happy monday

A Blog Worthy Post (IT'S ABOUT TARGET!)

2012-01-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

Once again, I have failed miserably as a blogger. Unfortunately, every time I sit down to write a post I begin to over think what I'm trying to say, which in turn causes me to erase each sentence about seven times; therefore causing me to spend over an hour just to write one paragraph. (I decided I wasn't going to do that tonight, so please forgive all the run-on sentences and any misspelled words)

I came across one of those savvy mom blogs today. This lady blogs about ways to budget, save money, use coupons etc. I'm not in to couponing because I just don't have the time or energy for it right now. However, the title of the post was something something "TARGET". I love Target. I like to just go to Target to smell Target. It's really sad. So any excuse to go to Target is a good one, even if it means I have to bring coupons along.

I only spent about $6 on these four items!

Here is my justification: Sweatpants-every mom/lazy person knows that you can't have enough sweatpants. My other black sweats will actually get to make it in to the washing machine now! I got these for $3 Woot.
Target Coupon $3.00 off a Merona item (these were on clearance for $6)

Skinny Cow Candies: Totally second rate to my first true love (Dove), but they will do. I printed the manufacturs coupon (Buy One Get One Free) and the Target coupon ($3/2) and got both boxes for a total of $1. AWWWW. (that was fun)

Method Cleaner: My pediatrician actually recommended this cleaner. She said she recently went to a conference and they felt this was one of the safest household cleaners to use around children. It's on sale at Target for $2.99 and currently there is a Target coupon for $1 off.

I felt that was blog worthy. Here is the link to Money Saving Mom. If you click on "Store Deals" you can see all the current ones for Target. She makes using a coupon kind of fun! :) (Crap, I'm a dork)

Operation Decoration Fail

2011-06-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

As you already know from my previous post, my dear sweet boy turned 3 this past weekend. I have debated whether or not to make a big deal out of every birthday because as any mother/grandmother/father/person with a bank account knows birthday parties get expensive fast. This year, I decided I'd use my craftiness to make Lincoln's party fabulous. Well, fabulous it was NOT. Let me give you a little idea of what I had pictured: First, it's his "GOLDEN BIRTHDAY". He turned 3 on the 3rd.

I bought gold tissue paper and made these adorable tissue paper balls.

tissue paper balls

I bought golden balloons and tied them to string, ready to be hung from the rafters of the shelter.

balloon garland

I made a "Happy Golden Birthday" sign out of a variety of golden paper.

happy birthday sign

I bought gold cupcakes liners and sparkly gold confetti (edible) to embellish the white frosting of the cupcakes that I made.

cupcakes

Why you ask, are you using other people's pictures if you did all these things yourself Mrs. Crafty? (insert laugh/cry) Because they all went to Crafty Idea Heaven well before the party actually started. The balloons popped (I guess 95 degree weather was too hot for the pansies), the tissue paper balls flew far far away in to a field somewhere, the cupcakes separated from their liners (never even made it out of my kitchen) and the sign DID get hung but was barely readable due to the high wind speeds. My dear sweet mother even had the omen placed on her too. She offered to make the chicken salad sandwiches, which she's made a trillion times. But, for some reason, this one special occasion her sandwiches turned to soup and she had to start all over. (Thanks again mom)

*Sigh

Although the decorations and theme of my birthday party (Brandon continually reminded me to stop calling it "my" birthday party...it was Lincoln's birthday party) went up in smoke....it wasn't the point and I think the point was well made. Everyone had fun and my boy was so happy to see his family and friends (and open some amazing presents)

Happy 3rd Birthday Lincoln

2011-06-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Lincoln,

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

I love that we had no idea how much our lives were about to change. We knew we were excited, but I don't think we could have fathomed how great our love for you would be.

I love that the first time I held you I could hardly breathe because I was so overwhelmed with who you were. Your curly blonde hair, your puffy lips, your little cry....you were so perfect.

I love that I starred at you, without blinking, for the first year of your life. (Ask your dad, we had to sleep with the lights on....I surely couldn't stare at you in the dark)

I love that I would randomly just start crying when you were this size. I'm not sure why, but I think it's cause I loved you so much.

I love the way your daddy loves you and the way you love him. Your bond is beautiful.

I love that you are so passionate already. When you love you love a lot and when you don't love something so much....you really don't love it!!

I love that you love your little brother.

I love that I love everything about you. Happy 3rd Birthday. Thanks for making me such a happy momma :)

frames

2011-05-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Since we've moved in to our new place I've been determined to find ways to decorate that aren't going to involve places such as Pier One, Crate and Barrel or Anthropologie. (Not that I've EVER bought anything from the last two...but I like to drool over their catalogs.) Our decorating budget is about zero dollars so if it isn't from a garage sale then it ain't in my house. (insert kinda sad face here)

Don't you worry. I've found lots of frames at multiple garage sales. I love the random, yet uniqueness of these frame collages. I put in a few symmetrically accurate, clean cut and color coordinating pictures just to make my husband breathe a little slower. (My random messiness makes him hyperventilate)

link

Here is my first frame collage. I need to find something to put in the empty frame, like a monogram or something. I've got a long ways to go as I don't think Buzz makes the best decor.

coolest idea ever!

2011-05-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe not EVER.....but close. Once again, I owe it all to Pinterest (thanks again, Shea Poe for introducing me to that site). I have very few original ideas, but thats ok....because I have Pinterest :)

BATH TUB PAINT

Fill a muffin tin with white shaving cream. Drop some food coloring in to each one. Stir.

Talk about two excited little boys.

Thats all.

Trimester Break ReCap

2011-05-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

My boys are both napping AT THE SAME TIME. This rarely happens to me. I know I should probably lay down with them, or read a great book or clean the house...but I'd rather blog.

Brandon went back to school today. This is quite a bummer if you ask me. It's so much easier to be a mom when you have a dad to help you out all day.

We went to the zoo yesterday. I promise they had more fun then indicated below. I think it may have reached 90 degrees yesterday. I love everything about warm weather; sunscreen, flip flops, tank tops, sonic drinks, the smell of sweaty kids, chlorine, messy hair....every. last. bit. of. it...i just love it.

Now that we have this new little apartment, with little character and only a little "student's wife" budget I've been hitting up the garage sales. I can see beauty in what I once only knew as junk now that I'm an avid design blog stalker. However, I'm starting to find that I'm much better and buying the junk then making it look cool. Crap!

Here are a few things I'm not ashamed to show off.

I got this for $1

and turned it in to this...

Question: Are you suppose to wear a mask when you spray paint? I didn't and kind of started freaking about about it later. I don't want to die of spraypaintous

I found this at a thrift store. $22.

(I call it my Ellie chair...if you've seen Up you'd understand)

Mother's Day was Sunday so I made this for my momma. It's a dry erase board. I got the idea from this blog here. P.S. sorry my pictures are terrible. I just used my awesome phone camera.

We also made Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Banana bread last night. You ought to try this recipe, it will not disappoint you. You feel kind of healthy because you know there is bananas in there...but kind of guilty because its so chocolaty.

link to pure goodness

Lincoln was a big help in making it because he cleaned the dishes.

LOvE

Kelsie

2011-05-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

A week of silence and I've found something blog worthy! Wouldn't you know it's food related. I thought I'd share my favorite summer recipe with you. I made it for the first time of the season (I'm getting an early start) to bring to a friends house last night. I even doubled the recipe so I could be sure to have leftovers. I could literally eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner (and my 10 intermittent snacking periods).

My mom gave me this one. She's an amazing cook, so pretty much anything I know how to cook is because she passed it along.

(not my picture)

(I've never had a good reason to take a picture of it, so I borrowed one that looked real similar)

1 ball of mozzarella cheese

1 hand full of basil

5 Roma tomatoes

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

french bread loaf (the crusty kind)

Just dice up the tomatoes, cheese and basil; mix together; drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over top to taste.

Let me just mention that I do not like tomatoes. I've never liked them. However, when drenched in balsamic vinegar they are a.m.a.z.i.n.g

I guess I do have one other thing that is pretty blog worthy.

This little guy....

I wanted to take the boys to the animal shelter this week because Lincoln loves animals. Dogs,cats,goats, Black Angus....he doesn't discriminate. It's a lot shorter of a drive then the pet store so I thought it would be a fun FREE family outing. (It was fun...just not free) When we got there we met this little guy. He had been dropped off on the side of the road and brought to the shelter. SERIOUSLY? Look at that face.....you know you would have done the same thing. Even Brandon thought he was cute. (Plus, I have a thing for wiener dogs so I'm pretty sure he was suppose to be mine.)

Lincoln loves him so much. He has probably repeated the phrase, "He's a great doggy" and "I love my doggy" 600 times in two days.

We named him Leo because we just really love that name. We almost named Kingston, "Leo". We didn't because Brandon wanted his full name to be Leonidus...honey, this isn't 300 and I'm not wearing a sheet. Sorry.

It works for the pup though.

Kelsie

2011-04-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how glad I am that today marks the end of another trimester for my husband. This journey through chiropractic school is taking a toll on all of us. I don't know how Brandon manages to be a dad (and a mom a lot of times...hey,it's not my fault that he thinks the laundry needs to be done on a daily basis) and goes to school and retains tons of information about things like neuroanatomy. I mean can you even say that word without slowing down to make sure you pronounce it right? Which by the way he got a 91% on that final! WOOT WOOT.

Honey, I don't want to see ANYMORE of this for the next two weeks. MkAy?

On another note, lets talk about creative people. I'm obsessed with all of them. Especially the ones who share their ideas via blogging. I feel like I use to be creative. I loved sewing (thanks to my dear grandmother). Between the ages of 5 and 9 I sewed more doll pillows than Barbie knew what to do with. I also use to cook. I'm Italian, we cook (we just don't clean as well). Now, I make excuses. I'm too busy. I'm tired. blah blah blah. Why can't I be a mom and create masterful crap at the same time? How about I let the boys partake in the fun. Who cares if we make a mess...(Brandon cares). So, I got motivated and went thrift store shopping. I bought two end tables. They were only $5 a piece.

Isn't it cute...not really? Thats all the further I've gotten, purchasing it. Next, I need to figure out how to make it look cool. I'll keep you posted.

Next, I decided to take on the task of making Cake Pops! Those are hip in the design blog world right now too. My amazing friend Julie had her baby shower this week and I called with MUCH enthusiasm and asked if I could bring cake pops!! I am turning over a new leaf, I can do all things crafty...just give me a good tutorial and I'm set. Well, all I'll say is that after a few choice words and some tears... they were born.

Next week, I would like to accomplish making pillows for our new couch. It's coming on Monday to live at our house. :)

For now, I'm exhausted. Have a great weekend.

Kelsie

renaming this bad boy

2011-04-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this all weekend. The name of this blog really stinks. "Brandon and Kelsie?" I mean come on, I can do better than that. Let's be creative!

Not that I'm not proud to be Brandon and Kelsie, but it's boring.

As we were driving to run a morning errand I snapped a shot of Lincoln and texted it out to some family with a caption that said "Happy Monday".

Monday's are not typically happy, for anyone. Us included. Lincoln wakes up to find that Brandon has gone back to school and that I will be his playmate. (Still not sure why that is so upsetting. I think I'm pretty fun!) Kingston just mimics Lincoln's behavior and pretends to be mad too. It takes until about lunch time for us to all be one with each other...and sometimes it takes until Wednesday.

(This picture was probably taken on a Monday...Lincoln hasn't liked them since birth.)

I want to attempt to make Monday happy. What can we do to stop dreading the beginning of the week? Are we not happy with what we do? Who we are? Where we live? Do we need to check ourselves and just be thankful for what we have? We will get to eat today, will have a roof over our head and will have people near by that love us.

I think it makes for a perfect blog name. A little greeting with a bit of a deeper meaning.

Kelsie

Let's Try This Again

2011-04-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Circa 2008, we had this precious child. I was so excited about his every movement that I thought surely everyone else would be too. So I started this blog.

As any new mother knows, at about the age of mobility is when things start to change quite dramatically. (If you glance below that is about the time when this blog fizzed)

Fifteen months after Lincoln was born our little family of three grew bigger. (I don't look tired at all do I?)

We had this stud bucket....

So, you can imagine that blogging hasn't been on my to do list for a while. Right?

Well, thanks to a friend of mine I discovered Google Reader...and can say I have a small problem. I'm addicted to reading blogs. After all my blog stalking I decided that surely I can update mine every once in a while when that stars align and my kiddos fall asleep before 930pm.

So here is to second chances! I'm going to give it my best shot.

With Love, Kelsie

A Week Off

2008-10-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Lincoln got his first taste of some major car trips this week. I believe we spent a total of 19 hours in the car this week driving from one place to the next. We've been to Mt.Ayr,IA; California, MO; and Branson....all in 7 days. We packed up a van a drove with our friends Carmen and Eddie (and there two daughters) to Branson. We stayed in a condo and relaxed for a few days. Kind of funny thing if you can imagine....three kiddos under the age of two in one vehicle....two men who talked about theology for 8 hours straight and poor Carmen who had to try and keep the peace the whole way down there.

Lincoln had his fourth month appointment yesterday. He is apparently more like his father than we even knew. Here are his stats:
Weight: 15.5 lbs- 50th percentile
Height: 26"-90th percentile
Head : 16" -10th percentile

I'd say him and B have some things in common...tall with small heads. One of these days I'll get around to scanning some of Brandon's baby pictures. I am not kidding, these two people are identical. You look at Brandon's pictures and think you are looking a Lincoln's.

Excuse the "Nee na Nee"

2008-09-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

a week full of tears

2008-09-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

Our week started out with a bang. I've been putting off getting Lincoln's shots for some time now (you are suppose to get shots at 2 months, he will be 4 months old in a week). So, I decided that I needed to buckle down and just do it. Last week, Brandon and I drove to the county Health Department where they administer the shots. The entire ride I had the worst anxiety about getting these shots. I was just imagining our sweet little boy who is riding so happily in the backseat, with no idea where we were taking him. I felt like throwing up. We finally arrived at the health department, which was about a 25 minute drive. I'll try to describe the war zone to you. After finding a parking spot in the overflowing lot we walked in to the main building. The building was filled to the brim with sick children (I guess I was just assuming they were sick...they might not have been, looking back on it) My first instinct was to NOT walk through the screaming, sniffling crowd for fear that one of their little snot germs would jump up and get on my babies face. Brandon, on the other hand, was apparently blind to the crowd and walked right through it to a set of chairs in the back of the room. I had no choice but to follow him. We put our name in and were told that we were going to just have to wait our turn. Um...that could be NEVER. Now I am sitting in a room, highly fearful of having to give Lincoln these shots, with tons of screaming little kids surrounding me. (Brandon argues that there was only one child who was screaming....I'm pretty sure there was more) The room was getting smaller and smaller by the second....so I did what anyone would do. I stood up and told Brandon that it was time to go. Since he obviously didn't want to discuss my craziness in front of the ENTIRE COUNTY, he got up and we left. He was very gracious...he only pointed out to me a few reasons why I shouldn't have made us leave. Needless to say, I cried pretty much the whole way back to our house. We went for round two on Monday. I didn't realize the nurses come to our town, so we don't even HAVE to drive all the way to the health department. We took Lincoln in, were intentional about being the first ones there, and got those stupid shots. As you can imagine, Lincoln absolutely wailed....as did I. There is just something about seeing your child in pain that makes you want to weep. The rest of the day was pretty solemn.
Now that I'm a mother I feel like I've been able to understand more thoroughly God's heart toward His children. I love Lincoln so much and yet it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of God's love for us. How can that be? To think, when I'm burdened or saddened by something the effect that has on my God. I've been doing a study through the Psalms of Ascent and it is incredible to really observe the variety of emotions that the psalmist pours out on God. There is rejoicing and suffering only pages away from one another. Lincoln has started laughing...not just smiling...but laughing. I can't explain to you the feelings I have when I watch him do that. To think God finds joy in our times of laughter (I guess depending on what your laughing at).
When we were living in Maryville, I became really close to a girl named Amanda. When I found out I was pregnant, she was ready to answer my scroll of questions. Then, when I started puking every day she was ready to do whatever she could to make the time a bit more pleasant. She cooked dinner for Brandon and I every night for weeks because I couldn't even stomach the smell of food. Seeing as I'm not the best cook anyways, Brandon and I welcomed her generosity. She was always available....which is something I've found to be so important in friendships. She taught me how to run 4 miles without stopping for a snack!! Anyways. I could seriously write a novel singing her praises....but I won't. My point is, her and her wonderful husband and son moved to China in August to teach. Since they left, I have been quite emotional about their departure because friends like that are hard to find. I can think specifically of about 4 girls I ever felt so close to...and I'd cry if they moved to China too....so don't even think about it. Well, Amanda called me yesterday from China. And guess what I did the whole time I was on the phone with her....yes that's right....I cried.
I'm also craving donuts...could I be pregnant?

Tilt Your Head

2008-09-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

I cAn't DeciDe What TO Name You

2008-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever noticed how coming up with a title for a post is by far the hardest thing about blogging? When I started this blog my intention was to just keep people updated on Lincoln, so I went with the weeks of his life. Can we say boring? Not to mention the fact that I can't honestly tell you how many weeks old he is anymore...I mean I could, but I'd have to go look it up (and who has time to do that?). I do know that he just turned three months old on September 3rd. Brandon and I went to a concert last weekend and left Lincoln with Brandon's mom. I stressed out about it for about a week prior to the concert because I'm a freak. However, all my worrying was proven pointless and exhausting because everything went fine and we actually had a great night.
I'm still trying to figure out how one quits a full time job as a teacher, to be a stay at home mom, and feels busier than ever before. I started making earrings with my sister in-law and it's kind of become my new favorite hobby. A lady who owns a local boutique has even started selling them in her store. If you want to see them you can go to www.sisterandwain.etsy.com Which, if you haven't heard of the website (www.etsy.com)you should TOTALLY check it out.
Lincoln Update: He does this thing where he raises one eyebrow and smiles at me...like he's tryin' to tell me I'm the hottest mom ever...so cute.
My favorite thing is when he's waking up from a nap he'll arch his back and stretch one arm up over his head...man it just looks like it feel so good. It makes me want to start doing that when I wake up. He does, however, currently have diaper rash. Thank you Lord for Butt Paste. I'm trying to think of anything else you might want to know about him....since some of you have yet to see him...DAD. Anyways...sorry no pictures on this post. I'll have to upload them later.

Busy Busy

2008-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

As you can see I've really failed as a blogger. It should be against blogger code to not update in two weeks. Please forgive me. Things have been going well. Brandon is working at a golf course until school starts in October...so as you can imagine he is in his element. He's super stoked for the D.C. program to begin....we visited the campus ( I might have already mentioned that in a earlier post) and it is very fancy. Whitney visited last weekend and it was so wonderful. Her time in town was way to short....although I think I will always feel that way until she just lives here again. I think she really enjoyed her quality time with Lincoln. He showed her all his new tricks. She was impressed. I've been letting him watch his Baby Einstein videos which he is actually very entertained by.... it's crazy because if you've ever watched a Baby Einstein video you know they are pretty boring. I'd say he is easily entertained though. I took this picture of him sleeping the other day...he's a pretty content baby, can you tell?

birthday.week 10. restful nights

2008-08-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my birthday I had some of my favorite couples over for dinner and a night of girl talk while our husband's acted like small children. (We love them but they can be so immature when they get together) My mom spent the first part of the day with me while I shopped for clothes for Lincoln. He was in need of some fall/winter clothes. If any of you find any good garage sales let me know. I've been checking the papers are a regular basis. I have this vision of finding a really great garage sale where the woman wants to get rid of all her son's baby clothes...for like $10 or something crazy! It might be all a dream....but I'm holding on to it!
Another wonderful gift I recieved was a pass to Jazzercise. It's my favorite place to work out because it's an hour of fun dance moves....and I sweat my bum off while I'm there.
Lincoln is growing up so fast....I feel like when I wake up every morning he looks a little bigger than the day before. His new favorite thing is to watch the fan or his mobile go around in circles. He'll just lay there and smile and coo. I'm going to try and capture it on video and post it for all of you to enjoy.
He's also been doing a really great job sleeping at night. I guess all I had to do was just chill out about it.

9 Weeks/Shopping with Jackie and Alex

2008-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

We had a little graduation today. We went from size 1 diapers to size 2. Is that exciting for anyone else but me? On my way to Target to buy diapers I had to call my "ask a nurse" aka Jaclyn to ask what size I should buy. After getting her advice, Brandon's advice and the random mom in the diaper isle....I went for the size 2s! We headed up to Jaclyn's for a day of shopping while daddy went golfing. Jaclyn and I had a blast trying cute hats on the boys. Lincoln doesn't look too amused. Then, we made a pit stop in the dressing room at Express to nurse....after burping Lincoln he decided to puke on the jeans that were laying the dressing room. Oops! Apparently that's how he feels about $70 jeans. Me too buddy! Jaclyn captured the moment!

7 and 8 weeks (Pictures Below)

2008-07-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wow. Sorry for the delay. We have been super busy these last two weeks. We finally got everything moved...not settled....but moved. Lincoln has been such a champ in the transitioning process. As you can see from the pictures we've been blessed with tons of smiles from him. That's his newest development. Not to mention how big he is getting. Just looking back at pictures from a few weeks ago, it seems like he has just grown so much. (Which would explain the frequent naps and extra feedings!)

2008-07-31T12:00:00.001-07:00

6 Weeks (Pictures Below)

2008-07-16T06:58:00.003-07:00

Events from Lincoln's 6th week of life: We spent the weekend at my parent's house trying to get things ready for the big move. In case you haven't heard, Brandon and I will be moving in with my family for a while. Since I feel so strongly about staying home with Lincoln and Brandon will be starting school we decided it would be best to stay there for a while. My parents have graciously given us two bedrooms (one for us and one for Lincoln). We'll probably stay there until I'm ready to teach again. I think it will be worth the money we will be saving in the end when Brandon graduates from Chiropractic school.
We hung out with Carmen and Eddie and Jackie and Dillon this weekend. We had a house full of little people. It was a late night, but totally worth every second. The boys left us to go play tennis and didn't return until about midnight.
Brandon is lovin' the trips to my parent's house every weekend. He can't get over the fact that my mom makes a full meal every night. And for some reason going to Kansas City to Brandon means at least one round of golf.
Brandon's mom made a trip up to see us this weekend as well. Her side of the family hadn't met Lincoln yet so we brought him over to see everyone. His mom stayed up in Maryville Sunday night and helped us get stuff moved to the garage for our sale this weekend.
We caught Link sucking his thumb last night. (Picture below)
I had my 6 week check up yesterday. Everything checked out just fine and Dr. D reassured me that it was completely normal for Lincoln to be wanting to eat more often than usual. We were doing so well for aboout a week eating every three to three and a half hours. Then, this week everything changed. He has been wanting to eat every hour and a half to two hours. I've tried everything to distract him (paci, rocking, diaper change....etc) but it's the milky milk that he wants!

2008-07-16T06:58:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July Weekend/ 5 Weeks

2008-07-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

The mommas trying to get some sun

Lincoln hung out in the shade.

Kip enjoying his day in the sun!

Chase shreddin' on his guitar....poolside

Dillon and Alex splashin' in the pool

We had a great weekend hanging out with our friends and family. Fourth of July was a bit lower key then in year's past. The boys played golf all day while us girls hung out by the pool with the babies. We've had two good friends of ours have babies within the last few weeks, which has made us realize how big Lincoln really has gotten. To us, he still seems like the little newborn baby we brought home five weeks ago. We are getting ready to make a big move in the next few weeks. It's all bittersweet. We'll miss this sweet little town, but I'm really excited for Brandon to get to start school and to live closer to family and friends.
5 week Developments:
Lincoln has become good friends with Mr. Paci. We drove home from Kansas City yesterday and when we hit Platte City (about an hour and ten minutes away from home) he started crying....so I pulled over and sure enough that paci got us all the way home (it did fall out one time and I had to pull over to put it back in).

I think we may have narrowed down the internal problems we were having as well. For a while there Lincoln was very fussy and would move around like his tummy was bothering him. So I was reading online that a lot of times dairy products can upset there stomach (when breastfeeding). So I've cut out dairy products from my diet and I've noticed a huge differences. It's incredible how impossible it always was for me to turn down ice cream and now that I know it upsets my boy it seems so easy!

I put on a Baby Einstein video this morning and it was so cute to watch Lincoln actually seem interested. He is just now starting to notice faces and pay attention when he is being talked to. I'm still waiting on that first smile though. So far, all his smiling has been folllowed by toots....or sometimes when he is sleeping we'll catch him smile.

4 Weeks

2008-07-03T09:45:00.001-07:00

Wow. The first month has really gone by fast. These posts might be getting shorter considering my little man has learned how to use his lungs. We used our handy Chicco front carrier to go on a walk last night and Lincoln seemed to really enjoy it. Dad liked it too.

3 Weeks Old

2008-06-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sleepin' the day away....

After his first "real" bath....this is what we like to call the turtle face.

Aunt Whitney lovin' on Lincoln

This is Lincoln's favorite place to sleep....at least that's what I like to think.

We had an awesome weekend. Brandon's sister Whitney and her husband flew in from Florida to meet Lincoln on Friday morning. Then Friday night Jackie, Dillon and Alexander drove up to join the party. It was so great to have all our favorite people around for the weekend. Sunday we took Lincoln down to my parent's house for the first time. I have been a little nervous because it's a two hour drive....and I haven't quite fiqured out what to do if he cries in the car. Come to find out....it's not that big of a deal. He likes car rides and sleeps quite nicely through them. All my worrying for nothing, as usual.

I've been telling myself that I was going to start journaling some of the new things we experience with Lincoln.....so I think I'll just use my blogspot to do that. So....sorry if I begin to bore anyone.

Issues of week 3: Gas/Constipation: For the last week Lincoln has spent countless hours concentrating on his bowel movements. He push and push and nothing will come out. There have been a few instances where he seems to be really bothered and he'll start to fuss about it....but nothing major so I've held off on trying to intervene.

Day/Night Confusion: We had about three nights when he woke up from his "all day slumber" at about 10:30pm and stayed awake until about 1am. He was pretty fussy during this period....and grunting a lot so I was kind of thinking it was his tummy. Finally I asked Brandon in desperation one night what he thought I should do.....his response "Just take him to the other room" He was confused.....he thought I meant what should I do for him...not what should I do for Lincoln. Silly husband! Well, I finally took his advice two nights ago and brought Lincoln out to the living room and put him in his little chair that he loves to sit in. I thought an incline might feel better on his stomach. I was right....he went right to sleep. Thank you Jesus!

A Good Night: Last night was something to get excited about. We stayed on a schedule! I feed him at 11pm and put him down....he went right to sleep. Then he woke up at 2am, 4:30am and 6:30am to feed, be changed and fall right back to sleep! Amazing. I woke up so excited because I actually felt rested and was so proud of my little dude! I understand that it may not be the case tonight.....but at least I know what he's capable of.

2 Weeks Old

2008-06-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

No one can prepare you for what motherhood is really like. I couldn't have imagined the love I'd feel for someone I just met 2 weeks ago. Man! It's awesome. Lincoln is doing great. He enjoys sleeping, pooping, peeing on my face and of course....eating. Our evenings have been pretty eventful....which is not exactly ideal. I'd rather our days be eventful and our evenings be full of slumber! Lincoln has a time slot from about 11pm to 1am that he prefers to be awake. We will be working on that I guess. Here are a few pictures of our little man.

Baby Lincoln is here!!

2008-06-05T13:03:00.001-07:00

Last Day of School

2008-05-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

The last day of school was bittersweet. I've spent every day for the last nine months with these kids.....so needless to say I'll miss them! It has been a lot of fun watching them grow and mature (well not all of them matured). They really made my first year of teaching a memorbale experience.

Baby Update: He isn't here yet!

Mommy Update: I've been to the hosiptal twice...I figure I need to get to know all the nurses in the OB unit before the big day. He is a tricky little fella'!

Lincoln's Room

2008-05-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

The last week or two has been very busy. The end of the school year is quickly approaching which means the teachers (especially the pregnant ones) are getting a bit razzed. Between park day and field day I feel like I've lost my nerve. Not to mention that we decided to start the nesting process this last week. Halleluia for amazing husbands....mine painted the entire nursery all by himself!! I just sat in the middle of the room (with Kipper...see above) and watched :) I could have helped out....but I had a big excuse tagged on to the front of my body that allowed me to be exempt. For those of you who know my husband, he is a bit of a perfectionist. So, I convinced myself that he probably WANTED to do it himself because I would probably do something unconventional like paint sideways and not straight up and down! Nonetheless, the room turned out amazing. Great work B! Here are some photos.

Sunny Love

2008-04-16T15:19:00.001-07:00

Florida was absolutely amazing. We headed down last Wednesday
and returned on Monday. The weather was perfect everyday we
were there. We spent the first day laying out on the beach....needless
to say we should have listened to the warnings of the natives who
told us to put on more sunscreen. I was a bit pink and in much
pain for the rest of our trip! The wedding was beautiful.
Whitney and Greg looked like they came straight out of some
high fashion magazine. Baby Lincoln enjoyed the trip too! We went
in for our doctors appointment yesterday and he has grown quite
a bit in the last two weeks. He was right on track (the doctor had
been telling us that he was measuring smaller than normal....which
was not a concern for her because she feels better about him being s
mall seeing as I'm not a very big person myself) I think all that talk
about "being small" gave him a little boost to pick up the speed.
I don't think boys like being told they are small. We were also
informed that his head was right in "down" position. Good news.
Also...one more bit of BIG NEWS. Brandon got accepted in
to the Doctor of Chiropractic Program that he applied for this
winter. Pretty exciting. As long as everything works out, he will
start in June. No other big reports. Work is going....the kids are
starting to get really antsy for summer...and that has really taken a
beating on me! I'm really tired of telling them what NOT to do
all day long. Summer come quick.

Friday Night Entertainment

2008-03-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

We have some very entertaining pets. We sat around and video taped them on Friday night. Maybe you will think they are funny too.

Jared's Birthday Party

2008-03-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

And....We're Back!

2008-03-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

After much convincing, I finally got Brandon to give up his terrible habit. Rock Band. We sold it, along with the PS3 to a guy in Kansas....whom also happens to be our age and married. (If I would have known he was married I probably would have objected in his wife's defense....but I didn't find out until it was already gone.) I can't get too excited about Rock Band being gone because it has been replaced in our house with something much louder. Brandon and has decided he wants to be a "real" drummer....not just a "Expert Level" Rock Band drummer. So these have been hanging out in our spare bedroom.

It's Broke.

2008-02-22T11:30:00.001-08:00

I'm not quite sure what the deal has been lately, but it seems as though everything I touch breaks. It all started with the cd player in our Escape. As I went to eject a cd, they cd player got jammed. Then, I was coming home and I hit the garage door opener....sure enough the garage door opened half way and got stuck. Then, yesterday morning I went to turn on the tv and guess what......the cable box just wouldn't turn on. Now, to top it all off as I got all the pictures from our camera uploaded on to the computer, I went to turn the camera on to take a picture and sure enough.....the camera won't work. What's the deal?

Anyways. The week has gone by pretty quickly. There must be an epidemic going around Savannah. I have had a total of about 15 kids get sick (not all on the same day....as that would be too wonderful a thing to ever happen to me). Hopefully this weather will change quickly....I can't explain how tired of being cold I am. I just want to wear flip flops so badly....or how about just be able to stand outside without a limb being in danger of falling off..... that would be fine too.

Brandon and I tried something new last night. Since its so hard for us to wake up in the mornings we decided we would try to go to bed really early and then when we woke up at like 4am (getting our usually 9 hours of sleep) it would feel like sleeping in to sleep until 6:30am. Since the t.v. is now broke it was no problem going to bed at 7:30am. Wouldn't you know....I'm still tired though. I guess it doesn't matter what time you go to bed....waking up at 6:30am will always be stinky.

2008-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

If I could find the USB cord to our camera I would upload pictures of our weekend. Thursday night we met up with our friends, Jared and Allison for dinner in Maryville. Jared was speaking at Crusade so Brandon and I went along to listen. It was so strange having to be somewhere at 9pm. It was so normal in college to have meetings and clubs that would start at 9pm and now I can't think of how I ever survived being out so late. Friday night as a huge blessing, Katie Kindler and Bryce Man (I don't know his last name) came over for some of my down home cookin'! I've master the hamburger so I thought I'd show it off to them. It was an awesome night, great conversation with some people who are really cool! Does it get much better than that? Then...Saturday Brandon spent the whole day working at the church. I got to go hang out with some GAL girls. They had their rush weekend this weekend. I always love it when they call me up to be a part of the festivities..... it was weird not really knowing anyone....but nonetheless wonderful to spend some time in God's Word with the girls. Then Saturday evening we ate out with my parents to celebrate my brother's birthday. Chase picked to eat at the Melting Pot.....so that is where we spent our evening out. If you've never been there...its quite an experience....I'd encourage you to try it sometime. Sunday we got to spend time with Brandon's mom and his side of the family. His uncle has invented an amazing machine that I can't even begin to describe because quite frankly I felt the whole idea was completely over my head. However, he is a complete genius so no doubt the machine is amazing!! He took us all down to the West Bottoms to check it out. Then, to top off our weekend, we stopped in to the Gutierrez home to see our little man (and our best friends too of course). Good Night....talk about the cutest baby ever! I can't get over this kid. I got to experience some real joys of being a mom....as Jaclyn was changing his poopy diaper (mind you she had gotten the old diaper off and got him all cleaned up....just about to slip the new diaper on) he lets a big pooper all over the changing table. Awesome! It didn't even phase Jaclyn....I think she is starting to get use to being pooped and peed on. Aww...I have so much to look forward to. Well, I'm enjoying my Monday off. I haven't done a single thing all day. I have a stack of papers waiting to be graded.....and a laundry room of clothes (that are dirty). I think I should get to business.

Big Momma

2008-02-13T17:13:00.001-08:00

I thought I would take the commercial break of American Idol to make a post. The little man in my tummy is doing great. He must be growing at a phenomenal rate because I know I sure am!! It's funny because people who have known my due date from day one keep asking, "remind me....when are you due again?" I might just be a sensitive pregnant girl, but I think that is code for "man you are a fatty!". Then again, to be completely honest it seems like everything people say these days is code for that. Weird!

After sharing with my mom the crib and changing table that Brandon and I were headed out to buy, she insisted on letting that be her gift to us. So she ordered all of it and had it shipped right to our house!! Wow. I really wasn't not expecting that out of our phone call.....but it is sure a blessing. Thanks Mom (and Dad). I'll be sure to get some pictures as soon as we get it all put together.

I wanted to show off my belly.

Alex has ARRIVED!!

2008-02-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

What an amazing couple of days it has been. Praise God for his mercy and love. Jaclyn had an outstanding labor and Alex is here and healthy as ever. I don't think I've seen a cuter baby then this one!! He is absolutely perfect. (But could we expect anything less from America's Most Beautiful Couple?) Here are some pictures from our day at the hospital. I'm sure Jaclyn will have lots of her own to add.....but here is a little preview.

Awww...Now I remember!

2008-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well, please excuse the time frame between this post and the last. I had a momentary lapse of forgetfulness ( I usually attribute that to the "baby brain drain").....and it took me a while to remember what my password was to get back in to this thing!

So we took our 20 week trip to the ol' sonogram machine. What an experience that was for all of us. Of course Momma P (or should I call her "Granny P"....she'd kill me if she knew I was calling her granny!!) and Papa P had to make the trip up to Maryville to be present for our viewing session.....and don't forget uncle Chaser. Who might I add was an amazing sport through it all (probably wasn't the 1st thing on his to-do list to go WATCH the sonogram..I imgaine he would have been content to find out later) All five of us crammed in this tiny room and made ourselves comfortable in front of the monitor. (I got to lay on the table...so I was doing just fine.) Anways. As the nurse took her precious time showing us baby's face, heart, fingers, arms, legs etc. All I could think of is..."Is she seriously trying to torture me?" Can we start from the bottom and work our way up? Of course not. Well needless to say, by the time we did make it to that part there was NO question that we are having a BOY. I even had to ask her, "Does his wee wee look like it's bigger than normal?" Brandon felt pretty proud! Haha.
Everyone was super excited....and my dad and brother shared with us over dinner how much they were HOPING for a boy. Wow. I'm sure glad we aren't disappointing anyone. I'm just glad he is healthy and he is so active. (Which kind of scares me a little too...but I'm not worried. ) As soon as I learn how to work my scanner I'll put some pictures up of our little guy.

My boy's cousin should be joining the world any day now. Brandon and I have been anxiously awaiting the Gutierrez phone call to get our behinds down to the hospital!! COme on Baby G....we want to meet you, kid!

I think I might be ready...

2008-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

I think we have officially had our blog for about a year now....so I might be ready to actually start writing on it! This last year has been very eventful, maybe too eventful. Our best friends found out they were expecting a baby....so we were going to be an aunt and uncle. We bought a house.....so we became homeowners. We both got full time jobs (Brandon is working as an Enviromental Health Specialsit and I'm teaching 5th grade).....so we became grown ups. And then.....to put the cherry on top of the boston cream pie....we found out we too were going to be having a little munchkin of our very own.....yes and that means we are now going to be parents! An aunt/uncle....a homeowner....a grown-up .....a parent. Thats alot of things to become in such a short period of time.

The first few months of the pregnancy were less than delightful. I spent a lot of time with my head in a toliet. However, we are back on track now. At 18 weeks, I'm feeling like I new woman. I have even managed to get the fish sticks out of the box and put them in the oven!

We will be going next Thursday to find out if we will be chasing a boy around and crash padding our house for the next 21 years or dressing a little girl up in huge bows and going to dance recitals (I'm not sure I'll be able to do that until she is 21.....but I'll probably be the mother that would try.) However partial that sounded I'm just thrilled that we are having one!!