Easter...at our house!!!

...this past Saturday, I hosted Easter at our house for my dad's side of the family. I say I because Matt was driving a float in the local St. Patrick's Day Parade for his work. To say we didn't coordinate schedules well this week would be a bit of an understatement as I had to work Saturday morning, Matt had the parade so my MIL had to be at our house at 5:45AM! Everything ended up working out so no worries though. Oh and the reason we did it early was because I was supposed to work Easter weekend but now I'm off-yah!!!

 

I made a ham, macaroni corn casserole and green bean casserole. Everyone RAVED about the ham and let me tell you how "hard" it was. I put 1.5 cups of brown sugar on the bottom of the crockpot then an 8 pound ham and rubbed half a cup of brown sugar all over it. Then I put it on low for about 7 hours and it was pure yumminess! Oh and 8 pounds made a lot because Matt and I are still eating off it. The rest of the menu...my grandma brought deviled eggs, ribs and tea; my sister brought hashbrown casserole and made 2 delicious desserts with Girl Scout cookies-yummy and Haley made Pasta House salad. The food was sooo good!

 

My MIL stayed long enough for me to make my casseroles and once my sister got there, she took over heating up all the dishes. It worked out nicely because someone is teething (top 2 teethers) so literally she would be laughing one moment and then crying the next and she only wanted momma. She was content with Papa and her Cheerios though!

We also had an egg hunt out front. As you can see, Papa and AR were smart and stayed inside to watch. 

My sis, H and Papa

Matt finally made it home in time to visit with my family before they had to leave

H hamming it up for the camera

It was a good time and easy clean-up since we used disposable cups and plates. :-) 

Miss AR is 10 Months!!!

...it's funny. I write these throughout the month and it's crazy how much you change in one month! For instance, I wrote "you are eating more and more solids" but really right now, that's all you eat!

*You are eating more and more solids. You always want to feed yourself. Although sometimes you're lazy and just hold your mouth open for another Cheerio. For the most part, you do pretty well about getting everything in your mouth although at times, I take your tray off your high chair and we find some food you dropped...or every now and then, a pea in your belly button!

*The last week of February, you went to Mommy's annual conference at the lake. You were such an angel the entire time. Nana watched you while Mommy attended sessions throughout the day but you joined us at night for a couple socials. You were acting bashful and hiding your face in my shoulder but once we got away from the big crowd, you were hamming it up for our table.

*That week, you didn't take a single bottle instead Nana gave you milk through a sippy cup with a straw. You did pretty well with it except the last few drops are difficult to get because the straw won't stay in the milk. The next week, you officially switched over to sippy cups only. You only take a bottle on the nights I work as your last feeding before bedtime.

*You stand on your own without holding on to anything...accidentally. Once you realize that you're standing and not holding on to anything, you start to wobble and reach out for something. You're getting much better at standing on your own and not freaking out. When you realize it, you now slowly get down to your crawl position.

*On the walking note...you push your Pooh table all around the room "walking" behind it. Side note: you flipped the table over and broke Pooh off-poor Pooh! At first, you showed no interest in holding my hands and walking but lately you've been holding and going around the room. Daddy or Nana and I will sit with our feet together and make you "walk" to us. You do very well and even took a few "steps" aka falling into us. :-)

*I pulled out a bigger swimsuit for you to start wearing. It's a 2T but it fits great! You went swimming 3x in one week and you love it. Maybe I should invest in a pool pass this summer and we could spend our Saturdays there, hmm...

*You still love Sophie. It's funny when we go to other baby's houses and you love their Sophie too.

*You've been having more and more playdates. Nana thinks you're a bully. I think it's just because you are "ours" that we want you to be nice so we notice you take toys more often than we do the other babies. You're great at sharing with Mommy especially Cheerios aka your entire hand in my mouth to give me one. Most of your friends that come over love the same things you do...your remote and banging on the window.

*We're slowly moving out of 6-9 month clothes and into the 9-12 month clothes. It's always sad to box up clothes because I know you'll be WAY too big next year for them.

*We're working on teaching you to sign "more." Some days I think you get it and other days, you just whine until I give you more. That's also my fault because I don't do it consistently. 

Sweet AR, you are growing up so fast! It's bittersweet...fun to watch you grow and learn but at the same time, realizing you aren't my little baby anymore. No matter what though, Mommy loves you more than you'll ever know. OXXO (not the store)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

...from my leprechaun to you-HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Thank goodness for Cheerios during photo shoots!

Hope you have a magically delicious day!!!

A Day in the Life of AR & Me...

...I've seen a day in the life posts and I really wanted to do one while on maternity leave but never go around to it. Since it seems that AR is changing so much and so fast, I figured I'd do a day in the life post for her at 10 months...here goes!

Monday-Friday
5:01AM AR's alarm goes off playing "Getcha Some" by Toby Keith
5:03AM I get up, go to the bathroom then go get AR out of bed. She snuggles with me, we turn off the sound machine, turn on the light then I sit down in the glider in her room and she nurses
5:14-5:17AM Done nursing, change AR and get her dressed for the day; put her in bed with Daddy
5:17AM Mommy goes to feed and let the dogs out
5:20 AM Mommy starts to pump, Daddy & AR come in the living room. Mommy checks email/social media, Daddy watches the news and AR plays, squealing and laughing at us, pulling books off the shelf, etc...
5:40AM Mommy's done pumping, AR "helps" Mommy clean her pump parts and get milk ready for the day
5:42AM Mommy & Daddy get ready while AR plays in the mirror but once Mommy needs to brush her teeth or fix her hair, AR thinks she needs to "help" again
5:55AM Mommy lays out pump parts to dry, puts AR's socks BACK on then passes her off to Daddy so she can leave for work (on M/W AR and Daddy leave at the same time; on Tu/Th/F AR and Daddy play some more because she can't be dropped off until 6:30AM)
6:15-6:30AM Arrive at work
10:00AM Pump (on M/W I call Grandma to check in/pass time while I pump)
2:00PM Pump
4:00PM Leave work
4:15/20PM Pick up AR from Grandma's or babysitter's
4:30PM Get home, unload car, let dogs out/feed them and put sippy cups in sink to soak/wash
4:45PM Nurse AR
5:00-5:30PM Play, play, play!
5:30PM AR eats dinner, Mommy & Daddy eat too if their dinner is ready. Mommy packs lunches while AR eats and does what chores she can in the kitchen
5:50-6:15PM Play, play, play!
6:15PM Daddy gives AR bath and Mommy takes a shower
6:30PM Mommy lotions up, new diaper and jammies on AR (this has gotten much faster since AR has become a wiggly worm!)
6:35PM AR nurses
6:45PM Mommy reads to AR (right now we're reading our Bedtime Bible)
6:50PM Daddy comes in to say goodnight; Mommy & Daddy kiss then AR gives both of us kisses then Daddy does a little dance and AR laughs hysterically! Daddy gives her one more kiss then leaves
6:55PM Mommy turns on AR's sound machine, lays her down with Ms. Monkey and her camo tag blankie; says, "Night, night. Mommy loves you! I see you in the morning..." then turns off the light and shuts the door
7:00PM  Organizes living room, putting up toys, cleans up dinner, does whatever chores needs to be done, lays dinner out for the next night.
8:00PM Starts to pump. While pumping, checks social media, blogs, etc...or watches the Big Bang Theory
8:20PM Finishes pumping, clean pump parts, finish packing AR's bag for the next day, sanitize pump parts and go to love on the dogs and let them out for the night.
8:50PM Crawl in bed, asleep usually by 9:10PM

Saturday-Sunday
Same until 6:00AM
6:00AM Goes in basement and plays with dogs and toys there. Usually Shadow sits by the gate and AR reaches through and pets him
7:00AM Naptime
8:00AM Nurse then play until breakfast
9:00AM Breakfast (usually half an Eggo and blueberries or some other fruit)
9:30AM Play upstairs or playdate or AR & Mommy meet friends for breakfast
10:30AM Starting to get fussy so Mommy nurses AR, gives a few Cheerios, checks on dogs
11:00AM Nap
12:00PM Lunch time!
12:30-2:00PM Play, play, play! Some weekends, we'll go swimming or meet Sha/H for lunch
2:00PM Nurse then play
3:00PM Nap
4:00PM Let doggies out and play with them/in basement
4:45PM-bedtime about the same

So there you have it, a day in the life! Some days seem to fly by and other days seem to creep by. AR and I both get kind of crabby around 5ish when we're both soo ready for bed! Most days when I'm off from work during the week, I try to keep her home with me or if I go in late, I'll take her to the sitter's late or my MIL will watch her at our house. I think I've taken maybe 1-2 total days off and sent her to the sitter's. I love every sweet, precious minute I get with her and would love to have more.

Here's a pic of AR standing in her toybox the other morning when I kept her home with me for a little bit on Tuesday morning. I just love this picture of her, I think because she's standing, it makes her look so grown up! She's looking at me like, "Mom, I can't move...what am I supposed to do???"

My Dirty Thirty!!!

...I had a fantastic 30th birthday! I woke up and walked into the kitchen to be greeted by this sign that Mattie had made the night before. Then I went in the basement to let the dogs out and there was another giant sign that said, "I love you! AR"

Then we all left to start our days but stopped to get donuts together. As soon as Matt and I sat down to eat, we looke over at AR patting her hands on the high chair and we realized we were going to have to share our donuts. I tore open the glazed donut and let her eat the inside which, of course, she loved! Then I got in the car and saw a bowl of Cheerios I could have given her. Oh well, she enjoyed it and I'm sure one time won't be too bad for her.

Then I got to work and my sister & H called and serenaded me with their own song. My sister asked if I had lunch plans, which I didn't, so I met her for lunch and she gave me 30 balloons!!! What a good SIL too because she remembered Matt is allergic to latex so they were all mylar balloons. I made it home with only 1 escaping and 2 popping...not bad!

When I got back to work, the flower guy was there to deliver me THREE bouquets. A beautiful floral arrangement from my dad, 30 red roses in one and then one pink rose. I think the cards got mixed up because the card with the 30 roses said from AR and the single pink rose said Matt-oops! It was fun to tease him. :-)

I got home and Matt and I rushed to get ready. I knew we were going out but had no idea doing what. He surprised me with dinner at Dominic's in Clayton and then tickets to "Warhorse" at the Fox! He definitely did a good job making my 30th birthday memorable.

Here's AR eating dinner beside my sign as we left for the evening.

We took this pic tonight after dinner...AR and me with all the balloons, flowers and signs I got for my birthday! I felt so special and loved!!!

 

You all know how to make a girl feel loved! It made embracing 30 much easier. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!!!

I'm Thirty...

...today is my 30th birthday. I am no longer in my 20s. I now have to check the second age group for 30-39. I can no longer call most of my staff "my age" because our age doesn't share the same front number. I think back over the past 10 years and am shocked at all the changes! I've gone from celebrating by a long night of partying to a quiet nice dinner. A run-down of birthday celebration pasts...

2003-I was 20 years old living in my first apartment on my own still in college and working part-time at an awesome hotel. Seriously, best college job ever! I can't remember what I actually did on my birthday but my awesome roommates (the first 2 months of 20, I was still in the dorms) helped me celebrate. Good God, what was I thinking with the tan and hair???

2004-I finally turned 21!!! Although I think I drank more before I turned 21 than after. My niece was born the month before. I moved to SC and said goodbye to college life and amazing friends. Seriously, college was the best years. Got hired into my first full-time job!

2006-I moved back from SC in November 2005. After a very low-key birthday the year before (SC vs Clemson baseball game), I was ready to party with friends of old. I bought my house this year and started dating my now husband. Also, got a new job at work that I held until 2012 when I got promoted; through this new job I met Matt. In 2005, I got 2 promotions at my old job and was loving my job but my grandpa was really sick and I was missing my niece so I moved back to MO and we lost him in 2006.

2007-Huge blowout celebration with my friends but not quite like the years before. We did a brewery tour at Schafly followed by dinner and then a night at the City Museum. This was my first birthday with Mattie and this is the very first picture of us together. We also got engaged this year!

 

 2009-Friday the 13th! Had a great night out with tons of friends. It was an awesome night except some lady stole my coat. For the life of me, I can't remember what I did in 2008 for my birthday but it was the year we got married so maybe we didn't party too hard.

2011-This was a pretty low key birthday. I think this was the transition over to "I'm too old to go out and drink all night to celebrate." We went to the Blue Owl to celebrate with my family. Mattie and I went on my birthday bike ride because that's all I really wanted to do to celebrate. In 2010, it was the night of the actual Fair Dinner Auction so that's how we celebrated. 2010 was the first time we did IVF and it didn't work but 2011 was the year I got pregnant with AR!

Over the past 10 years, I've gained a niece, husband, in-laws, stepdad, stepmom, daughter, furbabies and multiple friends. I've also lost a grandma, grandpa, stepmom, and multiple friends. I've gained weight and lost it and gained it and lost it and gained it...

I've seen email being introduced to the world and take over the world as the major form of communication. When I was in college, I had a cell phone to use when I traveled back and forth from school to home now I don't leave my house without one; in fact, I now carry 2 (one personal and one work). I watched the Real World as the first reality tv show to every channel having their own reality show.

I've graduated college...twice. I got married, had 2 rounds of IVF and delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl. I bought a brand new car, a house, a furnace, and transmission. I've visited Mexico, Jamaica and Africa. I've had 2 full-time jobs with 4 promotions (2 at each). I've run 3 half-marathons,a full marathon and countless 5ks and 10ks.

As I sit down and think about how much has changed in my life and in the world while I was in my 20s, it just stuns me. Thinking back to when I was 20 and picturing my life at 30, is it what I expected? Well, yes and no. I had hoped by 30 I would be married and have 2 kids with a job that I enjoy and a house I love. I never dreamed I would have gone through fertility treatments or that life would be as hard as it is but this is my life and I'm happy with it.

Today I turn 30 and instead of being upset about leaving my 20s, I am looking forward to what the next 10 years has in store for me, my daughter, my family and the world. It's a crazy roller coaster this thing we call life and this will be my mantra for my 30s:

 

I'm now officially a part of the Dirty Thirty Club!!!

Mommy Confessions...

...Sarah over at Running from the Law has done a series of Mommy Confessions from momma bloggers. I had started my list of my own confessions but haven't been able to touch base with Sarah to share so I thought I'd share my own confessions here. Here goes...

 

*No matter if she's hysterically crying or throwing a fit, I HAVE to line up all the snaps on the onesies or else it drives me nuts. For this reason alone, I leave out zipper pajamas for my husband for the nights I work.

*I have never talked about poop as much in my entire life as I have the past 9 months...for both her and me. I have also received pictures of poop while at work and had diapers saved for me to inspect when I get home.

*I went to a Sleep Doctor for AR. Yes, I always thought it was ridiculous to go to a sleep doctor for baby...hello! Babies sleep weird! But until you're up every night for 2-3 hours and are seriously a walking zombie, your mind will be changed.

*Now that I've stated my child isn't a great sleeper, when she does sleep then I get paranoid and will check on her. Therefore, waking her up. Smh...

*Although my child is 9 months old, I still wear maternity pants. Most of my old pants "fit," we'll use that word loosely and just state that they are snug. However, the main reason I still wear them is because I now totally understand mom jeans and it doesn't matter what brand they are, all my jeans are now mom jeans. I'm getting really tired of the saggy crotch in the maternity jeans though not to mention they are now way too big and I've worn a hole in the thigh. Updated: When she turned 9 months, I put up the maternity jeans which kind of now takes out the fun of Jean Day on Fridays.

*Now that I pay attention to ounces, it kind of amazes me. For instance, the other day I stepped on the scale, went pee then got back on the scale and I realized that I'd peed out an entire bottle.

*I wish I could say I'm one of those breastfeeding moms who does it for the benefits and the bonding, Don't get me wrong, I do, but honestly, I'm cheap and lazy. I don't want to spend money on formula if I can feed her for free and I hate washing bottles. Although as we near the 1 year mark, I'm starting to realize how much I'll miss that time with her.

Bottom line...I'd do anything in the world for this face!