......tidbits of my life

Beautiful Girl

2012-01-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

Santa Claus

2012-01-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

Greyson was on cloud 9 for the day and his prayers were answered. :)

Hummus Boy x2

2012-01-29T20:36:00.001-05:00

Greyson and I were skyping our friends and towards the end he got hungry. While I was finishing up the conversation, he swiped the hummus from the refrigerator and dug right in not waiting for me to help him. He just used his hand as a scoop and went to town devouring it! He LOVES that stuff. Then he went in the bath, clothes and all, and turned on the shower "to cwean myself."

I love my boy! Oh, and by the way, he truly has given up his pacifier on his own. I can't believe it! He has been sleeping fine.

2012-01-28T13:11:00.001-05:00

This is crazy.

1. Stare at the red dot on the girl's nose for 30 secs.

2. Look to the ceiling or another plain white surface

3. blink rapidly. Cool huh?

*Try again if you don't see a crystal clear image! The first time I thought it was neat, and then I did it again and I was like "WHOAH!"

Addelyn's 4 month stats

2012-01-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

We went to Addy's 4 month appointment today and here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs, 70th percentile
Length: 25 3/4 inches, 80th percentile
Head circumference: 16 inches, between 25-50th percentile

*She is really 4.5 months, so I know her percentiles are a little off because this is based on her being only 4 months.

Love my little crawler!

"THROW AWAY PACI'S MAMA!"

2012-01-26T22:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here I go again with another parenting issue: THE PACIFIER. I know I probably should have given up Greyson's pacifier already before it is too hard to take away, but... I haven't. He only gets it in his bed and it has been that way since he was a baby. It was too hard for me to take it away earlier when I didn't think he would understand what I was doing or why I was doing it.

Soooooo, my friend called me today and we were talking on the phone about how she decided to take away her son's pacifier today. She asked me when I was going to take away Greyson's and how I was going to do it. It honestly has been on my mind for months, but with so many changes (Addy coming, transition to the bed, vacation plans, moving soon), I thought I would hold off a little longer. Well, Greyson was right beside me when I told my friend a possible plan. I told her that since he sleeps in the crib at night right now but still LOVES the big boy bed that maybe I will tell him he can sleep in the big boy bed at night (and not just for naps) once he decides to give up his pacifiers.

Greyson must have been paying attention because tonight when I was putting him to bed in the crib he yelled, "THROW AWAY PACI'S MAMA!"

Um, come again? What? Your beloved pacifiers? In the trash?

He then proceeded to collect them and run in the kitchen and chuck them in the trash can.

Seriously, was it really going to be this easy? I have worried about this for months, and could this really be it?!?

I thought surely he doesn't know what he is doing. We talked about it and he assured me he wanted to throw his pacifiers away so he could sleep in the big boy bed at night too.

I just decided to go with it, and I let him get in the bed. Sure enough, he let me sing some songs to him, say a prayer, and he just waved goodbye to me and fell right asleep. No issues at all.

I think it was so easy for him because it was HIS decision not mine. Although I am very excited he chose to give it up, I am also nervous about tonight. I hope he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night and regret his decision. I am not expecting this to be completely easy. I mean I thought the big boy bed transition was easy peasy, and it was for a few weeks until he was all of a sudden afraid of ghosts being in his room and started waking at night. So I realize even if tonight goes well, the giving up the paci thing might not be over. Time will tell! :) Wish me luck!!!

P.S. On a side note, I am SO grateful Addy is okay!!! We had a suffocation scare tonight and I am still really shaken up about it. I am giving her lots of extra kisses and snuggles tomorrow.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

2012-01-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

Greyson's usual prayer requests:

"Pease no ghosts inside the house."

"Pease no ghosts outside either."

Tonight he added a new one. Right before bed I told him that tomorrow he could go get his face painted at the mall. He LIT UP with excitement!

So in his prayers he added, "Pease help my face be Santa Claus and mama's too. And mine's eyes look like Santa's too and mama's too."

I about busted out laughing. So I guess he is getting his face painted as Santa tomorrow (and hopefully he will forget about wanting my face painted to look like Santa too!).

*I think he was thinking about Santa because tonight he was watching a TV show and a man had a beard and he shouted, "Santa!" when he saw it.

Nah, Mine's Barefoot Pease

2012-01-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

Three times to the gym, and I can already tell a difference.... in my belly, mood, patience, everything!

These days we spend a lot of time outside on the balcony with the doors open waiting for Addy to wake up. We were given a ladybug costume and it was love at first sight for Grey Bear. He sure loves to dress up.

My little ladybug went to check the mail for me. "Mines got a present Mama!"

Baby Sister has been gobbling up oatmeal before she goes to bed. She is a very neat eater and she is proud of it (do I need to say just kidding or is it obvious enough?). :)

We went to the same park two days in a row and Greyson just loves it there. He runs around free as a bird. When I was getting ready to put his shoes on he said, "Nah, Mine's barefoot pease." The "pease" sealed the deal, and barefoot he was.

Its a small world! I ran into an old college friend who I didn't even know lived in South Florida!

Bless them. They are pretty dang good at sharing.

Its been a happy Tuesday and I can't wait for the kiddos to wake up so we can go have some more fun! {See working out makes me SO happy!}

Salted Caramel Cheesecake and LIFE

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

It is a good thing I take pictures because otherwise I would have no clue what we do on the weekends. Really, anytime I talk to my friends on Monday and they ask, "So what did you do this weekend?" I got nothin'. Can't remember one darn thing we did. I only took pictures of Saturday evening so I couldn't tell you what we did during the day, but that night we went to a farewell party for our friends the Guffey's.

Greyson was stoked to ride the motorcycle. He took it rather seriously.

Here's Cami and her baby who is just about the same age as Addy.

Greyson always gets all the attention at the park, but recently I have been putting Addy in the swings too and she loves it! There was a swing in Barb's backyard so I let Addy try it out.

I CAN'T wait to have a backyard for Greyson in TX. He loves motorized trucks/cars that other kids have. He was quite smitten again today by one at a birthday party. One day Grey Bear, one day!

Oh, now I remember what I did Saturday. Well, in the morning I went to the gym for the second time in 2.5 years. I am so excited and hope I can start going more! I told Alex I will be a new wife! :) Now that I have a work out buddy, my friend Rachael, I think I will actually try and get in shape.

In the afternoon I made this amazing dessert that I found on pinterest. Side note: I think it would be fun (if I had the time) to start a blog where I just test out things on pinterest for people so you know which recipes, projects, and kids' crafts are worth the time. Well, I have one for you that is worth the cost and time: Salted Caramel Cheesecake. I have never made cheesecake from scratch. This was delicious and I just polished off the rest of it this morning. While I am on the pinterest subject, another recent hit was this art project for Greyson. So easy, cheap, and fun!

Does anyone else go nuts adding things to an online shopping cart? It all started because I have a $10 gift card to use at Gap. Then I saw you have to spend $50 to get free shipping and one thing led to another and before I knew it I had $364 of baby Gap merchandise in the checkout! So in the end I didn't get a single thing.

Grey Bear had a little cough on Sunday and I didn't want to infect other kids in the nursery so I stayed home from church with the kids. Grey Bear had a BALL pushing Addy in the umbrella stroller. He has been wanting to do this since the very day I brought her home from the hospital, so I finally let him.

She was just as calm and relaxed as can be as big brother pushed her back and forth, back and forth, over and over again.

She loves this horse jumper SO much. She basically loves any activity where she is able to move!

This shows Greyson in all his glory! We were on the way out the door this morning and he was running up and down the balcony shouting, "going to park ADDY!!!" (He loves to tell her what we are doing). I just thought it was precious and wanted to capture it!

Lastly, a little sleep update on Greyson. I have never heard of anyone doing what we do, but it works great since both the crib and twin bed fit in his room and we don't feel rushed to have him sleep in the big bed at night. Anyway, what we are doing now is letting him take his naps in the big boy bed and at night he sleeps in his crib tent. He still sleeps with lights on and the door open. It is a win win situation and everyone is getting sleep now. Greyson was just too scared in his bed at night even though he loved his new bed. So, I just decided it would be best if he went back to the crib for nights. I was nervous that he would cry for his bed the first night, but I think after explaining it to him all day he understood that he was going to go back in the crib and he didn't put up a fight at all. I think he feels more secure closed in. Naps are great because he LOVES that I let him sleep in the bed for naps. I put the timer on the clock so it turns green after two hours, and so far for three days in a row he has slept past the clock turning green, almost three and a half hours. He has woken up before it turned green once, but saw that it wasn't time to get up so he went back to sleep on his own for another hour and a half! I will quit recommending that clock, but seriously, I LOVE it and he does too. He is so proud telling us he slept until the clock turned green (although he is still upset that only the outside of the clock turns green and the middle is still "lellow"). There ya have it, a very-not-so-succinct update on the whole situation. :) I am happy and so is he so life is good.

A Better Day

2012-01-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

Oops, I just read my last post. I think I had a bit of an attitude. :) Sorry if I offended anyone who "loves every single second with their kids." :) I think anyone who says that doesn't mean it literally, they just mean they really love being a stay-at-home-mom which I REALLY LOVE too! Of course not every moment of every day is perfect, but it is a great life I have and I am blessed with two really cute and adorable kids. I had a rough week when he wasn't sleeping well, and then a hard two days this week for no apparent reason, but I am in a much better mood today.

I just want to say, although Greyson grew like a weed his first year of life, he now has been able to wear almost all the same clothes for a year now! See, look at this picture from when he was 14 months old:

Granted, this particular outfit was too big for him at the time, but look at a recent picture of him in the pants:

And here is today in with the same shirts on:

Crazy huh? He has been in size 2T forever, but thank goodness he gets good use out of his clothes now!

We had a great time at the park today and I decided to bring my DSLR camera since it has been neglected lately.

Greyson was so funny and if his two playmates weren't beside him he would say, "Mom, I need the kids!" :)

Greyson learns things so quickly just by observing. Last time we were at this park about a week or so ago he was intently watching some older kids swing. I guess he noticed how they were pumping their legs, because I definitely didn't teach him! Today just out of the blue, he started pumping his legs like a big ol' boy!

Of course he picks up the dangerous tricks from the older kids too. :)

Here is Addy Rae, who had a great time at the park as well. She will be awake and happy as can be on the go even when I know if we were at home she would be sleeping. She does NOT want to miss a thing. The only problem is it means we can't stay out for hours and hours because she does eventually get tired. :)

Greyson loves having a sister. He constantly wants to play with her and show her things. "Look, golfers outside Addy!" he'll shout anytime there are golfers in our "backyard." He has recently started carrying her across the house if he wants to show her something. This worries me in case he were to fall accidentally so I am always RIGHT beside him holding her arm when he does this. He also says "play Addy?" the second he wakes up, and if she is still asleep he says, "AW MAN!" He also loves to make her happy and will say, "Addy happy now!" after he makes her smile. Another thing he says to her all the time is, "dance party Addy?" I am SO thankful he loves her and treats her so kindly now because that first month was hard!

Grey Bear is awake now and his clock should turn green any minute so gotta go! That clock is the best thing ever I am tellin' ya! He stays put in his room until it turns green even for naps.

Carpe Diem?

2012-01-19T09:50:00.001-05:00

I started this post yesterday, and I am finishing it today.

Moments from today....

1. Greyson had a playmate, Elle, over. We were hanging out in his room when he looked at Elle and said "get in bed with me" and then turned to me and said "close the door mom." UM, what? Ha!

2. I went from one thing to another and did not stop moving for one second today. Seriously, not once. I am now sitting down for the first time and I am so wasted tired I don't know how I am going to get my butt up to go to cooking club. I was a little bit of a frazzled mama today. Whenever I try and do a little too much (aka two outings, homemade meal from scratch and dessert from scratch, and the list goes on) I don't think straight and run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Tomorrow is going to be the opposite and I am ready to embrace it!

3. Speaking of that dinner and dessert they were both great. I have made the dessert a lot. Tonight for cooking club the theme is "husband's choice" and Alex loves pudding desserts and this is one of his favorites.

Even though I am on a crockpot kick (because it is about 8 billion times easier for me to prepare dinner in the morning than at 5 pm), usually crockpot meals are just okay. Lately though, crockpot meals are proving me wrong, one great meal at a time! I think I am getting the hang of it and the secret is don't overcook your chicken in the crockpot!!! With the chicken recipes you want to stop cooking it as soon as it is cooked through so it won't be too dry. For the beef recipes, the longer you cook it, the better! Anyway, my latest crockpot meal was this thai peanut chicken recipe, and I was expecting it to be just okay, but I really loved it. I have never made a homemade thai peanut sauce and it was SO easy and delicious. Don't skimp on anything- make sure you add the FRESH ginger and cilantro.

4. I felt like I didn't give Greyson enough one on one attention today. The poor thing was climbing all over me while I was trying to write a few (overdue) thank you cards, and I just kept saying, "I will play with you soon." Finally before bed (while Alex was in clinic still), he turned to me in the sweetest voice and said, "DANCE PARTY!" There were a million and one things I "had to do", but thankfully, I pushed them aside and shouted, "let's do it!" We threw cushions off the couch and jumped around all crazy and sang to my most favorite child cd in the entire world. We put Addy in the horse jumper and she pretty much had the best 30 minutes of her existence. She loves that thing.

5. I read this article and I just want to say amen (to most of it at least). I DO cherish and love my kids to death and I do feel like I "seize the day" a lot, but ya know what, sometimes it is just plain hard. I wish people would acknowledge that more. I can't tell you how many times I have read on a stay-at-home-mom's blog description something along the lines of, "I stay homes with my kids and I love every second of it." Really? Every single second? In all honesty, I was lucky and didn't have a hard transition being a mother to Greyson, and I was pretty close to loving it all, but still, there were still some frustrating moments and I didn't love literally every single second (like when I tried to get rid of his pacifier at 2 months old). I feel like some first-time moms have a hard time because they have an unrealistic perception of what being a mom will be like. For me, I had a wake up call when I had two kids. I thought, "I got this. One was fine, what's one more?" Yeah, it was a hard transition, even with Addy being labeled "an easy baby." I am getting used to it now, but I still have bad days too, like, uh remember last week! Anyway, with that being said, hard days included, there is nothing I love more than my two kids and I am so incredibly blessed and grateful to have two such sweet spirits in my life. *Also, I want to add, I do get why a lot of moms focus on the good stuff when they blog despite having hard days, because really, of course, we want to focus on the good and remember the fun times not the hard times!

6. When I was saying a prayer with Greyson before he went to bed tonight he interrupted me with "and pray no ghosts here!" So I said, "And Heavenly Father, please help Greyson to know there are no ghosts in his room and to feel safe tonight." He then interrupted me again and said, "and no ghosts outside either!!!" So I said, "And help Greyson to know there are no ghosts outside either." Greyson then sat back satisfied and said, "AMEN!"

7. I thought the sleepless nights with Greyson were over, but alas, 3 steps forward, one step back. Last night he woke up with a croupy cough. I have no idea how he got it, but I hope he gets better soon.

8. I have preached this before, but I have to say again, get professional prints! They make such a difference. I did an experiment and ordered the same picture through snapfish, costco, and WHCC (a professional company) and the differences were astounding. If I feel ambitious I will take pictures of the prints and post them so you can see the difference.

9. Here is a picture from a few weeks ago I don't think I shared of these best buds. Since they were only 10 months old one of their favorite things to do is jump in eachothers' cribs. {Of course their third wheel is missing}.

10. And since 10 seems like a good number to end on I will end here. I have had some people asking about spring photo sessions and I have 2 definite spots left: Feb 18th and April 7, so let me know if you are interested.

My Sanity is Back

2012-01-17T22:16:00.001-05:00

I like numbering posts that are super random...so here it goes!

1. I truly have felt God's love for me recently. I know we all have good days and bad days, and I sure was having one bad day after another with Greyson's sleeping problem last week. Things got better on Saturday, and by Sunday he was waving goodbye to us when we left the room happy as can be. I think really trying hard to be consistent helped. We also let him sleep with a light on and his door open. It is really bright in there, but hey, if that is how he sleeps all night long and takes long naps, then fine! I feel like overcoming this trial gave me a new perspective on a lot of things and has really made me very grateful for all my blessings. I came home from church on Sunday and just crashed for two hours straight (and the kids took super long naps too) and I woke up a new person.

Ya know, some people would give anything to have little feet coming to wake them up at night, and I tried to remember that despite my complaining last week.

2. So this is random. Desseret News used a photo I took without my permission (or the family's permission). The picture is the bottom left here.

3. Ya know how sometimes people are like oh I am famous because my sister's boyfriend's second cousin's aunt's mom is a celebrity. Ok, well maybe people don't do that. I think this is the closest I will get: Lauren Conrad put a link on her blog to The Girl Who Ate Everything's bruchetta chicken, whom I have taken family photos for twice. In fact, a photo from her first session is the one that was used illegally above. You are probably thinking, "who cares!", but back in my TV watchin' days, The Hills was my guilty pleasure so that got me excited for Christy (The Girl Who Ate Everything)! At least Meaghan will appreciate this!

4. And lastly, some recent photos of the kids:

I couldn't resist doing this when Grey wasn't around (I don't want him getting any ideas).

Baby sister is trying to crawl. She's not there yet, but so close! She can army crawl though.

I asked Greyson one day last week what he wanted to do while Addy napped. His reply, "Sit on porch in chair. Cut Mine's hair."

Wish granted. I had actually just cut it while Meaghan was here, but I just cut it a bit more.

I was taking Addelyn's picture and Greyson ran up and wanted to be included. He had just used the bathroom, hence, the missing pants. :) He is always asking to "play with Addy" which means he wants them both to lay on their bellies and look at her baby toys together.

Cute story: So Addy doesn't usually cry for naps (because she loves her paci!), but one nap she was crying right after I put her down. Grey was very concerned, and then, boom, he started SPRINTING to her door and shouting along the way, "SHE NEEDS MORE SONGS MOM!" Precious! *When Grey was having trouble last week going to sleep he was always frantically asking for us to sing "just one more song" so I guess he thought his little sister needed the same.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Shut up. Just look at those shoes mom. Mines want those!!!"

Have a good week everyone!

Before and After

2012-01-16T19:25:00.001-05:00

While Meaghan was here and we took our fabulous trip to the goodwill (ya know the one where I scored my awesome designer jeans), we also picked these up. They are the things you would put a curtain rod in (don't know the name). We painted them white and put one in Addy's room and one in Greyson's.

Here is the one in Greyson's room. {Excuse all the poor quality pictures. I didn't feel like editing the white balance}.

Oopsie, some of the pictures are crooked. Do me a favor and ignore that too!

And here is the other one in Addy's room, with a more distressed look:

It is actually very useful. It is a perfect holder for a chew toy for her while I change her diaper so she doesn't do flips. As soon as we are done it goes back in its spot for the next diaper change. :)

If I was alone at the Goodwill I never would have thought to buy those! It was handy having Meaghan there. She would pick up different objects and explain how to re-purpose them. No joke, she had a crowd of like 5 people dripping on every word she was saying!

Greyson and Addy's rooms have changed quite a bit since I last shared, so when I get a chance I will show their updated rooms.

Recipe lovin'

2012-01-14T19:44:00.000-05:00

I tried lots of new recipes over the break.

These were my favorites:

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits. These were awesome with grilled chicken, stuffing, and a fresh salad. I had them at my mom's in NC and knew I would make them ASAP when I got to Florida. Alex said, "This was the best dinner ever!"

7up biscuits. This vacation was the first time I think I have ever bought bisquick in my life. It has come in handy. These biscuits were so buttery and delicious straight out of the oven. Mine looked absolutely nothing like the picture (they were very sticky looking), but when they tasted that good, who cares what they look like!

French Toast with Caramel Sauce. This was my favorite breakfast I have ever had. Like ever. Next time I will make eggs or something with protein to go with it because it was definitely basically dessert for breakfast. I totally screwed up the caramel sauce because I forgot to add the heavy cream slowly, but it still was SO good. I am not a syrup girl at all. I eat plain eggo waffles every morning, but I was drenching my french toast with this stuff. Delish!!!! I forgot to add the bacon until the last piece, but to me, it didn't really need it. I also will make fresh whip cream next time I make these, and yes, there will be a next time very soon! Lastly, I made it with fresh Italian bread from the bakery.

Bacon Avocado Fried Egg Sandwich. Sounds weird, but it was good. I can't find the recipe, but you don't really need one. Here is a picture from my pinterest board.

Christmas morning pie. It doesn't have to be Christmas to make this egg pie. Alex made this for us and it was one of my favorite egg dishes I have had.

Buttermilk pie. I ate the whole thing in two days (with a little help from Alex). SO good.

Dijon chicken linguine with mushrooms. The bomb.

Pistachio cupcakes. Divine. Inhaled instantly. Added 1/2 tsp almond extract to frosting.

Honey Garlic Chicken. I've never really liked cooking chicken in the crock pot because I think it is always so dry. I had never tried cooking chicken thighs in the crockpot (or at all for that matter), and these were really tasty. I will definitely be cooking this again.

I shared the next two on separate posts already, but in case you missed it these were both AWESOME dinners.

Slow cooker shredded Korean beef tacos. and Bacon Tomato and Arugula Pizza.

I didn't know how good I had it

2012-01-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

*In case you missed my post from earlier this week here is a summary: Greyson used to sleep 12 straight hours at night, and starting this week he does not. I am sleep deprived.

I will never, ever ever take for granted children that are easy sleepers. Not only has Greyson's problem gotten worse, it has now manifested itself with his naps. He gets FRANTIC when I leave the room. I am at my wit's end. I read all kinds of sleep books when Greyson was a baby because I was determined I was going to have an awesome sleeper, and I did... until this week. I didn't know what was coming my way a week ago. My friends used to come to me with baby sleep questions and I felt like I always knew how to help them, and now the joke is on me. I understand why people aren't doing the best things to get their kids to sleep better because they are so tired themselves they can't even think straight or put forth the extra effort to be consistent. I know he is not ready to give up his nap as some have suggested to me. He is not only more tired, he is WASTED. He has always needed way more sleep than kids his age. He has now had two days where he has only slept 45 minutes for his nap because he wakes up frantic when I am not there at the door. He used to sleep for three hours, ask to go to bed by himself, and not make a peep when I put him in the crib (or even his bed the first few weeks he had it). Now everything is the opposite. The nights are getting worse too.

My Friday Night:

6:15 pm: Addy asleep for the night
7:30 pm: Grey asleep for the night
9 pm: mama goes to bed, but has greyson's monitor on so I could hear his every move and I was sleeping on edge only half asleep. Not a good solid sleep.
12 am: alex comes to bed and it wakes me up (not his fault, I am a crazy light sleeper) to where I can't go back to sleep. Plus I have a bad headache from sleep deprivation.
1 am: I fall asleep. finally.
1:09 am: Addy wakes up. I go pop in her pacifier and she is out immediately. I probably didn't have to go in there but I jumped up and went in before I even thought about it.
1:45 am: Greyson up screaming and frantic yelling for me to stand by the door. I go to comfort him and tell him I can't stand by the door all night and leave.
2:00 am+: Greyson starts running out of his room now for me. He has never done this when the yellow clock is in there. He is taking the game to a new level. *Although we got rid of his clock for one night since that was casting the ghost shadows, he then didn't know when it was okay to come out. So we put it back in but in a different spot that doesn't cast shadows anymore.
2:05 am: I zip him up in his crib tent and tell him I love him and goodnight. He is screaming bloody murder and does for about 5 minutes.
2:10 am until 3:30 am: he is awake in the crib, but not screaming.... just not sleeping.
3:30 am: he yells "pee pee!" his magic ticket out of the crib. I take him to the bathroom (he really did have to go a lot), and he is frantically begging me to go back in the big boy bed. Since it has now been almost 2 hours and he did not sleep at all in the crib I give it a try. I told him if he came out one time he would go back in the crib. He asks for me to stand by the door, sing songs, etc. the whole bit. I tell him no, it is the middle of the night and he needs to go back to sleep (am I being insensitive?!?). He goes right to sleep on his own.
4:00 am: Addy wakes up. I nurse her and change her diaper. She is back asleep by 4:15 am.
4:15 am-5:00 am: I try to sleep. I am EXHAUSTED by this point. I have a splitting headache. Finally around 5 I drift to sleep.
6:00 am: Greyson ran into our room. I tell him the light is not green yet and take him back to his room. Technically I should have put him in the crib because I told him if he came out again before the light was green that was where he was going. See, I realize this looking back but I was so tired in the moment I couldn't think straight. I put him back in the bed and again didn't give into all his requests to stand by the door and lay with him, etc. {I can't stay with him in his room even if I wanted to because I can't hear Addy from his room}. He immediately falls asleep with no help again.
7:07 am: He comes to us saying, "the light is green! wake up!" Alex gets up with him.
8:15 am: my wake up call... Addy is up.

I NEED SLEEP.

My nights used to be:
7 pm: both kids asleep for the night.
9 pm: I go to sleep.
wake up once during the night to nurse Addy and go right back to sleep.
7 am: up for the morning when Grey gets up.

Wow. I miss those nights. Maybe the big boy bed was a mistake, but at this point he doesn't sleep in the crib either. He did great in it the first few weeks and it was like all of a sudden out of nowhere he became scared of "ghosts." He now says over and over "no ghosts outside" because we have told him so many time there are no ghosts outside or in his room. I read online that you shouldn't just tell kids monsters or ghosts aren't real that you should acknowledge the fear and do something about it. A lot of parents suggest "ghost spray" where you fill a spray bottle with water to get all the ghosts out before you go to bed. That sounds like a crazy idea to me and that you are acknowledging that there is something to be afraid of in the room. Anyone have any thoughts on that?!? But if it really works and makes him feel safe then I would be willing to try it. I just don't want to make his fears worse. At this point I would be willing to have him sleep in a bed on the floor in our room, but we don't have a single inch of space for that either. You get desperate when you need sleep.

*Oh and I think he could be waking up from bad dreams. Two nights ago when I went in he was telling me, "mom in car. car stop fast. greyson cry." It turns out he was telling me how he dreamed we got in a car wreck.

Despite my crankiness we have had some fun times this week. My point and shoot camera is getting lots of use and I have used it non-stop since I got it! :) It is very convenient and saves me lots of time.

He is so sweet with her!!!

She looks just like Greyson in this pic below.

Watching big brother play trains intently.

Meaghan Takes Florida!

2012-01-12T13:58:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was just another normal day... UNTIL I talked to Meaghan in the afternoon and one thing led to another until we decided she should come visit me the very next day! So Thursday morning she hopped on a plane to see me and my little family. We had the best time.

Before I talk about our visit, I just have to say Meaghan is one of my very best friends from NC and I have missed her dearly here in Florida! She always puts others first and would do anything for her friends and family. Here are some pictures from our former days.

roughin' it at girl's camp as leaders:

a girl's trip to Asheville, NC

I don't know where we are here. The movies maybe?

She visited me a month after I first moved to Florida, almost 4 years ago!

We met when Alex and I were newlyweds and I had lots of spunk, spontaneity, and a care-free attitude. She was my TJ Maxx shopping partner in crime in NC. I miss those days. When she was here I realized how boring I have become and she helped bring out my old, more relaxed and fun self (which quickly left when she did haha- see my last post if you don't know what I am talking about, but I am in a much better mood today).

Here she is fresh off the plane meeting Miss Addy Rae. I didn't get a picture of her and Greyson but I have to say they were two peas in a pod. Greyson took to her immediately and loved all the attention she gave him.

I know I said I was done with the modeling stuff. It really is just too much work to take the kids alone to Miami. I was sort of bummed though because I missed a guaranteed Carters' shoot (big bucks) on Wednesday for both kids because I didn't check my e-mail and my agent needed me there ASAP. I wasn't about to rush out the door that second with both kids alone because I knew the stress wouldn't be worth it. So when another opportunity for a French catalog came up for Friday and I knew I would have the help of Meaghan I decided to go for it. It was the easiest casting call and it took 2 seconds. The only problem is they asked where my photo of Addy was. Um, my agent never told me to bring one and I saw all the other moms came with photos of their kids so I don't know if she will get it now. We'll see.

While in Miami we ventured down the shops at Lincoln Rd. and let Greyson run around and play.

Twinners in our matching sunglasses from Scotland!

Yes, Meaghan was there to take a photo but we opted for the self-timer. And yes, I usually look homeless just FYI and not put together at all.

I don't know why I didn't bring the double stroller but after awhile I decided to put Grey Bear in the stroller instead and he had a ball in there!

We almost didn't wait around for Shake Shack to open, but I am glad we did. Once again, it did not disappoint. The burgers there are my all time favorites. Greyson inhaled the burger and fries and asked for more immediately. He seriously can eat as much if not more than me when he really likes a meal.

Saturday morning we took Greyson on a fun bike ride. I loved showing her our new route to the park and we had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect and not too hot!

Saturday afternoon Miss DYI queen and I went to the goodwill for a mission to find a frame for a project. We never found one, but I scored TWO pairs of designer jeans for $11 total! I was just walking by the jeans, and a "7 for all mankind" red tag caught my eye. I tried them on and they fit perfectly! I couldn't believe it. They were brand new and looked like they had never been worn once. My old ones had just gotten a hole in the knee a week ago from being on my knees all the time with having kids. Alex told me to get a new pair last week and I was like "no way they cost like $200!" {I had lucked out and found my original pair for only $30 at TJ Maxx on triple clearance years ago}. Anyway, I was stoked, so I went through the jeans again, and found another pair of designer jeans for $6! I picked them up and didn't recognize the brand, but I told Meaghan, "I just know these are designer jeans. I can just tell by the quality!" I went home and looked them up on the internet and I found a pair that brand that retailed for $374!!! They fit me great too. Yay, no more having to squeeze my 15 lb larger self into my before kid jeans! Um, whoever is willingly dropping off your designer clothes at the goodwill near my house in perfect condition, keep it up! We had another fun find that will be a post all on its own! :)

That night Meaghan babysat so we could go on a date! Yay! {FYI, those one of the new pairs of jeans)

Sunday morning I had Meaghan snap a few pictures of Addelyn and I.

I was true to my no-baking-but-Sunday rule. I made these dynamite pistachio cupcakes (recipe coming soon). I added a tiny bit of almond extract (1/2 tsp) to the frosting, and these tasted just like Almond Pistachio Blue Bell ice cream. BTW, Grey is doing great in nursery now (well, because Paul has been there every Sunday).

Sunday night Meaghan and I stayed up late acting like hooligans and having a blast because she was going to have to fly home the next day. Long story short, she ended up staying an extra day and we loved the extra time. She treated us to (in her words) Pei Weis (she thinks there is an "s" on the end bless her soul).

We had a great visit, made lots of memories, and I can't wait until we can get together again.

I have to VENT

2012-01-11T12:11:00.001-05:00

I feel like a bad mom right now. I don't know how other moms handle night wakings with their kids and then just go about their business the next day like everything is normal. How come I can't handle it? I am seriously an emotional wreck.

I don't know if I am lucky or if it is normal or what.... but as I have said a billion times, Greyson has always been an amazing sleeper, sleeping at least 12 straight hours at night, and never waking up at all at night unless we were on vacation (which has always been hard for me to handle). So since he was 3 and a half months old I have very rarely ever had to check on him at night. It is what I am accustomed to, so anything other than that totally THROWS ME OFF and I don't act like myself. Seriously, how do other moms do it? How are you guys so patient? I feel so inadequate right now.

Well, the first few weeks he was doing great in his big boy bed. I would hear him wake up early occasionally (like at 5:30 or 6:00!), but he would stay in his bed and not get out until the light turned green on his clock.

Well, Monday night, two nights ago, we started having problems. He would get frantic as we would leave his room to tell him goodnight saying that there are ghosts outside and that he sees ghosts at night. I want him to feel safe and secure and not be scared, but I think there is a fine line between reinforcing his behavior by giving him attention, and comforting him until he goes to sleep. I don't know what to do!

He woke up twice two nights in a row. I have talked to a few moms and they act like their toddlers wake up twice every night too. Is this normal? Why doesn't anyone talk about it? I asked my friend that and she said because it isn't a big deal. Why am I abnormal then that I can't handle something as simple as my toddler waking up twice because he is scared?!? Why can't I just have a normal day the day after if he does this? I seriously feel like a crazy person right now.

Solutions?!? I don't know. What I have been doing is standing at the door until he falls asleep again, but inevitably, as soon as he notices I am not standing there he freaks out until I come back in and stand by the door. I am delirious right now. My friend had a suggestion and I think I might do this. I can give Greyson the choice of Alex (temporarily) sleeping in his twin bed and Greyson going back in the crib, or Grey can stay in his twin bed that he loves so much as long as he quits calling out at night. I feel bad though because I don't want him to feel scared and feel like he can't get any comfort from me if he truly is terrified, but I can't last another night standing by his door off and on for an hour! What do I do?!? Alex has been wanting to bring him in the bed with us, which I don't really want to do, but last night I was desperate and gave it a try, but Greyson has never spent a night in the bed with us, so it is so foreign to him and he can't sleep. He laid their quietly, but was wide awake, and eventually Alex just brought him back to his own bed.

I think what scared him to begin with was his clock that he started out loving. He has never had a nightlight in his room so having that glowing clock casts shadows on his wall which I think are the "ghosts" he is seeing. I have tried explaining to him the shadows are not ghosts and making them a fun game, but it didn't matter last night. Also, he was religious about staying in his bed until the clock turned green, but since the clock was scaring him I got rid of it last night, so he didn't know when it was okay to come out of his room, so he came out both times when he woke up.

Why is my child's sleep such a big influence on my life and mood when it doesn't seem to affect others! I just don't get it and I feel very alone and hopeless right now. Thank goodness Addy is doing great at night because I would really lose it if she were up too. I am pretty sure this post made no sense and has 900 grammatical errors because I am so tired. I should have used this time while both kids are napping to sleep but I just had to put my thoughts out there. I can handle almost anything as long as I feel well-rested, but everything is just so hard for me when I am tired. Off to try and get some sleep.

Addy Rae is 4 Months!

2012-01-10T13:25:00.001-05:00

No, this can't be happening! It can't already be 1/3 of the way until her first birthday!!! We love our Addelyn SO much. In fact, so much that I had the CRAZY thought that I should have another baby ASAP because I already miss her being an infant. I pushed that crazy thought RIGHT out of my mind when I thought realistically. :) There is no way on earth I am capable of taking care of two children while being sick and pregnant. At least not while they are this young. And with the big move coming up... no way!

Oops, my ADD took over. Okay, back on to the topic at hand, Addy is 4 months! And we love her.

She is 15 lbs and 25 inches long, both between the 25th and 50th percentiles. (Wow, really? I love having a smaller baby!)

She talks and coos and is the sweetest thing ever.

I haven't really started giving her any baby food yet, and I am not in a hurry like I was at Greyson. I say "really" because I sort of cheated once and gave her a taste of my breakfast. *Post edit, I have a few more times at dinner but I am going to hold off for a bit because she had a mild eczema outbreak on her legs, back, and belly one night after eating some food.

Speaking of eczema, besides that one little outbreak, her skin has been flawless the last month. I put moisturizing creams on her religiously throughout the day even when I think she doesn't need it to keep her skin looking great. I've decided to stay away from any of the steroid creams for her and take a more natural approach and it has worked just fine. I have been using organic coconut oil on her before I put on her PJ's at night and she stays moisturized all night long. I love that stuff! She is a little greasy butter ball after I put it on. :) Whether or not your baby has dry skin I recommend it!

She was an awesome nighttime sleeper from birth until she was about 2 and a half months, with many 10 consecutive sleep hour nights. Then she was a terrible night sleeper for about three weeks waking every 2-4 hours at night (the eczema maybe!?). Now she is pretty good again. She goes down around 7:00 or 7:30 for the night and will wake up once during the night to nurse, occasionally twice, before waking for good around 8:00 or 9:00. Last night her waking wasn't until 4 AM. Yay! At this age Greyson was sleeping 12 straight hours, but I have learned I can't get frustrated because she isn't Greyson! :)

She takes four naps a day (no set times, just when she is tired), all usually just over an hour. Sometimes she will bust out a two hour nap.

She loves her exersaucer and horse jumper toy. She loves playing with toys she can hold and chew on.

She loves Greyson. Every night he cuddles her in the bed while we read him stories and sing to him. They both love it. Grey loves when she "kisses" his face, aka nose dives into him and slobbers all over him. He thinks it is so funny and tries to get her to do it repeatedly.

Somehow she gets around. She isn't crawling, but between rolling and scooting she ends up on opposite ends of the crib every time and scoots all around her pack 'n' play. She can get up on all fours.

She is getting more stable at sitting up but still uses at least one hand for support while she is doing it.

She is very calm and relaxed in the bath.

She is always happy as long as I am holding her and she is getting great at playing on her own.

She is in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes, with some 6-9 months, and 9 month sleepers!

And that is all the random tidbits I can think of right now.

My hummus sandwich lovin' boy

2012-01-09T07:10:00.000-05:00

I like to photograph kids with things they like to bring out more of their personality than a regular "smile and look at the camera" picture.

Well, my son, he LOVES himself a good hummus sandwich. Never heard of it?!? Yeah, me either. I don't know how it started, but he has been eating just regular ol' hummus slathered between two pieces of wheat bread every day since he was about 12 months. He friggin' inhales it! Ya know when I was his age and through preschool I insisted on eating ketchup sandwiches. Just plain ketchup on white bread.

Whatever makes him happy though (and mama likes that it is healthy).

I captured him eating his love to his hearts' content Sunday morning and boy was he hammin' it up in front of the camera and full of personality.

"Mines gonna eat that grass."

"Whatever makes you happy son. You do that."

Such a boy. He fake liked it too and when he thought I wasn't looking he would spit it out.

The BIG boy bed story and some random pictures.

2012-01-04T20:07:00.001-05:00

Okay so over a week ago I frantically asked Facebook once again for help (so much better than google). :) I wasn't sure if we should switch Greyson to a big boy bed and you can read my pros and cons here. I ordered the mattress, chickened out and canceled the order, but it was too late. Ready or not, the mattress was coming. Let me just tell you when Greyson saw it he was ecstatic. I'm talkin' over the moon. Like doing flips and out of breath shouting "BIG BOY BED!" non-stop. This topped all Christmas presents.

So I thought why not? He is excited right? *Oh, let me preface this by saying that although he has always gone to bed without crying in his crib tent and LOVED it, for some reason RIGHT before his bed came he started getting scared and crying before he went to sleep. It came out of nowhere and I have no idea what triggered him being scared to go to bed at night. Maybe something on TV?!? So I was even more nervous to switch him to the twin bed because now all of a sudden he was having trouble going to sleep even in his crib.*

I told him the first night that if he came out of his room he would go into his crib for the rest of the night. Bless his soul, he came out immediately, and straight in the crib he went and he screamed "BIG BOY BED!" for 15 minutes straight before falling asleep. It was hard to do that, but ever since he has learned that he will go in the crib if he comes out, he has stayed put and LOVES, loves, LOVES being in a big boy bed.

We got him this special clock that turns green when it is okay to come out of his room and even though he has been waking up 30 minutes or so before it turns green (I can hear him on the monitor) he stays in his bed until it turns green. He gets so excited and says, "Mines stay in big boy bed allllllll night long. Light turn green, come out!"

The only situation now is this. Basically remember how on our trip to Curacao Alex and I had to hang out in the bathroom at night after we put Greyson to bed in our hotel room? (Yeah, lame, we will be paying extra for a suite from now on!). Well, we are relivin' it right now! Greyson goes to bed happy in the big boy bed, but has to sleep with the door wide open so he won't be scared. I am pretty much the sound nazi and now Alex and I are exiled to our bedroom at night so we don't wake him up. If we were in a bigger house this wouldn't be an issue, but in our small condo we can't really make a ton of noise without disturbing him. We even tried putting a night light in there but he still wants the door open. We tried closing it the first night after he fell asleep, but he got up and opened it around midnight. He did go back to bed after doing this, but I don't want him getting out of bed. {*Update: I have gotten more relaxed about this now LOL.}

Anyway, so that's where we are at. So far he is loving it and I am shocked how easy of a transition it was. I think it was just like how potty training wasn't bad with him...he was excited and ready for both changes.

And now for a random photo dump.

He loves Addy's new Christmas toy from George and Jenn.

Awkward. I totally thought Grey was going to bust out a "yo ho ho" with me, but yeah, no. That was just me yellin' for all the neighbors to hear.

I can't believe I haven't been a member of a gym for over 2 years now! Crazy. I was such a gym rat in college. I wish I had time to go to aerobics classes now, but there really is just no way. However, after not working out for so long, and getting some new work out clothes and running shoes for Christmas, I feel ready to at least try biking and running with the kids. We'll see if it lasts. :)

I had to run upstairs for a second before we went on our bike ride and I didn't want to take Greyson and the bike all the way back upstairs for a 2 second errand. I just tipped Greyson over on the side so he could lay in the grass. Greyson kept saying, "this silly mama!"

I love my new point and shoot camera. I actually first got the Lumix LX5. I have no clue how it has such good reviews on amazon. The noise was ridiculous at high ISO's. I returned it and got the Canon s95 instead (thanks Mimi and Papa). It is much better. These pictures were taken on auto mode with no editing. As much as I love using my nice camera, I needed something that I could take with me on the go that would be smaller now that I am toting two kids. I also like that I can shoot in manual and RAW if I want even though it is a point and shoot camera.

Grey Bear in his bear shirt from Auntie Meaghan.

Aw, she sleeps with a "snuggle" just like Greyson!

Loved the cold front that came through so it didn't feel like summer!

Butterfly World

2012-01-02T13:18:00.000-05:00

We went to Butterfly World with our friends Mark and Bethany over the break. It was fun and I was glad I got to do another Florida bucket list outing. Can you believe we have not had any family of four photos taken since Addy has been born? I am hoping to start taking some more, even if they are self-timer ones! Our friend Mark took this one for us before going in the entrance. A sweet old lady offered to take our picture before this one was taken. Bless her soul, her hands were shaking so badly I was terrified she was going to drop my camera. She took a few shots and asked how we liked them. I didn't have the heart to tell her we weren't even in the picture! :)

Honestly, I was impressed with Butterfly World. The butterflies were beautiful and were so bright in color.

The best part was seeing Greyson's reaction.

Greyson took it upon himself to help the staff water the plants.

We've done quite a few bird feeding things here in Fl, but this one was the coolest! The birds came right up to you.

Alex got pooped on. :)

Grey loved this little girl and totally had a crush on her.

Addelyn was happy and loved getting the fresh air. She loves being outside.

It is amazing to me how Greyson can really listen to Alex and I's conversations and comment on them. It was somewhat late and we were debating on whether or not we should just go straight home or go out to eat. I said, "Well, let's just go ahead home and eat leftovers." Greyson responded, "NO MOM MOM. GO OUT TO EAT!!!"

I was out-voted so we went to a delicious Chinese restaurant. And that was our fun afternoon!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2012-01-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

Contrasting to previous years, I feel like 2011 was more of a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs. Alex and I both agree that the 3 hardest months of our marriage was last January through March when I was so nauseous from my pregnancy with Addelyn that I could barely take care of my family. I don't like thinking about that time. It was hard. The best part of last year stands out- bringing Addy into our lives and the joy she brings our family.

Everything is going great now and I hope to keep it up for 2012. This year is a very exciting year for us with lots of changes coming. Alex will graduate dental school and we will be taking off to Dallas, TX in June. I can't believe next year this time we will be in TX with Addy walking and talking and Greyson 3 years old!

I don't usually do New Year's Resolutions, but I have some this year...

1. Make desserts only on Sundays because, let's be honest, my cookie inhaling is out of control.

2. Keep my dresser a little cleaner (well the whole house for that matter).

3. Be better about being on time with others' birthdays and thank you cards.

4. Start working out or at least taking the kids on walks more.

5. Watch a movie with Alex at least once a week and spend more time together at night.

6. Have FHE every Sunday. Be better about reading my scriptures.

Dear Greyson,

2011-12-30T21:21:00.001-05:00

Today you were especially cute. The parents at the park also thought so and told me how adorable you were. Even the mom of the boy you "pushed" told me you were "so dang cute." Now that is saying something. When I was talking to you about the park today you said clear-as-day "Mines push other kid so go home and see dadda!" Oops. I guess the "you have to go home if you push" punishment is not for you. Your vocabulary has exploded the last two days and you are putting more words than ever together at once. I feel like we can -almost- have real conversations. We talked on the bike ride home about how excited you were to sleep in your big boy bed again tonight and you remembered, "And when clock turns green, go get mama!" This morning you were so proud after sleeping in your bed all night. Your mama was proud too. :) I love how polite you are and how you say please and thank you throughout the day. You've got "no thanks" nailed. I also love how you say "hello" to everyone, even the old grumpy people. I love how you almost always find a girlfriend on every outing. You scope out the scene, pick out your girl (she is always older), and then you hold her hand and make her follow you all around. I love your love of life. I hope you are always this happy. You are adorable how you always pick flowers for me and say "Mines got this for you Mommy!" Thanks for giving me a special reminder today why I just love being your mom! I love you and don't you forget it!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T14:14:00.000-05:00

We ended up staying here in Florida for Christmas. It was slow-paced and enjoyable although we really missed our families. We will definitely be in NC next year for Christmas.

Movie Time with dad.

Greyson and I have had some fun afternoons together. While Addy is sleeping I can take him out for some one on one park or bike time. One afternoon in particular we had a blast on a bike ride.

We took a break at a half-way point and he ran around and played for a bit.

Greyson has pretty good self-control. For example, our presents have been wrapped under our tree since December 8th and he knew he couldn't open them until Christmas. Well, self-control was out the window when it came to sneaking cookie dough. Hmmmm, wonder where he gets that from!?!

It is my family tradition act out the Christmas nativity story on Christmas Eve before bed. So we did that too. We all played multiple parts, had fun, and hopefully little Grey Bear was taught a little more about the true meaning of Christmas. We also used his little people nativity characters to help him understand the story better.

I made an awesome Christmas Eve dinner if I do say so myself. I made a turkey (okay, so I bought a pre-cooked one, but it was GREAT), stuffing, roasted potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade biscuits, a homemade buttermilk pie, and a few other things. Alex introduced me to putting cranberry sauce on turkey and eating it with a bite of stuffing. YUM. I will share some of the recipes soon.

After the kids were asleep Alex and I got to play Santa. Really, having kids is so magical at Christmastime.

The next morning Greyson was up at 6:20 AM! I was so excited I just got him up. The second I walked in to get him he yelled, "OPEN PRESENTS NOW!" Haha!

I forgot to get a picture of it but he got his beloved "milk train" that he asked Santa for every time. It is just one of those small wooden trains that can go on his wooden tracks he got for his birthday.

Alex got a ukelele. :)

And Santa brought me a kindle (which I think I am really going to like) and a new point and shoot camera.

One of our best stocking stuffers for Greyson was cheap kid-friendly scissors. He loves them!

He was excited to get a new dog bank to replace his baseball bank that broke 6 months ago.

He also loved his toaster and has spent lots of time with it.

The musical toys were also a hit. He already plays with his instruments every day so now he has a few more to add to his collection.

Finally Miss Addelyn made her grand entrance with the Christmas festivities.

Nama got Grey Bear this awesome parking garage.

And among other things he loved this remote control construction site from Mimi.

Cute story: So while Alex and I were getting ready for church and Addy was napping, Greyson took it upon himself to open one of Addy's presents, which were pink crocs. He squeezed them on his foot and then gleefully ran in our room shouting, "Mine's new shoes Mama!!!" This boy sure loves his girl shoes.

Before church pictures (always a good idea, right? NOT):

We've had that "after Christmas let-down" feeling around here, and just had a somewhat boring, but productive last couple of days.

I took Addy outside for some cute pictures yesterday.

And here is a random picture from NC that I don't think I ever shared. Um, MOST AWESOME bubble bath EVER!

Greyson singing "Away in a Manger"

2011-12-27T20:51:00.002-05:00

I don't know why it isn't working here. Here is another link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=157441644358172&id=562097946&notif_t=share_comment

Slow cooker shredded Korean beef tacos

2011-12-25T02:22:00.000-05:00

Holy cow I was just going to say its Christmas Eve but I guess it is technically Christmas morning! Merry Christmas! I am so excited for tomorrow that I can't sleep!

I made this for dinner this week and it was absolutely delicious so I thought I would share!

The Best Pizza I have EVER made.

2011-12-23T06:43:00.001-05:00

Go here for the recipe for some tasty bacon, tomato, and arugula pizza.

I used fresh publix pizza dough. I put the bacon on top of the cheese instead of under (which I did with the sauteed tomatoes) so it would get nice and crispy. And oh man, the arugula on top was the perfect touch. This is not a pretty good dinner, it is AMAZING.

I am in decisive

2011-12-22T08:47:00.001-05:00

I can be a very indecisive person. To go to NC for Christmas or not to go? Um, we still don't know for sure. Which crib should I get for Addy (after 3.5 months of trying to find the best deal on craigslist I gave up and just bought a cheap one from wal-mart)? My latest decision (or lack thereof): should I switch Grey to a twin bed or not? I ordered a twin mattress on amazon and canceled it an hour later!

PROS:
1. COMFORT. At my mom's house he would sleep in until 7:30 or 8:00 in the twin bed because it was so much more comfortable for him. I never realized how horrible his crib mattress is until I got a nice mattress for Addy. His mattress has NO support, is actually too small for his crib, and you can feel every single spring. It is SO floppy- I can't believe I let him sleep on that for two years. {The last three mornings he had been waking up grumpy at 6:30 AM. I would run in there immediately because I was afraid he had to use the bathroom since he now holds it all night. Well, this morning when I heard him stir at 6:30 I left him instead and he went right back to sleep until 7:10 and woke up happy. The point of me telling you all that is I thought he was waking up early because he wasn't comfortable, but maybe not since he did sleep in a little bit today}. And one last point on the comfort... he is not the most petite 2 year old and is getting quite big for his crib, so I know he would have plenty of room on a twin mattress.

2. EXCITING FOR HIM. I know he would be excited for the change, and not hesitant at all. He asks to sleep on the floor all the time ever since we have been back from NC. I know he would love it which is why I feel somewhat anxious to go ahead and do it. I know Alex is also excited for him to make the switch just because he knows Greyson would love it so much.

CONS:
1. SPACE. His room is small and we outgrew our small condo a year ago. This will just make things tighter. Plus we are moving in 5 months so I feel like we should just wait and do the switch when he has adjusted to our new house.

2. SLEEP ISSUES? Grey has always been such a champion sleeper from day one (at our house at least) and I worry we might start to have nighttime issues. When he slept in the twin bed at my mom's house he had zero nap issues. He went right to sleep and would sleep for 3.5 hours (something he is also not doing in the crib). And, as mentioned earlier, he actually slept in. However, a few nights it took quite a few trips back to the bedroom until he was asleep for good. Some nights were just fine.

So those are the two main pros and cons. I have thought of a couple of solutions overnight. One is if I find a really good deal on a nice crib mattress on craigslist maybe I wouldn't feel so bad about him sleeping on a terrible mattress and would then keep him in his crib longer. I am not exaggerating about how awful his mattress is.... it is in bad shape (we originally got it free off craigslist). I hate to spend money on another mattress for him, but if it would keep him comfortable in his crib until he was 3 I won't mind. If he goes to a toddler bed he could also use it for that or we could even just stick it directly on the floor (although I think we are just going to go straight for the twin bed).

Secondly, I thought maybe I could go ahead and order the twin mattress and just see how it goes. I do know he will LOVE it, I just don't know if we will have night battles. Maybe I could keep the crib set up (with his crib tent) temporarily so if he does get out of bed he just goes straight back in the crib tent for the night.

Of course if these are my hardest decisions I know I am very blessed. But I love feedback and advice so let it roll!

***Thanks everyone for all the feedback on Facebook. It turns out my order wasn't able to be canceled after all, so ready or not, here comes the twin bed!***

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-21T16:27:00.000-05:00

Well, not really with this 80's weather, but we have been having so much fun since Alex has been done with school. We've done lots of relaxing around the house and some fun Christmas-y things too.

Greyson went and got a pot from the kitchen all by himself and then unwrapped all our Christmas chocolates so he could "cook" them in his kitchen. He was so proud. "Look Mom Mom, cook chocwats!" Speaking of doing things by himself, the other day I heard him yell "pee pee" from the bathroom. I ran in to help him but he had pulled down his shorts and underwear by himself and climbed on and was already going! He can go by himself if I get his shorts off him, but he has never pulled down his pants on his own. He sure is growing right up.

Have you ever been to Bass Pro Shops at Christmastime? I never had and I was beyond amazed! It was SO fun. They had tons of classic games set up for kids and lots of neat things to look at. Greyson ran right up to Santa and once again insisted he wanted "more hats and a milk train."

Presh.

Little Sister has been having fun playing with her toys since we have been back in Florida. She is definitely more content to be set down for longer periods of time now that she has entertainment.

Her strength still surprises me every day. She will stand in the exersaucer for short periods of time without the support of her hands.

Grey is always lovin' and kissin' on her.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas in Florida without a visit to our favorite Hyatt Extreme Christmas house. This year was AWESOME because we went on a night where we could walk around the yard to see the lights. Grey was in awe and it was just magical. There was a CNN article that stated this house is one of the top 10 houses to see in America at Christmastime.

Well, the baby just woke up so the other pictures will have to wait. :)

Spilling My Guts

2011-12-18T12:29:00.000-05:00

*Life definitely has its ups and downs. I was feeling a little down a couple days last week and wrote this post on Thursday. I never got around to posting it, and now everything is fine. We're doing Holiday things, Addy is sleeping better (still not like she did at a month though), and we are just having a great time now that Alex is done with school. I thought I would post it in an effort to keep it a little real, so here it is:

Okay so after weeks of just taking pictures and throwing them up here now I am going to have one of those long rambling posts where I catch up on what is really happening.

1. First on my mind. Christmas. Normally by now we are in NC livin' it up with our families. This year we did it backwards. I was in NC for 6 days shy of a month and didn't get back to Florida until December 8th and we will most likely be staying here this year for Christmas. It is going to be strange being here instead and we will miss our families.

I have been so busy unpacking, etc. since we have been back that I haven't really had time to enjoy this holiday season. I pictured myself baking cookies everyday with Greyson (have done twice), doing preschool holiday crafts everyday, rockin' out to Christmas music, looking at Christmas lights a ton, reading Christmas books 24/7, going out and doing fun Christmas activities, but I haven't done much of any of those things. I know he doesn't know the difference and is having fun with what we are able to do. We still only have about 1/10th of our Christmas decorations out, have only put up a fourth of the Christmas ornaments up and I have to realize that it is OKAY. And Christmas cards? Well you can just forget that this year. Sorry! I have never missed a year of Christmas cards, but let's just say we haven't even had a single family picture taken since Addy has been born. Sad I know. Although it is cute how Grey loves to hold his presents and shake it and say, "What is it mom mom?", I hope he is learning the real meaning of Christmas. If I ask him why we celebrate Christmas he says, "baby Jesus born."

My goal the next week and a half is to just enjoy everything and relax and realize we don't have to go to every single Christmas event there is. I think it will "feel like Christmas" more when Alex is done with school tomorrow. Oh, and one last Christmas rant. Any advice on the whole Santa Claus thing? I feel so weird looking straight in Greyson's believing eyes and telling him Santa comes into our house to leave him presents. I know it is just for fun, but how is it that this is so easy for everyone to do? I grew up with Santa in our house and loved it so I don't know why this is hard for me. Any advice on how to explain Santa to him is much appreciated. This little 2 minute video is SO touching and made me cry. If you have 2 minutes to spare watch it!

2. I've finally learned to say no. I said no to six photo sessions this fall. Once I was booked for what I wanted (and could) do, I have finally learned to tell people no. That used to be so hard for me because I always felt like I was letting people down, but I've gotta do what I've gotta do to stay sane and only doing one session a week (at the most) keeps me sane and keeps me loving photography. I had a lot of fun with my last shoot. Check it out.

3. Nursery. I'm still frustrated about Greyson's struggle in nursery every Sunday. If Paul is there (our former bishop helps out in nursery) then Greyson is okay (because of his love of men), but there is NO HOPE if he isn't there (he travels so can't always be there). Grey just cries until Alex or I go back in on Sundays when Paul is gone. I (almost) feel like it is pointless for us to go to church when we end up hanging out in nursery. Last Sunday Paul wasn't there so I stayed in and I couldn't believe how he was acting. He was totally pushing kids left and right. Maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was bad. He is so touchy feely and would also give lots of hugs too. The girls reassured me he usually isn't like that when Paul is there and I am not. I sure hope so. He is over the hitting thing, but we have moved on to pushing. Greeeeaaaatt. I'm thankful that he has lots of other cute traits like his dynamite personality and I must say, I am pretty proud of how good he is at sharing. I also love how affectionate he is towards Addy and how he is all about her all day long! I can't help but be worried about him going to preschool (whenever that day comes) if he doesn't get over leaving me. I have memories of preschool laying on the floor screaming for my mom. Hmmm, wonder where he gets it from?!? I have never heard of a male preschool teacher in my life. I bet he would love going if there was a male teacher! Dude, if Santa Claus was a teacher Greyson would be in heaven.

4. SIDS. I have never heard of the toxic mattress theory about SIDS until a few days ago. I became obsessed with researching it and I have to say I think it seems like a very viable possibility of the cause of SIDS. In a nutshell, some researchers think that toxins from baby mattresses is what causes SIDS for most cases. That is why your chance of having a baby die of SIDS increases with every child you have (because you are most likely using the same baby mattress which emits more toxins the longer it is around). It also explains why using a fan is a factor that reduces the risk of SIDS. When the fan is on it circulates the air better so the gases aren't concentrated around the baby's face. It also explains the "back-to-sleep" campaign. Again, on the back, the fumes from the mattress are less concentrated around the baby's face. Furthermore, this theory supports the advice not to have an over-dressed baby when sleeping, because the increased body temperature of the baby can cause the increase the gas generation from the mattress by 10 times.

The researchers have found that not a single baby has been reported dying of SIDS on a properly covered mattress. You can buy these special babesafe mattress covers (they are a gas-impermeable plastic) from New Zealand that is supposed to keep the toxins from dissipating out of the mattress. Unfortunately these are on back order right now. Another option is to get one particular brand of organic baby mattress (naturepedic) which is free of toxins and also supposed to help prevent SIDS. I could be wrong, but from what I have researched I feel convinced. Some say this theory was disproven, but some articles explain all the discrepancies of researchers who tried to disprove the theory and explain how it really wasn't disproven. I do think it is not the mattresses alone that causes SIDS. I think there is an underlying biological vulnerability as well, but how are you to know if your child is more or less at risk for SIDS so you might as well play it safe. I felt panicked that I had to have either the cover or organic mattress ASAP for Addelyn. Unfortunately, the covers are on back order and the mattresses are $300+. I decided I would try out craigslist. I hit the jackpot. I got a BRAND new naturepedic mattress that retails for $300 for $40! I was so happy. I have read a ton on this off-gasing mattress theory, but the first article I read is here. A basic Q and A about SIDS is found here. Like I said I could be wrong, but I am playing it safe!

5. Life with two kids. The first week was the hardest of my life with Addelyn in the NICU and Greyson acting mad at me for being gone a week. Then it got better (minus the occasional bopping on the head by Grey to Addy), and then it got a lot better. For awhile there it was just GREAT. Addy was sleeping 10+ hours at night and I was getting out everyday with the kids. Since I have been back in Florida I feel like it is hard again. With the exception of walking to the park near our house a few times and running errands another day, we have barely made it out of our house (post edit, getting back out there again!). I am not used to being at home and I miss being out and about all the time. Addy is not sleeping like she used to. She goes to sleep easy peasy, but she just doesn't stay asleep at night for a super long time. I hope I get out of this rut soon and I know I will. I know that it is okay if I spend days at home with the kids, but it makes me feel guilty because Greyson watches way more TV than he should when we stay home. It is hard for me to do structured activities with him at home instead of letting him watch TV. He doesn't watch an outrageous amount or anything, but I still feel like a bad mom when he is watching TV instead of doing something more productive.

Here are some pictures since we have been back in Florida.

At the Fort Lauderdale Boat Parade. It is hard to believe that the first year we went to this we had no kids and I was not even pregnant!

I loved our seats this year. We were in a private backyard at our friend's house so we got to beat the crowds. They had a wonderful spread of food.

I have put her in a cute smocked dress every day since we have been in Florida (thanks Mimi). I have realized that when I put her in dresses it is so much easier to apply her special cream for her eczema every three hours so I don't have to completely undress her. BTW, her skin looks flawless right now because I am very diligent about keeping her skin moisturized. I am afraid to stop because I am nervous her stomach and back will break out again.

"Hey baby girl!" Grey has started calling Addy "baby girl" a lot. I love it!

Addy's first experience with Baby Einstein. Oh and although she laughed here and there in NC, this week was the first time I got her to do the big ol' belly chuckles. I loved it. I did exactly what I did to Greyson when he first laughed and she thought I was just hilarious.

You are so funny mom!

And although I have quite a few more pictures I have taken since we have been back in Florida I believe this has been quite a long enough post already so cheers to you if you stayed with it! More to come this next week. Have a happy week everyone!

Life Does Not Have To Be Perfect To Be Wonderful

2011-12-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

I needed to hear that quote today. A "real" post is coming soon.

And here are the last of the NC pictures...

This pic of my mom with the kiddos was taken at a Wrightsville Beach festival. Can I just say how incredibly opposite this festival was compared to festivals here in Florida?!? There was absolutely ZERO diversity there.

"Buy dis Nama!!!"

Greyson LOVED going to Fit for Fun. He went three times while we were there. He would say, "Go fit fun!"

Eatin' waffles in his underwear outside because, ya know, that's what 2 year-olds do. BTW, there were only two cold days in the 3+ weeks we were there. The weather was really nice.

A stranger won this dog for Grey Bear in a toy vending machine at Red Robin. He told Greyson, "You're in luck kiddo...this is my last buck!" Greyson was thrilled when he got a dog! He carried that thing around the rest of our time in NC and now sleeps with it.

I didn't include all the NC pictures, but I think I included enough. :) Ya think!? This was my favorite trip to NC (except too bad Alex wasn't with us) simply because Greyson never got sick! He is usually SO sick which stresses me out! We are now back in Florida, and have been for almost a week. It was so great seeing Alex again, but not so great having to unpack 3 weeks of shizaz.

Trees is happy Mom Mom

2011-12-12T12:30:00.000-05:00

Greyson loves telling me everything is happy. This is a normal car ride conversation:

"Trees is happy mom mom (he calls me mom mom instead of mama now). Mom mom happy now. Addy happy now. Mines happy now. Santa Claus is happy now." And the list goes on...

Here are some recent NC pictures of my loves together. A few of these pictures are repeat pictures from previous posts.

The photos below were a last second decision. I said, "let's do it!" and my mom and I changed the kids and were out the door in a matter of minutes for a 2 minute photo shoot! I love that my mom has a backyard and beautiful neighborhood to easily take good pictures of the kids.

The picture below is my all time favorite picture I have ever taken of them together!

SAAAAAAANNNNNTTTTA!!!! {and our visit to Enchanted Airlie}

2011-12-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

Greyson has been obsessed with talking about Santa this year. I read him one Christmas book that talked about Santa Claus coming to children and bringing toys and he has been hooked ever since. All throughout the day he will say things like, "See Santa at park Mama?" "No Greyson, we probably won't see Santa at the park." Or he'll randomly say, "Bye Santa, have a good day Santa!"

Well, needless to say Greyson was stoked when we found out Santa was going to be at Enchanted Airlie. This Santa was full of personality and really great. Greyson snuggled right up to him.

Santa thought Grey and this other girl were siblings so we just went with it. He told Santa he wanted a "milk train" and "more hats" just as he has been telling me for weeks.

They had a whole lego village with ski slopes, a working train, water, and a town. It was awesome (cake boss voice). Greyson LOVED it and I know his daddy would too!

Greyson was adorable all night at Enchanted Airlie. Anytime he would see a man he would run up and either hug him or give him a high five. If another man would pass by us he would say, "More mans mama!!!" and get super excited. Funny guy.

Then he was SO cute when he saw the carolers. He stared at them in awe and danced to their singing. He stood there during an entire song and just held one of their hands. Everyone loved it. I was talking to an old friend so I didn't get a picture of it but it sure was precious.

The next night we went out to dinner with the Tanners (so good to see them) and then afterwards we took Grey to see the Santa at Mayfair. Greyson busted through the doors, gasped, and then screamed, "SAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNTTTTTTAAAAAAA!!!!" and ran past all the kids and straight up to Santa. Hilarious little guy I'm tellin' ya. I was annoyed they wouldn't let me take pictures but I am a rebel (my mom was so scared I was going to get arrested haha!) and took a few pictures anyway. I did feel bad enough that I didn't want to get front and center and get their attention so they aren't great pictures but at least I didn't have to pay $15 for one 4 x 6 photo.

last year...

and 2009...

Miss Addy Rae is 3 Months!

2011-12-09T14:40:00.001-05:00

Wow, if I thought time flew with Greyson, boy does it fly even faster with the second.

"I's three months guys!" {And yes, she has bad grammar, but we are working on it.}

I love her "I'm gonna eat you" wide-mouthed smile.

I love her cute personality.

And her shoes for that matter. My size please?

I love that she likes to be awake for the action and not miss a thing.

I love how she loves Greyson so much already (and how he loves her!). I know as they get older there will be days of fighting, but hopefully lots of days of love and laughter.

At three months she...
-laughs when my step dad does this falling game with her.

-can sit up like she could at 2 months, but has to use her hands for support.

-can scoot all around her pack-n-play. She goes from one end to the other and changes directions and everything.

-rolls over both ways and multiple times in a row. No more leaving her on the bed alone.

-has had a major sleeping relapse. She used to sleep 10 straight hours at night ever since October 16 (I randomly remember the date because it is the night Alex went to Colorado). In NC the first two weeks she still had some 10 hour nights, and then the last week and a half she was up every 2-4 hours. Yikes. At least she is easy to get back to sleep, but I miss those 10 hour nights.

-she officially has eczema (glad to know what this coming and going rash thing is!). My good dermatologist friend diagnosed her. If I put this special cream on her every 3 hours or so her skin looks flawless. As soon as I get lazy about it she has a flare up. It is usually just on her belly and back (thank goodness it has never been on her face). I'm wondering if her itchiness from the eczema has contributed to her sleep problems... or as my mom says, I might just have a normal baby this time.

-weighs 13 lbs, 5 oz (still less than Greyson at 2 months!), 50-75th percentile
-length: 24.5 inches, 75th percentile
-head circumference: 16 inches, 50th percentile
*I've always noticed my doctor's office doesn't do the best job with measuring my kids and plotting what percentile they are in. If you want to use an easy calculator instead of plotting it yourself, just go here. Remember to convert their weight into decimal form (i.e. 13 lbs, 5 oz is not 13.5 lbs, it is 13.31 lbs).

And here is my failed photo shoot attempt with her. I tried for thirty minutes to get a picture of her laying still on her back looking at me. Fail. She kept rolling back and forth, stuffing her hands in her mouth, and lifting her head, i.e. doing anything but be still.

Of course she is still cute even if she isn't cooperating. Finally I gave up on the pose I wanted and the belly shots turned out better. :)

Then I went outside. Love.

Grey Bear at 3 months:

I think they sure do look alike. We love our Addelyn Rae!

a BIG boy

2011-12-07T21:09:00.001-05:00

Greyson grew up so much in NC...

He has started staying dry during all naps (even the 3+ hour ones) and staying dry at night. He has been staying dry during naps off and on since potty training began in July, but the night thing, just bam, came out of nowhere. He went from peeing out of his diaper almost every night, to one night of telling me every time he had to pee (I was so tired after that night), to just staying completely dry all night! He has stayed dry for over a week straight now at night!

He drinks better from a cup at meal time.

He transferred to a big boy bed. He was sleeping HORRIBLY in the pack-n-play at my mom's house. He would wake up saying, "not this bed, want crib tent (his crib at home)!" We think he was just way too big for the pack-n-play and couldn't get comfortable. Well once we switched him to a twin mattress on the floor he slept great (post edit, for the most part)! He stayed in his bed until 7:30 most mornings, which is longer than he does in Florida. His naps were exceptionally long every day (some were close to 4 hours) and he went down without a hitch every day.

My BIG boy.

Don't Give Me That Crap

2011-12-07T21:03:00.000-05:00

Boy drinks milk.

Boy decides to share with sister.

That makes sister sad. "I juuus want my mama's milk pease."

LOL

2011-12-06T20:53:00.000-05:00

I had a great laugh over this. {excuse the bad language}.

An Apple A Day Will Keep the Dr. Away

2011-12-06T10:10:00.000-05:00

I try so hard to get Greyson to eat fruits and veggies, but usually the only way it happens is via smoothies. However, for some reason, he has been eating veggies and fruit like a rockstar at my mom's house. He ate green beans two nights in a row and ate an apple three days in a row. Sadly he quit eating both on the subsequent days, but I know there is hope! If I just keep offering it to him, maybe one day he will love fruits and veggies.

Well I got just a little too excited about his apple eating habit that a "run" with Grey Bear (yeah right, that didn't happen!) turned into a full-on photo shoot. Oops, I did it again! :)

Okay, true story. See how Greyson is looking intently at something in the pic below? Two huge doberman pinscher dogs were ferociously charging us just as I took this picture. I immediately swept Greyson away and made a run for it. Meanwhile, Greyson who has no fear, is saying, "awww puppies!" Haha! Just as we got to the edge of the property the dogs stopped so I think there was an electric fence. It turns out there was a "no trespassing" sign that I hadn't even noticed. Ooops. I am glad we didn't get eaten!

Thankful

2011-12-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

Our Thanksgiving was bittersweet. It was great to be here in NC with my family, but hard to be away from Alex. I don't ever want to be apart on a holiday again. Greyson asked, "Where Dadda is?" and that made me sad.

I asked Greyson what he was thankful for...no joke he said, "GIRLS!" Haha! I asked him again later and the second time he said, "the pool!" Bless him.

I am so thankful for my two beautiful, healthy children. It is surreal that I just said "children." I can't believe I have two kids! How did that happen? Well, not literally, but ya know what I mean. :) I love being a mom though and I am so thankful for them. I am also so thankful for my hard-working husband. He does so much for us and is working hard in school so he can provide for our family.

Here is some of the gang on Thanksgiving watching Tangled.

As I mention all the time on this blog, Greyson loves men! He is drawn to them instantly. They don't have to work at all to win him over. He was obsessed with Brad at Mimi's house and Bubba at Nama's house. They were best buds. :)

The day after Thanksgiving we took Grey Bear to the park. He had a great time.

Neighborhood Walks

2011-12-04T22:44:00.000-05:00

I love both my in-laws' neighborhood and my parents' neighborhood. It is so fun taking walks in such a beautiful place.

Greyson loved this house a few doors down from my mom's house. It was so quaint and he was obsessed with the front gate.

Throwing leaves on the back porch at my mom's house.

I's gonna eat you!!!

2011-12-03T09:36:00.000-05:00

This is so me.

2011-12-02T22:07:00.002-05:00

Farewell Mimi's House

2011-12-02T15:58:00.001-05:00

Here are the last of the pictures from our 1 week stay at Mimi's house...next up Grandma's house! I told you it is ridiculous the number of photos I have taken.

Funny story. Laura Kayte has been SO excited to have a girl cousin (they are VERY outnumbered) and has been saving all her doll clothes to try on Addy. :) So we played dress up with Addy. I think the outfit below was a tinker bell fairy outfit.

"Here ya go Addy," Grey said as he handed her a diaper.

"What the h*** did you do that for Greyson!"

Greyson has been OBSESSED with Uncle Brad and Uncle Bubba. He even sleep-talked their names a few nights ago! I can't say it enough...he LOVES men! Girls have to work to get Grey Bear to like them... older boys and men just have to exist and Greyson is their best friend immediately.

Another walk of many in the neighborhood...

Grey Bear did a couple Thanksgiving crafts while here.

My Gymnast

2011-12-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

I think Greyson would love to be enrolled in a gymnastics class. We had a great time with our friends Ava and Kael at free play at the gym here. Although Greyson had a blast he was tired from waking up at 5 AM (gotta love vacation sleep) that morning and his behavior started to deteriorate (aka pushing) so we had to leave. I'm going to look into something like this ASAP when we get back to Florida.

I love NC beaches

2011-11-30T22:28:00.000-05:00

When I first moved to Florida I liked the beaches better in FL than where I grew up in Wilmington, NC. I liked the clearer water and the very calm sea (kid friendly). But there is something about sand dunes, seashells, and waves I love about NC beaches.

Kathleen was so sweet to take us to the beach before she headed back to Charlotte. We had a grand ol' time.

a HUGE shark tooth.

You are Gonna Thank Me For Life

2011-11-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

I don't really love pie.

Until now.

Now I LOVE pie.

All because of this pie. It is a caramel custard pie and it is a slice of heaven.

This pie won first place on Emeril's Good Morning America contest.

The directions below were copied straight from here. Don't skip reading the love story. :)

From the kitchen of Jalene Lyon

Servings:6-8

Difficulty:Easy

Cook Time:30-60 min

Jalene Lyon was crowned the big winner of "Good Morning America's" Pie of Emeril's Eye contest.

From Jalene Lyon: This recipe is special because it comes from my grandmother Mary and her sister Ethel. They ran a truck stop during the Great Depression in a place they called "Little Chicago." The sisters became so famous for their pies that my grandfather, who drove a MAC Truck, made it a point to get routed through their location every job he could. He loved my grandmother's pie (and apparently my grandmother) that eventually he just couldn't get enough and he married her! The pies remain a tradition in my family today. Both my sister and I bake them often. While my grandmother and her sister had many family pie favorites, the Caramel Pie is the one that made them most famous in our families.

Ingredients

For the caramel custard pie filling:

2C Fresh Light Brown sugar

2T Flour (well rounded)

2 eggs, 2C Half/Half or Whole Milk.

Pie Crust:

14T lard or butter

2T milk,

6T hot water

2C flour

Cooking Directions

Mix wet ingredients until well blended. Mix dry ingredients until well blended. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Prick bottom of pie crust and add filling and bake on the bottom rack of oven at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and cook for 40 minutes. Cool pie until it reaches room temperature. Place in refrigerator until cold. Garnish with sugared whipped cream (whipping cream and 1/2C powdered sugar) place whipped topping on top of pie and have fun with garnish! We like shaved coconut and chocolate.

*I just read some of the comments and they were awful haha! From what I read people didn't have good luck with the pie crust (ours was store bought so it was fine), had to cook it much longer than what it said, and were annoyed with the unclear directions. Just a little FYI, the caramel custard layer in the one we made is half as thick as it should be so that is probably why the cooking time was just right for us. We didn't want to waste the precious caramel filling so we made two thinner pies instead because we had too much for one pie. I guess if you just wanted one pie you would buy a deep dish pie crust (or make one). We also topped it with fresh whipped cream and a crumbled heath bar. The directions don't specify how much heavy cream to use with the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. We just used an 8 oz carton of heavy cream and maybe a heaping 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Since the bottom layer was so sweet I didn't want the top layer to be too sweet as well. Next time I think if you drizzle fresh caramel over the top it would make it even better. Anyway, I hope that helps you have better luck with the pies than others had. :) Both pies were gone by the next day, thanks to me. Give it a try.

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

2011-11-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

Greyson loved going on walks in Mimi's neighborhood. Laura Kayte joined us and we had a BLAST. I love how these pictures turned out. The advantage of the sun going down early is Greyson is awake for the golden hour which he is always asleep for in the summer.

I loved how the sun highlighted his {bless-his-soul} super hairy legs!

The Truck Driving Day

2011-11-28T18:07:00.001-05:00

Okay, I am caught up on Florida posts, so here is the first of many NC posts to come. You guys are going to think I am insane with the number of pictures I have taken here! :) There are just so many beautiful spots in both my in-laws' neighborhood and my mom's that I can't help myself and the simplest of things turn into full on photo shoots! :) We spent the first week in NC at my in-laws' house so the next few posts will document our time there.

I think the happiest hour of Greyson's existence was spent driving this little truck around the yard. He was not afraid at all and thought it was hilarious trying to run me over. :) Spending time outside here has made me ecstatic to hopefully have a yard when we move in May.

Laura Kayte didn't quite trust Grey's drivin' skills.

"Watch out Greyson!"

"Don't worry, I got this Laura Kayte!"

Aw Coconuts!

2011-11-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

Greyson and I were taking a walk and stumbled upon a coconut because, ya know, those things happen in Florida. Greyson was stoked for a real live coconut because on his favorite Jake and the Neverlands Pirates show they say, "Aw, coconuts!" all the time. I told Greyson all about coconut milk and how we could drink it when daddy came home. The second Alex came home from school he made Greyson's dream come true and opened it for him.

Oh the anticipation.

When it was finally open Greyson got to try it.

The verdict: "no thanks!" Haha! I felt bad because he was so excited to drink it but at least he was so polite when he didn't like it.

Alex was being silly with the coconut halves. Greyson shouted, "mama's boobies!" Um, hello, didn't know he knew that word haha.

Then he picked it up and handed it to me saying, "here ya booby mama!"

Park shots

2011-11-26T20:39:00.000-05:00

I was showing my friends my camera and different lenses at the park because they are interested in buying a camera. I ended up taking a ton of pictures of Greyson and Addy. :) By the way, if you have photography questions, (although this is over a year old) go here. I shoot with a canon 5d mark 2 now but recommend the canon t1i if it will be your first SLR. It is a good option and much cheaper than the upgraded models (T2i or T3i).

love his dirty little feet.

Grey looooooooves playing with older boys.

weeeee mom this is fun!

oooo getting faster!

crap, crap, crap slow doooooooowwwwwn!

that's better!

Grey took this shot of Anthony. I thought it was a cool angle. He is going to be my photographer side kick one day!

My Hat Lover

2011-11-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

Greyson loves hats. If you ask him what he wants for Christmas he says, "Let's see… more hats and a milk train." I couldn't resist when I saw this hat for him. He loved it especially because there are little dogs on it. He is very into his owl hat too and asks to sleep with it on. Funny guy.

I couldn't choose my favorite from these pictures so I will just include them all.

Robot Greyson

2011-11-25T17:24:00.000-05:00

Ya know how Alex makes Greyson cool things at night after he goes to bed? Well meet Robot Greyson thanks to Daddy's late night project. :)

The first helmet Alex made him kept slipping off so he made him this foil one below, but I never got a picture of the front of it.

A Pirate Dream Come True!

2011-11-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

Greyson was stoked when I told him that we were going to the mall and that he could get his face painted. He was very excited to get it painted about 3 months ago but then was disappointed when he wasn't able to hold the paintbrush himself so he didn't want to do it. I wasn't sure if he would get up there and chicken out this time but he held perfectly still and loved it. And if you read this blog at all, it is a given what wanted to be.

Yo ho ho!

He kept wanting to look in the mirror the rest of the day. :)

Addy is 2 months!

2011-11-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

Her stats:
Weight: 12 lbs, 1 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 23 inches (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 15.5 inches

For fun, Greyson at 2 months:

Weight: 14 lbs, 8 ounces (95th percentile)

Length: 23 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Head: 16 and 3/4 inches (95th percentile)

I was shocked she was only 12 lbs because at one month she was 11 lbs 8 oz just like Greyson was and he was 14 and a half pounds by 2 months! I am happy she is staying smaller longer because I don't want her to grow up so fast!

Here she is on her appointment day:

the PUMBO

She ate the pumpkin the entire time.

And a few more recent pictures:

We love our Addy Rae. She talks and coos like crazy. It sounds just like she is saying "hi" when you talk and smile at her.

She loves Greyson and Greyson loves her!

She got this weird rash on her neck, arms, and belly a few weeks before she turned 2 months. The doctor wasn't sure if it was eczema. She was pretty fussy during that time and didn't nap as well and instead of sleeping 10 pm to 6 to 7ish AM straight, she slept in 4-6 hour stretches at night. I think it was itching her. Thanks to lots of creams the rash is almost gone and she has been sleeping awesome again and been really happy.

She still has amazing head control and strength. This picture was taken when Addy was 2 months and 4 days. Greyson couldn't sit up (with the support of his hands) until he was 5 months. She is going to be walking in a few months at this rate!

She loves to be held, aka do not set her down!

Let me tell you, this girl does not sleep when I am out shopping. This past weekend I had to get some shopping done before we head to NC so I took her to the mall at night and she was wide-eyed, happy as can be, taking it all in. She did not want to sit in the stroller! She had to be held so she could see all the shoes too. :) That's my girl.

She is such a joy and I love being her mama.

Hello, World

2011-11-23T09:52:00.000-05:00

I hope you are ready for 8 billion posts. {Side note: have you ever noticed that 8 billion is my favorite exaggeration number?} I was without internet for about a week before I left Florida, and now I have been in NC alone a week (and still have two weeks to go) with the kids while Alex studies for his board exam. We miss him like crazy, but we are having fun.

Having kids is pretty much awesome. It has changed my life for the better and I love Greyson and Addy to death. There are some things though, like shopping, that were much easier before having two kids. The days before we left for NC were c.r.a.z.y. b.u.s.y. and in the mix of all that I decided to take the kids alone to Aventura mall (30 min away) during dinner time, with no food or sippy cups. SMART idea. Addy screamed to and from the mall for half the trip until she fell asleep. I only had to go to Nordstrom for a return from my late night shopping two nights before so I thought I would be in and out. It ended up taking an hour because that's how I roll. I was so frazzled by the end (Greyson wasn't particularly bad or anything, I just felt stressed because I was trying to hurry and I knew we were going to get stuck in horrible rush hour traffic coming home and that he would be hungry) that I wasn't thinking straight. While nursing Addy in the car before heading home Greyson said on repeat for 10 minutes straight, "wat wat (water) please." I am never leaving my house without water again. I realized one of Grey's shoe was MIA so I began searching for it so we could make a quick trip back to the water fountain before heading home. I have no clue how one of his shoes got lost in our car but I could not find it. Okay, so remember how I was stressed one time in Miami and let a stranger parallel park my car WITH GREYSON IN IT. I'm an idiot when I am stressed. After 10 minutes of looking for the shoe with the frantic, "wat wat please!" pleas of Greyson increasing I saw a man walk by my car and without thinking I just desperately asked for his help. "Could you please use these empty water bottles and fill them up with the water fountain in Nordstrom?" Who does that?!? Seriously, who asks a stranger to bring you water? Um, I guess I do. While the man was gone getting us water I then realized I couldn't find our car keys. They were also nowhere to be found. {It is time to clean my car.} When the man returned he saw me throwing stuff around looking for the keys. He sheepishly stood there trying to help while holding our water. I finally found them (Addy was sitting on them), and then I tried paying the man for the water after thinking about how ridiculous I was to ask him that favor. He refused and said something like, "Stay cool…everything is okay." :) Well Greyson must have been really dehydrated because he drank an entire water bottle himself in less than 5 minutes. The cherry on top of this mall trip was when we were almost home from our 45 minute bumper-to-bumper traffic car ride, Greyson said, "oh no, oh no and was pointing to his mouth." All of a sudden projectile vomit splashed on the back of my neck and all over the car. Awesome.

Contrary to the night before, the flight up to NC was p.e.r.f.e.c.t. Greyson listened to every single thing I told him and did great walking by the stroller through the airport. He watched movies on my laptop the entire flight. He was SO good and Addy slept the entire time in the moby wrap. I decided rather than have a layover I would prefer to have a direct flight with them and then drive two hours to Wilmington with help from my parents. The first hour and fifteen minutes of the car ride was fine. Then Addy woke up screaming and Greyson got car sick again and threw up all his plane snacks. Nice.

Since we have been here Greyson has had a blast. It is seriously the very first trip since he was born that he has not gotten sick the day after we arrived. I am just hoping he stays well. He has however been waking up E.A.R.L.Y. But besides that everything is going great. He is having so much fun with his cousins and is obsessed with Landon and Brad (and all the grandparents of course). Addy is loving all the attention and loving being held.

Here are just a few pictures to proceed the 8 billion pictures to come.

Get ready for some Florida posts before I get caught up on our first week in NC. :)

Wanna Laugh?

2011-11-10T19:22:00.001-05:00

This is from one of my fave blogs, Blue Lily Photography. I love the stories they tell about their kids. This made me bust out laughing.

Weeks ago, the four of us were sitting down at a Subway to eat lunch. (Just so you know, there was a dark point in our lives wherein we ate subway for lunch everyday for a week straight.)

As we sat and ate, some people around us were bustling around getting their food and drinks, talking loudly, scooting their chairs in and out, etc. General restaurant mayhem.

Out of the blue Isabelle said to Tyler, "Dad? You know, some names of drinks have a potty word in them."

"Oh, really?" said Tyler. "Which drinks are those?"

Isabelle shifted her eyes around for a moment at our fellow diners and whispered, "You know... diarrhea coke?"

OH MY GOSH.

"What?" I asked her, almost spewing out my water. I was appalled and humored all at once.

"I think she means Diet Coke," explained Isaac, proudly. "She definitely means Diet Coke."

Wow. Really, wow. No wonder she always eyeballs the people at the soda machine. All this time I thought she was longing for a soda. Now I know. Now I know.

The Tale of the Two-year-old that Went to the Doctor Naked

2011-11-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was seriously the worse parenting day I have ever had, but also (now looking back on it), the funniest.

Greyson woke up screaming from his afternoon nap. It was like he was in the middle of a night terror or something because he seemed half asleep while he was screaming and couldn't be reasoned with. I am going to blame this on stupid daylight savings time. He also had fallen asleep before he got to eat lunch so I think that may have had something to do with it. Or maybe it was sugar withdrawal from no more Halloween candy. Maybe he knew I was already stressed out that day and thought it would be fun to add to my stress. Okay, done making excuses. Bottom line, he woke up screaming.

Well we had T-minus 5 minutes to get out the door so Addy could go to the doctor appointment I scheduled for her because she has a crazy weird rash (excema maybe) all over her. That is another story for another day. Addy and I were ready to roll so all I had to do was take his diaper off from his nap, put his underwear and shorts on, grab a sippy cup and go. Easy right?

I knew Greyson was strong, but holy crap, I could not for the life of me put on his shorts and underwear. He fought it with every ounce in his body and screamed, "NO SHORTS, NO SHORTS!" I told him that as soon as he calmed down I would be happy to get him dressed so we could go but that I wasn't going to fight him to get his shorts on. Um, un problemo... home boy still wasn't calming down. So I took Addy and my purse to the car so I could use all my hands to take Greyson next. This is when he went ballistic. As I was putting Addy in the car he was on our balcony screaming like I have never heard him scream before. Neighbors began coming out to see what was going on. At this point we were going to be 15 minutes late for the appointment and I was getting worried that they wouldn't see her if we were too late.

Greyson willingly came to the car, but once again I could not get his underwear and shorts on him. Meanwhile, I saw neighbors curiously peaking through their blinds seeing what the commotion was. Oh, just a naked toddler screaming! So I put him in his car seat thinking he would calm down by the time we got there. Only he didn't.

I tried with all my strength to get his underwear and shorts on him in the parking lot before going in the doctor's office, but once again Greyson won the battle. How is he stronger than me?!? Desperate to get Addy signed in so they would see us I had no choice but to make a grand entrance into the office with a baby in a car seat in one hand, and a screaming, naked toddler in the other. All quiet eyes went to us. I set Greyson down to sign in and he ran out the door. After bringing him back in I had a nice man hold him down while I put his shorts on. Screw the underwear at this point.

Then Greyson quit crying and just calmly sat on my lap watching all the little boys nicely play with toys. When they called us back and Greyson saw the doctor a switch went off and he was back to normal in an instant. It was so weird. He was just happily chatting away, telling her "I ate raisins" and "nine bubbles!" (there were bubbles on the wall...way more than 9, but that is his favorite number). I told her what happened and she didn't even believe me because he is always so easy going at the doctor's office. She checked for an ear infection to make sure nothing was wrong with him, but oh no, just a case of the terrible two's.

We had to go to Publix after the doctor visit. I was wondering if he would be that crazy screaming Greyson again. I explained to him on the way to the store that he would not get a cookie because of the way he acted. Once we got there he was totally buttering me up...I mean completely OPPOSITE of how he was just an hour ago. He kept giving me kisses and waving to anyone and everyone saying, "hello!" I had to get bread at the bakery and when he saw the cookies he said, "cookie?" I told him no and explained why again and then he said, "no cookie! hugs?" and leaned forward and hugged me. So we went from him screaming hysterically "no shorts" to him hugging me for telling him he couldn't have a cookie. what. a. day.

He was over-the-top sweet to me the rest of the night before he went to bed and it more than made up for that crazy act he pulled. See, thats what happens when you are a parent- you deal with the bad, but it is so worth it for all the good moments.

The exact same thing (him waking up crying) happened again after his nap today. He wasn't out of control because I wasn't rushing him out the door, but he was upset when he woke up and had to be held for about a half hour before he snapped out of it. What is going on!?! I hope it is just the time change because his behavior has been different this week. He just seems more high-strong and less easy-going. I guess only time will tell. :)

And here is my cutie while waiting for dad to come home.

"That Mines Gas Mama"

2011-11-08T12:34:00.000-05:00

The last two days I have felt stressed. I feel stressed when I don't sleep well and I don't sleep well when I am stressed. Hoping to break the cycle tonight... So amidst feeling stressed I found this post I forgot to publish last week and it made me happy. :)

Cute things Greyson has done recently:
1. He keeps asking me, "Nuts mama?" "Why do you want to eat nuts?" He answers, "Squirrels ate nuts." I did give him a handful of peanuts and he spit them out (no surprise there), and even though he doesn't like them he still keeps wanting to eat them constantly. I think it is funny. He always says "ate" instead of "eat". Like when asking to eat something he says, "Ate it, waffle?"

2. "Look punkins Addy!" Greyson loves pointing a pumpkin out to Addy every time he sees one.

3. Greyson has really gotten into taking pictures with my camera. He is so funny. He will snap about 10 in a row, pull the camera away, make silly faces and sounds, and then snap away again. Guess he is just copyin' his mama, but it c.r.a.c.k.s. me up! I love it and HAVE to get it on video!

4. " watwat" = water

5. Greyson has gotten very good at manipulating us at bed time. He holds up one finger and always asks, "one more book" or "one more song." It is hard to resist.

6. Greyson has been really into dancing lately and when he is all done with a dance he holds his hands out and poses for a minute signifying the end of a song. Its adorable.

7. "Aw man" has become a popular phrase of Greyson's these days. Love it.

8. The other day we were getting ready to play with his friend Oliver and I asked Greyson, "Do you want to play with Oliver?" He responded, "Yes and mama pay (play) Elise (Oliver's mom)". Funny guy.

9. Even though besides lollipops Greyson has not liked a single piece of Halloween candy he goes around saying all day, "Ate it cody (candy) pease (please)." *Post edit...he ate an entire reeses cup. First thing he has liked.

10. Another cute thing he recently said was "Oh mines this mama" when he saw his crib sheet come out of the dryer meaning "This crib sheet is mine." He has just learned the word mine and it cracks me up how he uses it. Another favorite... after tooting (or whatever you want to call it) he exclaimed, "that mines gas mama!"

11. Anyone else have a boy into girly things? He still loves high heels and now he has taken it a step further. There is a pirate princess episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates that he likes so now he puts a blanket around him and says, "Mines a princess mama!" Then he will go get "princess shoes" (my high heels) and prance around. I hope this is normal for a boy.

And now for a photo dump...

His turn with the camera:

Just tryin' out the high chair... getting ready for the big day when she can eat real food.

Love.

A WINNER DINNER

2011-11-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

I am not a soup person, but I LOVED this potato-cheesy-ham soup I made for the fam Saturday night.

I based my recipe off this but I added slightly different amounts of things and added an onion. I don't want to forget what I did so I am sharing this deliciousness with you!

First of all, did you know you can call your local bakery and order fresh bread bowls? My friend told me this so I called Publix on Friday to have the bread bowls ready the next day. They baked them fresh in the morning and we thoroughly enjoyed them with our soup. It made all the difference.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans of chicken broth
3 thick (maybe a little less than 1 cm) slices of Boars Head Tavern Ham, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 big carrots, sliced
4 small/medium potatoes, diced
4 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
1 can evaporated milk
16 oz carton of half and half
3 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese

After chopping the ham and onion I sauteed them for a bit in a pot with just a touch of olive oil to bring out the flavor of the ham and soften the onion. Then I added the carrots, potatoes, and chicken broth and let that all simmer for about 15-20 min. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, I melted 4 T. butter then one T. at a time whisked in the flour until it was well blended. Then I added the half and half and the evaporated milk and continued to stir it until it was heated and thickened. Then a cup at a time I added the cheddar cheese and stirred until well-blended and smooth. Then I just combined the cheese sauce with the first pot and stirred it until uniform.

Next time I may even add a little broccoli. This soup was so savory and creamy and the perfect fall meal.

The Pinterest Post

2011-11-06T23:12:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to blog about pinterest ever since I signed up (which was about a week ago)...but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it because I would rather just spend my free time pinning.

See I resisted Facebook for about two years before I gave in and signed up. {I am still resisting twitter}. I have enough internet time wasters and wasn't looking for another, but finally, I gave in to pinterest and man I am so glad I did.

*In case you have no clue what I am talking about it is basically a way that you can bookmark and organize your fave items, ideas, recipes, whatev in a cutsie way using pictures and you can access it from any computer.

I am going to eventually move all the items I have bookmarked on my computer and all my recipes from this blog onto pinterest so I have all my things organized in one place. Ya know how you will come across something on a blog and say "I'm totally going to do that!" but you don't because...well life happens and you forget? Well, if you pin it to one of your boards on pinterest it will help you remember to do it and stay organized. I feel like it is much more worthwhile than looking at status updates on FB. :)

Not gonna lie, browsing all the kid projects made me feel like a bad mom, like I don't do enough "homemade" type activities with Greyson. I mean do parents really make their kids themed lunches everyday?!? Poor Grey Bear eats whatever I can put on his plate in 45 seconds. Anyway, so I gave an idea I saw on pinterest a whirl and it was a hit. He loves the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom so I made a coconut tree and taped it to our washing machine. He used the magnetic letters and let them climb the tree while I was reading the story.

I have also implemented another idea I saw online but it is top secret because some of you will be getting it for Christmas. :)

Because I am new to this whole pinterest thing there are some things I don't get yet. Like I still can not figure out how people start following me on it. I don't see any way that you search people. Somehow I am following 100 people even though I never intentionally started following friends. It just happened automatically. Weird. Anyway, if you want to see my pins click here.

You can thank me later when you are hooked too! :)

CUPCAKES... a new way!

2011-11-03T14:51:00.000-04:00

This recipe is altered from The Girl Who Ate Everything. I brought these to cooking club last week and have devoured 6 in two days. Um, maybe I shouldn't have admitted that.

I tried these doctored up cupcakes that still use a cake mix and they were SO light and delicious!!! I loved them. Instead of making my usual vanilla cupcakes with almond frosting, I switched it. I added almond extract to a plain white cake mix and made vanilla frosting. I have to say it was a nice change. I think I will always "doctor up" my cupcakes from now on.

ALMOND CUPCAKES

1 white cake mix

2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract.

Mix all ingredients until well combined and then cook according to package directions.

I am obsessed with my cream cheese frosting that I always use (usually I also add almond extract to it), but this recipe below for frosting is one I have been looking for for years! Seriously! I have always wondered how you make your own whipped and fluffy frosting...and I guess the trick is heavy cream! I loved this (but maybe a smidge less than my fave frosting). Again, it was good for a change though!

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T08:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, almost done with the never-ending Halloween posts I promise! Halloween was so fun with Greyson this year because he totally got it and ADORED trick-or-treating. He has been saying non-stop in a sweet voice, "more trick-or-treating please." I have been telling him he gets to go again next year and he grins really big and says "yay!" Poor thing, doesn't know how long a year is.

So here is a run-down of our actual Halloween day.

In the morning I snapped a few pictures of him holding Addy on the couch. He asks to hold her every morning when he wakes up. Excuse the fact that he is in his underwear (BTW no accidents for over a week so I think we are back on track there), but at least they are festive.

"PUNKINS ADDY!" Translation: he wanted Addy to see the pumpkins on his underwear.

"Look Addy!" Translation: he was tryin' to help his mama out because I was making silly sounds trying to get her to look at me.

Then it was Greyson's turn with the camera.

So his pirate costume could stay clean that night for trick-or-treating I had him wear his dino costume from last year to a Halloween party that morning. I can't believe it still fit.

His "scary" dinosaur face.

Here he is last year in this costume:

Holdin' hands with his girl.

At one point Greyson was holding hands with three girls. OH mercy.

Bless his soul. It was so incredibly hot and humid out that I let him run around in his underwear.

Okay sidenote: Greyson and Addy are TWINS. They look so much alike!!! Check out Greyson two years ago in the same onesie I put Addy in. The bottom left picture in particular looks just like Addy.

I took some pictures of baby girl in the onesie and girl-afied it and she was just hammin' it up and squealing with delight.

Around 4 pm I took Greyson trick-or-treating to Publix. It was pretty dumb and unorganized, but I had to go so he could see all his favorite Publix workers. Greyson of course loved it though and when they let him choose a piece of candy out of the bowl he would pause and say, "let's see" before he chose one. For some reason he kept choosing crunch bars. :)

Afterwards we met up with Alex and went out to dinner as a treat.

Then the REAL fun began. With all our Halloween adventures, my favorite moment by far was taking Greyson for real, door to door trick-or-treating. He LOVED every second of it and so did Alex and I. We had been talking about all week how he could use his hook to knock on the door and he did not forget! He knocked away and then said "trick or treat" in the cutest voice when they opened the door. He and his buddy Oliver were not shy at all and would try and go inside some of the houses haha! Madeline was the cautious one but I am sure she will be all about it next year.

Here he is at his first house.

What a fun Halloween weekend! I love, love, love Holidays with Greyson even more now that he is older. And for the record, besides lollipops he has not liked a single piece of candy he has tried. Yesterday I let him go to town on it and every single one he tried ended up in the trash (or in mama's mouth lol). I am such a candy junkie that I can't believe Greyson doesn't like it!

Trick-or-Treating Fun

2011-10-31T22:34:00.000-04:00

We practiced the whole week before Halloween saying "trick-or-treat" and let me tell you, Greyson was STOKED. We also played a trick or treat game all week where I would stand on one side of the door and Greyson would knock and yell "TRICK OR TREAT" and then pretend he was eating the candy he got. He watched Halloween cartoons and we read lots of Halloween books so he was ready to roll when the Halloween festivities started.

We even had a trial run before we had our first trick-or-treating experience (well I know he did it last year but he was too young to remember) on our door.

That's the cutest pirate I have ever seen!

We were in our car on the way to the shopping center where we were trick-or-treating on Saturday morning and Greyson yelled, "OH NO, BAG!" Sure enough we had forgotten his pirate trick-or-treat bag so once we got that we were on our way again.

When we first got there he was secretly beaming inside, but acted very shy saying trick-or-treat. After he went to about 4 different people he got braver and started saying it louder and more confidently.

Then when we were done I let him dig into his bag and choose any candy he wanted to eat.

His choice: nerds.

The verdict: he ate a few and then handed the box back to me. He still likes lollipops best.

Later that night we went to a church trunk-or-treat party. We were a pirate family.

YO HO HO.

Check out Addy yo ho hoin' it! Big Brother is teaching her well.

I wanted another family shot once Addy woke up, but I forgot to put on her pirate patch...so do me a favor and imagine it there!

Here is Greyson and his BFF Oliver. I LOVED his costume. So creative! His mama made him a sumo wrestler outfit complete with the thong in the back. Homemade costumes are definitely the best.

Eating his true love, lollipops!

Day 1 of Trick-or-Treating = success! Greyson had SO much fun and has been saying ever since Saturday "more trick-or-treat please." The best part is watching him love it. More Halloween adventures from today coming soon!