Durham,
My sweet little baby... today you turned one.
This year went by so fast. Faster than I ever imagined. I tried to cherish it, I tried to drink you in, to smell your skin, to memorize the curve of your chubby legs, the sound of your laugh, the way your lips curve into a smile. I tried to forever keep you my itty-bitty, but you still grew bigger. You still turned one.
This year has been amazing. A year of learning for your daddy and me. We did our very best. Those first few weeks were hard. Us learning you. You learning us. But we made it. We bonded, and there is nothing we wouldn't do for you.
I remember the first time I saw you. I loved you before you were even born, but when I saw you my heart melted into a big puddle. I remember your first smile, your first laugh, and the first time you rolled over. I remember the first time we survived a blow out diaper at the store, and the time you threw up all over me in line at Publix. I remember wearing you in our sling all day... doing laundry, dishes, and checking in on facebook all with you contently sleeping on my chest. I remember all the nights we spent in your rocking chair, and all the mornings you woke up happy to see me. I remember your first trip to the beach, your first bites of food, your first word ('dada') and the way my heart exploded when you finally said 'mama' about 2 months later. I remember watching you learn to crawl and then stand, and now walk just before you turned one.
I hope I can always remember the little things... the way you wrap blankets around your arm, the way you wont give kisses but 'head hug' instead. I hope I remember how much you love blueberries and bath time, and how you light up when dada comes home from work. I hope I can remember that milk time is my favorite time because that is the only time you will snuggle. and I hope I can remember how crazy I am about you... how I crave you at work when we weren't together, how I scoop you out of your crib at night for midnight snuggles, and how I bomb instagram with your pictures. Because I do love you, my baby. I'm crazy about you.
As I sit here writing with tears running down my cheeks, I am trying to put to words what my heart knows... my heart knows that you are perfect. You were made to be with us, and to give us purpose. You fill our hearts with so much happiness and we are so thankful for you. The love we have for you is indescribable. I know that you wont possibly
understand that until you have a little baby of your own.
I wish this year would never end, but I know that the next year will be even more fun. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life watching you grow up. It is my biggest joy.
I love you, momma's baby,
momma
our first look
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thankful for Thanksgiving
We have a lot to be thankful for...
our health, our happiness, our beautiful love.
our little family, our amazing little baby, food. yummy yummy food.
our home. small and full of memories.
our jobs, our responsibilities, our support system.
we are thankful for...
forgiveness, understanding, and unconditional love.
the Sunday paper, trips to target, and sunday night on Shotime.
friends that feel more like family, and the promise of new babies next year.
this year was extra special as we celebrated thanksgiving with both sides of our family. Durham's first time to join us. We snuggled him extra tight knowing that this time last year we were waiting for him to get here... and feeling like we can't remember our life before him. One short week from now we'll watch him turn one. we are thankful for Durham.
our health, our happiness, our beautiful love.
our little family, our amazing little baby, food. yummy yummy food.
our home. small and full of memories.
our jobs, our responsibilities, our support system.
we are thankful for...
forgiveness, understanding, and unconditional love.
the Sunday paper, trips to target, and sunday night on Shotime.
friends that feel more like family, and the promise of new babies next year.
this year was extra special as we celebrated thanksgiving with both sides of our family. Durham's first time to join us. We snuggled him extra tight knowing that this time last year we were waiting for him to get here... and feeling like we can't remember our life before him. One short week from now we'll watch him turn one. we are thankful for Durham.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Our Trip to the Mountains
For the past few years, we've gone up to the north Georgia mountains in the fall...
to see the leaves change, to spend time together, to relax.
this is where we stayed this year... CABIN. and we would recommend it to anyone with pets!
Last year was one of our favorite trips because it was our baby-moon. our last vacation 'just the two of us' before Durham came. I was almost 8 months pregnant. We had a blast. This year we got to bring Durham with us (and Cole came too) and it was so much fun! Honestly way more fun than the trip we took to the beach in June. Partly because fatty is older now and cruizing around and having fun playing, but partly because we didn't have to pack up and track all our crap down to the beach everyday.
We headed out in the morning for the 2 hour drive up, we planned to leave right before nap time so d would sleep in the car, and that worked great. We shopped for groceries and cooked all our meals at the cabin. Yummies like eggs, sausage, bacon and biscuits every day for breakfast and hot dogs on the grill, alice springs chicken... I was in heaven because the hubs cooked every meal while we were there. Yes. I said every meal. I am so blessed.
The cabin was on a lake/pond and it had a creek that fed into it... this alone is endless entertainment for the hubs. There was a canoe that Chris went out fishing in everyday. I was afraid to do it by myself and we couldn't/wouldn't leave Durham sleeping in the cabin alone. Maybe next year we'll put a life vest on him and paddle him out with us.
I was worried about not bringing the highchair, not sure how he would eat without it (or stay focused on eating) but we just cleaned the seat of a chair and put his food there. He stood unassisted and ate his bites. This weekend was when he started standing alone. a lot. all. the time.
We brought the pack-n-play and he napped and slept at night in there. It's not as comfey as his crib, so he did wake up once or twice in the night. I would just go in and snuggle him back to sleep. There was a full size bed in the room he was sleeping in, and there were many naps we took together snuggled in there. I loved having 5 days alone. Just me and my boys.
and a few instagram snaps too... just to prove I was there!! haha The hubs promises to get better with the camera so I'll have a few pics of me with baby d too!
to see the leaves change, to spend time together, to relax.
this is where we stayed this year... CABIN. and we would recommend it to anyone with pets!
Last year was one of our favorite trips because it was our baby-moon. our last vacation 'just the two of us' before Durham came. I was almost 8 months pregnant. We had a blast. This year we got to bring Durham with us (and Cole came too) and it was so much fun! Honestly way more fun than the trip we took to the beach in June. Partly because fatty is older now and cruizing around and having fun playing, but partly because we didn't have to pack up and track all our crap down to the beach everyday.
We headed out in the morning for the 2 hour drive up, we planned to leave right before nap time so d would sleep in the car, and that worked great. We shopped for groceries and cooked all our meals at the cabin. Yummies like eggs, sausage, bacon and biscuits every day for breakfast and hot dogs on the grill, alice springs chicken... I was in heaven because the hubs cooked every meal while we were there. Yes. I said every meal. I am so blessed.
The cabin was on a lake/pond and it had a creek that fed into it... this alone is endless entertainment for the hubs. There was a canoe that Chris went out fishing in everyday. I was afraid to do it by myself and we couldn't/wouldn't leave Durham sleeping in the cabin alone. Maybe next year we'll put a life vest on him and paddle him out with us.
I was worried about not bringing the highchair, not sure how he would eat without it (or stay focused on eating) but we just cleaned the seat of a chair and put his food there. He stood unassisted and ate his bites. This weekend was when he started standing alone. a lot. all. the time.
We brought the pack-n-play and he napped and slept at night in there. It's not as comfey as his crib, so he did wake up once or twice in the night. I would just go in and snuggle him back to sleep. There was a full size bed in the room he was sleeping in, and there were many naps we took together snuggled in there. I loved having 5 days alone. Just me and my boys.
and a few instagram snaps too... just to prove I was there!! haha The hubs promises to get better with the camera so I'll have a few pics of me with baby d too!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Halloween 2012
It was Durham's first halloween this year, and he was a SHARK!
ra and I took the boys to atlanta to have pictures made by one of her friends. Both boys were hams as always. I took him down to tanger to see my girls on the centers trick or treat night, but it was sooooo cold that I didn't put him in his shark costume because I couldn't get a coat over it. We walked around and he watched all the kids collecting their candy, a couple of the scary ones got the side eye from d. haha I bought him some glow in the dark skeleton jams at old navy and they are one of my favorites. Can't wait to halloween next year so I can dress him up again and eat all the candy after he goes to bed.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
He's still eating...
...and I'm still making his food.
Someone asked me this weekend how long I was gonna be making Durham's food. I laughed. As long as he eats it.
Hubs and I were both overweight as kids (and now too, boooo!) and we don't want that for Durham. We want him to love to eat healthy fruits and veggies and grilled meats. We still arent the best eaters as adults, so I want to make sure he always has good options.
I've been getting questions about how we feed Durham and some things have changed since I last posted about it. He's been eating 'food' (other than breast-milk/formula) for 4 months now. And as a word of encouragement for those who are just starting, it does get easier. They will start to like the foods they initially refuse if you just keep trying, the prep and cook times will get shorter, and meal time will be fun.
The biggest question I get from people is how do I find time to make everything. Well, I don't make EVERYTHING just some things. and the more you do it, the less time it takes. Just this morning during nap time I made his food for the week. It took me less than an hour (and I still have time to write this post! haha). I'm not over here making homemade cheerios and goldfish people, I feed Durham store bought food, but fruits and veggies and meat I prefer to make fresh rather than buy a jar (or 2-3 jars per meal is what it would take to feed my fatty).
Breakfast:
Durham's favorite meal! He sleeps through the night (12 hours) and has 8oz of formula when he wakes up, then about 1.5 hours later he has breakfast. Some of his breakfast foods are bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, blueberry waffles, oatmeal bars (recipe below), frozen blueberries (his favorite), or toast smeared with apple sauce. On the weekend when dada is home we usually have turkey bacon or sausage and he eats that too. We haven't tried eggs yet, but soon!
Lunch & Dinner:
I try to include a couple veggies/fruits, a protein, and a grain. Sometimes I get them all, sometimes he will only eat grapes. But, I have found that if I continue to offer them at every meal, he will more often than not gobble them up. Veggies/fruits I buy weekly (sometimes bi-weekly depending on what we have on hand) and I cook a big batch of stuff at the beginning of the week. He can eat on that for about 4-5 days, he also eats whatever we are eating that is baby appropriate (tacos, hotdogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, and hot pockets are NOT baby appropriate). The other days when I don't have something especially prepared he eats fresh fruits, or frozen fruits, and I have a few Plum Organics food pouches on hand if I can't make it to the store because of work or something. He still eats 'some' puree, I've read that a lot of babies start to refuse being fed by a spoon around 8-10months but D still likes it, but most of his meal is 'bites' of food.
Snacks:
This is where I make my own goldfish. ok, not really. haha
I know that snacks can be a tricky subject, one mom I ran into a Target actually commented on Durham's 'junk food' as he was munching on graham cracker bunnies while we shopped. Calm down momma's... let other people feed their kids whatever they want. I don't say anything to you as you pour mountain dew into your toddlers sippy cup. Durham usually eats one snack a day, and a handful of cheerios if we are out shopping to keep him occupied. These are our favorites. He especially loves the Ella's Kitchen cookies but they are super messy so we only do them at home.
Making it & Taking it
I only make stuff that is not super hard/time consuming. I was making his applesauce at the beginning, but pealing, coring and then baking apples (like a million apples) took a lot of time. I confine myself to what I can make in one or two nap times a week so that my time can still be spent with D while he is awake. I steam veggies, and cut up fresh fruits. I cube grilled chicken breast, and do meatballs on the skillet. easy-peasey. Hopefully the hubs and I can overhaul our bad eating habbits in the next couple months so I wont be making as much separate for D, and what we eat will all be a healthy choice for him.
I have a love/hate relationship with food storage containers. I love them and I am always buying them, but I hate to wash them and they take over a big section of the counter beside our sink. I can't help myself. TJ Maxx and Publix both have a great assortment if you are looking for some. This one is my favorite. FIT FRESH. I have two of them and lots of other little containers that fit inside. I can pack two entire meals inside this one box (including snack and spoon) and throw it into the diaper bag. It is a must have!
From what I've read he will be on some form of sippy cup milk and no puree's at 12 months. I'm sure that will be harder on me than him because no bottle and no puree makes me feel like he wont be a little baby anymore. Any advice on how to transition would be awesome, thoughts and ideas are always welcome. I know that there are several momma's reading that are right here with me, or will be in the next month or two... how are you feeling? (Hey Callen, Joshua, Riley, and Cooper's moms!)
oatmeal bars (more like rounds)
1 1/2 cups oats uncooked
2 ripe bananas, mashed with fork until creamy
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cinnamon into the applesauce.
Blend applesauce mixture with all other ingredients & let sit for 10 minutes
Drop dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet & flatten cookies into rounds or squares.
Bake approx. 30-35 minutes, or until golden & done. (only about 20 minutes in our gas oven). YUMMY!!
Someone asked me this weekend how long I was gonna be making Durham's food. I laughed. As long as he eats it.
Hubs and I were both overweight as kids (and now too, boooo!) and we don't want that for Durham. We want him to love to eat healthy fruits and veggies and grilled meats. We still arent the best eaters as adults, so I want to make sure he always has good options.
I've been getting questions about how we feed Durham and some things have changed since I last posted about it. He's been eating 'food' (other than breast-milk/formula) for 4 months now. And as a word of encouragement for those who are just starting, it does get easier. They will start to like the foods they initially refuse if you just keep trying, the prep and cook times will get shorter, and meal time will be fun.
The biggest question I get from people is how do I find time to make everything. Well, I don't make EVERYTHING just some things. and the more you do it, the less time it takes. Just this morning during nap time I made his food for the week. It took me less than an hour (and I still have time to write this post! haha). I'm not over here making homemade cheerios and goldfish people, I feed Durham store bought food, but fruits and veggies and meat I prefer to make fresh rather than buy a jar (or 2-3 jars per meal is what it would take to feed my fatty).
Breakfast:
Durham's favorite meal! He sleeps through the night (12 hours) and has 8oz of formula when he wakes up, then about 1.5 hours later he has breakfast. Some of his breakfast foods are bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, blueberry waffles, oatmeal bars (recipe below), frozen blueberries (his favorite), or toast smeared with apple sauce. On the weekend when dada is home we usually have turkey bacon or sausage and he eats that too. We haven't tried eggs yet, but soon!
Lunch & Dinner:
I try to include a couple veggies/fruits, a protein, and a grain. Sometimes I get them all, sometimes he will only eat grapes. But, I have found that if I continue to offer them at every meal, he will more often than not gobble them up. Veggies/fruits I buy weekly (sometimes bi-weekly depending on what we have on hand) and I cook a big batch of stuff at the beginning of the week. He can eat on that for about 4-5 days, he also eats whatever we are eating that is baby appropriate (tacos, hotdogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, and hot pockets are NOT baby appropriate). The other days when I don't have something especially prepared he eats fresh fruits, or frozen fruits, and I have a few Plum Organics food pouches on hand if I can't make it to the store because of work or something. He still eats 'some' puree, I've read that a lot of babies start to refuse being fed by a spoon around 8-10months but D still likes it, but most of his meal is 'bites' of food.
Snacks:
This is where I make my own goldfish. ok, not really. haha
I know that snacks can be a tricky subject, one mom I ran into a Target actually commented on Durham's 'junk food' as he was munching on graham cracker bunnies while we shopped. Calm down momma's... let other people feed their kids whatever they want. I don't say anything to you as you pour mountain dew into your toddlers sippy cup. Durham usually eats one snack a day, and a handful of cheerios if we are out shopping to keep him occupied. These are our favorites. He especially loves the Ella's Kitchen cookies but they are super messy so we only do them at home.
Making it & Taking it
I only make stuff that is not super hard/time consuming. I was making his applesauce at the beginning, but pealing, coring and then baking apples (like a million apples) took a lot of time. I confine myself to what I can make in one or two nap times a week so that my time can still be spent with D while he is awake. I steam veggies, and cut up fresh fruits. I cube grilled chicken breast, and do meatballs on the skillet. easy-peasey. Hopefully the hubs and I can overhaul our bad eating habbits in the next couple months so I wont be making as much separate for D, and what we eat will all be a healthy choice for him.
I have a love/hate relationship with food storage containers. I love them and I am always buying them, but I hate to wash them and they take over a big section of the counter beside our sink. I can't help myself. TJ Maxx and Publix both have a great assortment if you are looking for some. This one is my favorite. FIT FRESH. I have two of them and lots of other little containers that fit inside. I can pack two entire meals inside this one box (including snack and spoon) and throw it into the diaper bag. It is a must have!
From what I've read he will be on some form of sippy cup milk and no puree's at 12 months. I'm sure that will be harder on me than him because no bottle and no puree makes me feel like he wont be a little baby anymore. Any advice on how to transition would be awesome, thoughts and ideas are always welcome. I know that there are several momma's reading that are right here with me, or will be in the next month or two... how are you feeling? (Hey Callen, Joshua, Riley, and Cooper's moms!)
oatmeal bars (more like rounds)
1 1/2 cups oats uncooked
2 ripe bananas, mashed with fork until creamy
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix cinnamon into the applesauce.
Blend applesauce mixture with all other ingredients & let sit for 10 minutes
Drop dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet & flatten cookies into rounds or squares.
Bake approx. 30-35 minutes, or until golden & done. (only about 20 minutes in our gas oven). YUMMY!!
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