Thursday, September 30, 2010

Mirrors from Hell

Remember these pictures of when we first moved in here in June:

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Can you see the mirrors in both photo’s? How about those floor to ceiling mirrors (future library) in the top picture? Gross, huh? And on the bottom photo (the dining room) they were only 3/4 of the way up on one whole wall.

Well, after Tony attempted to remove some of them the other day, we decided we would need to hire someone else to do the job. Those mirrors are extremely heavy and a lot of work to get off the wall. So, I called Mr. Handyman and they have been here the past two days working on removing the mirrors and repairing the damaged walls.

This is what the (future) library walls looked like when the guy left yesterday:

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I don’t even have words. Just remember, if you ever think you want mirrors glued to your walls, don’t do it. You really don’t want this…I promise.

When the guys are done working today I’ll get a few more pictures…I just can’t wait for it to be finished!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Thank You Cards

I had a little time today to (finally) make some Thank You cards.

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A few of the ladies that Tony works with bought Harper some baby gifts and I wanted to be sure that they knew how much I appreciated the gestures…especially since we’ve never even met!

I got the ideas for the cards out of my Paper Crafts Magazine (March/April 2010) and it only took me about an hour to make all of them!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Macro Flowers/Bees

I have no idea what type of flower this is, but it’s in my garden out front (planted by the previous owners) and it is really beautiful. I saw a few bees buzzing around it the other day, so I pulled out my macro lens and got a couple close ups.

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Homecoming 2010

Because I’m so scatter brained lately, I forgot to get a picture of Zoe on Homecoming night by herself. So, here she is with her friend right before the dance.

The two of them looked stunning!

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Zoe’s homecoming was this past Saturday. That girl loves any chance she can get to wear a cute dress and jewelry, and a little more makeup than usual. 

I was her makeup artist, Theresa did her hair, and she somehow managed to get dressed on her own! :) She looked beautiful, as you can see from the photo’s.

I just have to write that the dress she’s wearing was originally $75.00, but we got it for $18.00. Yes, I said $18.00!! The necklace she’s wearing cost more than the dress, but it was fine with me since we saved so much money on the dress!

Team Red

Landon has finally started his soccer season. For some reason they didn’t put him on a team when we signed him up and he missed a week’s practice and the first game before we realized their mistake. But, it’s all worked out now and he’s on the red team. (We don’t know if the team has a name, so we’re calling it team red since that’s the color of their jerseys.)

Landon’s first game was Saturday, and he was excellent! He’s decided that he no longer wants to be the goalie (too much pressure?) and he wants to play defense.

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While Landon was busy playing in the blazing sun, Mom, Zoe, Theresa, Harper and I were hiding out in the shade at the top of the hill.

And, during half time, I decided to get a couple pictures…

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Bottom’s Up

Last week, Harper officially moved out of newborn diapers and into size 1’s.

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I couldn’t believe how much bigger size one’s were compared to the newborn diapers, but the little guys tummy just got too big for the smaller size. I wish the photo above really showed how big the difference really is, but you can get a general idea.

Right now we are using Pampers diapers, but I think once this box is gone we may try out some Huggies. Every night he’s waking up soaking wet, but it’s not in the front of the diaper, he’s wet on his back. It’s like he’s sprung a leak somewhere on his back because the front of the diaper sometimes isn’t even wet!

PS: If any of you mom’s have any advice about this, let me know please! Changing all of his clothes/diaper/sheets every single night at 3am is getting old!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Ages and Stages

A couple of days ago someone was admiring Harper and they asked me if I preferred the infant stage or the stages my older kids were at.

My first thought was that I preferred these first few months of infancy, because they are so fleeting. But, as I really had time to really think about the question, I realized that each stage/age is wonderful, just in different ways.

Here’s a short list of the things that I think are great about each of my kids ages:

Zoe (15):

  • Obviously Zoe is very independent at this stage of her life. I love that she is so self motivated and has the stamina to get through all the activities that she does.
  • Great sense of humor. Sometimes, we just crack each other up. She tells me some of the funniest stories! For instance, yesterday was senior toga day at school, and the principal got on the overhead and stated that everyone (hopefully she was only talking to boys!) needed to cover their “chest buttons”! I was almost rolling on the floor I thought that was so funny! I mean really? Chest buttons?
  • Helpfulness. Sometimes, when I am in my room folding laundry, Zoe will come in and help me. Without me asking. I don’t always remember to thank her for her help, but it is nice that she helps just because she wants to, and I really do appreciate it.

Landon (9):

  • Independence. Landon isn’t as independent as Zoe (he still needs help here and there) but he’s moving in the right direction. He puts away his laundry, makes his bed, takes care of the dog in the morning, and does it all without being asked. (For the most part anyways!)
  • Funny. He says some of the funniest stuff! Last week, he was watching a little of the VMA’s with me and when Lady Gaga came on, he said “She must be from a different state!”. He always says things must be from a different state if he thinks they’re strange!
  • Landon is at that stage in his life where he isn’t sure if he wants to be a big kid or a little kid. He’s leaning towards big kid, but every once in awhile he wants to act younger. Like when he grabs my hand when we walk to the bus stop in the morning…and because I know I won’t have that opportunity much longer, I hold on extra tight.

Harper (6 weeks):

  • Total dependence on me. I love that he needs me to take care of his every need. I am happy to do everything I can to keep him safe, warm and happy.
  • His smiles. He is so happy to see me. He just smiles his giant toothless smiles and coos and it is enough to melt my heart. Every. Single. Time.
  • It’s fun to introduce him to new things. Just a couple days ago I pulled out a small rattle that lights up when you shake it, and even though he’s too young to really care about it, he was very interested and watched it for the longest time.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

New Wheels!

It finally happened.

Our little Hyundai Accent died today. Tony said he knew it was going to happen any day now and today on his way to work it overheated and that was the end of the little car that could.

We’ve had that little car for 11 years and it has some crazy mileage on it. Something in the realm of 160,000+, so it’s been a good car. It’s actually been so good, we went looking for another Accent to replace it. Tony wanted to upgrade to a 4 door model though, and he was excited about having air conditioning again (the air in the old car gave out at the beginning of the summer). He also has handles on all the doors again, so that’s a plus! :)

Tony, Harper and I went on a test drive in one of the Accent’s and while we thought the car was nice, the backseat just didn’t have enough room to accommodate Harper’s car seat without Tony’s knees being in his chest. So, he tested out the Elantra and found that it was a little roomier…and they were happy to sell it to us for EXACTLY the same price as the Accent! Win-Win!!

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wacky Wednesday

Unfortunately, Harper didn’t sleep very well Monday night so I wasn’t able to get up and get pictures of “Tie-Dye Tuesday” but there was no way I was going to miss Wacky Wednesday!

Footed pajamas + Pillow case cape + Slides = WACKY!

Zoe asked me last night if I thought she was brave wearing this outfit to school. I told her I didn’t think the word was “brave”!

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What a Nerd!

Zoe’s homecoming game/dance is this weekend, so you know what that means don’t  you?

It’s spirit week!

I remember loving spirit week when I was in high school. It was always so much fun to see how crazy we could make ourselves look!

On Monday it was nerd day. Here’s what Zoe wore:

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Not much different than usual, right?!

Just Kidding!

I thought she looked really cute and I think she should totally rock the nerd look more often! :)

Fabulous Fall

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the weather, the routine of school/homework/sports/activities but I especially love Tony’s homemade broccoli and cheese bread bowls!

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And, you know what’s even better than having broccoli and cheese soup for dinner?

Having it again for lunch the next day! Yum!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

All Stretched Out

It’s funny that only a few short weeks ago we couldn’t get this baby to stretch out even a little bit. He was always curled up in a tight little ball.

He really likes to be all stretched out on his back when he sleeps now. And don’t even try keeping those little hands under blankets. He’ll just fuss around until he gets them loose!

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

If you ever think that you’d like to put HUGE mirrors in your house, please reconsider. I guess these kinds of mirrors would be ok in an exercise room, but in the two rooms that they’re in in our house, they just look awful.

So, since Tony was home of Friday, we decided to take one down to see what the wall looked like behind it. At first Tony tried to just pry it off the wall, but once it cracked he thought better of it and duct taped the whole thing in case it shattered. (That way if it broke or shattered it would stay attached to the tape instead of falling all over the carpet.) It’s a good thing he taped it too, because I still found little shards of glass in the carpet!

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After a good 45 minutes of work, he was finally able to get the mirror off of the wall. The brown circles are where the dollops of adhesive were, and for the most part, the wall is easily fixable.

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Except for this one big hole on the bottom:

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So, Tony came to the conclusion that it would be worth it to hire someone to come in and take the mirrors down and then fix the walls. I’ll be calling Mr.Handyman first thing tomorrow morning!

Weight Update

After Monday’s trip to the doctor, I was not looking forward to bringing Harper back on Friday. I was a little worried that he wouldn’t have gained enough weight to make the doctor happy, but as it turns out, I shouldn’t have worried at all because he gained a whopping 15 ounces!

That would be 15 ounces in 4 days, or about 4 ounces a day! That poor little guy was hungry! I felt relieved that he had gained the weight, but also sad that he hadn’t been getting enough food all that time.

As time passes, I am getting over the fact that he’s having to drink formula, but I’m also working on increasing my supply. I picked up some fenugreek tablets (thanks Liz!) that will hopefully help me out, and I’ve also been pumping more often in an attempt to up my supply. In addition to those two things I’ve contacted a lactation consultant and am waiting to hear back from her. My ultimate goal right now would be to up my supply enough to get him off of the formula, but if that doesn’t work out, I suppose I’ll have to be happy with the breast/bottle combo.

Since Harper’s weight increase was so great, his doctor said it would be ok to wait until his 2 month appointment to see him again; as long as we keep doing what we’re doing that is. So, I’m hoping to just keep doing this for the next few weeks and see if I can get him off the formula after his 2 month appointment.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Going 4th

Somewhere over the course of a few days I found time to put this page together:

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I lifted the idea from Scrapbooks Etc. magazine (Oct. 2010) page 36.

I loved the accents on the side of the page and I had 3 great pictures of Landon’s first day back to school to use, so it worked out perfectly! Making this page has me itching to do more so now I just have to find the time!

Baby Wrinkles

I know that by looking at these photo’s you can’t tell how tiny this boy’s legs are, but let me tell you, they are like twigs. He has some of the skinniest legs I’ve ever seen!

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And those wrinkles?

Hello, cuteness!

His legs are so skinny he hasn’t even grown into the skin on them yet!

A Solid 10

Soccer season is in full swing around here, for Zoe anyways. For some reason Landon hasn’t started yet, but I’m sure he’ll be starting practices and games any time now.

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Zoe’s first game was Monday night. She didn’t get much playing time because she was dealing with an injury for a couple weeks prior, so her coaches are holding her back in the hopes of keeping her from reinjuring her leg. They ended up losing 4-2. I’m thinking if Zoe would have had more time on the field, they would have won. ;)

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Zoe’s second game was Wednesday night, and she did end up getting more time on the field. During the first half she was pretty rocky and did a lot of running up and down the field…she looked a little unsure of her position quite honestly. But, during the second half she reminded us all what a great player she is. After the game, I told her that I thought she did great during the second half and she said she did better because she was really mad. (Mad about not getting much time on the field.) So, I suppose I’m going to have to tick her off before each game so she’ll get out there and kick butt! Zoe’s team won this time with a final score of 3-2. See…more Zoe time on the field and they win!

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Zoe’s #10 this year, in case you couldn’t figure out what I was getting at with my title! :)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Weighty Dilemma

Yesterday was Harper’s 1 month doctor visit. I had been dreading it since his last visit because I’m a wimp and I hate when tiny babies have to get shots or pricked in the heel for a blood sample. It just seems so cruel…even when I know it’s necessary.

Anyhow, once we got into the doctors office the nurse had me undress him so she could take his measurements and then weigh him. Once I put him on the scale, I knew something wasn’t right.

He’s lost weight.

Again.

The nurse didn’t seem to believe the scale and asked that I place him on the scale for a second try. But, the scale didn’t lie and his weight read 7 pounds 5 ounces. The nurse still wasn’t convinced though, so she went into another room and pulled another scale in for him to be weighed on. The scale remained the same. Every time she re-weighed him, I kept my fingers crossed that there was something wrong with the scale(s). Each time the scale stayed the same, my heart sank.

When the doctor came in he did a thorough exam and asked me about Harper’s eating habits. He told me that it was obvious that he was eating something because his weight loss would have been much more dramatic if he hadn’t been, but that I’d need to supplement with formula in order to get his weight up.The doctor said Harper should weigh somewhere in the 9 pound range, so he has some serious catching up to do. 

(Harper weighed 8lbs.3oz. at birth, then weighed 7lbs.10oz. at his 1 week appt., and yesterday was down to 7lbs.5 oz.)

I didn’t take the news of supplementing with formula very well. As a matter of fact, my first reaction to that news was anger, and I think the doctor recognized it because he told me that under normal circumstances he would never ask a nursing mother to supplement, but he felt that this was an exception.

After hearing that, I went from angry to sad. I tried to think of a million reasons why nursing wasn’t working, and asked the doctor about a dozen scenarios, but what it all boiled down to was Harper wasn’t growing and needs the supplementation. Period. So, I was given a free sample of some formula and orders to bring the baby back in on Friday for a weight check.

Once I got home, I went from sad to nearly inconsolable. I know to most people my reaction to this news seems silly/extreme/irrational, but I feel like I am failing my baby.

All you hear about is how good it is for your baby to be breastfed. Actually, doctor’s say it’s one of the best advantages you can give your child. There are dozens of ways that breastfeeding benefits your baby and of course I want to give my baby the best. Besides that, it is the only thing that I can do for my baby that no one else can. Tony and the kids can change, bathe, rock, play, soothe and cuddle all they want. Breast feeding was all mine. My time to bond with him one on one, my turn to give him my best, but now I feel like that’s been taken away. I mean, I’m still breastfeeding before each bottle, but it’s like rubbing salt into a wound each time I have to also feed him formula afterwards.

PS: My oldest child was bottle fed and she turned out perfect in every way, so if you are a bottle feeding mom, I’m not hatin’ on  you; I’m just disappointed and a little depressed that I don’t get the choice. 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Harper @ 1 Month

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I can’t believe how quickly time seems to go. I mean, where did that whole first month go? I am relishing every moment of this early baby stage because it just goes by too quickly and it just happens to be one of my very favorite stages.

At a month old, there aren’t any huge milestones to record developmentally, but this little guy’s personality is starting to come through somewhat.

  • He still loves to be held close, and snuggling up in our arms with his binky is one of his favorite places to be.
  • He’s nursing really well now, and we aren’t having any trouble keeping him awake to eat like we were the first couple weeks of his life.
  • He’s very happy in the mornings, around 8-9am, and when I talk quietly to him he smiles the most beautiful smiles…heart melting, wide open toothless grins; a great way to start our days.
  • He loves to hold onto our fingers and pull into a sitting position, and when he’s really got the energy, he’ll go all the way into a standing position.
  • He’s still wearing all newborn clothes, and he’s actually starting to fit into them now. He’s also still wearing newborn diapers, but once we run out of what we have on hand now, we’ll go ahead with the size 1’s. At least I think we will.
  • When he was first born, he didn’t really have much of a cry. It was hardly more than a whimper really. That has also changed, and he’s definitely found his voice. And it can be loud.

Later this afternoon I’ll be taking him to his 1 month doctor visit. I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed that he won’t have to get any shots today. I’ll be sure to update his stats sometime later today or tomorrow!

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Why do infant pants have pockets?

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My mom thought maybe they were there in order to hold his binky’s but I’m still just not sure.

We tried to stick his hands in his pockets, you know, to keep them warm. But his hands don’t even reach, plus every time we tried, he just balled up his fists and tried to pull up into a sitting position.

Silly baby.

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Super Duper Smarty Pants

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Yesterday, when Tony came home with his diploma from Strayer University, I used it as an excuse to get a picture of him (he’s by far the hardest person to get a photo of around here).

I didn’t care that he was holding Harper or standing in the middle of the kitchen or completely not ready…I just wanted to get a quick shot of him and the diploma. So, you can see him okay, but the diploma? Not so much. It’s that black thing propped up on the island. The very blurry black thing. The outside isn’t really all that important anyways. It’s really what’s inside that counts. The important part reads something like this:

By the virtue of authority of the Board of Trustees and the recommendation of the Faculty has conferred upon Mr. Smarty Pants the Degree of Bachelor of Science Internetworking Technology with all the rights, honors, and privileges thereto pertaining. In witness whereof, this degree is granted bearing the seal of Strayer University, Washington, D.C.

He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA.

When I looked up the definition of Summa Cum Laude it said: gigantic nerd.

Seriously. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

Really though,he’s a total smarty pants. I’m very proud of him and all the hard work and effort he put into earning his degree. I’m not sure, but I think he may even be planning to go after his Masters degree sometime in the near future. I’m sure he’ll do just as great with that…but, no matter what he does, I’m super proud to be his wife. Even if he is a big smarty pants.

PS. I’m not sure why, but my photography skills have gone down the tubes lately. Every photo I take is blurry and/or grainy looking. I suppose it’s time I figure out what my problem is because I am really tired of the way these pictures are looking!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Stop and Smile

Sometimes I have to work pretty darn hard to get pictures of the people in my house. Getting them to stop and smile can be a real chore, but yesterday I was determined to get at least one shot of each of the kids. I was even able to get the dog to sit for a second which is truly remarkable considering Tony was making dinner only a few feet away! 

Ginger: the dog who will do anything for a treat or a walk around the neighborhood.

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Zoe: the only person I don’t have to bribe for a photo. For this picture, I just pointed the camera up at her from downstairs and she stopped and threw on her smile. I love how her hair looks in this one.

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Landon: this was about my 400th attempt at getting a photo of him yesterday. He was very “busy” playing a computer game and he could barely tear his eyes away long enough for me to get this picture! Glad I was persistent though…I love this look.

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Harper: I suppose I didn’t have to do much to get this picture of Harper either; just put him down on his blanket and snap away. He’s a natural poser, don’t you think?

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New Year, New Instrument

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Last year was Landon’s first year playing an instrument in school. The choices they have are pretty limited so he ended up choosing the viola. He didn’t hate playing the viola, but he never really loved it either.

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This year, since he’s now a big 4th grader with a year of band under his belt, there were more instrument options that they kids could choose from and Landon decided on the trumpet. He is so excited about getting to try out the trumpet and pulls it out every day just to play with it a little bit. I’m hoping his enthusiasm will last a little longer with this instrument than it did with the last.

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I have to admit though, that even with all his practicing, it still just sounds like he’s making farting noises through a mouthpiece. (He’s only had one band class so far!) Hopefully his teacher will be able to get him past that point pretty quickly! :)

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...