Mama Fabulous

How Wyatt feels About Rice Cereal

2011-11-29T11:25:00.001-08:00

Over all, not a fan.

But we have time to try again.

I'm not expecting him to be as good of an eater as

Ro (see: not picky) but I wouldn't mind it if he was!

The end.

11.11.11

2011-11-29T10:14:00.001-08:00

We have a lot of fun on days Ro is in preschool.

He and Ro have a lot of fun on days Ro is home.

But I do enjoy my one on one time with Wy.

If you didn't laugh at this you have no soul.

He is getting close to sitting up on his own.

Soon enough.

The end.

Four Months/October

2011-11-29T09:55:00.001-08:00

So I put my baby in a laundry basket.

I love his fat wrists.

He isabout 3.5 months here.

Around this time he sampled babbling "dada."

And his sumo thighs.

On the 12th of October Wyatt got to swing for the first time!

He pretty much loved it.

What Wyatt loves most in the world is being nakey and wiggling all over,

then grabbing his feet and trying so hard to get them in his mouth.

Usually his belly is in the way.

Wyatt was a Wild Thing for Halloween.

Ro was Max, from Where The Wild Thing Are.

So adorable.

He loved his tail!

Wyatt also loved the tail.

Wyatt's best buddy Grant.

They are so stinking adorable!

Ro takes Trick-Or-Treating very seriously.

He is the perfect Max.

The neighborhood kids.

The Ninja is Ro's new best friend, Dawson.

He shares his guns with Ro.

So that is the way to Ro's heart.

Aunt Shanna and Uncle Clint came to see the boys in their costumes.

They also brought little treats.

This is literally the only picture I had from Trick-Or-Treating.

Sorry Ro, I promise you were not really drunk.

The four of us had a lot of fun at our church's "trunk or treat"

but we decided next year to go door to door.

While Trick-Or-Treating only like two people understood what the boys were.

Our society is illiterate :)

One old man said to Ro, "Are you the king bunny?"

Okay I know the costume isn't perfect.

But what is a king bunny?! And did you see his claws? :)

It was a little confusting.

Wyatt is really filling out the new born outfit.

On October 26th Wyatt started rolling from his back to his front.

He is in constant danger of rolling off the couch.

Ro is a good babysitter.

But not the best.

Turns out he is three.

Ro had lots of fun playing in the leaves with his Daddy.

Wyatt loves his lovies!

He is loads of fun still!

That is about it from October.

I hope you enjoyed!

The end.

Three Months

2011-11-29T08:39:00.001-08:00

My little baby turned three months old.

I went back to work.

Life was rough.

But his adorableness helped me get through it!

He is super sweet still.

His hair had not gotten too out of control yet!

What else happened in September?

On the 4th he started batting at his toys and we went to his first family reunion!

He spent some time in the nursery at church for the first time.

He started rolling from his tummy to his back.

Wyatt went to his first wedding!

He got to experience the (very dangerous/recalled) bumbo! (Some how we survived!)

He started doing "baby sit-ups/pilates".

On the 19th he started putting toys in his mouth.

On the 24th he got his first whole bottle.

We were scared it would be rough but it ended up going okay!

But he will only take the Dr.Brown Wide Nipple bottles.

For reals.

Don't think about putting one in his mouth from the set I had already bought!!

On the 25 I went back to work and Wyatt and Daddy spent the whole day together!

He also loves to just look at his hands.

It is so sweet!

He is pretty chunky.

I love it.

But I now know what my cousin meant when she said about Brody,

"I can't keep him in clothes!"

I buy something and he will basically outgrow it before he can wear it!

And I don't buy that much.

In September he was in 6 month clothes.

Except this gem.

His newborn outfit!

I mean I love it!

He loves chewing on his fingers.

He is a happy little guy.

So what else has gone down in our neck of the woods?

Ro came home from preschool with this gem.

I mean I could not stop laughing.

It is a car, from transportation week.

He painted it and did quite well.

Then they took his picture so he could be in "the driving seat."

He has road rage apparently.

We went to see Aunt Becca and Uncle Justin.

We had lots of fun walking around the MU campus.

Wyatt was the cutest Tiger there.

Ro was the most handsome boy on picture day.

I got to visit Awanas with Ro.

He had a rough start in Awanas but we got it all straightened out.

Wyatt got to use his Burpy Bib/tarp.

I loved it.

And lost it.

So me.

So that is September. I know I am posting this in November.

So me.

The end.

Thank you cool front

2011-09-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

I am obsessed with this boy's feet.

He is a sweet little guy.

But he saves his big gummy smiles for when the camera is off.

These boys are so great.

The end.

Two Month Wyatt!

2011-08-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

Wyatt is TWO MONTHS OLD.

Gah.

I can't think about how fast time is moving.

If you are bored or feel like time is dragging...

Have a baby.

It is insane.

The faster you want time to go...

have more babies.

It is insane.

Yes, I said that twice.

It is insane and bizarre.

I'm sorry.

Just look at this adorable baby.

He is so big.

How did he get so big over night?

Oh crocodile tear.

I love him.

He is a little angel.

A perfect little angel.

I'm sure he will do no wrong in his life.

Unless you think midriff shirts are wrong.

Or if beautiful baby blues are wrong.

I don't want him to grow at this rate.

I want him to be a baby for ever.

But then he won't run around crazy with his big brother.

Oh this is lose lose.

Or win win.

Depending on how much sleep I've had the night before.

Yell all you want, you perfect, darling, angel, baby boy.

You perfect, darling, angel, little wonder.

Gah.

How do you drool cute?

His head started getting heavy.

Too much adorable on his shoulders.

He started getting a little hungry.

So he just tried to eat his fist.

I love his thigh rolls.

I really do.

The make me feel comfortable eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Minis after dinner...

Every night.

WHOA. I don't know where this came from.

But he still is cute.

Even when he makes scary faces.

Oh. My. Goodness.

How could you not want like five of these?

He is a baby.

A perfect, darling, angel, little wonder baby.

I am sorry.

Just tell me you don't love him.

OH KAY.

I may have a genetic predisposition to think so highly of him.

But that doesn't make it less true that he is perfect!

Do you like his little toes? I do.

Weird,

I know.

The end.

Wyatt's Grey and Yellow Nursery

2011-08-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

So after Ro was such a wonderful surprise

We got Wyatt.

A baby we were a little more prepared for.

I was an experienced mom!

(See: a mom exposed to design blogs, i.e. OhDeeDoh)

But what I really mean,

I knew what I wanted my next nursery to be,

a relaxing room that doesn't scream,

"I'm a boy, I will play sports one day, that is all."

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I just know that my boys will love sports,

and I hope they love other things too.

Like reading, art, just playing for fun, etc..

And I wanted the nursery to be a little more of my style,

since the baby could care less.

But still be appropriate for a baby.

And we did not know Wy's gender before he was born and The Hunk announced it!

I might be feeling a little wordy today, I apologize.

I only have a toddler and baby to talk to during the day after all.

The mobile my mom and I made.

I got the bird pattern here.

And the idea for the mobile here (flip through the pictures to find it).

Okay, in my defense of the next few pictures.

I don't know how to photograph a room.

I tried to get back far.

I have a fixed focal lens so that may have been the problem.

I don't know.

I didn't go buy a wide angle lens just for the blog.

I am sorry.

Corner cabinet.

This cabinet is so beautiful.

Thank you to my wonderful mother in law!!!

LOVE IT.

Can you see the zip tie that fastens it to the wall?

Sorry!

But at least we did it.

We must love Wy more than Ro because Ro's dresser has never been securred.

But it is shorter.

Less top heavy.

Maybe I'll go do that now...

Some of the things on the corner cabinet.

The books are some of my favorites (that I don't want destroyed today).

The crib and the dresser.

Both treasures from stalking Craigslist.

The Hunk was pleasantly surprised about how nice a couple coats of paint can make a dresser look.

And how five trillion coats of paint can make a crib look.

THANK YOU MOM!

My mom totally saved the day when it came to painting the crib.

It was looking pathetic and she took it to her house.

Then when we got it back home it looked perfect!

She is handy.

Wy likes his room so much!

He just lays in there and soaks it all in.

I suspect he will continue to lay in there...

until I move him.

He is a muffin by the way.

(FYI these pictures were taken about three weeks ago.)

Here is Wy's book shelf.

I wish Ro had a book shelf.

I want my dad to make him this one from Knock Off Wood.

But he is a busy man.

And doesn't read blogs.

So he probably doesn't know.

Wy's book shelf was a gift from my Grandma Wanda.

She is so great.

A little gift from my friend Ashley L.

She is one of the greatest gift givers.

A few of the best toys and books for the best baby boy ever.

See the taggie blanket?

My friend Katie made it.

I love hand made things and hand made gifts.

So thoughtful.

I think the best hand made things are the ones God made.

I want to kiss all over his baby face.

So I do.

Even if he has a little puke on his sleeve.

I'm a mom.

A little spit up ain't nothing.

Plus having hyperemesis means puke is a normal thing of every day life.

I'm sorry.

Ro can tell when Wy is gonna puke.

And if he is sick at all he will say he is going to puke.

Nine out of ten times he is wrong.

But that one time...

Man it is sneaky.

Last one.

The whole bed.

My mom helped me make the bedding.

You can't really tell what it is but it is so perfect.

This fabric is the outside of the bumper and the skirt.

The inside of the bumper is white linen.

The ties are grey grosgrain ribbon that I hand sewed to the bumper.

And, oh boy, don't look close, it ain't pretty.

My little sister Becca helped me sew them on.

Her skills are about the same as mine.

So just don't look too close.

My mom made the quilt as a little surprise gift to me.

She is the greatest.

The skirt we made from a tutorial but I am not going to link it because

It didn't really work for us like we hoped.

I wish I would have used the pattern I used for Ro's skirt for his toddler bed.

But I couldn't find it and this tutorial seemed so easy.

The bumper was made from a pattern but we modified it last minute to work better

with a set of bumper pads from Jo-Ann's.

Would have been easer to start with the set of bumper pads first.

Like I mentioned earlier the crib was bought on Craigslist.

My dad modified it to be a safe, non-head chopping, stationary-side crib.

Thanks Dad, I really like Wy's head just the way it is!

There is a rocking chair in the room, just not pictured.

And I plan on making a few more changes.

Hanging a few more pictures.

But what can you do.

I have to have time to blog after all!

The end.

Preschool Begins

2011-08-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Preschool!

Ro starts preschool next week.

So meet-the-teacher was today!

That means he had to try on his art smock before we brought it to school!

I really love school supplies.

Almost enough to want to be a teacher.

But then I remembered that I now only work two days a week.

And I am still full time.

So then I just relish in Ro's school supplies.

And I buy some for our house too!

I mean twenty-five cent crayons! Why wouldn't you?

A new box of crayons is just the best.

Ro is a little bothered that we had to leave his scissors at school.

"They are not for the kids! They are mines!"

Scissors are a novelty for him.

He doesn't get to use them all the time.

I don't know why...

ask me later about when our couch met a pen.

So we went to his new school.

It was so cute to see him there.

He sorta acted like he had been there a million times.

He did not want to smile for the camera for longer than 0.0005 seconds.

There was one little adorable girl there that sat in her chair and

smiled for her mom to take a picture.

It took her mom like half an hour to take the picture just right.

And the precious little girl just held her smile perfectly.

WHAT?

That is a foreign language for me.

Ro in his chair.

The back of it said, "Rowen".

Ah-hem.

A couple other name signs said "Rowen"

So now they look more like "Rowan"

But other signs are perfect.

And Ro can't read.

So it doesn't matter really.

He was about 37 inches on the giraffe.

There is his cubby!

The reading spot!

We need a reading spot like this!

I think he is going to love school!

I think I am too!

The end.

Oh what a wonderful feeling! Just Playing in the Rain!

2011-08-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

I have a horrible memory.

I have no reason for this.

I just do.

My mom remembers more from her childhood than I do.

But one of my favorite memories that I do still possess

is playing in the rain.

I mean I loved it.

That warm summer rain.

I remember a lot of playing in the rain.

And I want Ro to have that privilege.

I just want him to have the privileged life that I had.

I didn't have a super sweet fire man get up.

So he really is privileged.

But I am privileged that he is so adorable.

Even if he defines ornery!

Okay the best part of playing in the rain.

The river that forms at the end of the drive way.

Where the side walk meets the street.

I don't care that it is a bunch of run off.

I don't care that it hasn't rained in a long time so there is probably

way too much pollution in this water.

It is a little river from heaven.

I remember letting the "river" run over my feet.

It was so great.

I didn't need no stinkin' rain boots.

Those were for them privileged kids.

Okay, I probably had them... but I don't really remember.

(See above.)

With a bit of encouragement I got him to

bend down and splash in the glorious river.

I think this is when he realized what was going on here.

This is when he realized how amazing playing in the rain would be.

On his own accord he kicked off those rain boots and let his hair down.

Don't you wish you were a kid?!

I am jealous that his little feet were having so much fun.

I didn't want to get mine dirty.

I'm too old.

I promise next time I'll have more fun.

Oh, licking rain off your own face.

Yum!

RUN!

Just run.

We haven't been outside in a while because of the furnace that was our climate.

Oh man.

I hope he remembers this.

And there goes the hat.

I wonder how much clothing he would remove if I didn't stop him.

DON'T LET THE RIVER TAKE IT AWAY.

Close call.

Try, try again.

I love playing with him outside.

I don't have to use every breath to tell him to be quiet.

And that is putting it lightly.

If he isn't the most perfect specimen of a three year old...

well I'd like to argue anyone who says other wise.

At least he is when he is outside...

For moments...

I love him.

I hope he knows this.

And one of our newest resident.

With his big toothless grin.

I really do live a privileged life.

I hope I remember every second of these boys' childhood.

The end.

What you should not eat.

2011-07-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

So today I had a great start,

an amazing friend brought me Starbucks.

Like any amazing friend would.

(LOVE you Ashley O!)

Then I had an adult conversation!

Then another amazing friend came over.

And she not only brought me lunch but became a support system that I didn't know I'd soon need.

(LOVE you Lauren B!)

Okay. I picked Ro up from his little school.

It was great.

I am so sad summer camp is over.

So I go home with him and we go to his room.

("my new living room" if you ask him)

He wanted to show Lauren his room.

So we are sitting in his room chatting and then Ro picks this up:

(really just one similar)

I know, I'm an awful abusive parent because it was on the floor.

But he picks it up,

I say something along the lines of

"Give that to me/ don't put it in your mouth like you look like you are doing!"

And he throws it in (hard)

and it lodges all the way in the back, he gags and swallows it on down.

I proceed to try to go in after it.

After his dry heaving for like ten years...

Lauren and I decide it is not gonna just re-appear.

So I call my doctor and make the executive decision to head to the urgent care.

I was convinced it would perforate his intestine and...

there was a sense of impending doom.

All good things would go away and evil would take over the world.

Well, after speaking to the urgent care doctor...

I found out that sharp objects pose no harm to the stomach or intestines.

It is important that foreign objects make it past the esophagus but after that...

"They" (medical community) say it will pass.

And the second best part?

They said they actually don't recommend trying to find it after it passes.

I don't have to dig through toddler poo!!

But the first best part?

My precious-baby-who-has-never-done-wrong is perfectly fine and healthy!

And he was very sleepy.

As am I.

It was stressful... but...

It could have been worse I guess.

The end.

Lovies

2011-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

These are Wyatt's little lovies.

(And stuffed animals.)

The Giraffe is a permanent resident in his bed.

As is the little blue bird, which his big brother got for him when Wyatt was born.

The end.

ONE MONTH. Oh no.

2011-07-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

My little teeny tiny baby is one month old!

HE ISN'T A NEONATE ANYMORE.

Oh my.

But he is super cute.

And I can still squeeeeeeze him into some new born stuff.

I may or may not have ripped one of his new born footed sleepers trying to shove him in.

So I'm sorry my pictures are not super amazing.

Well since Wyatt is in them they are pretty amazing.

But just not my A-game.

I've got more to worry about though.

Such as...

MY BABY IS ONE MONTH OLD.

Boo hoo.

And MY OTHER BABY IS GOING TO PRESCHOOL.

Okay.

I'm not going there right now.

Lets focus on one problem at a time.

What am I going to do for monthly pictures?

White onesie with some kind of paper announcing his month?

Or picture with one consistant object? (to see his size changing)

Above is him with one of his lovies.

I should take one of all his lovies.

Maybe later today.

How about just a bunch of adorable-filled pictures?

That would be easy schmeezy!

(I think his hair has grown!)

Who cares if they are not in focus... at all...

Or maybe I should do one month with each bird picture he has.

But the problem with that his I only have ten.

And who stops at ten months?

Not I.

But he is really cute.

So what does it matter?

We are having a fun time.

Wyatt mentioned earlier that he doesn't want me to go back to work.

He doesn't care how much I miss my co-workers.

Ro did say that he is fine with me returning to work.

But he thinks I just go drink coffee and eat pumpkin bread at Starbucks...

I'm pretty sure.

Not that I'd be against that.

Can I do one six hour shift at CMH and a two hour sitting-on-my-butt-drinking-coffee shift at Starbucks?

And call it a day?

Oh but get paid the same, of course.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with what we got goin' here.

So maybe I'll post again in a month or so.

The end.

This may get out of control.

2011-07-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Okay I have not been as crazy about taking pictures as one might think I'd be.

But when I get going...

Well lets just say I can't stop myself.

I mean, with boys this cute how could you!?

They are really relaxed.

Ro loves his little brother.

It is really adorable and surprising.

I don't mean I'm surprised that he can be loving.

I'm just surprised with how much he loves a little baby taking a lot of things away from him.

(I.E. attention, time with mom, freedom to scream all the time... etc.)

But he is super lovable, even for a little brother.

I have trouble stopping myself from constantly kissing all over his little face.

So does Ro.

So I get it.

It is so sweet.

Less sweet when it is a ploy to not take a nap/obey in general... but still a little sweet.

They both are the sweetest things ever.

Wyatt is THREE WEEKS OLD already.

UGH.

But the good news is,

BABY SMILES!!

Real, live, actual social smiles.

I love it.

I am glad they will pick up in frequency in the next few weeks because,

I LOVE THEM.

I live for them!

Lets see what else I love about this little baby.

I love his little hands.

I love his little expressions.

I love his hair.

I love his little nose.

I love his little toes.

I love his little lips.

and sometimes crossed-eye(s)

I love his little face.

I love his cry.

I love his baby skin.

I love his baby eye lashes.

(funny thing, Ro is learning the difference between eye lashes, eye brows, eye lids, etc.)

(It really amuses me)

I just am in love.

Over and over.

And so is Ro.

I love these boys.

The end.

Introducing Wyatt B. Elliott

2011-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

A lot of you probably didn't know a belly could get this big.

And some of you saw me last looking just this round.

I mean, it wasn't a comfortable feeling.

Totally worth it.

I mean it too,

the puking non-stop,

the zofran pump,

the dizziness,

the shortness-of-breath,

the insomnia,

the anxiety over, "WHEN WILL THIS END?"

and the general grumpiness...

Who flippin' cares.

Because...

We got an 8lb 9oz bundle of adorable joy .

Mr. Wyatt Brandon Elliott

Born at 2:23pm.

A long 21 inches.

Making our family grow by two feet.

It is so perfect.

He is so perfect.

It was all perfect.

The delivery couldn't have gone better.

As soon as the Doc cut the cord and threw him at me I asked for another,

"Well that was fun! Lets do it again, you got another in there?"

(yes that is a direct quote from my mouth at 2:24pm)

He said all that was left in there was the placenta.

Ro couldn't be a better big brother.

And there never has been a more adorable one.

Love has never been in a more adorable package as this little baby.

He reminds me so much of Ro when he was a baby.

A little less hair.

But I feel like I am reliving so many memories that I had with Ro.

It makes it that much more special.

A daddy in love.

The amount of love in this room was ridiculous considering the size of the room.

Ro brought me flowers.

I've never had a boy so obsessed with bringing me flowers.

I was flattered.

And such a handsome boy at that!

Wyatt B. loved his bath.

Well he pretty much slept through it.

He came back to me all clean and fresh.

And super sweet and adorable!

The next day Ro visited us again.

He is a little too comfortable with Wyatt.

But that is better than lots of other alternatives.

Ro tried to talk me into letting him pick Wyatt B. up and put him back in the bassinet.

For some reason I didn't let him.

The last day in the hospital Ro was out of control.

He is laughing in this pic if you were wondering.

Wyatt could care less about the Wild Thing, Ro.

I was a little over stimulated.

Our little family.

I'm already at peace with not getting everyone to smile.

Wyatt likes to eat.

He doesn't like a pacifier so far.

We are working on it.

But with a face like this...

I'll just give him whatever he wants.

So in summary,

I loved Ro as a baby and he couldn't be a more perfect and precious baby.

And Wyatt seems to be equally perfect and precious.

But being a mother for a second time is much more enjoyable for me.

I think it is because I know where Wyatt is headed.

He is going to grow into a little boy that I am head over heals for.

And I can enjoy this right now, in the moment better.

It is so wonderful!

I can't wait to do it again.

(When I'm ready to yak non-stop...give me a decade or so.)

I am so happy to have two amazing little boys.

Love love love love love.

You get the point, I'm sure!

So lets play,

"What made me cry today?"

Today I was listening to some lullabies.

Why not? Right?

And Ms. Frances England started singing to me.

The song was, You & Me.

Here are the lyrics that made me want to jerk the wheel:

How did you grow up so big overnight?

How did you get so smart and bright?

Yesterday you were asleep in my arms.

Today you're growing off the chart.

I'm so proud of you.

Okay, I'm going to go hold Wyatt and cry the ugly cry,

while I beg him to grow slowly.

And then I'm going to tell Ro to stop growing

or I will take away all his toys and swaddle him.

The end.

Cravings

2011-06-12T13:28:00.001-07:00

I'm so addicted!!

Sandbox

2011-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ro loves his sandbox.

And so do I!

There is a lot of hard-core-tongue-out digging.

The end.

A year ago

2011-04-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

A year ago I had this little baby.

He had way less teeth and way more hair.

Time is unfair.

Babies do not keep.

Man, I could kiss all over his little face.

But he is still pretty cute!

Even when he pretends to "not look at you" out of the corner of his eye.

He is actually being quite funny here.

I am saying, "Look at the camera and smile."
Or something of the sort.
And this is what I get.
He does this face for a little bit then cracks up laughing.

He loves when you look out of the corner of your eye back at him.

He also acts like his eyes are closed sometimes.

But then he will say something to the effect of,
"I can see your eye!"
or
"What can you see?"
Haha.
I love it.

So silly.

Okay, don't pay attention to his nakey bottom.
He doesn't like to put back on all those clothes after he goes potty.
Hey I'm just thrilled he will go potty all by himself.
He does know that he has to have that bottom covered at the dinner table.
We have at least established that.

He always looks way more worried than he has ever been in his entire life.

It is those Rowan eyes.

He doesn't have a worry in his head.
He doesn't hardly have a cloud in his sky.
He is my sweet, fun-loving boy.
I really love his sweet little face.

How about an update on his genius brain?
He knows his ABC's.
He can count up to ten (sometimes eleven) objects.
He loves puzzles, and is advancing on to harder ones.
He loves to paint, color, write on the chalk board.
He will draw a bunch of lines and look at me and say,
"A dinosaur!"
He knows a few shapes.
When he can't remember what shape you are asking him he will usually just guess,
"Octagon!"
He doesn't get his colors.
He can match colors but other than that he doesn't give a hoot about them.
He has a few books memorized and when he "reads" to me,
it is the absolute cutest thing ever.
Some of his favorite books are,
Llama Llama Misses Mama
Gossie
My Truck is Stuck
and a lot of others.
I am really enjoying story time lately.
I love that he follows the story and can predict the next thing to happen.
And he can tell me how the characters are feeling.
I really love it.

So how is that for an update, Erin?
I hope everyone enjoyed!
The end.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2011-03-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today was our city's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

I have only been a handful of times.

The weather was beyond amazing today so I was pretty stoked about going this year.

I was gonna make Ro some Leprechaun ears but didn't.

I love to make plans to do things and then not.

It is how I roll.

But the parade was fun, Ro enjoyed watching all the floats and bands.

He loves to wave at them and see them wave back.

And he danced when any music played.

He has some killer moves.

Fluffing his hair.

Ro recently got a hair cut.

So he is shaking it out!

There was a huge crowd.

It is insane how many people took off work to go to the parade.

Or are these all the unemployed people?

Or is everyone on spring break?

Any how.

It was a lot of people.

Landon came to the parade too.

He was super adorable.

And in an unplanned chain of events,

he and Ro had matching shirts.

They both said,

"Mom's Lucky Charm"

They are both so cute!

In these two pictures Ro is showing that he has

completely mastered the awkward smile that says,

"I'm a guy that can't smile for pictures."

Oh man.

Grade school pictures are gonna be a treat.

Ashley and Landon,

They both are super adorable!

Ro loves to give Landon kisses.

It cracks me up.

But like I've said,

everything he does (for the most part) cracks me up.

In a completely unrelated topic...

So... about my absence from the blog.

(and life in general)

I have been pretty ill.

(Hence the nasty, needs-to-be-highlighted hair.)

The thing about being sick...

it doesn't make for a social person.

I haven't hung out with my friends like I want to.

I haven't blogged.

I'm lucky that Rowan still calls me "Mommy" :)

When I am really sick I really hate talking on the phone.

I don't know why but talking on the phone when nauseated makes me wanna puke... more.

Don't ask questions.

And not a lot of people want to just sit at a sick-o's house.

It can be pretty boring, I imagine.

I'm not very entertaining when I don't feel good.

And I don't care to be entertaining- when I don't feel good.

I didn't really care to do a lot of things for a few weeks there.

I'm much better now so don't worry!

Just don't be offended by my lack of social graces.

But more on the topic of isolation-while-sick later.

This is the reason for all this madness:

That is not just a big belly.

That is a baby.

Gender TBA.

Ro is gonna be a rockstar big brother.

Ro ran circles around the strollers.

For real.

And loved every second of it.

I hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day!

Love ya!

The end.

Little Buddy

2011-02-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

We recently went to eat with a few friends.

Mr. Landon came (with his mom) and Ro was so happy to see him.

In fact I lured him with

"Do you want to go to lunch with Landon? Then come here and put your shoes on!"

Here are a few pictures of the two of them just for fun.

Landon is so happy!

We make them hold hands.

More for adorableness and less for safety.

Ro is so serious.

It really makes me laugh.

Landon is so adorably happy, and he can't hide it!

We had a lot of fun.

They really do love playing together!

The end.

Valentines Day

2011-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

We didn't really do much. But I did snag a couple pictures of Ro.

Like I said in the last post, he isn't used to the camera in his face all day.

So he is a willing participant in my 'photo shoots'.

Mostly.

I just think he is the cat's meow.

Really.

I love his big fake smile.

Why wouldn't ya?

I love his thinking face.

He seem so serious.

And if you know him then you see the irony in this.

But I could kiss all over that face.

And I just may do that on a regular basis.

His Nana and Grandma Patty spoil him rotten.

Grandma Patty had a cookie bouquet and balloons delivered!

I mean... gosh, The hunk has never had cookies delivered to me!

Ro is a lucky little boy.

His Nana made a surprise visit

(actually it was funny because we were literally walking out the door)

and she had some donuts for him and lots of hugs.

Who doesn't love valentines donuts and cookies?

He really loved the balloons.

He enjoyed swinging them around like so.

Below I included some pictures that I made B take.

He called to tell me the cookies were delivered.

I told him to take some pictures before digging in.

This is what I got:

He is so talented.

Isn't the basket adorable?

The end.

The Snow of 2011

2011-02-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I am still here.

Just barely.

But that is a whole different post.

But I'm here, none the less.

I would like to say that we have been busy.

But the opposite is actually a more accurate description of our lives recently.

We have been just as busy as one two-year-old little boy.

This is pretty busy on its own accord.

If you live in a warm and sunny place then you may not know that there was a blizzard.

It was earth-shattering in my town.

I mean people were going crazy.

I wonder if they are surprised that Jesus didn't return.

My work actually put like over 250 people up in a hotel.

So we could be at work for consecutive days.

Lucky us.

But I bet you are more curious about what this little guy has been up to.

He got to go out of the house today and play outside.

And that has been the highlight of January and, so far, February.

It has been so cold.

Like make-the-polar-bears-stay-in cold.

So that is pretty much how the winter has gone.

A whole lot of stayin' in.

Going outside was as if you told him all his hopes and dreams would come true.

I tried to stay in and play on the computer while he and his Daddy played outside.

But Ro wouldn't have it.

He wanted us both out there to enjoy this amazing weather.

He is pretty smart.

He knew what was good for me.

So I just watched him play.

And since I haven't had my camera out in his face all day,

he was a pretty good little model.

He is so cute and sweet... and smart and perfect.

Hmmm...

His favorite thing to do outside was to "mow" the mud/snow.

I think there will be plenty of mud for quite a while.

Makes me so happy Scout lives with my parents.

So happy!

Ro doesn't really like the mud on his hands.

He was a little perturbed, I told him to get over it.

And he did.

I don't think he was willing to go inside to clean it off.

He also doesn't love having cold hands.

In fact, he really hates it.

And this made him willing to go inside to warm them up.

He let us take off his muddy boots and muddy pants.

He went over to the sink, pulled up a chair, climbed up the chair and

had me turn on the warm water.

Then after a few minutes he announced,

"My hands are warm now, Mommy, lets go back outside."

Ummm.

No.

Then I tried to tell him that we were not going to go back outside.

The sun was setting.

Game over, son.

He wasn't having it.

So he went back out.

Only delaying the fit until The Hunk brought him in after a few more minutes.

It was as if you had destroyed his every hope and dream.

But he got over it with a little bit of alone time in his bedroom

(see: screaming until you can't breath)

and then maybe some fruit snacks.

Now he just got out of the shower and he is telling his daddy,

"Keep me cold!"

He means warm.

He has been getting a few words backwards lately.

At night time he says, "It is early!"

I think he gets that backwards because if he woke up at, say,

4am, I used to tell him it is too early.

Oops.

And the other day I was going 'potty'.

He knows I like privacy when I am in the bathroom.

It is the way I roll.

So he brings me an empty hand 'full' of pretend privacy.

I'm not sure what he thinks privacy is.

But he says to me,

"Here is privacy for your penis."

Hmmm.

No.

I, for some reason, tried to explain that only boys have a penis.

Like him and daddy.

But then he told me,

"Daddy's not a boy."

Oh boy.

Too many things to teach him.

All from one conversation.

I tried to explain a little bit more.

But I realized he still didn't get it when a few days later he asked me,

"Where is your penis?"

Oh boy.

I need privacy.

The end.

Some Ro

2010-10-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

So we got to play with Brody recently.

So fun.

He is so freakin' fun and cute.

But if you want to see him then head on over to my Photography Blog: ChristinaElliottPhoto.blogspot.com

Right now I'm gonna overload you with Ro.

When we first got there he was excited to play with Brody,

or so he said.

His facial expressions, or lack there of...

said other wise.

I think that in each new situation he is so busy taking it all in that

he can't stir up any emotion in his facial expressions.

He does this often.

Then he starts to warm up.

He had a blast running with Brody.

Playing in general.

I thought he was pretty cute.

I just love his little smile and dimples and orneriness.

Even when he is literally kicking and screaming while we leave the local children's book store.

Fun day!

He is getting extra good at letting me drag him when he wants to stay somewhere.

Fun fun fun.

He is also getting really good at hugs.

I mean it when I tell him he is the best hug giver I've ever met.

The end.

My hopes.

2010-10-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

I hope that you are wondering what Ro has been up to lately.

I hope that you are not giving up on me as a blogger.

I hope that you have seen my other blog, Christina Elliott Photography.

I hope that you miss me, just a little. :)

So what has Ro been up to?

Oh, just about everything!

You know, chasing ducks,

playing at every park in town,

relaxin', acting all cool...

hanging out, playing b-ball out side of school.

Okay...

I'm sorry.

But we have been busy.

Ro also got to play with his friend Brody recently.

Please head over to ChristinaElliottPhoto.blogspot.com to check it out!

The end.

Calvin

2010-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

There is a new Calvin in town.

Well, he is pretty new anyway.

And he is fah-lipping cute!

And so happy and sweet.

I'm in love.

But Calvin isn't of age to date.

And I'm married.

Either way.

This kid is way too adorable.

WAY.

I'm gonna post some more pictures at a later date.

But I thought I'd give you a sneak peek.

I'm sure his Mama won't mind!

I told his mom that if you didn't think you were cute then you might be Hitler.

I am gonna stand to that.

Because this baby boy is so huggable-smoochable-adorable!

Okay.

More at a future date, on my Christina Elliott Photo Blog.

Enjoy!

The end.

Babies you're gonna wanna see.

2010-09-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

So I have a photography blog.

It is something that is still very new.

I'm still unsure of it all.

But I'm still going to take pictures.

So I guess you can see them.

I just put up a couple cuties!

Go check them out at:

ChristinaElliottPhoto.blogspot.com

I hope you like what you see!

The end.

Burr Oaks

2010-09-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Our little family took a day trip to a local Nature Center.

It was pretty great.

Inside the center they had displays about nature and such.

And they had some live snakes, turtles, and a few frogs.

They also had an aquarium.

The Hunk and I learned a few things.

And there were turkeys snacking around outside.

Then Ro went to the window and asked to to a short hike.

We obliged.

It was a lot of fun.

There were a lot of butterflies hanging around.

So as you can see we had a great time.

Ro played with some sticks.

He was allowed to scream.

Although, he really didn't take advantage of this.

He was to busy running around everywhere.

Running trumps screaming, turns out.

So fun was had by all.

Ro only ran away one time, he got corporal punishment one time,

we explained that running away was not expectable and that if it happened again

the worst would happen.

We would carry him.

NOOOO.

There was no more running away.

And we truly had a blast!

The end.

Just another haircut.

2010-09-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Ro's mop was getting a little shaggy again.

I'm sorry, son.

I really love it though.

I think he just looks like he should.

It fits him on so many levels.

And he looks like my baby.

My Precious Moments Baby.

Then I go and take him to a barber shop.

A BARBER SHOP.

I know I took him there before and it was great and grand.

But the thing about barber shops.

They are ran by men.

Men who think boys should have short hair.

So the guy cuts it short.

Okay, okay...

I told him to do it.

But, like other men I know,

he didn't read my mind that was screaming,

"DON'T DO IT."

I said take a couple inches off.

So what does he do??!?!?!

He took a couple inches off!

WHAT?!?!

I obviously just wanted four or five hairs in front barely trimmed.

Duh!

Now look.

I have a college student living in Ro's room.

He sleeps in a toddler bed!

It is awkward.

Okay,

I'll just admit what you are all thinking...

he looks super adorable.

Well, yes, but...

I love his long hair.

But his long hair can't do this.

It will grow.

As it always does.

Then I'll be faced again with the dilemma.

Should I cut it?

And then I'll have it trimmed.

Then a week later Ro will be rubbing his eyes and saying,

"My eyes hurt."

Because his bangs are too long.

And a few weeks after that I'll get it really cut.

Then I'll climb in bed and cry for weeks.

Then it will have grown.

Oh gosh.

Give it up lady.

Done.

The end.

Ro's Second 2nd Birthday Party!

2010-09-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Way too many big pictures. Continue at your own risk.

TWO!

So after the whole "Fritz's Birthday Party"

we had a birthday party that next weekend for Ro.

We started the morning early by playing in his birthday present from his Nana.

My mom is not big on surprises or logistics of birthday presents.

So she just dropped this off and Ro just had it one day.

Haha.

It really was that simple.

And he loved it.

He still loves it.

Once I turned it off so he couldn't use it and he couldn't figure out how to get it back on so he went and found two AAA batteries and slipped them in the holes for the headlights.

That didn't work so he plugged the car in to the wall.

That didn't work so he started kicking and screaming.

The next obvious adult thing to do.

Who doesn't like to go for a brisk morning drive in your pajamas on your birthday?

I know I would if I were two.

I don't have a lot of pictures of the party as a whole.

We did it pretty low key.

No invitations.

Just some cup cakes, hot dogs, fruit veggies and what not.

Birthdays are important in our family, but the world doesn't stop.

And what does a two-year-old want more than a cupcake, a car and time to play outside with new toys?

Oh yeah, he also loved opening his presents.

He loved all of his gifts.

The Hunk and I got him a few little things,

a book or two,

a sit-and-spin,

and a couple bath/water toys,

and a little train that is already broken.

Oh and a magna-doodle!

I would start to tell you what he loved that he got from his friends but I know
I'll forget one thing and hurt the whole world's feelings.

But I promise you this, he really truly loved everything.

And plays with it all still to this day!

This basketball goal is from Grandma Wanda.

Every time Ro gets a peek of it from inside he hollers,

"BASS-EE-BAW!!"

It some how sounds a lot like his version of "popsicle".

The baseball T is a gift from my friend Becky from when Ro turned one.

Turns out it is an amazing gift.
He has loved it since time began.
And still obviously does.

He has been able to hit a ball (as small as a golf ball)

off it since he was about 18 months old.

I pretty much think he is a natural wonder.

He is cheating though in these pictures and using a basketball.

The Hunk's Aunt Sharon was so sweet and would put the ball back on the T every time Ro would hit it.

I need her around every afternoon from 2-5.

Please and thank you.

These are just a few random shots of some of our guests.

I am really so happy for everyone that came.

Ro got his jungle gym from his Grandma Patty and Grandpa Rick.

He obviously adores it!

And it folds up for convenience.

It is such a great gift!

This is Ro and his Grandma Patty.
She was the only grandparent that I tied down long enough to get a little photo shoot in.
Or was she the only one that could get Ro to hold still long enough to take a few pictures?
Either way.
I love these pictures!
In the bottom two Ro is doing his sign for "I'm sorry."
I have no idea why.
But still super cute!
I'm sure he needed to apologize for something.
He was pretty ornery that day.
It was a rough day to try to learn to share.
But he is learning.
I think.

Well it was a pretty great day.
I got some pictures of him in the bath with his new bath toys.
I'll try to get them up later.

The end.

Ro's 2nd Birthday Dinner

2010-09-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well I wanted to do something fun for Ro on his actual birthday.

Since we were having all our family over on the weekend after his birthday

we decided to go down to Crown Center.

(One of Kansas City's many awesome atractions!)

Crown Center is home to Fritz's Diner.

I mean it is really perfect for a two year old who loves trains.

SO perfect.

A train delivers your food.

Does it get more perfect?

But he wouldn't really keep his complimentary train conductor hat on.

So here is our little family.

Our friends Nate and Lauren were headed out of town on Ro's birthday,

when we were headed down to Crown Center Lauren called to drop off Ro's present.

So we had them meet us at Fritz's.

And we then got a photographer for our family portrait.

Nate is a renowned photographer.

Ro was initially stunned by the train in front of the diner.

He quickly warmed up and was soon doing back flips off the top.

I wanted to buy the whole train for him.

But it wouldn't fit in our trunk.

So we went in and had dinner instead.

It was delicious and healthy.

And by healthy I mean I had french fries and a greasy cheeseburger with a Coke.

Yum.

Ro ate quite a bit of his too.

Then he and the hunk perfected the pouty face together.

I'm not sure who taught whom.

But it is like a dagger to my heart and a bullet through my "No" bone.

A french fry and the pouty lip!

Two of my favorite things!

More pouty lip.

I feel like this is him saying, "I'm over stimulated."

Like a premie doing disorganized/frantic activity.

Or something.

But we weren't able to decrease light or noise.

So he adapted:

He really had his cute pants on this evening.

Our photographers had to leave.

So we just did pairs, no more family pics.

In Crown Center they had the Clifford exhibit up.

It was quite the fun thing for Ro to run through and explore.

All in all we had a great time.

I'm pretty sure there was some kicking/screaming when we had to leave.

But it was a great two-year-old birthday.

And he learned a new word this day, "Presents!"

Any time he spots a gift, even miles away, he exclaims, "Presents!!"

And wants to immediately open said present.

Christmas should be interesting.

I'll hopefully post his birthday party post soon.

No promises.

The end.

Mexico Vacay

2010-09-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Hunk and I took a little get away.

We did not take Ro.

We for sure want to take him somewhere next time.

As long as it is a fairly short flight.

So The Hunk and I went to Cozumel.

We loved all of it.

It rained a lot.

Not all day every day.

I like it.

It was just enough to cool you down.

Then the sun would come back out.

And it was only Thunderstorm-ish on the very last day as we were leaving.

So that was also okay.

The first day it was pouring when we walked to dinner.

The ocean was so beautiful.

We ate a lot of our meals facing the ocean.
Why wouldn't you.

Me slouching by one of the pools in our resort.

Maybe I'll post more pictures at a later time.
Maybe not.
The end.

Just a pic of Ro

2010-09-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Ro is getting so big.

I realize I still haven't done his birthday posts.

Along with about a billion others.

I'm gonna get on that.

Ish.

Ro is 26.5 months old.

So really really old.

What has happened since he turned two?

Well he mastered potty training in a couple weeks at 25 months.

I'm not trying to brag on my brilliant child or anything...

Okay,

I honestly have no idea how we did it.

I mean God must have been in a blessing mood when he looked down on us.

Because it was crazy fast without any breakdowns.

Okay that is a lie.

There is a break down every night when Ro doesn't want to go to bed so he ~~says~~ cries, "Potty!"

And he actually doesn't need to go,

at least not with the urgency that he is communicating.

But other than that,

he warmed up to the idea without much coercion.

Just a few mini m&m's.

And by a few I mean gobs and gobs.

Maybe I ate one of those gobs.

Maybe.

And the poops haven't been an issue.

I'll not go into details.

Oh, another issue we have had,

When Ro potties in the little potty chair he gets really excited.

Like most people.

And he wants everyone to know how great he is at using the potty appropriately.

So if you don't happen to be in the bathroom with him

he RUNS down the hall and finds you.

As he carries the urine in the little potty bowl,

sloshing all 'round.

So great.

He would find a way to make such a wonderful thing like being potty trained early into

such a mess.

He is my little fire cracker.

"Ka- BOOOOOM!"

Every day is such a crazy blast with this ornery little guy.

I'll keep you all in the loop when I can.

Lots of love.

The end.

A give away that speaks so my soul.

2010-08-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

One of my top loved blogs, Grosgrain, is having a give away.

I want what she is giving.

Go check it out here:

Grosgrain Give Away

I mean I will probably ask for one for Christmas now.

I want to make something like this:

and for sure something like this:

So go see on her blog how I'd make these things.

And Dear Husband,

Go to this website and maybe buy me one today.

Gosh, thanks.

http://www.qksilhouette.com/silhouette.aspx

PROMO CODE: GGF

Thats it.

My Summer Salad

2010-08-13T20:32:00.001-07:00

Why wouldn't you?

cwoffee tawk

2010-08-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

The thing is. I really enjoy coffee.

Really.

I have way too many pictures of coffee.

So don't be surprised to see more another day.

Fourth of July... Well a few days before anyhow.

2010-08-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Okay.

I'd love to do some post processing on these pictures.

But there is no time for that.

I just want to share them with you.

This evening really was heavenly to me.

I mean I honestly wanted to bottle how the night felt.

I was with my little family.

We were all laying on each other watching fire works.

And a guy was eating fire.

Perfection.

Oh and snacks were involved.

Even if they were very healthy they were enjoyed.

I can't wait to do it next year.

And many more.

The end

New Capet

2010-08-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

How about one more house post?

Well my parents got all generous with their time again.

Not really sure why.

But I like it.

B and I were having carpet installed in a majority of our house.

And my dad thought it was uber stupid to have new carpet around old linoleum.

And my mom knew what I wanted to tile our entry way with.

So she had him slap some down.

I was at work.

I did help tile the floor a little.

Tell my dad to stop laughing at me.

I did my best.

Anyone hiring a tile setter?

Just email me to see when I'm available.

No big deal.

This is what greeted me when I walked in the door from work.

I also had to work the next day.

It was a late night.

But way worth it.

This is both the new carpet and finished tile job.

The center tiles are ceramic tiles that look like wood grain.

I really love it.

My parents have it in their closet under their washer and dryer.

Why wouldn't you?

I prefer it in my entry.

My dad was a little short on this tile so he decided to edge it with marble.

I mean...

I freakin' love it.

I so so so so love it.

Now we just need to paint the hall and wood work in the hall.

I am really really not looking forward to that.

Don't know why.

My mom had to finish painting the wood work in my living room.

Remember me saying I don't do well at finishing projects?

She is not a fan of this particular quality of mine.

What this post doesn't portray is the feel the new carpet gives my house.

A clean and comfortable feel.

I now realize how bad our carpet was before.

My feet have never been happier.

I am so happy that Scout lives with my mom.

No dogs on this carpet!

The end.

The Paint-the-House Post

2010-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

Our Home.

I really do love it.

It is chalk full of projects.

I love doing starting projects.

I am totally ADD,

I love all things DIY.

But I have a problem.

I don't like to stick with these DIY things

and I want to start a new project

when I get to boring parts of the already started projects.

Our lovely home.

It so much needed to be painted.

I have wanted to paint it since the moment I laid eyes on it with my realtor.

Even before I decided to purchase it.

Also, please note our classy screen door.

The week before we painted Ro broke the bottom glass panel.

Sweet.

Here is further evidence.

It was bad.

This is the north side of our house.

That little pad of rock/dirt/weeds, it is still just that.

Also note the vines on the fire place.

I love how the vines look.

But not what they do to one's property.

Not good.

Also please note my mom.

She is who keeps me on track when my ADD is out of control.

We worked so hard on scraping and sanding.

We also used this "paint eater".

We are still on the fence about it.

We seriously scraped/sanded/picked at the paint for a months worth of minutes.

(All added up.)

This is after scraping/sanding/etc.

Then we started priming.

We only really had to prime the bare/red spots.

The thing about our house.

It is made of the type of wood that doesn't rot easy.

This is a great thing seeing as it had not been painted this century.

But it was annoying because it is the same wood that you can only paint with oil.

Just a little annoying.

But after priming bare spots with the oil primer we then could use latex paint.

Less annoying.

This was after priming.

This is what it looked like for years.

Or about a week or two.

But it felt like years.

I did a little nagging.

Then my parents got annoyed.

(The are the "get-it-done" type of folk.)

So they came over at 8am one day.

And left by noon.

It was done.

Three hours.

Wow.

I white washed the brick in the front.

I need to do the fire place.

Maybe next year.

We also want to get new gutters.

When we do that we will paint the soffits.

I really like the white wash though.

I want to plant hostas in front of it.

And how great would tulips look there?

So great.

But it may be too wet.

We also got new screen doors in the front and back.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

And The Hunk.

Both of us love love love them.

I mean they really make the difference.

I planted a few flowers in the front and in the back.

Kept it under $40 I think.

The front flower bed could use a little more water.

The eve above it hinders this.

And my laziness.

Oops.

My excuse: we don't have a hose in front so I have to drag it around.

Woo Boo.

We are very happy with the results.

We still haven't decide what to do with the white "fence".

Well I have a plan.

I want to take all the plants and disperse of them.

The little grass bushes, in front of the brick flower bed with the future hostas.

The peonies on the other side of the white "fence",

I will give them to the highest bidder.

Likely my mom.

The rose bush that a rude vine nearly destroyed this year,

stay right there.

Everything else (i.e. weeds) doom and destruction.

Ro runs wild in the front yard.

Who really needs pants?

He has learned to take them off.

He is always "that guy".

So what do you think?

Of the house.

Not the pant-less baby running wild.

The end.

You don't call. You don't write!

2010-07-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

I've been gone a long time.

You know why?

Because technology at my house sucks.

That pretty much sums it up.

It will be better one day.

I don't feel like going into debt to be able to blog better.

So bear with me.

As you have for about two years.

So Ro is still a blanket-type-of-guy.

He likes to put a little piece of it in his nose.

Don't ask questions.

He is who he is.

He is talking so much now. It really is amazing.
Whole conversations.
He repeats a lot of things.
Any thing that comes out of his dad's mouth for sure.
We are having lots of fun.
When we get things sorted out with out internet I will give you a great update on the house.

Love you long time!

The end.

Two Year Old

2010-06-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

To Ro, My Two-Year-Old,

You are a wild ornery little boy. When I ask you if you are "my firecracker," you respond with, "KA- BOOM!" And that almost sums it all up. You are my firecracker. And you are my blanket-loving baby boy. All in one. You love to say, "MINE!" "NOOOOO!" and "STOP!" So you really do keep things lively around here. You also give the best "tight hug" and the sweetest kisses. When I am going to stay home and you get to "go bye-bye" with your Daddy you tell me, "Love you, bye-bye Mama!" Even without me saying it first. I love your love!

You have mastered every gross motor skill I can think of, you have been jumping off the ground with both feet for quite some time and for even longer you have been doing a great somersault. You can climb, hop, spin, run, skip, jump, and fall without blinking an eye. You love to play outside and run until I get exhausted just watching you! If I could bottle your energy I'd be a very rich person. One of your favorite things to do is run away from your parents. Which also happens to my one of my least favorite things. I'm sure we will find a happy medium some where. You also love to go to the park. Before you were two you took a big fall off a tall jungle gym one day. You were fine but I think you've been a little more careful since then. But you love to run all over the jungle gyms and spend just a little time in the swing, but you really love when I push you really high or if I run under you in the swing. You just laugh and laugh and laugh. I love your laugh.

You already have a mean golf swing, you can hit a ball off a T (something your Nana says took me until I was about six!) and you make great contact, showing off your superior hand eye coordination. You can also throw a ball that, to me, looks like a mean fast ball. But your preferred method of throwing a ball (or anything really) is over your head and behind yourself. You really love doing that. You also love to play "bass-ey-baw" (you say this similar to how you say "popsicle") and scream when you have to go inside or if you see our neighbor playing basketball and you can't go join him (which you never have by the way). But above all the sports, your Daddy has you pegged for the PGA tour.

Your Daddy and I love you so much. You have brought such joy to our lives. I love to read you stories at bedtime, and snuggle with you. You are becoming a bit more snuggly and I just love it. You are such a sweet little boy. I hope you stay that way. I hope you never lose your caring heart, your knack for the adventurous, your silly sense of humor and your love of laughing and making people laugh.

Thank you for being the best first baby.
I love you all the way to the moon and back.

Love,
Your Mama

The Hunk gets Dunked

2010-06-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well Brandon was baptized a while back.

(Hey posting late is my thing, back off.)

I was so happy for him.

He has grown so much as a Christian man.

I am so proud to be his wife.

He really is a freakin' Hunk.

So they started out with a video interview of The Hunk(not pictured).

I have no clue what it said.

Since I am innately a visual or kinesthetic person I completely shut off all audio

when I am extremely anything (happy, excited, upset... etc.).

So I really have no idea what he said on the video.

But I am sure it was profound.

Then Pastor Jernigan said the Baptism stuff.

"I baptize you my brother,

Buried in the likeness of his death..."

Raised in the likeness of his resurection."

And a few other nice things were said.

Again, audio was malfunctioning in my brain.

The Hunk's Grandma Dora came along with The Hunks parents.

My family was also there.

Here is a group shot of everyone.

We were all so proud.

But my Grandma missed out on this picture.

The picture was taken in the childrens wing at my church.

It is pretty insane.

Ro loves it.

I love going to a church where I am fed the gospel

and where I know my child loves to go.

So in summary.

The Hunk was Dunked.

And I am so happy for him.

And I am so proud of him.

He is so freakin' Hunky.

The end.

Ro's four wheeler.

2010-06-04T11:15:00.001-07:00

You know that four wheelers are dangerous?

They are.

But not this one!!

Thanks Grandma Patty!

He obviously loves it.

He even jumped on it all by himself.

And still does.

Great Easter gift!

The end.

Well Whadayaknow?

2010-06-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

Life is too busy to keep up with a blog.

I'm sorry, it is true.

But that doesn't mean I ain't gonna try.

Ro is taking a nap right now and due to wake up at any moment.

He is sick.

You want to know why he is sick?

Because just the other day I was thinkin',

"Ro hasn't been sick in quite a while."

And, Bam.

I guess I got a little too cocky.

Let my guard down.

But it ain't no thang.

I just don't worry like I did when he was smaller.

I mean he is big and has kicked quite a few virus' butts.

He is really tough.

So I love all of you guys.

When life gives me a rainy day with nothing to do.

I will sit here and fight my slooooow computer to give you guys something fun to read.

Until then.

The end.

Thankful on Thursday... because that is all I do anymore.

2010-05-13T08:06:00.001-07:00

Lets start with a pretty picture.

The house plant is doing better and better every day.

That tulip is the one beauty that came from my garden this year.

I cut it immediately because my yard is like the ghetto of flowers.

I didn't think this guy stood a chance.

It made more sense to be inside my home.

So much to be thankful for!

So I don't have time for any sort of post-processing.

I am too busy with loads of nothing.

Really important business.

So I am uploading all pictures directly from my camera.

Sorry to disappoint, you know how I love collages!

I am ultra thankful for helpful family and friends at the "paint party" this weekend.

Even though we didn't actually paint.

We sanded, scraped, caulked, primed... and even bondo'd.

No painting though.

In good time my friend.

My poor little house went from this (above) in all its glory, to one step towards livable!

We did a shi-ton of prep work.

That is my dad on the ladder.

My parents are my driving-force.

We sanded until we were covered in specks of paint and numb from the elbow down.

The Hunk especially loved sanding and scraping.

Lets be honest with ourselves.

The house will never look perfect.

But the thing about The Hunk,

well he was committed to perfection.

When he makes a commitment...

Lets just say we had to pry the scraper and sander from his bleeding fingers.

I should of taken a picture of those who helped.

We will just say that it is all the good people in the world.

Duh.

Thank you to every single one of you loving friends!

We will let you know when your next shift starts.

I do have this one of my friend Katie's husband.

You can meet them all on her lovely blog, I thought I loved you then.

They were more than helpful.

Katie took this pic for me.

And a few of her beautiful baby girl.

Go check her little family out!

So here is The Hunk in midst of priming.

Looks like fun, no?

It was getting super dark.

Katie actually took this picture as I was laying Ro down for "night night".

So it was late.

My neigbors let us borrow their spot light.

And my other (sorta sketchy) neighbors let us borrow their scraper.

Turns out sorta-sketchy neighbors are not too sketchy.

Except for that pit-bull that runs free every once in a while.

Here is another before.

Lovely red paint that was under the white.

Can't you just imagine how great my house looked when bright red?

Oh yeah.

Here is the now.

The prep and prime is officially over.

I think.

And the final color is darker than this.

And not so blue.

I don't think the primer really looks this blue.

More green.

We will see.

So back to thankful things.

I am very thankful for those helpful friends and family members.

And for The Hunk.

Everyone worked so hard.

Moving on...

I am thankful for swim lessons.

Sorry this picture has some closed eyes, I didn't really

spend a lot of time picking a good one out..

I will maybe another day.

Please note Ro's blue skin/lips.

He is such a trooper.

I am happy I did the swim lessons

I learned a few key points.

I wish the water was a little warmer.

I can't wait to go to the pool lots this summer.

I am thankful for such a fun little boy.

He is getting so big.

I keep telling him to slow it down a bit and

let Mama catch her breath.

Why do I speak in third person with Ro?

I can't figure that one out.

I am thankful for our little family outing on the boat.

I got lots of pictures that I love.

I hope to get a chance to share them one day!

The end.

Thankful on Thursday!

2010-04-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

Skipping a week just left you all hungry for some Mama F, no?

Well I have lots to be thankful for.

First, when dieting I have actually lost a couple "libbys".

This is not usually the case.

(Did you watch Glee this week?)

I wasn't drinking syrup and cayenne.

Tempted but no.

Second,

Still thankful for a house that will soon be painted.

Watch out people.

Survey...

Should I loose that white "fence" type thing

or make it a little beautiful garden focus?

I hated it at first but it has grown on me and the hunk.

I am thankful for a curious little boy that always

makes me feel like he is boy genius when he

learns something new.

I am thankful for swim lessons.

And for a little skinny boy whose lips turn almost blue due to

cold water but he still wants to "kick kick kick"

through the shivers.

Sounds fun right?

I am thankful for good friends that stick by you.

Through it all.

Even if it is through a loooong phone call from across the country,

or a last minute dinner out with your husbands- sans babies,

or through a random Starbucks delivery when desperately needed.

Thank you, friends.

It is hard to keep y'all around when that baby keeps me so busy.

Thanks for understanding.

I am thankful for another shot of cool weather before the summer.

I mean, for a second I thought we were skipping actual spring.

I am thankful most of all for my wittle family.

The Hunk and Ro make it all so fun.

The end.

Thankful on Thursday... er Saturday

2010-04-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

I don't post well when I work.

And on top of paid work, I worked outside, a lot.

You'll hopefully see soon.

If I ever post it.

So my Thursday post is a bit late, obviously.

But I'm gonna make it a nice and long one.

So. Things I am thankful for this week.
The ah-may-zing weather.

I don't think heaven will be much different

than the spring time weather we've had this week.

Second.

My home.

I am struggling with this because I have been working too hard on it.

And nooooot fun work.

Scraping paint.

Ew.

But that is not very thankful.

So I am thankful for my home that I have.

I do love it.

Ecspecially when I look through the things that need to be done and see

our home.

I am thankful for my husband.
I am thankful that he is usually my exact opposite.

For example, I've been on him like white-on-rice to get the house work done.

And I've been working on it, too much really (in my opinion).

He gets out there with me and one day I'm all,

"I hate this, I am done."
And my ADD is hitting me hard core.

I'm jumping from one spot to the next.

And he is patiently keeping me focused.
Odd.

But it was perfect.

Made me very very thankful for him.

And I am thankful for my work schedule.

It has been great this month.

I love .8!

I am thankful for having a job I love.

It is a rarity in this time.

And of course,

I am thankful for Ro.

Duh.

And his smile that makes me laugh when I am getting fed up with

"toddlers problems".

The end.

My second award!

2010-04-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

I got a blog award!

http://bridgetownbabymomma.blogspot.com/ stopped by and liked what she saw!

Thank you Bridgetown Baby Momma!

The Rules of this award are...

1. Put the logo on your blog within your post.

2. Pass the award on to up to 12 bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

The blogs I would like to give the award to are:

ithoughtilovedyouthen

Knock Off Wood

The Lewis Family

Schultz Party of Four

0812Lane

The Palmers

Natalie's Sentiments

I love all the blogs I follow, but Ro wants to go for a walk. So maybe I'll add more later!

The end

My first award!

2010-04-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

For all you people that aren't "bloggies" like me and my blog friends, an award is a big deal.

Especially your first.

It is like being picked first (or at least not last) in dodge ball.

I think.

Anyhow!

I got nominated today by a beautiful blogger, Katie. Wheeeeeee!

This may of had something to do with the recent post about me copying off her Thankful Thursdays.... But I don't care!

So the deal is, I am going to pass it on, if you get one you too should pass it on.

I pass it on to Sunnymama @ www.sunnymama.net

I am passing it on to her because she has a lovely blog

and she has me enthralled with her adoption story!

I can't wait to see a post saying that she is finally home with her daughter!

Not to mention her kids are adorable!

Lennox is one lovely lucky baby girl!

The end!

Thankful Thursdays

2010-04-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

If Katie does it, I should too!

That is how Mama Fabulous works, after all.

Katie is one freakin' Fabulous Mama.

Like I've said,

I draw my every day inspiration from all of you Mama Fabulous's.

So, that all being said,

Katie does this Thankful Thursday thing.

I love reading her Thursday posts because they are so happy...

and well...

Thankful.

So I am doing what I do best,

and copying.

Every Fabulous Mama does it.

You should to.

So, I am thankful for so much.

I will try to keep it short.

I am so thankful for this little guy, above.

And for the Hunk that helped create him.

I am thankful for my home.

I am thankful (most of the time) that it is pretty small, so I have less mess.

(If you know me this is a duh!)

I am thankful for DTLS.

And the walks I get to take there with good friends.

(Like Katie)

I am thankful for Spring weather

being the relief needed after a long winter.

I am thankful for God's Grace.

I am thankful for friends and family.

I have the best.

You really can't beat them!

I could go on and on.

But I'll save some for next week!

Katie, don't let me forget!!

The end.

Easter Morning

2010-04-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I'd start with Easter morning.

I could say it is for your sake,

not to overwhelm you with millions of pictures.

But in all honesty,

my computer is mega-slow dumb

and I don't have time to do it all right now.

I'm gonna need a new computer, STAT.

So.

Easter morning.

We got up super early.

Unheard of in our house.

Ro usually sleeps in to almost 9am.

He had to get up before 8am on this day because we didn't want to go to the busy service on Easter. We had a plan for the day.

Sleepy buddy.

Unfortunately for Ro, he didn't really get a nap the day before.

And he went to bed a little late.

Then he had to get up early for a big day.

Bad planning on my part.

If you know me, I sometimes suck at planning.

So Ro had a little trouble parting with his "Bink" (Blanket)

I know that 'bink' is usually the word for pacifier in some houses.

But Ro prefers one syllable to two.

He says "Bink".

I say "blanket".

To each their own.

Oh, he sometimes also says "night night" when

he wants his blanket and has no intentions

of actually going night night.

Me and the little Punk before church.

The Hunk was not in the photographic mood.

Do you like my new dress?

I wore it to a wedding the night before.

Multi-use!

And I didn't wash my hair,

I could have pulled an all-nighter!

But I prefer to sleep and recreate the look the next morning.

Lets talk about Easter.

We celebrate Easter to remember the grace and love God showed us

when he sent his Son to take on our sins.

Pastor Phil,

Great service Easter morning!

(I some times call you Dr.Phil, I apologize.)

That all being said,

We show our gratitude to God by buying an Easter Basket.

I mean, duh!

Ro got two Easter baskets,

one from us (the frog)

and one from his Grandma Patty.

Her's had a truck in it that he loved!

Our frog had ate a sock monkey and some bugs and a finger puppet.

We had to surgically remove them

(unzipping his mouth and taking them out)

Ro carries a bright green beetle everywhere.

I don't know why he wouldn't.

So that was most of our Easter morning.

There was one melt down that I have photographic evidence of.

Maybe another time.

I hope everyone else had fun celebrating God's grace.

The end.

Gasp!

2010-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently realized something about myself.

I hear your kids have this effect on you.

I gasp.

I guess I do it a lot.

Now, Ro gasps.

A lot.

Odd?

If I am taking his picture and he won't look,

I gasp.

I don't know if this would count as a lie.

But I do.

I gasp.

I then say something dumb like, "look at Mommy!"

or, "What is that?!" (if he is holding something, or even if I am)

So if he looks confused in pictures that may be why.

I don't do it all the time for pictures.

Just every once in a while.

But I do it all the time when reading.

I mean, all the time.

I've just realized this when I started reading this book this week.

A Red Train

This is one of Ro's top faves.

Well each page is a different color.

So for some unknown reason,

I read it like this:

"A red train, 'gasp'!! Your cup is red!"

"A green bus, 'gasp'!! Do you see the alligator!? What does the Alligator say?"

(There is an alligator in the bus.)

(He* snaps at your hands, by the way, then he sometimes tickles you.)

(*usually Mama's hand)

This is what made me realize my habit of gasps.

I started reading the book (upon Ro's request)

and he gasps and grabs my shirt.

I just brushed it off as an oddity.

Then the next page he gasps and points at his shirt.

I got it.

He is acting like he is pointing out colors.

I love it.

Then all his recent gasping all made sense.

I gasp!

Ever sense this incident I've been more aware of my gasps.

And his.

His are so adorable though!

I love it.

I mean, what do I not love that this kid does?

Gasp!

He gasps when he finds something.

He gasps when you give him berries.

He gasps when he thinks he spots a bug.

He gasps all the time.

Each time gives me a smile.

Now the word gasps seems very odd/overused.

but sharp inhaling would of been awkward to be used as much as needed in this post.

The end.

HFM Dz.

2010-04-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well. Confessional.

Ro had Hand Foot Mouth.

It was gross.

I felt like I had the dirty kid.

It involved a few blisters on the bottom of his feet.

I'm truly embarrassed.

Please ensure me I shouldn't be.

Sometimes I need a little reassurance that random viruses and mud puddles don't make me an awful mom.

Don't call DFS.

HFM was part of those random viruses a month or so ago.

I am just now ready to do the confessional.

The end.

Grandpa Rob's Birthday

2010-04-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

So my Mom is a wonderful wifey to my dad.

She planned a large gathering to celebrate his birth,

and she invited us!

So I can't say no to an invite that involves family.

We went.

We celebrated.

We missed a nap.

We had fun anyway.

B was late due to work.

So there is no photographic evidence of his presence.

You guys (all two of you, hi, Mom!) already got the pleasure

of meeting My Cousin Lauren's son Brody.

So here is a quicky of everyone else.

Who doesn't like a quicky post?

I know I do.

We will start on the top left and go from left to right, please don't get lost.

First, My Grandma Wanda,

You met her already here.

Next, my Uncle Jay with the Brodster.

Then, My Seester Shanna and her hubby Clint.

Second row, My Mom, aka Nana, the hostess with the mostess.

Middle picture: my cousin, Justin, Leo's dad, you'll meet him soon just hold your horses.

Next, you should know.

Bottom row: Leo! See below.

Me. Makesmeuncomfortable.

Last, Nana and Ro.

Meet Leo!

My cousin Justin's first son.

Leo has a new little sister,

You will meet her soon if I can blog a little faster!

Leo is great.

Big hit at the party!

He was in luuuv with My Cousin Lauren.

He is a true cutie.

Okay, lets do it again.

First row:

My Grandma Wanda and my Aunt Jackie, Brody's Grandma.

Then Macy, Nana's neurotic dog. Scout lives with Macy now.

Next, Again, my Grandma Wanda and her daughter, my Aunt Jackie.

Second Row, my Seester Shanna holding Maci.

Middle picture: My Cousin Lauren, holding Brody with Leo staring lovingly at her and her husband as a bystander, wondering if he should worry?

Next, Shanna, Clint, My little Seester Becca and my Aunt Jackie.

Bottom row:

My cousin Crystal, Aunt Diana, Aunt Marleene and My Cousin Lauren.

Then a lot more people...

And last, Ro, hiding in the cabinets.

Makes sense.

Okay,

Overwhelmed?

Me too.

I hope you enjoyed meeting some of my family.

Let me tell you though,

This is maybe 2% of my relatives.

(Most of my dad's side of my fam.)

And I really mean just to the first cousins.

I have a ginormo family.

The majority being on my mom's side.

I have four Aunts and two Uncles on her side.

One uncle and an Aunt on my dad's side.

I only see a handful of them.

But they each have like 2-3 kids and lots of them have children.

So I have like 16 first cousins and then lots more second cousins.

So.

That is a lot of people to stay in touch with.

We try our best.

So if I see you in the grocery store and I am closely related to you and I forget your name.

Sorry 'bout that.

And mostly I'm sorry that you haven't been featured on my hugely popular blog.

You'll get your minute in the spot light... if you are lucky.

Maybe you'll be on Oprah first.

HA.

If you take the seriously, shame on you.

The end.

Little Wonder.

2010-04-03T13:45:00.001-07:00

I have a very busy week this week.

Or at least it seems like that in this moment.

But luckily,

Ro's wonderful Grandma Patty has him so I can get ready for a wedding.

So I have 2.1 minutes to blog.

While the toe nails dry.

Yes, I painted them.

It had been a while.

Anyhow.

I just want to talk about him.

Or write about him.

Whatev.

He is just a little wonder.

I am sure your kid is too.

How does he do it?

How does he become this little guy that knows stuff?

I mean, more than he should know.

From what I know.

Are you following me?

I mean, I get that he can learn things that I've spent time on teaching him.

But then he just has his own little preferences and personality that just is.

It just happened.

He is a little wonder.

He pulls out something that I don't feel like I've spent any time on.

Like a long time ago when he did the "apple" sign.

I may have done it one time.

The PAT lady may have done it once.

Then he just,

BAM

pulls it out of his back pocket like, "Duh. Apple."

And I am just amazed.

I know that doesn't seem like a great example.

But he is a little wonder to me.

And I get amazed at the craziest things.

So does the hunk.

(Another confirmation that marrying him was a genius move on my part.)

The other day we pulled into the drive way and we are still sitting in the car,

discussing nonsense I'm sure.

Then we realize Ro is silently sitting in the back.

So we peek over our shoulders

(he is rear facing)

And he is doing a complete examination on his toes.

No clue why.

But I was in awe.

Again,

No clue why.

He is just a little genius.

I'm sure.

And I'm sure you are thinking,

"You think your kid is a genius because he was looking at his toes??"

And I am thinking,

"Yes. Duh."

He is just growing into a real boy.

My little Pinocchio.

He hates shopping,

loves slides,

hates missing a nap.

(or is that just me?)

He loves uckers (suckers),

hates diaper changes,

loves being thrown onto the bed.

"Two, two, two...TWO!"

Sometimes he throws in a "three!"

He hates brushing his teeth.

He loves frozen berries.

I love him.

He is my little wonder.

The end.