So What! Wednesday

It's Wednesday (and Leap Day!) so it's time to link up with Shannon at L.A.I.D for So What! Wednesday...

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• it is February and I have already turned on our AC? Yep, this mama is already hot. 
• it totally stresses me out when me out when the doorbell rings because my dogs go absolutely crazy? I'm talking out of control barking and jumping crazy...and it is almost impossible for me to answer the door.
• I made buffalo chicken eggrolls last night for dinner but couldn't eat them because they were that spicy? Apparently I went a little crazy with the hot sauce. 
• I want to make a paper chain countdown for the actual BIRTH day of Baby Dos? I know, it's not until July...but did I mention that we SCHEDULED THE C-SECTION?!
• it is driving me batty that we don't have a boy name picked out? I loved going to our gender ultrasound last time and knowing what the name would be either way. This time? Girl name is ready. Boy name? not so much. Baby Dos can't be Baby Dos forever!

This week has been so crazy and I feel like my brain is mush. Hopefully next week will be more uneventful! Happy Hump Day!

a big blue cast

Grayson had a rough night of coughing, whimpering, being uncomfortable, yadda yadda the night before last. I swear he was surrounded by a sea of sickies at the pediatrician on Saturday, so I am kind of waiting to have a kid with a broken arm AND a virus. 

Yesterday he woke up at 5:40. in the morning. His bandage was undone and I knew his arm hurt. Poor baby. Luckily, the orthopedic office squeezed us in at 9:00 that morning. It worked out perfectly because I had an appointment at 10:15 for Baby Dos! 

G did great in the waiting room!  He looked out the window, ate goldfish, tried to steal a girl's crutches (seriously.), & was enamored with the empty wheelchairs. Then they led us to the back area where they do the casts. Not a great idea. G was a wild man surrounded by lots of expensive medical equipment...dangerous combination.

Thank the Lord for latex glove balloons. You know the kid loves to throw things!

The doctor finally came back and said the splint looked great...I disagreed.  I wanted a cast that the little houdini COULD NOT remove. So, he begins the process and then looks at me and says, "Is this shirt important?" .....

.....you mean his darling SheSheMade personalized birthday shirt?!?! YES. Important. {cue "mama feels like an idiot for letting G wear a cute shirt while getting a cast" moment} So, I did what every mama would do and I stripped down my child and he had to wear a youth medium tshirt from the doctor's office..haha! 

notice the change in wardrobe? :)

G did such a good job when they were putting his cast on! Seriously, I was impressed. The doctor loved that he kept yelling : "TOUCHDOWN!" every time he asked about football. Such a ham! 

The doctor said that since Grayson is so young his bones should heal really quickly. Silver lining? Sure, why not. We go back in 2 1/2 weeks to get another x-ray & hopefully it will be completely healed.

...and here he is: The brave little boy with a big blue cast!

So far, he has done great! He was able to take a really long nap yesterday & he's adjusted really well with playing. However? Still climbing. What in the world?! This boy is such a mess. I hope this isn't a glance into our future with many broken bones...ha!

internet friends and a broken arm

If you are on The Twitter, you most likely know that it was Blissdom weekend here in Nashville. What's Blissdom you ask? I still don't really know...but it is some sort of big social media conference. In other words, lots of my favorite bloggers were coming to town!

This was also the weekend I would finally get to meet Jen! It was kind of like a blind friend date/I feel like I've known you my whole life moment. She and Carsyn came to play at our house on Friday afternoon. Grayson & Carsyn had SO much fun together. It was so fun!

These 2 were born on the same exact day, 3 hours apart. Jen and I are due with #2 within a week of each other. Crazy!

We had plans on Saturday morning to attend a 1st birthday party and then spend the afternoon with Jen & Carsyn. Grayson had other plans apparently. While we were getting ready for the party, he decided to climb on the couch upstairs. Not only did he climb on to the couch, but he decided to stand on it. Then? He fell.

Grayson landed on his right shoulder and arm & was crying so hard. We thought he popped  his shoulder out of place. After about 20 minutes of crying, we decided to take him to our pediatrician to do an X-Ray. The doctor looked at his collar bone & shoulder...all fine. Then he said the dreaded words no mama to a 17 month old ever wants to hear: "I think he may have a fracture in his lower arm." After some X-Rays (which sweet G hated) it was confirmed that he did indeed fracture at least one bone in his lower right arm.

They splinted it & then bandaged it. The doctor also said to "reign him in a little bit so he doesn't fall on it." HA! Famous last words.

We go to an orthopedic doctor tomorrow to hopefully (fingers crossed) get a real cast. This whole velcro bandage thing isn't working out too well since G knows how to undo it. Our little stunt man was so brave & has been such a good sport with his bum hand. He is still even playing basketball! And trying to climb everything...oy.

So, after our 2 hour ordeal, we missed the party & had a VERY sleepy boy on our hands. I had originally planned to spend the night with Jen at the Opryland Hotel on Saturday & Ben promised he and the gimp child would be okay...so I went. First night away from the child & I survived! 

Ben sent me this picture on Saturday night before bed. I think it is safe to say that Grayson had a great night at home with his daddy!

Jen & I in the jungle at Opryland

We had a blogger brunch planned on Sunday with some local girls I had never met in person and some girls in town for Blissdom. We went to The Copper Kettle downtown and had such a great time. It was seriously like we had all been friends forever & we just talked for 2 hours! That is why blogging is so fun.

 Now if I can just figure out how to get these out of towners to move to Nashville, then it would be perfect!

left to right: Lauren (with sweet Claire), Annie, AP, yours truly (still get shocked when I see myself with dark hair), Elizabeth, Jen, & Amber (with sweet Abby)

It was such a fun weekend, broken arm & all!

Now? I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.

17 weeks with Baby Dos

Just because I like to compare, here is what 17 weeks looked like in 2010 & here is what 17 weeks left in 2012. I had not gained any weight yet at this point with Grayson AND this was right when I bought my first maternity jeans...and they were huge. Also? I miss my long, blonde hair when I look at this. 

*How far along?: 17 weeks

*Total weight gain?: up about 6-7 pounds

*How big is baby?: a turnip. About 5 1/2 inches long!
*Sex: We find out on March 9th!
*Maternity clothes: wearing all maternity pants and hating them.
*Stretch marks: Nope.
*Sleep: I am having the hardest time with waking up in the middle of the night and then not being able to fall back asleep. One little boy woke me up at 3am one night this week shouting "TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN!" I'm not kidding.
*Symptoms: nothing...feeling great!
*Best moment this week: meeting some great blog girls!! 

Can I include a worst moment? Okay, thanks. G broke his arm this weekend. More on that tomorrow.
*Movement: not yet but I keep waiting!
*Food cravings: spicy, spicy, spicy! 

 *Labor signs: hopefully not anytime soon!
*Belly button in or out: in
*What I miss: a mimosa would have been nice at brunch this morning!
*What I'm looking forward to: Finding out what this baby is next week. And? Hopefully getting The Toddler a real cast tomorrow.

The Great Debate

There is a debate currently going on in our house & it's one that deals with the sleep of EVERYONE (you heard that right, hubs) in our house:

To keep G in a crib or move him to a toddler bed before baby Dos arrives?

In my head, there is a simple answer. Keep the toddler caged for as long as possible! 

Our kids will be 22 months a part. This is kind of an awkward age gap. Some kids are ready for a big bed at the age of 2 & some kids stay in the crib until 3. Grayson has shown no signs of wanting to sleep anywhere but in his comfy crib with his froggy lovies, black out curtains, white noise, and soft classical music playing in the background. Really? He's got it made in the shade...his room sounds like a spa! He's never tried to climb out and he's never fought being in there. In my head I am thinking, why mess with a good thing?


Ben is not completely sold on this idea yet. He's not in total disagreement, but he also isn't gung-ho "let's buy another crib!" His thought process is different: Do we really need to spend the money on a second crib?


Here's what I am afraid of: If we move G to a toddler bed in early summer, what if he never gets used to it before the baby comes? What if we are up at night with a newborn AND a toddler? What if it totally messes up my child who has been such a great sleeper for the last 13 months of his life?! What if we never sleep again?! (Okay, now I'm being a bit dramatic.) 


It's funny how a big debate used to be where to go on vacation or where to go out to eat...now? Cribs and toddler beds. Well, that and boy names. Don't even get me started! 

Mamas of 2 or more, any advice??

So What! Wednesday

Is it already Wednesday?! Geez. I came this close to forgetting. I'm linking up with Shannon over at L.A.I.D (see, I am all about abbreviating these days) for SWW! (was that too much?) This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I made lots of yummy desserts for a jewelry party last night & I am totally not interested in eating them? Remember?! I want fruity candy and spicy pork rinds. 
• I was ECSTATIC last night with the new 16 & Pregnant preview? Holy cow. These trashy teen girls on MTV provide me with lots of entertainment. and maybe make me feel like Mother of the Year.
• I'm already feeling pregnant? I don't mean the "oh this is fun feeling pregnant" thing; I mean the "my bras are digging in to my ribs because my belly is pushing upwards" and "I get short of breath WAY too easily" thing. 160 more days.
• my new skinny leopard belt makes me feel sassy? I need some sass in my life. 
• I went to the store this week JUST to pick up more k cups...and then realized yesterday morning that I bought decaf? fail, fail, fail. 

Happy Hump Day! 

cookie monster

The day before Valentine's Day I thought it would be fun to make sugar cookies and let Grayson decorate them. He practically lives for the the free sugar cookie at Publix so I figured he would love this! I bought the icing that you can just squeeze on (yep, I'm lazy) and I was 100% positive I had an assortment of fun sprinkles in our cabinet. wrong. Just chocolate ones. But? They were a hit! 

 He had zero interest in the icing. I just had to quickly get it on the cookie before he stole all the sprinkles!

 The kid has a major sweet tooth! G was literally scraping the sprinkles off the cookies to inhale them. Ha!

How's this for a glimpse into the future? I have a feeling I will get this look a lot from about age 12-17. 

It was a fun little activity & I'm sure we will do it again...you know, with more festive decorations. I did learn something new about my child during the cookie decorating: he prefers sugar cookies with just sprinkles. NO ICING. He's a nut. I actually had to finally throw the bag of cookies away because I don't like sugar cookies and he wouldn't eat them!...well, unless you count picking all the tiny sprinkles off. Next up? Cookies with just green sprinkles.

17 months

Grayson was 17 months old yesterday!

The stats:

Weight: around 22lbs

Height: I would guess about 32-32 1/2 inches...pants are getting short!

Clothes: pants and shirts are all 18 months; G officially has only 3 longalls in size 18m that aren't too short! Looks like spring clothes will be 24 months!

Diaper: 4 during the day & 5 at night

Shoe: 4 1/2

Grayson is a chatterbox & is really starting to mimic the sounds we make. He still doesn't say a ton of words clearly, but we can understand a lot of what he says! Guess that's part of being a parent, right?? He loves copying sounds that Ben makes. They go back & forth making noises and Grayson thinks it is so funny! Right now he is saying:

mama

dad

Ja (Jack)

ball

tee (tree)

down

dog

hi

bye

tuh-down (touchdown)

moo 

woof

tee-tee 

no

jump

do doooooo (cock a doodle doo) 

truck

 Here's what is going on with G right now:

• He is my little rooster again & is loving the early wake up times. He goes to bed between 7:30 & 8:00 every night and wakes up like clockwork at 6:15. Mama is tired! 
• G is still a really picky eater. It's frustrating & I am ready for this stage to be over...we've been in it for about 6 months! His staples are chicken nuggets, fish sticks, cheese quesadillas, raisin bread, peanut butter on crackers, yogurt, & applesauce. I try to give him veggies and fresh fruit & he won't even try them. Stubborn boy! 
• Grayson drinks Boost or Pediasure every night with dinner and before bed. I'm pretty sure he is getting the majority of his calories from this drink! 
• He is doing great in his Sunday School class & in his MOPS class on Wednesdays. He doesn't cry when I drop him off anymore and he loves playing with the other kids. This has made it so much easier to leave him places!

Grayson has had some new interests over the past month:

• He is still not much of a TV watcher, thankfully. However, he LOVES Jake and the Neverland Pirates! G loves the intro because it has a fun song and I think we rewind it at least 56783 times a day. Not kidding. He also loves the real pirate band at the end. The actual show? not interested! 
• Grayson has always slept with his froggy lovey. A few months ago he started requiring BOTH of the froggy lovies in his crib. No big deal, right? I always bragged that he never required them anywhere but in his bed. Until this month. G is now over-the-top in love with his froggies. They go with him most places and he carries them all over the house. I had to buy 2 more! 
• G noticed trucks this month. He loves looking out the window in the car now and shouting/pointing "truck! truck!" 
• Grayson still loves playing with any sort of ball. However, now he loves to run around with his footballs (and basketballs) and shout "TOUCHDOWN!" It's so funny and it makes his sports obsessed daddy proud! 

 Grayson is SO active & runs everywhere he goes. He loves helping us with things around the house (feeding the dogs, throwing things away, recycling) and it makes me think about how great of a big brother he will be soon! G still adores his dogs and loves seeing them first thing in the morning. He also loves going to the library & picking out new books to read!

I can't believe our little boy is almost 1 1/2! Grayson is growing up so fast & it's hard to believe that he will be a big brother in 5 months. Crazy! This age is so much fun and I love watching him learn every single day.

Happy 17 months, G!

16 weeks with Baby Dos

*How far along?: 16 weeks

*Total weight gain?: 2ish pounds

*How big is baby?: avocado...which seems smaller than the navel orange last week?! weird.
*Sex: We find out on March 9th!
*Maternity clothes: boo hiss...and I'm only 16 weeks. I want to buy cute clothes but hate spending money on maternity things.
*Stretch marks: Nope. Using Palmer's this time!
*Sleep: The CRAZY dreams have begun. I dream about neighbors, I dream about The Hunger Games, and last night? Well, I woke up ticked at my sweet husband because I had a dream that he woke up at 4:00am to call his best friend to discuss FANTASY BASEBALL. The sad thing is that this wouldn't be TOO far fetched...but, it didn't happen. ha!
*Symptoms: Other than exhaustion? Not a thing. Hooray!
*Best moment this week: perhaps coming up with a possible boy name? PERHAPS. This is a tough subject in our household. Making progress.
*Movement: not yet but I keep waiting!
*Food cravings: spicy, spicy, spicy! The baby will come out looking like a chili pepper!
*Labor signs: hopefully not anytime soon!
*Belly button in or out: in
*What I miss: my old bra size. hmph.
*What I'm looking forward to: March 9th...I am getting impatient!

Let's discuss the differences this time:

• My skin was great when I was pregnant with Grayson. This time the baby is wreaking havoc on my skin. I feel like I am 13. 
• I grew all out front last time; pretty much all belly.I called Grayson my "fat sucking baby" because my thighs actually got thinner while pregnant & just shifted to my belly. This time I am growing in the hips too. I am SO not a fan of this!!
• I am having a lot more aversions this time to random foods and I still have random moments of nausea. I was only sick with G for like 4 weeks in the 1st trimester.

It's crazy how the body is different with each baby! 

So What! Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! You know what that means..time to link up with Shannon at Life After I Dew for SWW! This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I have been SO tired lately because the child has been waking up an hour earlier at 6:30? You would think that the mama of a child who woke up around 5:00 for at least 6 months would be used to this. Apparently after one month of later mornings, my body adjusted. Now? I'm sleepy. 
• part of the reason I look forward to MOPS on Wednesdays is the huge brunch we eat? Oink! 
• I'm pretty sure I am burning the taste buds off my tongue with all of this spicy food I'm consuming? I'm being serious. It reminds me of the time I was pregnant with G and ate SO MUCH pineapple in one sitting that my tongue literally started burning. 
• I still like to watch Chris Brown dance?  Please don't think I'm supporting the woman beater, BUT, the kid can move. 
• when I am in the car alone (which is like 7% of the time) I act like I am a contestant on The Voice? For real. I pop in my Adele and BREAK IT DOWN.
• I am 26 years old and made homemade chocolate chip cookies for the first time ever this week? I love to cook. Baking intimidates me. {see also: I rarely measure things} 
• I have a girl crush on Adele? 
• while watching The Beach Boys tribute during the Grammys the other night I kept waiting for Uncle Jesse & the Tanner clan to come out on stage? Come on...don't tell me that thought didn't cross your mind!!

What are you saying SO WHAT to this week??

Tub Painting with The Toddler

We went from beautiful warm weather earlier last week to actual frigid winter weather. Grayson and I get so stir crazy when we can't play outside or don't have plans with friends. I was trying to come up with something fun we could do inside that would keep G occupied. {see also: he has the attention span of a gnat.} 

SO, we went to Target and picked up some Crayola paints. These are the ones we settled on:

 

They had actual finger paints too but they only had 4 colors. You know I love fun colors! I also bought a pack of construction paper. I am KICKING myself for not taking any paper from school last year...I would have never needed paper again. Oh well. 

I knew Grayson would be messy painter so I opted to do some tub painting. Easy cleanup, right?

 I plopped my naked boy in the tub with a piece of paper and some drops of paint. I already had one of those foam brushes so that's what he used.

 He learned quickly that the paint didn't have to stay on the paper!

 see? :)

Such a little artist! It drove G crazy when he got paint on his diaper. We had a minor spaz moment of him literally trying to rip his diaper off...ha!

This was cheap entertainment for a good 20 minutes and it was so easy to clean up! The paint just rinses right off the tub AND the toddler. win, win! We've also painted with watercolors in the tub. G's favorite part? It means an afternoon bath afterwards!

I'm linking this post up to Jennifer's Toddler Tuesday post. She always has cute ideas of fun & educational things to do with toddlers. Go check it out!

brain dump

• I mentioned last week that we had our whole downstairs repainted. We know that eventually we will want to sell this house & realize that MOST people wouldn't appreciate the lime green and bright yellow walls. Hey, we like some color, what can I say? We decided to go ahead and paint before Baby Dos arrives & our lives get a little bit crazier. I say "we" and by that I mean we hired 2 great guys who completed the job in a day & a half! We went from this...

to this! 

I really didn't think I would be crazy about having a neutral color on all the downstairs walls but I actually love it! It is so much brighter & will be so much easier to decorate. Next up, curtains! 

• Grayson and Ben had a guy's day out while I got my hair done on Friday. Apparently they did a little crafting that I didn't know about! 

They made me a plate at the local pottery painting place! ha! Ben said that G held the brush and he "helped" him paint. I would have loved to see those 2 together painting pottery! 

• I have been researching double strollers online and think I would really like the Baby Jogger City Classic. The only problem is that nobody in the Nashville area carries them. So frustrating! A stroller is like a car; you need to test drive them before you buy. It will be difficult to test drive if I can't find one. Come on, Nashville baby stores...get it together! 
• This cold weather is overrated. Our super mild winter has been so nice & now my body is in shock from the below freezing temperatures. If it is going to be this cold, I want some snow. Grayson has snowboots and a snowsuit just waiting for the perfect opportunity to get used! 
• I loved watching the Grammy awards last night!! There were so many great performances & it really does go to show that true talent wins out over the ridiculous outfits/performances. 

I don't get Nicki Minaj. Maybe that makes me old, oh well. A fake Pope as her date? The strange Little Red Riding Hood outfit? Weird. The world already has one Lady Gaga; don't think there is room for another.

Adele on the other hand? I love her. I'm surprised her album still works as often as it is played in my car. I'm so glad she was recognized for her talent all night! 

15 weeks with Baby Dos

Another little boy had to be in a picture this week!

*How far along?: 15 weeks

*Total weight gain?: I'm guessing 2 pounds. I'm not weighing myself at home because our scale is awful...I find out later this month!

*How big is baby?: navel orange...2-3oz!
*Sex: We find out on March 9th!
*Maternity clothes: all pants are maternity for the sake of comfort. I can fit into my old jeans, just not comfortably. I forgot how comfy maternity leggings are!
*Stretch marks: Nope. I think I will just use Palmer's this time around!
*Sleep: Depends on the night. Sometimes I sleep all night & sometimes I don't!
*Symptoms: I have been feeling good all week! Maybe the sickness part is over??
*Best moment this week: going on a date last night with Ben. We rarely go out & it was nice to sit at a restaurant for an hour and a half, eat good food, and talk!
*Movement: not yet but I keep waiting!
*Food cravings: still want anything and everything spicy! I have been hoarding "hot chips" in the pantry and tonight I'm making panko chicken bites w/ spicy asian dipping sauce. I can't get enough!
*Labor signs: hopefully not anytime soon!
*Belly button in or out: in
*What I miss: how about NOT being hungry 24/7?
*What I'm looking forward to: finding out if we are having another sweet baby boy or we are having a little girl!

The Story of Us

With Valentine's Day right around the corner & so many great love stories floating around in blogland currently, I decided to share our story. I'm linking up with From Mrs. to Mama & if you want to read some great stories, go check out the link-up! I've never blogged about how Ben & I met and fell in love. Why not have it down on "paper" forever? 

Meet the 19 year old version of me. I was a sophomore at Ole Miss. At this particular stage in my life I felt kind of broken. At the beginning of my sophomore year I was recovering from an eating disorder (never blogged about that either. weird.), enjoying my freedom a little too much of living in an apartment with friends, and trying to be okay with being single. After a string of not so great guys, I decided I was done. My solution to the guy problem? Buy a dog. A really frackin' expensive dog at that. I thought all I needed in life at that moment was Jack. 2 months later I met...

20 year old Ben. He was a junior at Ole Miss and a pharmacy major. My friend Melissa was dating his roommate & best friend, Collin. We sat in this horrible social studies lecture class 3 days a week and throughout the class she BEGGED me to meet Collin's roommate. I said no probably a gazillion times. I had Jack, remember?! Finally, after weeks of this, I agreed. Begrudgingly. 

One Friday night {in November of 2004...makes me feel old} Mel and I got ready together & headed over to their apartment. I was wearing my pink converse (very UN-Ole Miss), carrying my 4 month old chihuahua puppy, and a Newk's cup full of some fruity adult beverage. Just keepin' real. 

I remember feeling very awkward since this was an arranged meetup, multiple guys calling my sweet dog a "rat" throughout the night, spilling my large drink all over the carpet in true Laura fashion, AND being intrigued by the cute shaggy boy who was really quiet because he had to "study."

After we officially met, Ben asked me out on a date 2 weeks later. Before that date, I went home for Thanksgiving and told all my girls about him. I told them that I had just met Ben once but I had a feeling something would happen between us. 

For our first date we ordered Chili's takeout and ate at his place. We really talked and got to know one another. That first date was all I needed to be hooked. I knew he was different.

Ben totally balanced me out. He made me feel special & loved. He loved my dog...THAT was a huge deal. His mathematical ways helped me survive every single college math class I ever took. Ben wasn't your average crazy frat boy. He was actually the opposite and I loved that! 

We started officially dating in December 2004. I knew I loved him in January. I am now a believer of the saying "when you know, you know." So true!

In the 3 years we dated: we went to lots of Ole Miss football games, spent lots of time in the Grove, watched lots & lots of LOST on dvd, had many fun nights on the Oxford square, spent tons of time playing with the kids I babysat, drove back and forth between Atlanta & North Alabama a bunch, went to the beach, & I heard more sports talk than I ever thought possible. 

Ben proposed in March of 2007. Best surprise ever! We had gone to a Lakers game in Memphis, gone on a carriage ride through downtown Memphis, and then walked to the top of the Peabody Hotel. He asked me to marry him as we were looking out over the city and it completely took me by surprise! I pretty much freaked out & it took me about 5 minutes to realize he was serious...then I of course said "YES!" 

We got married on July 19, 2008 in front of a beautiful historic home in my hometown. *sigh* It was perfect. You can read more about our wedding here. I wish we could relive our wedding day every year...would that be a bit much?! 

It has been a crazy 7 years but I have loved every minute of it! We've moved to a new city, built a house, started new jobs, acquired 3 dogs, found a church family, and had a baby! I love that I get to share this adventure of life with my best friend by my side. When I am a spaz, Ben calms me down. When I don't want to stand up for myself, Ben pushes me to be brave. When I am feeling like a huge pregnant whale, Ben knows what to say to make me feel pretty. Ben is the hardest worker I've ever known & is SUCH a great dad. I fell in love with him all over again when Grayson was born. 

Our love has changed and grown a lot in the past 7 years. But? It just keeps getting better.