SWW

Today is a very Happy Wednesday because it's the last day before a MUCH needed 4 day weekend!

 

I'm linking up again with Shannon for So What Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying So What if:

 

-I didn't do SWW last week. I felt like posting about something else.

 

-I miss Google Reader. I've been using Bloglovin and I'm not really a fan, but not much I can do at this point.

 

-I don't have a special 4th of July outfit for Hunter. He will be wearing red, white and blue though.

 

-I think it's so cute that a little girl in Hunters class runs over to hug him every morning when I drop him off. I think she likes him :) He, however, just stands there like a deer in headlights.

 

-I think he prefers older women. Last night he couldn't get enough of our friends 8 year old daughter that was over at the house. He kept hugging on her and chasing her around and giving her love eyes.

 

-I'm terrified of potty training, especially after my first episode of my son pooping on the floor the other night. It was all my fault for thinking he was "finished" and not putting a new diaper on him while I got his bath ready. Lesson learned!

 

-I'm still SO excited about my brother being engaged. We've all waited a long time for him to find the right person plus I love weddings.

 

-I've spent the last week unsubscribing to all the junk emails I get. I didn't really realize how many I was getting until I started to unsubscribe. It's so nice not to wake up to 25 pointless emails every morning.

 

- I've stopped entering the giveaways that have 10+ bloggers attached to them. I don't have 30 minutes to add a bunch of new people to my reader, Facebook, twitter, Instagram etc. I actually find it quite irritating and frankly they are essentially buying their followers which I don't really agree with. I want someone to follow me because they like what I write, not because I'm part of a big giveaway. *rant over*

 

-I also get really annoyed when multiple blogs that I follow all post the same review/giveaway the same day from Blogher. Thank God for the "mark as read" button.

 

 

Happy 4th of July weekend!

She Said Yes

Last Thursday was a very exciting day for my family.

 

My big brother got ENGAGED!

 

 

After dating for a year and a half my brother Michael proposed to his now fiancee Melissa while on vacation in Napa Valley. They had been talking about getting engaged and even went ring shopping together so it wasn't a total surprise.

 

I had the honor of helping Michael choose the center stone for her ring and was a sounding board when discussing possible proposal ideas. Knowing when it would happen and not being able to say anything is a small form of torture. I couldn't have been more thrilled to receive the call Thursday night that she had said yes and it was official. Not only will I be getting a wonderful sister-in-law who I really get along with but Hunter will be getting a new Aunt who has already been in his life since he was born.

 

Oh and because most girls care about what the ring looks like, my brother did a fantastic job, the ring has a yellow diamond in the center and is surrounded by a double halo of smaller white diamonds and small white diamonds on the band. It's very unique and vintage looking which is exactly what Melissa wanted.

 

Congratulations to the happy couple!



18 Months- 6/30/13

You're 1 1/2 years old!!

Only 6 more months until you're 2!!

Weight/Length- You don't have your 18 month appt for a couple weeks so I will update then but right around 30 pounds I would guess.

Eating- Nothing much new here. Still love fruit and most meat. Not a big fan of veggies though we've discovered you seem to like edamame and peas so I'll take what we can get.   

Sleep- Also pretty much the same. In bed around 7:45pm and up around 6:30am, typically you will wake up briefly at least once during the night but fall back to sleep easily. All last week you were waking up between 5-5:30am which was NOT cool but now you seem back on track. Not quite sure what the deal was with that. Typically nap from noon-2pm.

Clothes- Mainly 18 months and some 24 months. You seem to be thinning out now that you are so active so I'm hoping some of you winter clothes from a few months back will still fit this winter.  

Diapers- Size 5 both daytime and overnight.

Appearance- Your hair is still getting lighter and your eyes still change color depending on what you are wearing. Daddy had blonde hair as a toddler so we keep wondering if yours will eventually darken as well.

Personality- You are ALL boy, you love all the stereotypical boy stuff and are wild and rambunctious. I think the fact that your daycare class is full of boys plays a large part in this as well. You are still very loving and sweet and give lots of hugs and kisses. You usually follow directions very well and are well behaved in public. You have tantrums like any toddler but nothing excessive or unusual. You've become much more clingy to me when I drop you off at daycare and shy around strangers.

Likes-
-Playing with your new water table.
-Playing outside
-Going to the store and people watching while in the shopping cart
-Playing on the iPad
-Sitting my lap while I read you a book or do your flashcards
-Doing your wooden puzzles with the cars and trucks

-Watching videos of yourself on mommy's phone and doing Facetime with grandma

Milestones-

-You are able put all the pieces back in the right spot on your wooden Melissa and Doug puzzle with the cars and trucks.
-You are able to navigate some of the Apps on the iPad by yourself.
-Able to understand and follow 90% of the directions I give you.
-Using your spoon and fork much better.
-Saying SO many more words this month!

New words that you say regularly and in the right context:
-Bubble
-Hot
-Cold (pronounced Old)
-PaPa (for Grandpa)
-Bus
-Beep Beep
-Truck
-Copter (for Helicopter)
-Oink Oink (when asked what sound a pig makes)
-Mooo (when asked what sound a cow makes)
-Baby
-Bike
-Bird

New ride from Grandma!

He's able to put all of these puzzle pieces back in the right spot.

Photo on the left is Kristian as a little boy. Proof of where Hunter's blonde hair comes from.

Working the iPad like it's his job.

His new shirt that says "I Do My Own Stunts" on the front and has a detachable cape on the back!



 

It's Harder Now

Hunter has been going to daycare since he was 6 weeks old. Not by choice, but by necessity, that's the amount of maternity I had and quitting my job to stay home is just not financially possible (thank you ridiculous student loans). It's never been easy to leave him, that first day I felt like I was literally leaving my heart behind. But over time it's gotten easier. It helps that he loves daycare and his teachers love him. And I won't lie, there are days when I'm grateful for the option of taking him (like when I'm sick).

But lately it's been harder for me to be away from him during the day. I still like his daycare and it amazes me how much he's learning while he's there. Even if I had the option to stay home with him I would still want him to go there part time just for the learning/social aspect of it. But I hate being away from him ALL day. Having only about 2 hours with him in the evenings.

When he was a baby it sucked but lets be honest, he mainly just slept, ate and pooped. He has no memory of that time. But now? NOW he's turning into a little kid. A kid that talks and plays and follows directions and has a mind of his own. He's starting to form memories that he will be able to look back on and I want to be in most of those memories.

Yes he's a typical toddler that will fuss and have tantrums and can be downright exhausting at times. And yes, on the weekends I pray to the nap Gods that he will sleep for 2+ hours in order to get a little break but BUT he is also FUN. I love hanging out with my little man. I love taking him places with me and want to be able to enjoy that as long as I can before he hits the stage of being a terror in public. He loves to people watch and talk when we're out and it's nice having a little companion to run errands with. And now that it's summer I want to be able to take him to the park and the pool and the zoo and play outside, rather than be stuck inside an office for 8 hours a day.

By the time I get home from work we have about 2 hours to make, eat and cleanup dinner, play a bit, bath time and get ready for bed. There isn't time to go on fun adventures. If I'm lucky we can squeeze in a quick stroller walk or play briefly with the water table. But it all feels so rushed. We have the weekends but there are still chores that need to be done like grocery shopping and laundry and errand running which cuts into fun family time.

Hunter is at an age where we can actually do stuff with him, where he can interact and participate rather than just be carried around or sleep in a stroller. I see all the photos on Instagram and Facebook from the stay at home moms doing fun activities during the day with their kids while I sit jealousy at my desk at work. It's hard. It's harder now than it was. But it's my reality so I'm trying not to dwell on it too much and just really enjoy the time I have with my son.

Date Nights- Good for the marriage soul

Date Nights are so important for married couples, especially once kids enter the picture. It's a chance to get away and be a couple again and not just mom and dad. Kristian and I don't get many date night opportunities so when the chance presents itself we jump on it and don't look back.

My mom was able to come down and visit this weekend. It had been a few weeks and I knew she needed a Hunter fix and I needed a mom fix. Watching my mother and my son together just makes my heart happy. He sure does love his grandma and I know the feeling is mutual. So on Saturday, after I returned from a much needed haircut we all hung out until Kristian and I left for dinner.

My mom introduced Hunter to his first Freezer Pop.

 

He sucked on it and replied "Old", which is how he says cold.

 

He then wanted to check out the pretty flowers that his daddy has planted.

 

 

Kristian and I left a little earlier than normal because we wanted to stop at a few places before dinner and do some shopping for clothes to take on our Cayman Islands trip. My husband very rarely gets new clothes and most of his shorts are stained or have holes in them so we needed a few things that would make him look a bit more presentable. We also each wanted to buy something new to wear to the actual wedding, which is the reason we are going. I found a cute pink dress at Marshalls and he bought some white linen pants and a blue polo shirt. It was fun to just walk around and shop and pick stuff out for each other. Most men would probably find that torturous but pretty much anything we get to do together without the toddler is a fun.

 

 

Afterwards we went to a new restaurant that we wanted to try called Firebirds. It was delicious and we had the best time together, just talking, laughing, flirting and leisurely eating without having to jump up every 2 seconds to get something for the toddler or try to keep him entertained or rush through it because we still need to do bathtime. We got to have real conservations, ones that surprisingly didn't just focus on said toddler.

*A Desert Pear martini- very good and gave me a nice little buzz*

*Their wall of wine- I kinda want to do this in my house*

 

And then we got to return home to a sleeping child and a clean house (aren't mothers wonderful) and hang out in the basement together watching a movie on t.v. while my mom hung out upstairs (very much like high school!).

Nights like these are great reminders of why we got married, because we truly enjoy each other's company and spending time together. And that we aren't just mommy and daddy we are husband and wife. 

Wedding Day Linkup

Today I'm linking up with Holly and Melanie for the Wedding Day Linkup.

 

 



 

Since this blog started out as a wedding planning blog all of this stuff can be found in my Archives but for anyone who is new or too lazy to go back through here's a quick rundown of my wedding.

 

Engagement- 2/14/09 after only 6 months of dating.

Yes we were nuts and NO I don't typically recommend an engagement that quickly. Fortunately it's worked out for us so far.

*How could you say no to this ring?*

 

 

When- May 22, 2010

Fun Fact- we picked this date because it was a combination of our birthdays (5/12) and (10/22).

 

Where- Hollin Hall in Alexandria VA

It's an event space, that is also used as a church on the weekends. It has some beautiful gardens where we had planned to get married but thanks to the rain we had to move the ceremony inside to the reception space at the last minute.

 

It actually turned out to be much prettier than I thought it would be so all that weather anxiety was kind of pointless.

 

Fortunately the rain stopped so we were still able to get photos outside afterwards.

 

Dress- I loved my dress. And still do. It was all lace just like I wanted and cost just under $900 (not including alterations). I kept losing weight due to stress and my poor alterations lady finally told me she could not make the dress any smaller. It was still a bit too loose (especially on top thanks to having no boobs) so I kept having to pull it up all night.

 

Wedding Party- Kristian had 2 co-bestmen (two friends from childhood) as well as two other friends. His nephew was a jr. groomsman

 

Three of my sorority sisters (one of whom is also a childhood friend) were my bridesmaids along with Kristian's older sister. Kristian's two nieces were jr. bridesmaids and my two nieces were flower girls. The youngest flower girl had an ear infection and was not happy that day so she ended up not walking down the aisle or posing for many photos.

Fun Fact- My MOH and another bridesmaid were both pregnant at the time, thank goodness we had empire waist dresses.

 

My older brother walked me down the aisle. And my other brother was an usher.

 

 

First Dance- "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. This was the song that was playing when Kristian proposed.

 

Colors- Black, white, light pink and dark pink.

 

 Flowers- Roses, Peonies and Hydrangeas. My bouquet was all white and the bridesmaids were pink.

My mother-in-law and her sister did our reception flower centerpieces

 

Cake- We had three layers, all different flavors (white cake with raspberry, chocolate and the top layer was carrot which is Kristian's favorite).

 

We exited with sparklers.

 

We spent our wedding night at a hotel in Old Town Alexandria which was beautiful and had the most comfortable bed ever.

 

Two days later we left for our honeymoon in St. Lucia.

 

I really did enjoy our wedding day but I'm glad it's over and I never have to plan another one. As for what I would change? I probably would have planned an indoor wedding from the start to avoid all the weather stress. I would have stressed regardless but not quite as much.

 

Also, I didn't really like our DJ. He played the wrong version of our first dance song (I wanted an acoustic version) and I just thought he could have done more to get people dancing.

 

Finally, even though I loved our photographers and our pictures there were several posed family and group shots that we never got. In all the craziness they just got missed and I know my mom especially was disappointed.

 

I don't regret the money we spent because I had always dreamed of my wedding day and knew I would regret it if we didn't do as much as we could given our budget. And we were still able to buy a house less than a year later and afford to have a baby so if didn't prevent any of that stuff.

 

Two things I for sure wouldn't change would be my dress and the person I married.

 

SWW

Umm how is it only Wednesday? This week is dragging.

 

But in better news it's another round of So What Wednesday!

 

This week I'm saying SO What if:

 

-I hate the fact that I'm actually interested in what Kim K names her baby, only because I know it will be terrible and snark worthy. Personally I think they should just name it Kimye and be done with it.

 

-Even though I told myself I wouldn't splurge on Starbucks this week I have bought one everyday. Hunter has decided to start sleeping like a newborn again, up every few hours and up for good today at 5:15am. I'm a tad tired. Also, this is helping diminish my baby fever.

 

-I've started giving Hunter the iPad to play with when we want him to just sit still for more than 30 seconds. Sometimes mama just needs a break or to be able to actually do my makeup in the morning. At least he's playing with educational apps that are teaching him something.

 

-I'm getting my haircut this weekend for the first time since February even though my stylist told me I should really come back for a trim again in April. Ain't nobody got time for that!

 

-I'm refusing to use Bloglovin until Google Reader goes away on 7/1. I'm still in denial about it and hoping it will somehow stick around.

 

-I hate traveling. I should clarify, I always enjoy myself once I'm at my destination I just despise the process of getting to and from, especially if a plane is involved.

 

-I've already started working on my "While We're Gone" Hunter instructions for my mom to have during our trip in August. It's going to be several pages long. I'm just a little Type A when it comes to the care of my child.

 

-Instagram is usually the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I check before bed. I probably need an intervention. On a related note you can follow me at sep0522.