My Journey of a Million Miles

18 Months

2012-02-07T09:29:00.001-05:00

So, I have a 1 1/2 year old!! Crazy!!

Here is what is going on with Michael these days:
- He had a good check up at the doctor. He weighs 27 lbs (67%) and is 32.5 inches tall (54%)
- He can say 38 words and sign 14 words. One word he says really cute is Molly. He calls her Lolly. He will walk around the house calling out Lolly. He loves his dogs! Another word that is really funny to hear is the way he says milk. He calls it "gooah" (no, I did not count that as one of the 38 words). When I walk into his room in the morning with his milk, he is signing milk and saying gooah. If I ask him if he wants some milk, he responds by saying gooah. If I ask him if he wants some gooah, he signs milk. I'm not sure how in his mind milk sounds like gooah, but it does and it cracks us up every time he says it.
- His favorite book right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He loves to make all the animal sounds and gestures as we read it.

Look how tall I am! 32.5 inches!

- He loves to pray at meal time. We have prayed with him before meals since he sat with us at the dinner table. We all hold hands and Andrew prays. At first he didn't want to hold hands, and then one day, at dinner, we put our hands out, and he grabbed them. Then he started saying "Amen" at the end. Now, after we get done praying and we say amen, he lets go of our hands, and then signs "more, more" and wants us to hold hands again and pray. I love then fact that my son loves to hold hands with Mama and Daddy and pray. This is one of those things that I hope he never outgrows!
- He is sleeping anywhere from 13-14 hours every night and takes a 1.5-2 hour nap every day.
- He loves to take a bath. Since we are home during the day, we usually save bath time for after breakfast. Anytime I say, Let's go upstairs, he responds with "Bath...Bath..." While signing the word for bath. He will stay in the tub forever, usually 30-45 minutes.

Showing Bob the Builder how tall he is

- I bought him a little potty this month just for him to get used to seeing and sitting on. No, we are not anywhere near ready to potty train. But when I sit him on it, I say "Pee Pee in the Potty" And he repeats, "pee pee...potty...pee pee." And just in case you were interested, we won't be starting until after we get back from vacation in September. I really don't want to deal with potty issues while on vacation.
- He has been eating, and eating and eating... He used to not like any fruit except for grapes and applesauce. Over the past couple of weeks, he has really started eating a lot more fruits and veggies. He loves peaches, pineapple, strawberries, green beans, peas, corn, and tomatoes. We just keep trying new things, and if he doesn't like it the first time, we wait a while and try again. I'm so excited that he is finally eating more fruits and veggies.

Blowing a kiss to Mama

- We have really enjoyed going to story time this month. We go the library every other week, and to Chick-fil-a every week. He loves to play on the playground at chick-fil-a and will climb up without any help.
- We also went to the park and he loved the slides and swings. Love 70 degree weather in January/February!
- We usually go to see Daddy once a week at work, and as soon as we pull in the parking lot, he says, "Daddy!!" He loves his Daddy so much!
- He has come to love his Binky and Blanket. He only gets them as naps and bedtime, but When he gets a hold of his blanket, he hugs it and loves it! (I think it is one of the cutest things)

Right after nap time, loving on his "Be-Be"

- Usually every night, after Michael goes to bed, Andrew and I say to each other, "He is so cute..." And then talk about all the cute things he did that day. We are so blessed to have Michael and I can't imagine my life without him!

Canvas storage box

2012-02-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

I found this idea on Pinterest, and loved it!

So, last week, I went to JoAnn's and found some cute fabric, so I could make some boxes for Michael's closet. This weekend, I made this cute storage box.

Since This Blog already did a great job with the tutorial, I won't post how I made it. Just follow her steps and you will be good to go.

The only thing is, I should have got more fabric. In her tutorial, she said she was able to cover the box using 1/2 a yard of fabric. So, I got a whole yard, thinking it would be enough for two boxes and it wasn't. So, now I have to go back and get more for my second box. So, made sure you measure your box first, and measure the fabric you are getting, just to make sure you get enough.

But anyway, I love how it turned out, and I'm thinking about where I could put some more of these. They are great and so practical for storing so much!

I also have to give a big THANK YOU to my Mom, who helped me sew the lining. Thanks Mom, you ROCK!

Beautiful day in South Carolina

2012-02-02T18:09:00.001-05:00

Today it was absolutely beautiful outside! For it to be 70 degrees on February 2nd, is wonderful!! We have had such a mild winter this year, which is great, since I have a little boy who loves to play outside.
Today, we went to the park to play. This was the first time going, where Michael could climb up on the playground by himself. He had so much fun on the slide and on the swings. Hopefully we will have lots more days like this for those next "6 weeks of winter"

Baby Blanket

2012-01-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest crochet project I have been working on.

It is a baby Blanket for my friend Jessica. Her new little baby girl will be here sometime in March.

I also made a matching hat. I really like how it turned out.

I tried using a different pattern to make the flowers, and they were much easier this way, than the way I used to make them.

I have her the blanket this morning and she loved it! Can't wait to see her all wrapped up in it.

Kettle Corn Love

2012-01-23T15:09:00.000-05:00

So, the last few weeks, Andrew and I have been on a major kettle corn kick. Andrew has perfected the recipe and technique, so I thought I would share it with you.
The recipe is as follows:
1/2 cup un-popped pop corn
Vegetable oil - enough to barely cover the pop corn (see picture below)
1/4 cup sugar
Salt - to taste

First, you will need a large pot with a tight fitting lid.

Pour the popcorn into the pan.

Pour in enough oil until the popcorn is barely covered and then stir.

Turn stove on high heat and wait to hear the oil sizzle.

Once the oil starts to sizzle, pour sugar in, and stir very well, to coat all kernels with sugar.

Spread out all of the kernels, so there is a single layer on the bottom of them pan.

Now just wait for the pop.

After the pop corn has started popping, give the pot a good shake. Continue to shake every 20-30 seconds.

Once the popping has slowed down (about 2-3 seconds between pops) remove from heat.

Stir the popcorn.

Add salt to taste and continue stirring.

Pour into a bowl and enjoy!!

We have tried different brands of popcorn and so far, the yellow corn seems to pop up the best. We are in search of the popcorn that will give us the biggest popped kernel. If you know where we could get some, please let us know.
Please let me know if you try making it, and how it turns out. Happy Popping!

Thrift Store Friday

2012-01-13T03:20:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted my thrift store Friday for the past few weeks because of the holidays and being out of town. So, I'm combining the last few weeks into one post.
Here are my recent finds:
3 board books: $.25/each
A Gone Fishing Vest For Michael (NWT): $3.00
6 tooth brushes & 4 tubes of tooth paste: 5/$1.00
Vera Bradley Purse: $12.00

Andrew surprised me with the purse one day. Isn't he sweet?

The Miracle Hill store in Spartanburg has a ton of tooth brushes (mostly children's) so if your kids need a new tooth brush, stop by and pick one or 2 up. Where else can you find a tooth brush for .25/each or you get 5/$1.00?

17 Months

2012-01-07T12:22:00.001-05:00

Wow, this one snuck up on me. Usually I have in mind when the 7th of each month is, but not this month.
So, here is what Michael is up to at 17 months:

- He is talking more and more each day and is starting to repeat words back to us. He will try to repeat everything I ask him to, but it doesn't usually come out right. There are a few that do come out right, and it is so cute when that happens.
- He loves for me to sing songs to him. His favorite are ABC's and Frosty the snowman. He has books with these songs written in them, so he is constantly bringing me these books to "read" or sing to him.

- He has grown another inch, but his weight is about the same, so his big belly is slimming down some.
- His hair is coming in, finally! It is still soft and curly. We haven't cut it yet, and really don't plan to for a while.
- He has learned how to slide down the stairs on his belly (feet first) and is getting faster each time. It won't be long till he is shooting down the stairs.

- He has started coloring with crayons. He doesn't try to eat them either ;)
- He loves to play with his little people barn and knows where each animal goes, based on the sound it makes.
- He knows and can make the following animal sounds: cow, monkey, sheep, dog, cat, and sometimes horse. He knows the sign for duck, but won't say quack. He also knows that the pig makes a funny sound he just hasn't figured out how to oink yet.

- He loves playing with his big cousins and follows them around everywhere.
- He plays really well by himself at home. He loves his blocks and loves to knock them over when I stack them up. He has just recently started stacking them up himself to knock over.

- He loves to dance!! That was his favorite thing about the cruise, I think. He dances with just his arms mostly, but it is so cute!
- He keeps me busy, but there is nothing else I would rather do, then spend my days being his Mama!

Year in Review - 2011

2012-01-01T15:24:00.046-05:00

2011 was a good year for us. We enjoyed watching Michael go from infant to Toddler and from just learning to roll over to running around the house. It's crazy how much babies change in such a short time. Here are some high lights from our year: (If you click on the links, it will take you to my blog posts about each event)

January
Michael learns to roll over
Michael gets his first two teeth

February
Michael starts eating solid food
Andrew gets moved to third shift at work - Boo!

March
Michael's first trip to the park

April
Spent a weekend in Sevierville,TN at Women of Joy
Michael celebrates his first Easter

May
Spent a weekend in charleston
Michael learns to crawl
Celebrate my first Mother's Day
Michael has his baby dedication at church
Celebrate 7 years of marriage

June
Michael takes his first steps and learns to walk
Andrew celebrates his first Father's Day
I spend a week at the beach with my friends

July
Spend a fun week at Animal Kingdom Resort in Florida
Andrew starts a new job!! No more third shift!

August
Michael turned 1
I turned 29

September
Start teaching Michael sign language, and he picks it up pretty quickly

October
Michael dressed up as the cutest giraffe for Halloween

November
Got to spend a weekend in Charlotte with my best friends
Bought a new van
Spent Thanksgiving in Blue Ridge, GA with Andrew's family

December
Spent the week after Christmas on a Disney Cruise and in Hilton Head.
Andrew turned 31

Like I said, it's been a good year! Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Off the Boat and On To Hilton Head

2012-01-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

We were up at at breakfast by 6:45am. Way too early in my opinion. Ate our breakfast, turned in our comment card, and got off the boat. We were to our car by 8:30. Since we never got off the boat, I wasn't able to get any pictures of the ship, which I was a little sad about. So, here are the best I could get from the parking garage.

We drove over to Merritt Island, to meet Kathleen for breakfast. It was good to see her again. Then it was on to Hilton Head. We would be spending 2 nights in Hilton Head, and then finally heading back home on Saturday, New Year's Eve.

We drove up the coast for part of the way, and stopped right above Daytona Beach to take some pictures.

The weather in Hilton Head was beautiful. We arrived right before sunset, so after we checked into our room, we walked out to the pier to watch the sunset.

For dinner, we went to Mellow Mushroom for Pizza. It was good, but the service was not that great. Our opinion might be a little biased, since we had just got off a cruise ship, where everyone was catering to our every need. Anyway, Michael and I were in bed by 8:30, and slept till 11:00 the next day. We were trying to catch up on all the sleep we missed on the cruise. Friday was Andrew's Birthday, So we got up and went to get some doughnuts from Flamingo's Doughnut shop. We were very sad to see that it was closed. Not sure forever, or just for that week. A lot of restaurants were closed while we were down there, since it is the off season. So, we went to the Hilton Head diner instead. After lunch, Andrew wanted to go swimming, but I just wasn't feeling like it, so I tagged along and took pictures, while he and Michael swam. (The pool was heated)

After swim time, we all went back to the room and took a nap.

Dinner was at It's Greek to me. It was so good. We all ate a ton, and even had leftovers to bring home.

Saturday morning, we got up and took some pictures around the resort.

Then we went over to the beach house to take some pictures.

Then it was home. We arrived home around 4:00 and it felt nice to be home. I love vacation, but there is just something nice about pulling into your own driveway after a long day of driving.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait to do another cruise! We will probably wait until Michael is older though, so he can really enjoy all that the cruise has to offer.

Then drove over to the beach house and took some pictures on the beach.

Then it was time to go home. We were home by 4:00, and it was good to be home. I always love going on vacation, but there is something nice about pulling in the drive way and being home.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a great time, and can't wait to go on another cruise. We will probably wait until Michael is older and can really enjoy everything the cruise has to offer.

Our Dream Cruise - Day 3

2011-12-31T18:02:00.001-05:00

Day 3 we were supposed to be at Disney's private Island, Castaway Cay. But because of high winds and a strong current, they couldn't dock the boat at the island. (The captain tried for 4 hours to dock) So, it was a day at sea instead.

We started the day with breakfast at the buffet. The buffet on this ship was incredible. It had so many different choices, and everything was delicious.

After breakfast, we wandered around the ship, and saw that we were just in time to have some pictures taken with Mickey and Goofy!

Then we decided to put Michael in the nursery, so Andrew and I could ride the Aquaduck, the ship's water coaster!

Michael did great in the nursery and had a great time. The Aquaduck was so much fun!! There is a section where you go out over the edge of the boat, and all that is under you is ocean!

After the ride, we went up to the adults sun deck and enjoyed the fact that we were on a cruise ship in the Bahamas! We went and picked up Michael from the nursery and took him back to the room to take a nap. Andrew went up to the buffet to grab us some lunch and brought it back to the room to eat while Michael was asleep.

Later in the afternoon, they had a character "Till we meet again" greeting in the atrium so we decided to go to that one, rather than the one that was later that night. It's a good thing we did, because the lines to meet the characters were really short, and we got around to all of them in 10 minutes! All of the characters come out and sing a song and all the kids get a chance to say goodbye and take one last picture.

Then we got ready and went to dinner. That night was the "dressy" night, so we decided to have some pictures taken by the Christmas tree.

Don't you just love Michael's little outfit?
Then dinner was at Royal Palace. After we ordered our food, Michael made it very clear that he did not want to sit for dinner and was ready to leave. So, I took him back to the nursery, so we could enjoy our dinner. When we picked him up after dinner, they said he fell asleep, and slept for an hour. I guess all the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him. Dinner was wonderful. Andrew ordered 2 appetizers, 2 entrées, and 2 desserts! This was the menu he was most looking forward to. He also ate most of my appetizer and half of my entrée.
That night, we decided to go to the show in the theater. We weren't sure how Michael would do, but he did great. It was mostly music, and that was the part he really liked. During the dialogue, he got antsy, but we were able to wrangle him in until the next song started.
After the show it was time to pack our bags and put them outside our door. I went and purchased our pictures, while Andrew got Michael ready for bed. Then Andrew went and watched a movie and Michael and I went to sleep. We had to be at breakfast the next morning at 6:45, so I wanted to get to bed as early as possible.

Our Dream Cruise - Day 2

2011-12-31T14:16:00.002-05:00

On Day 2 the ship was in Nassau, Bahamas. Andrew and I have been there before, so we opted to stay on the boat. Pushing a one year old around Nassau just didn't sound like fun to us.

So, we spent the day playing in the splash area with Michael, enjoying wonderful food, and relaxing.
I was able to get a massage and facial in the afternoon, and it was heavenly. I also had some time to lay by the pool, while Andrew and Michael were napping.

The splash area was a lot of fun. It was all themed around Finding Nemo. Michael had a great time playing in the water, and he loved the water slide!

Dinner that night was in the Enchanted Garden. It was beautifully decorated like a garden. I didn't get many pictures of the actual restaurant. But it was pirate night, so the boys were wearing their bandannas.

Again, Michael was wide awake, so we wondered around after dinner just enjoying the ship. During the cruise we spent a lot of time in the Atrium. it was a wide open space for Michael to run and he had so much fun just running around.

Our Dream Cruise - Day 1

2011-12-30T12:06:00.002-05:00

So, we spent all day Christmas day, driving to Florida. We arrived in Jacksonville around 6:30, checked into our hotel and went for a lovely festive dinner at Waffle House. Monday morning, we woke up and got back in the car, and made our way to Port Canaveral. We arrived at the port around 12:15 and things moved very smoothly. We unloaded our bags, parked the car, and then made our way to the terminal to check in. When we got in the terminal, Mickey Mouse was there taking pictures, but they had closed the line to meet him, so we just had to look at him from a distance. You could see that Michael recognized him right away, but wasn't overly excited to see him. This was just the first of many chances he had to see Mickey during the cruise.

So, we checked in, got our welcome aboard picture taken, and then crossed over the gangway onto our home for the next 4 days!

As you walk into the atrium, they announce, "The Disney Dream would like to welcome the Wolff Family!" Very exciting moment. Then we just stood and took it all in. The atrium was beautiful! It was all decorated for Christmas, and looked incredible.

Lunch was at the Enchanted Garden. It was buffet style, so we all got our fill on whatever we wanted. After lunch, we went to check out our room. We had an inside stateroom, which was plenty big for the three of us, though the Pack and Play did take up a lot of room.

After dropping off our stuff in the room, we went to the DVC Member Party. You get a bunch of freebies, and they let you know what the special is, if you decide to add more points during the cruise. We went for the freebies...

We took some time to explore the ship, and check out the kids areas.

Then it was time for the Sail Away Party on the top deck! Michael just took everything in. Not too much excitement from him, since it was all so new. The party was fun, and the weather was so nice.

After the party, it was time for dinner. We had to be at dinner at 5:45 each night, which is a little early, but we were there until after 7:00, so we knew we had to do the early dinner with Michael. Our first night we ate at Animator's Palate, an animation themed restaurant.

After dinner we went back to the room to change clothes, and do some more exploring around the ship. We thought Michael would be ready for bed at some point, but he was wide open! So, we stuck around the atrium to see the characters!

He wasn't too impressed with the characters. He is not friendly to strangers, and to him, these characters were just strangers that he wasn't going to smile at. After a while, he did like looking at the characters, but once we got close to them, he put on his serious face again.

After all of the excitement for one day, we were exhausted and went back to our room to go to bed. Well, apparently Michael wasn't tired, and he was up running around the stateroom until 11:30, when he finally crashed!

Coming up...Day 2 - Nassau, Bahamas

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Christmas this year was a little different. We celebrated with my family and Andrew's family the weekend before Christmas. And then Christmas day, we drove to Florida, to get on the Cruise on the 26th. We didn't even put a tree up or any decorations at our house.
So, Here are a few pictures from Christmas.

Michael with Grandma and Papa

Our Little Family

All of the Cousins

Checking out Mimi's Christmas Tree

He loved the little shopping cart we got for him

Santa came to deliver presents!

Michael playing with his new trains

His favorite item of the night, M&M's he could shake

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and I know that next year, Michael will really enjoy it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-25T08:10:00.001-05:00

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Friends

2011-12-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

On Monday, Michael and I got to go play with our best friends! Julie, Coleman, and Jennifer were up visiting family, so we were all able to get together at Jessica and Lydia's house for lunch and play time. It was so good to spend time with them and to watch the babies play together.
Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Michael's Blanket

2011-12-22T10:45:00.002-05:00

I decided I wanted to make Michael a crochet blanket that would be big enough that he could use it for a long time. His other blanket I made very quickly to send to him when he was born. He has outgrown that blanket, so I set out making him a new one.

I started making the blanket right after his first birthday, and finished it last night. So it took about 4 months to complete. I love the colors! They are very much boy colors and this should last the rest of his life. (I still have the one my mom made for me when I was a baby.) The blanket measures 4 1/2 feet long and 3 1/2 feet wide. It is about the same length as a crib mattress, but wider. It will be great once he goes to a toddler bed.

My little Christmas Cutie

2011-12-17T09:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my sister Sarah asked if I wanted her to take some pictures of Michael. She was out taking pictures of her kids and my other sister's kids.
I was excited to have some pictures of Michael in his Christmas outfit.
Here are just a few she put on Facebook last night.
Thanks Sarah, you did a fantastic job, as always.

Christmas Parade

2011-12-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I took Michael to the Christmas Parade in town.

My Sister and Parents were also there. It was pretty chilly, but we bundled up and kept pretty warm.
Here are some pictures from the morning.

Mom and Dad

Me and Michael

Kelly, Charlie and Leilani

SANTA!

Visit with Santa

2011-12-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we took Michael to visit Santa at the mall. He wasn't too excited to be sitting on his lap, but he never did cry. Here is a little video I made from yesterday.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card

2011-12-14T12:03:00.001-05:00

Here is our Cristmas Card for this year.

I took the picture when we were in Georgia over Thanksgiving, and I just loved it.

I also made this card, but Andrew liked the one of Michael by himself, so that's the one we sent out to Friends and Family.

I am linking up again this year with Faith's Christmas Card Carousel. Go check out her blog for lots of other cute Christmas Cards.

Merry Christmas!

Whoopie!!

2011-12-11T22:49:00.001-05:00

I have posted about my love of whoopie pies before, but I'm posting about it again. My mom gave me this cookbook last year for my birthday, and I am just getting around to using it. If you remember, we kinda had a major event happen the week of my birthday last year. You know, becoming parents. Anyway, at the time I looked through it, and then put it on the shelf with all the other cookbooks and stated busy being a mom.

Well, last week one of the blogs I read posted about making whoopie pies. It reminded me about my cookbook and made me really want to bake some. So I got out the book and looked through all of the recipes, and decided I would go with the original whoopie first. I made my list of ingredients I needed to purchase and Saturday afternoon while Michael took a nap (3.5 hours!!) I baked whoopie pies. They turned out so good. I used some cocoa I had in the pantry, but I'm thinking they might have turned out better if I had bought some new/fresh cocoa. Also, the icing had a little too much crisco in it for my taste. Next time I will cut that down and add more if need be. I can't wait to try some of the other favors in the cookbook. Like gingerbread or chocolate chip or jalapeño cornbread.

Thrift Store Friday

2011-12-09T19:36:00.003-05:00

I've not had too much luck lately finding anything for Michael, but I have been able to find a lot of stuff for my nieces and nephew. And all of the clothes I find for my nephew I know will be passed down to Michael in a couple years anyway, so it works out good. There just seems to be a lot more girl clothes than boy clothes. And usually the girl clothes are in way better shape.
So, here is what I found this week:
- Super cute Old Navy Sweater - $1
- Red sparkle long sleeve shirt - $1
- Cute jeans with embroidery - $2
- Brand new Old Navy shirt - $1
- xhilaration jeans - $2
- OCI long sleeve shirt - $2
- Old navy swim trunks (for Michael) - $1

Then, I went to the thrift store again today and hit the mother load! I got a scrap booking storage bag that was completely full of scrapbook paper! You can see in the picture how tall the pile of paper is.
Price: $20!!
What a deal! I'm so excited about this buy. Now I just have to sort through it all to see exactly what the paper looks like.

You can check out the Miracle Hill Thrift Store Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miracle-Hill-Thrift-Stores/198560993495720

Million Miles Designs

2011-12-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

I opened up an etsy shop, and I would love for you to go take a look.

I'm selling prints for nursery's and Children's rooms. I can customize any of them to match your specific theme or color decor, just ask.

Thanks for looking and Happy Shopping!

16 Months

2011-12-06T13:07:00.001-05:00

Michael is growing and changing so much these days. His little personality is so fun, and he is in full blown toddler mode. Here is what he is up to:

- He runs everywhere and keeps me on my toes.
- His vocabulary is growing daily. Some of the new words he is saying are: No no, Mimi, Papa, Baby
He doesn't tell us no, he just repeats it when I tell him no, or he tells the dogs no, when they are licking him. It's very cute the way he says it. Also, if you ask him where the baby is, he points to himself.
- He knows where his head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, belly, and toes are and can point to each of them when asked.
- He knows who Mickey Mouse is, and will point to him in pictures and to his stuffed Mickey. He has even tried to say Mickey a few times, but not consistently. We are really working on this one, since he will be seeing Mickey on the cruise in 3 weeks.
- He is eating like a horse. He eats all day, everyday. We will finish eating a meal, and within 5 minutes, he is signing the word eat to us. I'm happy that he has a good appetite and will eat most everything we give him. He does eat better for Andrew than he does for me. I will try to give him something and he won't take it, so I hand the fork to Andrew and when Andrew tries, Michael opens his mouth and takes a bite, and then asks for more.
- He is 26 pounds and getting harder to carry around. As far as how tall he is, if you lay him down and measure, he is 34 inches but when you stand him up and measure he is 31 inches. So, not quite sure how to measure him.
- He loves to help with the laundry and the dishwasher. Anytime he hears me open the laundry room doors, he comes running. He has the very important job of shutting the dryer door after I load the clothes in it. He loves to watch it fly up and slam shut. Same thing with the dishwasher. After I get it all loaded or unloaded he is there to help shut the door.
He is so much fun, and keeps us laughing all the time. We love him so much, and often, after he goes to bed at night, we sit and talk about how cute he is and what a sweet boy he is.

Thrift Store Friday

2011-12-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

I found some great buys this week, but didn't find anything for Michael.
Here is what I found:
Girls Old Navy shirt (niece) - $1
Girls Old Navy pants (niece) -$1
Boys Old Navy shirt (nephew) - $1
Boys Oxford shirt (nephew) - $1
DVD (One Night With The King) - $1
Total spent - $5

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T20:15:00.001-05:00

We had such a wonderful thanksgiving. We traveled with Andrew's family to Blue Ridge, GA again this year and spent 4 nights in a cabin together.

Thanksgiving day we went over to "uncle" Doug and "Aunt" Breda's house for a huge meal. There were close to 40 people there and we ate and ate and ate some more.

Friday morning, we went on the Santa Express again. Michael kinda knew what was going on, but still wasn't too excited. We saw Santa, Rudolph, and frosty the snowman. After the train ride, we ate lunch and then headed back to the cabin so Michael could take a nap. After his nap, we headed back over to spend time with the family at Doug and Brenda's.

Saturday we had an unexpected trip to get some new tires on the van. We knew we would need two new tires on the front, but didn't expect it would be so soon. So after we dropped off the van at Walmart, we went to lunch and than some shopping. After a couple hours, we went to pick up the van and headed back to spend some more time with the family.

Then we headed home on Sunday morning. It was a nice weekend spent with family and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

Here are a ton of pictures from the weekend.

House Guest

2011-11-22T08:08:00.001-05:00

For the past 5 days, my friend from college was here visiting. Kathleen and I have stayed in touch since college, but really haven't seen each other in almost 8 years.

It was so great to have her here and we had so much fun. We didn't do anything exciting, just hung out and kept doing life like normal. Michael loved her! Every time she was in the room, he was right next to her and trying to get her to hold him, or play with him. She did great with him, and I know he loved having her here. She also fell in love with Toby. Every time she would sit on the couch, both dogs would jump up to sit with her, but Toby stayed especially close.

We love you Kathleen, and you can come back anytime!

I have some more pictures, but these are the ones from my phone.

My New Ride...

2011-11-17T23:20:00.001-05:00

Yep, we did it. We joined the mini van club. We've been looking for a new car for a while and finally decided to get a van. After looking, we found this one and got a killer deal on it. It's a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Yes, a little older but, it's a Honda and should last another 150k miles, at least. It has a DVD player and leather seats. It also has power doors, which will be great when I have my hands full with Michael. Looking forward to our first road trip in it next week.

Handprint Turkey Shirt

2011-11-16T10:35:00.001-05:00

I wanted to make Michael a cute shirt for Thanksgiving so I started looking around and found this:
http://morganmoore.typepad.com/one_more_moore/2008/11/a-turkey-for-me-and-a-turkey-for-you.html
(sorry, blogging from my phone and I can't add link.)
I wanted to do it a little different so I searched how to appliqué, and found this great post. www.Girlythingsbows.com/applique_shirt.html
I knew I could do it, so I went to Joanne's to buy all of the needed supplies. I'm not going to write down all of the steps, since she did a good job of that already.

The hardest part of this project was getting a good handprint from Michael. It required help from Andrew to hold Michael still and his hand flat, while I traced it.

I love how it turned out and I can't wait for him to wear it on Thanksgiving day.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

2011-11-14T09:24:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, my friends and I spent a weekend in Charlotte, NC, away from our kids and husbands . We went to the southern Christmas show on Saturday and then to Ikea on Sunday.

It was such a nice relaxing time away with friends. We went to bed early and slept late. We went out to eat and didn't have to worry about entertaining a child or deal with feeding a little mouth. One of the best parts? We were able to go 48 hours without changing a single diaper. I love michael more than life itself, but sometimes it is just nice to get away with the girls and be able to relax.

Thanks so much to my wonderful husband, who stepped up and took wonderful care of Michael all weekend long. I know he was in wonderful hands, and I know they both enjoyed the time together. I love you and appreciate you so very much, Andrew.

I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life, and I love them all dearly.

Flat Feet and Bare feet

2011-11-11T15:56:00.001-05:00

That is the diagnosis that we got this
morning at Shriner's Hospital.
What can we do about it? Let Michael go barefoot as much as possible.
The outlook is very good that this will correct itself over time. And if not, it is something that will be dealt with when he is around 7 or 8! The Doctor said that most likely he would NOT need surgery!
Praise God for a good report!!

And in the waiting room, they had a huge curious George. Michael loved looking at it and making monkey noises at him, but he wouldn't get too close. Here are the best pictures I could get.

Thrift Store Friday

2011-11-11T08:13:00.000-05:00

Wow did I get some great deals today!
You will see a lot of little girl stuff this week. That is because my friend Jessica asked me to look for some items for her little girl Lydia. I also found some stuff for Jessica's new baby that is due in March.

So, here is what I got:

Talbots sweater (NWT) for me: $4.50
Old Navy Sweater for me: $3.50
Salty Dog T-Shirt for me: $1.50
Hawaiian Shirt for Michael: $.50
Mickey Mouse Swim Trunks for Michael: $.50
Dress for Lydia: $.50
Osh Kosh pants for Lydia: $1.00
Onesie for Jessica's new baby: $.50
Layette Set (NWT) for Jessica's new baby: $4.50
New born outfit for Jessica's new baby: $1.00

Sleepy Boy

2011-11-08T17:27:00.001-05:00

I must have a growing boy on my hands. Michael went to bed early last night at 7:00 and then slept through the night without a peep until 10:00 this morning! Then he took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon! He was either really tired or is going through a growth spurt! Either way, he got a lot of sleep.

And here are just some cute pictures of him playing outside this afternoon. Don't you just love his sweatshirt? That would be one of my thrift store finds from a long time ago. Total cost: $1!

15 Months!!!

2011-11-07T16:20:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe Michael is 15 months old already! Here is what's new with him:

- He now has 13 teeth with 3 more almost through.
- He has mastered climbing down the stairs! That is a big relief for this Mama. Now I don't worry about him falling down them.
- He has almost figured out how to climb up onto the couch. He still needs a little assistance, but it won't be long till he is doing it by himself.
- He has finally figured out that I am "Mama" and it has turned into one of his favorite words. Which is music to my ears! It took him long enough, but I knew he would get it eventually.
- He loves playing outside. He just loves to walk around the back yard picking up leaves. He also loves playing on the screened in porch, I think it's because he can open and close the screen door by himself. We go out every afternoon for at least an hour, sometimes more. I'm not sure what we are going to do when it gets too cold to go out.
- He has become very attached to his blanket he sleeps with. I knew he liked it a lot and would cuddle it while he slept. But a few weeks ago, it was in the wash during nap time, and he had the hardest time falling asleep. Once the blanket was back in his crib, he went right to sleep. So now I have to schedule laundry around his nap time, just to make sure the blanket is in his crib.
- He will be going to Shriner's hospital this Friday for a consultation about his feet/ankles. We are praying it is something that can be fixed with special shoes or braces and not require surgery.

I will end with some pictures that we took this afternoon outside.

Scrapbooking... I am way behind

2011-11-06T17:42:00.001-05:00

So I started scrapbooking all of my pictures from last Christmas. Yeah, I am way behind. But I figure better late than never. I have a Christmas scrapbook that I add to each year. Except it was getting pretty full, so I decided to start a new one beginning with Michael's first Christmas. Hopefully I will be able to get all of last year scrapbooked before this Christmas.

I know it is hard to read in the picture, but it says Michael's first Christmas.

Thrift Store Friday

2011-11-03T18:20:00.001-04:00

I got some great deals this week at the Miracle Hill Thrift Store! Check out what I got:

Greg Norman pull over Jacket (for Andrew) $4.50
Ralph Lauren shirt (for Michael) $2.00
Children's Place Cargo Pants (for my nephew) $1.00
Justice capris (for my niece) $1.00
Total: $8.50

Michaels first piece of art

2011-11-03T11:52:00.001-04:00

I know I will have tons of paintings and projects to hang on the refrigerator, but there is just something special about the first one.
I am trying to get a good hand print for a thanksgiving project, and while we had the paint out and paint all over his hands, I figured I would let him play. It didn't take long before he was trying to eat it though, so we quickly put an end to arts and craft time.
It's the little things that make me so grateful to be a mom. Like refrigerator art!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T16:51:00.000-04:00

Michael 2011

We had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year!

Michael was super cute in his Giraffe costume and he loved wearing it. He was so cute holding his little trick or treat bucket walking up to people's doors.

On Sunday night, we went to Trunk or Treat at my parents church. I was excited to show him off to a bunch of people who haven't seen him in a really long time. He had a very busy Sunday, and we had to wake him up to go to the church, so he isn't smiling in any of the pictures.

Michael and Papa

Michael and Grandma

My Little Family

After Trunk or Treat! So Happy to be home and in his car!

Halloween night was a blast!

Ready for some Trick or Treating

He was excited to have his costume on, and it was hard for me to get a picture of him standing still. We only went to our neighbor's house and Grandma and Papa's house.

At Grandma and Papa's House

With Grandma and Papa

I just love that little profile!

I think that was plenty for this year.

Cheerios

2011-11-01T14:50:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when you eat Cheerios with a runny nose.

Fastest way

2011-11-01T11:06:00.001-04:00

What is the fastest way to get a laundry basket full of clothes, a bag of dirty diapers, a sippy cup, a pair of slippers and a baby all down the stairs? Put them all in the basket of course!

Michael's First Car

2011-10-31T12:32:00.002-04:00

Michael got his very first car this weekend! Thanks Mimi and Poppa! He loves it!

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-30T19:55:00.001-04:00

Tonight was trunk or treat at my parents church. Michael had just woke up from his nap, so he was a little out of it. But if you ask me, this is the cutest little giraffe I have ever seen!

Slipper Season

2011-10-29T13:27:00.001-04:00

Well, I think the fall season is officially upon us. The temperature isn't supposed to get above 56 today and the low for over night is 33. So I figured it was time to get out the slippers. He got these from his cousin Charlie. They are so cute and I couldn't wait for them to fit him. He has been wearing them all afternoon and doesn't seem I care that they are on his feet. When I first put them on him, he smiled and kept pointing to them.

Thrift Store Friday

2011-10-28T15:17:00.001-04:00

Every week Michael and I go see Andrew at work. I look aroud the store to see if there if there is anything good while Andrew takes Michael around to say hi to everyone. Since this has become a weekly thing, I'm going to start doing a weekly post of all my wonderful thrift store finds.

Here are this weeks treasures:
LL Bean fleece pullover - $1
Carter's long sleeve shirt - $1
Stride rite shoes - $1
Christmas board book $.25
Total spent: $3.25

Ikea Rocks

2011-10-24T15:21:00.001-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, Andrew Michael and I made a quick trip to Ikea. I had a few things I wanted to get for Michael, and this tunnel was one of them. For $14.99 a one year old can have tons of fun. As soon as we got home we opened it up, and as you can see, Michael had a blast!

Fun on the Farm

2011-10-10T11:25:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we went up to Strawberry Hill with Andrew's family.
We went last year and had a great time, but Michael was only 2 months old, so I knew he would have a great time this year.

It was a beautiful day again this year, but not as warm as last year.

There were tons of pumpkins to chose from.

We had a great time on the Hay Ride.

We got to feed some cows.

Andrew also got to chase and catch a pig, which was a lot of fun to watch!

There were also two sets of twin baby cows. Michael loved the baby cows and he kept mooing at them and then they would moo back.

He also got to pick a pumpkin right from the pumpkin patch.

Thanks Mimi and Poppa for a fun day on the farm!

What Michael has been up to...

2011-10-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Since Michael turned 1, I decided not to continue with the monthly updates. But, I have found myself missing writing them, and I also find myself thinking a lot, "That would be a good thing to write down on his monthly update." So I figured I will just do posts like this at random times, when there are some milestones to report.

Big Boy!

So, at 14 months, here is what Michael is up to:
- He is talking up a storm. Of course, I think Andrew and I are the only ones that knows what he is saying. He has started trying to repeat words back to us, and is really working on becoming more and more verbal. Words he says that everyone can understand are: Dadda, Momma, Dog, All done,
- He is learning sign language, and is doing a great job. So far he knows how to say: All Done, milk, more, eat, cereal, and cookie. We haven't done many other words yet, so now that he has those down really well, we will start with a few more. When we are playing and it is close to meal time or snack time, he comes up to me and does the sign for eat. Also, we were sitting in a restaurant the other day waiting for our food, he kept signing eat. I guess he was hungry and didn't want to wait.

Doing a little light reading

- He has also learned a few animal sounds. He knows what a cow says and what a monkey says. We are working on a bunch of others, but he hasn't picked any other ones up yet.
- One of his favorite activities is climbing the stairs. So, now we are trying to teach him how to go down the stairs without hurting himself.

Daddy and Michael playing with the gun daddy brought home.
Not sure who had more fun.

- We finally made the transition from formula to whole milk. He seems to really like milk, and he drinks about 4 or 5 cups a day.
- Some of his favorite foods are: chicken, yogurt, cheese, mixed veggies, grapes,

Check out those eye lashes!

- He loves to feed himself! Either with a spoon or a fork. As I long as we give it to him already on the utensil, he will feed himself really well.
- He sleeps great, when he is not teething. So, hopefully we will get back to sleeping through the night again. He has a favorite blanket that he sleeps with, and also a stuffed Mickey Mouse and a stuffed Monkey that he got for his birthday that he loves. Every morning when I go in to get him, he immediately shows me his blanket, and his stuffed animals.

Michael loved playing in this car at Coleman's house.
I think I know what he wants for Christmas

- Michael now has 12 teeth! He started teething again right after his birthday, and I could feel his molars were all swollen. After about 2 weeks, he got his top right one. Then about every 2 weeks, he has gotten another one. It took a long time, and a lot of sleepless nights, but he finally has all of his molars. They were by far the hardest on both Mama and baby. Please, can we have a break from teething now?

Michael and Coleman having fun in the car

- He is wearing size 18 months clothes. That is what size all of his winter clothes are, and some fit him great, and others are still too big. That means he should fit into them all winter long. I would hate to have to buy him more clothes in the middle of winter.
- We haven started letting Michael watch a little bit of TV, now that he is one. He only watches while we are at work, and it is usually Mickey Mouse Club House, Baby Einstein, or sesame street. Here is his favorite thing to watch:
He would watch this over and over and over. He loves the music!

So, that is what Mr. Michael has been up to these past couple months. He is definitely a toddler now, no more baby :(

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-03T09:59:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, we loaded up the suburban, and made our way to Hendersonville, NC to visit the Pumpkin Patch.

In my car were 4 adults and 4 children, and in the other car were 2 adults and 4 children. We had our hands full!

Michael was excited about going to pick out a pumpkin!
Don't you just love this shirt?

When we got there, we put coats on everyone, and boy was it chilly. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it hadn't been so windy.

So Happy!

We were there for a couple of hours, and I think everyone had a great time!

All the kids!
Michael and all his cousins (minus the 2 big boys)

I have a feeling this will be an every year tradition. Here is our trip from last year.

Michael and Mommy

There were tons of pumpkins to choose from.

Trying to pick out the perfect pumpkin

Michael ready for a ride

He kept Mooing at the lama.
I guess in a one year olds mind, this looks just like a cow.

We had so much fun and it's something I look forward to doing each year!

A Digital Dilemma

2011-09-28T11:59:00.000-04:00

Just a little back story: As part of Michael's adoption, we agreed to send monthly updates to his birth mother for the first 6 months, and then yearly for 18 years. So, I gave her a scrapbook with our original profile book in it, and then a bunch of empty pages and told her that each month, I would send the updates in the same format, and she could just slide them into the scrapbook, and everything would stay together. So every month, I would do a "What Michael is up to at __ months" page, and then have several pages of pictures behind it. I did this in my digital scrapbook program. Every month, I would print the pages on my home printer, and mail them to the agency, for them to pass along to his birth mother.

Well, after the 6 months, I decided I wanted to keep going, since it was such a great thing for me to have. Just to see how much he changed and grew over the course of a year is incredible. Well, after his birthday, I had to decide how I wanted to print all of the pages, 84 to be exact! The pages were formatted in 8.5 x 11 so I could print them on my home printer. Well, to print that many pages on quality paper, would have taken a lot of money, just on the ink and photo paper. To get them printed at a photo printing place, I would have to re-size all of the pages to 8x10 and it would be anywhere from $2-3 a sheet. Do the math - that is way more than I wanted to pay. So I had the idea of just doing a photo book. So I looked at my usually websites to see how much that would be. Well, it wasn't even an option, because none of them had a 8.5x11 size book. Then I looked at the website for my digital scrapbooking program, and it was not easy to use, and I couldn't ever see how much a photo book would be with all of the extra pages unless I went ahead and uploaded all of the pages to their website. But the price for 20 pages was $27.95. So I googled and found a great website:

www.viovio.com

I could see how much a photo book would be based on the number of pages and the different options. I could choose from softcover or hardcover, different types of paper, or I could print all the pages individually and put them into a traditional scrapbook. It was so nice to see all of the different sizes and options they had, and I didn't have to sign up for anything, or upload anything to get the actual price. So once I decided that I would use this website, I uploaded my pictures and then I could have them auto fill and put them straight into a photo book in the order they were uploaded. It was super easy and the best part, I only paid around $25! I decided to get the cheapest options, just to see how it turned out. I didn't want to waste a bunch of money on something I wasn't sure would turn out good. Well, I got my book yesterday, and am very happy with how it turned out. I will definitely use this website again, and I may even order another one of these books with a hardcover and better paper this time, which would only put the price at around $50.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

Now I just have to decide if I want to do all of my scrapbooks in digital form, or if I want to go back to traditional. It is a lot easier to do it digital, since all of the pictures are digital, but there is something to working with your hands to create a unique scrapbook. Decisions, decisions...

My Latest Project

2011-09-27T11:11:00.000-04:00

I'm calling this: Project Picture Organization!

I hadn't had any pictures printed in several months! I know... I know... Not a good idea. Well, a few weeks ago, I set out to print all of my pictures from Michael's first year and get them organized. I had his first month and a half printed, but that means I had 11 more months to print.

I had gotten an e-mail from snapfish about their print special for .01 cent prints! But before I could order any, I had to upload them all to the website. That took several hours just to load them all on there. I ended up ordering 450 pictures from snapfish! At the same time, the Kodak website was having a special. 200 prints plus shipping, for $1.99! So, I uploaded pictures to that website, and ordered just about 200 pictures. Also, at the same time, I had received a free print credit for a photo book from shutterfly. So I put together my photo book, and just for creating an account, I got 50 free print credits, and then for ordering the photo book, I got another 30 free print credits. So, I ordered another 80 pictures. So, I ended up ordering a total of 730 pictures!!! Then I had to figure out what to do with all of them when I got them.

First, I knew I wanted all of the candid pictures of Michael in a photo album, since that would be way to much to scrapbook. So, I bought these cute photo albums at hobby lobby. They each hold 200 pictures.

The first album has from his birth through October.

The second album has from Halloween through his first birthday.

Here are all the pictures I have left.

I have a Christmas scrapbook that I add to each year, so all the Christmas pictures will go in that. I also have a Disney scrapbook that I add to every time we go, so our trips we took in December and in July will both go in that.

I also have a photo album of pictures of me and and my friends through the years. So, all the pictures that we have taken with all of the babies together, and our trip to Charleston that we all took in June went in there.

That just leaves all of the pictures from the different things we did as a family. Charleston, Edisto, Pumpkin Patch, Baseball game, zoo etc...

My plan is to buy some more photo albums, and put all of those pictures together in chronological order.

The whole point of this project is to get the pictures off the computer and organized. I don't want to end up with tons of pictures that never got printed. Or with tons of pictures just sitting in boxes. Pictures are so important to me, and I want to have them in a place I can look at them and cherish them.

Now I am at the point where I have to decide what I want to scrapbook, or what just goes in a regular photo album. But I have a whole other post about that planned for tomorrow.

So there you have it, my picture organization project. Let's hope it doesn't take another 11 months for me to print pictures!

Boys will be Boys

2011-09-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Michael has figured out how to climb up on things!

This was the other day at my parent's house.

What? I'm not doing anything!

But he sure was proud of himself!

I think I'm going to have my hands full with this boy!

His Other Furry Friend

2011-09-05T15:07:00.000-04:00

Let's not forget about the other furry child that lives in our house, Molly.

She tolerates Michael, to say the least. That is, unless he is eating, then she is his best friend.

But she is warming up to him, slowely...

Of course for Michael, he likes nothing more than to constantly be touching her.

I'm sure eventually Molly will love him, just as much as he loves her.

Michael's New Trick

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, we have started doing some sign language with Michael.
Here he is signing "all done" and he consistetly does it when he is finished with a meal. It is so cute!

Some of the other signs we are working on are:
Please
More
Milk
cereal
Mommy
Daddy

What a week...

2011-09-02T11:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, this has been some week! I'm so glad to see Friday come.

Let's start with my poor Toby. On Tuesday I noticed he was very lethargic all day, and I could hardly get him to go outside. As we were sitting down to dinner, I was telling Andrew about it, and we noticed Toby just laying in the bathroom. All of a sudden he started shaking really bad, was drooling everywhere, and panting extremely hard. He also used the bathroom on himself. It scared us pretty bad, so I called the emergency vet, and told them what happened. They said we should bring him in, so we dropped Michael off at my parent's house, and we headed to the vet. By the time we got there, Toby was acting normal again, except for some tremors. The vet suggested we run some test, to check and make sure everything was OK, internally. All tests came back normal, except he does have a heart murmur. They are pretty sure that he had a seizure, and are guessing it was because of a head trauma he sustained as a puppy. By this time, it was almost 9:00, so we decided to go ahead and have them keep him overnight so they could monitor him, and make sure the tremors stop, or that he didn't have any more seizures. We swung back by my parents, picked up Michael and went home and put him straight to bed. Toby did great overnight, and was back to normal by the time I picked him up the next morning.

Toby heading home

I think it was a long night for him. He was to sleepy!

I was hoping that would be the only excitement for the week. Well, I was wrong. Yesterday afternoon, Michael and I went shopping and he was being great, despite taking only a 1 hour nap. After making our rounds to Hobby Lobby and Kohl's, and stopping to see Daddy at work, we headed to Publix to do our weekly grocery shopping. Well, we get to the car with all of our groceries, load them up, put Michael in the car, and get ready to go, and my car won't start! WHAT!! I am so tired of having car troubles. It seems like it is something every week. The car wouldn't do anything, the locks wouldn't even work! So, I call Andrew and tell him what is going on, and he comes to rescue us. Michael and I go back into the grocery story and wait for him to get there. Michael was still being wonderful! One thing that can make a bad situation worse, is having a cranky baby. Andrew got there about 15 minutes later, and tells me he thinks it's the battery. I JUST PUT A NEW BATTERY IN THE CAR LAST WEEK!!! How can it be the battery?? He hooks up my car to his with jumper cables, and my car at least attempts to start when they are hooked up. But it won't stay going. By this time it is almost 7:00, and I have got all of my groceries in the car, and I was just ready to call a tow truck. We load everything into Andrew's little truck, and decide he will come back later with my dad. If it is the battery, it is definitely still under warranty, so he will just another one. You should have seen us all crammed in the truck. Michael's car seat was in the front (It's OK, the truck doesn't have air bags) and I was stuck sitting in the little jump seat in the back. We get home, I put the groceries away, feed Michael and put him to bed. In the mean time, Andrew and my dad head back to the car, to see what they can figure out. Turns out, it was the battery. But it wasn't bad, it just wasn't hooked up tight enough. Thank you God for an easy fix. Andrew finally gets home around 9:00 and he gets to eat dinner.
I'm really hoping that was all of the excitement for the week. Sorry there aren't more pictures.

Here's to a great weekend!

And the Winner is...

2011-08-24T20:02:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Rick W! Please send me an e-mail and I will send you the link to download the program.

Don't Forget about the Giveaway!

2011-08-22T10:04:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to check out this post, to see how you could win a great digital scrapbooking program!

A Boy and his Dog

2011-08-20T10:16:00.000-04:00

I hope they get to be friends for a long, long time.

My Memories Suite Giveaway!!

2011-08-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about this giveaway! My Memories Suite 2 is an awesome digital scrapbooking software that I have had the opportunity to try out over the last week. I already use the creative memories software, so I was eager to see how the two compared.

This is what their website says about the program:

"My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece.

You can make a beautiful scrapbook an interactive memory experience for anyone who sees it. Use simple one-click options to enhance your scrapbooks, with music, narration, video, and even the Internet. Go beyond pictures by showing off video of the birthday party, or record a narration to capture the memories that pictures alone cannot. With My Memories Suite you simply don't look at a scrapbook-you experience it!"

First off, it was really easy to download. You do it all right from their website. After it was all downloaded, I opened it up, and it was really easy to navigate. I didn't use a tutorial, I just decided to explore on my own. I figured out really quickly how to make this thank you card:

You can make all kinds of different things, not just scrapbook pages. They even have a video option. I haven't figured that one out yet, but I'll get there eventually.

The thing I most love about this program is that it comes installed with so many different page templates, papers, and embellishments and then on the website, they have a ton of free extras you can download. You can also import kits into the program, that you have downloaded from other places.

So, if you have no scrapbook experience at all, you can use a template like this one, and it is already done for you.

Another thing that is great is that is has all of these collage templates too. I always wanted to be able to do something like this, but never wanted to take the time to do it myself. Well, now I don't have to. It is already done for me!

When you are done creating your masterpiece, you can share it in all different kinds of ways:

No onto the best part, I get to give the My Memories Suite 2 program away to one of my readers!

Here is what you have to do for a chance to win this great Digital Scrapbooking Software:

Visit www.MyMemories.com and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout. Then come back and leave me a comment telling me which one was your favorite.

That's it!
Easy, right?

But, for additional entries you can do any or all of the following:

1. Follow my blog - if you are already a follower, just say so.
2. Follow the My Memories Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/
3. Like them on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/mymemoriessuite
4. Follow them on Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite
5. Blog about this giveaway on your own blog.

Just be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you did.

And as a special for all of my readers, My Memories is giving everyone a coupon code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store! That's $20 off just by using this code at checkout: STMMMS47321

The contest will run from today, through next Wednesday, August 24th at 8:00pm. I will be picking the winner at random using random.org and announcing it on here Wednesday Night. The winner will have 24 hours to contact me with their e-mail address. If I do not hear from them, a new winner will be selected.

Good Luck!

He Loves His Daddy!

2011-08-19T10:08:00.000-04:00

When Andrew got home from work yesterday, he went outside to cut the grass.

A certain little boy stood at the window for 10 minutes just watching his daddy cut the grass.

He sure does love his Daddy!

Walking to the Dream Week 22, 23, & 24

2011-08-17T12:23:00.000-04:00

Week 22 - 30.5 miles

Week 23 - 19.84 miles

Week 24 - 20.19 miles

Total Walked - 418.35

Total Left to Walk - 126.65

Such a Big Boy!

2011-08-15T08:23:00.000-04:00

Michael has started branching out a lot more lately when it comes to food. He is eating almost all table food, and really liking it.

Last week, we had fried chicken, so I was cutting some off the bone for Michael and he loved it. But apparently I wasn't giving it to him fast enough so Andrew handed him the whole leg. Michael then proceeded to chew on the chicken leg for the next 10 minutes. He is definitely a southern boy!

Also, Michael has decided that he can feed himself, and doesn't need my help. How did he get so big, so quick?

He does a great job getting the spoon to his mouth, and the food into his mouth. He hasn't figured out how to get the food onto his spoon from the bowl yet. But that will come in time.

He is very proud of himself!

Now if we could just get him to eat fruit and veggies that aren't pureed. He really doesn't like the slime factor.

Best Day Ever!

2011-08-14T11:48:00.001-04:00

One year ago today, was the best day of my life. We held our baby boy in our arms for the very first time!

We prayed for a child, and God blessed us with the most perfect baby.

From that first moment I held Michael in my arms, it was an instant bond, and I knew, I was his mother.

Thank you God, for giving us Michael, and making me a mother!

1 Year Pictures

2011-08-13T23:19:00.001-04:00

On Friday, we met Sarah at a local park so she could take Michael's one year pictures. As always, she did a great job!
At one point during the session, Michael ran right up to her, and gave her the sweetest hugs. He loves his photographer!

Here are just a few she put on facebook.
He's saying "I'm one!"

Check out all those teeth!

Thanks for doing such a wonderful job Sarah! We love you!

Michael's Birthday Party Re-Cap

2011-08-11T08:55:00.000-04:00

Michael's Birthday Party was a lot of fun, and wanted to make sure I shared some pictures from the wonderful day!

Cookies all wrapped and ready to go.

The Birthday boy going for a swim with Daddy!

Michael's Cake with some cupcakes

Our little family. Michael wasn't too sure about all the attention.

Daddy helping blow the candle out

Michael wanted nothing to do with his cake.
He even cried when Andrew put icing on his hands.

The icing on his lips is about the only icing that got close to his mouth.

Aunt Becky did manage to get him to eat some ice cream though.
He seems to be liking it!

Our happy family after everyone had left.

And all of the presents that he got!
I forgot to take any pictures while we were opening presents.

Thanks to everyone who came to the party! We had a great time!

29

2011-08-10T10:45:00.000-04:00

That is how old I am today!

Baby Katie 8/10/82

Last year I got the best birthday gift ever!

I saw this face for the very first time.

Baby Michael 8/10/10

I'm not sure there is anyway to top that!

Or maybe there is...

I get to spend all day with that sweet baby boy!

12 Months Old = 1 Year!

2011-08-09T12:01:00.001-04:00

This is Michael's final monthly update! I can't believe my little boy is 1 year old already! Where did this year go?

Here is what Michael is up to at 12 Months Old:
- He is walking everywhere! No more crawling for him!
- He is working on getting his 1 year molars. The top ones are almost through, and the bottom ones are very swollen.
- He weighs about 24 lbs and is 32” tall!

- He is still in size 3 diapers and size 18 month clothes.
- He is eating all kinds of table food. The only baby food he still gets is apple sauce, baby yogurt, and baby cereal (for breakfast). Some of his favorites are: cheese, chicken, pizza, and grits.

- We are almost done transitioning him to the milk-based formula. Once that is complete, we can start to transition him to whole milk. Let’s hope that goes well. He hasn’t had any more issues with the milk-based formula.
- He still isn’t saying too many words. He does say “Mama” but it is very rare. He has started to try and say “please” and “thanks” but the only part that comes out is the "sss" sound on the end. But he holds it out for a long time, thinking he is saying the whole word. It is very cute.

- He loves to the play the drums. When we are upstairs playing, he will make his way into the spare bedroom where the drums are, and pick up a drum stick and start banging on the cymbals.
- He is getting more and more interested in books lately. He will sit with a book for several minutes just flipping the pages and looking at the pictures. He still doesn’t want to read through a book, which takes too long. But he loves turning the pages as I try to get out as many words as I can from that page.

- He is down to one long nap a day. He usually naps from 1:00 – 3:30 pm and then goes to bed at 7:30.
- It is hard to keep him entertained at work now. He used to be happy sitting and playing in the pack 'n play, but now he wants to be out, running around. We are trying to work around that issue.

- This has been the best year of our lives, and there are no words to express how extremely happy he has made us.

Michael, you are the best thing that has ever happened to your Daddy and Me, and we will forever be grateful that God chose us, to be your parents

Michael's First Year

2011-08-08T10:10:00.001-04:00

Here is a video I put together of Michael's First Year.
I can't get through the first 10 seconds without crying!
I can't believe it's been a year already. Time goes so fast.

Michael's First Year from Katie Wolff on Vimeo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

2011-08-07T07:44:00.000-04:00

One year ago today, our precious baby boy was born! Of course, we didn't find out that he had made his arrival until almost 24 hours later. He was the answer to our prayers! Our own little miracle.
Michael, you have brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. From the minute we first held you in our arms, you smiled, and you have not stopped smiling since.

We love you more than words can say and are so proud to be called your parents.
Happy First Birthday!
We love you!

Sneak Peak

2011-08-02T14:15:00.000-04:00

Here's a sneak peak at what I've been busy doing...

Saturday will be here before we know it.

Lots to do before the big Birthday Party!

Take me out to the ball game...

2011-07-31T11:16:00.000-04:00

On Friday Night, Andrew's whole family went to the Greenville Drive baseball game. It was so hot! But we had a great time. This was Michael's first baseball game, and he had a blast.

Andrew game him a peanut shell to chew on, and he loved it. As soon as it would get soggy, we would give him a new one to chew on.

We ended up leaving after the 5th ining, which was around 9:00. Michael had reached his limit. but he did really well during the game. Especially, since he didn't nap much during the day on Friday.

Thanks for the tickets Amy! Go glad you were here to go with us.

Walking Everywhere!

2011-07-28T09:35:00.001-04:00

Here are some clips of Michael walking around the house. I can't believe how good he is walking, and he isn't even a year old yet! He is doing such a great job!

Catching Up

2011-07-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

Here is what we have been up to since we got back from Florida:
- Andrew changed jobs! He is now working for Miracle Hill Ministries. That means he is working during the day again. Yeah! No more third shift!!

- Michael is walking EVERYWHERE! I will post a video in a separate post.

- I have been busy planning Michael's First Birthday Party. You can check out this post for all the details.

- We had a couple play dates with Jessica and Lydia. Love them!

- My cousin Matt and his son Robert have been here visiting for the past couple weeks.

- We went to the Peach Festival and had a great time. We went to the parade in the morning. In the afternoon, Andrew and my Dad competed in the Corn hole competition. They won 2 games and lost 2 games.

Waiting for the Parade to start

My Dad playing Corn hole

Andrew playing corn hole

Michael slept through most of the corn hole competition

- Celebrated our niece Maggie's 3rd birthday.

- Took a trip to Augusta, GA, and Michael met his great aunt and uncle and two cousins for the first time. (pictures to come in another post)

We have had a fun couple of weeks and will stay busy for the next few weeks.
- This week, Andrew's sister Amy is coming up from Florida.
- Play date with Jessica and Lydia.
- Baseball game on Friday night.
- Will be getting everything ready for Michael's Birthday Party!
- Celebrate my niece Lindy's 6th birthday.
- I will be turning 29 on August 10th.

1st Birthday Party Planning

2011-07-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

Michael's first birthday is just two weeks away and I have been in party planning mode. We are having his birthday party at the local country club's pool. With as many people that will be coming, (20, just in my family alone) there just isn't enough room to have it at home. I think a pool party will be a lot of fun.

Here are the invitations I designed and made.

This is the front if the postcard, and on the back is all of the information about the party. I had them printed from vistaprint.com. I got a great deal too! A few weeks a go, livingsocial.com had buy a $50 gift card for $10! So I only paid $10 plus shipping for 100 invitations (that was the smallest amount I could order). So, I've sent out a ton of invitations. I love that the front is really more like a "birthday announcement" and people can leave it on their refrigerator like they would a birth announcement.
There really isn't a "theme" for the party, more like a color scheme. I am using bright summery beach colors. I am also adding touches of beach/ocean items.
Like the cupcakes for example.

I ordered these from Sam's Club. I am getting the small cake,with the star fish on it, as Michael's smash cake. Everyone else will have cupcakes.

As far as decorations go, I bought several beach balls and swim rings to have floating in the pool. We will also get balloons to tie on the fence that goes around the pool. The balloons will be in the four colors that are on the invitations. And that is it. Not a lot of decorations at all.

One thing I am most excited about making for the party are the favors. I am going to try to make these:

I got a crab, a number 1, and a letter M cookie cutter and I will try my best to make them look as cute as these do. I found the idea here:
I found a recipe for sugar cookies and a recipe for royal icing. I also found a great tutorial on how to make decorative sugar cookies here:
I am doing a test run this week to see how they turn out.

I am so excited about Michael's birthday party. Everything is coming together great and i think everyone will have a lot of fun. Now we just have to pray for no rain on the day of the party.

Walking to the Dream - Week 20 & 21

2011-07-24T11:48:00.009-04:00

Week 20
Total Walked:28.26

Week 21
Total Walked: 26.04

Total Walked: 347.82
Total Left to Walk: 197.18

Walking to the Dream - Weeks 18 & 19

2011-07-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Let me just say, I kicked butt these past two weeks! Being on vacation actually involves a lot of walking around.
Week 18
Sunday: 5
Monday: 4.14
Tuesday: 4.15
Wednesday: 2
Thursday: 3.05
Friday: 6
Saturday: 5.63
Total: 29.97

Week 19
Sunday: 4.10
Monday: 11.74!!!
Tuesday: 5.40
Wednesday: 8.31!!!
Thursday: 4.73
Friday: 2.25
Saturday: 5.36
Total: 41.89!!!

Total Walked so Far: 293.52
Total Left to walk: 251.48

Which means... I am more than half way there!! Wooo Hooo!

Please Vote for Michael!

2011-07-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

Go Here to vote for Michael!

Thanks! You can go vote everyday in the month of July, so please go back and vote again.

Our Animal Kingdom Lodge Vacation

2011-07-10T18:19:00.000-04:00

This past week, Andrew, Michael and I were at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, FL. We are part of vacation club, and had wanted to go to Hilton Head, but there were no reservations available, so our only option was Orlando. And since I really wanted to go on vacation, we went with what was available. It is no secret that I am not a huge fan of Disney World, especially no in July. So, I made a deal with Andrew, we could go to Orlando, if he agreed that we would do this as cheap as possible and as relaxing as possible. If we had gone to Hilton Head, our days would be spent at the pool or beach, and then going to dinner. That’s It! No running around, no waking up early and staying up late. Just a nice, quiet, relaxing vacation. So, that meant to park tickets and no dining plan. The parks are great, but in July, with a almost 1 year old, it just sounds more miserable than fun. So, Andrew agreed, and we made reservations for the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We got there Saturday evening, and went straight to our room. We had a Savannah view room, and all throughout the week, we saw so many different animals right outside!

Our days consisted of waking up, going to the pool, coming back to the room for a nap, eating lunch, walking around the resort to look at the animals, taking another nap, eating dinner and going to bed. Andrew’s family was also there, but at a different resort, so we met them two different days to swim. As far as vacations with an almost one-year-old go, it was pretty relaxing. We did get up a lot earlier than we usually do on vacation, but that is because a baby will only sleep for so long in the morning.

For the 4^th of July, we spent the morning at the pool and then went to watch the fireworks over the castle from the 11^th floor of Bay Lake Tower. It was a great view.

The best part of this vacation was watching the animals. I could sit and watch them for hours. It was just so neat. My favorite animals were the giraffes. There were about 3 or 4 different ones we saw during the week. The ones we saw the most were the Mama and baby giraffe. The baby was only 11 months old, just like Michael. The zebras were also very cool to watch. One day, as we were walking around we saw 6 or 8 zebras running around a chasing each other. They were running through the ponds and all through the Savannah. Later, we asked a guide about it, and he said that that is what healthy zebras do. If you see them running and are very active, that means they are healthy and happy.

One night, Andrew’s parents asked if they could take Michael with them into the Magic Kingdom and to dinner. We, of course, said that was fine. They were going to the Crystal Palace for a character dinner with Winnie the Pooh and his pals. Michael has never seen any characters, so we weren’t sure how he would react. They said he did fine, and really didn’t pay much attention to them. I am waiting to get the pictures from their camera, and I will post them, when I get them. Andrew’s dad also took a bunch of pictures at the pool, so hopefully I will have those soon also.

This was one of the best “Disney” vacations I have ever had. We would definitely go back, and do the same thing.

11 Months Old

2011-07-07T21:52:00.000-04:00

Michael is 11 months old. I can't believe it. Only one month till he is 1 year old! How did this happen so fast? Here is what Michael is up to at 11 months:

- He now has 8 teeth.

- He is no longer taking a bottle at all. He gets all of his formula in a sippy cup.

- We have started transitioning him from soy formula to milk formula, but have had a little set back. We got to 90% milk based and 10% soy, and he started have some issues, so we are having to go back a little. We are really hoping that he will outgrow his milk allergy.

- He started Walking!!! He took his first steps father's day weekend and since then, he has gotten more and more brave. He still prefers to crawl, or walk if he has something to hold onto.

- He is started to eat a little more table food, but still prefers the purred stuff. Just a few of the foods he has tried are: turkey lunch meat, bacon, tomato, hamburger, french fries, corn bread, and corn.

- He weighs about 23 pounds and is 31 inches tall.

- He is still in size 3 diapers (they last a long time) and wearing size 12-18 month clothes. He has gotten taller, but his weight hasn't changed much, so clothes are just fitting him differently now.

- He still doesn't say "Ma-Ma" on a regular basis. He has said it a few times, but I think it was an accident. He has started saying the "Na" sound and also the "Ba" sound.

- He took his first trip to the zoo this month. He didn't seem to really notice the animals, but he had a good time being pushed around in his stroller.

- He went on a trip to Charleston with all his buddies, and had a great time.

- He also spent a week in Orlando, FL at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

- He celebrated his Daddy's first Father's Day. He got Andrew a new pair of tennis shoes and a card.
- He has started sleeping really well at night again. He is also taking at least one good nap a day.
- We love him more and more everyday, and are so thankful for what a healthy happy baby he is.

Babies Adventure in Charleston

2011-07-01T21:29:00.007-04:00

WARNING: This post has a TON of Pictures

This past week, I spent a fun week in Charleston, with my three best friends, and their babies. We had a great week, just hanging out and spending some great quality time together.

Jessica and I drove down Monday afternoon. What was supposed to be a 3.5-hour drive, turned into a 7-hour drive! We ran into a horrible accident on the interstate, and were stopped in traffic for way too long. Then they detoured everyone through a small town, and that just added to the mess. On top of the wreck, and the detour, both babies (Michael and Lydia) were leaking out of their diapers. It was not a pretty picture. At one point, I got in the back seat, in between the car seats, and tried to keep the babies happy. It worked, but it made for one stressed out Mama.

We finally arrived at Julie's house, to find out that her A/C had gone out, and that we couldn't stay with her. So, we got back in the car, and drove to Jennifer's house. It is a good thing they both live down there, or we would have been getting a hotel room.

Vacationing with 3, one year olds is not exactly what you would call relaxing. It was a lot of fun though. For the most part, we hung around Jennifer’s house.
We did spend some time at the pool, and all of the babies really enjoyed that. Jennifer has a great park near her house, so we spent some time there as well.

We also went to the beach. Our reason was to get pictures of the babies and after about an hour, we were all ready to head back to the house.

The rest of the days was spent coordinating naps and meals. After the babies went to bed each night, we got out the games and had a great time. We laughed so hard!

I love these girls so much, and I am so blessed to have them in my life. I especially love that we are all doing the “Momma” thing together.

And we are WALKING!

2011-06-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, Michael took his first steps! Well, this weekend he is taking more than just 1 or 2 steps! It won't be long till he is walking all over the place!

Walking to the Dream - Week 15, 16, & 17

2011-06-27T09:50:00.002-04:00

Week 15: 19.17

Week 16: 16.29

Week 17: 23.54

Total Walked so Far: 221.66
Total Left to walk: 323.34

Not to shabby! Getting closer each day!

Michael's First Trip to the Zoo

2011-06-22T12:59:00.001-04:00

On Monday, Michael and I met our adoption playgroup at the zoo. Jessica and Lydia came too! It was so hot, but we had a great time. Michael really didn't care much about the animals, but he didn't complain once about being in his stroller.

I know this is just the first of many trips to the zoo for us.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T13:36:00.002-04:00

Happy First Father's Day to my wonderful husband and father of my child. You are a great father to Michael, and he loves you so much.

Also, happy Father's day to my wonderful dad and father-in-law. We love you!

Walking to the Dream - Week 13 & 14

2011-06-10T12:27:00.002-04:00

Week 13
Sunday: 2
Monday: 2.12
Tuesday: 1.95
Wednesday: 2.97
Thursday: 4
Friday: 1.67
Saturday: 1.3
Total: 18.01

Week 14
Sunday: 2
Tuesday: 3.70
Wednesday: 1.95
Thursday: 2.52
Friday: 2.56
Saturday: 2
Total: 14.73

Left to Walk: 382.34

1 Year Ago Today...

2011-06-08T08:12:00.001-04:00

We received the e-mail that changed our life forever.

The subject line read: BABY DUE late July/Early August‏

We responed with a "YES."

From there, things moved very quickly.

We started the journey to our son.

So much can change in a year.

I'm so thankful for that e-mail, and for the journey.

Without it, we wouldn't have our son.

One year ago today, I became an expectant mother!

10 Months Old

2011-06-07T11:02:00.009-04:00

Today, Michael is 10 months old! I know I say this every month, but I can't believe he is already 10 months old. I feel like just last week he was a tiny newborn, and now he is a 22 pound, crawling, little boy.

Here is what Michael is up to at 10 Months old:
- He weighs about 22 pounds and is 30 inches tall
- He is still in size 3 diapers (they last a long time) and wearing size 12-18 month clothes.
- He is crawling everywhere! I can't take my eyes off him for a second.

- We have started saying "NO" a lot around our house. Between Michael wanting to play with the dog food bowls, and open and close the glass doors, we are trying to figure out the best way to discipline our very persistent little boy.

- He pulls himself up on everything, and would really rather walk everywhere than crawl. He even pulls himself up using just the wall, and then walks along it. It won't be long till he is walking.

- He went swimming for the first time. At first he wasn't too sure about it, but he did eventually warm up to it. I have been putting him in the baby pool and he seems to really enjoy that.

- We celebrated my first mother's day, and Michael and Daddy got me a beautiful flower arrangement and a necklace. My boys are good to me! - He loves to laugh, and finds joy in the simplest things.

- Michael's baby dedication was also on Mother's Day. It was such a blessing standing up in front of our church family dedicating Michael to the Lord.

- He still doesn't say "Ma-Ma" and if you tell him to say "Ma-Ma" he says "Da-Da" and smiles. I think he knows what he is doing! He is also saying "dog" and "all done." But mostly he just babbles a lot and it all sounds like "Da-Da."

- He loves to eat! We have tried giving him some table food, but he really doesn't like it. He did eat some hamburger, potatoes, and carrots one night. He is happy to eat his baby food, cheerios, puffs, and veggie straws. I started giving him graham crackers, and he really likes those too.

- His naps are kind of all over the place. One day he will take a 2 hour nap in the morning and a 1.5 hour nap in the after noon. The next day, he will only take one nap, but it will be 2.5 hours. Then one day he will take a 45 minute nap in the morning and then a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. As long as he is getting at least one nap a day, I'm happy.

- He now has 5 teeth and the 6th one will be through any day now.

- Because of the teething, he isn't sleeping too well at night. He goes down around 7:30 and then wakes up usually around 12:30 for more Tylenol, but since he is up, he thinks he needs to eat. We have tried rocking him to go back to sleep, letting him cry, giving him water, but usually the only thing that will get him back to sleep is a bottle. Then he is up again around 5:30 for more Tylenol, and a bottle. Hopefully we will get a break from teething, but it seems just as we are getting back to a normal routine, he starts teething all over again. I know it has to be painful for him, so I do what I can to help his little mouth.

- We just love him so much, and he fills our life with so much joy!

Lovin' the Baby Pool

2011-06-06T16:50:00.002-04:00

Michael loves his baby pool!

Can you tell?

Michael's first Boo-Boo

2011-06-02T12:45:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a first for Michael, he got a boo-boo, and boy did he cry.

Yes, he has had his bumps, and falls, but nothing that left even a scratch or a bruise.

So, we were playing in his baby pool yesterday, and he decided he would stand up, using the side of the pool as his prop. Well, the side of the pool gave way, and he went stumbling over the side. It happened so fast, that I didn't have time to grab him before he went spilling over the edge.

Bless his heart, he has a scraped up nose and his lip was bleeding. He didn't cry for long, and was back playing in no time.

I know this is just the first of many, so I'm preparing myself for what's to come.

Pool Fun!

2011-05-31T08:06:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we took Michael to my parent's pool to go swimming for the very first time. Last summer, he was too little to go swimming.

The water is still a little cold, so we started with me holding him, to get him adjusted to the water temperature.

Then we put him in his float, and he still wasn't too sure about the water. He never did cry, but he never smiled either.

Once Daddy got in the pool with him, he was a little more happy.

He loves his Daddy so so much!

We went again on Monday afternoon, and he liked a lot better the second day. We will be spending lots of time at the pool this summer, so I'm sure he will love it soon enough.

9 Month photo session

2011-05-26T07:22:00.002-04:00

Here are just a few of the pictures from Michael's photo session last week. I can't wait to see all of them. I think this session was the best so far! Thanks Sarah, for capturing these precious moments.

Walking to The Dream - Week 11 & 12

2011-05-25T09:33:00.003-04:00

Week 11
Monday 2.75
Tuesday 1.86
Wednesday 2.75
Thursday 3.21
Friday 2.59
Saturday 3.13
Total 16.29

Week 12

Sunday 2.86
Monday 2.08
Tuesday 1.39
Wednesday 2.51
Thursday 2.71
Friday 2
Saturday 3.47
Total 17.02

Total left to Walk: 415.08

Date Night

2011-05-24T16:37:00.003-04:00

Usually, we are on vacation during the week of our anniversary. This year however, we were not able to go on vacation because of Andrew's job. He gets a dedicated week off for the 4th of July. So, we are just going to go on vacation then, since he will already have the time off. So, that left us trying to figure out what to do for our anniversary. We have a few favorite restaurants that we like to go to for special occasions, but we wanted to try something different this time.

We are always hearing advertisements for this restaurant in Charlotte called 131 Main and the commercials make it sound so good! So we decided to give it a try.

My mom came over to watch Michael for us, and we headed out for a date night. We got to the restaurant a little before 6:00 (I know, very early, but we are getting old and used to eating dinner early with a baby) and were seated right away. There were a few other people in the restaurant but for the most part, it was pretty empty. A guy came up to us right away and took our drink order, brought us our drinks, and then told us that someone else would be our server. Well, 10 minutes went bye before we ever saw another person. Finally, our waitress came over to see if we wanted any appetizers, we did, so we told her what we wanted, and she left. The appetizers came out very quickly, and we still had not given our waitress our dinner order. She came to check on us and see how the appetizers were, and I had to tell her that we were ready to order. For our appetizer we got the cast-iron cornbread and the scallops.

Both were great, but I'm not a huge fan of seafood, so Andrew ate most of the scallops. He said that they were some of the best scallops he has ever had.

Other than the service being not so great, we were very excited about our dinner. Andrew got the crab cakes and I got the ribs. Dinner came out quickly and everything was good, but we were expecting it to be great. I guess our expectations were a little too high. We were planning on getting dessert, but really didn't want to wait for our waitress to come get our order and then have to wait longer for her to bring it. So, we left and and decided we would just go get some ice-cream from Sonic.

I got the hot fudge sundae and Andrew got the caramel sundae. Both were delicious! After that, we headed home. Michael was a sleep when we got home, and mom said that he was the perfect baby for her!
We had a great Anniversary date, but next time, we will probably just go to one of our favorite restaurants instead.

7 Years

2011-05-23T13:59:00.000-04:00

Today, Andrew and I have been married for 7 years!
It's crazy to think about it.
In those seven years we've had some great experiences.
Happy Anniversary babe!
I love you!

JOY

2011-05-20T09:01:00.002-04:00

Here is just a short little video from Michael's 9 month photo shoot with Sarah Hawkins.

She was doing the silliest things to get him to smile.
Seeing the joy and hearing the laughter makes this Mama so happy.

e-mealz

2011-05-16T11:28:00.001-04:00

For the past two weeks, I have been using e-mealz, and I am so happy with it.

Everyday I would ask myself what I was making for dinner, and it seemed like we were having the same thing every single week. So, Andrew has heard about this website, and told me to check it out. I did, and decided it couldn't hurt to sign up for it and just try it for a couple of weeks.

You can sign up by family size and grocery store. I signed up for the Publix family of 2 menu. It gives you 5 meals, with a complete shopping list. The menu uses items that are on sale at Publix that week, and they also give you links to coupons that you can print off line, if there are any available. The weekly menu ranges from $35-$45 for all 5 meals. So far, we have really enjoyed all of the meals. A few of them, we tweaked a little, but for the most part, we have followed the recipe. They also don't repeat the same recipes over and over. There are several months between repeats, which is nice.

It is so nice to walk into the grocery store with a detailed shopping list and I know exactly what we will be eating that week. There is no thinking required, no meal planning on my part, and it just makes my life a little easier.

A lot of people use this to save money. Yes, that is nice, but I am doing it simply to get out of the cooking rut I'm in. We are eating meals that we have never had, and experiencing lots of great new recipes.

Go check it out. They have sample menus to look at, and you can decide if this is something that might actually help your family.

I was just so happy with it, I wanted to share.

My Mother's Day Gift

2011-05-14T16:15:00.001-04:00

I finally got my Mother's Day gift in the mail today.

I love it!
And such a true statement.

Michael's 9 Month Check-Up

2011-05-10T18:27:00.001-04:00

Michael had his 9 month check up today.
Here are his latest stats:
Height: 29 inches 75th percentile
Weight: 22 pounds 75th percentile
Head circumstance: 17.5 inches 26th percentile.

He is right on track developmentally and doing great. I asked how to go about getting him ready for milk when he turns a year, since he is on soy formula right now. She said that we could start transitioning him over to milk based formula, and then start adding whole milk to his diet as long as he does good with the formula. So I will gradually start incorporating milk based formula with his soy and see how that goes. Hopefully he won't have any issues, and we will be able to go straight to whole milk at a year. If anyone has any Experience with this, please let me know how you did this and how it worked for you.

Walking to the Dream Week 9 & 10

2011-05-09T12:20:00.003-04:00

Here are my totals for the last two weeks.

Week 9

Monday 2

Wednesday 3.22

Thursday 2.55

Friday 1.57

Total 9.34

Week 10

Wednesday 3.35

Thursday 4.19

Friday 3

Total 10.54

Total Walked: 19.88

Total left to walk: 448.39

I have got to do better this week.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:00:00.000-04:00

Here is the post I wrote last year on Mother's Day. I went back and read it last night and cried. Thinking back to where we were a year ago, it is amazing to see how far God has brought us.

Last year I was filled with hope.
This year I am filled with joy.
I am a mother!
I have a son!

And today, on my first mothers day, Andrew and I stood in front of our friends, family and church and dedicated Michael to the Lord. Michael is our gift from God that He has entrusted us to care for.
What an honor.
This is not something we take lightly, and we know that this is a huge responsibly.
But it's one that I'm happy to have.
It's something I've wanted for a long time.
I am a mother!

Happy Mother's Day!

Michael is 9 Months Old!

2011-05-07T14:57:00.004-04:00

Taking pictures of a very active 9 month old, in his typical poses, was next to impossible. I know it is only going to get harder from here on out. So, you will see a few of those pictures mixed in.

Here is what Michael is up to at nine months old:

- This has been a big month for Michael, with a lot of firsts!

- He has started talking! Mostly just "Da-Da" but we are working to get him to say "Ma-Ma." It also sounds like he says "hey" but that could just be a coincidence.

- He has started crawling! It started on Friday, April 29th with just a few "steps", but by Monday, he was cruising along.

- He has also mastered pulling himself up. I think that was his main motivation to start crawling. He will crawl over to something, just so he can stand up. I think he will be walking in no time.

- We had to lower his mattress this month. He thinks it is great that he can stand up in his crib now. Every morning when we go in to get him, he is standing up and you can tell he is so proud of himself.

- He has learned how to hold his bottle. It just happened one morning while Andrew was feeding him, and ever since, I just give him the bottle, and he feeds himself. He only gets his formula in a bottle in the morning and at night, every other time, he drinks it from a sippy cup.

- He got his fourth tooth! Hopefully that will be it for a while, and we can all get a break from teething.

- He is still in size 9-12 moths clothes, and in size 3 diapers.

- He hasn't grown much this month, and he is still about 21 pounds and 29.5 inches tall.

- We went on a little vacation to Charleston, SC to see "Auntie" Fer and "Uncle" Doug. It is in Charleston where Michael first crawled. While we were there, we went to the beach one afternoon, and put Michael's toes in the ocean and he seemed to really like it. We also went to an Air Show in Beaufort, SC to see the Blue Angels. Michael loved the airplanes, and couldn't take his eyes off of them.

- His appetite has grown a little bit, and we have increased the amount of solids he eats. One jar just doesn't seem to be enough at meal time. Katie has been making all of this baby food, so we know what he is eating is healthy and not processed.

- He gets more and more fun all the time, and we just love his little personality.