Drew // 4th Birthday

Happy Birthday my little turkey! Can't believe you're already 4 but am so proud of who you've turned into. Although the question of 'why' is asked 945 times a day and you are super OCD, your brains and personality is top notch. You are constantly figuring out how things work and I look forward to this year where we really begin to read and write more. You will always be my baby and I love you so very very much. Here are some tidbits about you right now!

Height: 41.25 inches (75%)
Weight: 40 lbs (80%)
Shoe size: 11
Clothes: Mostly 4T with some 3T still fitting

You still sleep great at night starting the bedtime routine around 7:30 and being asleep by 8:30 or 9. You generally wake up on the weekends around 8 and I have to wake you around 7:15 during the week to get ready for school. We still limit your juice intake and keep you mostly drinking water and milk and you are still a good eater with a growing sweet tooth. You can write your name very well and are getting good at coloring in the lines and writing other letters/words. You are working on reading 3 and 4 letter words and can understand a lot of words that we spell. And lastly, you're still in a nighttime pullup, but we plan to work on overnight potty training this year. If we could only get you to not chug water before bed it would be easier! I'm not your preferred parent right now, but I continue to work on that as much as I can and wish you knew how deeply I love you.

And now, for the interview segment that I started last year with Drew. Here are his answers for 2015 along with a few new questions! 

Favorite color: Pink (daddy asked this 3 different times to make sure)
Favorite stuffed animal: Nala the lion
Best friend: Hank
Girlfriend: Lucy
Favorite food: Ice cream
What do you want to be when you grow up: Batman
What makes you happy: Going down slides
Where is your favorite place to go: Chick Fil A
Who is your favorite super hero: Batman
Favorite show/cartoon: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite sport: Soccer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!

Disney World // Part 1

Just looking at my pictures makes me want to be back so bad! I LOVE Disney World and hope we can continue to get down there every couple/few years. When planning out our trip for this time with Derek's family, we all agree that we wanted 'rest' days in between park days. The first few days of our trip were spent relaxing at the Sheraton Vistana Villages and spending a day at Universal Studios. The weather started in the 60's each morning the first 3 days, but hit near 80 by each afternoon with only one day of a bit of rain.

Per the suggestion of a friend, we rented a double stroller instead of bring our own and it was the BEST decision ever! We rented our double Bob from Kingdom strollers and I'd highly recommend them. They throw in a free rain guard (seen below) as well as a cooler and deliver the stroller to your hotel as well as pick it up! I had to reach out to them with a question and they were prompt and friendly on top of the fact that their rates were competitive and worth every penny!

We visited the new Harry Potter area and rode the train, but Derek and I haven't seen the movies so we didn't know much of what was going on. Oh, and don't try to change a diaper in the train as you'll get a slap on the wrist. :)

Drew loved the little roller coaster and all of the other rides he did. We did learn, however, that he's not a big fan of 3D movies just yet. 

The next day was spent lounging around, playing card games and just enjoying being with family.

On New Years Eve, we enjoyed a night on the town with Dereks siblings and his brother's fiance as well as our good friends who live in Jacksonville. Let's just say that I'm never eating sushi and drinking heavily again.

The pools were all heated at the resort and they had an awesome kids area for Drew in which he loved. I was just thankful for family to entertain my children while I recovered from the night before.

The next evening we celebrated Drew's 4th birthday (2 weeks early) with a cake, presents and our friends!

Just another shot of the stroller from Kingdom Strollers where the kids (mostly Ady) spent a TON of time!

Part 2 and general tips for Disney World coming soon....

The Happiest Place On Earth

So instead of Christmas gifts this year, Derek's parents took everyone to Disney World for a week! It was a wonderful time and although we had our fair share of meltdowns, it was worth every second. I still have tons of pictures to edit so for now I'll leave you with a couple that sum up the trip. A full recap will be on the blog later this week once I can catch up with work, taking down Christmas decor and laundry!

Drew wouldn't smile for a castle picture, but trust me when I say he had the time of his life.

Meeting one of his faves...

My little warm weather lover...

Oh and this next picture is my attempt to pat myself on the back for nursing the crap out of this trip. I'm talking buses, airplanes, inside shows, on rides, in restaurants, on park benches, at pools, etc, etc! I used a coverup a lot but didn't hide in a bathroom one single time. And guess what? Not one nasty look... only encouraging smiles from other moms. Yeah for 8 days away from the pump and tons of Ady bonding time!

 More pictures and a recap to come soon!

Basement Finish is Complete!!

No real 'New Years' post for me. Instead, I'm revealing our basement before and after pictures! Derek and I have gone back and forth about whether or not we wanted to finish the basement since we moved into this house, but this summer we decided to pull the trigger. Our house is a 4 bedroom and although I could work in our loft (I work from home remember), I prefer to utilize an entire bedroom as my office. This means we needed a space for family to stay when they came to visit. Although we weren't roughed in for a bathroom, it was a necessity for us so now we have a full bathroom for our guests!

The original builders of our house a few years ago must not have wanted to ever finish the basement as they didn't opt for the higher ceilings. Also, the stairs are smack dab in the middle of the basement so we had to design the space around that. Here are some before shots...

Framing...

Then drywall...

Then flooring and trim..

Then the bathroom was started...

And then a finished basement! The railing below was a touch that we saw our friends do to open up the area. Originally it was just the wall coming down the stairs, but this added a little flare to the space and made it seem a bit more open.

And more closeups of my bathroom which I LOVE! White tile floor planks, a white vanity with gray granite and gray marble tiles in the shower from the floor to ceiling!

All in all, we LOVE the space and are so glad our guests have their own area to stay now!

Christmas Recap

{Warning; picture heavy post below!}

Love, love, loved being in my own home this year for Christmas! Now that we have 2 kiddos, I hope to continue this tradition and have grandparents just come visit us up here. Yes, it's stressful preparing meals and cleaning and entertaining a full house, but there's something special about being in your own home as a child on Christmas morning.

So we started Christmas Eve with cookie decorating followed by our Christmas Eve service at church.

Then, on Christmas morning it was banana bread followed by stocking opening, two traditions that I'll never go without!

Then it was on to the main show with presents galore for Drew. This was the first year that he could read all of the tags and sort all of the presents into piles. His excitement level for each gift was fun to watch and he thoroughly has enjoyed playing with all of his new toys these last few days. 

This little one passed out after all of the unwrapping while Drew read some of his new books quietly among the mess.

This one had a great 1st Christmas and I'm already looking forward to next Christmas when I have TWO kids unwrapping presents!

Cheers to a wonderful 2015 from my family to yours!