Time is inevitably flying by so fast I can barely stand it. In a little over 2 months my 'baby' will be turning 1 and we will be kicking off our summer by going on our first family vacation. Halle-freakin-lujah because we need it! The last time I took off work for vacation was for me and Daniel's honeymoon in May 2007! So I'm very much looking forward to beach, sand, and fun in the sun! :)We are planning a Flower/Busy Bee theme for Lily's first birthday party. Lots of spring colors and Miss Priss will be decked out in a black/yellow tutu, customized 'It's my Bee Day' shirt and a black antenna headband. She's going to be so cute!! I can't believe I'm even talking about her first birthday party...it's unreal! She lives up to her costume because girlfriend is in to everything!! She can stand by herself for a minute or so by herself and cruises all along our furniture...she's a mess! Whereas our baby boy sat back and observed the room when he was a babe, she wants to be right in the middle of what is going on. It drives Hammy boy C-R-A-Z-Y that she can now get to his toys and mess up his lined up trains and puzzle pieces...it's kinda funny actually and I don't immediately stop her because I love seeing them interact and it's helpful for Hunter to learn how to share more. My girl was a teething mess a week ago...poor thing. Tooth #7 and #8 were on their way through and have barely poked themself out of her gums, but she is a much happier girl now thank goodness! I hate to see my babe in pain! She eats most Stage 2 purees and loves her some cheerios. She recently tried super chopped up chicken, banana's, and strawberries and loved them too! Ohhh and some other exciting news, her hair is growing in so fast and it's so soft and pretty! I can find enough hair to clip a bow in to and it just makes her look so grown up. Pearly white teeth + enough hair to clip a bow in = Miss-I'm-too-big-sassa-frass! She rocks it though...love my girl! We also switched her from an infant carrier seat to a big girl convertible seat...it just solidifies how big my girl is getting. Unreal! 
Onto my toddler...oh my little boy! A HUGE milestone occured in the past month...we moved him to a big boy bed. *sigh* !! On January 30th, he decided during one of his naps that he was done with his crib and climbed right out. He's never been much of a climber *knock on wood* so the 30th was the first time he had made it out. It scared me half to death because I was working out on the treadmill and he opened our bedroom door and was screaming bloody murder. After checking his body out for bruises or anything broken, I cuddled him and we cried for a minute together and then I asked him if anything hurt and he said 'head, elbow ouchie' Wahhhh!! I wish I could have been there to catch him when he decided it was a good idea to jump out of his crib...makes me sad! So off we went to buy him a toddler bed with a Lightning McQueen comforter set and can I just say...he amazed me with his transistion! 
He's done FANTASTIC with it...only downside that I have come across so far is that almost every morning at 6:40 on the dot I hear "Mommmmmmmmmy, Mommmmmmy, Mommmmmmmy, I'm done!". Daniel and I told him to call us in the morning when he is ready to get out of bed and *knock on wood* he hasn't gotten out of bed yet, instead at the crack of dawn we hear our names being called. I'm hoping the spring forward time change coming up with help him to get up an hour later...that would be nice! We have started to go to a couple playdates with some kids that are the same age as Hunter and Lily and it's so nice to interact with other mommy's and their kiddies! We went to a playpark last Monday and there was a big sand pit that Hunter loved playing in. He eyed this blue shovel that another little girl was playing with and was hovering over her while I watched closely to make sure he didn't try and grab it out of her hands. After he figured out that she wasn't going to put it down anytime soon, he went and grabbed a yellow shovel and went back up to her and my sweet boy says to the little girl 'Trade?' and they traded shovels and he said 'Thank you'. Ahhhhh talk about melting a momma's heart!!! He's always been such sweet, caring boy, but I really hope that trait sticks with him as he grows up. This morning when I put him in his carseat the garbage truck was driving by and he said 'What's that momma?' just like we were having a normal everyday conversation. (SO cool!!!) How did I get so freakin lucky?! Not that he doesn't push my buttons with his tantrums and whininess but boy does he steal my heart! We are registering him for pre-school this month and it just doesn't seem real. In 6 months, I'll be kissing him goodbye for him to start school...I'm pretty sure this is going to be harder on me. (As my eyes tear up just thinking about it) Please oh Please do not let anyone pick on my boy or bully him and Please oh Please don't let him get sick too many times. It's so nervewracking I swear! Where's the pause button?! Daniel just started up night shift until May 2nd...boooo! There are a few positive's out of the deal though. I can fall asleep at night with the entire bed to myself and with the house completely quiet. I joke Daniel because he could fall asleep (and stay asleep) even if it were a warzone whereas I need complete silence and darkness. Ahhh peace! At the end of this night shift, the month of May will be starting and we have so much exciting stuff going on that hopefully keeping my eye on the prize will help get me through the next 2 months. Night shift is always more stressful for me because I start to feel like a single momma since I don't see Daniel or when I do he's tired because our schedules are different. Thank God these shifts only last 2 months!Welp...6:40 comes quick so I must hit the hay! Night all!! XOXO
So it's been 2 months since I've updated my blog and that is SO unlike me, but the days literally fly by me and I'm lucky if I get a shower or brush my teeth. Needless to say my blog has taken a backseat to running my household, but I'm here tonight to catch everybody up! :)
First up, we celebrated Hunter turning 2 by throwing a Wonder Pets birthday party on December 12th and he loved it! Well mostly eating some cake and getting a whole bunch of new toys, but mom's favorite part was watching a DVD of about 200+ pictures of Hunter that my grandpa made! It was beautiful and I've watched it several times since the party...most of the time I cry...sometimes I cry out of happiness and joy and other times I cry because of how sad I am that he's no longer nestled in the crook of my arm. I have always said that each growing stage is more fun then the last and I'm still a strong believer in that. The two's ARE so much fun (we only a month in so it could change haha!) and EVERYDAY he puts a smile on my face and makes me literally laugh out loud with some of the things his brain thinks to say or do. He is my sweetheart and is truly a momma's boy which I won't complain about because I secretly LOVE it. :) He now weighs 30 pounds and is 3 feet tall...my big, healthy boy! <3
Next came Christmas which, while it was a crazy whirlwind of a day, making memories as a family is one of my favorite things to do. Between Lily trying to eat every piece of wrapping paper in sight and Hunter wanting to open every toy THE second he saw what it was it was such a fun morning! We then went over to my brother and sister in law's house to have Christmas with their family and my mom, stepdad, and 2 step brothers. We had yummy mamosa's and breakfast casserole and soon after we opened up our gifts...Christmas is so much fun with kids! I love seeing the kids happy faces when they open up new gifts. Fun, Fun!! Finally we went over to my in-laws house and got to take a little breather while the kids took naps. Daniel got a kindle which he loves and reads off of everyday (and is very cool gadget I think!) and I got a year membership to the zoo so we can start taking the kids in the Spring. I'm so excited! My favorite thing in the whole wide world is to be out of the house doing things as a family...it makes my heart do a little extra pitter patter. It's such an amazing moment to see the father of your kids push the stroller down the neighborhood street during a family walk pretending he is the commander of the "rocket ship" while your son is the pilot or to see him kiss the chubby neck of your daughter while she giggles uncontrollably or to sway her back and forth singing made up lullibies to soothe her to sleep in her low lit nursery. Ok see and that whole sappy paragraph started off of me thinking about taking my kids to the zoo this Spring. lol All of that meant to say was that I can't wait to continue making the new memories with my family. :)
We just celebrated our baby girl turning 8 months old! Where has the time gone?! She is standing for a few seconds and cruising along our ottoman while picking up every toy in sight and putting it in her mouth to taste test it. She is currently eating puree's like a champ and slowly starting to try some small finger foods. She is growing like a weed and is such a beautiful babe. I knew having a little girl was going to be amazing, but I could have NEVER dreamed of what she adds to my life. My girl's smile lights up the room and she is no longer just gummy gums. She has 6! teeth and uses her chompers to mash up her food and nom nom on Sophie the giraffe. We go to the doctor's on February 14th for her 9 month appointment to see how much she has grown..I can't wait. PLUS it's a no shot appointment! WOOT WOOT! LOVES HER!! Oh oh oh AND can I just say how excited I am for her Spring/Summer wardrobe. My friend gave me her little girl's clothes to borrow, but all the 9-12 month clothes are for Winter SO I'm going to go out and buy little miss a new Spring/Summer wardrobe..SO EXCITED! I'm a sale bargain shopper though so it won't break our bank too bad! ;)
Speaking of Spring/Summer, we have TONS of good stuff coming up. Lily will be turning 1 in May <---- Can you believe that?!?! and she is getting her 1 year pictures taken May 1st, then she'll turn 1 on May 12th (and Daniel and I will celebrate 4 years of marriage on that day), then May 15th is her birthday party, May 22-29 we are taking our first family vacation down to Hatteras Island. We rented a gorgeous beach house with my in-laws and I can't wait! It has an in ground heated pool so we should be able to take full advantage of that instead of lugging the kids (and all their stuff) to the beach everyday plus Hunter LOVED the beach this past summer so I'm hoping he'll love it even more this year. Then in July, we are going to meet some what to expect momma's for a fun filled weekend at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. I can't wait...it's been almost 2 years since I've seen them so I can't wait to get together again! Lastly, in September we are working on putting together an adult's only few days away with my brother and sister-in-law and some friends at a beach cottage, but those details are still forming. :) Which that reminds me...we are currently looking into putting Hunter into a 2x a week pre-school starting the first week of September. I'm not sure how I feel about it honestly...I *know* in my heart by September (he'll be 2.5 years old) he'll be ready for some more frequent peer child interaction and some semi-structured learning, but as his mom while I'm excited, I'm nervous too. Like way nervous and part of me feels like he won't be ready by then. (I feel like that's more of "momma bear" talking aka *I* won't be ready) I kinda love the idea of having 2 mornings alone for 1 on 1 time with my baby girl. The preschool would be Tue/Thu 8:55-11:55 and I honestly think it will be good for him. Daniel thinks it'll be good for him and I'm sure he'll love making new friends, it's just hard to know when to let go a little bit. =\ You know I'm crazy when I have to prepare myself starting in January for something that won't even happen til September. lol
One reason I have been a little slacker with the blog is I have been working my butt off working out and eating better. I do not have a scale, but my jeans are loose and I feel stronger, healthier, and all around happier in life. It's a beautiful feeling. :) Daniel is on day shift until March so that means we get once a month date nights and I love having him home with me at night. LOVE LOVE LOVE! :) Daniel just celebrated his 25th birthday with a homemade birthday cake and card/new video game (surprise! lol). Birthdays are so much more fun as a little kid I have come to figure out as I've gotten older. Either way I'm glad we got to celebrate as a family! :)
I won't be adding pictures to this blog post because my dummy self somehow downloaded a virus while running Norton Anti-virus the other night (Explain that one to me!) so Daniel had to restore our computer to factory settings and so all of our pictures were moved to a removable hard drive and I'm way too lazy to move them all back to the computer right now. Next post, I'll make up for it though!
Hopefully the New Year is treating you and your family well so far!! XOXO
