Let's see...

Well, my phone died last weekend.  So, very few cute Ethan pics, sorry folks.  I know you're heartbroken.

JUST KIDDING OF COURSE I HAD MORE PICS, I TOOK A BUNCH ON SUNDAY SINCE I LOST ALL MY OTHER ONES WHEN MY PHONE DIED:

 

This last week was a crazy one.  It felt like nothing went right for me.  Let me be clear - things did NOT go right, but nothing terrible happened either (no health diagnoses or car accidents or anything like that).  However, what exactly happened, it doesn't matter.  It felt crappy.  I felt crappy.

Guys, Imma be honest.  I'm not very good at feeling my feelings.  Like, at all.  I invented the phrase 'fake it till you make it' when it comes to sucking it up and moving on.

Resiliency.  I think that's the word.  It's usually a really good thing.  It has helped me deal with a number of traumatic things in my life.  And sttill become a productive member of society.

But occasionally - when shit ISN'T hitting the fan but yet things just feel crappy, I think it's important to feel crappy.  So I did.  With a deadline I gave myself.

On Saturday, I had an awful day, and I just accepted it, and as my sister says "sat in my own shit".

(OK, "technically" Ethan was sitting there with me, the kid was attached like glue and I couldn't even go to the bathroom in my jammies in peace.)

But I put a time limit on myself, because it's not fair to me or my family to do it forever.  I think part of resiliency is knowing there is a bigger purpose and an end-game out there that we are not always privy to.

So Sunday, a day after I sat in my shit, I bounced back.  We woke up late (8AM!!!), hung out, flew kites, had ice cream, snuggled up, and had a good day.  FLEW KITES!?  Who knew that could be so fun???  Apparently my husband.  Jeff, you rock.

Thanks for all your texts, calls, and messages.  LOVE YOU ALL, mwah!

Birthday weekend!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD!

Guess who turned 60! and 61!  I love that they share their birthday.  It's pretty cool.  And I love they came to visit us to let us help them celebrate!

We hosted a little party on Saturday night after they arrived - BBQ chicken, salads from Fresh Market, and a cupcake for Dad and fruit tart for Mom.

(I just noticed the milk bottle and beer cans on the table.  Classy.)

Thanks to the Walkers for providing the kids to entertain Ethan (and subsequently the rest of us).  Hope you guys enjoyed our family!

On Sunday we went out for lunch at Brixx (mmm love that place, get half BBQ chicken no onions and half Americo), and walked over to Stride Rite to get Ethan his FIRST pair of real shoes!!!  At school, he needs closed toe shoes to go to the playground, once he starts walking.  Which I think will be soon because they really hinder his scoot.

He was so, so proud.  Ya'll, not even joking, he got them on and kicked kicked and then looked at all of us, just BEAMING!  It was about the cutest thing ever and totally melted a mommy's heart.

We celebrated this milestone as any good milestone gets celebrated - with ice cream from Marble Slab Creamery.  Ethan and I shared a baby scoop cup of Sweet Cream vanilla, the perfect way to end a fun outing.

Happy Birthday Grandma and Ga-Ga!

Ethan's First Day of School

Our little baby Ethan is not so little anymore - he is going to school this fall!  He will be going on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9AM-1PM.

We went to meet the teacher the day before school started and saw his room, got the lowdown on all of the stuff we needed to bring to "donate", what we should send with him, and what to expect!!!  (By the way: clorox wipes, kleenex, diapers, wipes, lunch, extra outfit, milk, sippy cup.)

While we were chatting with the teachers, Ethan went off to make friends.  He scooted right over to other kids and tried to take their toys.  Oops, the Peachtree City moms totally gave me the side-eye.  Well, he doesn't have to share at home, give us a break, plus he's only 17 months sheesh.  His room is adjacent to the baby room, and there is a big shared play area complete with a ball pit that Ethan loved.  

We were a little bit worried about taking him to his first day.  Daddy got the obligatory "First Day Photo" on his dropoff, but guess who wanted to check out the playground...yep, that's our pumpkinhead.

He says, "BYE DADDY!!!  I'M OFF TO GO MAKE FRIENDS LIKE A BIG KID!!"

Holy crap, they grow fast.  Bye kiddo.  We love you.  Please hug and kiss us when we pick you up.  Until you're 20, at least.  We love you.  *Tear*  We love you.

15 months old!

Little buddy is getting so big!  We think he is going through another growth spurt now as well - I guess that doesn't stop for a lot more years?!

He's been dropping the afternoon nap, so Dad's been trying to start his morning nap later - after 10AM if possible.  And sometimes it's a lot later if the boys went someplace fun, like the zoo or aquarium, with Ethan's buddy Silas.  And sometimes he still sleeps in the afternoon though, it comes and goes.

We are finally fully on  cow's milk (we use Horizon Whole Milk with DHA).  Thanks to my donor mommies for stretching out their pumping sessions to give us mommy milk.

Bedtime continues to be easy (thank goodness!) - diaper and jammies while singing "Are You Sleepy" and "My Ethan Lies Over the Ocean, bottle, a book "Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night" (he pushes all other books away), kisses and lay him in the crib.  Mealtime continues to be difficult (kid hates to eat anything other than a crunchy carb).

Ethan is still scooting instead of crawling, and his legs and arms are not very strong as a result.  Thus, no walking.  Not very much standing.  He is starting to go up on his knees a lot more to peek into the toybox, and LOVES climbing over stuff (like pillows on the ground).  His ped recommended an early intervention evaluation - just in case - so we are working on getting that scheduled.

(His nose-crinkle-smile when you say "CHEEEEEESE" or he is trying to make you laugh)

Likes
Music, especially Raffi - we listen to Pandora a lot

Anything that he can 'drive' - trucks, cars, tractors

Putting things into things.

We try not to have the TV on too much BUT those teething days are tough.  Thomas the Train and Curious George to the rescue (thank goodness for PBS Kids and Sprout).

Foods - Cheerios, saltine crackers, and cheesy poofs; Peanut butter (on crackers or toast); breakfast bars and Clif bars; sweet potato, pumpkin, or squash type foods.

Monkey during the day if he's feeling yucky or tired.  Paci, blankie, and teddy at sleepy times.

Puppies!  He gets so, so excited when he sees puppies duirng walks.

Mark and Silas - he is a little Silas groupie, and Daddy is grateful for the adult company :)

Dislikes
Pooping - poor kid has trouble once in awhile

Eating in general - except for the list above

Sippy cups - although that is getting better with water :)

(Enjoying a bagel and cream cheese on Father's Day)

Play Date

My friend Danielle and her little guy Ike invited us to join them at Imagine It! Children's Museum (back in February).

Ethan was not yet one and hadn't been out a ton with other kids.  Ike was definitely ready to walk and explore, while Ethan was more content to play on the ground with toys in the toddler area.  But they did have fun in the cars!

I'm totally stealing Danielle's post's photos because I didn't take any!!

Ethan really liked playing with the other babies, LOVED plunking on the piano, and played with all the toys he could.

After eating a mouthful of the touch and feel exhibit, we did discover he's still too little to play with sand.

We can't wait to go back again, and when he's a little bit older!

OK. Well.

Sheesh, I have been 'meaning' to catch up to blogging for months.  Like since Christmas.  I have these posts sitting pending in my drafts.  I'm gonna catch up on some of them here, and finish the other posts this week.

January
Happy 1st Birthday Hailey!

Happy 1st Birthday Finn!

Running the Hot Chocolate 5k with Amy. (We didn't do it due to the early start time and traffic.  Instead Jeff dropped us off from home 3.1 miles away, country-farmkid-style.)...we also shopped for, and FOUND, my mom's Mother Of The Bride dress, which is amazing and beautiful.  Thanks a million to Bridals by Lori for their excellent customer service (again).

My favorite crazy haired little man Ike invited Ethan to a play date at the Children's Museum.  Ike is a good walker and loved the mini car.  Ethan loved all the kids (as per usual).

February
Happy 35th Birthday Jeff!

Happy Baby Shower Chrissy!

March
The Mammengas visited for a week!

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!

Camping at Chattahoochee Bend State Park!

Happy Easter!

April
Happy 1st Birthday Charlotte!

The Zoo!

Welcome to Georgia Jason and Bobbie!

SEFF, where Jeff volunteered more than he flew his plane!

May
Happy 1st Birthday Emma!  Our friends Kelsey and Ryan moved in just down the road and hosted their first part in their new house (which is beautiful).  The kiddos had a blast playing on the quilts in the soft spring grass.  Emma ate her cake like a champ!

Happy Birthday to ME!  We went out for dinner to Star of India - super yummy.  Then we all promptly caught a stomach bug.  I'm sure it was not related but it super sucked the life out of my birthday and Mother's Day weekend.  We had planned to go to Vogel State Park, my favorite, but canceled last minute because we were sick.  But that allowed us to go to the next party......

Happy 1st Birthday Matthew!

Happy Bridal Shower Amy!

Fayette Flyers Family Fly-in!

Lots of Play Dates!

Happy Bachelorette Amy!

Shopping, and Hot Chocolate 5k-ish

This post is a flashback to January as I'm trying to catch up...

Now that Amy's dress was completely lined up, it was time to focus on the Mother of the Bride dress.

Amy and Mom decided to come back to Atlanta - to Bridals by Lori - since we had such a stellar experience with Amy's dress shopping adventure.  The weekend ALSO coincided with the Hot Chocolate 5K, which Amy and I signed up to walk together!

It did not disappoint - they had TONS of plus-size options for Mom to try on and really get an idea of how they would look.  In addition, the store was hosting two trunk shows that day so we had even more to choose from!

After a couple hours, we finally settled on a beautiful, beaded, navy dress.  I can't wait to see how she looks in July!

We got to the car - exhausted, thrilled, and thirsty.  My car wouldn't start.  The battery died!!!  I called Jeff, who was an hour away.  Amy called AAA, who was an hour away.  We had them both come and were going to use whoever came first - they came at the same time.  La vie.  We got a jump and got home just fine.

That night, Amy and I decided we were too tired to get up at 5AM for the 5K.  Besides, we had already picked up our swag on Saturday en route to the bridal store, so we had the goodies in hand.

We decided Jeff would drive out 3.1 miles to the railroad tracks, drop us off, and we could walk/run home.  Reminded me of track back in Warner!  #countrylife

It was actually really fun to do that!  Although Ellison Road is way busier than I thought, and cars get REALLY close (I will stick to my neighborhood and gravel roads from now on).

I sported my new fitbit and got 13K+ steps that day.  And we were done by lunchtime, without having to get up so early and park downtown!  So fun!

Mom, Dad, and Amy spent the rest of the day loving up on Ethan.  He loved them right back.

Holiday Decorations 2014

Photo dump!  Here's is our Merry Christmas cheer (inside).  Jeff did a GREAT job with the outside again, but somehow...no pics.  Oops.

Thanks to Grandma Hartman and Aunt Judy my Snowbabies collection exploded this year!  YIPPEE!

Next year I'm doing a kid-friendly tree with NON breakable ornaments...the silver and gold is pretty, but not toddler friendly...

I got super sweet monogrammed stockings from Pottery Barn Kids (whoa, needed a coupon for that one).  Also notice we were "hot" in December (the door is open!).

My kitchen..........bleh...........can't wait to renovate....

Dos Leches Christmas Party

Yep, as if the holiday season is not busy enough - we hosted a not-quite-impromptu-but-almost Christmas Party!  It was for all of the families of moms that I met at work in the Mother's Room.

 And that mean LOTS of young babies.  Our house wasn't baby proofed.  Or clean.  All the food and drink was prepurchased from Publix...#noshame #workingmomforthewin

We even managed to do a gift exchange.  You know, the one where you pick one from the pile and then can steal...it went "ok"...maybe not next year lol.  It seemed like a lot of additional pressure we didn't need!  But it was a fun activity.

It was a perfect time to meet the other babies you hear so much about over the curtain, and a great time for camaraderie and fellowship.

These women have become an important piece of my mama tribe and I'm super grateful for them!!!

Two Weeks in SD aka CHRISTMAS 2014 PART 1

I'm naming this year's Christmas adventure "Traveling to the Tundra" because is was D*MN cold this year in South Dakota.

We started our adventure one day early due to flight loads, which meant we were there two full weeks - one week with the Sioux Falls family (Jeff's) and just under a week with my family in Aberdeen.

Since it was a CRAZY two weeks, I'll give the quick(ish) version.  Stayed at the Mammengas in Harrisburg.  Visited Santa.  Made cookies.  Wrapped gifts.  Went to candlelight service followed by Christmas Eve with the Hartmans.  Celebrated Christmas Day at the Mammengas.

Visiting Santa

 

Lots of cousin time

Special Time with Grandma and Poppa

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning!

Christmas Day with everyone

and then drove through a blizzard for 3 hours to get to Warner...