2 months

As of yesterday, Ozzie is two months old!

Ozzie has been giving us small smiles since six weeks, but over the last couple of days he has broken out the big grins. He also has the sweetest little coos!

This morning was his two month check up. He weighs 13 lbs, 4 oz. and is 24 inches long. When Hannah Grace was 2 months, she weighed 11lbs, 15 oz. I couldn't find her stats for length, but I saw that at four months, she was 24.25 inches. So, so far, Ozzie is just a bigger baby!

The last four or five nights, Ozzie has been going to bed between 9:30 and 11:00, waking to eat 5-6 hours later, and then falling back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. I am perfectly fine with this schedule and hope it continues!

Hannah Grace continues to be sweet with her brother, even though she tends to wake him up from naps more times than I'd like. Oh well, that's life with infants and toddlers, right? 

Catch Up

One of these days, I'll be a more consistent blogger. 

We took a week to visit our family and friends in Middle Tennessee this earlier this month, and despite having taken my camera with me, I did not take a single picture.

One of these days, I'll also be a more consistent photographer-of-my-daily-life. 

 Ozzie is still sleeping wonderfully at night (last night he had a six hour stretch-- too bad Hannah Grace cried off and on for two hours of it. I think her two year molars are making their presence known). He is staying awake for longer stretches during the day, and I've even gotten a couple of little sweet smiles from him. 

Hannah Grace has had a huge language explosion over the last few weeks. Not only is her everyday vocabulary increasing, but she has also learned her colors (red, blue, green, purple, yellow, orange, and pink). We are also in the process of teaching her to count; she can repeat numbers 1-10, but I'm working with her to understand that each number represents a quantity. It's been fun!

John and I are finding a new groove with two children, but it has been far easier than the first time around. 

So thankful for that. 

One Month

Ozzie turned one month old yesterday! He has become much more alert during the day, staying awake for 1.5 to 2 hour increments before falling asleep for a couple of hours. He goes down "for the night" between 10:00 and 11:00 and sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time. Occasionally he'll have a fussy period at night from 7:00-10:00, but it's not too bad. 

Ozzie is NOTHING like Hannah Grace as an infant. He is rarely fussy without reason (reasons being gas, hunger, or sleepy), he is not colicky like she was at night, and he is content to sit, whereas Hannah Grace wanted to be walked around all the time. 

Speaking of Hannah Grace, she loves her brother. She always wants to hold him, she gives him kisses, and she likes to walk over to him and say, "Hi, Ozzie!" (even when he's asleep). She is still taking her daily nap (hallelujah), and sometimes I'm able to get Ozzie to sleep an hour or two during her nap. 

I've been asked many times how life is with two kids, and my answer is BUSY. Between nursing Ozzie (this takes up the largest portion of my time), cooking, cleaning, spending time with Hannah Grace, and the general care of having a toddler an infant (diapers, baths, etc.), I don't stop. The only reason I have time to blog is because I am putting off things that need to be done. Ozzie is sitting in his bouncy seat next to me (rather discontentedly, poor thing, ha), but I am hoping he falls asleep soon. 

((After I wrote that last sentence, Ozzie began crying, so I nursed, then rocked him to sleep)). 

What surprised me the most, and the most challenging thing about two kids, for me, is Hannah Grace. At two, she doesn't understand so many things about having Ozzie around. She sees that Ozzie is with me a LOT and doesn't understand that it has to be this way for awhile. Don't get me wrong, again, she is thrilled to have a baby in the house, but it's still an adjustment for her (and for me). I so badly want to take her to the park or let her swim in her pool out back, and I'm hoping to do one of those things this week, especially since these temperatures have chilled out (literally and figuratively, ha). 

I keep telling myself this is a season, and Hannah Grace won't always be so whiny (I really do believe that she could be much worse). John and I have already seen improvement in her behavior over the last two weeks, and for that I'm grateful. I know it's a lot for her to go through. 

Another challenge is maintaining the house. I understand my house does not have to be spotless, but seeing toys scattered all over the place, dishes in the sink, and laundry piled up stresses me out. I like order. I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the laundry (especially John's, which requires the most work since his work clothes have to be ironed). The kitchen is cleaned at least once a day, but I have yet to be able to maintain it's tidiness all day long. Cleaning up after Hannah Grace's messes is my definite weakness right now, mostly because those messes never stop. It has gotten better, and I've started having her help me clean up after herself once she's finished with an activity. Again, it's an adjustment, and I know it won't always be so difficult to keep up with everything. 

I am beyond grateful to feel so much more relaxed than I expected. I was SO nervous the first few weeks with Hannah Grace, and this time around I am much more relaxed. Everything feels so much more natural, and I'm so thankful for that. 

On the Go

Hannah Grace and Ozzie are both sleeping, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to share what we've been up to. 

Last week was my first full week with both kids and no help. Part of me was nervous and the other part was happy to start to get back to some sort of routine (although I use the term "routine" loosely). 

One thing I was a little anxious about was going out with both of them. A lot of people suggested that John just go with me or that I wait until Hannah Grace was in bed for the night, but neither of those options are realistic, not for us anyway. I'm happy to say that the three of us went many places last week (one outing per day) with very little drama! I took them grocery shopping, to Target (twice), the doctor's office, Chick Fil A, Wal-Mart, and one other place, but it has slipped my mind. I also went to church for the first time since Ozzie's birth on Sunday (taking Ozzie, too, of course). Ozzie nurses anywhere from every 1.5-3 hours, so I do my best to plan outings around his feedings. So far it hasn't been a problem. 

With today being Independence Day, we thought we'd have plans, but the one fireworks show we were considering going to was canceled, so it looks like we'll just be hanging out at home this evening. That's o.k., though; the heat would not have been very pleasant. 

Ozzie is waking, so I'm off to feed him. Have a safe 4th!

Ozzie.

Oscar Michael

Ozzie, one day old. 

6.8.12

8lbs.14oz.

20 in.

Named to honor John's grandfather, Oscar, and my dad, Mike (Michael). 

Ozzie is super sweet, very relaxed, and a great sleeper (so far)!

Big sister Hannah Grace loves to hold him, kiss him, and cuddle him (think Elmyra, ha). 

At his "two week" appointment this morning, he weighed 9lbs, 13 oz and was 21.5 inches long, so he is growing a lot already!

I am adjusting to two kids, but it has not been nearly as bad as I feared. So far, ha. 

We are very thankful for another healthy baby!

Two!

I never got around to doing a two year update post (other than what I wrote about her check up) for Hannah Grace, so before things get crazy, I thought I'd write one up!

Hannah Grace wears a 2T in clothes most of the time, but I occasionally buy a 3T in shirts; her shoe size is a 7. 

She loves Curious George, but she is making fast friends with Minnie Mouse. Elmo and Dora are friendly acquaintances :) 

She loves being read to. Any of Eric Carle's books are her favorite, along with Curious George and books that rhyme. 

Hannah Grace loves to help. At two years old, she can pour laundry detergent into the washer (I pour it into the cap, then give it to her), load the dryer, unload the dishwasher (she knows which drawers utensils, measuring cups/spoons, and spatulas, etc. go), and put kitchen towels where they belong. She also helps me by picking things up off the floor, wiping up spills, and bringing me things I need. 

She LOVES to be outside, whether its in her little pool in our back yard, at the Chick Fil A play place, or at the park. I so wish we had a splash pad around here; I think she would love it. 

She has quite a few words but doesn't string them together much. I think that's about to change in the next couple of months though. Despite that, she is very good at communicating her wants and needs. 

Hannah Grace loves going to church and always says, "God, church, Bible, and Jesus" when we are in the car. I think she thinks we're always on our way to church when we're in the car, ha. It's sweet, though. Because she enjoys being there so much, we have contemplated putting her in a mother's day out program, but we are planning to enroll her in gymnastics soon, and the cost between the two would be over $200/month. 

She loves her baby dolls (and anything that could be used as a baby, including her rock star Elmo doll, ha). She is always strolling one of them around or trying to put a diaper on one. It's super cute, and I think she will be a big help when her brother arrives. 

Bedtime is around 8:30 (earlier if she's moody), and she sleeps until about 7:00. Lately, though, she has been waking at 6 because she keeps losing her pacifier. Once I find one and give her a sippy with milk, she'll stay in bed (sometimes asleep, sometimes half awake) until 7 or so. 

Hannah Grace is a ton of fun, and has gotten so much more pleasant over the last year. She makes John and I laugh all the time. We have yet to see any signs of "terrible twos", but that does NOT mean she doesn't throw the occasional fit or have a bad day. It's just not the nightmare that so many parents make it out to be. 

We love watching her grow! Thankful to be her mommy (and John her daddy)!

Productive.

Despite being home all weekend with John and Hannah Grace, I don't have any pictures to share. Bummer.

I dedicated the last three days to emptying out night stands, side tables, bathroom cabinets, closets, dressers for unworn clothes. I rearranged a bookshelf, got our guest room/baby closet in top shape, and organized Hannah Grace's "sock drawer" (which had become a hodge podge of miscellaneous baby/toddler items. The laundry was caught up, last minute odds and ends for the baby washed, and many, many things sorted into three piles: keep, donate, and throw away. 

Our house is almost completely clutter free. This is not to say that our house is spotless (our living room shows very little evidence that I spent any time cleaning and organizing this weekend), but it does mean there is a place for about 90% of the stuff in our house. It also means that drawers (nightstands, side tables in the living room, etc.) do not contain junk. Their contents are very intentionally placed, and it will remain that way from now on. 

We are less than two weeks out from the baby, and I think we are about ready. Oh boy! 

Collages With Picasa

My laptop crashed. John's desktop crashed. In the same week. My laptop had three years of pictures on the hard drive. 

Unsalvageable. 

I'm not sure how exactly how many pictures I've taken over the last three years, but I do know the number was in the thousands. 

Lesson learned: Back. Everything. Up. And not just on a hard drive, because fires and tornadoes happen. Not that I'm that super paranoid, but when you've seen the effects of houses destroyed by those two things, you can't help but keep it in mind when it comes to saving photos. 

So I signed up for Picasa, thinking it could be used for online photo storage. I learned that while it can be used in that way, I would actually have to do it through a Google+ account, and I really didn't want to go that route. 

So I signed up for SkyDrive instead, and what photos I do have are now stored there. 

However, I played around on Picasa, and while it's mostly known for it's mediocre editing software, it actually has a very nice system for organizing photos on your hard drive. So I kept it. And then I realized this was what several bloggers used to create photo collages. 

Do you know how much easier it is for me to share multiple photos at once by using a collage? 

Way. 

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago at a nearby park. Hannah Grace loves the park, and I love that she can entertain herself (while getting exercise) while I either sit or simply follow her around and get a nice tan. 

Anyhoo, I created this collages in like, three minutes. If that. And it loaded onto this post in like, one minute. This is a major time saver that I will be using a whole lot more in the future!

2 year check up

Hannah Grace had her two year check up on Monday; she weighed in at 26.5lbs is is about a quarter inch shy of 35 inches. While she isn't considered tall for her age, I'm pretty sure she isn't short either. Because John is 5'6'' and I am 5'7'', I've wondered what her adult height will be. I have heard that if you double a child's height on their second birthday, you'll have a rough guesstimate of their adult height. For Hannah Grace, that would be about 5'7''. We'll see!

Ready to go to the doctor! Not ready for her shot!

Other than height and weight, her pediatrician did the typical overall body check (eyes, ears, heartbeat, etc.), and Hannah Grace hated every. single. minute. of that. What's ironic is that as much as she hates being checked over, she loves to play doctor on me with her new doctor kit. Go figure. She also had to have one shot: chicken pox. She was scheduled to get it at her fifteen month appointment, but John and I felt more comfortable delaying it until age 2 (Mostly because we would rather she have just gotten the chicken pox and avoided the vaccine all together. Oh well). That brought on even more crying and whimpering, even ten minutes after the nurse had left and said we were free to leave. In fact, I couldn't even get Hannah Grace re-dressed at first because she just clung to me. I felt awful, so I promised her a trip to Chick Fil A for lunch along with a cookie for dessert. I ran into my friend Jessica at the doctor's office and told her my lunch plans, so she rounded her kids up and joined us. I think we were there about two hours, but Hannah Grace had a great time and the whole doctor's trip was out of her mind by the end of lunch. 

Yesterday Hannah Grace took a one hour nap, from 11-12. That is not her normal nap time (or length of time), so I'm not sure why she slept so early (for so little time). However, after her bath last night, I could tell she was super drowsy, so I let her watch a video. She conked out in the middle of it, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of her, sweet girl. 

2 years old

Last Friday, Hannah Grace turned two! John and I spent several weeks leading up to her birthday debating whether or not we wanted to drive to Nashville to attend my cousin's graduation and have a birthday party for Hannah Grace there. We finally decided to just stay home; we are quite limited on our "free" weekends now, so we wanted to make the most of this one from the comfort of our home. As it turned out, Andy, Cherie and Zach were able to visit, so on top of her birthday presents, Hannah Grace got to spend a couple of days with her favorite buddy, Zach. 

Hannah Grace's actual birthday was VERY low key. John had to work that morning, and I needed to buy some food for the weekend, so we did a little grocery shopping. I dropped the groceries back off at the house, and we headed back out to have lunch at Chick Fil A (and so Hannah Grace could play). However, her birthday just so happened to be the first day of summer break for all the public school kids, and Chick Fil A was slammed. SO, I circled the restaurant and drove out, deciding to go to Hannah Grace's second favorite restaurant, McCallister's.

Mac and Cheese Birthday Lunch!

We made a quick trip to Old Navy (where she greeted the mannequins with a hug), and I grabbed two pairs of flip flops and a romper for her to unwrap later that day. She found the hat, ball, and sunglasses throughout the store, and once she had them all on, I had to take this picture. She is so silly.

As you can see, her birthday "party" was very, very basic. Along with the doll high chair and stroller I mentioned in my last post, Hannah Grace received two Curious George books, some clothes, and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. Cherie let her pick out a toy from Target, and she chose one of those magnetic doodle pads. My brother and sister in law sent a Target gift card, so she'll get to pick out something else (most likely something made by Leap Frog).

The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun, and it was so nice to spend time with friends here at home. With the baby coming in a few short weeks, we won't be making any more trips to Middle Tennessee until at least mid-July, so we were thankful to squeeze in one last hurrah with them before the baby!

Awesome Deals

If you've read this blog long enough, or if you know John and I, you'll know that one of our favorite stores is Essex. Essex is a retail outlet that has the appearance of a junk store, but if you take the time to look around, you'll find amazing deals on brand name products. These products range from electronics to toys to household items and much more. After my mom left Saturday afternoon, John and I decided to venture over to our local Essex to see what they had. I was not expecting to find much of anything, but I was proven wrong, and we walked out with these items: 

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Doll High Chair. If you are familiar with Melissa and Doug products, you'll know they're very well made and very pricey. We already knew we wanted to buy Hannah Grace a doll high chair for her birthday, but the only ones I had seen in stores were fairly cheap quality for around $20. I had seen this high chair from Melissa and Doug on Amazon for $50, but there was no way I wanted to pay that much for something made for a doll (especially when Hannah Grace's real high chair cost the same amount). However, the price on this high chair at Essex was $25, and since the date was from early February**, it was 60% off, making it a whopping TEN DOLLARS. 

Madame Alexander Dolls Nursery Stroller. A doll stroller was another present we wanted to give Hannah Grace for her birthday. I had checked the strollers at Babies R Us and Target and was not impressed with any of them. They were all very short (so she couldn't grow with them), small, and like the doll high chairs, were made from cheap materials. When I saw this stroller at Essex, I reviewed it on Amazon and thought it would be the best option. John and I weren't wild about the $25 price tag, but when I considered the fact that it's $47 on Amazon, and we were getting such a great deal on the high chair, it was worth the money. 

Janome HD 3000. Y'all, I still can't believe this thing is sitting on my kitchen table. A couple of months ago I started researching slightly-higher-end (in the $300-$500 price range) sewing machines for the fun of it. The sewing machine I had been using was given to me by my mom when I graduated from MTSU, and while it was (and is) a GREAT machine, especially for beginners, it was unable to do a few things I was wanting it to do. Having never heard a bad thing about Janome, I began to research their machines. I knew I didn't want anything super fancy, but rather, a sturdy basic machine with the extra things I was looking for. I was torn between this machine and the Janome HD 1000; the biggest difference was that the HD 1000 had a front loading bobbin and the HD 3000 had a drop in bobbin. There were also a few complaints about the HD 3000's automatic needle threader, and that made me leery to consider purchasing it. ANYway, while we were at Essex on Saturday, I thought I'd see what machines they had in stock (I've only ever seen Singer and Brother brands, so I wasn't expecting much). As I approached the aisle, I was stunned to not only see a box with 'Janome' printed on the side, but a box containing the very machine I'd spent two months researching, at $140 less than Amazon's price. I was excited, but I was realistic in knowing that we couldn't really just drop that much money on a sewing machine (especially when I didn't truly need it), but I mentioned it to John anyway. He didn't say no, but he didn't say we should buy it either, so I sort of just forgot about it. 

To make a long story short, John and the manager wound up talking, and since we were "considering" spending so much money, the manager agreed to give us an extra 10% discount. This meant that the sewing machine that cost $350 on Amazon was suddenly sitting there for $189. Sold. 

I also happened to spot a guitar made by Taylor and pointed it out to John. It was priced ridiculously low, and knowing a couple of people who were wanting that very guitar, we put it in the buggy with the rest of our stash. John's already received one (maybe two) official offers on the guitar, so it'll soon be out of our house, but I know he is happy to help someone get a nice guitar at a great price. 

John and I joke that we cannot ever walk in an Essex unless we have spending money, because we always seem to find hard to resist deals on products we actually want. After this last trip, I'm thinking we should stay out of a store for awhile! But we sure are happy about our purchases!

**I mentioned that the date on the doll high chair affected the price, making it cost less than the price on the sticker. The way Essex works is that they price they're items roughly half of what Amazon sells the product for. After one month, the price goes down 10%. Every ten days after that, the price goes down another 10%. So, if there is a Kitchen Aid mixer priced at $150 with a date of April 1st, and it is still on the shelf on May 20th, then it's 30% off the $150, making it $105. Get it? Pretty awesome.

Good Week

I was dreading last week.

John had a big week at work, which included longer than normal days and a night away. Paired with Hannah Grace's mid-night wakings and napless afternoons, I knew the week would be rough. I wound up talking on the phone with my mom about it Monday night, and she offered to drive over the next day and visit for the week. I had my 32 week appointment Tuesday afternoon, and John wasn't able to come, so it worked out perfectly for her to watch Hannah Grace while I was with the doctor.

My appointment went well, and when I told my doctor how large the baby felt, he measured my stomach. "Well," he said, "you're measuring at 34 weeks, so you're doing o.k.". I glanced at him as he checked the computer that contained my information, "Oh wait," he continued, "you're 32 weeks. Let's do an ultrasound next time to check the baby's weight". Ha, so I'm measuring two weeks early. This doesn't really mean they'll voluntarily take the baby two weeks early (although I wouldn't mind it), but it's probably a sign that this little dude is gonna be a little on the large side (Hannah Grace was 8lb 10oz, and additional children tend to be larger at birth)!

Mom and I spent a majority of the week sewing, and I learned to make my own bias tape!

The left is 1 inch single fold bias tape, and the right is double fold bias tape. They are about 9 yards each, and I paid $3 for the fabric to make everything. To put how good of a deal is into perspective, you can buy about 3 yards of plain colored bias tape for about $2 at a fabric store. I have no idea what I'm going to use the tape on yet, but I'm happy to have learned a new sewing skill!

Mom brought along a pattern and fabric to make ruffled diaper covers, and oh my gosh, they were so adorable. In fact, on one of our three trips to Jo-Ann, I picked out a a set of fabric for her to make another pair for Hannah Grace to match a shirt I wanted to make her. She got the ruffled diaper cover sewn, and I finished the shirt, but I don't have pictures yet due to the colder temperatures (I want to do the pictures outside since it's a cute summery outfit).

Mom also made the baby a cute, fleece baby blanket with little monsters all over it, and blanket/play mat with roads and various city themed locations that you can 'drive' around with small toy cars. And we each hand stitched cute monster patches to white onesies. Along with the quilt and final projects I'm doing for Hannah Grace, I'll share pictures of these on a separate blog post.

When we weren't sewing, we were eating (a lot, yummy), shopping at Jo-Ann, taking Hannah Grace to play (once at Chick Fil A, once at the park), and cleaning the house. We don't have a room for the baby, but he does have a closet set up in our guest room. The closet was organized, but the guest room was a wreck, so mom got it all nice and organized!

I feel like I was on a bit of a vacation with her here, especially with just getting basic household things done with an extra pair of hands to help with Hannah Grace. So now that I've had my "vacation", I think I can make it to the birth of this little boy! Less than eight weeks!

Big Girl Bedding

Several months ago, the Target near our house had a bunch of children's bedding on clearance. I didn't pay much attention at first because the smallest size (twin) was still too big for Hannah Grace's crib mattress. However, once I saw the $4.49 cent price tag on the sheet set, which included a flat sheet, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases, I knew I could do something with it. I decided to buy two sheet sets, which means I got at least four yards of fabric for less than $10. 

To make a long story short, I made a little bedding set for Hannah Grace. It includes a fitted crib sheet, a blanket (the polka dot is ultra cuddle fleece from JoAnn; I used the fabric as the sheet backing, as you can sort of tell in the picture), and a pillowcase, combining it with another fabric that brought the color scheme together. I also made a changing pad cover, but I don't have a picture of it. 

In case you were wondering, the main fabric on the pillowcase was already put together that way. I don't yet have the patience (or time) to cut so many little squares out and sew them together just for the sake of a pillowcase! 

Sound asleep. 

. . . and about 45 seconds later. Ahem. Good going, Mommy. 

I'm really pleased with how everything turned out, and that I was able to use a few variations of fabric to bring the other things (her curtains and diaper stacker) together. And for right around $30, the price can't be beat!

If anyone is curious, the tutorial I used for the crib sheet can be found here. The tutorial I used for the pillowcase can be found here. 

For the polka dotted blanket I just sewed the right sides together (leaving a space to turn), turned it right side out, and top stitched all the way around. I decided to take some embroidery floss and tie it in a few places just to hold the blanket together a little more, but that isn't necessary. I really just wanted to see what it would look like!

"Spring Break"

Last week John wasl off work, so we planned a trip to Franklin/Murfreesboro to spend some time with family and friends. Unless we go back the weekend of Hannah Grace's birthday in May, we are pretty sure that was our last trip until after the baby comes. 

The first part of the week was spent at John's parent's house near Franklin. His birthday was the 3rd (big 29!) so we spent the evening at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Eagleville with Andy, Cherie, and Amber (her husband Michael had to work). We also got some great outside time when John decided to burn a bunch of. . . stuff? . . . brush? . . . debris? . . . sawed down tree with lots of sticks and limbs is what it really was, ha. Hannah Grace loves being outside, so it was fun for her to watch John do his thing while she ran around freely (or as freely as she could while avoiding my in-laws gigantic dog). 

Thursday we drove over to my mom's after having lunch with John's parents and Cherie in celebration of John's mom's birthday. Friday morning my mom and I got up, ate breakfast, dressed Hannah Grace and got her ready for what was supposed to be a three to four hour shopping trip at Opry Mills. Thanks to Good Friday crowds and long lines in stores and at the food court (we waited an hour in line at Charley's Subs. . . but even Burger King's line was that long), our three to four hour trip was more like seven! I'm happy (and quite honestly shocked) to say that Hannah Grace did very, very well and even stayed in her stroller four of those hours (two being for a nap)! She loves walking around, but I think just looking at everything going on made her tired, ha. 

Opry Mills is great and definitely has some awesome stores. Because it's an outlet mall, I would have loved for them to have an Osh Kosh, but since Murfreesboro store runs so many good sales I wasn't too bothered by the mall's lack of one. Hannah Grace LOVED the Disney store (where I secretly bought her a couple of birthday presents) and the gift shop at Rainforest Cafe. I loved the Vera Bradley outlet and have decided that I cannot step foot back in Opry Mills without having the money to buy something from there (I mean, my zipper I.D. case is getting old. . . and I have a new baby coming which means I could use one of their pretty purses as a diaper bag. . . right?). Ahem. My mom was also very generous and bought me some dressier clothes from Motherhood Maternity that I can wear to church. 

The only major complaint I have about the mall is this: If Stones River Mall in Murfressboro can have a small play area, then why can't Opry Mills? They put millions of dollars into this mall, and all they have is just a few areas for people to sit and NO place for kids to run around. It can't cost that much to put in a couple of age appropriate slides and tunnels (age appropriate being 18 months to six years old) so that parents can sit and have a break. Kids can only sit in strollers for so long! Anyhoo, that's it. It just seems like such a "duh" idea to me that I was really surprised when we didn't see anything. 

On Saturday we took Hannah Grace to a park for a little while so she could play. My mom is having a carport added on to her house, so her backyard was off limits to Hannah race! That afternoon we went on an impromptu fishing trip with John's brother's family, and then wrapped the evening up with eating Chick Fil A on my mom's newly paved patio. 

We decided at the last minute to go to church on Easter (well, we knew we wanted to go, we just didn't know where). Hannah Grace had the cutest dress, but I didn't get very many pictures of her wearing it. Oh well. We ate lunch with my mom, aunt, uncle, and cousin at a new restaurant (Farmer's) in Murfressboro. Once we stuffed our guts, we loaded up in our little van and headed home!

Yesterday was a super lazy day and I got 90% done on a quilted blanket for the baby. I hope to finish today so I can take some pictures and share with everyone!

on traveling so dang much

We were home for the week, and now we're about to head back out for the weekend for a birthday party and baby shower. Then we'll be home another week before traveling again. 

I always have fun while we're visiting family and friends; it's the whole week after that messes me up. And when we're coming and going several weeks in a row, it really messes me up. I don't feel like cooking (as much), it takes longer to get the house clean because exhaustion catches up with me and Hannah Grace becomes excessively whiny without all the extra attention. 

When we were home for six weeks (February through the middle of this month), I got into a great groove of maintaining our house and cooking dinner each night. I allotted myself a certain amount of money to take Hannah Grace out for breakfast one day a week and lunch another. I meal planned on Sunday nights and grocery shopped on Monday. By the middle of April we will have been gone five weekends in a row, plus two full weeks. It's really hard to get into any kind of groove when you're gone that much. I've told several people that when the baby comes, that kind of traveling will stop. I need routine, Hannah Grace needs routine, and the baby will need routine. John simply benefits from any sort of routine we have going on (i.e. home cooked meals when he gets home at night and a somewhat tidy house). 

But for now I'm going to enjoy spending time with family and friends. I really do have fun, but I am definitely looking forward to getting back into a routine (or as much of a routine as one can have being seven months pregnant with an almost two year old). 

and i'm back.

I did not have any intention of going three weeks without blogging. I never do, but this is the second or third time it's happened.

A whole lot and a bunch of nothing has happened over the last three weeks, so I'll just give a run down and hopefully write a normal post in the next day or two:

-Celebrated four years of marriage with John (March 8th).

-Drove to Franklin to spend a couple of days with John's parents.

-Found out the first morning we were there that John's grandfather died (this was fairly expected), so we made plans to drive to Foley, Alabama the next day. We were able to grab dinner with our friends Michael and Amber that evening.

-Drove to Foley, Alabama Tuesday, the 13th. On the entire nine hour trip (Yes, nine hours for what would normally be a 6.5-7 hour trip. Welcome to traveling with a toddler), Hannah Grace cried less than two minutes. Praise God, but it is definitely work to keep her content.

-Spent roughly 48 hours in Foley, where we were fed tons of food, got to see John's sister Amy and his brother (and his wife) Stephen and Laura, spent an hour at Gulf Shores (Hannah Grace liked the sand but not that water, but it's still an improvement from last year where she hated both), rocked in rocking chairs, and swung on porch swings (Hannah Grace loved those last two things the most).

-Stopped in Montgomery on the way back to visit Stephen and Laura. Stephen grilled some chicken and corn for dinner, and Hannah Grace was able to play on a nearby playground.

-Arrived at my mom's house right before midnight on the 15th. Shopping, eating at Fulin's and Jason's Deli, and playing with my niece all took place over our two and a half day stay there.

--Drove home on the 18th.

-Cleaned all day yesterday so that I could go to Jo-Ann and sew some today. I made it to Jo-Ann, but I'm WAY too tired to do much of anything else. I have days of great productivity (like yesterday) and days like today. . . hoping to feel much more energized tomorrow because there is SO much that needs to be done over the next twelve weeks!

Leap Day!

It's not every day you get to blog on the 29th of February, so I wanted to write up a quick post!

Look what I did today!

There's a color filter on the left picture; they're actually the color depicted on the right. 

When I was pregnant with Hannah Grace, I saw the pants on the left on a clearance rack at Target. They were a 2T, but I thought for $1.25, they'd be worth hanging on to for a couple of years. Fast forward to today. I tried the pants on Hannah Grace, and while they fit in in the waist, they were too long in the length. I thought about just hemming them, but when I considered the coming warm weather and the fact we're having a boy in a couple of months (thus 2T girl pants would be useless after this summer), I decided to cut them at the knee, serge the ends, fold up, and sew! Voila! Shorts!

fun outside and meal planning

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that Hannah Grace and I were outside close to two hours (total). Add in her three hour nap and an hour long grocery shopping trip, and I have a fairly easy going day.

At one point, she ran inside and busted through the door on this riding toy, crazy girl.  

She does candid best. What a smile.

I'm happy to say that I'm almost at the end of week two of meal planning (aka, eating all dinners and most breakfasts/lunches at home), and I bought enough food yesterday to get us through the middle of next week. Some of the things on our menu are/have been: baked homemade chicken nuggets (YUM), chicken Alfredo lasagna, beef tacos, and slow cooker BBQ chicken (we eat a lot of chicken). I tend to cook meals that are inexpensive, require very little preparation, and are tasty. I think the chicken Alfredo lasagna is the most expensive meal I make, so I don't cook it very often, but oh my goodness, it is delicious! The homemade baked chicken nuggets are my most recent discovery. I had them for the first time for lunch at a friends house a few weeks ago and knew I wanted to make them. We had them for dinner early last week, and we'll be having them again next week. Super easy and super tasty!

We're having leftovers tonight (from last night's  chicken pillows), and my house is clean, so I get to spend the remainder of Hannah Grace's nap relaxing and reading!

On buying baby/toddler clothing.

As I was browsing a couple of mommy's blogs I like to read, I noticed that one of them hosted a special link up that allowed you to share where you bought your kid's clothes. That was a couple of months ago, so while I'm not officially participating in the link up, I thought it would be fun to share where I buy Hannah Grace (and her soon-to-be-born-brother's) clothes. 

There really isn't anything special about where I buy these clothes. Target and Kohl's are usually my number one go-to stores when I'm buying the basics: shirts, shorts, pants, leggings, and skirts. From these two stores I can get each of these items in the $6-$8 range. I like to check Old Navy out for any special sales or clearance deals, but I find a lot of their clothes to be overpriced for what it is (except during their kid/baby sale that happens every February and August). 

When I'm in Murfreesboro, I like to make a trip to Carter's, Osh Kosh, and Gymboree. I think of these three stores, Osh Kosh is my favorite, but all three have cute and affordable clothing. When they have a sale (which is almost all the time), their prices tend to be similar to Old Navy's, but I prefer the quality and look to the clothing from these three stores over Old Navy's (which is funny, considering how much I love Old Navy for myself). 

The first thing I do when shopping for Hannah Grace (and now her brother)? Go straight to the clearance racks. Just this morning I snagged this Carter's brand, two-piece fleece outfit for $4.98 from Kohl's.  I willingly pay $5 for baby pants, so getting both items for $5 is a steal. 

Carter's (the actual store) usually has great clearance racks, too. You can almost always catch a great clearance sale when a new season is nearing and they're trying to clear out the old season's clothes. Late last summer I bought Hannah Grace several items off the clearance rack, with an additional 30% taken off at the register. This can make for some really inexpensive clothing for your child!

I think the most surprising place I like to buy clothes from is Sam's. Right now they have a large selection of infant (3mo-24mo size) sun suits, rompers, and dresses that are Carter's brand for just $5.95. What makes this even better is going to Kohl's and seeing the exact same things being sold for $8.99. Hannah Grace has the dress below (purchased from Sam's, not Kohl's), and several weeks ago I bought her a really nice, lined Osh Kosh brand raincoat for $18. That's about as expensive as I pay for her clothes, but considering a raincoat (that isn't lined) from Target is $12, I thought it was worth the extra money for the quality and lining. 

When I'm shopping for Hannah Grace, I like to keep things inexpensive. The most I will pay for a shirt or bottoms (whether it's a skirt, leggings, shorts, or jeans) is $10, but I rarely even pay that. I think the most expensive shirt I bought for her during the winter was $9 and pants were $8. I'll pay up to $20 for a jacket/coat (her heavy-ish pea coat from Old Navy was $14 and the Osh Kosh raincoat was $18); the pea coat has been worn since October and the rain coat is light enough to wear even during summer rain showers, so I am definitely getting my money's worth. I would spend as much as $15 on a dress, but I have yet to spend even that much thanks to Target's awesome clearance rack. Late last summer I bought three dresses (for this upcoming spring) for less than $10 total. And my mom likes to buy her dresses, so that helps :)

With the coming of a second child (and a boy at that), I'm realizing how easily the cost of clothes will add up. That's why I do my best to stick to the clearance racks, my budget, and even consignment shops (when I'm in Murfreesboro-- we don't have any good ones near my house). I also have to remind myself that Hannah Grace doesn't have to have every cute shirts and pair of leggings out there, even if they are only $5. I'm finding that it's kind of fun to take what she has and make new outfits out of one or two new clothing items. For example, she has grown out of two of her three pairs of jeans. Instead of buying a new pair of jeans, I bought a pair of jean shorts and will layer leggings she already has under them while it's still cold. Then when it gets warm, we'll nix the leggings, and she'll have shorts to wear! Then I'll buy her a couple of pairs of jeans to wear all next fall and winter.

I'm not sure if this was beneficial to anyone reading it, but if any of you are like me, you like to read about this kind of stuff. Hopefully it was at least a little enjoyable!

21 months (almost)

It's been awhile (I just checked. . . six months) since I've done a post on Hannah Grace's developments and passed milestones, so I thought it was way past time to do another one!

First off, this is Hannah Grace one year ago (February 2011) at nine months old. 

And six month later at fifteen months old.

And two days ago, a few days shy of 21 months, eating her Valentine's Day cupcake.

As far as her appearance goes, Hannah Grace's face has gradually thinned out from a chubby baby face into a more mature toddler face. Her hair is at her shoulders now and long enough for pigtails or a ponytail. I've decided not to cut her bangs, mainly because I love how her hair looks as it is and don't want to change it!

She hasn't been weighed since November, when she was 24 pounds, but I'm guessing she hasn't gained much weight since then. She might be right around 25 pounds now. I'm pretty sure she was 33 inches in November, but I can tell she's grown some since then. 

Clothing sizes are sporadic. If you were to look in her closet and through her drawers right now you would see shirt sizes than range from 24 months to 3T. I've learned that brand has everything to do with what size she wears. If it's Carter's, Osh Kosh, Old Navy (usually) or Gymboree, the sizes are spot on with her age. However, Target's Circo and Just One You run small (for her, at least), which is why I've bought 3T sizes in those brands. Pant sizes are a little more consistent, as she fits fairly well into 24 month (although she has a pair of brown khakis from Osh Kosh that are still an inch and a half too long, even at the 24 month size). She has finally outgrown one pair of 18 month jeans (in the waist, at least) and one pair of 12-18 month jeans (in the length). She currently wears a size 6 in shoes (with a little bit of room to grow). 

Talking. I sat down a few days ago and jotted down the words that she has in her vocabulary and came up with 30. These are words that she says fairly clearly, with the exception of a couple, which I'm about to mention. Her words for "bath" and "banana" are the same (baaaaaa!), but she points (or goes) to which ever she wants. I'm happy to say that she has finally figured out that John and I go by different names (as opposed to both of us being 'daddy'), and she has been calling me 'mommy' for a few weeks now. Whew. 

I'm not sure where she lies along the "average" line with the number of words she says, but I'm not worried about it. Two months ago she was saying about 10 words, so there is definite progress. And she understands MUCH more than she speaks. It's amazing what I can tell her to do (pick this up, throw that away, bring me a diaper, sit/stand/lay, etc) and she respond properly. 

There's been a whole lot of disciplining going on (in various methods), which can be frustrating, especially when we've been working on several things for a couple of months (i.e. coming straight to me when I call her, even when she's right there in the room). For the most part, though, she's receptive to our discipline, and it's nice to watch her grow from stubbornness (refusing to say "please") into compliance (saying "please" when we ask her to). Sometimes she'll even say "thank you". . . "da-dooo!". 

Some of Hannah Grace's favorite things are Curious George (both of her stuffed George dolls, the show, and books), jumping on her trampoline to  music, the Princess and the Pop Star Veggie Tales video, dancing while John plays the guitar, reading with me, rough housing with John, helping me cook, going outside (HURRY UP WARM WEATHER!!!!), helping with laundry, wearing shoes, and taking care of her baby dolls. 

Her favorite foods are pasta, ANYthing with cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, most fruit, and yogurt with granola. Keep in mind these are her favorites; her actual diet consists of more than these things.

She drinks milk and juice throughout the day from her sippy cups, but she loves to drink out of big cups, so we give her water in those. That way if she spills it on the carpet, it won't show up. 

Hannah Grace takes one nap a day, going down at 1:00 and waking anywhere between 3:00 and 4:00. Bedtime is around 8:15, and she will sleep until 7:00-8:00 in the morning. 

Whew. . . I think I covered everything. She's definitely growing and changing every day, and I'm loving watching her develop. The next few months are going to be fun (I hope!).