Haircut

Before

During

After

I don't know why this haircut is such a hot topic for judgment... but I like it and happen to think he looks handsome with it short so whatever. People apparently really liked the floppy hair, I had to insist to the hairdresser to cut it this short- she rolled her eyes at me and I really thought she might refuse.

There are a few reasons for the haircut 1) when he sweats the floppy hair sticks to him 2) I have to take him to get a haircut all the time when it's longer 3) He HATES getting his hair washed 4) It was time for a change, it's better to test these things before he is old enough to fight it.. and before he is trying to impress the ladies :). If you hate it... well it's hair it grows back, but I hope you like it because Don and I do- we will likely cut it like this again when summer rolls back around next year.

Early to Rise

Before kids I used to plan my schedule so that I could get places before they closed at night. This morning I got to the bank so early that I had to go grocery shopping next door to pass the time until it opened. This is not the first time it has happened.. Probably once a month I have to go online and look up when something opens because our household seems to function best at the crack of dawn... my how things change in such a short amount of time.

Hostess with the Mostess

Yesterday we hosted our first social gathering since Audrey was born. It went fabulously and made me realize how far we have come as parents/adults and hosts.

When Don and I first started hosting things a few years back we would fight every time. I am big on being hostess and he is well… not. He would forget to offer people drinks, put out food etc. It wasn’t that he did it on purpose it just didn’t occur to him that someone who didn’t come over very often wouldn’t feel comfortable rummaging around in our cupboards looking for a cup. I on the other hand would circulate all the time making sure everyone had everything they needed, that everyone was engaged in conversation and making sure that things were being picked up so there was enough room for people to put their cup down etc. Looking back I probably wasn’t making anyone feel welcome and/or relaxed which had been my goal. Don and I have learned to meet in the middle when it comes to hosting, I have stopped being so crazy (yeah I admit it) and he has started taking over some of the responsibilities. We also put our foot down and only invite people we like, for example no more obligatory invites to ALL of Don’s co-workers. They people we like don’t care if we aren’t perfect hosts, and there is much less stress on us to please everyone. Now at the end of a cookout we sit and talk about how great our friends are instead of what we could have/ should have done.

On top of our drastically different styles of hosting we also tried to offer too much food, we wanted to make sure that everyone had exactly what they wanted and in doing so ended up with lots of leftover food and we ended up cooking/ serving almost the whole party. We have now simplified, this time we offered only hamburgers and hotdogs… and you know what happened? Everyone ate, and no one complained. We also got sides from the store, I didn’t make anything… I figured my time was better spent cleaning the house before people got there. Finally invited people to bring something if they wanted to and we discovered people bring really great things: cupcakes, brownies, pie, deviled eggs etc. So now instead of cooking the whole time, we get to enjoy our friends, and really people aren’t coming over here for the food they are coming over to see us!

A lot of years and two kids later we have learned a lot, not just about hosting but about how to be happy in situations that could be stressful. It’s about the people and the experience not the small details. You would think that with two small children it would be more stressful but we have managed to enjoy ourselves more. I’m glad we are able to show our kids how much fun you can have when surrounded by good friends.

2 Months Old

Audrey had her 2 month appointment today, here are her stats:

Weight: 10 Pounds, 3 Ounces which is 50th Percentile
Length: 22 1/4 Inches which is 50th percentile
Head: 15 Inches which is also 50th percentile

They said she looks great! The doctor did mention that she thought Audrey might end up with Reddish hair!

Today I'm Making...

I've started a new blog. This one is a pet project for me. I have been trying to be more creative in my cooking and this blog is going to be chronicling my adventures in the kitchen through recipes with my commentary and pictures.
So far I only have one entry but you have to start somewhere right? Take a look if it's your cup of tea... if not... well then just stick to this one!

Today I'm Making...

Big Brother

Ryan is the best big brother. He is so protective of Audrey, in fact he gets really stressed out if she is upset.

He was running around today and crashed into the fridge. Understandable he was upset and crying... which caused Audrey to start crying. When he heard her cry he got up, stopped crying and ran over to her saying "baby crying" he desperately wanted dad to help her. He completely stopped thinking about himself because he was worried about his sister. Sometimes I can't believe he is only two.

Later Audrey was having stomach issues (common for babies.. nothing serious) and was crying really hard. Don had to put Ryan to bed while Audrey was still crying. He came back downstairs to take care of Audrey and she quickly fell asleep. Well Ryan apparently was very worried about his sister and sat in bed for an hour until he called Don back upstairs. When Don got up there the first thing out of Ryan's mouth was asking if Audrey was still crying. When Don said she was okay he calmed down, laid down and fell asleep... he was so worried he couldn't sleep.

Audrey is one lucky girl to have such a great big brother.

New School

Ryan had his first day at his new school on Thursday. I was nervous, it can be a lot for a toddler to have their routines changed so drastically. Imagine getting dropped off somewhere where you don't know anyone, and not having the language skills to really understand it.... with this in my head you can understand why I was nervous.

We picked the BEST school that we could find. They serve organic food, their facilities are great and the teachers all have degrees in child development/ early education. So when dropping him off we had no doubt that he would be well taken care of but we worried about the transition from his last school... well apparently there was no need for our worry.

He fell right into place. The teacher said he got involved in everything, he participated in the class discussion, played with all the toys, made new friends and had a really good time. When I went to pick him up in the afternoon he said he didn't want to go home and tried to get me to leave.... My baby is growing up which makes me sad but at the same time I am so proud of him that he handled himself so well in what could be a really stressful situation. I'm glad we decided to move him to this school, I can tell he is really going to blossom.

Final Beach Post

Here are the remaining pictures from the beach. We had such a great time, it was overall very relaxing and Ryan especially loved the change of scenery and all the time he got to spend outside.

Ryan and Grandma

Ryan's favorite part of the beach trip was getting to hang out with grandma ("Ma") for days at a time. Grandma lets him get away with anything and he knows it, so "Ma" wins over "Mommy" any day :)

Aquarium

We took a family trip to Emerald Isle for the labor day weekend. I have about a million pictures so there might be a few blog posts to show them all.
This first one is our trip to the aquarium. Ryan has gotten to the age where he is really starting to like museums geared towards kids.

Learn From Your Mistakes

I am a different parent to Audrey then I was to Ryan. I didn't mean for it to happen but it just did. I am more confident in my ability and I don't have nearly as much time. Here is what I learned through trial and error with Ryan:

1) The rules don't always apply... in fact they usually don't. For instance the pediatrics association now says they recommend you not swaddle your baby.... My doctor told me this, followed quickly with "I don't know who would follow that suggestion... it's probably worse for the baby to being constantly crying." Rules seem to change every day... You HAVE to do something, then a new study comes out and suddenly your child with die if you do it.... use your good judgment, it is more reliable.

2) You have to take care of yourself, especially when there is no time to do so. Wear real clothes (sweatpants, PJs and ratty t-shirts don't fall into the "real clothes" category). Brush your hair and your teeth, you might even try makeup if you feel so inclined. Take walks, even if you have to lug your children with you (you burn calories lugging anyway). You will be a better parent if you feel better and you will feel better if you look better.

3) You don't have to hold your baby ALL the time. You can't do everything at once and if you let the baby cry for 30 seconds nothing is going to happen. She won't need therapy just because she had to cry for a bit, you will do much more therapy worthy things to your child before they hit adulthood :)

4) Tinted windows aren't just for thugs... they are the best invention ever. Those stupid things you hang from your window never work... your baby will just get hit by sun in another direction.. and the sticky things fall down all the time.

5) If you don't like something that isn't absolutely necessary then don't do it. If you have activities you don't enjoy then don't do them, if you have friends that stress you out don't waste your time. My time is precious, I can't waste it on things that don't improve my life or my kids lives. On the flip side do things that make you happy... I like baking/ cooking and it's something I can do at home with Ryan. Needless to say I have made a lot of baked goods recently, the people at Don's office are going to start gaining weight!

6) Feed your baby when she is hungry... you don't have to stick to a perfect schedule. Your baby will let you know when she is hungry, barring some medical issue or weight gain issue let her be, especially true when she is sleeping. As they get older routines become easier, you don't have to force it now, it will happen on it's own if you let it.

7) Babies are babies for a very short time. With Ryan I felt like I might never sleep again, that I would never have a social life again and that I just had to hunker down for the long haul. The truth is it passes quickly so if things aren't going well, it won't last long, smile, suck it up and know that tomorrow it will all likely be different. If it stresses you out, you will likely stress them out and any problem will just be exacerbated.

There are tons of other things... but I have to go.... kitchen to be cleaned, children to be taken care of and banana crumb muffins to be baked!

500

I started this blog about 3 years ago. I started it when I found out I was pregnant before I told any of my friends. I wanted to wait until I was into my second trimester before spreading the news so I started the blog so I would have an outlet. This post is my 500th.... crazy. Two children later my life is unrecognizable.

I am so happy that I started the blog, it has been a great to keep my memories fresh. I would have forgotten what the world looked like through my eyes then, I would have forgotten those days leading up to being a mom. I have looked back more then once to remember what we have been through in the last three years. Time passes so quickly, I found out I was pregnant, I had Ryan, then what seems like an instant later I had Audrey. Kids grow and change so much so fast that it is easy for things to get lost in the shuffle... first smiles, first vacations, first teeth, first sicknesses, first friends etc. I'm also excited to have something to give my children when they are older so that they can see what they were doing before their memories began... the good, the bad and the ugly.
Here is to the next 3 years and 500 new memories.....