Life Lately

As usual May has shaped up to be a pretty busy month. In fact the past two months have been pretty jam packed with plans every weekend.

-Last weekend we celebrated Mother's Day by going to see both of Kristian's grandmothers (both of whom are in their 90s). At his paternal grandmothers house, most of the extended family was able to come over so Hunter got to see many of his aunts, uncles and cousins. He even got to meet one of his great-aunts for the first time. He was a bit overwhelmed and shy the whole time. We then went to Kristian's maternal grandmothers house which had a smaller group and Hunter did much better there. It wasn't the most relaxing Mother's Day but it was nice to see everyone. I also got to see my mom later that afternoon. 

Me and my beautiful mama.

Kristian's grandmother with all 9 of her great-grandchildren and of course MY child was the only one who wouldn't look at the camera and smile. 

-The day after Mother's Day was my birthday. It wasn't terribly exciting since I had to go to work. But I came home and Kristian had decorated the dining room, cooked dinner and gave me a few gifts. My little guy was excited to help me blow out the candles on my cake. 

 

-In other very exciting news my brother and his fiancee bought a new house, and it's one block up the street from us! It's literally a 5 minute walk and I'm so excited! The house is huge and gorgeous and they got a fantastic deal on it. I'm incredibly jealous because their house is on the street that Kristian and I love and have always said if we had the money we would buy pretty much any of the houses on that street. It's the last street of single family homes before you get to the townhouse section where we live. They have an amazing multi-level deck which will be great for cookouts and we can't wait to spend a lot of time over there hanging out. It doesn't hurt to have another set of free babysitters close by and I'm so excited about the prospect of being so close to any future nieces or nephews. 

-This past weekend we were invited over to our neighbors house for dinner. Hunter and his little girlfriend Jordynn got to have date night while the grownups ate. We all then went outside so that the kids could play with the other young neighborhood kids that were out running around. There was a group of about 7 kids drawing with chalk and chasing each other until almost dark (and way past Hunters bedtime) while all the parents chatted. It was just a perfect spring evening. 

The lovebirds.

-The other piece of exciting news is that my mom adopted a miniature dachshund puppy that she named Annie. She brought her over yesterday and we all fell in love with her. Hunter laughed while the puppy gave him kisses and Moxie chased her new cousin around the yard. We also get to dog sit next week while my mom goes on an already planned vacation and we are thrilled. We may not give her back!

-The next few weekends will be busy with a trip to the beach house for Memorial Day and my brothers upcoming wedding in June. This year seems to be flying by!

Old friends are good for the soul

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of flying down to FL to visit one of my dearest friends, Kristen, who I have known for 15 years. She gave birth to twins back in March and I couldn't wait to see her, meet the little ones and have a weekend full of newborn snuggles. I was also able to play several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games with her 3 1/2 year old son Smith who reminds me so much of Hunter. I can't get over how big he is, such a handsome little boy.

The flights down and back were pretty seamless, which was a comfort since I'm not a big fan of flying. After having a quick lunch at the Chili's in the airport we headed back to her house where we pretty much camped out for the weekend. We only left on Saturday morning, sans babies, for pedicures and some relaxation which we both needed. Later that day she had a 'sip and see' at her house for some of her friends and coworkers to come meet the babies. All of her friends were incredibly nice and I had a wonderful time meeting everyone.

Even though we didn't go to the beach or do any "typical" Florida activities I had such a wonderful and  relaxing weekend. Despite a lot of crying and fussing (from the twins) I was surprisingly at ease. I guess when the chaos around you isn't really your chaos it's not as stressful. And it's hard to be stressed out when you have an adorable newborn sleeping on your chest for 45 minutes.

I have to give Kristen a ton of credit, she's doing an amazing job. Twins are no joke. Honestly it makes having one newborn seem like a piece of cake. They both always seem to cry and fuss at the same time and just trying to feed or bathe them both at the same time could be an Olympic sport and Kristen seems to have it all down pat. Just the thought of taking them both out to the grocery store or Target would send me into a panic and Kristen is already a pro maneuvering that double stroller around.

Even though Kristen and I only get to see other in person maybe once or twice a year we never have trouble picking up right where we left off. We were both able to vent about current life stressors and laugh and reminisce and I just wish we lived closer so that we could do it more often.

 

Not long after I arrived I had Miss Grey napping on me. I could have held her all weekend. 

 

Another nap with Grey. Such a cuddle bug. Also, it only increased my desire for a little girl one day. 

 

Mr. Wynn was also a fan of passing out on me. Such a little stud muffin. So hard to believe my little boy was ever this small. 

 

I made many jokes about becoming sister-wives. We have this twin thing covered. 

 

Much needed pedicures and girl time with one of my favorite people. 

 

When I got home my two favorite guys (who spent the weekend at my in-laws beach house) greeted me at the airport. Hunter came running up to me yelling "MAMA" and holding flowers. And yes I almost burst into tears. 

humpday confessions

Today I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers Kathy for her Humpday Confessions. Kathy is the queen of gifs and is awesome about responding to all comments which I love. 

1. Last Friday I got to leave work early for Good Friday but instead of going to pick up my son early I went to Target. It had been a stressful week and I wanted some retail therapy. I spent about $100 in 15 minutes so mission accomplished.

2. I've always been a bit sad at the thought of leaving Hunter overnight but next week I'm going to FL to visit one of my dearest friends and her new twins for the weekend and I'm really not sad about leaving Hunter. I desperately need a bit of time away and I will be enjoying lots of baby snuggles.

3. I really really hope my husband gives me a very nice birthday/Mother's Day gift next month. I deserve it. 

4. As much as I want to have another baby, once Hunter is in bed at night and I'm able to just veg out on the couch and catch up on my DVR I think to myself  "it's really nice not having a newborn keeping me up all night".

5. We hid most of Hunters Easter candy and we will probably end up throwing most of it out. None of us need to eat that much candy.

Easter 2014

For the first time we decided to host Easter at our house for our parents. It was nice being able to stay at home where Hunter had all of his toys to play with and we didn't have to rush out the door or deal with traveling to someone else's house. Because our neighbors who have young kids were also going to be home we planned a little egg hunt for Hunter and his two friends Zachary and Jordynn.

We couldn't have asked for better weather and lunch was delicious. We had ham, asparagus, homemade mac n' cheese (from my mom), pineapple souffle (from my MIL), salad and rolls and chocolate pecan pie and sweet potato pie (from our neighbor) for dessert. It was fabulous. 

 

On Saturday night we dyed some eggs. Hunter lost interest pretty quick once we had to sit and wait for the dye to take affect. 

 

After he went to bed the bunny dropped of his basket which was full of some small trucks, fun socks, books and a few edible treats. 

 

Hunter seemed to think Easter was a mix of Halloween and Christmas with the presents and candy left for him. Needless to say he was thrilled. 

 

Me and my love. 

 

Hunter had just woken up for a nap and wasn't in a smiling mood at that moment. 

 

Hunter with Grandma and Papa. 

 

Hunter with mama and Nana. 

The egg hunt went really well, we had over 100 stuffed eggs for 3 kids. At first Hunter wanted to open each egg and eat the candy, once we convinced him to go find the eggs first he was off and running. He even broke a sweat and filled 2 baskets!

 

Once the hunt was over the kids enjoyed some cookies and pretzels together. They really play nicely with each other and it's pretty adorable to watch. 

 

We had such a wonderful Easter with our family and friends, we were definitely very blessed this year. 

Friday Five

1. This weekend I'm going to my future sister-in-laws Bachelorette party in D.C. I can't even tell you the last time I went out for drinks and dancing in D.C. I used to do it all the time back in my younger, single days but since being married and having a kid I just have no interest. In fact I told Kristian I have no idea what to wear. What do people wear out to clubs nowadays? I packed up all my old Ho clothes a long time ago. It should be fun assuming I can actually stay awake past 10pm. #SoOld #SoLame

2. I'm actually pretty excited about Easter next weekend. We are having our parents over for a late lunch and we are even planning to do a small Easter Egg Hunt out in front of our houses with our two neighbors that have a 3 year old and 2 year old that Hunter is friends with. I can't wait to see the kids run around and look for eggs. Sad that I'm more excited to watch my kid hunt for Easter eggs than to go out dancing at midnight in the city. My how times have changed!

3. My friend and neighbor Aimee gave me these sandals the other night. She ordered them off of Zulily for her daughter thinking they were a toddler size 6 turns out she ordered a women's size 6 by mistake. She can't return them and I happen to wear a size 6 so win for me! They are really cute and comfy.

4. I am loving the warmer weather and longer daylight hours in the evening. We have gotten back in our routine of hanging out in front of the house in the evenings once I get home from work. Hunter gets to play with his two little friends while I get to talk to their parents and have some social time. We are so lucky to have such nice neighbors and the fact that they have kids the same age as Hunter is a huge bonus! Also, Hunter has suddenly gotten very good at riding his balance bike. He will now get a running start, lift his feet and glide down the sidewalk for several feet. He keeps saying "Go fast, go fast" He will give me a heart attack one of these days.

 

5. There still isn't much progress in the potty training department. We tried the underwear thing but he didn't seem to care when he peed in the underwear. I had hoped it would bother him enough that he would be more willing to go on the potty but no such luck. I really just don't think he's ready. He will still go once or twice a day at school but he has no interest in going at home and I'm okay with that. He'll get there.

Weekend bullet points

This past weekend we:

• Gave Hunter his first at home haircut. We figured we would give it try and save some money. Kristian did most of it using his hair trimmer and some scissors. We gave Hunter a lollipop which helped keep him entertained for a few minutes. He did much better than when we take him to a professional place and Kristian did a great job for a first time cut. There were a few uneven spots but nothing too horrific. 

 

• Shortly after his haircut my mom arrived to spend the weekend. I think she needed a Hunter fix. Hunter loves his Nana and one of his favorite things to do with her is bake muffins. He calls himself the muffin man. He is actually getting quite good at it and remembering what the steps are. 

• There was also some story time involved, since the weather was pretty nasty we couldn't go outside and play.

• We decided to take advantage of the free babysitter and actually go see a movie on a Saturday night! We rarely go to the movie theater anymore and when we do it's always one of the early morning shows because they are cheap but we figured why not splurge for a change. Between the tickets and food and it was close to $50! We saw Divergent and I really liked it! I thought it stuck pretty close to the book and I really liked the first book. Kristian seemed to enjoy it as much as he enjoys any of those type of movies though I think he preferred the Hunger Games.

• On Sunday after my mom left we did finally did our taxes. Thanks to Hunter and owning a home we were able to get a few deductions and actually get a decent refund back! Unfortunately it will all be going towards paying off the medical bills we have from Kristian's surgery.

•  The weather on Sunday was even worse so once again we stayed inside all day but Hunter was a good boy all weekend. He really is such a joy and I'm so thankful I get to be his mama. 

Potty Training Part 1

Hunter is now 2 years and almost 3 months old and while we have been working on potty training since before his 2nd birthday he is still not fully potty trained. This really doesn't bother or stress me out very much because I know that boys can often times take longer than girls to potty train and I know that eventually he will be potty trained. I've yet to meet someone who went off to college still wearing diapers. Since this is basically my journal and keepsake of the main events in our lives I wanted to write a little about the potty training journey so far.

A couple of months before Hunter turned 2 they started putting him on the potty at daycare. They would sit him on the little toilet in the room throughout the day but he very rarely went. We had bought both a small potty to sit on the floor and a seat adapter to go on the big toilet for our house so that he could try both options and we would occasionally sit him on both. I didn't want to really even push it at home until he started going more consistently at daycare. I will say that one of the benefits of daycare is having them help with potty training and makes it even more worth all the money we are paying them. I figured if he got used to going there during the day than it shouldn't be that hard to get him to go at home. I was wrong.

After he turned 2 and moved into the Preschool 1A class he had to start wearing pull ups instead of diapers and they were more consistent with making all the kids sit on the potty every hour unless they showed signs of needing to go even sooner. Not long after he turned 2 and moved to the new class he started going more often while at daycare. Typically he will go pee in the potty between 1-4 times a day while at daycare. He has only pooped a few times and that was just because they were able to catch him and get him to the potty in time. He no longer cries or gets upset when he goes at school. He has even gone while standing up "like daddy". They give the boys the option to either stand up or sit down since some do better with one way vs. the other.

Now when he's at home he will NOT pee or poop on the potty. We've tried using the small one on the floor and sitting him on the big toilet. He will sit for a few minutes then say "All done" and ask for his diaper. We've tried giving him books to read and the iPad while he sits there but he will only sit for a few minutes before insisting he gets off. I don't want to force him to stay on it and make it a traumatic experience so I don't fight him too much if he asks to get off. He will even tell us he needs to use the potty but he will hold it until he has his diaper back on. So at least we know he has the ability to hold it. And he will tell us before and after if he needs to or has already gone. But for some reason he just won't do it at home.

We've tried bribing with candy and toys but that hasn't worked either. I know part of the problem is that we aren't as consistent with sitting him on it every hour the way they do at daycare so that's definitely our fault. I really think if he can just go even once or twice in the potty at home that will get him over whatever fear or hang up that he's having with it and he will start going more consistently. I think this based on other "fears" he's had with things. Once he does something once and sees that it's not scary or a big deal he's totally fine.

So I finally went out and bought him some underwear and I'm hoping if we start putting him in that after he has a few accidents it may help inspire him to go in the potty because he won't like being wet and he will get upset if he ends up peeing on the floor or couch. I'm also going to try a reward chart to see if having something physical to look at to track his progress will also help him. It's much harder to do this when we aren't home with him all day everyday but I'm hoping maybe after even doing it a couple days over the weekend we will get some improvement at home. I would like to have him fully (daytime) trained by the summer but if that doesn't happen I'm not going to stress it too much. To be honest I'm a little nervous to give up the convenience of diapers and not having to worry about rushing to find a bathroom if we're out in public or driving in the car.