Kansas City Visit Part 1

Wow was it crazy. We had TONS of events to attend but also wanted to make sure to enjoy some fun activities with the kiddos. Derek and I even managed to slip a movie in while we were back! And while it definitely wasn't a true 'vacation', rather a 'trip', it will still good to see our family and spend time with them.

The first 4 days of the trip were the busiest. The first was the wedding rehearsal for Derek's brother and then rehearsal dinner followed by the wedding the next day.

We did manage to sprinkle in some fun and time with grandparents among the chaos...

Drew was the ring bearer for their wedding and I can't WAIT to see some of the professional pictures. I didn't even take a single picture the day of the wedding as it was too crazy but below are a couple of phone pics. Derek had best man duties all day and Miss Priss wouldn't let anyone else hold her. So basically I had to make sure Drew was where he was needed all day for pictures and such as well as hold a lardo baby for 12 hours as well as add in a couple pumps throughout the day and remember to eat. I was exhausted but the wedding was absolutely beautiful and I'm so excited to have another sister-in-law!

The following day we had a wedding brunch  at Derek's parents house to celebrate the newlyweds.

Then on Sunday we had Ady's baptism.

It was great to be back in the church that Derek and I attended with our families since our teenage years, that we were married at and that Drew was baptized at. It was also great to see some of my extended family!

And I'm a sucker for generational pictures...

** Anyone notice that fun, floral dress I'm wearing? It's from eShakti! Have you been to that site yet? They have tons of awesome clothing and it's all customizable to you! I'm 5'10" and generally have a hard time finding dresses that aren't hookerish short. At eShakti you can enter your height and they'll make the dress a couple inches longer! It was on my doorstep SUPER fast and I'd recommend checking them out if you're in need of a dress tailored to your size!

Then it was on to the baptism brunch in which my parent bought Stroud's for everyone!! If you're from KC, you'll know what this restaurant is, and if you're not, then you need to eat it whenever you're near there. It's the best comfort food out there!

I didn't get many pictures, but how adorable is this cake my parents got?

Stay tuned for part 2 later this week!

Ady // 10 Month Update

This last month was the best little ladybug. You are quite the mommy's girl and are developing quite the personality! I still can't get over how perfectly you fit into our world and how much joy you bring to our lives.

Weight: 22 lbs 3 oz
Height: 28 in

Sleep:  We had a great month with putting you down awake and you sleeping 11-12 hours. Naps are getting a bit more regular with a morning one generally around 11 and then a mid afternoon one as well. These can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. 

Food: For your main food source, you're getting about 50% breastmilk and 50% formula. You tried a TONS of new solid foods this month and we're feeding you more and more of what we're eating. You LOVE grapes and really haven't disliked much of anything we've given you. 

Diapers: Still wearing FuzziBunz size medium. 

Clothes: You are mostly in 12 or 18 month clothes with a couple 24 month items.  

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

Teeth: No new teeth this month. Still just 2 on top and 2 on the bottom! 

Milestones: You are officially knee crawling now and have pulled up one time. You did both of these while we were in Kansas City which means we need to start baby proofing our house! 

Although you warmed up to grandparents a bit while we were in KC, you definitely still have an 'inner circle' of 6 people; mommy, daddy, Drew and your 3 daycare ladies. I'm not going to lie, it's kinda adorable to watch your lip come out when someone else takes you. Can't WAIT for the fun in the sun this summer with you little angel.

And a couple outtakes:

Sun Worshiper

This one loves the sun just as much as I do. She begs to go outside all day and won't come in when I check on her an hour or 2 later. Our patio is her tanning bed I swear she smiles when the wamer weather begins. 

Just like her momma.

Spring Shots

We plan to spend a lot of time outside over the next few months and I can't WAIT. 

I LOVE picnics and playdates and evenings a the beach. 

Warm weather is the best.

And probably my favorite of them all....

A Boy & His Plane

Love this little man.
A lot.

Weekend of Family Fun

We try to get out and do stuff often with the kiddos, but last Saturday we did 3 fun things and it was wonderful. There's nothing better than getting outside, taking in some culture and just being with the fam.

First up was our culture stop! I won some tickets to a children's orchestra concert and was SUPER excited as the website had made it seem like there was going to be several instruments and some 'audience interaction'. The only thing they had was a lady playing the viola and we sang a couple songs. I had hoped Drew would get to touch something and see tons more instruments and am thankful it was only 30 minutes long. They both enjoyed the show but I'm glad we didn't pay for tickets!

Next up was the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. We time this stop PERFECTLY as the tulips were HUGE and there were SO many flowers open. It smelled wonderful and was a great time.

Finally, we ended with a late lunch picnic in a park. The cool breeze, beautiful weather and gorgeous trees made for a blissful lunch. Ady slept in the stroller for the first 30 minutes or so but then joined us when she woke up.

After lunch the boys chased each other around while I peeled grapes for Ady. I honestly wanted to just spend the rest of the day right there on our blanket.

There's just nothing better than eating outside and even Ady would agree.

Then on Sunday we enjoyed a delicious brunch, facetimed with our own moms and I got to even enjoy laying on the couch a bit while both kids slept. It was great! 

Hope you had a great weekend as well!

Caterpillars and Butterflies

I saw this kit a couple years ago and have been wanting to do it ever since! Drew's school does it every spring in each class and my parents got it for us for Christmas. It's a kit where you can house caterpillars, watch them morph into butterflies and then release them! Oh, and bonus, you can order caterpillars over and over again assuming the weather is nice enough.

We got our caterpillars a couple weeks ago and had been watching them morph daily.

Last week they all emerged as butterflies and we enjoyed them for a few days before releasing them this weekend. I have to say, the squeals that came from Drew just justified ordering more caterpillars a few more times this summer. He LOVED helping them come out of the habitat and was so excited when one stuck to his hand and wouldn't fly away.

Someone else enjoyed the weather with us on her blanket while we set the butterflies free.
Hello eyelashes.

You can order your butterfly kit here!

Spring Fun

As much as I have enjoyed a few sunny and warm days the past couple of weeks, there are still day where the high is only going to be in the 50s (next week) and it makes me cringe. It's MID May mother nature. You need to wake up and get to more global warming up around these parts. Momma needs some color on her pasty arms!

Anyway, we have done several spring-ish things as a family lately but I can't wait for more. I NEED more. I need to not be putting coats on each morning, or have to cover Ady's rolls in pants. I NEED to feel the sun on my face more and hang out at the park with the kiddos!

On Sunday we went on our first family bike ride before my six (whew!) spring mini sessions I had that evening. My parents bought us our trailer for Christmas one year and you can see a few pictures of the first time Drew rode in it here. I think it's adorable seeing Ady now wearing the same Pooh helmet Drew used. And speaking of Ady, she did great! I'm sure having her big brother next to her helped ease any worries, but she didn't make a peep the entire time. I was also impressed by Drew as I assumed her constant leaning on and touching him would drive him crazy but he barely complained.

{Side Note: Please wear helmets! I realize they aren't 'cool' looking but I knew a boy growing up who died from not wearing one so they do save lives. It's our job to be role models for our kids so Derek and I not only wear ours for safety, but to also show our kids that they are a part of biking!}

Happy Spring!

All Good Things Come to An End

I knew this day would come. What I didn't know would be that it would be by HER choice and not mine. I had no clue that on the morning of April 27th, I would nurse my baby girl for the very last time. And since we're probably done with kids, this means I will never have another snuggle up to eat and look at me while they drank to their hearts delight. It crushes me and it's been an emotional week.

This is my view now every time the worm is hungry.

And it breaks my heart.
I know I should be proud of nursing her for 9 months, but I wanted to continue nursing her, at least just at night and in the morning for a few more months. But the little lady had different plans of her own. I'm not sure what happened but she just flipped like a switch. Arching, pushing away from me, biting (bad!), and doing anything she could to not have to nurse. Personally, I think she wised up and realized bottles were tons faster (thanks to having to go to daycare). And yes, I've tried it all. Literally, EVERYTHING. I do still offer her the breast first often, but nope. Since it's been a week and a half now, I've come to terms with it and have moved on. It still breaks my heart as I thought all babies loved nursing!

You can bet your butt that I'm still pumping though! Why? I still want her to get as much breastmilk as possible! So yes, it sucks that now I pump 7 days a week but it's my choice and I choose to continue. I have cut back to just 4 times a day and once she hits 10 months I'll cut down to 3 times a day. She's still probably getting 70% bm with 30% formula, but I'm assuming that will be at 50/50 soon with my cutting back on pumping.

Just so thankful the hubs snapped these pictures a few weeks ago before she decided she was done!

It's just a good reminder that all good things must come to an end. Don't take anything for granted as you'll never know when it will be your last!

Army Crawler

Just a couple days after she turned 9 months this little one is army crawling! She also can officially go from crawling/laying down to sitting by herself now! 

She also tried to pull herself up on her brothers train table tonight so I'm assuming that's not too far in our future also!

Fabulous Fours

For all of you out there struggling with 2, 3 or early 4 year old bad behavior let me assure you there is a light at the end of the tunnel! It feels like it will never come, but it will!

Right before Drew turned 4 and lasting a few months, we were going through a phase with our little man. Granted, some kids have issues for years, but thankfully ours was only about 3-4 months. It was rough though.

Like rouuuuuugh.

He would throw tantrums all the time, wine or cry over nothing and we had to walk on egg shells around him. I would continually think about how life was all smiles and happy when Drew was a new baby and it was depressing knowing that Ady was watching all of this. I hated her seeing us raise our voices and arguing with Drew. I dreaded Drew's screaming fits as Ady would look confused and sad from the volume. I know she would never remember any of it, but I would cry at night thinking that it wasn't fair for her to be around all of that.

Drew had been getting timeouts at school almost every day and his behavior in general was unacceptable in our opinion. We began a 'no time out' chart in which he would get a sticker on a day when he didn't get one at school. Well that worked for maybe a week and then went the other direction. Time outs were escalating at school to 4 or even 5 a day. Upon the urging of Derek's mom, I began reading about time outs and how they really don't work for kids and that we had to get to the root of the issue. We did some soul searching and knew it was 100% attention. With having to spend so much time dealing with a fresh baby, Drew was missing out on attention from us. Our faces would light up when we saw Ady and we probably barely smiled at Drew much during those months. Sad, but true. When you're kid is never happy, it's hard to 'play' happy with your expressions toward them.

That's when we made the change.

I began to act super excited to see Drew every time he came near me. I would grab him and hug and kiss him despite his bad behavior and clawing to get away. I made a huge effort to 'tell Ady' how awesome Drew was at things and how he was 'wayyy cooler' than her because he could do stuff on his own. We also changed the no time-out chart to be a 'reward good behavior' chart. If Drew would set the table without being asked, boom a sticker. If he would put recycling in the bin without being asked, boom another sticker. If he went upstairs for a shower when asked without throwing a fit, boom a sticker. We tried hard to avoid time outs and made HUUUUUGE deals when he was good. Like HUUUUUGE. It crushed me to not spend much time at all with Ady, but she was only a few months old so she didn't mind hanging out on a blanket. :)

It was magic. Magic, I tell ya.

Within one week the kid had hardly any time outs and tantrums were drastically less. We're now about a month in the clear and I'm SO glad our kiddo is back. The other day I kissed him like 92 times within one evening and realized that I had probably kissed him only a few times a week during the rough patches. It broke my heart but he was just terrible to be around. Terrible. I'm beyond thankful we are over that phase as this new Drew is the BEST. The kid will go all the way upstairs and get a diaper for me. He loves doing his 'duties' and he really doesn't throw fits anymore about anything. He's back to my happy little guy who is currently loving learning math. I missed my happy Drew so much and am so glad he's back. We now finally get to enjoy the 'fabulous fours' we would often hear about!

I'm not saying time-outs don't work. They have their time and place, but for our family, we've made the shift to only rewarding the positive and it's turned our lives around. (And probably helped my liver since I don't feel the need for multiple drinks every evening!)

Just a regular 'ole stud muffin doing regular 'ole tooth brushing!