Landon: 2 Months

Landon, you are two months old! We all just love you to pieces, and it's been so much fun to watch you grow!

Here's what you're up to:

• You're still a big boy! At your 2 month well check up you were off the charts in every measurement! You weighed in at 16 lbs 12 oz (more than what Avery weighed at 4 months, haha), measured 25" long, and had a head circumference of 16.5". 

• You've officially outgrown your 0-3 month clothes, and you're already filling out the 3-6s. I've even gotten out the 6-9s ready for when you move to those, and some of them already fit you well. You're also wearing size 2 diapers. Stop growing so fast; we want you to stay little for longer!! 
• You've been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now. You typically go to bed between 10 or 11 and sleep until 6:30 (when Avery comes into the room a little too loudly). You've even had a couple of nights where you slept for 9 hours! You should keep this up. :) You're still sleeping in your Pack n Play in our room at night, but we're trying to get you to nap in your crib. You've taken one really good nap in there, but I had to swaddle you to get you to stay asleep, and then you woke up all sweaty. 

• It's been a HOT summer, so it takes a lot to keep you cool! You really don't like your car seat for long periods of time, and I don't really blame you because it's pretty warm in there! 

• You eat about every 2-3 hours, but we're having to teach you how to stop because when you eat too much you just projectile vomit all over whoever is holding you. It's really gross, so it's a good thing we love you so much. :) You're still exclusively breastfed, but when you take a bottle of pumped milk, you drink about 5 ounces. 
• You've become much more alert, and you hold your head up really well. You are a smiler! You just get the biggest grins whenever we talk to you; you're especially smiley with Avery. You just love your big sister!

You're our sweet and snuggly little boy and we love you SO MUCH!

Mommy and Daddy

Friday Five

1. Well I took a little bit of an unplanned blog break this week. Things were just crazy since Matt's been subbing for summer school this week, so I didn't have much down time. I'm thinking that might be an indication of how often I'll be blogging when school starts in a few weeks. But seeing as how actually creating memories with my family is more important than recording said memories in the blogosphere, I won't stress out about it but will keep updating when I have the time. Just in case you were wondering.

2. One of the things I've been meaning to post this week is the recap of last weekend when Candie, Ricky, and Jacob came to visit! We had a blast with them, and we're already looking forward to meeting up with them and Tiff, Ross, and Macyn for Labor Day!

Nutmeg tortured Somer pretty much the entire time.

Ricky with Landon (right before Landon projectile vomited all. over. me.)

Ricky and Jacob up to no good

 

Landon took an awesome nap in the shade while we all swam

And this girl took a nap in the pool. Seriously.

...so we moved her to the shade.

Love her!

Our little families after eating feasting at Babe's

Candie with Landon

They're gonna be best buds. Someday. :)

 3. I have a ton of projects that I'm "working" on (you know, if "working" means that they're on my To Do list and I keep thinking about them). One of them was creating a filing system for our everyday papers that seem to clutter our kitchen counters no matter how hard I try to keep them from piling up. When this post came across my Google Reader, I decided to take action. Here's the final result:

Excuse the seriously old pictures in the frames (I need to update all the frames in our house, come to think of it. Add it to the project list...) and the poor picture quality, but I'm so excited about how this seems to be working already! I couldn't find a good file holder that I liked, so I repurposed this mail holder that I got from Pottery Barn on clearance a very long time ago. I have ten folders in which to sort all the papers that enter our house: To File (in our main filing cabinet), Pay (bills), Pending (anything that needs action), Receipts, Coupons (before I organize them in my coupon notebook), Mailing Supplies (stamps and return address labels), Matt, Heather, Avery (all the art and worksheets that come home from MDO and church), and Landon. I highly recommend this system!

4. My living room is kinda blah. I mean, it's cozy and stuff, but it needs more color. I just don't want to totally redo it all, so we're just giving it a makeover (as decided in the wee hours of the morning while I was waiting for Matt to come home from hanging out with my brother)! It's already red and chocolate brown (with a fair share of neutrals thrown in there), so we're adding turquoise. LOVE. I'll start off by replacing the curtains and making some pillows since I'm crafty like that now. :) And then I'll just keep my eyes open for little turquoise accents to add in there as money allows. I'm excited to change up the decor a little. Here's my inspiration (thank you, Pinterest!):

5. I'll be taking another blog break this next week (although I might schedule a few to post while I'm gone if I can get around to writing them) because it's the week I look forward to ALL YEAR LONG: campmeeting! It's SO hard to explain this place to people, but I wrote a pretty thorough post about it last year (complete with pictures!), so you can check that out here if you're interested. Anyway, tonight we're going to hang out with my cousins who are in town with their two kids, but the rest of our weekend will be spent getting ready to leave on Monday morning (yes, it will take three days to pack and prepare). I wish we were there already because I'm definitely dreading the 8 (more like 10-12) hour drive with an infant and a toddler. Good thing we have the Swagger Wagon this year. :)

Have a great weekend!

The Ultimate Hospital Packing List

Okay, okay, so maybe "ultimate" is a little extreme, but I think this list comes pretty dang close to perfect. And it was requested, so here you have it.

I had a really hard time coming up with my packing list. How much do I need to bring? How early do I need to pack? Most the lists I found on random blogs and pregnancy sites were crazy. No, I will not take my own hospital gown. Waste. of. money.

Anyway, my point is that you don't really need to take that much stuff. Nor do you need to pack that early. You probably won't be at the hospital longer than two nights, and if you pack too early you'll just end up staring at that bag and getting all depressed that you haven't gone into labor yet. Or maybe that was just me.

{Bring This Stuff}

- Laptop (Yay for wifi at the hospital! Plus this came in handy for entertaining ourselves with The Big Bang Theory while I was in labor.)

- Camera

- Video camera

- iPod

- Cell phone

- Chargers

- Purse (with ID and insurance card)

- Glasses and contact case/solution (Unless you have perfect vision, in which case I envy you. A lot.)

- Shampoo/conditioner (The hospital stuff just doesn't cut it.)

- Body wash (Same as above)

- Toothbrush/toothpaste (Oh my gosh, the best feeling in the world was being able to finally brush my teeth after being in labor forever.)

- Hairbrush

- Makeup (Hello...visitors and pictures?!? Don't tell me that you don't care what you look like.)

- Chapstick

- Deodorant (After the mess of childbirth, you at least don't want to smell like b.o.)

- Ponytail holders

- Hair dryer (I'm so glad I took mine because the hospital didn't have one in the room.)

- Flip flops (Hospital floors...need I say more?)

- Snacks (Or better yet, just eat the ones that people bring you. Thanks, Mom!)

- Pajamas (You will get tired of that hospital gown. I learned my lesson with Avery. Just bring PJs that you don't mind getting, uh, dirty.)

- Nursing bras/tanks (Do NOT forget these if you're nursing!)

- Lounge clothes

- Boppy (This is SO helpful, especially when you're just starting breastfeeding.)

- Going home outfit (It doesn't have to be maternity like the books say, but keep in mind that you won't fit into your 6s right away. And if you do, I hate you.)

- Going home outfit/blanket for baby (We didn't do anything fancy, just cute onesies and matching socks/blankets.)

- Onesies/socks for baby at hospital (I didn't bring this for Avery, and I still regret not having cute outfits for all the pictures we took of her at the hospital.)

- Carseat (Install it before you leave the house.)

- Gift for sibling "from" baby (We kept it pretty simple. We gave Avery a drawing pad and some Tinkerbell art supplies.)

{Don't Bring This Stuff}

- Pillow (Save your packing space. Maybe bring your own pillowcase. It's not like you can really sleep with all the nurses bothering you checking on you every couple of hours.)

- Socks (I'm a flip flop girl though.)

- Books (I did read one chapter in a Kindle book, but there just wasn't much quiet reading time.)

- Breast pads/nipple cream (Your milk hasn't come in enough to need the pads at the hospital, and they can give you nipple cream samples if you need it.)

- Diaper bag (My hospital gives you a huge diaper bag [with an awesome fleece blanket inside!], so that was plenty big enough to take home all of those supplies that you're paying out the butt for and definitely need to take with you.)

- Extra underwear (Yeah, don't bother. Embrace the mesh panties; they are a blessing from God.)

Whew! I think that about covers it. And don't forget that (unless you live like an hour from your hospital) you can always send your mama or your man home to pick up anything you might need. It's the least they can do after you spend 11 hours in labor and push out a 10+ pound baby ;)

Happy packing!

Friday Five

1. We ditched our satellite TV subscription when we made the shift to one income, and one of the perks (besides the money we've saved) is that we just don't watch that much TV anymore. When we had satellite the TV was kinda just on. All the time. Don't get me wrong, we still watch TV. I have an unnatural obsession with The Bachelor/ette, and Avery loves her puppets in the 'hood Sesame Street. Matt and I do also enjoy just vegging out on the couch on occasion once Avery's gone to sleep, so we've recently started watching Friday Night Lights on Netflix. If they take it off Watch Instantly before we finish the series, I will be very angry because we're already hooked. I've heard so many great things about this show, and it's so hard to find stuff we both like, so I'm glad we're finally getting around to watching it.

2. I've been compiling resources to revamp our home management binder, and I'm anxious to get it all in order! I put one together about a year ago, but it just wasn't very functional. I'm loving this site for ideas and printables.

3. My sister-in-law posted a link to this article about the calling of motherhood and it was such a reminder/encouragement to me that I wanted to pass it along. Check it out when you get a chance; it's a quick read and definitely worth your time.


4. I've been keeping a running list of blog topics I need to cover. I'm posting my hospital packing recommendations (by request) tomorrow, but I've got some other posts in the works: baby products I love, Avery-isms, hooded towel tutorial, Landon's 2 month update, a few recipes. Any suggestions as to what you'd like to see soon?

5. Some of our best friends, Candie and Ricky, are coming in town today! We just love hanging out with them and their sweet little boy. I should have lots of pictures to post and fun to report on Monday! Oh, and I'm getting together with our class valedictorian to start brainstorming reunion ideas and hopefully get this thing rolling. Class of 2001, feel free to pitch in your ideas :)

Y'all have a great weekend!

The Easiest Bow Holder Tutorial Ever

Avery has a lot of bows.

I thought I had a decent organizational strategy for them, but the baskets-in-drawers system just wasn't cutting it anymore.

I've seen tons of cute bow holders all over the internet, but I couldn't bring myself to fork over the money when I could make one myself. The problem was, I wouldn't actually take the time to do it.

I got my inspired idea while enjoying the quiet of my shower (aka the only time of day I can hear myself think). I decided to take a few things I already had and put them together to make a customized bow holder for Avery's room. So here you have it, the easiest bow holder tutorial ever.

Supplies

• Picture frame (I used 4x6)
• Ribbon (length varies depending on how many bows you'd like the holder to fit)
• Scrapbook paper
• Chipboard for initial (optional; I used a colored self-adhesive letter "a")
• Coordinating embellishments (not pictured)
• Glue gun

Process

1.  Attach two strips of ribbon to the bottom of your picture frame using hot glue. Don't burn yourself because it hurts like crap. I might know that from experience.

2.  Cut your scrapbook paper to fit the frame. Adhere the chipboard initial to the paper wherever you see fit. Insert your new work of art into the frame.

3.  I thought the frame was still a little blah at this point, so I hot glued some flower embellishments to the top of the frame. Perfect!

4.  Hang your super awesome bow holder on the wall. Admire your hard work.

5.  Start clipping those bows and say, "Now why didn't I do this sooner?"

Total cost: $0. Okay, so it cost me something somewhere along the line, but by using the stuff I already had just sitting around the house, I felt like it was free.  And you just can't get any better than free.

Now go make a bow holder for all the cute little girls you know. (And for the not-so-cute ones because they can use some bow love, too.)

Wordless Wednesday: Avery and Allison

Lots of sentences. Zero pictures.

This is my 304th post. It really doesn't seem like that long ago when I was writing my 100th post of 100 Things I Love. How many posts I've written has nothing to do with this particular post. I just have a few things on my mind that need to get out of it.

p.s. I just looked over that list again, and it made me happy just reading it. :)

I really want to redo my blog layout. I gave it a mini-face lift not too long ago, but I want a serious makeover. Oh, did you know you can search my blog for past posts? It's pretty sweet. Check it out in the sidebar.

Campmeeting is in two weeks! That's so soon! I already made our packing list and everything. Hello, I'm a freak.

I smell like spit up right now. And I've already taken a shower tonight, so I'm pretty much screwed.

The days need more hours. There is just not enough time to snuggle and play with my kids, do the Sunday paper crossword, read my Kindle, sew fun things, work out, keep up the blog, obsess over Pinterest, play board games, and sleep (aka all the fun things I want to do) and still be able to keep the house clean, finish thank you notes, cook dinner, go grocery shopping, balance our budget, and run errands (all the bleh things I need to do).

We're going organic. Okay, so not really. I wish, but we can't afford to do it all. We used to do organic milk before I couldn't bring myself to fork over the money for it. But we're going back to it. That and cage-free eggs. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Some of my very favorite people in the entire world are coming in town to visit this weekend!! Candie and Ricky and Jacob are coming from Austin to meet Landon and I can't wait to see them!

My phenomenal photographer of a sister updated her blog look this week. I still miss her cutesy logo, but it's nice this way, too! Plus, you can find things by category. Go check it out. You know you want to.

Why am I still awake? Landon's sleeping (probably for the night; yes, I'm spoiled), Avery's been down for a couple hours, Matt's not home, and I have no reason not to be in bed right now.

It's so. stinking. hot. I hate Texas right now. Okay, fine, I never hate Texas.

GO RANGERS. Had to throw that in there. The boys are definitely on an 11 game winning streak. No big deal.

My daughter is hilarious. I'm about to write a post of all the funny things she's been saying lately. And by "about to" I mean "will try to get to sometime in the next couple of weeks." They probably won't translate as well to the blog, but her comedic timing is spot-on in person. :)

She did see her first movie theater movie today! My mom took her (and my [adult] brother and sister) to see Winnie the Pooh. Apparently she loved it (and the popcorn; she is her mother's daughter after all). I'm still a little sad I didn't get to go with her (Matt and I took the preteens to church camp). We did have a date night last night though and saw Horrible Bosses at the drive in. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty darn hilarious. It's also pretty darn adult if you know what I mean, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Um, I think that's it. I'm going to bed. Right after I eat some cereal. I told you that wasn't just a pregnancy craving. Gosh, I'm so glad I'm not pregnant anymore.

Okay for real now. Goodnight.

Friday Five

1. One of my favorite childhood memories was "playing" guitar and singing with my dad. He would change chords and we would strum while we sang our Wee Sing song of choice. I may have teared up a little the other night when I found Matt and Avery doing the same thing.

2. I started planning our back-to-school children's ministry event today, and I'm so excited about it! We're doing a family night at the Mercy Me concert/Ranger game; what a great way to end the summer! (Even if it is with every other church group in North Texas. Seriously, it'll be packed.)

3. I read the first Harry Potter book for my adolescent lit class in college, and I enjoyed it, really I did. However, I've never been a fan of anything of the sci-fi or fantasy genre, so I had no desire to read the rest of the series. I tried to watch the movies (less time commitment and all), but I fell asleep during the first one and gave up. So I cannot for the life of me understand the big deal about seeing HP7.2 (or whatever it's called) at midnight and spending so much emotional energy obsessing over it. I mean, I get the attachment to an extent, but it seems to me that some people need to engage more real life rather than living their lives through a fictional character. Call me crazy or flame me all you want, but I just don't. get it.

4. I know it's a little early to be looking forward to it, but Matt and I are getting a much-needed date night on Monday (yay for summer break)! Avery's getting a sleepover at Grandma and Granddaddy's, so we're going to the drive in! My mom is taking Avery to the new Winnie the Pooh movie on Tuesday (while we take a carload of preteens to camp!), so the timing works out pretty perfectly. Now we just have to decide on which two movies to see (guess which one we won't be seeing, haha)...

Photo courtesy of Ask Miss A

5. I've thought it was Saturday all day, so now I feel like I have a bonus weekend! Tomorrow I'm going to my friend Kati's Shaklee party and then we have a Sunday School pool party that evening, and on Sunday we're having a little get together with our small group. Who knows what we'll do tonight, but happy weekend everybody!

On Our Own

I'm pretty spoiled.

Both of my babies have been born when school was out, so Matt's been off work for the entire summer (so has my mom actually). This meant that I've had help and lots of it. (I'm sure I could handle it on my own, but I'm definitely not complaining about the extra assistance.)

But this week Matt had AP training at TCU from Monday through Thursday, which meant that I was on my own with two kids. All by myself. Eek!

I had unfortunately scheduled two appointments for myself this week before I knew about his training, so I had some help from my mom on Monday and Tuesday (thanks, Mom!).

On Monday I had to go in for my 6-week Ob-Gyn checkup (has it been six weeks already?!?), so Mom came over to play with Avery for a couple hours and Landon went with me. (p.s. It's a good thing I love my doctor because it's SO annoying to have to wait forever in the exam room, especially when you're half naked and have a screaming baby who just wants your boob. Sheesh.)

I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and Mom went with me so she could keep the kids in the waiting room. She even treated us to Chick-fil-a afterwards because she's awesome like that. And I nursed Landon in public again (covered, duh), which is getting a little easier but no less awkward. Oh well, the boy's gotta eat and it's too craptastically hot outside to attempt nursing in the car. After we got home I got Avery and Landon down for naps and then my mom stayed at the house while I went to the church for a funeral and to finalize some stuff for preteen camp (which is next week, yay!). 

Yesterday and today? We were on our own.

I decided yesterday that we weren't going anywhere because just the thought of taking both kids out on my own was enough to make me pee on myself. I also decided that I wanted to be more in the moment with Avery instead of constantly checking my email and Facebook, so I turned off the computer and spent the morning working around the house (Avery was my assistant) and playing with my little girl. It was so much fun (and productive)! We did all the laundry, vacuumed the whole house, and emptied the dishwasher with plenty of time to play with her new dollhouse and kitchen set. We even had time to color. And this was all before lunch! I'll definitely be turning off the electronics more often. The afternoon was pretty much a nightmare, but after Matt got home we went to hang out with my parents and Nick and Brittany, so the evening made up for it.

Today was the moment of truth. We had to go to the grocery store (I'd been putting it off since Monday, after all). Avery woke up super early, which meant that I did, too. (Oh, but Landon slept for 8 hours last night!!!) We were in the car on our way to Kroger at 9:00. I'm pretty sure that's a record for us. Landon slept the whole time, and Avery was practically an angel. We all made it out alive, so I would consider our first outing with just the three of us a success. My friend Megan came over to visit this afternoon, so it was nice to catch up (and to have some daytime adult interaction!) while the kids "napped." Avery only slept for like 45 minutes (which does not count as a nap in my book), so we moved up bedtime, and now I'm using the rest of the evening to hang out with my awesome husband and write some more thank you notes (Yes, I know, I'm way late! Trust me, my tardiness is bothering me more than it bothers you.)

And I'm so thankful that Matt's home again tomorrow. I will soak up the rest of my summer spoiling. That sounds weird. You know what I mean.

Therapy

So I don't really think I'm in need of real therapy. My parents didn't scar me too bad and I'm married to a pretty swell guy.

But sometimes life with a toddler is stressful.

Imagine my delight when I rediscovered the simple joy of the coloring book. Hours upon hours of mindless, therapeutic bliss. Needless to say, I'm down with Avery's new obsession (mostly because it's also become mine).

Now I just need to work on her attention span so I can finish a whole page.

But even if it's just in 15 minutes increments, I'm thankful for an activity that encourages uninterrupted conversations with my little girl. No computer, no TV, just the glorious scent of cerulean Crayolas.

Who needs therapy when you can color?

Party Like a 2 Year Old!

Okay, I promise this is my last birthday post for Avery's 2nd (next year is another story!), but I had to post pictures from her birthday party!

(Oh, and she had her two-year-old check up last week, so for the baby book, here are her stats: 28 lbs [70%], 35.5 in. [95%], and head circumference 19.5" [90%])

We had a small family party this year (we'll start doing friend parties for her 3rd), and we were joined by NeNe, Pop Pop, Grandma, Grandaddy, Uncle Nick, Brittany, and Amy. 

hot dogs and watermelon for dinner

homemade birthday cake balls (my husband is amazing)

ready to open presents!

opening her new dollhouse from NeNe and Pop Pop

Amy hooked her up with Fancy Nancy and all the fancy essentials

homemade play dough (in gorgeous colors!) from Uncle Nick and Brittany

 (Grandma and Grandaddy got Avery an awesome new kitchen but couldn't put it together because of their flight delay. I'll post pics of it later.)

blowing out the candles

teehee. (princess blanket from Nick and Brittany)

our little birthday girl

flashback! 1st birthday

Amy, Avery, and Grandma

Check out those shades!

so glad they made it back from Europe in time :)

We're trying to turn NeNe and Pop Pop into Rangers fans. :)

I love it when we get a family shot!

Go Rangers!

Licking an ice pack. Don't judge; it was hot.

I couldn't resist posting this. Ooh that face just gets me!!

Avery was fascinated by the visiting bullpen. Her eyes were totally glued to the ball.

One of the pitchers threw the ball up to the boy behind us, and he gave it to Avery. Oh, it was so sweet I totally teared up. His dad was so proud. It was a special moment. :)

The girl was wiped out from her birthday week, but I think it's safe to say she had a great time. :) So here's a final happy birthday to our new two-year-old. We love you, Avery!!