Drew's New Do

There are several rites of passages with childhood and often a "personalized haircut" is one you'll see with toddlers. Well last week Drew took full advantage of the 10 minutes I had to put Ady down for a nap to give himself a new do. I left him downstairs to cut with his lefty toddler scissors and some colored paper. As I was exiting Ady's room I was greeted with 'mom, there is a pile of hair by the table'. I was SUPER confused and came down to find this.

Then I looked down and saw this, which then led to me saying "oh no, what did you do?" and him getting upset! (And yes, I grab my camera in a lot of situations... I don't want to just document the sunshine and rainbow days, I want it all!) Don't worry. He stopped crying pretty quickly, especially because I let out a little laugh. I think he got upset more because I gasped when I saw it as I really didn't even reprimand him. We did have a talk about how we can't do that again and scissors aren't for hair, but it was too funny not to snap some pictures.

Derek REALLY wanted to buzz it, but I just couldn't do it. It's shorter now, and you can still see the trimmed areas, but overall it's not too bad. And yes, I still crack up every time I see it. 

I'm just glad he didn't chop off his ear in the process!

His Snug

Drew is obsessed with our 'snugs' around my plants in the backyard. I've corrected him now, but it was SUPER cute how he called them that for a couple of days.

Ady's 1st Surgery

Although I hope and pray she never has to have another surgery in her lifetime, the reality of childhood broken bones or other accidental injuries is inevitable. Although relatively minor compared to others, getting ear tubes is still considered a 'surgery' with an anesthesiologist and a full staff of doctors and nurses. I know tons of people who have gone through MAJOR surgery and realize that this is quick and minor, but it's still surgery. They still have to put my daughter to sleep for a bit and I was still a nervous wreck in the waiting room. I mean, this is my child and therefore it wasn't "minor" in my mind.

On to the recap.

So we left our house around 5:30am on Thursday morning. A neighborhood girl came over to sleep on our couch for a bit until Drew woke up, give him breakfast and play until we got home. The surgery was scheduled for 7:30am and we were taken back to the pre-op area around 6:40. We were asked TONS of questions by nurses and doctors and went over how everything works 19 times.

After Ady flirted with all the doctors for a while, they brought her a tiny little gown and had her get dressed.

I opted to go back with her and hold her during the anesthesia part knowing she would do better if mommy was holding her. That means I had to wear a full body suit of scrubs too!

Then it was time to go back. I carried her down the hall and into a huge, white operating room. There were about 5 nurses and doctors and they had me sit in a chair and hold Ady. A gas mask was quickly put on and the nurse began a conversation with me about Ady's tan legs and vacation. It was obviously to keep my mind away from the fact that she was squirming while I held her down and I have to admit, it kinda worked. I was ok until she went limp and I had to hand her over. Having a limp child in your arms and leaving them lying on this cold operating table ATE me up.

I was escorted back to Derek and then out to the waiting room with him. When people say this procedure is quick, it DEFINITELY is. I went to the bathroom, opened my granola bar and the ENT literally was walking into the waiting room. We were then taken back to the post-op recovery area where she was being held by a super sweet nurse. She wasn't crying a bit and was more awake than I had imagined she would be.

She was super snuggly for a bit, then enjoyed a bottle followed by some puffs.

There was another 11month old having her tubes done that morning and she was screaming and crying for a bit. Ady was hamming it up with the nurses right after surgery and everyone kept saying how well she did. Except for the few tears when the gas mask went on, my little angel didn't make another peep. We were told she would be groggy for a while, but she was pretty much back to normal right after the surgery. We went to the pool that afternoon, she took a great nap and we felt so good about our decision to move forward with tubes.

So far there haven't been any noticeable changes other than she does make even more noise sounds than she did before. The ENT said noises won't sound muffled to her anymore so she might 'explore' her voice a bit more. Either way, I'm glad this is behind us and we won't have to be at the doctors every couple of weeks with ear infections!!!

Happy 4th!!

South Haven, Michigan // take 2

So we found this gem of a city last year when looking for a quick, last minute getaway before baby #2 was to be born. It's less than 5 hours away, it's a small adorable lake town that has beaches with beautiful, fine sand and there are tons of cottages right near the beaches to rent. If I showed you this picture would you believe we weren't on an ocean coast?

So this year we decided to have my parents join us at the cottage and rent a slightly larger one. It ended up being a HUGE 3-bedroom that had a finished basement and could technically sleep 10 people. We had a GREAT time just relaxing on the beach for hours and hours with the weather being mostly beautiful. The first day there it was CRAZY misty, but warm and after that we only had a bit of rain. It was sunshine for the majority of the trip. It was super hard to narrow down pictures for this post so here are my faves with a bit of commentary where needed. 

We made a friend on the beach...

And spent every evening in the front rocking chairs...

I ADORE this picture of my dad and Ady having a 'conversation'...

Even Uncle Bean and his girlfriend Lauren made it over to the cottage from Detroit for a day...

We rented a kayak for a few hours and Drew got rides with Gramma, Poppa, Uncle Bean, Derek and myself...

This is beyond cheeseball but I couldn't help myself. The sunsets were AMAZING...

This one enjoyed a couple naps on Gramma beachside...

Ady // 11 Month Update

Oh little worm. Your personality is coming through more and more and that kinda scares me. The level of sass and drama is crazy compared to Drew when he was this age and goodLAWD can your attitude change in a millisecond. Your dad and I laugh a lot at how quickly you can throw yourself back when you don't get what you want. Overall you're still such a happy baby though who doesn't mind her carseat and still sleeps like a champ.

Weight: 22 lbs,9 oz
Height: 29 in

Sleep:  You still sleep about 11-12 hours at night. Naps are still more random than Drew's were at this age but you generally take a couple a day ranging from 20 minutes to 2 hours. 

Food: Momma just finished pumping. Yes. I still was. But these last couple of weeks my supply has tanked with all of the additional running and calorie counting and this chapter has come to an end. Your bottles this month started at about 40% breastmilk but the last couple of weeks were closer to 10-20%. I have a few sacks saved in which I'll add an ounce to bottles for flavor, but you'll be mostly formula next month. You tried a TONS of new foods this month and you can pretty much eat what we're eating as long as it's not too hard. Some of your faves include mac n cheese, grapes, pasta and puffs. 

Diapers: Still wearing FuzziBunz size medium. 

Clothes: You are mostly in 18 or 24 month clothes.  

Talk: You're still making dada, mama, papa, baba sounds all the time. 

Teeth: Still no new teeth. Just 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. Drew had a ton of teeth and even molars by 11months so this is super odd for us. 

Milestones: You pull up now and often are standing in your crib when you wake up and we come in. It's super cute. Also, trash cans have had to be all picked up. I don't know why they are fun for babies but you will get EVERYTHING out if it's left on the ground. Yuck. And you've started cruising along stuff and can use your walking dinosaur pretty well!

LOVED being on the beach with you last week my little ladybug. It was fun watching you play in the sand and I love how your skin has a bit of a tan. But let's not even discuss how close you are to turning 1. Momma will be shedding a lot of tears that her baby is already that old this month.

And a couple outtakes followed by THE most beautiful eyes ever.