentions of posting this last Friday, but just didn't ever get around to it. Here are a collection of some of my favorite things from my weekly someecards email!

Am I the only one who laughs at these? I hope not.

A Visit with Santa

2011-11-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

I took Wyatt to see Santa Claus yesterday afternoon. I love going this early in the Christmas season because it isn't crowded at all and its easy to get in and out pretty quickly. The appointment process is a bit insane, but honestly makes Santa visits soooo easy! I can't imagine having to stand in a long line with an 18-month year old!

I figured Wyatt would cry and fuss about sitting on a strange man's lap, but he really did pretty well. He definitley didn't want to sit there, but he didn't cry. Success!

2011-11-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

This was such a fun weekend filled with both wedding and baby showers! We got to spend time with lots of new and old friends and catch up. So nice to do that every once in a while.

Anyway, a couple of friends mentioned to me that they like my 'random thought' posts. (Not that they don't like seeing tons of pictures of my cute little crazy child, but I guess people just like variety in their lives.)

Yall. If you like my random thought blog posts, you really should get inside my head. Even for just an hour. You'd be totally entertained. I should also go ahead and admit that some of my 'random thoughts' are probably offensive to some. Not my intention, but there is usually a good reason behind my offensive thoughts. I'll let you in on one of them today! So here goes:

1) You know how you can look up your address and see if there are any criminals living in or around your neighborhood? I would venture to say this is something every parent does, and probably anyone who is looking to buy a home will run a little search beforehand. Information is power and all. So, I was thinking ... wouldn't it be GREAT if you could also include on this list of criminals anyone who does party sales for a living? (You know the ones ... Silpada, Mary Kay, Avon, Thirty One, Tupperware). Personally, I would avoid those neighborhoods just like I'd avoid hardcore crime neighborhoods.

2) Sorry. That comparison is a little harsh. But my point is: its only natural to avoid those people as they always want to rope you into coming to their 'party' and buying overpriced crap that you don't need in order to support a pyramid scheme. (I'm sure you're a nice person Mrs. Silpada and your jewelry is lovely. I just really don't want to have to think of a polite excuse as to why I don't want to come to your party and buy your stuff every time i run into you. Oh! And thank you for asking, but I also an unavailable to host a party. My calendar is planned three years out and I just cannot squeeze another event into my schedule!)

3) With all that said. I have a few rules that I live by: don't do drugs, don't drink and drive, and don't go to party sales parties. So, just a fair warning to any friend out there ... if you're hosting a Stella and Dot party don't bother sending me an invitation! Love you and all just don't love supporting a pyramid scheme.

4) Wow. I really unloaded didn't I? I bet my mom will call me and tell me to delete this post!

5) New topic! Christmas!! I really had a goal set for myself to have all shopping done by the end of October. This would give me November to wrap and decorate and December to just enjoy. And bake. Sadly, I didn't even come close to accomplishing this goal. Oh weezers!

6) Someone pointed out to me that perhaps that was just too lofty of a goal to set for myself? That is probably true.

7) Can we just for a second talk about how HARD it is to cook for a toddler? I recently found myself defaulting to mac n' cheese way too easily and that really just bugs me. Can't blame a kid for liking that junk in a blue box, but it has SO MUCH SODIUM. And all kinds of other crap. So I've challenged myself to put some healthy variety into W's diet. I don't have it down to a science yet, but thanks to the Internets things have become easier!

8) The kid is genetically predisposed to having a picky palate so I'm trying to get plenty of vitamin dense foods into him while I can!

9) Why are Honeycrisp apples so expensive?

10) Don't you just HATE when you bite into a donut expecting it to be full of boston creme only to discover jelly?

That's all I've got for today! LMK if I need to just go back to non-offensive posts of the kid picture variety? Ha.

Halloween

2011-11-01T12:27:00.000-04:00

We've been celebrating Halloween all month long at our house! There is entirely too much candy laying around, and of course Wyatt has been rocking his bat, spider, and pumpkin t-shirts all month long!

We saw a cute fisherman costume in a magazine and decided to order it for him. I'll never make the mistake of ordering a costume from a catalogue again, as I didn't really think much of it when it arrived. However, in true Meme fashion, she churched the costume up a bit and it really did end up looking cute!

Of course right here he looks a little more like a farmer than a fisherman as he goes to pull some of the chard up from my planter!

I realize that Wyatt is too young to understand trick-or treating, but he definitely does understand the word "candy". He really enjoyed taking candy out of one bucket and putting it into another. He would of course stop from time to time and ask me to open things for him.

We couldn't resist the opportunity for a few pictures and took him to just 2 neighbor's houses. He was funny, because after they gave him candy and we were standing there talking to them for a minute he started asking for more! I think we'll have to make sure we work on our manners next year when he understands the whole concept a little bit better.

This is maybe my favorite picture of the whole night -- of course my butt is right in the shot. Guess I can crop it out?

After we got home and bathed him, we put him in his spooky pajamas (thanks Susan & Al!!) and posed for a quick picture before bed. He had a great Halloween and I think next year will be even more fun for him!

Random Thangs

2011-10-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

I don't think any of this really warrants a whole post, but I've got some general randomness to share today! (With the tens of people who read this little blog:)

1) I am LOVING Elf makeup as of late. Late this summer, I discovered this blush/bronzer set and LOVE it. It is supposedly a dupe of some Nars product. Can't really speak to that as I've never tried the Nars, but i do happen to love this set. And its only $3!!!

2) After one good experience with Elf, I decided to give it another try. I bought this eyeshadow palette for I think $5 and it is fantastic!! I may keep buying foundation and powder from the higher priced companies but I think I'll stick with the Elf eye shadows and blushes for a while!

3) Soooo, I made a little discovery last night/this morning. Wyatt got sick last night about an hour and a half after he ate dinner. This is the 4th time this has happened and it always follows the same pattern so I've suspected a food allergy but didn't know what it was. I've kept a food log ever since the first occurrence and after last night I figured out the common link. Salba grain!! I've been giving him 'baby' food recently as a) he loves these squeezable pouches and b) its a good way to pump some fruits/veggies into him and there are several brands out there. Only one of the brands contains this super-grain ... Happy Tot. Isn't that crazy? He has no other food allergies (that we're aware of) just to this random grain.

4) As a result of him puking his guts out until midnight last night I was a little leery of giving him any milk this morning so I gave him a sippy cup of Pedialyte with his breakfast this morning. He CHUGGED it (and I'm sure he was thirsty, but still). I gave him a second cup. Chugged again. I think he thinks its a treat since he really only drinks milk and water? Poor baby.

5) I've had these shoes for a very long time. I LOVE them and don't know where to find a new pair so I've resisted getting rid of these. But they're just looking way too ratty to keep wearing, I think. Guess its time to part with them???

6) We've started referring to Wyatt as "the badger" as of late after watching that honey badger you tube video. (Have you seen it? Its hilarious. Worth your time to watch. Swearz) See what I mean? Wyatt is totally a badger ...

7) Last bit of randomness for you today. I have another irrational hatred (similar to my hatred of cooked carrots) ... 3-series BMW's. Have you ever noticed that when someone cuts you off in traffic or does something generally obnoxious or rude, they tend to be driving a 3-series? Its true .... don't be rough!!

Burt's Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

I took the day off work this past Friday to take Wyatt up to Burt's Farm along with my mom, sister and her family. I haven't been to Burt's before, so this was my (and of course Wyatt's) first experience. Apparently it is VERY crowded on the weekends so we decided to go on a week day to avoid some of the crowds.

I've got to say that I really like this place. Some of their pumpkins are HUGE! (And I would have taken home every single one if I could - slightly obsessed with pumpkins this year). Mom, Wyatt and I got there a little bit before Kimmie and her clan so we started out taking pictures of W in the pumpkin patch. He was in awe at first and actually cooperated with us. Then he very quickly realized that it was more fun to run around than to smile for pictures!

Wyatt was so happy to see Ellie when she got there! They just ran up and hugged each other and immediately started "talking". We did get them to pose for a few pictures.

Then we put Garrett and Meme into the mix. Tough to get a 'good' picture of all 3 kids at once but I guess this one will do!

This was the best one we could get of W and I. At this point he wanted to run around and had no patience for standing in one place!

He did cooperate for the wheelbarrow ride. Unfortch, the sun did not cooperate and this picture is a little dark! Oh well ...

I think in this one he was trying to say "hey ... no pictures please!"

After we finished up pictures, we roamed around and looked at the smaller pumpkins. Wyatt is a bit confused and thinks the really small ones are balls, so he likes to pick them up and throw them around. The pumpkins at our house don't stand a chance of making it until Halloween ....

Ellie liked toting them around as well. I think this one was a bit too heavy for her!

For some reason, I had picked Ellie up and was carrying her for a minute when someone decided he was jealous ...

After we were finished with the pumpkins, we went on a hayride which Wyatt loved! He just relaxed and ate his snacks the whole time. I think he almost fell asleep.

Then it was lunch time, so we had a little picnic by the stream and afterward I taught Wyatt how to throw rocks in the water to make a big splash! I think he could have done this all day long. (Oh and somewhere in there we had to have a little wardrobe change! That red mulch got ALL OVER his white shirt. Thanks to Shout, Tide Stain Release, and Resolve along with 3 rounds in the washing machine it came out though!)

We had a fun day at Burt's and look forward to going again next year!

Apple Pickin'

2011-09-20T09:02:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we headed up to Ellijay, Georgia with my family to go apple picking. This is a tradition started by my parents and sister/Dave but Ben and I have always had a conflict whenever they went in the past. Soooo, now that Wyatt is old enough to enjoy this type activity they made sure to plan around us being able to attend.

Apparently there are several orchards up in Ellijay and we went to Hillcrest. There was much more to this place than an apple orchard -- petting zoo, tractor rides, etc.

When you walk into the place, its kinda kitchy, but they did have a bunch of old antique tractors that are there for kids to climb on and take pictures, I suppose. Wyatt LOVED this blue tractor because he could reach the wheel! He was a little overwhelmed by everything at first, but really enjoyed sitting on this tractor and posing for pictures.

We also posed for the obligatory family picture in the wagon.

Then it was off to the petting zoo. As you can see, Wyatt wasn't quite sure what to think of all the animals. All he wanted to do is run around!

After the petting zoo, we tried out the slide. Wyatt didn't really care about this one way or the other but Ellie sure did!

At this point *someone* in our group was just famished so we took a lunch break. (I'm not going to name names here, but I'll give you one hint that it wasn't one of the babies ...)

After lunch we walked around the orchard for a bit until it was time for the pig races. Yes. You read that correctly.

Then, Wyatt discovered a new escape route from his stroller! Guess we can't be so lax anymore about buckling him in.

We went on a little tractor ride all around the orchard, which I was nervous about because Wyatt doesn't really like being held in my lap -- he wants to run.

Despite my concerns, he was very happy during the ride especially when Meme started making him laugh. (Who knew, saying "e-i-e-i-o" was so funny ...)

After the tractor ride, it was well past W's naptime so we walked around the orchard a little more and let him play. (Rereading that sentence, it makes zero sense! But, generally if he is outside and running around he's happy even if he is sleepy)

He was so happy running around and picking up "balls"

It was a fun day, but at this point it was well past nap time and we loaded up the car to go home.

Wyatt was zonked before we pulled out of the parking lot!

Crock Pot Cooking

2011-09-19T12:01:00.001-04:00

I loooove to cook, and I love to try new recipes. Things other than pork chops, and beef aren't usually met with such enthusiasm in my house but that is a whole nother' conversation for a whole nother' day. Anyway, so yeah. Cooking with a 15 month old running around? Not quite so easy. We've adapted and somehow I'm able to get a meal on the table each night.

One thing I've attempted in order to combat the whole toddler thing is to use my crock pot for our main course and then its usually pretty simple to throw together a side dish or two. But you know something about crock pot cooking? Everyone talks about how foolproof it is, and its so wonderful and all but I seriously can't figure out how to make it work for my situation.

I have only one. ONE recipe that I know will work for me in a crock pot. ONE. I've tried dozens and there is only one that actually works for me. Its a BBQ recipe and its awesome.

Anyway, here is the thing - although I have a smart crock pot, most recipes need to cook for about 6 hours. That is fine and all, but I leave my house at 7am and we don't eat dinner until 7 or 7:30 each night. So, when the 6 hour cooking is complete, the crock pot shifts to a 'keep warm' setting and my food sits like that until dinner time? My main problem with that is that it ends up overcooking the meat but I also find it pretty gross that my food has basically been sitting under a warmer for 6+ hours after it has cooked.

Am I the only one with this problem? Does anyone who works full-time have success with crock pot cooking?

Monterey - Day 4

2011-09-13T14:27:00.000-04:00

Sad panda. This is the last day of our trip :(

In all honesty, this was probably the perfect amount of time for a trip. We were probably on the verge of overstaying our welcome at Carrie and Burke's and Ben and I were definitley ready to get back home to Wyatt. (Who had changed so much in the time we were away!)

Ben and Burke had an early tee time so they got up and went out golfing. While they did that, the rest of our crew went to this massage place called Happy Feet. Its not what it sounds like. (Doesn't that sound like its an Asian Massage place? Well, actually it was. But not that kind) (At least I don't think so) Anyway. The place was a far cry from Pebble Beach or Bernardus, but for the price it was a really great massage!

After our massages and golf, we all headed back to the casa to get showered and dressed for the day. The guys hadn't had a chance to see the seals or Cannery Row so we decided to walk down there to have lunch and do a couple more wine tastings that afternoon.

Of course I made everyone stop on the way to take pictures.

Forced Ben to pose for this cheesy picture.

Then we went to lunch at a place on the water called Schooner's. It was a gorgeous day, and we were able to sit outside. I could seriously get used to lunching like this every day. Here is Ben with his mojito!

You need to see a closeup of that mojito. It was sooooo good. If I were into day drinking, I would have ordered one for myself.

And, this thing? Was ridic. It was called a Mint Chocolate Chip Mud Pie -- not really sure that I would have called it a mud pie, but regardless it was killa.

Ben and I walked around taking more pictures after lunch while everyone else ~~got annoyed~~ waited for us.

We had avoided Cannery Row on our way to lunch mainly because we were hungry and didn't want a bunch of tourists to slow us down in getting there so we did walk back down through Cannery Row to a couple of wine tasting rooms.

We had big dreams of stopping in at Ghiradelli and/or the frozen yogurt place but after our huge lunch and desserts, we just couldn't do it. We did stop to take a picture with this poor guy dressed up as an ice cream (?)

So, the thing in Monterey is not to go to actual wineries -- instead you go to tasting rooms. In the case of the first one we went to on Sunday, Taste of Monterey, they actually just bring in a selection of wines from various wineries all over Monterey. That way you're not really as limited to one bottler. We had pretty much ruined our palates with the dessert, so none of us were over the moon about anything we tasted there.

Next stop: Scheid. We all ate a bunch of crackers once we got there and I guess it cleared up our palates, because we all liked several of the wines we tried there.

These are wines that you can't really find outside of Monterey, so we ended up buying a few bottles to bring back home.

Also, the pours at Sheid are pretty generous. That resulted in a few of these pictures ...


Paging team donkey ....

I don't have photographic evidence of this, but it also resulted in Becky asking tens of random strangers to give her a high five. (And most everyone did ...)

We came back home to get dressed for dinner. It had been like 5 hours since our last meal so it was time to eat again! (Is it obvious that we ate well?)

Before dinner though, we stopped off at Pebble Beach to buy some things in the Pro Shop

Of course I had my camera and insisted that we get a group picture.

Then off to dinner at a fabulous Italian place in Carmel. I can't remember the name but it was sooooo good. Legit too, they made all their own mozzarella, prosciutto, pasta, etc.

We had very early flights the next morning, so that pretty much wraps up the trip. Thanks again to Carrie and Burke for hosting us.

And thanks again to my parents for keeping the little dood ...

Monterey - Day 3

2011-09-12T15:41:00.000-04:00

What day are we on? Saturday, I believe.

So, the guys had another round of golf scheduled at Spanish Bay and the girls had spa appointments at Bernardus out in Carmel Valley. We actually had a pretty laid back morning - slept (relatively) late and got up in time for Burke to whomp us up a fantastic steak and egg and veggie breakfast. After breakfast, Carrie, Becky and I walked down to see the seals and to see Cannery Row.

Those seals STINK so badly, but it was neat to see so many of them hanging out on the beach. Its hard to tell in my pictures but there were a bunch of them swimming and playing in the water as well.

After the seals, we kept walking a bit over to Cannery Row. It is VERY touristy, but still a must see when you're in Monterey. Carrie pointed out some tasting rooms that she wanted to take us to, and we shopped a little for souvenirs for Wyatt. And of course, we had to pose for a few pictures.

Meanwhile, the guys went off to Spanish Bay. I believe this picture was taken before they teed off.

We didn't get to see any of this course, but based on the pictures it looks pretty picturesque just as Pebble Beach was. There were also deer.

Lots of deer. And they don't care - they don't move out of the way for some silly little golfers ...

After our walk on Cannery Row, we headed out to Carmel Valley to the Bernardus Spa. I would say that when we left Pacific Grove, it was in the highish 60's and we drove about 10 miles away to Carmel Valley where it was mid-70's. Crazy. Anyway, we all 3 had fantastic massages. A super sweet lady named Robin (Do you smell my sarcasm? Robin was a lot of things but she wasn't super sweet) helped us out after the massage and ordered our lunch to be served poolside. I think we're still waiting on this food to be delivered, aren't we girls?

Since we didn't really have any plans for the afternoon and we knew the guys would be tied up golfing, we took the opportunity to just lounge at the pool all afternoon. It was perrrrrfect!

We then got showered and dressed for the evening and headed back down to Pebble Beach/Spanish Bay to meet the guys at a bar to watch some college football and have a little dinner.

We arrived just in time for the bagpiper. Pretty awesome.

It was a fun day, we didn't do a whole lot that night except drink wine which led to a hilarious game of Taboo.

Monterey - Day 2

2011-09-08T10:39:00.001-04:00

This was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. Because of that, I have tons of pictures, so I'll try to keep my words to a minimum. Before we left for the trip, everyone told us that we needed to take the drive out to Big Sur. So we did (poor Carrie and Burke -- I think they have to do this with everyone who comes to visit!)

We started off the day with a pretty intense drive along winding coastal-mountain roads up to this adorable restaurant in Big Sur called Neptenthe. We ended up getting a great table outside on the patio -- right on the cliff looking down 800 something feet to the sea (correct me if I'm wrong ... not quite sure about the elevation). Anyway, the food was amazing. Not to pick favorites, but this was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip. I wish I had a food picture, but I had the BEST heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad that I've ever had in. my. life.

After lunch, we did hang around to take a few pictures at Nepenthe before heading back down the coastline to do a few scenic stops before wine tasting in Carmel Valley.

I made Ben pose for this one!

The drive was once again, intense, and this picture kinda gives you perspective -- a section of road literally crumbled into the ocean a few weeks ago so now that part of the highway is one-lane. Scary!

The drive drove one passenger to drinking ... (i'm probably going to get in trouble for posting this but since he doesn't read my blog he'll never know. unless his wife tells him, which she probably will)

We stopped to take some scenic pictures. Is the view not breathtaking?

We then stopped at this little beach and decided to hike down to take photos down there. We all laughed at this sign on the way down (foreshadowing).

I forced Ben to take this picture too. We did like 375 takes, and it still didn't turn out like I wanted. I blame the soft sand, and the fact that white (wo)men can't jump.

I'm seriously trying not to bore you with pictures, but please indulge me ....

A few minutes after posing for a picture on these particular rocks, they became our refuge.

We were all just standing on the beach enjoying the waves when we started to notice them getting pretty big. One wave in particular we were kinda like "oh wow ... that is big"

then: "oh ... shoot. its really big." and we all take off running

Burke, Carrie, and Becky, escaped to higher ground quickly enough. Wes, Ben and I did not. We all ended up on these rocks spider-man style! It was hilarious and I'd give just about anything to have that on video. Basically, we all realized we were about to get totally soaked and at that point it was every man for himself! One of the funnier moments of the trip. We were all pretty winded by that point and headed back to the car.

After all the excitement, we headed back down to Carmel Valley for a little wine tasting. We had the best time and Carmel Valley is gorge!

Burke was good about reading us the tasting notes before each wine we tried.

I made my own tasting notes.

After all the wine, we figured what could a little more indulgence hurt and got dressed for dinner.

We went to Mission Ranch which was UH-MAZE-ING. Best meal of the whole trip! Seriously.

After dinner, we decided we were all dunzo, and headed back to Carrie and Burke's house to get some rest before another exciting day! It was a long, but very fun day.

Also, big HUUUUGE thanks to my parents for keeping Wyatt for us the whole time we were gone! They were so good to keep sending us pictures and updates each day. I don't think he missed us one bit, and Ellie sure did keep him well-entertained!

Labor Day Weekend - Part I

2011-09-06T12:56:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday, Ben and I flew out to Monterey to meet the Dunaways and visit with Carrie and Burke. They really planned a full, and fun long weekend so that means this will be a 4-part blog! I've got LOTS and lots and lots of pictures to share. We all got in pretty late to Monterey, but Carrie and Burke came to the airport to pick us up. It was late, but we were all excited so we stayed up and had a drink and chatted for a bit before getting some rest before our first big day.

Burke was able to book a tee-time for the guys at Pebble Beach for Thursday afternoon, and this luckily coincided with the girls spa appointments. We kicked off the morning with a little breakfast at Carrie and Burke's house - do you think these guys look excited?

We then took our time getting ready and heading over to the lodge to have lunch and relax a bit before the golf started up. We had lunch at The Tap Room at the lodge and then headed out for our facials at the spa while the guys warmed up.

Um, the Pebble Beach spa ...... UHH-MAZE-ING. I'm not really a spa rat, so I don't have much to compare it to but it was really pretty awesome. The girls had facials and then we ended up finishing in time to go back to meet the guys before they teed off.

Of course, I took my camera! We all ended up walking the first few holes with the guys, which was fun. It really is neat to see such a historic and beautiful golf course. I thought the deer on the course were hilarious -- apparently they are NOT afraid of people!

He's about to make that ball his b*$&h!

After walking a few holes, Carrie and I decided to peel off and go back to enjoy all the spa amenities. Becky stayed with the guys and walked the whole time, so we got some awesome pictures thanks to her!

As much as I might have liked, I obviously didn't take any pictures inside the spa (except one that I snuck with my iphone). But ... let me just say that there was a warm room, comfortable chairs and blankets, a fire, and some fun spa snacks involved. And of course that put me riiight to sleep ... very relaxing!

Mmmmm ... spa snack!

The guys had a great time ... I think I'll just let the pictures do all the talking, how about that?

Carrie and I finished up at the spa, and got dressed just in time to see the guys coming off 18. Can you tell it was a great round?

After golf, we headed back to Carrie and Burke's house to get dressed for dinner. We went to the cutest little restaurant called the Red House, which was literally just up the street from Carrie's house in Pacific Grove. It was a very fun evening and a fantastic meal. (Well, fun until everyone thought it would be cool to lock me in the bathroom. Glad I could give them all a good laugh :)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, this little guy was well taken care of!! Doesn't he look like he's having a great time???

grilled pizza and a few pictures from our weekend

2011-09-01T10:17:00.053-04:00

So, I've been wanting to try to grill a pizza for a few weeks now. I think I probably got the idea from a food blog I read and thought it sounded like it could be a fun, different way to cook a pizza. I looooove pizza and pretty much like it any way that it comes (except for "fast food" pizza and frozen ones) but decided that we should give it a go on the grill. Despite Ben's skepticism about the process, he agreed to help. He's the grill master so all things grill-related pretty much have to be approved by him! I won't go into detail about the process except to say that it was definitley a team effort but so WORTH IT.

We stayed in town all weekend and just ran errands and did normal weekend stuff. It was nice and semi-relaxing -- except for the whole errands part of it!

Wyatt's favorite thing right now is to play outside. After we get home from school each day, he walks directly to our back door and stands like this asking to go outside. I'm not quite sure what we will do if we ever get any rain and can't go outside because this boy gets angry when you tell him we can't play outside.

How can you possibly say no to this face?

On this particular occasion, I was able to convince him to play inside with his car for a little while. Eventually I relented and let him go outside when I realized it was the only way I was going to be able to enjoy my morning coffee and eat breakfast.

I'm not sure what is quite so entertaining about this but his FAVORITE thing to do when we go outside is to throw these plastic fish around. He'll collect them all in his sand bucket and then dump them out over and over and over again.

Another favorite thing is the dishwasher. I can't load or unload it in his presence because he will beeline over to it and start climbing inside. Its hilarious to watch. Sometimes once its empty I will actually indulge him and let him play.

Lake Weekend ... final one for the season for me :(

2011-08-29T14:59:00.000-04:00

Not this past weekend, but the weekend prior Wyatt and I both went up to the lake for the weekend with my parents. Ben was hosting his fantasy football draft at our house, so I decided it would just be best if Wyatt and I were just not around until well after the draft had ended (and our house was cleaned up afterward)! Also, it looks like this will be the end of lake season for me this year - sadly this was only the 3rd time I'd been all season. Verrrrry unlike us but we've had a busy summer.

It was a nice, relaxing weekend and we pretty much just did the usual ...

splashed in the baby pool

played in the boat

rode in the boat and LOVED helping papa drive

floated in the lake with meme

and of course drove the Kubota.

Wyatt will also be spending Labor Day Weekend up at the boat so I'm sure I'll have more cute pictures to share soon :)

Popeye

2011-08-24T15:28:00.000-04:00

Spinach is pretty much the only vegetable that I can get Wyatt to eat. I know he's his daddy's son so that means we will probably always struggle with getting veggies into him. Anyway, the other evening I was busy making his favorite spinach and cheese quesadilla for dinner and decided to take this video of him eating the spinach leaves raw. He does this every time I have the spinach out and in his reach.

I'm pretty sure Ben was horrified at this video! Oh well.

Sarcastic Friday

2011-08-19T08:56:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about Fridays is that I get an email from someecards. I'm not sure how people think of this stuff, but it never fails to disappoint me! Here are some of my favorite ones from today's email.

Monday at Meme's

2011-08-18T12:36:00.000-04:00

My mom usually keeps Wyatt once a week while Ben and I are at work. These are the GREATEST days - for me and for Wyatt. (Usually when Meme comes, the laundry fairy also comes so it is fabulous to come home to empty laundry baskets and full closets!)

However, we hadn't had a "Meme day" in a few weeks because she's been up helping my sister out with new baby Garrett. This past week was his first one in a while and because I had to re-arrange the schedule this week to a different day, she kept him at her house for the day.

She texted me a few pictures of their activities from the day so I just couldn't resist sharing them....


Playing in Lilburn Park


Riding his tricycle. He looks sooooo big, doesn't he?


Watching Barney in Meme's car. He doesn't get to face forward OR watch movies in our cars, so he thought he was hot stuff!

Driving Meme's car

Weekend Recap

2011-08-16T12:49:00.000-04:00

Before I get started on sharing the details of this past weekend, I wanted to share a picture from the weekend prior when I took Wyatt up to Kimmie's to meet baby Garrett. It was kindof a whirlwind trip as I was wrestling with nap and eating schedules but it was good to at least get the 3 kids together for a picture. Even if this is how the photo session turned out ....

So, this past Thursday was Ben and I's 4th anniversary! He was so sweet and gave me a nice card, gorgeous flowers, and a shiny new Keurig!! Here is a picture of the pretty flowers he gave me.

Ben's parents came down on Friday so Wyatt got a half-day at school! They spoiled him rotten all afternoon and enjoyed letting him splash in his pool and ride in his little car outside. When I got home from work, I could tell he was having an absolute blast and he really didn't want to come inside to eat dinner and have bath time.

That night, Ben grilled some chicken wings for dinner ... he's been testing recipes out before he grills them for his friends at their big fantasy draft this weekend. I love that Ben likes to grill so much, because it makes for very easy summertime meals and leaves me very little kitchen cleanup.

Griller Extraordinaire!

Saturday afternoon, Ben and his dad went to the PGA tourney. Rosemary kept Wyatt for me so that I could run my errands without a baby in tow! It is insane how much more quickly you can do things when there is no baby with you! I even had a few minutes to go down to the pool and relax.

Saturday night, we went out for our anniversary dinner at Davio's. OMG. it was sooooo good! We had a great time and loved the wine glasses that were bigger than our heads!

Friday was also Kimmie's birthday and my parents went up to her house that evening to have a little celebration. As bedtimes are a constant battle, we just couldn't make it up there on Friday so we took her lunch on Sunday instead. This was the only picture I got while we were there because its just wild chasing after a baby when you're at someone else's house! All he-man wanted to do is push this table around ...

4 years!

2011-08-11T08:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary to my sweet, loving husband! Thank you for the last 4 (well really 7) years and I look forward to many, many, many more!

Engagement - November, 2006

August 11, 2007

February 2008 - visit to Aquarium

August 2009 - in Maui

March 2010 - waiting on Shim!

June 2011 - in Perdido Key

Amazon Mom

2011-08-05T16:04:00.000-04:00

Are there any mamas out there that don't know about/don't use Amazon Mom for their diaper purchases? If so, you need to join NOW!!

I think I got some fliers in the mail a couple of times and saw a few blogs about Amazon Mom back in the fall. I totally ignored them at first and I'm not sure what made me finally sit down and join. Its a free membership, and basically just saves you money (and time) in buying diapers, wipes, etc. When Wyatt was first born I was convinced that I needed a stockpile of diapers in his closet because it is just always so inconvenient to run out and buy diapers. Problem was, I'd buy about 3 boxes at a time and I'd always wind up stuck with at least 1 or 2 boxes leftover after he graduated sizes. Also? Target's return policy is horrible. I'm pretty sure I am on their 'list' of habitual returners simply because of my diaper stockpile/returns.

At the risk of sounding like an extreme couponer, I'm going to share one of my dirty little secrets with you: I LOATHE paying retail for something that I know I can buy cheaper. (Just take a look in my pantry to find 8 boxes of pasta, and a lifetime supply of coca cola products and you'll figure that one out). This is another reason Amazon Mom is so awesome. You save 15% over their price by being a member and another 15% for choosing the subscribe and save option (you can cancel that subscription with no penalty as soon as you receive your order). Comparing apples to apples, I usually pay about 16-18 cents per diaper versus the 23-25 cents I would pay at a retail store. You also don't pay sales tax or shipping.

And the BEST part? You order them and 2-3 days later there is a box of diapers on your doorstep. Ahh, it is so convenient. I've gotten to the point where when I am at Babies R' Us or somewhere like that I just cringe at the sight of people buying diapers there.

This is a long post and a lot of words to tell you - go join amazon mom. Use them to buy diapers, wipes, and sometimes even Dreft (you do have to watch those prices though - it can be cheaper at the store). If you haven't been using Amazon before, you need to now. You'll thank me, I swear!

Happy BIRTH Day, Garrett!

2011-08-03T10:15:00.000-04:00

Kimmie's due date was July 28 (last Thursday) so if you know my family at all you know that we were ALL on pins and needles for about 2 weeks. We were on call at all times, nobody going out of town or making any major plans .... that sort of thing.

And just like a watched pot never boils. A baby never comes on his/her actual due date (or at least about 95% of the time they don't). so that left us waiting. Bored and waiting. (Was this what people felt like when I was 8 days overdue with Wyatt? Probably)

Kimmie started sending me texts on Saturday night that she was having time-able contractions. At midnight she said she was going to sleep. I fully expected to get a call in the middle of the night but I didn't. Finally, she called me on Sunday morning on her way to the hospital. All in all it was a pretty quick delivery -- he was born at 2:54 Sunday afternoon and is healthy and perfect!

Big boy weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz (just like Wyatt) and was 22 inches!!!

They are home now and adjusting to life as a family of four. Ellie has apparently been wonderful with him and I know she will be a fantastic big sister. I know she will also probably boss both Garrett and Wyatt around all the time, but that's okay! At least it is 2 against one. (Sorry the below picture is missing Ellie, but she didn't get to go to the hospital until Monday afternoon)

In other news ... guess who is walking now??? We definitley already have our hands full with Wyatt and now he is going to be all. over. the. place.

Guess Who Dressed Wyatt???

2011-07-18T08:33:00.000-04:00

Scuse' the bad quality of this photo ... but just ignore that for a moment and let's play a game. Its called -- Who Dressed Wyatt Today??

If you guessed Ben, then you would be absolutely correct!

As if this outfit weren't funny enough, I have to tell the rest of the story. Ben kept Wyatt for me while I went to a baby shower for my sister. After I had been gone a few hours, I get this phone call from a random number. Of course I don't answer and they call back again. And again and again and again! Finally, I listened to my voicemail. It was Ben. He was taking some trash outside and had locked himself out!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness he had Wyatt with him. They went across the street to a neighbor's house to get out of the heat while they waited on me to come home and unlock the door. And that is how he was dressed ....

Ben still swears that this outfit matches. I explained to him that yes, the colors technically match but that doesn't mean the outfit works. Hahahhahahah

Sorry to throw you under the bus, Ben .... but this outfit was just too funny not to do so!

St. Simons Island

2011-07-14T12:42:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we went down to St. Simons with Ben's family. Ben's parents had been there all week so us along with Ben's Aunt and Uncle all went down to meet them. We got a little bit of rain on the very first day, but other than that the weather was beautiful and more importantly we all enjoyed spending time together. We see my family often, but with Ben's family out of town our schedules just don't work out to get together as often as we would like.

Wyatt started out each day with a walk on the beach. Here he is with his Lolly, Great Uncle Alfredo, and Aunt Susan. As you can tell, he was having a blast!

He was a bit sleepy, so eventually he fell asleep in the stroller. Tough life he has!

And when he woke up it was time for a little snack.

Since it started raining, we ended up taking Wyatt to the indoor pool for a little while. He is typically a little timid when he gets into a pool. He tolerates it but clings to me the whole time. Today was an exception -- he swam like a fish in this little pool!

Once the rain passed, we took him to the baby pool outside for a few minutes before taking him in for lunch.

After lunch, Wyatt took a verrrrryyyy long nap. His Lolly stayed back in the villa with him so that we could all go outside and enjoy the afternoon. (Thanks, Lolly!)

Wyatt ended up waking in time to get a few more minutes at the pool before we had to go in and get ready to go to dinner. We ended up having to wait a few minutes to get seated, and W was getting tired so he ate his dinner in his stroller outside the restaurant.

One would think that since he had taken a long nap, he would have been able to stay up a little bit past his normal bedtime. However, that was not the case at all! He got so tired that he just fell asleep on Ben's shoulder and then his Pops held him while we all finished up our meals. (Thanks, Pops!)

The next day, we did much of the same ... beach walk, pool time, lunch, naps, more pool time.

One thing he got a HUGE kick out of is pushing this little table down by the pool. I don't know what his obsession is with pushing tables, but that is the only thing he was interested in doing at the pool.

The weather started to look a bit iffy, so we all decided that maybe we should just go ahead and get dressed for dinner early. However, by the time we got to the restaurant and on the waiting list Wyatt was starting to get sleepy. I quickly fed him while he was sitting in his stroller and immediately knew his evening was over after he got bit by a mosquito and had an absolute meltdown. Lolly and Pops ended up taking W back home so he could go to bed while Ben and I stayed to eat with Al and Susan. We missed the other half of our crew, but I know Wyatt was just glad to get to go to sleep. (I'm not kidding when I say that his early bedtime is decided by him, not us!)

After dinner, we all came back to the villa and relaxed a bit. I think someone may have been "overserved" (kidding ... he was just being silly)

Wyatt, Lolly Pops, Susan, and Al all had their morning beach walk on Sunday morning. One last walk before hitting the road. We all had a nice lunch downtown and hit the road.

It wasn't the easiest ride back for Wyatt. As it turns out, he was cutting his 1-year molars and I think that is partially what made him more sleepy than usual. Its definitley what made him cranky. Eventually, after giving him some Motrin he settled down and slept in his car seat.

We had a fantastic time, but were glad to be home! Look how happy this kid is to be home with all his toys!

Happy Birthday Ben .. and America!

2011-07-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Ben's 33rd birthday as well as 4th of July at the lake. Usually we spend a majority of our summer weekends at the lake but this year that just hasn't been the case for one reason or another. We hadn't been since Memorial Day, so I think we were all really looking forward to a relaxing long weekend at the lake.

As I've said before, Wyatt is very into wheels and anything that turns. Actually, his interest in wheels/motion has become less of an obsession and more of just an 'interest' but still he enjoyed practice-driving the Kubota. Ellie of course had to do it too ....

Ben's actual birthday was Saturday so we of course celebrated by going out to dinner as well as with cake and presents. The way things worked out, it was best to do cake and gifts along with presents before dinner so that we could get a cute picture of everyone. I LOVE how this particular picture turned out!

For some reason, we thought we could get a (good) family picture of the 3 of us after dinner. Well, Wyatt + white shirt + strawberries + red pasta sauce = FAIL.

We eventually decided that when in Rome, you do as the Romans so we just skinned him up for one more picture ...

After we got Wyatt to sleep that night, we left Meme in charge of him and went to visit Taylor and Erin at her parent's house for a while. They had a really fun bluegrass band playing and it was a nice change from our usual lake-evenings!

Sunday, we spent the day relaxing in the lake and playing in the baby pool. On 95 degree days that baby pool on the dock gets used by everyone! Not just the babies!!

That afternoon, Ben prepared some ribs for our evening meal. He put a LOT of work and time into them and they turned out fantastic! Nice work, Ben!!

After dinner, we enjoyed a little fireworks show. Wyatt was in bed already, but this was Ellie's first time to watch them. I think she loved it! In this picture she is doing the sign for "more".

Monday, we rode in the boat and on the jet skis. We had a little dock time and got a few more minutes of relaxation in before heading back to reality!

Oh, and Wyatt tore up Meme's kitchen.

It was a great 4th! Next up: St. Simons Island!!!

13 Months

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

I know I said I was quitting with the monthly pictures/updates. However, when I actually do sit down and update Wyatt's baby book I'm going to use this blog as my reference so I decided to do another little update.

Friday, Wyatt turned 13 months!! Every day he is less 'baby' and more 'little boy'. He's a total maniac and is constantly into everything. Nothing in our house is sacred, as he is constantly strewing his toys around and pulling stuff out of our cabinets. He can be quite micheveous, especially when he's tired. One of his favorite things to do when he's tired is to go and play with the picture frames and plants in our living room. We of course look at him and tell him 'no-no' and remove him from the situation. He will look up at you, smile, then go right back to doing what he knows he's not supposed to. It is hard not to laugh at him ...

The boy also has an APPETITE! I love this about him because I think I would stress myself silly if he didn't eat much. Although he has an appetite, he has his certain things that he likes and even then if he's not in the mood for something he'll just push it away. (I'm trying to teach him to say 'no' instead, although I'm pretty certain that word will be overused!) He still tends to throw his food on the floor so I will usually only put 1-2 bites on his tray at a time and I end up feeding him myself probably more than I should. (But if I don't, then he will not eat as much healthy food and more of his less-healthy ones). Right now, I think I would have to say his favorite 2 foods are cheese and yogurt. Just in the last week or so, he's been eating 2 yogurts/day -- after he finishes his dinner each night he will fuss if I try to get him out of his highchair and he hasn't had that yogurt. I should probably buy stock in Stonyfield ....

His doctor advised us to quit giving him the bottle at 12 months. She pretty much instructed us to go cold-turkey but I just couldn't do that. At the time of that appointment, he was still taking 3 bottles each day and although he drinks water from his sippy cup very well he will usually push the milk away when you try to give it to him via sippy cup. (This is one of those adorable, yet frustrating things that he does -- if you try to give him something that he doesn't want he just shoves your hand away) Anyway, I took a little different approach -- I dropped them one at a time and told myself that I would wait until 13 months to drop his morning bottle. Since he hit the 13-month mark on Friday, that was his very last bottle. He handled this MUCH better than I expected and is surprisingly cooperative when I give him his sippy cups. Whew!

He is going through a little attachment phase right now and it is really just sad. For everyone. His doctor predicted this would start and it did about 2 days after she told us that! He cries every morning when Ben drops him off at school. Talk about a sad panda.

Favorite things right now:
- yogurt
- snacks (yogurt melts, cereal, puffs, crackers, vanilla wafers ... he loves them all)
- pushing things -- anything really but the object gets bonus cool points if it makes noises when it rubs against our hardwood floors when he pushes it.
- sliding things/skating -- he'll get 2 frisbees, or books, or really 2 of anything and sortof skate across the room on his hands with those items. very cute
- banging toys on tables to make LOTS of noise
- slamming cabinet doors repeatedly
- wheels or anything that spins
- head bonk game
- playing pat-a-cake
- songs: Wyatt-wyatt-bo-byatt; Curious Wyatt: Wyatt the Riot; and BINGO are his faves.
- peek-a-boo
- Ellie
- Sing-a-ma-Jigs (especially his pink one!)

Things he could do without:
- sitting still - getting him dressed and diaper changes are quite the challenge these days
- being told "no" -- he gets kinda sensitive and will cry if you're stern about telling him no
- walking. he just shows no interest at all. he will take 2-3 steps to me from a piece of furniture but even then he's got to be in a certain mood.
- getting his nails cut. this is easily my LEAST favorite task each week
- being dropped off at school each day

Overall, he remains to be a very happy child and adjusts well to pretty much any situation. Although he doesn't necessarily talk yet (he has a few words, but I don't really consider them talking) he communicates with us very well. And he babbles all the time, so I think once he starts talking we probably won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

Wyatt is such a joy to us, and we enjoy each day we have with him so much. Each little stage he's gone through has honestly been fun, but it always seems like whatever age he is is the *most* fun. Not sure if that makes any sense at all to anyone other than me! Ha.

Perdido Key

2011-06-13T15:22:00.000-04:00

We spent the last week in Perdido Key with my family -- Mom/Dad, Kimmie/Dave/Ellie and Me/Ben/Wyatt. Although we see each other often and much of that time is sorta 'vacation-mode' since we're at the lake, its still nice to just get away once in a while. We weren't halfway through the week when my sister was trying to plan the next family vacation! She's usually the catalyst to these trips and I'm usually just the beneficiary but it all works out!

Its tough for Dad and I both to be out of the office at the same time, and because of this we ended up not going for the WHOLE week but rather Tues-Sunday. When we all got there on Tuesday, we did take a little time to go down to the pool for an hour or so before getting dressed for dinner. Its tough to take W out to dinner because he likes to go to bed so early but we figured we could swing it a couple of the nights. As it turns out, dinner took a longer time than expected and as a result we spent a lot of time trying to entertain Wyatt to distract him from his exhaustion. This ended up being one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip just because it is hilarious. Ben and I look so stoopid, but as you can tell Wyatt is very happy!

We set up a tent on the beach complete with a baby pool (you should have seen us lugging up water from the ocean one bucket at a time) and lounge chairs. Wyatt had a tendency to want a morning nap as soon as we got down to the beach so I kinda set up camp for him in the shade.

Wyatt was extremely tentative about being in or even near the ocean. We did manage to get one of Meme, Wyatt, and Ellie by the water

and of him playing giddyup with his Daddy

and of Wyatt and Ellie sitting by the sand castle that Meme built for them.

But mostly if he was on the beach and not asleep he just wanted to play in his baby pool in the shade.

He quite enjoyed his beach snacks after he woke up from his morning beach nap. (Kid has a rough life)

And he found a new sippy cup that he loves!

Meanwhile, Papa enjoyed the shade and the air conditioning.

When we went inside for lunch each day, the kids would play in the condo for a while. I had 2 frisbees that were really meant for (adult) beach toys but Wyatt LOVED just skating around the condo on these things. He also had fun playing under this table!

After lunch, naps, and snack time, we usually headed back down to the pool for a while.

We spent a lot of time teaching Wyatt all about waving. (I think this is a trick he's known for a while but just this past week has begun to do it on command)

Wyatt is clearly going through some sort of growth spurt right now because the child has been eating like a horse! In this picture, he had already eaten his afternoon snack and was begging Ellie for some of her yogurt.

At night, we ended up splitting up the staying home duties in an effort to not make the kids go out for dinner. This was nice because the nights we did go out, we didn't feel rushed and actually got to relax and not worry that the kids were interrupting other people eating! Here are Dave and Ben one of the nights with enough food to feed a whole army (or at the rate he has been eating, one Wyatt)!

The guys all went fishing on Thursday and really had a good time. I don't have any pictures of their prized catches but they caught some mackerel, redfish, and a flounder. Friday afternoon Ben, Dave, and Dad grilled the fish for lunch and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. (I don't eat fish, but I hear it was very tasty!)

We did do some family pictures on the beach one evening and despite having a tough time getting sleepy Wyatt to smile, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

This one is my favorite, I think. It will be framed and in my house eventually.

We also got a good one of Wyatt/Meme/Papa!

On our last day, we spent the morning at the beach. While Wyatt was taking his usual nap, I managed to (attempt) a game of frisbee with Ben.

And when he woke, we posed for one last family beach picture. I tried to get him into the water after this but he just wasn't having it.

We braved it on the last night and EVERYONE went out to dinner together. Of course we had to get our only group picture beforehand since we were all dressed.

It was a fun trip, and I was definitley not pleased at the sound of my alarm clock at 5:30 this morning. Don't think Ben was either and Wyatt certainly wasn't.

Wyatt at 12 Months

2011-06-03T12:33:00.000-04:00

This post is quite belated, but I need to do it to document for myself what Wyatt is like at 1 year old.

As of his 12 month appointment, he weighs 22 lbs, 13 ozs.

Wearing size 4 diapers but I'm about to graduate him to 5's

He can pull himself up on just about anything -- our legs, cabinets, furniture, etc and he cruises very well. He will go between things (i.e. couch to table) but is not brave enough to stand or take steps on his own quite yet.

He can walk using a push walker as long as one of us is right behind him guiding him along. I don't think it will be very long before he's brave enough to walk.

He is no longer eating any baby food at all. Except for yogurt melts, puffs, etc. His all-time favorite food is grilled cheese or cheese quesadilla. About the only way I can get him to eat any veggies is when I sneak them into his sandwiches or quesadillas. He does love kiwi, mango, blueberries, strawberries and to a lesser extent cherries and raspberries.

His very favorite food is yogurt melts.

He still likes to go to bed by 7 or 7:30 each night. By the time we're getting him out of his bath he is rubbing his eyes.

We are down to 2 bottles/day now. He does not love whole milk in his sippy cups and I believe these last 2 bottles are going to be difficult to drop.

We're still weaning him off formula and onto whole milk. I think we're down to our very last little bit of formula and his doctor said not to buy more. She was very laid back about the whole-milk drinking (just not about the fact that we're giving it to him via bottle) and says if he doesn't drink out of a sippy cup to just cheat and get it to him in other ways (yogurt, cheese, smoothies, even ice cream)

He is very busy and always on the go. We literally have to chase him around his room each night to get him bathed and dressed for bed.

He still love, love, loves his paci. I put him down with 4 of them in his crib each night. Sometimes I'll peek in to check on him before bed and he will have one in his mouth and one in each hand. He loves to tote 2-3 of them around the house, but I don't let him do this very often.

His favorite toys are anything with wheels closely followed by anything he can drop or bang on tables to make noise. He is all boy.

He does not like getting his diaper changed. Unless he is on his changing table it is virtually impossible.

He has just recently started going through a little attachment phase. He cries when Ben drops him off at school each morning and cries when I leave the house.

He DOES. NOT. LIKE. the vacuum cleaner. It frightens him to death and he just cries if he hears it. Therefore it takes 2 of us to vacuum the house -- one to take Wyatt outside and one to vacuum.

He likes being sung to, and his favorite songs are "Wyatt, Wyatt bo-byatt" and "Curious Wyatt"

His favorite book is still Bubbles, Bubbles.

He really doesn't like to be told "no" (who does though?) and sometimes will cry. Sometimes he does things he knows are a no-no while looking at us just so we'll tell him no. Then he cries.

He throws his food off his highchair. I can usually only put 2-3 things on his tray at a time and I better hope those are things he likes or he'll throw them.

He has 8 teeth -- 4 on bottom and 4 on top.

He tricked me the other day - he went to throw something off his tray and i said "no, Wyatt. Do not throw your food. You can eat it or put it back on the tray but don't throw it" So, he pulls his hand up to his mouth, opens it and acts like he's going to eat his strawberry. As I was praising him and telling him he was a "good boy" he threw it down. Stinker!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

Our Memorial weekend started off a little traumatic. We were getting ready to go to work on Friday and I sat Wyatt on the bed and turned around to pick up a pillow when I heard a terrible THUMP. I only turned for a brief second and the poor kid had nose-dived off the bed. He cried and cried and I felt HORRIBLE. But once we had made sure that he was okay we took him on to school. That little scrape below his eye? Carpet burn. Its healing but that is why he looks beat up in all of our memorial day pics.

I never know how to pick and choose between all the pictures that I want to post so I'm just doing them all via collage to recap our weekend!

Wyatt spent a LOT of the weekend playing with Ellie. They loved the little baby pool that Papa bought them for the dock as well as the little kitchen playset that Kimmie brought up to the lake.

Since Wyatt is obsessed with wheels and all things in motion, I figured he would like to play with the steering wheel on the boat. I was correct. We also went out on a few boat rides, both of which lulled Wyatt into a much-needed nap. He also posed for a picture on the Sea Doo with Meme but we decided that he may be a little young for a real ride. I'll get him out there before summer is over though ...

We also spent some time playing with the baby Gator. Wyatt was so proud to be driving and he seemed to enjoy it but once he was the passenger and Ellie was the driver he decided he didn't want to play anymore! (I guess he heard a rumor that women can't drive very well?) He also played several games of 'giddyup' with Meme. He LOVES giddyup!!

The big excitement in our cove this spring/summer has been that there are 2 beavers living there. Ben often goes down to the dock about dusk to fish and has had numerous run-ins with them. So, Sunday night we ALL went down to the dock for the beaver sighting. We only saw one of the beavers, and from a distance. However, Dave and Ben did manage to catch a few fish for Ellie. She was so excited and when Ben asked what she wanted to name her fish she replied "Aunt Katie".

So that pretty much sums up our long lake weekend. It was fantastic and I can't wait to be back again soon!

Wyatt's REAL Birthday

2011-05-26T09:21:00.000-04:00

In our family, birthdays are not typically just one day. We tend to have multiple celebrations and drag them out for a week or sometimes longer. We didn't end up letting him open his gifts at the party just because we ran out of time and also he tends to get distracted easily so we didn't think it would be so easy to do. And since we like to drag out the birthday celebrations, we ended up having him open his gifts on Monday night after we got home from work. He loved everything and made sure to tell me to hurry up and get his thank you notes written! Seriously though, I think he will be thrilled for the 'toy shuffle' that I'm going to do this afternoon!!

He thinks this riding toy is HILARIOUS! Also, he loves to sit and spin the wheels.

It wasn't easy getting him to sit still this long for a picture!

Don't bother looking at the camera, buddy!

I did take off the day Tuesday because you only turn one once in your life and I wanted to spend the day with him. Initially, I had thought we'd go swimming or to the park and just relax and play but it ended up that we really needed to do his 12 month pictures. (Also, I can't even express how glad I am that the monthly pictures are done! Scheduling is always so difficult but they change so much in the first year that we all think its important) We went out to mom's house for the photo shoot and then headed back home late afternoon for the family party that evening.

Opening his gifts from Meme and Papa

Once again - not looking at the camera!

Mom and Dad came down and once Ben got home from work we picked up dinner then did gifts and cake. It ended up being a little later than we would have liked so W was getting grumpy by the time we did cake but we of course had to sing to him and take pictures.

I think I should have commissioned Meme to make his caterpillar cake! She did a much better job making a cute cake than the bakery did!

"Take this hat off my head, Mom"

"I'm so tired. Please put me to bed"

"mmm ... this icing sure does taste good. But I'm still tired"

He was so worn out so we put him to bed and ate our cake after he was asleep! (Sorry buddy -- maybe next year you won't be too tired to eat cake WITH us.)

I wanted to get a picture of Wyatt in front of all his gifts and since he was so tired on Tuesday night that didn't work out. We dressed him in his caterpillar shirt again yesterday and I did the picture last night. Here he is ... on the go as usual!

Thanks again to everyone for celebrating with us. It sure did make his day/week special!

Happy Birthday W!!

2011-05-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Today, my little boy is ONE year old. I cannot even believe it! I took off work today to spend the day with him and also do his 1 year pictures -- those will be posted eventually.

We celebrated Wyatt's birthday with friends and family this past Sunday with a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party. I have a jillion pictures that I want to share and can't decide which ones to post and which to leave out so be warned that there will be lots!

Before everyone arrived, we took a few family pictures in front of the balloon caterpillar.

Aunt Susan, Great Uncle Alfredo and Wyatt

Pops, Wyatt, Lolly, and Aunt Weez

The party was at our neighborhood clubhouse/pool mainly because I knew there was no way I could have my house in order for a party after the busy weekend we had planned. It really turned out to be a good place for the party though, I think.

Uncle Matt and Wyatt practiced fishing for a little while before the party. Turns out the pool was a HUGE hit with all the kids.

We kept it pretty simple with the food so Ben and his dad manned the grill fixing hamburgers and hot dogs. We also served caterpillar fruit skewers (which turned out to be a popular item), watermellon, and chips. Oh and of course birthday cake!

Wyatt had no clue that everyone who was there came to celebrate him, but he had a ball anyway. Thanks to everyone who came to make this day even more special for our family! (Sorry these pictures are all wonky. Blogger isn't cooperating)

When it came time for birthday cake, Wyatt was definitley unsure at first.

However, he quickly realized just how good sugary icing can be and dug in just like a baby should!

I had intentions of the main cake to be a 'centerpiece' of the party but the bakery did a pretty terrible job. Probably won't be using them again. It tasted good but just irritated me because I showed them a picture of what I wanted and what they created wasn't even close. Oh well.

I meant to bring a change of clothes for W for after his cake but things were just so crazy before the party that I plum forgot. So, we just went redneck and stripped him down to his diaper afterward. Ha!

For those who are interested, here are some detail shots. I definitley googled 'very hungry caterpillar' party plenty of times when trying to gather ideas for W's party so this may be helpful to someone at some point!

Wyatt didn't nap all that great on party day. Not all that surprising -- isn't it like a law that a kid either is sick or overly tired at their first birthday party? After it was over, he just passed out in his Lolly's arms. I think that is a sign that he enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy!!!!

W The Wedding

2011-05-23T12:05:00.001-04:00

Are these not the best wedding coozies you've ever seen? LOVE them!

Such a fun and very busy weekend we had! Ben and I were both in a wedding for some of our best friends - Taylor and Erin (aka Terin). I particularly love weddings where both the bride and groom are college friends because it seems to bring a huge group of our friends back to town. Its been a looooooong time since our college days so its always fun to reminisce and catch up.

First up was the bridesmaid luncheon at Cafe Intermezzo. When I think of Cafe Intermezzo, I immediately think of their fabulous desserts but the food is really good as well. Anyway, other than the food the lunch was a good time to relax and chat with everyone. Excuse the poor lighting in this first picture, but its the only one I have of the whole group.

That night we had the wedding rehearsal followed by another amazing meal hosted by Taylor's parents. His aunt and uncle worked so hard (in the heat, nonetheless) whomping up a low country boil. Of course since we were all dressed up, we took advantage of a few photo opportunities!

Ben & me

Becky, Tiffany, Erin holding Bella, Tracey, me, Carrie

Saturday morning started fairly early with hair appointments for the girls followed shortly by pictures. Both Erin and Taylor went to Georgia Tech so they decided to do all the pictures before their ceremony down on campus. The wedding party took a trolley down to campus where we did all the pictures. I can't wait to see how they turn out!!

We had a little excitement on the way back to the ceremony site when our trolley broke down. In 100 degree heat. I guess its something we can all laugh about now, but at the time I think everyone was pretty worried but luckily the driver got it started back up and we hauled ass back to the ceremony site!

I failed miserably at taking pictures during the reception. (I hate that I don't have one of TErin because they both looked amazing. (That said, I'm going to swipe one off FB as soon as I find one!) I do think I'll blame my lack of picture-taking on the fact that I fainted. During the wedding. Yes, I am THAT bridesmaid. It was super duper embarrassing, but supposedly it was fairly drama-free and hopefully didn't detract from Terin's special day in any way. (I am only editing to include this because everyone I know has given me shit about it and I'll probably never live it down)

It was a great weekend, with good friends and Ben and I were both thrilled to be a part of it!

Beach Ball Shim

2011-05-20T09:00:00.012-04:00

Remember this?

I do. This was taken when I was 4 days past-due with the little monkey we used to lovingly call Shim. Its funny, for 10 months we called this child Shim but one year later referring to my son as 'Shim' sounds so strange to me! I guess that is a good thing since some people were worried our baby would carry this unfortunate nickname with him/her through their adolescence! Ha. How times have changed.

One year to the day that this picture was taken, instead of anxiously waiting 4 more days for my baby to be born, I am anxiously waiting 4 more days to have an official 1st Birthday celebration with Wyatt.

Tuesday Mish Mash

2011-05-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

I saw the PRETTIEST blue orchids at Home Depot on Saturday while I was searching for the perfect plants for my new planters. I wanted to buy it so badly, but just couldn't bring myself to spend $43 on something that I would inevitably kill.

Speaking of things I will inevitably kill, I spent an hour and a half picking out the right plants and had this great vision in my mind of how these planters would turn out. That vision did not include a droopy sweet potato vine.

They did perk up, and I think are doing okay -- apparently I did a few things wrong including under-watering them and putting them in full-sun. I'm hoping they last for the summer but we'll see.
I do not, for the life of me, understand men named Dana. (Sorry, I'm sure I'm offending someone but I truly don't get it) There is absolutely zero ambiguity about the name 'Dana'. It is 100% girl's name. There are lots of girl-boy names that I can get behind. Dana just isn't one of them. I'll never get it ....
I hurriedly made a tomato-asparagus quiche last Thursday night and because I was in such a rush, I spilled the egg/milk mixture all over my oven when putting it in to bake. I was mad enough at myself for being so careless and then I looked down at my bottom oven and saw that the mixture had run between the glass. Awesome. I guess I have to take the oven apart to get that crap off? It is driving me CRAZY to look at though.
We've been busy at our house preparing for a birthday party for a certain little boy! All his party stuff as well as his presents are in our (still un-furnished) living room. Can't believe he is almost one.

That birthday-boy and I were at the grocery store on Sunday and I noticed a new flavor of yogurt melts on the baby aisle. I picked them up and was inspecting them and he literally almost crawled out of his skin to get them! I had to open them in the store and let him snack on them because he was so excited.

End-Of-Week Randomness

2011-05-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I was out running errands and decided to take Wyatt to Chick-fil-a for lunch just to see what he thought of it. Turns out, it was a mistake to give him chicken nuggets before he ate any fruit because he LOVED them! (Much like his daddy, he is starting to show a preference for processed, junk food over fresh fruits and veggies ...)

We had Mother's Day lunch at Fox Brothers BBQ after church on Sunday. We remembered being there around this same time last year and had taken a picture in front of the restaurant -- it was actually the last picture of the 2 of us before Wyatt was born. We thought it would be neat to re-do the picture so we can compare the two side-by side. A year makes a huge difference, huh?

Speaking of Mother's Day - this is a picture of what Ben and Wyatt gave me. It is awesome! This picture doesn't do it justice all that well, but he had a mosaic made of tons of pictures from right before Wyatt's birth up until Easter. Isn't this fantastic?

Mom sent me this picture earlier this week of our hydrangea bushes up at the lake. My absolute favorite flower in the world. This picture makes me so happy!

We've got a busy weekend prepping for an extremely busy next week/weekend!!! Ben and I are both in a wedding AND we're nuts enough to have Wyatt's birthday party the Sunday after the wedding so it should really make for an interesting week! Ha.

Weekend in Tennessee

2011-05-04T10:59:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we all traveled up to Tennessee. I had a bachelorette party in Nahsville so Ben and Wyatt rode up with me so that they could spend the weekend with Ben's parents in Murfreesboro.

We started off on Friday night by having a few drinks at the Parker (or was it Patterson ... I can't remember) house right behind the hotel we were staying in. This picture may make us look lame because all you see on the table is water - I promise we had legitimate drinks too!

It was just a small group of girls on Friday night/Saturday morning so we enjoyed a relaxing morning brunch at Noshville followed by a hellacious attempt to pick up a friend at the airport (damn you, Nashville Marathon)! After that adventure, we walked to a local restaurant to have appetizers and drinks and enjoy the nice weather. We ended up sitting there all afternoon because people kept arriving and needed to have lunch ... but we had a really good time talking and catching up.

We had a little lingerie shower for Erin in the hotel room. I didn't take many pictures of that, but I do have one of the guest of honor opening gifts. Notice in the background her male companion for the evening - D'Angelo.

Then we headed off to dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Boundry. The food and drinks were awesome (special thanks to Wes for the surprise champagne delivery), and we were really enjoying ourselves but the icing on the cake was when Taylor Swift walked in with her band!! We couldn't get a picture without being totally obnoxious, so we opted not to do so.

Meanwhile, back in Murfreesboro, Wyatt was having the time of his life with his Lolly and Pops! And his Daddy too, of course. Ben's mother told me before we left that I didn't need to pack too many toys because she had a "few things" ... well, we get there and her house seriously looked like a Toys R' Us! I think he had more there to play with than he does at our house. That, combined with tons of attention made for one spoiled and happy little boy!

Sorry for the random picture arrangement at the end of this post. Blogger seems to be muggin'

Easter Weekend

2011-04-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating Easter at the lake. Ellie and Wyatt both got a visit from the Meme and Papa Easter Bunny on Saturday morning (how many words can I capitalize in one sentence?). They both got some fun toys, candy, new pajamas, shoes, and clothes -- the baskets were a hit with both kids!

Ben spent the day fishing - and man he took that seriously! As we were loading up his fishing gear into my car, I found a page of notes he had made in research of fishing on Hartwell. I guess all his research paid off because he did have some luck with the Bass all weekend so he was happy. He did spend some time teaching Wyatt about fishing while he was on the dock!

We also painted Kimmie's belly like an Easter egg and got both kids to pose for pictures.

We dyed some eggs Saturday night, which was messy but fun. Both kids had a special egg with their name on it but of course Wyatt broke his when we were trying to get him to take a picture! (He got mad at Meme because she took his bag of yogurt melts away and he wanted one so he threw a little fit and tossed his hard boiled egg. Oh well)

Easter Sunday was spent rushing around trying to get pictures and get everyone ready before heading to the farm house for lunch and an Easter Egg hunt. Although Wyatt was very tired he really seemed to enjoy the hunt but I'm sure next year will be even better when he really can understand the concept! Special thanks goes out to Liam for capturing the 2 snakes found hiding in the grass amongst the Easter Eggs .... (I'm still having heart palpitations thinking about those snakes!!)

Easter Bunny

2011-04-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

I took Wyatt to see the Easter Bunny yesterday. I wasn't sure how he would react considering he was asleep snoring on my shoulder as we were walking into the mall but he apparently woke up in a good mood and thought the bunny was funny.

Scuse' the quality of this photo -- I took a picture of the picture from my cell phone but at least you get the idea!

Is the bunny not a little creepy to you? He's a strange looking dude, but for W's first Easter picture this will do. We might go to a different one next year.

We came home from the mall and got our Easter eggs all stuffed and ready for the big hunt this weekend! Wyatt might be a little young to actually hunt, but we'll at least get some pictures of him with all the other kids and their baskets.

Our Weekend

2011-04-14T11:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was planned to be a pretty busy one -- a family gathering at the farm, a first birthday party for our cousin Wurth, a little lake time, and some yard work on Sunday. But, as you quickly learn when children are involved, plans just don't always pan out quite like you want them to!

Very long story short, we made it to the lake. We made it to the family gathering/luncheon. Wyatt got sick after lunch so we never made it to the birthday party. It stinks, because that was the whole point of us going up to the lake that weekend but what can you do? This is the 2nd time he's gotten sick after eating heavily-seasoned table food so I think we're going to have to work him up to it very very slowly.

The good news is that by about 7:00 Saturday night, Wyatt was back to his old self. Tired, but showed interest in pedialyte and even his milk so all is good I suppose.

I didn't snap the first picture on Saturday due to our little setback. We did take a few of Ellie and Wyatt Sunday morning before we all left to go back home.

So cute! Notice Wyatt is celebrating Masters Sunday in his golf outfit!

When we got home, I have to give credit to Ben, my house was picked up and orderly and he had a buncha' plants ready for us to start doing our planned yard work. He even worked while the Masters was on and watched it on DVR later that evening!

Amelia Island

2011-04-08T13:38:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we took a little trip down to Amelia Island. My sister had Spring Break and usually likes to go somewhere so my she and my parents decided they would go down to Amelia to stay at our grandfather's beach house. Because I gave them such a hard time last time they went without me and Wyatt they did invite us along this time!

The trip almost got canceled due to sick babies but by the time we had to make a decision on Saturday morning, everyone seemed well and/or on the mend so we decided to go ahead and go! Ellie had fevers the first part of the week and as soon as we thought we were in the clear Wyatt got a stomach bug. (So, so so pitiful to see your baby throwing up every 15 minutes, btw). That aside, we did have a great trip!

Both kids ended up doing really well in the car on the way down and we miraculously only had to make 2 stops! Wyatt slept the whole way down there as he was still recovering from his lack of sleep the night before and Ellie watched Barney and ate snacks the whole way! We pretty much went to dinner as soon as we arrived on Saturday because Wyatt has a pretty strict bedtime schedule (dictated by him, not me ... keep him up past about 7:30 and you'll see why!)

We ate at a cute little place right on the beach, so after dinner we did walk out to the sand to see what Wyatt thought. As evidenced by this picture below, he didn't think too much of the sand! (In his defense, he was t-i-r-e-d)

He was okay once I picked him up.

The next morning, we all ate breakfast and headed out to the beach. Is this kid excited or what?

He was happy under the tent, sitting on the beach tarp, playing with the truck. (Wheels are maybe his most favorite thing at the moment -- he turns every car or truck over and just plays with the wheels)

Then I took him down to the water's edge to see what he thought .....

The verdict: Mommy is funny ... jury is still out on this sand and water stuff!

After lunch and naps, we went back out to discover low tide. The sandbar and tidal pools were great for Wyatt (and Ellie) because the water was slightly warmed up from the sun. He's not sure what to think yet ...

Then he warmed up to it!

By the time both Ellie and Wyatt were ready to play we struggled to get a good picture.

So we tried again a little later in the afternoon. This is the result of our 2nd attempt!

At this point, it was beyond obvious that Wyatt was tired. As we were taking him back to the house, he was asleep before we even stepped off the sand!

Napped, bathed, and hungry ... and posing for pictures! (And my hair? Don't even want to talk about it .... gaaaah)

sweet cousins posing!

Ellie is such a big helper! Even Ellie couldn't encourage Wyatt to eat his peas though! (Oh well, I hate them too so I really can't blame the kid)

The goal was to get some good beach pictures, so we kept trying when we went back to the beach on Monday.

Then we played the paci game on the beach. And as a result we both ate about a pound of sand.

And of course, we attempted feet pictures. (We'll have to do this again when Ben is with us at the beach in June)

We went to the pool for a little while. It was COLD though so we only got in for a minute!

Both kids enjoyed kicking their legs in the water despite the temperature.

After our morning at the pool and beach, we headed in for lunch, baths and naps.

Smartly, I went to lay out for about 30 minutes during W's nap. I fell asleep on the beach and ended up sunburned. Ouch!

We spent a little time walking around Fernandia before dinner and of course found a few photo opportunities!

Does this look like the face of a kid who is ready to drive home tomorrow??

It was a fun beach trip and we're really looking forward to our longer trip in June when Dave and Ben will join us!

Off to the lake this weekend for a birthday party.

W is 10 Months Old!

2011-03-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

W turned 10 months last Thursday! We did his pictures over the weekend and as with each new month, I think these are the best photos yet. It just gets much easier to capture his little personality as he gets older.

He finally started crawling, but it really isn't a traditional crawl -- more of an army crawl. He can get up on his knees and rock and crawls the 'correct' way sometimes but usually he just finds it easiest to do the army crawl. He is fast too! You really can't turn your back on him for very long or he'll be clear across the room!

He is also standing more, but likes/needs the security of holding onto something. Lately, his favorite thing is to hold onto the bathtub and watch the water fill up as I'm getting him ready for his bath. He still LOVES bathtime and I tell him every night that we will spend lots of time in the water this summer -- between trips to the lake, beach trips, and afternoons at the pool I think he'll be a water baby for sure!

I am still working on table food, but usually he just prefers his pureed baby food to all the work that goes into eating table food. I think he only has about a 60% success rate at getting it into his mouth so we continue to work on it. By far, his favorite thing is cheese -- can't really say that I blame him there! As we work on introducing him to different foods, I am just hoping that he will end up with my love of food and sense of adventure for trying new foods. (Sorry, Ben ... not intended as a dig on you but we all know about your palatte :)

One thing that has not been so easy for us is sleep. I still consider him a "good" sleeper (contrary to what Ben would say) but from about mid-February until this past weekend he would wake up often and want to be held or for me to put him in the bed with us. It got to the point where none of us were really getting a good night's sleep and as soon as I was getting up at 5:15 on weekdays to get in the shower W would wake up and scream. SO. Finally, I decided to do some 'crib training'. I was prepared for a long weekend of being up every hour or so but to my surprise, I laid him down in his crib awake and left the room. I watched him on the video monitor and he rolled around for about 15 minutes and finally just passed out!!!!! I did have to go in twice to give him a paci but he went right back to sleep each time. The next night was about the same and then I got smart - I put him down with FOUR pacis to increase our odds of at least one of them staying in the crib all night. Seems to be working.

I realize this isn't exactly a new concept and according to my sister, its something I should have done months ago. But it is wonderful -- he goes to sleep on his own and then when/if he wakes in the middle of the night he goes BACK to sleep on his own, in his bed. As a result all three of us are so much more rested. I can see why some mothers are such sticklers for a routine and I could easily become one of those as I'm sure any little change will throw off his sleep habits but I guess we'll figure it all out.

Now that he is 10 months I am starting to work on his birthday party planning. I can't wait!

Carrots

2011-03-25T09:15:00.000-04:00

I know this is totally random. Lemme give you the back story: I just walked into the break room to get some water. I saw that someone had left a box of muffins on the table (they were there for the taking. if you leave something on the table in the break room its fair game ... them's the rules) and I got pretty excited. I don't normally indulge in sweet breakfast treats, but being that its Friday I thought what could it hurt to have a little muffin as a mid-morning snack?

Before I can get over close enough to the box to read the label, I start wondering what kind they are. Maybe blueberry with a nice sugary topping? Chocolate Chip? Lemon Poppyseed? I probably would have even gone for that random orange-blossom flavor. But no.

Carrot Nut.

Gross.

Then that got me thinking, why do people go and ruin a good thing by putting carrots in it? Seriously!!! Those little buggers ruin EVERYTHING in my opinion: cakes, breads, muffins, soups, casseroles, UGGGGH. They seriously make me angry.

I can deal with them raw, dipped in veggie dip, or in a salad. That is perfectly fine. I occasionally will even eat them for a snack. But if you want to offend me, you'll put them in my soup. Or cook them and serve as a side dish. Or put a recipe for some kind of stewed carrots up on your blog. I hate.

In more pleasant news, yesterday was W's 10 month Birthday!!! I'll do a 10-month picture post as soon as we take the pictures!!

9.5 Months

2011-03-18T15:23:00.004-04:00

How, in less than 10 months, did my little baby boy go from this

to this?????

90's Couples Shower for TErin

2011-03-14T15:22:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we had a 90's Couple's Shower for TErin. I had several different ideas for a costume, but the weekend prior to the party I was wearing my Senior sweatshirt around the house (its the only sweatshirt I own, seriously) and it hit me .... I was in high school in the 90's! So, I called up Mom and asked her if she had any of my old cheerleading pants. Not only did she have the pants - she had one of my old uniforms. Bam! Costume done.

Anyway, the shower was a lot of fun and people were really pretty creative with their costumes. You never really know what kind of participation you're going to have if you tell people to dress in costume, but really most people didn't disappoint.

I took Wyatt to Meme and Papa's house on Saturday afternoon so they could keep him for the night. As it turned out, my sister had a shower that evening as well so Ellie stayed with them too. I think my parents had a good time with the kids but I'm pretty sure they were ready to get rid of them the next day, ha! (Wyatt is fairly easy but its a whole 'nother ballgame with 2 kiddos!) Mom shared some of the pictures she took on Sunday and judging from these, Wyatt didn't miss me one bit!

Playing with the lamb

When I got to the hose to pick Wyatt up, Mom was trying to get pictures of the 2 kids with this bunny. Ellie saw me and jumped on TOP of the bunny while Wyatt just started smiling and flapping his arms! I guess he was glad to see me!

Wyatt is memorized by Ellie and copies everything she does. (And she copies him too, if I'm being honest). Here she is sharing bites of her apple!

Mom said that W and E were standing in the crib posing and Ellie started jumping. Since Wyatt can't jump he just stood there and bounced. Copycat!

Winning

2011-03-03T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure the 3 people who read this blog are here to see pictures and news about Wyatt. Sorry to disappoint but today's post is just my stream of consciousness. I haven't done this in a while and I love reading it on other people's blogs.
I can not get enough Charlie Sheen. The dude is hilarious! I realize that he's sick and its a sad situation but he's putting himself out there for all the world to see this epic meltdown so I'm watching. I even signed up for a Twitter account just to follow him.
Speaking of Charlie Sheen and Twitter ... he set a new Guinness World Record for getting 1 million followers in less than 24 hours. Honestly? I'm surprised he doesn't have more than a million.
I read this morning that the Postal Service will be broke by October. Are we surprised by this? A decrease in volume is to blame, among many other things. Once again, are we surprised by this decrease in volume? The jack-legs don't even deliver half the things that are mailed so its really no wonder people are evolving into using other methods. Smells like another Gub'ment bailout is on the way ...
I took a several year hiatus from watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette series and I started watching again this summer when Ali was the bachelorette. I am LOVING this season even though I think whats-his-name is a tool. It actually makes me not dread Mondays!
All this nice weather is really giving me Spring fever. I have a jillion projects around the house that I want to do, but first on the list is sprucing up the outside. That means next Saturday and/or Sunday will be spent working in the yard, Ben!!!!

Happy 9 Months to You, Wyatt!

2011-02-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

This little dood is growing up way. too. fast!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again - it is a bitersweet process. On one hand, he is MUCH easier now than he was when he was an infant and on the other hand I do miss that little tiny (well, i guess he never really qualified as tiny) infant. He is a happy child and I really love watching his little personality blossom.

Wyatt is picking up new tricks on a daily basis now. They are all adorable at first, but some ... like the "uh oh" game get old pretty quickly! It is fun to see him discover the whole cause and effect concept though. Everywhere we go, he is constantly looking and observing. People always say that at this age they are little sponges and it is so obvious to me that that is a true statement.

There is no doubt that he is all boy!! He loves to talk as loudly as possible (who does he get that trait from???) and makes sure you hear him. He likes to bang objects together and is constantly throwing things to the ground. Much to his daddy's pleasure, he is very interested in sports -- if Ben is watching something on TV it will usually captivate Wyatt's attention and he really enjoyed all the action at the GT basketball game a few weeks ago.

As for W's new "accomplishments" well, the latest thing is "peek-a-boo". I have been playing it with him for a while now and sometimes he'll smile and sometimes he doesn't really care. We played it the other night when he was in the bath tub then when he got out he started covering his face and eyes with his towel and would lift it when i said "wheeere's wyatt?" It was so cute.

Also, he has semi-mastered the army crawl. I am doubtful that he will ever truly crawl. He can get where he wants by rolling, pivoting, and army crawling so the next skill we're practicing is standing! Speaking of, he can stand for quite a long time provided someone is there for occasional assistance and balance.

We are trying to convert Wyatt over to 100% table food (in addition to his milk, of course) and I think this will be a slow process. Other than puffs and yogurt melts, the only table foods that he will really eat well are green beans, blueberries, and grilled cheese so we are continuing to try other things and get him used to new textures.

We have his 9 month appointment this afternoon, so I'll have a better idea then of his weight and height, etc. I'm pretty certain whatever the weight and height are they'll be in the 90th percentiles .... he's a BIG boy!

Weekend at Meme and Papa's House!

2011-02-21T10:29:00.000-05:00

We started off the weekend with a trip to one of my most favorite places in the world - Mellow Mushroom. Its so hard to go out to dinner with a baby on a Friday night but we did it and it was well worth the effort!

The next morning, I got up and spent some morning time with Wyatt before leaving to go to a friend's wedding shower. I had such a great time relaxing and enjoying my friends that I didn't even stop to take a picture! Ooops.

After the shower, I went home, got our stuff together and took Wyatt out to Meme and Papa's house for the rest of the weekend. We had planned to do his 9 month pictures on Sunday morning - and his best time is typically mornings so its just easier to be there rather than get up and rush out the door to catch him in his best moods. Since we were going to be there, Kimmie and Ellie decided that they would come out for the night as well so we could all visit. We don't live all that far apart, but we really don't see Kimmie and Ellie (or Dave) all that often so this was exciting for all of us.

It was a pretty day, so once we got to Meme and Papa's house we decided to take Wyatt out for a ride on his tricycle. He really does love this thing - you wouldn't know that from his expression in this picture though!

Once Ellie and Kimmie got there, the kids played for a little while and then we went to dinner. We didn't sit the kids together initially, we only did this at the end so we could get a picture. Once we slid their high chairs together we quickly realized that they should have sat together the whole meal because they totally entertain one another. Wyatt is interested in EVERYTHING Ellie does and Ellie likes to copy Wyatt.

We got home from dinner and it was bath time. Ellie didn't want to get in the bath (she was tired and cranky) but once we told her we would put Wyatt in with her she perked up.

Ellie wanted Wyatt to sleep in her big girl bed but we explained to her that he can't because he doesn't know how yet. We did let him lay there for a few pictures though ...

W is normally a great sleeper but Saturday night was an exception. He was soooo restless all night. I think it was the fact that he was not at his house combined with the fact that he was worried he would miss something that Ellie was doing. Ellie is always an early riser and Wyatt was on Sunday morning since Ellie was up. Here they are playing in Meme's kitchen before breakfast.

We did Wyatt's 9 month pictures (I'll share later ... it isn't his 9-month birthday yet) on Sunday morning and then had a fun afternoon playing and watching the two kids entertain each other.

This jeep is OLD!! My dad used to push me around on it when I was a little girl. Wyatt is too cool to smile, but you can tell he thinks he's a big boy sitting there!

We tried and tried to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time but it was tough!

Our Day in Pictures

2011-02-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

I've seen people do this on their blogs in the past and thought it might be a fun thing to do on my blog. It might be interesting for me to look back in a few months and see what a 'typical' Saturday was like with an 8.5 month old.

Wyatt typically wakes up sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 to eat. This is our usual weekday schedule, so that is what he's used to doing. (Fortunately, on weekends he will usually go back to sleep after this). Today he doesn't wake until 7:30. We're having some nursing difficulties so I attempt to nurse then end up pumping into a bottle for him. After his bottle, he is wide awake so I change his diaper and take him downstairs for breakfast.

Today it is yogurt and I think banana, peach, granola something. His appetite hasn't been quite what it normally is so I trick him into eating as much as I can. Eventually I give in and put some puffs and yogurt melts on his tray. I think this child would probably walk over hot coals for some yogurt melts. Well, except he can't walk but you know what I mean!

Around 8:30, I sit Wyatt in the den to play with his toys and sit down to enjoy my coffee and breakfast. My favorite part of any weekend ....

Around 9, I finish my breakfast and decide that W needs a change of scenery. We go to his room to play and practice crawling. I use his wubba nub for motivation, and this time it worked! (Army crawling)

He starts getting sleepy around 9:30 so I give him a paci and rock him for a grand total of about 2 minutes before he's out like a light. I put him down in his crib and take the opportunity to take a long shower.

10:15 W's awake! Earlier than I expected, so I go in to get him and put him in the jumparoo while I finish getting dressed. He's in a good mood so he plays for a while and I am able to fix my hair and makeup while I pump and then start some laundry.

10:40 ... time for a diaper change and I get him dressed. He does not sit still for this which makes a pretty difficult task!

At 11, its time for a bottle. Damn nursing strike is pretty tough on me ... I'm not accustomed to keeping up with all these bottles every day! He takes his bottle pretty quickly and then we play in his room for a while. He is so entertained by his ceiling fan.

Them fans are purdy cool, aren't they??

At 12, its time for W's lunch. I try my best to convince him to eat but at 12:30 I finally decide to quit fighting him and let him play while I fix and eat my own lunch. I use my fun V-Day wreath (that I made myself!) to practice with my camera settings while I eat lunch. I clearly need some work on my photography skills. I realize I'm going to have to take the wreath down come Monday. Sad Panda.

I finish lunch and we go upstairs for another change of scenery. He plays with his piano while I try to put on a Baby Einstein DVD. Trouble is, we have 735 remote controls and I am unable to figure out the DVD. W is tired so I give up after about 10 minutes and try to put him down for another nap. Once again, he went down in about 3 minutes so I put him in his crib and decide to do some chores.

I decide to tackle the pantry .... it is a mess!

30 minutes later, it looks like this!!! So nice and organized (although this picture doesn't really do it justice)

Do you think we have enough drinks?

Ben gets home about 1:30. I talk to him for a few minutes and bring him up to date on our morning. At 1:45, I leave him with instructions for Wyatt and hop in the car to go to Trader Joe's. Ahhhhh, love that place and I don't go nearly enough ...

I finish up at TJ's about 2:45 but since Henri's is rightnextdoor I decide to stop for a petit four. (And a shortbread cookie too, if I'm honest)

I get back home at 3:15 and discover that Wyatt is STILL ASLEEP. I told you he didn't finish that morning nap!

He finally wakes up about 3:45 and I give him his bottle. I love that he is looking at the camera in this picture!

After his bottle, I play with him for a little while and then put Ben in charge so I can lay down for a few minutes. I'm tired!

After my nap, I go to discover he and Ben having crawling practice again. I join in for a while and eventually take Wyatt to get him and myself dressed for dinner. Ben gets dressed too and we decide to go to Valentine's dinner at Muss n' Turners (one of my favorites, one of Ben's not so faves but he agrees to go there anyway).

We head out about 6:30. We pause for a quick family photo first! I can't believe how good it actually turned out -- it could use a little cropping but we are both happy with it!

I feed Wyatt quickly while we're having our appetizer and waiting for dinner. I've found that this is the best way to keep him entertained during an hour or hour and a half meal ... feed him while you're waiting and then we tend to not have a meltdown once our food arrives.

At about 7:45 he is just tired, over it, and wants to lay his little head on my shoulder and close his eyes. I am happy to oblige him. He's been good at dinner but its time for him to go home.

We get home about 8, get his PJ's on, give him a bottle and put him to bed for the night. Ben and I eat our dessert that we brought home from the restaurant (didn't have time to eat dessert there) and watch TV until we fall asleep on the couch. I love lazy Saturdays when we can do this!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-11T11:31:00.001-05:00

Filmstrip Red Valentine's Day Card

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First Basketball Game

2011-02-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

We took Wyatt to his first Georgia Tech basketball game this past weekend. Ben tries to make it to most of the home games (why he is so loyal to Tech basketball, I'll never know) but Wyatt and I have never been with him. I was a little nervous about how he would handle the game -- he had a cranky morning so we just figured we'd take him and if he wasn't happy we'd leave early. True to Wyatt's nature he did GREAT. He was interested in the activity on the court and watched almost the entire time and even took a little nap during halftime.

Watching the game in Daddy's lap

"Whatchulookinat?"

Kirby was so sweet to hold him in her lap for a little snooze (thanks, Kirby!)

We spent Sunday around the house doing little chores and getting ready for the Superbowl. Ben was really cheering for Green Bay, but since the Roots gave him this Steelers creeper set we dressed Wyatt in that for game day. Although he had quite the messy lunch and ended up getting changed about 15 minutes after this picture was taken ....

A Very Belated 8 Month Update

2011-02-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

As I type this, Wyatt is actually closer to 9 months than 8, but I owe it to him and to myself to do a little update!

Wyatt is still an overall happy baby. Not that I have much basis for comparison, but he truly is an "easy" child and with the rare exception of a little cold or sickness he has a great temperament and pretty much only gets fussy when he is tired. He is very independent and will sit and play with his toys for 20-30 minute stretches - often he becomes so engrossed with his toys that he will just ignore us trying to play with him. (And he's stubborn when he knows you want his attention)

Although Wyatt loves most of his toys, his favorite things are non-toys: cell phones, keys, water bottles, paper, and coasters specifically. I learned my lesson the hard way a few weeks ago on making sure my cell phone is locked before I ever give it to him -- he somehow deleted the 'phone' function from my iphone! Thaaaaat was awesome. He is becoming more and more interested and grabby these days so we really have to be careful as to what is within his reach.

Accomplishments: still "stuck in reverse" on the crawl - he pushes himself backward but can't quite figure out the forward motion yet. we'll get there!, his new trick is turning on and off his closet light when he's laying on his changing table. standing up -- although we are always right behind or beside him because he does fall sometimes

Words: same as last month. hey, mama, dada (he says dada ALL. THE. TIME. and typically only says mama when he's getting upset over something)

Stats: almost 21 lbs, size 3 or 3.5 shoe, size 4 diapers, most of his clothes that fit him are 6-12 months or 12 months depending on the brand.

Likes: fans! (he has re-discovered them lately and loves to see them turned on), bath time (this is a great way to cheer him up if he's grumpy), all his fruits, yogurt melts, his learning table, balls, cell phones, car keys, paper, glow-worm, pacis

Dislikes: diaper changes, getting his coat on (can't wait for summer), getting into his carseat, table food (he is unsure of the texture, I think), tummy time/learning to crawl

Almost Crawling!

2011-01-20T11:22:00.000-05:00

This pushing up on hands and knees just started yesterday ... he gets frustrated really quickly but I think we are about to have a crawler on our hands!

Know what that means? Project time for daddy!!! He will be installing baby gates VERY soon!

Isn't this an awesome picture? I heart Instagram!!!! It makes crappy pictures look totally artistic and cool!

More Snow!

2011-01-17T09:47:00.012-05:00

I guess it isn't exactly new news that Atlanta got hit with a major snowstorm last week. At any rate, I wanted to share some pictures we took from the snow!

I had awoken in the middle of the night on Sunday and looked out the window to see our streets and yard covered in snow so all night long I tossed and turned anxiously waiting to go out and get a picture of our snow-covered house and yard. We were at the lake during the last snow and I was sad not to have taken a snow picture of our house.

Soooooo, like a child on Christmas morning I bounced out of bed, put on my new Wellies and Ben's coat (only because his was conveniently left out ... mine was in the closet, where it lives :), grabbed the camera and went outside to get this picture! It was still dark outside ... ha! I wanted to make sure I was able to get an un-disturbed snow picture.

Then I went back inside, enjoyed my alone time and about 3 gallons of coffee. I think about 20 minutes later I decided I was over all the snow and being trapped inside our house!

Eventually Ben and Wyatt got up and we hung out inside for most of the morning. Eventually we ventured out to the snow and ice. This was about the time we realized we were most likely not going to be snowed in just for the day ...
Our street was a ghost town! We live in a neighborhood with lots of kids, so I figured there would be tons of folks out but that wasn't the case. We walked around and looked at all the snow-covered houses anyway!
I can't even explain to you how excited I was to have my new snow boots!!!! Love these things!
Snow froggie
Everyone knows I love feet pictures. When we were in Hawaii a few years ago, Ben and I took a picture of our footprints in the sand on the beach in Honolua Bay -- its still one of my favorites of all time. So we tried to re-create that in the snow, this time with Wyatt's footprints added. It didn't really work out like we had envisioned, but we worked on this thing for 30 minutes so I'm posting it!

7 Months

2011-01-05T11:08:00.012-05:00

Once again, I am behind! Wyatt was 7 months old on December 24 so I guess at this point he's really closer to 7.5 months but oh well!

Due to Christmas and traveling, we were not able to capture his pictures until this past weekend. Meme and Papa did them while Ben and I were in Jekyll Island and they did a fabulous job! Each month, I just like Wyatt's pictures more and more. And it gets more difficult to choose my favorites!

I'm going to just do a quick list of all the latest news. I'll attempt to not bore my tens of readers by being overly wordy this year!

Accomplishments: sitting up unassisted, "rolling mobility" (i.e. no crawling but he can travel by rolling), talking/babbling ALL. THE. TIME., holding his own bottle, picking up food and putting it in his mouth!!!
Words: hey, mama, dada (although "hey" is the only word he uses in context)
Stats: I would guess 20 lbs., size 3 diaper (will be 4 once I use all the 3's we have), size 3 shoe, 9 months clothes or 6-12 months depending on the brand

Likes: yogurt melts, sitting up, psycho-monkey toy, bathtime, his feet, his piano toy, his room, most of his solid foods, milk, the jumparoo. I could keep listing but those are probably his most-favorite things at this moment

Dislikes: getting into his carseat, getting dressed, green beans and green peas

New Year's Weekend

2011-01-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went down to Jekyll Island, Georgia to celebrate my best friend, Carrie's, wedding!

This was the first time I've left Wyatt. Mom and Dad kept him over the weekend, so I was confident that he was in good hands but it was a little stressful leaving him. For a number of reasons, but one big stressor was the amount of milk I calculated that he would need for the weekend.

Wyatt takes a bottle or nurses 5 times each day. 7 ounces each time.

According to our plans, we were going to be gone for a minimum of 13 feedings. Or, to put it into ounces for you that is 91 ounces of milk!

NINETY-ONE ounces!

91!!!

Omg. I'm still having heart palpitations.

Well, I did have a freezer chock- full of milk that I had been saving up for this very occasion. But it still completely stressed me out.

Was that TMI? I'm sure it was .... Let's move right along then, shall we?

The weekend started out with a lovely bridesmaid's luncheon at the Jekyll Island Club. We were so lucky to have a pretty weekend and warm weather!
After the luncheon, the guys all finished up playing golf and we got ready for the rehearsal followed by the rehearsal dinner. We started off the evening with a nice cocktail reception and it was followed by a 4-course wine dinner. Burke's father has a wine distributorship and is very knowledgeable about wine. There was a different type paired with each course and it really was interesting to see how the different wines paired with the food.

After/during dinner, there were several toasts given to Burke and Carrie. Here is a picture of them during one of the toasts -- I think it was Megan's which explains the laughter!

We then went to a different ballroom at the Jekyll Island Club for a New Year's Eve party. After a 4-course dinner and lots and lots of wine, its a miracle any of us made it to midnight! But we did and fun was had by all (as evidenced by the photos!)

New Year's Day started off early for all the golfers, but for all the ladies' it meant that we got to sleep in and relax a bit! (Well, I think Carrie probably didn't get to do much relaxing between hair and makeup appointments, etc)

Isn't Carrie a beautiful bride?

After the ceremony, some of the Marines did a sword arch as Carrie and Burke were leaving the church. Here they are walking out of the church and about to go through the arch!

When they get to the end of the arch, one of the Marines drops his sword and will not let them pass until they kiss. Then once they do, he raises his sword and lets them through. As the bride walks away, they slap her on the bottom with one of the swords! (And it isn't a light little pat, either!). I realize this is a tradition, but I've never seen it before so it was really neat to see!

Shortly after the ceremony, the reception started and Carrie and Burke were introduced. Due to where I was sitting, I just couldn't get a good picture of the 2 of them, but here is the glowing bride!

I will leave you with a few (or a lot, depending on your definition of 'few') pictures from the reception!