9,10,11 Months!

Wow! Time has flown.  Ooops I could kick myself for forgetting to write these posts.  They really helped me remember amazing milestones in chases life.

He is so active now which is keeping me pretty busy. Almost a year old, but lets start with 9 months.

9 Months old he learned to: Wave bye to Daddy. He learned to stand up without help. Also gets so excited when Daddy comes home! He says hhhhhot when you ouchy.  Since I say don't touch that's ouchy hot.

10 Months old:  He started stacking things and putting his dropping toys through the holes.  He also loves to throw everything on the floor and empty cabinets, toy boxes, or throw your drinks off the counter.  He climbs up on our stool and tries to get to everything he shouldn't. He started shaking his head no for things and laughing when you say no. 

11 Months old:  He started to walk!! He is so very wobbly and not very confident but he is getting close.  He also learned the proper way to get off the couch, walk down stairs (eeekk).  He knows that the duck says quack quack, and can say a variation of that. 

At some point and I cannot remember when, maybe... hopefully I wrote it down, Chase started giving kisses.  Open mouth and totally lovingly.  He only gave them to me for a long time then at 11 months he started to give Daddy kisses too. He loves to play with his big sister, and destroy her room.  Her toys are so much cooler than his!

I just cannot believe its been a year, he is such a blessing and were so happy he joined our happy little family!

Thank you for reading and I hope to post more often, these two keep me pretty busy.

Before they grow up.

Its so easy to get into a routine and just go, go, go.  Or to have a check list a mile long of things you have to get done.  Everything seems so important and requires so much attention.  These are things that I recently have come to the conclusion will have to wait. 

I have a 6 Year old, In two months she will be 7 years old.  Time has flown right by with come on were going be late, and we just don't have time right now.  7 Years old, and so much young fun, life, energy and wonder left.  It wont last. 

I have a 8 Month old, he is so very attached to his mama.  I wanted it this way really, but I find myself not appreciating it like I should.  He has been very high needs from the beginning with lots of stomach problems, crying, spitting up, cluster nursing.  I remember my husband coming home from work and just handing him over like PLEASE take him.  And now he is crawling, climbing, and all I want to do his for him to hold still so I can cuddle with him.... 

What I am trying to say is it goes by too fast.  One day they're in diapers looking at you to care for their every need, sweet little squishy faces and the next they're grown and you wonder where the time went.  It's so hard when your in the moment your laundry needs folding, your dishes are dirty, the toys are everywhere, the errands need running, dinner at 5, soccer at 6, busy, busy, busy.  Just remember when its gone its gone.  Silliness, giggles, pitter patter appreciate it all before its gone.

Looking back on it you will never say man I wish I had done more dishes when they were little.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to hug more, love more, spend more time with my babies, before they're all grown up.

Happy New Year

New Years Recap.

This year has been incredible.  We are currently living in Lansing NY to be near our family.  We moved back here to spend more time with them, and so our children could get to know their family.  Taylor Started in kindergarten in 2014 so she finished out her first year of school this year!  We welcomed our beautiful son Chase.  We celebrated our first year anniversary of being married. 

Our family April 2015

  The beginning of this year was pretty average, I was very pregnant, was working, taking Taylor to school everyday, just a normal routine.  We didn't really do too much knowing we had this pending arrival. 

April came and we were really anxious to meet our little man.  He came 3 days late, on a night where I had chose to stay up late to scrub the floors in the house.  Nesting much! Ha.  I was super freaking out that whole week that the house just wasn't in order for the baby to come.  

Then of course in the middle of the night I woke up to find out I was in labor.  We welcomed our beautiful boy on April 16th.  You can read about my natural hospital birth HERE. 

I have been blogging about his progress every month if you would like to check it out.  He has grown so much in just 8 months.  

A couple of weeks after he was born we had found out we were inheriting a camper!  My mother in law gave us her camper after deciding to get a larger one for herself and husband.

When re-visiting the camper after a long time since last seeing it I noticed it needed some work.  I saw a few spots that looked like had gotten rotten from water over the years.  So even though I was really excited, I was slightly concerned about mold or mildew.  A week later my husband started his renovation of our Camper.  

I had no idea my comment about the concern of mold and mildew would turn into the project it did.  He spent a month or two working all the time on our family camper.  I was so proud, and excited of all his work.  Now I can't say that I enjoyed every minute of the process.  It took up a lot of my husbands free time and I missed and needed him quite a bit during those weeks.  But it was sure fun decorating and designing our home on wheels, our family camper.      

We took the camper a few times over the summer.  We went to the 6 Hour sports car race at Watkins Glen, we went to Cortland's Country park, and Brennan Beach at lake Ontario, NY.

Then we got ready for Taylor to go back to school and start back at a normal routine with her.  She started the 1st Grade.  

A month after school started they had a break for Columbus day.  We took advantage of the time off and went to visit my sister Sarah and her boyfriend Anthony.  They moved to the Charlotte area and bought a house in South Carolina.  We took advantage of our trip and went to the Nascar Race.  It was a blast, except that it rained the day they were supposed to race so we came back the next day.  The following day ended up being beautiful and perfect.  We had a great time.  Chase didn't even mind too much.

We had a great year.  Toward the end we decided to move into a new place, looking for a house.  The neighbors that moved in at the end of the summer were really noisy, and the cost was just too crazy for our budget anymore.  So I looked and looked and got so lucky and found the perfect little house. 

We chose to downsize, and try to get rid of as much as possible before we moved.  We had trouble getting rid of enough before we moved so we have been slowly getting rid of things as we come to them.  I had decided to live simpler and cleaner.  I don't want to spend so much time cleaning and organizing all the time.  Less stuff = less stress.  Its been going really well and I hope to have it done soon.

Our Christmas was amazing.  Chase celebrated his first.  He didn't care too much or understand what was happening but it was still cool to watch his reaction.  Some of the toys with lights and sounds really excited him.  Taylor got a new bicycle that is more of a big girl bike.  She loves it, and has been practicing, hand breaks have been a new challenge.  She ran into my cousins car on Christmas because she couldn't stop...ooops.  We were able to celebrate with the whole family being near them really helps with that.  It was surprisingly warm this year being in the 60s. It was a great holiday. 

We are just so blessed, happy, lucky.  I couldn't ask for more.  We are all healthy and have everything we need.  This year has been an amazing one and I can't wait to see how great the new one will be.  Watch the children grow, learn, laugh, play and love.  

New years resolutions or Goals as I call them.

1. Be more patient
2. Be more Social
3. Read and Learn More

Thank you so much for reading my blog.  I hope you come back soon and read more about my happy sweet family.  

8 months

 Whew it's been 8 months already I can't believe how fast the times past. This baby boy is growing so quick. 

This is the toughest picture I've done by far. He would not sit still, heck he never sits still. Always on the move, touching everything he probably shouldn't. Climbing on and in everything. 

He is starting to communicate with us. He can say ma ba da sometimes sorta an up. If he is hungry he will go mamababa. We have been showing him sign language and it seems like he's starting to understand. 

He started eating small foods Iike cooked veggies and little shards of meat. He loves picking it up and putting it in his mouth, he's got great aim too! 

He pulls him self up on everything all the time. He has stood alone a few times.  Mostly when he doesn't realize what he's doing. He wiggles and giggles.  He got some riding toys for Christmas and tries to stand on the seat instead of ride. He's pulled his rocking horse and scoot and ride toy over on top of himself multiple times. He can climb up our stairs to the living room. Giving me heart attacks. Hardly ever holds still. Even when I'm holding him he's grabbing and moving around. 

He still doesn't like to sleep through the night. I think he's just so active he wants to get up and play play play. 

He is so impressed with everything his sister does. He thinks she is the best thing. He smiles and kicks  his legs when he sees her coming.  She loves playing with him and helping. 

Chase is such a happy boy we love him so much and are so grateful everyday to get to watch him and Taylor grow. 

Thank you for reading. Check back soon for more about our crazy awesome life. 

7 months old

I totally forgot to write this one. The change in just one month has been extreme. 

Chase is still a tiny guy weighing in at 14lbs 14 ounces. He is on the move though. Chase has learned to crawl and within days of learning to crawl he could pull himself up on things. His favorite being the coffee table. Or anything he can reach, bonking his head is his newest hobby. 

Talking has taken off too... He says mama, dada and baba. He can almost say up. You can hear him try to say it when you ask him "you want up?" 

He lights up when he sees people he knows and gets very excited kicking his legs. Chase also will try to drop himself down to get down and play, he lifts his arms way up in the air. 

He tried some thanksgiving turkey and seemed to like it for a while. Sweet potatos and butternut squash are still his favorites. 

Teething like crazy, 6 teeth now and a 7th on the way. 

He loves to play with his sissy Taylor.  She tries to read to him everyday.  He adores watching her. They are both growing so fast and learning so much. 

Thank you for reading!

Restoring an old dresser into a changing table

When I was pregnant for Chase I had in my mind a dresser I wanted for him.  It was totally picked out, in my brain.  So then all I needed to do was find one.  Well I looked and looked and found some really good expensive options.  My budget wasn't a big one.  I wanted something that was small with three-ish drawers and could fit a changing pad on top.  

I set out looking at antique and second hand furniture stores.  Where we live here in the Ithaca, NY area there were quite a few places.  I went on many occasions looking at these places spending a few different weekends with my husband looking with me and also week days looking on my own.  The search took a few weeks.  Then I found it and it was not pretty.  My husband thought I was crazy!

This was the picture I sent him.  I said isn't it so perfect.... I wasn't sure myself yet. But we picked it up and made plans to restore it.  That wasn't originally our plan, but i knew this was the right one.

We got it home and realized it had possibly had some fire damage (note the dark mark on the top).  I said to him I was gonna sand it down and re-stain it, it would look great when I'm done.  He was like oh yeah, thinking I was gonna end up making him do it.  The next day he came home from work to find this:

He was shocked and a little worried I had sanded it while being pregnant for his son, but it was done. It looked so pretty almost like new.  By the end of the week I had stained it to match his crib.

This is how it turned out, before I purchased new knobs:

It is exactly what my mind had envisioned.  I'm so glad I stuck with my gut and bought it! Oh and did I mention it only cost me $60.  I already had the restoration supplies.  And this is it with the changing pad and knobs:

Thank you for reading my blog I hope you come back again soon!

Time to clean up and clear out

About a year ago we moved into our 3 bedroom townhouse thinking WOW there is a lot of room for us here.  Now only one year later we have filled it... Filled it with what? Where did all of this stuff come from.  Honestly I think a lot of it we had been bring around from one place to the next getting new things and storing the old.  So its out with the old and NO MORE NEW!

Clutter, anxiety, stress are practically all combined.  At least for me they are.  I have this idea that if I didn't have as much stuff, there would be less work to do.  Therefore when I go to bed at night and my head hits the pillow I can sleep.  Not worry about how many dishes are still in the sink or whether or not I folded the laundry in the dryer.  I would just like to live a simpler life.

So who is with me? You ready to clean, simplify and just darn get rid of your crap?!

Step One: Pick one space at a time.

Step Two: Go through everything and really decided; have a used that? Will I use that? When did I last use that? Don't dwell on it too long or you'll keep too much.

Step Three: Organize; Toss, Donate, Keep

Step Four: Put things away in an organized way, get bins or totes label things to keep or store.  Make sure you have room for what you are keeping. Also put things back to where they actually go.  

Step Five: Go to Goodwill or Salvation Army and GET RID OF IT (quickly before you change your mind)

First Room Kitchen.  I couldn't believe the amount of gadgets, cups, coffee mugs, bake-ware I accumulated throughout the years.  Darn those Pampered Chef parties.  So I decided to sort, how many times have I really used that?  Will I use that within a year?  And I donated a ton of things. Also don't forget your food.  You will be shocked at some of the expired things you forgot to use.

Second Room Bathroom.  I went through make-up, tons of makeup.  Tossed old things, things I didn't like, things I never used.  Got rid of expired medicines I used maybe once (make sure to safely dispose these).  Tossed samples, stuff accumulated from hotels, old cleaning supplies, old shower curtains, anything I haven't used and wont.

Third Linen Closet.   From the bathroom I figured then head to the linen closet.  I donated old blankets and towels to the local SPCA.

Fourth Bedroom.  First area in my bedroom was the closet.  I grabbed quickly as to not change my mind.  Tossing clothes I purchased just because they were on sale, things that didn't fit correctly, or totally out of fashion.  Then I went through the dresser.  How many pairs of socks, pj's and T-shirt do I need?  I got rid of tons. Selling some Donating most.  My husband did the same.  Then I went to the tops of dresser getting rid of some of the silly things I don't need trinkets, papers.  Then the bedside table.  I couldn't believe the amount of crud I put in there.  I don't even think use anything in there.  Then I just picked everything up sitting around the room and put it away neatly.

Fifth Living Room.  This one was pretty easy as I don't keep much in here.  I got rid of old magazines.  Some people may be able to go through trinkets, and update picture frames.  

Sixth Entry.  Get rid of old unused shoes, coats.  In my entry I have baskets full of drop your crap and go.  So I went through that and made sure I really needed anything in there, reminded myself where I lost some things, and put stuff away where it really belongs.

Seventh Playroom/ kids rooms.  Thank you to all of my family who purchases things for the children, but they really have too much!  I went through all of their toys donating things that I know they don't use or like. Tossing tons of goody bag trinkets.   Some things I put away in a bin for Chase or in case my daughter realizes that its gone.  Sort out clothes that don't fit anymore, got rid of some stained things. 

Eighth Basement/ Garage.  This was done with my husband.  Mostly because I needed that extra push to get rid of things that have been in storage for way too long.  I mean I know she loves the cake pop maker but does my daughter really need it?  And I had a boy so why do I need all of Taylor's old dresses and shoes?  We opened bins and boxes and really picked what we needed and didn't.  We sold a few things on craiglist but mostly donated it.  

Ninth Everyone Else.  Spaces that things accumulated, hallways, corners, counter tops, any where else you know you keep things that need to just go.  

Afterwards. So I sold some things at local consignment shops, I put things up on craiglist, and I donated a lot of stuff.  Now my goal is to keep it clean.  Next time you browse the clearance rack at Target remind yourself how nice it is to be simpler.  I hope you were able to get rid of as much as I need.  Simplistic is my newest motto.  To not want, or need excess.  I hope this helped you as much as it has helped me.

Thank you for reading, come back again!