It Comes to an End....

Bath time

Frog!

The Blanket Monster

Oh Mommy

Garbage Truck

A Saturday Snack

My new obsession 

While there are still a couple of days left in January 2012, I find myself looking forward to what February is going to bring me... a leap year, maybe some snow, and my sons' second birthday. I think I'm ready to move on from what I feel is the worst month of the year! 

Noises

When you have a newborn baby nothing beats that feeling you have when you hold that baby in your arms and just watch them, or just feel them breathing, or just look at them watching you for hours and hours.

As baby grows up the new thing is to watch them move; sitting, crawling, walking, running. The holding becomes less and less, and many times can involve nothing more than a few hugs a day from your child.

Last night the hubs was doing a project which involved a drill. I'm standing by the stove cooking when Grayson runs to me from the living room, grabs my leg, "Up mommy". I pick him up and he burries his face in my neck, pulls his legs up to my chest and tucks his arms under himself. It took me a few minutes to realize why he was doing this. I give him a big hug and say, "what's wrong?" He looks up at me, his eyes wide and worried, "Noises mommy".

Ahhh.... the drill. The funny part is that he was actually closer to the drill in the ktichen with me then he was sitting in the living room. But I wasn't going to argue.

Down he went when it was all over... until the drill started again. Beeline right for my leg again. This time, he didn't even seem scared. He cuddled up into me and kind of giggled. And when the drilling stop I was the one that had to talk him into being put down. It was a moment I want to remember for a long time.

While moments like this are getting few and far between, it's a reminder to hold onto them. It makes it more special since it isn't a constant occurrance.

My baby is becoming a little man very quickly. I just want to stare into is eyes for hours and wonder what he is thinking about. And I guess sometimes he just wants to cuddle with mommy.

Another week down in January

Henri fishing 

My office

Grayson cuddling with Lacey 

Learning our letters

A winters morning

Grayson just isn't sure about this snow

A hearty dinner on a cold night

I never know what is going on

In the world that is. I was driving home from work today & the roads were treated for snow/ice. They weren't on the way into work. This was the first sign that apparently it is going to be snowing soon!


Don't get me wrong, I go check out CNN every morning to make sure all the parts of the world are still normal, see what the top stories of the morning are, and to see if the war has finally ended - again. The problem is the news never has anything good to say! All they want to talk about are all the terrible things happening in and around my city. I don't want to hear about that all that all the time.


The issue then becomes that I feel like the stupid person that doesn't know anything about current events. I don't want to seem stupid, or be stupid, and when someone comes into my office one day asking my opinion on North Korea I wish I could do more then stare at them blankly.


After a quick Facebook post (notice that I still haven't just googled the weather or turned on the news) I find out quickly that we are indeed getting some minor snow tonight and then again on Friday night. Good, at least I can now start planning my work outfit for tomorrow around those new boots I haven't worn yet!

I don't like to share

Especially when it comes to food. I learned how to, growing up with a sister and all kind of forces you to share things like clothes & barbies. And I guess I am okay even today with sharing things that will most likely come back to me in one piece.

The issue is I have this irrational fear about my stuff. Like if I lend out a pen (at work I buy my own because I don't like the ones they offer for free. Pen snob here, I know.), will it be empty when I get it back?

Or if I lend out a DVD or a season of something, now my collection isn't complete. Yea, I know season 4 of Criminal Minds has never even been open, but at least when it is on the shelf with the other 5 un-open seasons it's a completed collection.

Food is a whole new playing field when it comes to sharing. When people eat my food, it goes away faster & then there is nothing left. And what if I'm not statified with the amount I have already eaten? Or what if I never planned to share in the first place? Don't tell me that I can buy more. That involves getting off the couch, and going out in the cold & spending money when I had plenty to begin with!

I also think about my food no longer being there to eat, even when I haven't started and I don't have to share. I mourn the end of my dinner before it even begins. I'm crazy right?

I seriously think I have a bad relationship to food. Someone must have always taken the good stuff from me as a child & even though I can't remember it's still inside my head somewhere.

This is just a warning: keep away from my munchos. That is $2 of heaven I really don't want to share.

A Full week of Photos....

I wanted to try to do this a different way this week then trying to post a photo everyday! I also added dates to the photos in an effort for some organization.... here it goes!

Puzzle Time!!! 

This is Lacey. The cat born out of wed-lock. 

Big Bird was left all alone

Hanging out in the kitchen

The clean play area, for a hot second anyway

These tulips are so confused. It's January, don't sprout! 

Our house, in the middle of our cul-de-sac

So, there we have it... a week of photos under my belt. I am enjoying the project, but coming up with interesting ideas is hard! Learning how to use my camera better is nice, even if it isn't a huge fancy camera. And I know come New Year's Eve 2012, looking back at these photos is going to be fun!!! 

Eczema Hell

Eczema has been plaguing us for all of Grayson's childhood. It's something we have become use to, we have had 2 different dermotologists now & even Grayson knows when he has a "boo boo" and needs some medicine. It's sad, but it works for us the best it can.

The issue I have is that it can wake him up in the middle of the night. It's a new trend, that still is only happening one-ish day a week, sometimes less, but he wakes up and is just scratching his hands like there is nothing else in the world to be doing at 2am.

We go in, "boo boo", and we put lotion on all the offending places and then he will normally go back to sleep without issue.

But it breaks my heart. To see the red marks all over his body, to see him scratching & basically causing more issues will his body.

We had a 2am wake up last night. That's what sparked this post. Every new season I hope "this is it!" and the Eczema will just clear up... but in 2 years, it hasn't yet...

Forward Facing

This is a hot button topic for mom's. When do you flip your kid in the car? The new standard is 2 years old, but mom's all over will give your their stories on why earlier was better for them.

I have no story. I just really didn't want to flip him, and then one day, I turned around to check on him in the mirror & for the millionth time I couldn't see him because the mirror was gone, and I was just done with it. I wanted him flipped.

So we did.

I know the risks, I understand all the issues on both sides. I don't need to hear them again. I just wanted to be able to just turn and see him. And now I can. He turns 2 in a little more than a month. So sue me.

La, La, La, La...

Hanging with Elmo!


Grayson is pretty much back to himself today, which is awesome. Errand running, and running around outside. A typical Saturday here... We are planning his second birthday party, guess what the theme is?!?

ELMO!

Even though only 11 or 12 people are going to be there, I'm going to make this the best Elmo party Grayson has ever seen. Which can't be too hard to see since this will be his first!

Only a little over a month to go. Time is flying on by! In the mean time, we will have fun jamming out at home with Elmo :)

A New Milestone For this Mom

Last night went just like any other night. Grayson went down around 7:30pm, sleeping by 8pm. I had worked out, showered & was winding down to get ready to go back into the office after a random day off (never fun).

9:30 rolls around and I'm just getting ready to go to bed when I hear one of the worst screams coming from Grayson's room ever. I run up there and open the door. I smell something terrible, assumed he needed a diaper change. "BOO BOO, BOO BOO", in between sobs. "Where is the boo boo?" and he points to his mouth, even though it's pitch black I immediately realize the smell is throw up. Nothing we have ever really dealt with to date as parents. I yell for the hubs and start cleaning up the kid.

15 minutes later I have him laying back in bed and just as I get downstairs he starts screaming again, look at the monitor, sure enough, another mess. We go through the process again. This time I stay in the room .... long ass story short, 5:30am was when he finally stopped getting sick. He got up for the day around 8:15am. Totaled maybe 5 hours of sleep, though not all at once.

Needless to say I didn't go to work today. We laid around and around 10:30 with no sickness around, he asked to eat & I gave him some chicken noodle soup stuff. By noon he had his daddy outside playing like nothing ever happened. He napped for a little over an hour, but woke up unhappy again.... by 3pm....

This has been our worst parenting adventure to date - I'm hoping tomorrow he wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

One Day/One Trial

This is the Bucks County Court system. You either spend a day in a jury room hoping you don't get picked, or you go, get picked & then sit on the jury. Either way you are then given a 3 year leave of having the "honor" of serving jury duty for the county.


This is how I spent my day today. I got to the court house around 8:30am, I got put in a jury pool at 11am. I was dismissed from that jury around noon. We were sent to lunch until 1:30 with the orders, "Go to lunch, be back by 1:30, there is at least 1 more jury to seat today, maybe two."


1:30 rolls around and the entire jury pool (that wasn't seated on the 2 juries put together today) was walking out the door by 2pm.


I get to my car only to realize, I don't have my car key... I panic... did I lock it in the car? How is that possible, if the key is inside it won't lock at all... did I drop it on the ground? I search around... nope... I practically run the 3 blocks back to the courthouse, go through security - again - search under every chair in the jury room. Not there.


Maybe in the lost and found, downstairs at security. I run around trying to find THAT place..."Oh, a key that isn't really a key and has no keys attached to it?" Yes, I will laugh at your joke officer because you have a gun on you... "That's upstairs." BUT THEY SENT ME DOWN HERE. I'm frazzled, 3 seconds from crying and running back up to the 2nd floor.


"Oh this is YOURS, it got lost going through security first thing this morning." Oh good, thanks for the heads up.


And then back down the 3 blocks again to my car. Did I mention is was really cold today?

At least I don't have to go back for 3 years.

What gets me going....

Everyone has that something that gets them going in the morning. For me it's a venti white mocha from Starbucks. Nothing beats the sweet taste of that first sip to the amazing feeling I get once all that caffeine kicks in. This was the inspiration for today's picture.

Oh yes, I have my own mug that I take with me & they fill up; it's my way of helping the planet. The sad reality of my day-to-day life is that those calories were adding up, and quickly.


I have made a huge decision in my life, and it started on 1/1/2012. There is no more daily Starbucks run. It will now be a treat, most likely one a week. This will help my growing ass & shrinking wallet.


While I'm trying not to say that my New Year's Resolution is dieting & working out, I'm still trying to work in that general direction. Every year I say something along these lines, and 12 months later I'm easily 10 pounds heavier then when the ball first dropped on the closing year.


Here's to finding the better me however I can! And - hopefully finding a new way to start my mornings.... I hear 5 hour energies can give a person a good kick start!

My Original Baby

Almost two years ago the most important person in my life was born, starting the most important journey of my life. But before Grayson came Chloe (and Henri & Lacey, but this is about Chloe).

Chloe has had an interesting life so far. I got her a few days after my birthday in 2006. This was about a month after buying our home. She was about 6 months old. About a month later we adopted Henri. Long story short, we were slacking on getting everyone fixed... and before we knew it Chloe was having kittens in our washroom.


3 small and cute kittens were the product of our lazy stupidity (who knew a 6 month old cat could get pregnant!?!?!) and after adopting away 2 of the kittens, we had a round number of 3 cats living in our home.


And here is where I let you all in on a little secret - this is why we had a baby! Why, you ask? That would be because of my husband's strange rule that there can not be more animals in the house then humans.... so many years later along came Grayson! That's only 1/2 true.


I decided my day 3 picture was to bring me back to how my family got started, my animals are a part of my family & Chloe is the first of my babies. While she drives me nuts sometimes, and gets way too clingy, I still love her like she was a human!

2012 - Day 2!

My vacation is coming to a close. Tomorrow it's back to the office! Grayson and I are together today. It's a day to play, read, eat & I was hoping on a productive nap time! This morning we hung out at home, ran to the pet store, then to the supermarket & finished off our morning with a trip to visit Daddy at work! around 1pm we left there because nap time was upon us. Into the house, right upstairs and into bed. One book, one song & I left. 

Grayson spent the next 2 hours doing anything but sleeping. Nap strikes are not normally for us. Granted 5 days a week he naps outside of the home, but he naps well with his grandparents & at daycare. This will be the third time that Grayson will have gone without a nap. I guess in 2 years that isn't bad - but I had high hopes for this nap! I did Christmas put away & the dishes done... but the house is still a mess. 

At like 3:10 I gave up, I went and got him, plopped him on the couch & ask him what he wanted to do. This brings us to my second photo of the year! 

"Cat back book!", over and over. This is definitely his new favorite book. We read it 2 times a night before bed, and he has even started to read a couple of the pages along with me. So very cute! 

So, I have a feeling the tantrums will be with us any time now, and will go on until I finally throw him into bed an hour early because he is driving me nuts... but for now I'm going to cuddle up on the couch and enjoy our last few holiday hours reading with my baby!

365 Photo Challenge

A few of my friends and I are going to do a 365 (well, really 366 because of the leap year!) photo challenge. I really like this idea, and I'm going to try my best to stick with it!

Today is the first day of 2012! 2011 has come and gone with no extreme changes. No new babies, we still live in the same house, our jobs are the same... just 12 months of moving steadily along. I did lose an uncle to cancer this year, and the husband's last living grandparent is gone... I have many hopes for 2012 will bring new life and not any deaths.

Every year for the tree I make sure I get something with the passing year on it. The Santa above was, obviously, for 2011. I thought this would be a great photo farewell for 2011, I have gotten 12 more months with the most amazing child & husband. I have some great close family and friends, and I can safely say that my life is following a good track.

May the New Year be happy and healthy one for everyone!