a week of celebrating

turns out its easy to celebrate River turning ONE for the entire week. 

(in little ways of course) 

Monday: his car seat was turned facing forward. (we are not waiting until 2. I just cant do it. I know we're horrible)

Tuesday: he got his first cup of milk & seemed to love it

Wednesday: moving to no bottle. (he may not enjoy this part of the celebrating. we'll see) 

Thursday: who knows.. maybe I'll go crazy and make him eggs for the first time!

Friday: pre-party day. maybe we'll take him swimming for the first time (indoors obviously. its still 20-30 degrees here. yay for a prego person in a swimsuit. not.)

Saturday: THE BIG DAY. Lucky guy gets his first taste of suuuuuugar!!!! Lots of people loving on him & celebrating his life. friends over to play with. food to eat. and again - SUGAR!

Its fun finding little things each day to make the entire week fun. We were just kind of doing it already and then I realized it after the fact so the rest of the week I'll be more purposeful about celebrating all the "firsts" he is experiencing. I think the biggest part of the celebration is having his dad home ALL DAY. EVERY DAY. for the entire week! 

(PS: I made a totally sappy and adorable slide show of River at the hospital when he was born. I'll upload it soon. I cry every time I watch it. Get excited!)

PPS: I have a bazillion gazillion post that I need to share with you. Like, telling our family the news about baby #2. I thought Id share the story of how we came up with the name River. Oh and of course the pictures from 8 months ago when we re-decorated our house! One day I hope to finally share all those!

jellybean

Thats not really what we are calling this baby. Im just trying it out though. Freeland hasnt heard it yet. I just feel bad for this baby that River was "applejack" and he still doesnt have a name.

Yesterday we finally went back to the doctor (after a 2 month hiatus) and got to see a little guy.. I mean Jellybean. Okay, I dont think its going to stick. I'll have to come up with something new.

Regardless, it was so nice to have our "official" gender sonogram. And get to see him. I love the anatomy sonogram because they check everything and you get to sit there for like 30 minutes & watch your baby moving all over. Crazy to feel it & watch it at the same time!

Note: we pretended we didnt already know it was a boy so that the sweet sonographer could have fun telling us.

Here are some pictures of our little guy. He looks just like River did! Its crazy!!


profile


little toot was covering his face the entire time.. just like his big brother did too



Who knows if he will look just like River when he is born but in those pictures I can definitely tell they are brothers. I love it.

I have one more month appointment and then I start going every 2 weeks. That kinda freaks me out that its already close to that time! Lets get this party started.

Also, there is still time to enter the giveaway for lots of Scentsy stuff!! There are 3 winners so the odds are good you will win something! Woo Hoo!!  Click here to enter on The Sweet Pea Life Blog

together again

(taken with my phone when Freeland walked in on Saturday)

Freeland is home.

He was away on a rotation the last couple of weeks. (after the one in Texas, I came home & he went on to a different rotation.)

And did I mention its technically supposed to be his vacation month right now? The man works hard.  Im happy to brag on him.

But he is home now & Im grateful. And we are all together again. And River laughs like crazy and hates taking naps now because it means Freeland wont be in the room.

Side note: today we went to the Y to work out. (Yes, I "worked out" for those of you in my family who had to read that twice) and I walked in the kids area to get River. He just sat there. He smiled but didnt care. Then Freeland walked in... he started balling. I guess he got upset that he realized Freeland had been away or that he was there and wasnt right next to him. In summary, he loves his dad. (and me. but mostly his dad)

We've been busy unpacking, cleaning, planning Rivers birthday, enjoying time together, cooking, and seeing friends!!  its been perfect. So I'll try to update more soon.

PS: Make sure to check this blog she is doing a Scentsy giveaway that ends today!!! 

family of 3

I havent even looked at our pictures from Texas yet.

But I did see this one and it occurred to me:

1. we dont have any pictures of the 3 of us together.
2. it isnt much longer that we can say we are just a family of 3.
3. thats crazy.
4. Im the only one looking at the camera. (my family would say this is pretty typical)
5. this is in black & white because its embarrassing how pale I am. My son, who has pretty much never been in the sun since we live in Erie, & I are the same color of white. Poor kid has my skin tone. For that - I apologize.
6. he has been working on that tooth for a while and wont stop chewing on his finger.
7. I miss Freeland.

Mr. Gray

you may remember me posting about my friend Kori & her husband Jon before with their son Smith.

I just thought I would share a little link to her blog again for an update on her pregnancy with Gray in the chance you hadnt read it already.

She's an amazing writer and truly has a gift at being able to share her feelings and be vulnerable.  Im thankful she shares updates and welcomes us all to pray & believe with them. (if you havent read her post over the last year I encourage you to go back and read some!)

Click here for updates and to join us in praying for her, Jon, and Gray. 

on becoming a toddler

turning 1 makes River a toddler right?

cause if not everything else he is doing makes him a toddler.

climbing through, over, & around everything.
getting into his favorite place: under the kitchen sink. yay cleaning supplies!
digging through the trash. dirty diapers are fun toys.
learning to flush the toilet! (cant wait to see what we find in the pipes!) 
upset when I change his diaper because it means there is going to be 1 minute where he cannot play
eating. eating. eating.
turning the TV on & off
and attempting to climb out of his crib.

So I would write more except I need to try to go figure out how to lower his crib by myself. Woo Hoo!


(note: there are also LOTS of amazing, wonderful, and adorable things he is doing as well... like his dance moves are just improving every day. he laughs a lot more. he talks all the time. he is so happy with me just sitting with him. he loves having our approval. he wants to feed himself. he chases the cats.. and list goes on & on & on.)

A summary of our trip to the Lone Star State

Sonic Drive Inn. Other people taking care of River.lots of driving.     meeting friends for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.visiting family. Whataburger. Freeland working almost 30 days straight. Chuys. Late night road trip to visit friends. being sick. pack n plays. freebirds. warm weather. borrowing cars. going back and forth in DFW. lots of cupcakes. Re-sale stores. birthdays. free babysitters. dates. laundry. river playing in the grass. cows & horses everywhere. playing peek a boo. lone star. Glorias. lots of sleeping. the dougie. River constantly being entertained.  engagement parties & baby showers. probably my last flight with River in my lap. grandmas and grandpas. finding out the sex of baby #2. getting a glimpse of what it would feel like to live next to family. discovering new tv shows. green grass. chilli's. parks. mavericks games. toys.. lots of toys. aunts, uncles, and cousins. feeling blessed. my tummy growing a lot. watching River be loved on.  

Thats just what comes to mind this second. Im sure there is more I left off.

PS: Speaking of Texas, did you see that Adam & Camille are leaving us? I know right.. how rude?? (just kidding) But at least they are moving back to The Lone Star State and thankfully close to our family so we get to see them every time we go home!!!! So happy for them & all our friends who matched for residency!

Rivers birthday invitation

here it is:


designed by bnute check her out! She has lots of great invitations.

Im so excited. I love it. Its the perfect mix of vintage/whimsical details.. and it makes me laugh. Who doesnt love mustaches?

In case you are confused as to what a "mustache bash" is - our plan is to do a "little man" party. Since River was born we have always been told that he looked like such a "little man" and we agree. So once I stumbled upon the idea online we went with it. I figure its one of the only parties where we have all the say in what we do.. so Im taking advantage.

Also, you may not remember but River & Freeland also wore mustaches in the hospital when he was born! (thanks to Sarah & Drew!) So that just adds to the list of reasons we are doing this theme.

We'll decorate with mustaches everywhere.. and ties.. and bowties.. and anything else we can think of. Its actually going to be low-key though. We just want to have friends over to enjoy food and eat cake. Nothing fancy. But we still want it to be fun.

So thats the plan. 

update: I actually wrote this yesterday and today Im not nearly as motivated. Is it okay if the invitations are the only thing that have a theme on them? Just Kidding. I know I'll get motivated again but Im just being honest.

home. sweet. home

we are home. and it feels just like being home. Which feels awesome.

(Although I loved being in Texas. Its also home.. just a different kind of home)

We had our carpets cleaned while we were gone so I came home to a sparkling clean house. And it also felt awesome.

I got the internet/cable turned back on, unpacked, stocked the fridge and cooked in my own kitchen. Although I still need to go through the massive pile of mail.. not the most exciting awesome thing.

River thinks all his toys are brand new again and is majorly entertained. (which as you can imagine.. is awesome)

He also sees the door and freaks out because he discovered in Texas whats on the other side and now just wants to be outside. (which isnt awesome because its super muddy/melty snow)

I got to see all my friends tonight at Girls Group. It was great. Just like I was never gone. And Freeland is loving his new rotation. (more awesome than I can explain)

Hoping to upload pictures sooner than later.

The end.

peek-a-boo

River wont stop playing peek-a-boo. Its adorable. However, he doesnt understand putting his hands directly over his eyes:

My dad took these with his phone the other day at lunch.

On our way back home now. Im not sure if the adjustment will be harder for River or for me but it will be nice to be in our own beds.

winding down in Texas

Our time in Texas is quickly coming to an end. Its gone by fast. Before we know it we'll be back in the snow.

Instead of packing all of our stuff up to get ready to leave Im sitting here thinking up ideas for River's first birthday party.  Its hard not to go overboard when there are so many wonderful & creative ideas online. And I definitely agree with Lauren .. so many ideas are adorable the problem is they are all for girls birthday parties! Ive found so many I love but their just too girly. 

We did get it all hashed out this week. Ordered the invitations this morning. Now I just have to put all these ideas into action. (not my biggest strength) but seriously - Im SO excited! and I LOOOOOVE the invitations. Cant wait to share them.
 
If only we had an unlimited budget. (I still wouldnt spend it but it would be nice. you only turn 1 once right?) Okay back to searching the internet!

finally a GIRL baby shower

For those who can keep up we have had lots of friends in Erie have babies. And 99% of them have all been boys. Im not the first to have a second boy either. So we were THRILLED when Tanya found out she was having a girl. And even more excited to finally get to do a girly little baby shower.

We are waiting on stand by for Tanya to go into labor. Any. Day. Now! So in honor of that I thought I would share some pictures from her shower right before we left:


of course there were adorable cupcakes


Im not sure which is better all the gifts or all the food?!


the most yummo punch ever.




candy bar!


she joined us too

and then games:













and presents:







Its always fun getting to celebrate all our friends and all our families growing. Tanya's little girl is definitely a huge blessing for their family and its beautiful to see how the Lord orchestrated the timing of their family growing. Cant wait to get back and meet her!

11 months

(old picture.. as you can tell from the Christmas tree in the back. But I dont have my camera cord with me to upload a new one)

Lets see, what has changed since I wrote your 10 month post a little over just 2 weeks ago!

You are starting to become a picky eater. Suddenly you wont eat random foods and you only take a few bites of veggies. Of course yogurt, fruit, bread, and snacks you could still eat all day long. I guess Im going to start tricking you into eating your veggies earlier than I thought.You still cram 20 things in your mouth at once. Im so thankful that some how you havent choked.

Youre down to 3 bottles a day. Soon I think it will be 2 and then before we know it on to milk.

You finally started drinking out of a sippy cup. For months you just played with it. Now you will actually hold it yourself and drink. Once again reminding me that you are going to do things on  your own time line. The same as it was when we stopped swaddling you, let you cry it out, when you started to crawl, and when you decided you were ready to pull up on things.

Which by the way would be just the other week really. You had no interest before to pull up on anything. And I enjoyed it because it made my life easier. However its fun seeing you explore new things and entertain yourself. We just need to work on you learning to fall down.

Like I mentioned before you are now waving bye, clapping, giving high fives, and all that jazz. It is funny though because you easily get confused and kind of do them all at once.

This month we found out you are going to have a little brother. Its crazy to think in just over 4 months you are going to meet him. And your personality is coming out more and more everyday. Youre a curious little boy. At times you are cautious but other times you surprise me with how adventurous you are. I love listening to you talk. You adore animals and you have discovered that you LOVE being outside.

I started planning your birthday (in my head.. not actually planning it though. but Im proud of myself for even starting this early) Im mostly excited to see you stuff loads of cake in your mouth. It will be a blast getting to celebrate you. (Even though this month in Texas has been mostly focused on you and you have been spoiled the entire time.)

River in the snow

It occurred to me after everyone of my friends from Texas had pictures of their kids out in the snow.. when they only had snow for one day.. that we live with snow on the ground for at least 4-5+ months & I didnt have ONE picture of River in the snow. It isnt the same when you live with it for months and months I guess? Or maybe its because of his age. He doesnt understand playing in the snow yet. Either way we bundled him up and made sure we got some pictures to record the fact that he did grow up with 2 feet of snow on the ground for most of the winter:











He seemed to like sitting in the snow. It was actually about to start snowing like a blizzard again so we didnt stay outside. (umm and it was like 15 degrees!) I wish I would have thought to move the glove parts off his hands so he could actually play with the snow. Next time!

Freeland keeps cracking me up because he keeps telling me how we need to clean up the backyard once we get back to Erie and yada yada yada. I keep having to remind him that there will most likely still be snow on the ground.. therefore there will be nothing to clean up. yet! Winter doesnt end there nearly as early as it does in Texas. How quickly we forget.

thoughts on having 2 boys

First of all, I very much felt like Rachel in Friends when she see's her baby on the sonogram. (click here if you dont know what Im talking about)

Here are the pictures of our baby:





seriously?

do you see it?

I mean, I see an arrow. But thats it. Im very thankful she wrote "boy" because I have no idea what they were looking at. I guess thats what happens when you arent looking at the screen with them to see it for yourself.  We have another sonogram when I get back to Erie so Im really looking forward to that!

We are very excited to have 2 little boys. Many people have told me "you will be very loved & taken care of" thats what Im hoping for! :) And Im strangely up for the challenge of chasing 2 crazy toddlers around. I was actually shocked when I read it was a boy. Even though I told Freeland from the beginning that I kind of hoped it was a boy.. I think deep down I thought it was a girl. (based soley on the fact that this pregnancy seems different from my first) And I never actually saw myself as a mom with all boys. So it was crazy to wrap my mind around it. But we are and its exciting.

Probably our 2nd thought after reading it was a boy was:

"CRAP... HERE WE GO WITH THE NAMES AGAIN!"

Of course I already could tell you 10 girl names we would use. (Piper probably would have won) and we have ZERO boy names once again. For those who dont know.. it took us almost 2-3 days AFTER River was born to name him. I have a feeling the same thing will be happening again!

Thanks for all your sweet comments and congratulations! You people are just too sweet!

one sick little family

For the first time ever River actually got us sick. (normally we are the ones who get him sick) Its just a bad cold. Not the end of the world. But it isnt fun. Especially when Freeland has to work while he is sick. Thats exhausting.  Strangely, Im thankful for the times I am sick at the same time as River. It helps me understand how he feels.. like I understand now that his nose is chapped & hurts and thats why I have to wrestle him to the ground to clean it. :)

However, the up side is that we are in Texas with family so my aunt is over here helping with River today. And there are lots of people who can love on River all the time. Also the weather is amazing so we are getting to go outside and get fresh air when we need it. So no complaining here.

I feel like River is changing daily. He does something new to surprise us every time I turn around. I think having so many people around him does that. He picks up on new things all the time. For example, he plays peek-a-boo now.. and claps.. he high fives.. he will sign "more".. and he is talking up a storm. (thats all just within the last few days too) See what I mean? Im going to turn around and he is going to be driving off for college soon!

Okay, Im going to take more medicine. But I'll post the sonogram pictures soon along with our thoughts on having 2 little boys under 2.