2 for 1 Post!

Last month I did not get a chance to post Michael's monthly blog update. Mostly because we were in a car accident the week before, and I just had so much crap to deal with. It just didn't happen. Luckily, both M and I are fine. Our poor car... not so much. Our good old BMW 528i was totaled. Sad sad day. Everything has been sorted out now (it took FOREVER), and we have a new car. More on that later, let's pick up where we left off in June.

21 Months

We spent Father's Day at the farm with Rob's family AND my family! Rob's grandparents were in town from Arizona so we did one big Daddy Bash together. It was SO hot, and Michael and I got about a million bug bites, but it was nice for baby boy to get to spend time with his dad, both grandfathers, and one of his great-grandfathers. 

The following week, I did something very brave (or very crazy) with two of my mommy friends. Stephanie and Michael, Allie and Parker, and Mauri and Ezra went to the beach. Three moms. Three toddler boys. Actually it was too bad, we had a few hiccups, but overall I think it went pretty well! The boys loved playing together, and M just loves the water so much. He was happy as a clam just sitting on the shore letting the waves crash all around him. Must be because his ancestral homeland is SK. :)  It would have been easier if all the dads had been able to come, but it was nice to just spend time with my mommy BFFs too!

After the beach, my cousin Kyle and his girlfriend came down to visit so my parents, bro and his gf, my Aunt Diane and Uncle Dave, cousin Nicole, Rob, Michael, and I rented a boat on Lake Lanier. I am NOT a lake person. I am an ocean person. I don't like the muddy slimy lake bottoms, I don't want ugly lake fish touching me, I don't like the brown murky water. YUCK YUCK YUCK. However, I got in. I still hate the way the bottom feels, but the water was relatively clear where we were. Michael and Rob, wildery men that they are, couldn't get in the water fast enough. In fact, once M was fitted with his life vest and swimmies, he was off and swimming (kinda). It was fun. A lot of fun. It would have been more fun if it was the ocean, but hey, win some loose some. Ha!

In late June/early July my sister in law, Shelly, came to visit and brought my niece Hailey! She was born in March, and this was the first chance Rob, M, and I have gotten to meet her! I was very excited! I have really amazing aunts, and I have a high standard to live up too. But my sweet niece is so perfect, it would be hard not to fall head over heels in love with her! Michael could not stop kissing and hugging her. Seeing such a little baby (she was 3ish months old) gave me split personality; half of me was ready for baby #2, the other half thought, thank goodness I'm past that stage!  The week my Shelly and Hailey were here was the same week we had our car wreck.

Driving home from the farm after family farm fun time, Michael and I were T-boned by a tow truck. It really scared me, because M was in the car, but as I said above, we were both ok. We went to the hospital to make sure M was really ok, but we had to ride in the ambulance because car seats are toast after an accident. That also meant we had to stay at the hospital until my mom could go buy a new car seat and drive it up to Athens. What a nightmare. 

22 months

July was pretty low key as far as baby stuff. Michael had swim lessons all month. Seriously, he is a fish. My parents were on vacation for a good portion of the month, so Michael stayed with my Aunt Diane when I had to work. She spoils him! Splash pad, pool, parks, kook-aid edible paint, etc. He could care less that I'm going to work. Sometimes he can't even be bothered to say goodbye to me. When I go back to pick him up, he's dancing up a storm and ignoring me again. 

Most of July was spent sorting out the car situation. It took a LOOOONG time for everything to happen, it was two weeks before I was given a rental car, and another two weeks for us to find a new permanant car. It was such a big hassle. I'm lucky my dad was so helpful with everything. Our old BMW was in his name, so he dealt with the insurance company, and helped us decide on what kind of car we wanted (he is a total motor head), and he was the one who found all the cars we test drove. That was two long day of hell. First of all it was discouraging to not find what you want, and it was SO HOT when we were looking. We literally looked at cars all day on a Saturday. It was awful, we didn't find anything that was right. I was packing up to head home from their house Sunday morning, and he came up from his office with one last car to look at. It was a BMW X5 at United BMW in Roswell. They are only open the last Sunday of the month, and it just happened to be the last Sunday of the month. We headed over, and it was the car. Finally. Rob and I now own a Silver BMW X5. It's a BEAST. It has a V8 engine, all wheel drive, and an obscene amount of horse power (kind of surprising for an SUV). It also has a lot of nifty features, and drives nicely. Also, the interior layout is so similar to our old car, it's almost like riding in a bigger version of our old BMW. I'm just glad to be in our own car again.

The weekend after we found the car was my dad's 60th birthday. We had a big party, and some out of town family visit. My Aunt Patty and Uncle Bobby drove up from Florida, my grandparents and Thea and Uncle Paul flew in from Jersey, and Aunt Calli and Uncle Gus came in from NY. It was a lot of fun, Michael and I stayed at my parents house for 10 days straight. It was intense, and by the end Michael was so far off his routine that he was a spoiled brat (staying with grandparents and great-grandparents for 10 days pretty much means he got WHATEVER he wanted WHENEVER he wanted it). 

Hanging with his BFF Parker (M is playing the harmonica)

The cake I made for my Dad's 60th bday party.

We got home Friday morning, and have been relaxing together as a family. I'm ready for all of our weekly activities to fall back into routine. And I cannot believe that in only two months I will have a 2 year old!

**I was too lazy to proof read this, and I have to go write another blog for work. Apologies for any typos!**

20 Months Already?!

Today is Michael's 20 month birthday. I don't know why I didn't realize it til today, but my baby boy is now closer to age two than age one! Seriously, time needs to slow down, I don't want him to grow up just yet!

Give that baby a box

Road rage baby.

Rocking a sparkly zebra print hat while shopping with Yiayia.

Summer has been going by lazily. All of our normal toddler activities, except gymnastics, have been suspended for the summer. Looking for things to keep us busy is generally my top priority or I have a very bored toddler. I wrote about our last craft day in my last blog, and I mentioned that the kids got to play in a baby pool. Michael LOVED it! We got our own, and honestly, it's my go to for the days I have nothing for baby to do. It's been pretty versatile so far. We have had water play (of course), spaghetti play, sensory rice play, cloud dough play, and (pretend) sand play with potato flakes! Once I just stuck him in the empty pool with a few colored ice cubes. He was happy as a clam on ice. The pool cost me $3. Best summer purchase so far.

We've had some fun play dates the past month. We had a fun pizza lunch date with our friends Mauri and Ezra at their house; the boys are so cute playing together with all Ezra's toys! Although, M is getting to the point where he wants everything for himself. Another fun and impromptu play date was strawberry picking with Allie and Parker! Michael loved it! Between running around with Parker and cramming as many strawberries in his mouth as he could- M was just in heaven. It was hotter than... well, it was really hot when we were picking berries, so afterwards the boys went into the baby pool. Seriously, I love that thing.

Ezra and Michael

Here ya go Mommy.

Nevermind. I'll just eat it.

BFFs- Parker and Michael.

These are all for me to eat, right?

Yep. ALL. MINE.

I suspect this is what Hannibal Lecter looks like after a meal.

Cooling off!

Oh, and we went to Disney World again. I know, I know. We were JUST there. But the thing is, my aunt lives in Florida, and it's not a far drive... and my mom and aunt were paying... My aunt was going to be in Orlando for the weekend anyway, so we hopped in the car for a semi-last minute trip. M was pretty great in the car; he was far better behaved than I had feared. We had lots of fun, and I'm glad we went (you can judge all you want), cause M really loves it there! He is obsessed with all the characters- if he sees one, it's all over. We have to meet them! He has loved every ride he has been on.  I just love seeing him so happy and having so much fun.

Hugging Pooh. (Ignore my big bum)

Making out with Dale

Playing with Pluto

Hello Mater!

Meeting Luigi and the Leaning Tower of Tires

Guido!

Things have been pretty quiet since we've been back. We went strawberry picking again with Rob, my mom, brother, Kitty (bro's gf), Aunt Diane, and my cousin Nicole. I have made a ridiculous amount of strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake, strawberry-lemonade sorbet, and strawberry macarons. Up next is more macarons and some no-melt ice pops (you read that right. I can make no melt ice pops. A must for summer with a toddler).

I think that mostly wraps up the past month. Work is going really well for me! I love it- I'm getting paid to do stuff I do everyday! I've written several blog posts for my company now, and so far it has gotten a great response from the readers! Rob is working his tail off (ha, see what I did there? Tail? He's a vet?). He is currently on the Large Animal Internal Medicine rotation. I don't know what that means either, don't feel bad!

Ok, until next time friends! And happy early Father's Day to all the dads out there!

19 Month Catch Up!

Quite a bit has happened in the last month, and I'm behind on my blogging again! Oy vey!

Let's see, where shall we begin? I think I left off my last post from Disney World with the promise to update after Michael's 18 month doctor appointment, so lets start there! Michael weighed 22 pounds and was 32 inches tall. He's still on the smaller end of the scale, but he has continued to get bigger, so no cause for concern. Our doctor has started asking some pretty unusual sounding questions to gauge his mental development. For example, "Has Michael picked up a cheerio and placed it inside his cup? Did he then try to get the cheerio out? Was he successful?" Uh, what? Strangely enough, Michael HAD done that before, so A+. She also asked what words he is able to say, which is a fairly long list, and if he is saying phrases. I said that he can say, "More please." Apparently that does not count because, "Michael likely thinks that's just one word." So, F for phrases. Oh well, he'll get there when he gets there! Overall our doc was pleased with his progress and said he is doing really well. We don't have to go back until he is two! It feels so far away, but really its less than five months! AHHH!

April after Disney flew by! We are still going to gymnastics, Michael is crazy brave. I regularly get heart attacks while there. He wants to climb and jump off everything. He loves flipping on the bar, hanging from the rings, jumping on the trampoline, doing forward (and now backwards) rolls, and of course flinging himself into the foam pit. The last two weeks he has been jumping of the "high dive" into the foam. It's a platform under one of the practice bars for the big kids. He's a fearless and, heart attacks aside, pretty adorable little gymnast.

Daddy and Michael at gymnastics

Today was our last craft day of the season. Treehouse Kid and Craft, where the sensory baby classes are held, will be hosting summer camps all summer long. Our classes won't start back up til the second week in August. We are even more bummed that our instructor, Miss Lindsay, is moving and won't be back in the fall. Super Sad. Today we had water play. All the babies got to splash and play in a baby pool together with fun toys. Michael LOVES water and was the first one to get in the pool. We ended up going to Toys R Us today to get our own baby pool (for $3! Yay coupons!), which we played in this afternoon! My favorite part of afternoon pool time? We got to play with my (did I say "my?" I meant Michael's) sweet new archaeological beach toys! We have the Great Pyramid of Giza, Parthenon, Colosseum, Mayan Step Pyramid, and the Sydney Opera House! Yes, I am a nerd, but my kid will have the most bada** sand castles at the beach! :p If you want your own cool beach ruins, you can get them by clicking here. Apparently you can also get the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal... hmm...

Last Treehouse Sensory Baby class!

Enjoying pool play!

Mommy, we need a pool. Now.

Ok, here's your very own pool.

In May we started a nature class called Babies and Beasties at Sandy Creek Nature Center. We go every Thursday in May. So far we have had two classes. The first week J'mama (what Michael calls my mother in law Julie) came with us. It was a frog themed class. We started by playing musical lily pads- the kids had to run around on lily pads collecting bugs while music played. Then we headed down to the creek to look for tadpoles. Unfortunately a big storm had come thru earlier in the week, and there was NO action in the creek at all. Bummer. We went and fed the turtles and fish in their interactive gallery, met a green tree frog native to Georgia (tried feeding him too, but he was too shy to eat), then we had gold fish for snack! Last week was BUGS! We went on a bug hunt in their Great Plains field. Michael was more interested in finding cool sticks, but he did try the bug net for a bit. Our group found a teeny tiny moth, a giant mean looking ant, and a lizard called an anole. We hiked back to the nature center to visit the bee hive in the gallery. It was REALLY full. We learned the the hive is currently "swarming" and they believe most of the bees are preparing to leave and begin a new hive. Only a small number of bees will stay to repopulate. I asked if we could have the honey. The answer was no. Jerks. Instead we got ants on a log for snack. Michael ate the raisins and licked off the peanut butter. He was not a fan of the celery AT ALL. He tried it a few times. First he spat out his bite and made an ugly face. Then he tried again. He chewed and chewed and chewed. He finally grabbed my hand and dribbled out a really gross piece of mashed up, but super fibrous, celery. He wanted me to eat his used celery. How thoughtful of him to share. Being a mom is just so rewarding.

Catching bugs!

Where are all the bugs mom?

We had lots of family events since my last post. We celebrated Easter at my Uncle Dave and Aunt Diane's new house. Michael got THREE Easter baskets; spoiled much? My cousin Nicole even set up an egg hunt for him! He was 50% into the hunt. He found the first egg himself, and after that I had to point them out. Once I did he ran up to them and ripped them open for surprises. We had a delicious dinner, well, the grown ups did. I forgot Michael's chair, so he ran around the house while we ate. He even excavated the fireplace and had to run around naked for a bit. It's tough being so adventurous.

Man, I cleaned up! Thanks Easter Bunny!

Busy board made by Papou (my dad). The light switch and doorbell work!

I'm Batman!

Rob's cousin Ryan graduated from college, so his grandparents flew in from Arizona a couple weeks ago. We were able to spend a lot of time with them. We had a big family cookout at the farm, and Michael was running around like he owned the place. He went for a ride in the boat with daddy, grandpa, and (great) grandma. He was swinging in the hammock (he loves hammocks. He limes like St Kitts is his ancestral homeland or something). AND when everyone (not mommy) went swimming in the lake, Michael was besides himself. He was screaming at everyone in the water and pacing the side of the dock like a starving lion. Finally Rob took him swimming. Michael was so excited. Well, he was excited as long as Rob was backstroking so he could ride on daddy's belly.

A few days later M was sick. For real stomach virus sick. He threw up for the first time. On Rob. Not Me. Rob had been home less than 30 minutes and I had been home with M all day. Honestly, all I could think was Thank God it was him and not me! Luckily, it seemed to only be a 24 hour bug and baby boy was back to himself the next night!

Sick baby. Snuggling with daddy and hating his cold compress.

On Saturday we celebrated Mother's Day with Rob's mom and stepdad's family then headed to the farm for a birthday party for one of Michael's friend,  John. And this past Sunday we celebrated my second Mother's Day! Last year we were in St. Kitts with our island BFFs Kate and Trevor, and we spent the day at Reggae Beach. That is hard to top, but I had a really great day! We went out and had bagels for breakfast, hiked and walked through the Botanical Gardens, Rob cleaned the house, and then we met my family for dinner! We started a new tradition- Michael and Rob (and any future progeny) will fill a page in my Mom Journal. Instead of buying a card that will probably get tossed, they can write me a note, draw me a picture, etc. I get to keep the book forever, and I can see how they change and grow over the years! I am pretty excited about this new family tradition! 

Playing at J'Mama's house

Driving his farm truck and rocking his life vest.

Mommy kisses on Mother's Day

Oh, and I got a job! Yay!! I am the new Social Media Director for The International Sugar Art Collection! I have worked for the company before, and am so thankful to be back on their team! Nicholas Lodge, the foremost cake artist in the world, teaches the most amazing cake decorating classes. There is also a retail section that sells EVERYTHING needed to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and cookies, as well as chocolate and candy making supplies. Previously I worked in the retail store and I ran a Cupcake Camp for kids one year with my coworker Molly! I love everyone who works there, but this time my boss, Scott, is very kindly letting me work from home! In June I will start going in once a week while my mom watches M. I'm so excited to start this new job, and if you want to learn how to be a rock star cake decorator I'm your girl! And since I am their "online" girl I am going to shamelessly ask you to check out our website: www.nicholaslodge.com  You can sign up for classes, and if you are far away, you can sign up for our new online courses here: www.Craftsy.com. Oh, and go ahead and like us on Facebook while you're at it! :) Thanks!

Til next time my loves!