Monday, April 23, 2012

Giveaway!!

Check out my friend's giveaway on her blog!!!

I'ts some amazing Darphin Skincare:)

You'd love some, I know it!!

Go here!! The Glamorous Life of a Housewife

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Naps!!!

Lucas has always been an amazing sleeper! He started sleeping through the night right at 2 months and has been a wonderful napper too.

 I followed the 2, 3, 4 method when he was little and it has always seemed to work for him. He would wake up about 7a, take his first nap around 9a, take his second around 1-2p, and go to bed at 7:30p. It's been amazing. He's slept in his crib since he was 10 days old and has always slept in a pack 'n play at the sitter and at my mom's, so he's always slept good when we traveled. He's always been able to go down sleepy but still awake, and put himself to sleep. We've definitely been lucky.

 Obviously, we've had some hard times too. At times when he's teething or sick, he hasn't slept well. Sometimes changes in schedule make him sleep worse, too. And of course, Sundays are always strange. He won't sleep in the nursery, so he usually falls asleep on the way home and sleeps 2 hours in the middle of the day and been fine.

 He's 15 months old now and the past few days, he's only been sleeping 40 minutes at a time and waking up crying. He still sleeps great at night and wakes up in the morning happy and talking:) So, I know if he's waking up crying, something's not right.

 Most things I've read say he might be ready for one nap instead of two now. I'm fine with that. It's usually one long one in the middle of the day, right? Well, how do I transition? What if he falls asleep on the way home from church? Do I not put him straight to his crib? Do I wake him up when I get him out, let him play, feed him lunch, then put him down early afternoon?

 HELP!!!!! I don't know what to do. I know it's probably going to be a little difficult and very different, but I think I welcome this change. It will give us a little more flexibility in our schedule and help us plan a little better too. I just don't know how to do it!!!

 I'd appreciate all the advice you can give. This is one of the reasons I love to blog...to be able to talk to all you moms who have gone before me...who have made it through this transition period and lived to tell about it. Tell me all about it:)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wednesday Love: Hamburgers, Cream Soda and Basketball

A few weeks ago during Spring Break, Nick and I headed out of town for a few days. We needed some time just the two of us. It had been far too long!



We headed to OKC on a Sunday and Nick exits at some random place and we drive down Route 66 for a little while. He tells me we're going to Pops. If you've never been there, you've got to go! It's in the middle of nowhere, Arcadia, OK, but it's right on Route 66. You can check it out here.

It was awesome to get off the highway and drive on Route 66 for awhile. We went through several small towns and it was so neat to see them. Most I'd never heard of, but there was just something so unique about them.

It was so cute to know that Nick planned this part of our journey as a surprise.



It was such an experience. It is just filled with glass bottles of pop! Every flavor you can imagine, even some you'd never think of. They have huge cases of different brands of orange, cream soda, root beer, cola, grape, strawberry, raspberry...then they had Peanut Butter and Jelly flavored and Buffalo Wings flavored. We didn't try those. We were starving, so we ordered right away.

Nick got some spicy burger and I got a classic cheese. They were delicious. I ate every bite...we shared fries:)





We then drove into OKC and did some shopping (mostly for Lucas!), checked into our hotel, had a little nap (it was Sunday afternoon, after all), then finally headed to Bricktown. We ate at Crabtown and went to the Thunder game. I was on the lookout for a shirt. You would not believe the prices! One of the women's tees (just a t-shirt, remember) was $56!!!! I finally found a kid's tee that fit, and it was under $30, so we bought it:)



We had great seats. Straight behind the goal!



It was such a production. We couldn't believe it. There was music playing constantly and fun things happening at each time-out and break. We had a blast! Here's Nick playing with a Rumble hat:)



We had the best time just the two of us. I wish we had the time/money to do that more often, but we don't. So we just take advantage of each opportunity and make every moment count.

I love that man!!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

15 Months

Dear Lucas,

I can't believe your 15 months old! So much has happened this month! You've grown and progressed in ways we could never have imagined!

The day after you turned 14 months you started walking! You took about 50 steps at the baseball field and really never stopped after that. It was wonderful:) You look so cute when you walk...with your little hands up in fists to keep your balance. You can go up the step into the kitchen with ease, but are still having a hard time getting down. A few weeks later, when you were about 14 1/2 months, you figured how to stand up on your own. We realized that if we got your feet and hands underneath you that you would push your way up...once we helped you this about 4 times, you had it down pat:) It's so cute to watch you stick your little booty up in the air!



We had family pictures this month and you were just wonderful! You just love being outside, so these were perfect for you and you just shined for the camera! It captured your little personality beautifully.



You've been to the doctor twice this month (and are going again today). You had a little rash on your hiney so we went (it's gone now!) and you weighed 22 lbs; up from 21.7 on March 1. Then, last week we had to go again because of a terrible cough and fever, and you hadn't eaten or drank anything, so you were down to 21.2. It was just pitiful:( You've had to have a breathing treatment every day since then. You've done great with them. When we go today, hopefully they'll tell us you're cured and we don't need to do them anymore!



It's so sad to see you hurting and not being able to do anything. It is a good lesson in humility for Mommy. Even though I wish I oculd take every pain and every hurt from you, I can't. God can though and He will always protect you.



The weather has been absolutely beautiful this month, so we've been outside a lot! You have ridden on Daddy's mower with him, we've gone on many walks, we've had fun at the baseball fields, and you never want to come in! I absolutely love it!





We had another holiday this month...Easter! You had a great time hunting eggs and you absolutely love to find bunnies, wherever they may be. I have decorated with them and you can spot them from anywhere. Mimi also gave you a little house full of pets (a bunny, a bird, a dog, and a cat) and you can identify all of them!



I took you to see the Easter Bunny (I'll have to add this photo later) and you loved it! You just smiled up at him, then over at me, then back at him. You thought it was wonderful!

You are becoming my favorite little shopping partner. You have such a great time in the cart, just observing and waving at everyone who passes us. You have also learned to say "bye bye", so you say that as we pass things quite often. Because you're always so good, we usually get a treat at the end of our trips. This is fun for Mommy, too:) If we're in the mall, we'll get mini cookies from The Great American Cookie Company; if we're at Wal-Mart, we'll get a cookie from the bakery; and my personal favorite, frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf. We got cheesecake frozen yogurt and topped it with blueberries, raspberries and gummy bears:) It was so yummy and we had a fun little date in the orange chairs!



We've spent all our time together the past few weeks because Daddy's been so busy with baseball. You say "Mama" all the time now and can find and point at me from wherever you are. You can also point to/identify head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers, foot, and legs. You can also say "bath, door, fish, choo choo, go, no, and uh-oh". It's so fun to hear your little voice. It's just the sweetest thing. It's amazing how quickly you're picking up on things. You can identify birds, bunnies, dogs and frogs wherever they are and you point to the sky everytime you hear a bird. You did this a lot during our family pictures.



You're still the best baby! You still love your morning and afternoon naps, you still love to be in bed by 7:30-7:45p, and you still eat anything we give you. Your new favorite snacks are graham crackers and vanilla wafers, though. Oh, and ice-pops at the baseball games.



You are just so fun and we just laugh at you all the time. You bring so much joy to our lives and make them so full of light!

We love you so much!!



All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter!!

We had a wonderful Easter yesterday. An amazing church service, a yummy dinner, and a fun little man that made it just perfect!

Easter pictures at church. So hard to get him to look at the camera and smile when all he wants to do is walk up and down the stairs


And a cute one of the two of us;)


All his Easter basket stuff on display


And the first thing he goes for...the basket!


Showing Mommy the eggs


Jovie really wants to eat what's inside


Lucas does too:) Golfish!


I hosted Easter lunch for the first time! It was a huge success:)

Thanks to Pinterest, I added a few personal touches!

Here's the table all ready to go


Carrots! Napkin/utensils:)


I also made goody bags full of bunny bait (popcorn covered in white chocolate, then m&ms and pretzel sticks mixed in) for everyone to take home!


I also made cookies and a cheesecake (that I forgot to get a picture of)


Then I made ham (a Christmas gift from Wyandotte Public Schools), twice-baked potato casserole, and green bean casserole






My mother-in-law made deviled eggs and strawberry salad




My mommy made baked beans and my step-dad baked a chocolate pie, but I didn't get pictures of those either:(

We had a lot of food and it was delicious!

We then headed out for some egg-hunting! He did great:) He carried his basket, I pointed to an egg, he came over and grabbed it, then put it in the basket:) So cute! However, our yard is fairly uneven and has a little bit of an incline, so he would fall sometimes and his eggs would spill out all over the place:) So frustrating for the little man, but a good laugh for all of us:)

Sorry, these pictures are so bright! Should've told Mimi to put it on the daytime setting






Then, he got his final present...a bubble mower! He doesn't quite push it fast enough so the bubbles will come out, but he loves the noise:)



All in all, a great day! Celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and enjoying quality time with my family. Made this mommy very happy:)