9 months ago....

Avery joined our little family and gee has it gone by fast! I think time starts going by faster with each kid you have! We have had a lot of exciting stuff happen around here...

We went on a fun family trip to FL in April to visit Ryan's extended family- we all had such a great time and it was awesome to see everyone. The boys absolutely loved the ocean! And Avery learned how to crawl while we were out there!

I survived a huge transition/re-aligning at work. It was a rocky 2 months, but I think things are finally settling out, not necessarily for the best, but settling nonetheless.

Carter turned 2 and had a big Mickey Mouse birthday party.

Avery's 1st tooth popped through on mine and Ryan's 3 year wedding anniversary. And the 2nd one came through just the other day.

We had hell come through our house about a month ago. Avery had RSV, Carter had Pink Eye, Ryan had Bronchitis and I was lucky enough to develop Walking Pneumonia. The worst 2 weeks ever. Good news is that we all recovered with some time and are HEALTHY!

I met one of our neighbors for the first time since moving in last May (That's right! We have been homeowners for a year!)...I'm thinking we will become good friends with them this summer. I have met the husband many times, but never the wife. They have a little guy that was born 3 weeks after Avery.

Carter got his first helmet and scooter. I am pretty sure he could ride that thing around ALL DAY. He has a blast!

I received a settlement from the car accident I was in last Aug. With that I was able to pay off all my debt-minus some students loans and a few medical bills that are out there from having Avery! Yippee!!

Yesterday we finally had Avery's skin tag removed. One thing that is always hard is holding your baby down to have something done to them. Just like when they have their vaccinations...my heart breaks every time. But it was a relatively painless procedure and it should heal quickly. He's a trooper.

So much has happened and I am sure that I am leaving out a ton. But we are happy to report that we are having fun and enjoying every moment of our busy crazy life. Hopefully it won't be another 6 months before I have time to share more!! :)

Too far behind!

I'm not sure I'll ever catch up....The good thing is we have been keeping busy and having fun. More to come!

First week back at work

Well last week was my first week back to work. Thank goodness it was a short and slow one! I felt so disoriented the first day. It was nothing like going back to work from being on maternity leave with Carter. Last time I went back to a new store, new people and a new position. This time it was relieving knowing I was going back to the same old thing. Still it felt so weird helping customers and being there. After the first couple days things started feeling normal again, especially with the help of one of my employees. We'll call that person "the trouble maker". Already I am having to "manage" (babysit) some of my team members. Lovely.

Carter and Avery went to daycare 2 days and Ryan was home with them the other two. Things went very very good. I am so glad Ryan was able to spend 2 days with them and really get a feel for what things are like at home with 2 kiddos. Sometimes it's not so easy and if you don't experience it it can be easy to not understand.

Next week is the first real week for us in a LONG time. Both Ryan and I will be at work full time all week and both boys will be at daycare all week full time. I am so happy to everyone back into a routine! I never knew how important routines were until we had Carter and I tell you what, without them we would die over here! Carter is so much easy and pleasant to be around when he is on a routine.

So that's basically what we've been up to lately. Avery is getting really big. He smiles all the time and is learning to laugh! Carter is doing great too. He loves Ab (Avery) so much and hugs and kisses him all the time.

Date Night and New Year's Resolutions

Date night....What is that?! Since having kids date night has not existed with Ryan and I. Which has been WAY TO LONG! We might go out here or there (probably less than 5 times since Carter was born), but now we are to the point where we NEED date night. So I turned to other women with kids the same ages as mine for some advice. And what I found is GENIUS! Project 52 Date Night. A date night once a week with dear hubby. This doesn't mean that we go out to an extravagant dinner every single week or spend a ton of money (that we don't have), but instead commit to time together even if it's at home after the kiddos go to bed.

Here is the link that was passed along to me: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2009/12/project-52-date-nights/

We probably can't jump into a night every week right now so we'll try every 2 weeks first. So with the new year starting up, this will definitely be on the new year's resolution list. My list is small, I like to keep it simple and realistic. So my resolutions are:

1. Project 26 Date Night
2. Pay off all debt! (I am so close!)
3. Stay healthy (Work out when I can and eat healthy. I am not putting a number on weight loss here, that never works. I just want to feel great.)

3 simple goals this year. With working full time, being a Mom, a wife, and housekeeper I would hate to overload myself. 2011 is going to be a great year and maybe a year where we can settle into life a little bit and take a break from getting married, have 2 babies and buying a house in 3 years! We've loved every second of it (OK...most of them anyway), but I know I would love to take it easy for a year. Maybe go on vacation and enjoy a beach somewhere! :)

Avery's 2 month check up

Wow! 2 months already!

Avery's check up went really good. He is a big boy weighing in at 13.5 lbs! Which is in the 90th percentile. He is also a long baby 24", which is in the 75th percentile. This all explains why he is already fitting into 6 month clothes and even some 9 month! He got 4 vaccinations (3 shots and 1 oral), poor baby! We are going to be working harder at tummy time to strengthen his neck. Right now he absolutely hates it. I have to break it up into 3 or 4 mini sessions a day lasting only about 5 minutes each. We are also working on getting him on a schedule. Right now he eats and sleeps whenever, which doesn't work for me. He is really good at waking only once at night, but during the day he is a cat-napper. So we have started to do bath time, pajamas, and a feeding before bed time. The goal is that he catches on to this little routine and the rest of the day falls into place.


Everything else is going very well. Carter absolutely loves Avery and is a big helper. I can hardly wait until Avery is more aware and can interact with Carter. They are going to be best buds.

What have we been up to lately?

Well the past (almost) 2 months have been crazy around here. All in a good way though. Avery is a great baby, he does the normal eat, poop, sleep routine. Lately he has become more aware of everything around him. He is staying awake for longer periods and has started smiling. I just love his gummy grin it makes my day every time I see him smile. He gets up once during the night to eat, which isn't too bad. Right now he is still sleeping in mine and Ryan's room, but this weekend we will be moving him to his room and crib. I hope it's a smooth transition, fingers crossed!

Carter and Avery are doing well together. Carter absolutely loves "baby" (Carter will only call him baby, not Avery) and tries to hug and kiss him ALL the time. We have to remind him often not to kiss him on the face, but only on the top of his head. Carter has kind of tried to pick Avery up, but acts like Avery is too heavy and doesn't bother actually picking him up....the thought of him picking Avery up just freaks me out! Carter is learning all kinds of words these days and has even started putting some phrases together. His most popular phrases are: baby eating, baby crying, mommy milk (my cup regardless of what's actually in it), more milk please, big truck, and bye-bye big truck. His newest phrase (and most annoying to me) is "I want that." He is so smart and catches on very quick.

My hope for the last month of my maternity leave from work is that we can all get back on some sort of routine. We have been all over the place trying to adjust to life with 2 kids. It's been awesome having the time off and being able to spend the holidays at home. It will definitely be hard to go back at the end of December. That's one things I am NOT looking forward to...so as much as I would love for it to be Thanksgiving and Christmas, they can both take their time getting here!

Avery 2 weeks old

Thank you Danielle for your great work! I love the pictures you took of Avery. They came out perfect!