23 months

It's the final count down (cue music in head).  Less than a month until Sullivan is 2 years old!  I'm shocked, sad, excited, happy, blessed...many things. 

Today is probably not the best day for this 23 month update as we've had 'one of those days' today.  You know when you are doing time outs during breakfast, it's not gonna be a good one.  I have new respect and pity for my dad.  I had his temper/stubborn nature and Sullivan has my temper/stubborn nature.  Although it takes quite a lot to ruffle my feathers, once I cross the line..oh boy.  I know it is impossible and unreasonable to expect logical/reasonable behavior from a toddler all the time, but man, sometimes I just want him to make the connection!  Throwing your cup/food/fork/etc on the ground and then yelling "mine!" until it is returned to you does not win you any brownie points.  Anyway, Daniel had already scheduled a hair cut appointment for Sullivan today, so we went ahead and kept that.  What time was this appointment?  Well, right at lunch/nap time of course.  It did not go well.  Probably our first really embarrassing, screaming kid incident.  We did finally get him calmed down enough for the poor girl to finish cutting his hair.  Next time, I will cut it.  I would rather it look terrible than go through that again.  Whew. 

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, on to the good stuff!  Most days Sullivan is really sweet and inquisitive and curious and playful and fun!  He has really mastered his shapes this month!  He loves to point out triangles, pentagons, squares, circles, ovals, rectangles, etc while we drive down the road.  He has the vision of a freaking eagle!  He'll spot something and it will take Daniel and I minute to realize it's some tiny sticker on the bumper of a car or something barely visible through the trees.  I'm pretty sure he could be us at 'I spy' any day. 

He is really enjoying counting objects as well. We typically don't get accurate totals after 3, but I'm impressed he can do 1, 2, & 3! 

Sullivan was the only kid from his class to participate in fire safety day at school since he's so far ahead of his classmates.  He got to see the fire truck, hear the sirens, see the lights, meet the fire dog, and learn about fire safety! 

He loves to hand out "big hugs" to everyone in our family.  Last night it was "big hug Momma", "big hug Daddy", "big hug Sophie", "big hug Bailey".  Nothing better in this world than a Sullivan hug. 

He now runs anytime you call him to do anything.  Bath time, diaper change, get dressed, dinner, etc.  He'll either run in circles around the house or go hide behind the dining room or kitchen curtains.  He, of course, thinks this is hilarious. 

He has also started saying "change diapers ok?" when he has a dirty diaper. He still makes us chase him down to actually do the changing, but it's funny to hear him say it.  I don't know if it was his Spanish speaking teacher in the 1 year old room or what, but he definitely says some words in a funny way.  Change diapers, colors, and papers all sound funny to us.  He also likes to say "Momma do it" or "____ do it".  He has started memorizing the words for our nightly prayers, so he now contributes more than just an Amen at the end.  He likes to do the Pookie responses when we read "Whats Wrong Little Pookie".  He knows all of the chorus to the song "Loving You".  I would love to get that on camera, but since I'm usually singing it with him, I may have to pass on that.  Trust me, your ears will thank you!

No change on the food front.  I guess it doesn't take veggies or meat to make a smart kid, so I'm not fighting it too hard.  He gets lots of fruit and healthy items, so I'm picking my battles. 

Second birthday party planning is under way.  We plan to borrow several toys/ride/a jumpy thing from a friend and just have a handful of kids and family at our house.  Fingers crossed the weather won't be rainy or too cold for them to be outside in the yard.  Backup plan is currently the garage, so we'll see.  Sullivan wants to sing Happy Birthday every day, so he should be really ready when the time actually comes!  He loves to add the "and many more" to the end of it!  Some of his classmates have birthdays which he will come home talking about, so I'm sure he's getting pumped for his own. 

Here's hoping I blog more than once a month one day soon! 

22 months

Hard to believe my sweet boy is already 22 months old.  It seems like only yesterday I was still pregnant with him!  Where does the time go?  Sullivan has been a busy bee over the last month.  He jabbers on and on...well, until you try to get him to speak to someone on the phone!  He amazes us every day with all he is learning.  He is truly a little sponge.  When he gets home from daycare, he immediately goes to the letter magnets or his puzzles or his trains!  I find myself afraid we aren't providing enough new things for him to learn!  I'm trying to work on more crafts/artsy things in addition to taking more walks and going new places.  He's mastered counting to 10, saying his abc's and can identify most, if not all, is letters.  we've downloaded many new flashcards, but he has those memorized before we know it!  I certainly want to do all I can to foster his love of learning! 

Not much has changed on the food front!  He regularly eats spaghetti-o's in the letters and numbers shapes (refuses to eat the meatballs, so those go to Daniel), pb&j, mac & cheese, cheese pizza, whole wheat waffles, carrots, sweet potato fries, chips and rotel, cheese, any carb, any sweet, tons of fruit.  He will occasionally eat a chicken nugget, but not regularly.  I'm open to any suggestions on alternative protein sources that don't look/taste like meat or veggies! :)  We've started giving him the V8 Vfusion fruit/vegetable juices in the reduced sugar/calorie version mixed with water.  I hate to give him artificial sweeteners, but hate for him to be sugared up while getting his veggies too.  It's a vicious cycle. 

He loves, loves, loves trucks, tractors, helicopters, airplanes, motorcycles, cars, school buses, trains...you get the picture.  He enjoys kicking the soccer ball around, watching wiggles, elmo, or baby Einstein videos on his dvd player.  He wants to help do anything you are doing- unloading the dishwasher, putting away dishes, folding laundry, watering plants, pulling weeds, taking out the trash, checking the mail, etc, etc.  He brings Julia her pacifier and sleep sheep whenever she gets upset or rubs and pats on her.  He goes to get a towel if he notices a mess on the floor and then goes to put the towel back when he's done! (he obviously gets this cleaning thing from Daniel) He likes to sit on Bailey, hug on Bailey, feed Bailey, and boss Bailey around.  He's very helpful and sweet. Although his behaviour has been much improved over the last month, he has gotten back into a 'No' phase.  He actually lays in his crib and says No, no, no, no over and over again in different pitches and volumes.  He practices this with us when he doesn't want to eat his dinner. (pretty sure he gets this from me)  I definitely don't want to encourage it, but sometimes you just have to laugh.  :) Some new phrases he frequently uses are: "they 'e is" which is used for people and things. ) Example: where's your cup? 'they 'e is'.  where's daddy?  'they 'e is'.)  it's adorable.  'Bless you Momma' is said every time I sneeze- so sweet!  'Boool Bus' is something we here on the way to daycare.  'Bailey heal' and 'Bailey hushhhh' are regulars.  He enjoys saying his own name these days as well.  He identifies body parts as his or ours- Sullivan's back, Momma's back, etc. 

A few other things he's gotten good at:
blowing his train whistle
brushing his teeth
washing his hands
closing doors
OPENING doors- not cool

anyway, sorry for the long wordy post.  you know this is mainly for me to remember.  :)  As usual, we feel so blessed by Sullivan every day.  His sweet hugs and kisses make life worth living. 

Week or so my a$$...

I don't know who I was kidding when I posted on August 16th, that I should have my pashmina cowl finished in a week or so.  HAHAHAHAHA.  It's the last day of August and I'm probably half way through.  I guess I should be proud I've made any progress on it.  I was going to make myself some fingerless gloves next, but considering how long this current project is taking, I'm going to make Sullivan a winter hat instead.  He has a big head, so kids hats are iffy.  If I don't do it next, I'm afraid it will be Spring before it's actually completed.

Here is a photo of my pashmina cowl progress as of last night. 

P.S. Hooray for upcoming long weekend! 

New project

I'm trying to get back into knitting after an almost year long hiatus.  My first project is a very simple pashmina cowl, although it is my first time using circular needles to knit.  I'm probably a third of the way done with it, so I should have it completed in the next week or so.  Below is what it should look like, so we'll see!  If it turns out well, my friends can expect one for the holidays! ;) 

Since I've finished my year as Rotary President and I've graduated from my Leadership Lafayette class, I'm taking some time to do some things just for me!  Knitting is just the beginning, I hope!  

21 months

I'm so behind on my blog posting!  Not sure what my deal is, but I've been too busy or uninspired to post here lately.  I've got that handy blogger app on my phone, but I've used it once to date.  Oh well!  I shall endeavor to do better!

Sullivan is 21 months old as of last Monday!  I can't believe he'll be 2 in just a few short months.  I'm already beginning to think about party possibilities!  So many fun options out there, but I don't want to over do it.  We'll see.

Sullivan moved to a new classroom at his daycare, and his teacher is constantly bragging on how smart he is!  No surprise to us, but nice to hear from his teacher as well.  It's no secret that I hope he will be a bookworm like his Mom and a handsome athlete like his Dad!  He still amazes me with the new things he learns every day, and he has really begun to string together 3 or more words to form sentences.  He has certain parts of our favorite bed time books memorized and it's so cute to listen to him when he gets to those parts.  I think he hung the moon, obviously.

Sullivan continues to be very affectionate.  He loves to give hugs and kisses and tell us he loves us.  He also enjoys hugging on Sophie (the cat) and Bailey (the dog) and telling them how much he loves them.  It's adorable.  Unfortunately, we've had some molars coming in this month, so the sweetness is often tempered by irritability.  When he doesn't feel good and gets frustrated, he usually ends up in time out.  I'm not sure he totally  understands time out, but we sit with him after and ask him to apologize and we try to explain why he was in time out and then tell him we love him and give him hugs.  FYI, parenting is hard work.  We really have no clue, but are trying to figure this business out as we go along. 

On the food front, not much new to report.  He is typically a little more willing to try new things these days.  He had several bites of salmon croquettes, some pasta salad, and some alphabet spaghettios for the first time this month.  Now, if i could just get him to eat a vegetable besides carrots and potatoes!  One day at a time. 

Daniel and I are planning a family trip to the Smokies/Chattanooga in the next couple of months. We want to take Sullivan to the Aquarium in Chattanooga, go See Rock City (Daniel wants to go hang gliding here), ride the train or whatever,  and maybe hit up Nantahala GAF.  I'm really struggling figuring out itinerary and places to stay.  Let me know if you have any recommendations. 

I've started back knitting, so stay tuned for updates on my latest project. 

BEEEECH

We had a great trip to the beach over the 4th of July weekend.  It was very strange to be away from extended family and not at the lake for the 4th, but we also enjoyed trying something new!  Sullivan had a great time swimming and digging in the sand and playing with his cousins.  He would mimic just about everything they did!  I was very glad to have such great 'helpers'.  Below are a few pics and a video of part of the fireworks show we watched from our condo balcony.  My nieces are sweet as can be!  I love their enthusiasm!  Vacationing with a child is definitely not very relaxing, but Sherri and I did get one afternoon of wine and appetizers on the balcony that was quite lovely.

20 months

As usual, I'm behind on posting!  Sullivan is 20 months old as of last Friday!  I can't believe in 4 short months he'll be 2 years old! 

He is learning so much, so fast.  I can't even begin to note all the words he is saying.  He can now count to 10 and sings the alphabet quite well!  He still loves his flashcards and knows all of them!  I'm going to have to create some new ones!  He frequently sings Twinkle Twinkle or his ABC's or Jesus loves me or All through the town.  I guess everyone thinks their kids are the greatest and the cutest and the smartest, and we are no different!

His new favorite word is no, but he now says it more like 'nah'.  Everything is 'nah'.  He can even be nodding his head and staring at ice cream, and he will still say 'nah'.  It's cute, but getting a real yes or no out of him is hard!  We are still working on some of his terrible 2s attitude problems, but over all he just loves to give hugs and kisses and hang out with us.  Daniel and I are really working on how we react when he throws a tantrum, so as not to encourage them!  it does require lots of patience! 

Sullivan still isn't eating great, but we are making do.  Most meals have lots of fresh fruit and often a baby food vegetable, and some peanut butter or cheese on bread/toast/tortillas/pizza.  He refuses to try most of the things I cook for Daniel and I to eat.  Oh well.  He enjoys cheerios with milk and he just looks so grown up when he sits there eating cereal out of a bowl.  It sort of breaks my heart.  He's just growing up so fast! 

Sullivan still cries most mornings when we drop him at daycare.  He stops crying by the time we get to the front door, but it's still hard.  He still talks about 'Abby' all the time.  It used to always be 'William', but now it's always 'Abby'!  I know he has a great time at school, and he certainly is learning a lot!

I've still got to post on our trip to Florida, so maybe that will happen in the next week?  I've been working from home while trying to recover from Strep and tonsillitis, so we'll see if I get anything else done. 

Welcome Julia Jane!

After an incredibly long labor, Julia Jane was born on June 15, 2011 at 2:20pm.  Julia and Anna are doing great, and I can't wait to hug them both! 

19 months old!

I know, I'm wayyyyy behind on my posting.  I'll try and catch up as much as possible today...maybe.

First of all, Sullivan.
He amazes me every day with what he has learned!  It seems like something new every minute!  He has also gotten into the repeat anything I say phase-- time to clean up the potty mouth!  He copied 'shoot' and 'crap' this weekend, so at least it hasn't been something worse yet! 
Some of his new mad skilz:

• Can sing his ABC's- granted there are a few mumbled areas, but I was pretty impressed!
• New body parts he's learned: Heart -he says bum,bum for the heartbeat each time, Elbow, legs, arm, back, neck, eyebrow, ding dong (you can thank his dad for that), chin, cheeks, fingernail
• Can sing most of twinkle twinkle and Jesus Loves Me
• Learned the chicken dance from his Dad (his toy tractor plays the song)
• Loves to act out If you're happy and you know it!
• Has several new teeth coming in- looks like molars, but I'm no dentist
• Loves to be a helper!  Wants to help with the laundry, dishes, watering the yard, pulling weeds.  He's a little mini me that just follows you around and copies whatever you try to do
• Has started really telling us when he has just gone or needs to go tt.  He's asked to get on the potty several times, but no action yet.  He did 'water' a tree last weekend (another of Dad's influences!)
• Knows tons of animals and sounds.  He got some flash cards for Easter and has those mastered in addition to those we regularly look at on the ipad. 
• LOVES to point out airplanes and anything that remotely looks or sounds like an airplane is cause for excitement.
• Still doesn't eat well when it comes to meat or veggies.  He'll eat his veggies if they are baby food form, but not the real deal.  he will occasionally eat a chicken nugget, but frequently spits that out.  He does eat tons of fresh fruit and dairy, so it will have to do for now.
• No surprise, but we still think he's awesome!  So much fun and so very sweet!  Below is a video of Sullivan practicing his music appreciation for Uncle Ricky's music!  Thankfully, he has just as much fun with other types of music.

In other news, Daniel and I took our first vacation without Sullivan last month.  We missed him, but we had a wonderful time relaxing!  We did some light hiking, did the river twice, and drank lots of wonderful N.C. beer!  For the first time, we got a luxury cabin instead of tent camping.  Wow.  Gonna be hard to ever go back to a tent.  It was wonderful to come home sore and exhausted and have a hot tub, big bed, etc awaiting us!  We plan to try and go back in the fall for a family vacation.  My Mom and Freddie kept Sullivan, and all had a wonderful time until my Mom came down with the stomach virus.  Thank goodness Freddie was there to take care of Sullivan while she recupperated!  Unfortunately, about 10 minutes after we got home, Sullivan came down with it as well...all over me.  The joys of motherhood!  I don't know how I avoided getting it, but I sure am thankful!

We haven't been up to much lately.  Our weekends are mostly spent watering or playing in the baby pool.  We did go sailing on Daniel's brother's sailboat a few weeks ago.  That was fun and Sullivan really enjoyed it.  He swam in Sardis lake and kept trying to crawl all over the boat!  Hard to keep him contained, but he had such a great time pointing out all the boats! 

Daniel celebrated a birthday and we joined the church on June 5th!  Well, Daniel is an associate member, so he doesn't have to give up his Catholic-ness.  :) We had a great time celebrating his birthday weekend with friends, good food, and new church family members!

We are all anxiously awaiting the birth of Anna's baby.  She will be induced this thursday if she doesn't come on her own sooner.  Mom is in Seattle with Anna and has been cooking and cleaning, etc.  I know she's a huge help and a comfort to have around!  So, keep Anna and baby girl in your thoughts and prayers this week for a safe, and easy, delivery!

18 Months Old and Mother's Day

Yesterday was an especially celebrated Mother's Day as Sullivan celebrated 18 months!  He is growing so fast, learning so quickly, and the weeks and months just fly by!  I'm going to share several videos since I haven't posted in a month! 

Tomorrow is Sullivan's official 18 month appointment, but I'm going to go ahead and give you some of the fun stats!  He has become quite the singer in the last few months.  We've added singing a few songs to our nightly routine before bed, so that, coupled with the singing at school, it is really catching on!  There is no doubt he's a chorus man, and enjoys chiming in the these various parts of songs:

• The "Yes Jesus" and "Bible" in Jesus Loves Me
• E-I-E-I-O and animal sounds
• "beep, beep, beep", hand motions, and "All through the town" in The Wheels on the Bus
• "merrily, merrily" in Row, Row your boat
• "Amen" at the end of prayers!

Sullivan has a very sweet disposition and no fear of running amok through crowds.  He does get shy if someone addresses him directly though.  He still briefly crys most mornings when we drop him off at school, but usually stops before we get out of the building.  Breaks my heart each time though.  Needless to say, Daniel and I practically arm wrestle over who gets to go in to get him in the evenings!  He's always so happy to see us and as soon as he's in our arms, he's turning to wave bye bye to his classmates.  He knows the names and sounds of these animals now: giraffe(no sound cause i don't know the sound), cow(moo), chicken (cluck, cluck), duck (quack quack), dog (growl), cat(memow), frog, elephant, bird, sheep(baa), snake(ssss), monkey, bunny, horse (nay), lion(roar), fish...New words he likes to say/recognizes: moon, stars, shoes, socks, chair, Bailey, Bebe, Freddy, fish, boat, baby, fan goes round and round, flower, trees, water, giraffe, tissues..

This is really a wonderful age!  I love that he can answer my questions and run around in the yard while we work in the garden, etc.  He's totally happy following Bailey and Sophie around and checking out whatever we are working on.  We appreciate he is very independent most of the time.  I definitely worry whether we are teaching him enough, setting good examples, etc.  As any mother does, I want to give him the greatest head start on life I can.  I hope he'll grow up big and strong, smart and kind.  I look forward to many years of exploring together! I am so blessed that God chose me to be his mother! 

And on that note, our Mother's day was really great this year!  What we had expected to be a small (read: just the 3 of us) celebration, turned into brunch for 12!  It was wonderful to see the extended family members who were able to come, and to spend Mother's Day with both my Mother and my Grandmother.  After brunch we spent the afternoon in the baby pool and working in the yard.  We had a really wonderful day! 

Ok, you get a break from videos for now since blogger is having issues uploading them!  I'll just have to post again this week with the other stuff I want to share!  Happy Monday!

PARP and 17 months old!

My title comes from this hilarious blog post. Since the weather was gorgeous this weekend, we tried to stay out of doors a good bit.  Saturday morning we tackled house cleaning and then moved to the yard while Sullivan napped.  We got a few more azaleas relocated, but haven't quite finished with that project, so no pictures yet.  Moving stuff is a pain, but the things we are doing now are saving us work in the long run (hopefully). Below is a picture of the new fence Daniel built around my veggie bed to keep all the critters out!  He also put pine straw around the perimeter to negate the need for mowing/weed eating and to give me a clear walk way around the bed.  I'm excited to get stuff planted!

 We met Rachel and her family and friends at the new South Depot Taco Shop in Oxford.  This was our second time to go, and my pork tacos this time were messy, but way better than the chicken tacos I had previously.  I recommend you check them out!  Daniel has gotten the Korean and Asian tacos both time and really enjoyed them. 

Since the other kids we were with needed naps after lunch, the Martins hit up Avent Park.  Sullivan had a great time!  Next time we'll come prepared for a longer stay! He really enjoyed playing music and running around the little buildings. 

Sunday Daniel played in an early morning golf tournament, so Sullivan and I were lazy bums.  I read most of the day and we both stayed in pjs.  It was wonderful!  Although I should probably have been working outside, it was nice to just chill. 

Sullivan celebrated 17 months on Friday!  Maybe he's turning over a new leaf because he ate pizza Friday night and a cheese quesadilla Saturday!  Shocking that that impresses me?  It's wonderful to be able to go out to eat without carrying something just for him to eat!  He is very independent and wants to feed himself!  The hitting and saying No has seemed to decrease over the last week, so maybe it's starting to sink in that that behavior doesn't fly around our house.  Overall, he gets more affectionate each week!  He gives wonderful hugs and slobbery kisses!  He wants you to kiss his 'froggy' good night and good morning too!  He shocked me this weekend by flipping through a photo album and saying a version of my niece Madeline's name!  He then said my other niece Avery's name!  I couldn't believe it!  I guess those girls have really made an impression on him!  Glad we all get to see each other this coming weekend!  Sullivan's list of animals/animal sounds is growing to include ducks/quack and horses/neigh.  He can recognize/attempt to repeat all the items on his quilt: boat, lighthouse, dog, baby, crab, horse, frog, etc.  Loves to say shoes and to play with any shoes lying around.  If he's not wearing our shoes then he's arranging them all ON the coffee table.  He also enjoys removing my shoes from my feet and then putting them back on me!  It never gets old!  He's very fond of his privates and will grab hold, say 'peepee' and grin when we change his diaper.  Boys learn early to be proud of that, don't they!  Sullivan loves to wave and say "hey" to people in stores, restaurants, and even when we pass cars on the road.  He'll say "truck" and then wave "hey" to just about everyone we pass on the way to daycare in the mornings.  It's adorable!  All in all, we still think he's the bee's knee's and just about the sweetest thing ever.  We are so lucky!

Monday!

You like my title?  That's about how creative I feel today.

We enjoyed our visit with Gigi and DaddyTim two weeks ago, but I forgot to post some photos I snapped!

Daniel recently purchased some hiking poles?  I guess that's what you call them.  Regardless, Sullivan thinks they are super fun and just his size! He's ready for the trails!

We had a nice time in Cleveland this weekend visiting with Bebe and FredDaddy.  The Outback Kayak Reunion was a bit more formal (read: sit down for 2 hours) than I had anticipated.  I spent most of that time plying Sullivan with junk food to keep him happy or chasing him around the building where the dinner was held.  I think people enjoyed getting to see him, but Momma was worn out by the end of the night.  Unfortunately, he didn't sleep well that night either.  Not exactly a restful weekend, but beautiful weather, good food, and family made it worth it.  I plan to take photos of our latest yard projects and the art I came home with this weekend!  Fun stuff! 

Choo Choo!

This is a choo choo train, right?

My friend Rachel blogged today about her son 'helping out' around the house, which reminded me of this video Daniel took a few months ago.  Every time we vacuum, Sullivan either tries to ride it like a train, or gets his popper toy to pretend to vacuum right along side me.  I think both are hilarious, and I sure hope he retains the love of vacuuming! Ha! It's great exercise to pull a vacuum and 30lb child around the house! 

Several people have asked for the stuffed shells recipe, so here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/turkey-and-artichoke-stuffed-shells-with-arrabbiata-sauce-recipe/index.html

Tonight, thanks to the hard work of my lovely crock pot, we'll be having this (minus the pickled onions- i like my onions crunchy):

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/slow-cooked-pork-tacos-with-fire-roasted-tomatoes-and-pickled-onions-recipe/index.html

I'll let you know how this newest recipe turns out.  It was amazing simple to throw into the crock pot this morning, and we love homemade tacos, so I sure hope it's a winner! 

It's almost TGIF!

Unsolved Mystery (rash)

*I apologize for any baby nakedness, I wasn't paying attention!

Our trip the allergist this week didn't really give us any answers as to what caused Sullivan's hives last week. Of course by Monday afternoon they were all but gone.  Thankfully, all the photos I took came in handy!  The doctor did a scratch test for about 16 different things, but all came back negative.  This in itself is pretty amazing considering when I had my allergy scratch test done as an adult I was allergic to severely allergic to every single thing.  Here's hoping Sullivan is working with Daniel's genes on the allergy front!  So, since all were negative, we know what DIDNT cause the hives.  Doctors best guess is a food we haven't eaten since or a virus/infection.  We are to return for blood work if the hives return. Oh well.  Glad my baby is back to normal!

I made some new dishes Sunday afternoon!  Turkey and artichoke stuffed shells with Arrabbiata sauce and artichoke pesto.  I'm very happy with both.  The stuffed shells are reminiscent of a lasagna, but the turkey, artichokes, and herbs really lighten it up to me.  Doesn't feel as heavy or fattening.  The pesto was good as well, but I still prefer traditional basil pesto!  Looking forward to that this summer for sure!  Both of these recipes are Giada's so are easily found on the internets. 

Sullivan and I are heading to Cleveland this weekend for an Outback Kayak Reunion dinner in honor of Dave Heflin.  Dave is a legend in those parts, and most everyone has been on at least one of his trips.  My childhood is filled with memories of Halloween's in Tishamingo, winters skiing, and summers at the Nantahala.  Dad, Dave and Henry sure knew how to have a good time!  If I had written down all the stories I heard growing up from this group, I would be a retired, and very wealthy, author.  Maybe one day.  Regardless, I'm looking forward to my first trip home in MONTHS! 

Me Slacker

My brain is fried from work and long hours and stress, but feel the need for an update here! I'm definitely feeling the strain of too many activities in my life, but I can't exactly get rid of any of my current responsibilities!  Note to self: stressful/long hours career, Rotary President, 1 + year old son, husband, filthy house, Leadership Lafayette, book club, yada, yada, yada...might be a bit much for one year! Anyway!  I'm lucky to have these opportunities!

This week we've been battling the mystery hive maker on Sullivan.  Most of you have seen on facebook I'm sure, but since Monday morning we've been battling mild to severe cases of hives.  he started a steroid Tuesday night and yesterday looked to be almost completely cleared up, and then, BAM, worst case ever this morning.  His back was actually one big hive rather than polka dots.  He literally looked sunburned.  It has spread to his legs, arms, and neck now poor baby.  We have an appointment with the allergist in Tupelo on Monday.  Tonight I plan to rewash EVERYTHING of his in the no chemical stuff to see if that helps any.  He's been playing outside a good bit more lately, so I'm afraid if might be related to that.  We'll see on Monday I suppose.

In more fun news, I think Sullivan and I will begin a Mommy and Me 'Baby Fish' swim class this Sunday on campus.  Daniel and I have been talking about getting him in some 'swimming' lessons, and this just happened to fit right in.  Yeah, I know, adding one more thing to my schedule, but this is on the weekend and is for Sullivan and should be FUN!  :)  Daniel and I are planning a lovely 7 day vacation to Seaside late this summer, so I want Sullivan to have as much exposure to swimming as possible before that!  Speaking of that, can late summer get here already? :)  If anyone plans to be in the Seaside area between late July and early August, let me know so we can meet up!

Friday, since I've been working til after 10 most nights, I'll be taking off work a bit early to clean house and cook dinner (first time this week) in anticipation of a visit from my grandparents!  There is a free Benny Goodman-esk concert at the performing arts center here, so they are driving over to join us for dinner, a show, and a spend the night!  We've done this in the past and it's always such a treat!  I know they are anxious for a visit with Sullivan and we are anxious for a visit with them as well!  Daniel has been doing some big time work in the yard in preparation of this year's veggie bed, etc, so we do have to squeeze in some yard work at some point!  I'll have to post photos when he finishes his current project list. 

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!  It's almost TGIF!

16 months and Mardi Gras!

Daniel, Sullivan, and I headed to the Coast last weekend to visit family and attend a Mardi Gras ball.  It was wonderful to see family we haven't seen since Christmas (or much longer in some cases).  Unfortunately, I took almost NO photos.  There are some photos on Sherri's camera, so when she shares those, I'll pass them on here! Here are some photos from the night of the ball in Mobile.  There were 8 of us total, and we had a really fun time!  I would post video from the limo ride home, but some people might not appreciate me sharing their music talents with the world!  Trust me when I say, very funny stuff.  The ball was quite a party!  Multiple bands, open bars all over the place, all the food you can eat, and dancing til you drop!  I was shocked and delighted to discover the hot dog bar a little later in the evening!  Don't think I didn't enjoy a chili dog!  LOL.  All that fancy food, and I was still excited by a chili dog...oh well.  Daniel pulled out dance moves like I've never seen from him before.  I definitely wish I had video of that!  Good times!

Sullivan had a wonderful time visiting with grandmothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc, etc!  He was thoroughly entertained and worn out the entire trip! 

He's learned several new 'tricks' over the last month.  His list of body parts he can identify is growing.   He gets a huge kick out of you fake burping or sneezing and then saying excuse me or bless you.  He loves to mimic the fake burps.  Bleh!  He loves Bailey more every day!  He was so happy to see her when we got home.  He went up to her making his dog growl noises and just hugged on her!  They enjoy scoping out the backyard through the windows together.  don't know if I've shared this before or not, but since Bailey doesn't bark, when you ask Sullivan what the dog says, he just growls.  It's funny and very accurate for our dog!  He loves to pretend to talk on the phone or any other item that he holds up to his ear like a phone.  He has really gotten the hang of running and can quickly escape with items he knows he shouldn't have!  The boy LOVES balls!  He has one of ever size and gets them all out to throw constantly!  He and Bailey really like playing fetch outside together!

He calls his cup his 'ba boom'.  Other new words: truck, shoes, fishy, juice, cheese. We have definitely been getting a taste of the terrible twos on occasion with his falling to the ground and squealing or banging his head when he doesn't get what he wants or if you take something away from him.  One loud 'Sullivan' from Daniel typically cuts that out real quick though!  He definitely tests me more than Daniel.  Guess I need to work on being more authoritative.  So hard when he gives you that cute little devilish grin! 

Sullivan has officially moved up to the 1-2  year old class at his daycare.  Don't think I'm not a little sad to see him leave the nursery!  I know he's enjoying his big boy class though.  They get to go outside on the playground, and I've heard he adores that!  He certainly comes home worn out!  The progress sheet they send home every day lists the food he was served each day.  I say served, since I don't buy for a second that he ate beef tips or sloppy joes, etc.  No way my child is eating that.  He will still eat just about any fruit, but veggies are limited to carrots and sweet potatoes.  Meat is limited to bacon.  Super healthy, right?  Ha!  We are sneaking in veggies through smoothies, so I don't feel too terrible about it. 

He has started giving out hugs upon request, and is really quite affectionate. Nothing like feeling his soft little hands hug you around the neck and really hold on to you! Love, love, love him!  We are so very blessed and lucky to be the parents of such a wonderful boy!  Love making new memories with him every day!  Thank you God!

V Day

Daniel and I typically don't do gifts for Valentine's Day, but this year he got me a gift and I LOVE IT! 

That's right!  I finally got a kitchen compost container!  Now, what amounts to basically a garbage can for your kitchen counter may not excite most of you, but it does me!  We've had a compost pile going in the yard for quite a while now, so I'm super excited to have a large, attractive, smell-proof container to hold my food scraps before Daniel takes it to dump on the compost pile.  You would be amazed how much smaller your trash gets when you don't throw out those wonderful veggie scraps and coffee grounds!  Veggies gone bad in the fridge?  Just toss 'em in here!  Hopefully, all this wonderful 'trash' is going to work wonders on my veggie garden this year!  Woohoo!  Enjoy your roses ladies, I'll take rotting fruit! :)

On the Sullivan/food front, I've had a few wins this week!  He enjoyed an avocado pocketbook for dinner the other night, ate maybe a bite of pot roast, lots of baked sweet potato fries.  I'll take my wins where I can get them. 

On a side note, is my family the only family in America that calls a 'foldover' sandwich a pocketbook?  You know, one piece of bread folded in half with stuff in side.  While on our recent trip to the cabin with friends and their kids, I asked the children if they would like a peanut butter and jelly pocketbook and they thought I was nuts!  Oh well...to each their own.  I'm sticking with pocketbook!

15 months old and house projects

Sullivan is 15 months old today!  The photo above was taken at bedtime, so his eyes look about half closed.  He doesn't sit still for photos, so it took quite a few tries to get him head on! He is still learning new things/words/actions every day!  He is definitely getting some attitude and lets you know if he doesn't like something.  He complains terribly when you change his diaper or change his clothes, so keeping him distracted during those times is mission critical these days!  He still won't eat much of anything!  He refuses to try most things I make for him, so it's a constant battle.  He basically survives on fresh fruit, peanut butter on waffles, bagels, toast, yogurt, milk, watered down white grape juice, whole wheat baby cereal mixed with pureed fruit, carrots, mac and cheese, and bacon.  Not exactly a well rounded variety.  I'm going to buy some veggies blend juices today (like green goodness) and see if I can sneak some veggies in that way.  Fingers crossed!  His habit of eating anything he finds on the floor or otherwise seems to be lessening.  He can be trusted to wander a bit more around the house since he is less likely to eat any  piece of leaf, dog hair, etc he finds on the floor.  He loves to run from us...yeah..super fun.  He's pretty much a constant wiggle worm and impossible to contain these days!  He's also the cutest, sweetest thing ever!  Love him! He's great at pointing out his and your body parts, loves the cat and dog and turning lights and fans off and on.  He has recently become attached to 'froggy' that he got for Christmas from the Hernando Rogers clan.  When we get ready for bed, I turn on his music in his crib and ask him where Froggy is and he'll lean right over, get into the crib, hug Froggy, and my job is done!  Bed time is a breeze these days!  He's still sleeping great, although, I believe he has more teeth coming in on the bottom, so that may quickly change.  He currently  has 2 teeth on the bottom and 4 on the top.  He is really sporting a mullet look these days, so the first haircut is fast approaching.  I'll be sure to document! 

On to house project news, Daniel and I got several small house projects tackled over the weekend.  The first was the changing of the cabinet hardware in the kitchen.  I didn't want to spend a ton on it, but the hardware that came with the house has always irked me, so we made a simple and inexpensive switch!  I'm much happier with the new!  You can see the new and old in the pic below.  (old is the white, new is the all metal)

'We' also finally made a decision on the problem area behind our bar stools.  Because the kitchen paint is flat, when anyone would sit on our bar stools, their pants, shoes, etc would scuff the mess out of the wall.  We talked about different options, including just a tougher coat of paint, but decided to go with something a little more exciting!  I think it turned out really well, and I'm excited!  This project was quick and easy (especially for me since I spent that time on the couch watching tv)!  We bought these faux pressed tin panels from home depot that are typically used for back splash areas. 

Before:

After:

After with bar stools:

We've got several other projects currently under way, so I'll update on those when they have been completed!  We are expecting to get several inches of snow tomorrow, so maybe we'll be able to tackle some projects while working from home!

Help Save Anton

Please share the links below in case you might know some one who can help Anton! 

http://patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com/2011/02/please-help-save-anton.html

http://helpanton.com/

A post and it's not even the 8th of the month!

Shocking I know, but I'm actually posting even though it's not a Sullivan 'birthday'!  I would really like to get better about my posting because I find it very hard to sum up large segments of time, but I don't want to leave anything out! 

I've been lately working on "decorating" some parts of the house.  I use this term very loosely, as I have no decorator gene in my body.  I've recently purchased a cupboard and area rug for my dining room, and am now looking for paintings, etc to work with this area.  You can see the new rug and cupboard in the photo below.  The tall Walter Anderson used to be hanging where the cupboard is now, so we need to find a new home for it.  The ceilings in the dining room are 17 feet I think, so i really need another large piece of art above cupboard to help fill some of that space.  wish I had the art gene and could just make myself one!  Obviously, the photo below was taken before the dining room table was moved back in...just fyi.

In addition to the dining room changes, I'm working on our bedroom.  I've bought a white mattelasse coverlet for our bed, but am still looking for a throw or comforter for the end of the bed (and to pull up on cold nights), coordinating pillows, curtains eventually, and fabric to recover the overstuffed chair in the reading nook of our bedroom.  A daunting task to be sure, but I'm hopeful it will come together eventually.  Our bedroom is a soothing 'McCarty green' and I would like the rest of the room to have the same soothing, spa-like vibe.  I'll post photos if I ever get this close to finished.

We are also looking at new kitchen table, possibly re-doing a small storage cart thing in the kitchen, new hardware for cabinets, another chair for my living room...my lists could and do go on and on! One thing at a time, but I'm tired of just ignoring the things I want to do. 

I also have a list of to-do's for outside!  I'm so ready for another warm weekend to get the veggie bed ready for spring planting, do some transplanting, etc.  I've got to find a solution to our water issues with the veggie bed.  I HATE A GARDEN HOSE.  The dragging, connecting, etc drives me insane!  Of course every time Daniel has to mow, we have to  move the hoses out of the way.  We have a giant culvert that we were given in hopes of making a rain barrel, but that hasn't happened yet.  Maybe this year.  My biggest dilemma is how to get enough rain water to drain into the rain barrel to use in the back of the yard.  Also, I've read you aren't supposed to use rain water to water vegetable gardens...can someone explain this to me?  How do veggies in the wild get watered?  RAIN!?  Any who.  I have grand plans for the veggie garden this year (as usual), but really hope I'll get to implement them successfully since Sullivan is now old enough and mobile enough to play in the yard while we work. 

Book club is officially back in session!  We have our first review meeting next Thursday to discuss Water for Elephants.  This book was a great, entertaining, quick read.  For the first time in the history of this book club, I think every member will have actually finished, and possibly even enjoyed, the book selection!  May wonders never cease!  :) 

And now, because it just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't, I leave you with some photos of the recent snow!