Sunday, August 15, 2010

Life happens fast

It seems like time keeps getting away from me these days!  It's already the middle of August, Little Man turns ONE in only five days, Hubby goes back to work in a week and a half, and Baby #2 will be here in approximately 12 weeks!  For the longest time it seemed like our family vacation to the beach was months away, but now it's over!  We intended to move Little Man into his "big boy" room upstairs by his birthday...but all I've managed to do is prime the trim, doors, and windows.  I guess we'll be a little late on that one.

So, the question is, what do I do with all my time?!  Cakes, chase Little Man, clean, laundry, lay on my heating pad (a gift from heaven to my aching lower back), and go to the grocery store.  Every once in a while, when Little Man is napping I get a spurt of energy and get something extra done...such as the two coats of primer upstairs.  It's been a blast having Hubby home for the summer and I thought it would mean I would get more done around the house, but the truth is I just enjoy spending time with my boys more than anything else!

However, it's only 12 weeks until my due date and we have a crazy to-do list to complete before then!  We need to finish painting Little Man's room and move him upstairs.  We also need to finish taping, sanding, and painting the new railing Hubby built upstairs in the playroom.  He and his dad tore down the old and incredibly unsafe one and replaced it with a knee wall.  Now we can put up a gate at the top of the stairs and we don't have to worry about Little Man crawling through the posts of the railing.  Hubby and his dad are perfectionists when it comes to home improvements, so the new railing/wall is very sturdy.  I need to make curtains for all the windows upstairs - I've bought the fabric, just need to get around to sewing.  We also intend to kill all the grass/weeds growing in our front yard at the end of this month.  Then we'll till everything up and plant all new grass.  We have been fighting our lawn for almost three years now and have finally decided we just need to start over from scratch.  We also gave up on growing grass under the large tree in our front yard.  This summer we mulched a large bed under it and plan to plant a shade garden in September.  (We considered a kitchen remodel for this summer also, but Hubby ended up not teaching summer school so we put that project on hold due to lack of funding.)  So yes, LOTS to do.  Time to kick it into high gear I suppose.

Little Man is starting to walk more.  Today he repeatedly walked to Hubby (taking a good 10 or more steps!) and between a few other things.  I'm not kidding when I say I think he was practicing and trying to perfect his abilities before showing them off publicly.  There were MULTIPLE times we caught him walking when he thought we weren't looking.  He's a sneaky little fellow.  I guess today was the day when he felt confident enough to really show off.  I'm excited for him to really start walking.  I plan to spend a lot more time outside letting him run around in the yard.  It was so hot and dry this summer that all our grass died.  Everytime Little Man would crawl in the yard, he ended up with scrapes on his knees and legs.  I figured once he's walking, this problem will mostly go away.

Our beach trip was a blast.  All the grandparents, some great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...the whole gang!  Little Man loved the ocean, pool, baby pool we set up with our tents on the beach, and the sand.  In fact, he loved it and all the company so much, he thought he'd wake up between 5 and 5:30 every morning to squeeze in as much of it as he could.  We weren't the biggest fans, but he wakes up so cute and happy that it's hard to be too cranky.  (And thank goodness for coffee.)

Life is good around here.  We are so thankful for our beautiful baby boy (who isn't much of a baby anymore) and all our blessings in life.  We can't wait to meet our second child in a few months  (Boy or girl?!  Who knows and I love that excitement!)  We are thankful for our families.  We are thankful Hubby has a steady job - and he is excited to be teaching Probability and Statistics instead of Algebra this year!  We are thankful for each other and the love we share.  Life is so much better when you're able to share it with your best friend! 

Sorry this was a bit of a rambling post, but I figured it might be the best way to catch you up on our lives!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Everyday is a new adventure

We were enjoying an evening with friends on our deck, when a policeman stuck his head through the shrubs and told us to go inside.  Apparently there was an "issue involving guns" on the street behind us.  I started having visions of drugs, gangs, etc...but it turns out it was an elderly gentleman who had messed up his medications and was having hallucinations.  He had a gun and refused to surrender it and himself to the police.  It turns out it was one of the houses right behind us.  Our backyard was used as a cut through so the SWAT team could surround the house.  Here you can see several SWAT team members cutting through our yard.  We also saw two snipers walk down our street!  It was quite the ordeal for our quiet little neighborhood!  Thankfully, everything turned out just fine - no shots were fired and the man surrendered around midnight.

Little Man has outgrown his infant tub and has graduated to the "big boy" tub.  Bathtime is still a favorite.  We just have to be even more careful with him now while he's in the tub.  He does not sit still!
Post bathtime runaway.  He also still loves to be naked and finds it absolutely hilarious that he can get away from us now.
Who?  Me?
It's a cute little tushie.
Finally, we managed to get his PJs on and he squeezed in a few minutes of basketball practice while I made his bottle.
Tuesday we went strawberry picking.  Little Man LOVES strawberries, but unfortunately they resulted in terrible diaper rash.  No more strawberries for awhile.
 Little Man is almost always sitting up when we go in to get him in the mornings.  Sometimes he'll pull up to standing once we're in there.  However, this morning was the first time we went in to find him already standing!  He's growing up so fast!
All the crawling, pulling up, and standing has resulted in a lot more bumps and tears.  He's taken a few big spills and even had two accidents where he bumped his mouth (and had a little blood).  Thankfully, at this point all his accidents have been remedied with hugs and kisses.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Big News!!!

Our family has BIG news to share with the world:
That's right folks, we are expecting baby #2!  The due date is November 7...which means I am currently 12 weeks along (right at the end of the first trimester).  So far, it's been another easy pregnancy - no morning sickness, just some fatigue from time to time and cravings for all things with cheese.  We are so excited (and nervous) to have children so close in age.  Hubby loved growing up with sibling that were all within two years of age and our hope for our family is to have the same.  Growing up as an only child, I am excited to give my children the gift of siblings (and the rivalry that comes with it).  It looks like we're in for a wild ride! 

Since our family is going through so much change and growth, we have decided Hubby will continue teaching and we will remain where we are for a least another full year.  Hubby is very thankful to have a great, solid job (even if it does mean the headaches that come with dealing with classrooms full of teenagers). 

In other great family news, Hubby will be teaching Algebra I in summer school!  We were really hoping he would be awarded a summer school position and are excited for the relaxed hours but extra income! 

Friday, April 23, 2010

2010...the last four months

Here are a few snapshots to sum up January, February, March, and most of April!  I always intend to be better about updates than I am...sorry! 

Rockin' the hat from "Uncle" Jeff.  (mid January)
Little Man's first big snow in late January.  He didn't seem too impressed, but Brady loved it!  We also lost our heat during this storm.  Brady and Little Man ended up in our bed for the night - "cozy" wouldn't be the word for it.  Thankfully our neighbor was able to fix it the next morning.
Happy baby in a box.
Krispy Kreme's newest spokesperson. 
In March Jackson took "swimming" lessons.  The first class we both went in the water with him.  After that, I let Hubby be the only one in with him.  The water was too cold for me. :)
My handsome boys.
Swimming lessons are now over, so Little Man has to settle for playing in the bathtub.  He doesn't seem to mind.  He could splash around in there for an hour if we let him!
For Easter, we went to my parents' house in Blacksburg.  Little Man enjoyed Oma's wonderful pancakes for the first time.
I read somewhere that every child is gifted in some way.  We're quite convinced that Little Man's gift is eating.  We haven't found a single food he doesn't like, he is very good about chewing, and loves to feed himself.  His large motor skills are average (he just started crawling this week - and turned 8 months on Tuesday), but his fine motor skills are advanced.  He has been able to pick up food (cheerios, banana pieces, avocados, etc) with his thumb and forefinger and get it in his mouth deliberately for over a month.  Now we just have to be careful to make sure only the right things make it in his mouth.
Little Man and Brady sharing a snack of cheerios and bananas.

We're planning a family trip to the Norfolk Zoo next week!  I intend to post those pictures right away, so please check back by mid-week.