Another Chapter

I'm back!!

AND.....

Baby Tenley is finally here!! She was born 8/13/10 at 7 lbs 5 oz! She was the image of pure perfection. Michael adores her and seeing him gently touch her or cover her with blankies just melts my heart. I cannot wait to watch them grow to be best friends. Michael has tought us a lot over his short 14 months of life so far, so we were quite prepared for our new little one. Tenley is now 3 wks old and has given us only a few sleepless nights SO FAR! She is starting to lift her head and is already giving demands (feed me! hold me!).




I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fall and hope to enjoy every minute of it with my family. Here are some of my hopes & plans for the next few months....

Take Michael to find some colorful leaves and create some fall artwork
Visit Busch Gardens
Long evening walks
Halloween Costume Shopping
Trick or Treating
Pumpkin picking/carving
Hayrides
Food festival
Wear sweatshirts and walk the beach
Find Michael an activity (little gym
Set up some mums outside
Color my hair darker!
Find local events going on that will be Autumn related
Bark in the Park day for Dixie
Get the babies on the same bedtime schedule
Start planning Tenley's baptism
Spend the nights relaxing and watching our fav shows with Hubby <3

Making the cut!

The dreaded time has finally arrived (one of many!) to drop the morning nap. Michael has been on the same exact schedule for the past 8 months, which included a 2 hr morning nap and a 1 hr afternoon nap. And boy, did I need these breaks as well. The past 2 weeks have consisted of us fighting with him to go to sleep in the morning. He would throw EVERYTHING out of the crib and scream and it was quite apparent that the nap wasn't happening. So I did some research and it occurred to me that in his Toddler years (already!!) he will only be needing one nap a day. Apparently, it's not going to be easy. Over the years, I have become a creature of needing stability and routine. Now he is throwing me off! Ahhh! So here is what I have come up with. If anyone else finds themselves in the same situation, maybe this will help....

***This is a trial run so I'll edit in a few weeks. I'm PRAYING it goes as planned... Also, with the new baby due ANY DAY, I will not include my schedule because who the heck knows how that's going to turn out. I'll fill her in somewhere :)

8:00 Michael up. Gets sippy cup of milk.

8:30 Breakfast.

9:00 Get dressed. Playtime (preferably outside-park, pool, walks....). Also, use these hours for errands, shopping, etc. Offer sippy cup of water.

11:30 Lunch

12:00 Nap. Allow to sleep as long as he can.

Late afternoon- Once awake, sippy cup of milk & snack. Playtime/TV time.

6:00 Dinner.

7:00 Bath.

7:30 Sippy cup of milk. Quiet play (books, blocks...). No cartoons.

8:15/8:30 Bedtime.

Hello, baby, where are you?

Little Ladybug,

Mama can't walk or carry your big brother. We are tired of waiting and want to meet you! Your gorgeous clothes are ready to be worn and your cradle is warm and cozy. Michael wants to play and so does mommy ;) I want you take your sweet time growing up for the rest of your life, but for now, get your little but moving! We are a happy family and I know you'll just love us :)

15 days to go but we are all too anxious!

PS- I just bought you a $30 onsie and daddy doesn't know- hehe.

Our 4th Happenings..

I almost forgot I have a blog! Not that anyone reads it anyway :p

I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with my boys. God, they are so precious to me. There is nothing like sitting back and watching the 2 people you love most smile and laugh. I'm so pooped that I'm not going to write much. Our weekend was spent at the beach, Busch Gardens, and the maaaaaallll :) Lot's of grilling & yummy food- again a :) Best of all, hubs had off today! It's always nice when he has Monday's off because it's an extra day and shortens the week.

PS- 40 days till D-Day!!!!! Let's go baby girl!

Summer Routine Take One (1 baby!)

This is Mr. Handsome & I's summer schedule until the sweetpea arrives :)

7:30- Wake-up. Milk (coffee for me!) and TV/play time.

8:00- Breakfast for both- I almost never get this important meal! Feed dog. I get dressed/ready quickly while baby eats.

8:30 Dress little man & brush teeth. (dress myself now too if I didn't yet!)

9:00- Outside play or "circle time" (inside if raining). Tues & Thurs we have story time from 9:30-10

10ish- NAPTIME :) I complete daily chores according to the day.Straighten toys. Eat if I haven't yet. Take out something to defrost for dinner. I also use this time to shower some days.

Afternoon- Baby sleeps as long as he wants. Milk & lunch at wake-up. Vacuum. Use this time to get out and run errands. Inside play.

2:45- Snack & juice for baby followed by nap no later than 3:30 (usually 3). Make hubby's lunch for next day. REST! (haha right)

4:30- Baby MUST be up! Offer juice. Play w/dad.

5:30- Start making dinner.

6:00- Eat dinner. Relax. Baby outside play.

7:15- Baby bath & brush teeth. Whichever parent isn't bathing, cleans up dinner.

7:45- Quiet play (READING, blocks, etc)

8:00- Baby bed. Dad's homework/workout time. I shower if I still haven't been able to. Rest & watch tv.

We all know that babies don't always follow "plans". Lol, so this is really just a guidline. It usually works very well. And when things come up, it's ok for us to jump off schedule a bit. I hope maybe this helps other SAHM's :)