Mommy Murray

This boy.

2011-12-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

Is just a few days away from 21 months old.

LOVES to eat and usually asks for "cheese" or a "snack" as soon as he opens his eyes each morning.

Takes awesome 2+ hour naps each afternoon and goes down fairly easy most nights.

Asks me to sing "Jesus" (Jesus Loves Me) or "Deep" (Deep & Wide) whenever we rock before bed.

Loves Mickey Mouse, Elmo, singing, dancing, and wrestling in the floor with his dad and big brother.

Thinks anything stinky, especially feet, is the most hilarious thing ever.

Says "CHEEEEEESE" without prompting when you point a camera his way.

At random times will nonchalantly calls us by our given names..."Hey Travis" or "Schafer Murray" just out of the blue. Because he apparently thinks (and eats) like a grown man. Ha!

Will name any animal you point out with great confidence, but is only correct about half the time :-)

Psychs himself up for Wednesdays at Mommy's Day Out by chanting, "Happy Day Happy Day Happy Day" on the way into the building.

Brightens our day. Every single day.

Deck the Halls

2011-12-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Murray Holiday Tour! I love the idea of a perfectly decorated house at Christmastime, but I'm kind of cheap when it comes to actually buying the decor. Around Thanksgiving each year I think DANGIT!!! I was going to buy this and that and the other on sale in January and here I sit...decorationless with full priced holiday baubles staring me mockingly in the face. Pinterest came in with a lot of fun diy's to save the day for me this year. Also, lest you think that I am one of those awesome moms than can craft and decorate and be merry and bright with young children underfoot, let it be known that I had to send them to my parent's house overnight and enlist Trav's help to get even this much done. Multi-tasker, super organized and incredibly patient are things I'm {sadly} not. So. Here we go. I strung the Christmas cards we've received onto holiday ribbon with clothespins...I like the idea of the little embroidery hoop wreath with clothespins or a special little Christmas tree used to display cards on, but I had neither...and remember - the cheap. It gets me.

I think our tree turned out pretty cute, but upon closer inspection you may find a section of lights that don't work and some very large gaps (blasphemous, I know) that I've cleverly disguised with more holiday ribbon. Also, we did spring for a new tree topper, as we'd used the same holiday ribbon tied into a bow that we had to refloof (you know exactly what I mean when I say that.) the life back into every single darn year. It was getting sad. And also...it seems that holiday ribbon is my Christmas decoration cure all? Hmmm...the things I realize once I put it in writing...

All right...I know these three little strands of "garland" are a bit sad looking, but they came in a $2 kit from Target, and Schafer crafted with me for THIRTY MINUTES to get them assembled and ready to hang. I think the angels sang. I just adore a good craft and I can't tell you how many times I've been abandoned with only my scissors, crayons, glue and desperate happy crafting face left to keep me company while he runs off to play superheroes or some other such nonsense. One could call this a craft home run, even. Thank you Target dollar bin. Thank you.

Christmas ornaments in a jar. I know you're bowled over by the creativity you're finding here. I'm just chock full, so try to contain your excitement as we move on.

Actually, I'm rather proud of this. I had some "Welcome" letters in fall-ish colors hanging in this frame {one of my first Pinterest crafts} and then I had the idea (all on my own!) to make a Christmasy version. So, I'm going to go ahead and call this an original.

These are our Christmas cards - ready to mail first thing Monday morning. And I just wanted to brag about that. They'll probably get where they're going at least three days before Christmas. Miracle of all miracles.

I don't know if you've been into a Gap store this holiday season, but I am beyond obsessed with their holiday decor, so I snatched this idea of yarn wrapped around a letter for myself. It's probably not for everyone. However, if you saw my yarn stash you would know that any and every way I can find to use yarn is a very good thing for the storage situation I have in my closet. I will not be able to knit enough hats, scarves, blankets, dishcloths, what have you in the next year to bust this stash of mine. So now I'm wrapping things with yarn. Anything really. Just come on over and I will fix you right up.

To further illustrate my point...yarn wrapped paper cones - AKA the classy white Christmas trees that are sitting spiffy on my mantle as we speak. I busted through at least half a skein of pesky white yarn that's been gathering dust in the closet for who knows how long. Hooray for random yarn crafts!

This is Rudolph. Schafer is very much a "think outside the box" kind of kiddo, until it comes to naming things. But we'll go with it. Everyone loves a good holiday cliche, right?

I'm a big Scentsy fan, but this Marshmallow Fireside candle I bought at Bath and Body Works has pretty much stolen the holiday scent show for me. DELICIOUS.

Here's a shot of the whole mantel. I'm obsessed with holiday mantels. I wish I had 37 mantels in my house to decorate each year at Christmas. I'd probably have to send the boys away for a month to make that happen though, so I guess we'll just stick with the one.

And that's about all I have, folks. Except for two cute little munchkins who have made it their goal to pare down the Christmas ornaments by at least half before Christmas day. They're hard workers. I think they'll succeed.

I'm linking up with Kelly and The Nester. Check out all the holiday goodness!

Video Snippets

2011-12-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah...I fell off the face of the blogging earth the last few months, but here are a few recent video snippets to get me back in the groove. Hopefully.

Rough housing and superhero costumes. Of course. Schafer loooooves having a sidekick.

I'll be shocked if you don't laugh at Schafer's sudden and random concern for the safety of his neck (which he could usually care less about.)

Sweet Andy - my little parrot.

I have to say that it's a real shame I end up filming so many videos in our bedroom...aka the messiest room in our house most of the time. However, I have the links to several articles that state making your bed as soon as you get up every morning makes you a bajillion times more susceptible to dust mites and allergens taking over your room, which is OF COURSE the only reason my bed is unmade all the time. You compulsive bed makers should take this to heart and stop making your bed. Then I'll look like less of a slacker. It's a win-win :-) And maybe you'll be so focused on the cute baby that you can ignore the background.

Embrace The Camera - Take One

2011-09-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

I've had good intentions of joining in on The Andersons "Embrace the Camera" posts for months now. Today is finally the day! I love the concept behind it, which is basically to make a conscious effort to get in the frame with your kiddos. Too often (almost always!) I'm behind the camera (as many moms are) and I'd love to look back one day and actually see myself in some of the photos with my boys. As Anderson napped, Schafer and I grabbed the camera and had some fun. He is such a ham that I didn't have to try too hard to convince him. I give almost no direction when I take photos of him...because he usually comes up with something better than I would anyway. We snapped a few indoors (I did have to compete with his Nintendo DSi in those pictures,)and then we headed outside for popsicles -which is pretty much our regular routine during naptime. DSi and popsicles. Ha!

Popsicles, pictures and pretty weather. I'll take it!

Get in the picture, people! ;-)

The End of Summer

2011-09-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Getting messy

Being Ninjas

Practicing our "cool tricks"

Bike Riding

Playing outside with friends

and Pups

Trying on our winter hats

Enjoying summer's last snowcones

Being superheroes

Reading

Or not

and loving each other, always (I'm choosing to remember this as Andy kissing Schafer - not biting him.)

We're ready for fall!

Baby Goes to School.

2011-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well, baby goes to Mommy's Day Out, but who want to say that mouthful? So "school" it is! All was well until I got to the classroom door to hand my littlest munchkin over to his (very sweet!) teachers. I couldn't tell who was clinging tighter to the other - me or him. And once he was pried off my hip, I couldn't tell who was crying harder - me or him. Not sure when I became such a bawl bag, but I really did myself proud today. And I also managed to see every teacher, mother, father, etc. that I know on the way to my car. I don't think I ever cried dropping Schafer off at his first day of MDO, but maybe that's because he never cried when I dropped him off either. Ha! I twiddled my thumbs and paced and managed to show up only 15 minutes early for pick-up. I found a happy little person waiting on me with reports that he had a good day, loved his banana at lunch time, and sang himself to sleep at nap time. I love this baby so much! (Getting a picture this morning was just not happening what with trying to get all of us ready and out the door in one piece, so here's the "after" - which I actually kind of like because it's much more true to life with the crazy hair, messy shirt, and missing shoe. We only maintain an air of togetherness for about 5 minutes before we start falling apart. Ha!)

Schafer Goes to School

2011-08-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

I suppose the picture above says it all, but I'll go ahead and bore you with a few other details of Schafer's first day of preschool. It started off on a good note at 8:40 am, as we headed to the school, and I realized that we were, in fact, supposed to be there at 8:30 am. Way to go Mama! Despite feeling like a complete soccer mom loser, Schafer had only missed a few minutes of the fun and he quickly settled in by his classmates to hear the rest of the story that his teacher was reading. I was mostly busy fiddling with my camera and feeling like a jerk for getting him there late THE FIRST FREAKING DAY, but I was vaguely aware of the story line being about a little boy who was nervous about his first day at school and away from his parents. It ended happily, of course.

Then we were instructed to say a quick goodbye to our kiddos and head on out. Travis and I were waiting expectantly in the back of the room and when Schafer turned towards us and headed our way, we were both rather taken aback to see him with huge, tear filled eyes and a trembling lip. He is rarely, if ever, concerned about being in new situations with new people, even if we aren't around. In fact, I'd say he sort of thrives on it. I wasn't sure how we were going to manage this unexpected and last minute separation anxiety, but a part of me was thinking, "Awwww...he's going to MISS us! We are just such great parents and so darn fun that he can't stand to be away from us for even a minute! Awwwww!!!" Or something like that. So he gets over to where we are and he says in a tiny little whisper we had to strain to hear, "Mom? I need to tell you sumfin." So I lean down and he says some choked little something or other in my ear...I can't understand, so he repeats. He says, in the saddest little voice I've ever heard, "Moooom??? Is school already ooooverr???" HA!!!! I assured him the day had just started and he had lots of time left at school. Crisis averted. Travis and I laughed at our foolishness on the way home...we actually thought SCHAFER was going to approach something like this timidly? and with sadness that he'd be on his own for a few hours? Silly, silly us.

I picked him up a few hours later and drug a few tidbits of information out of him. As follows...They had pretzel sticks for snack. The slides at his new school are much bigger than the ones at his old school. You can only go down on your bottom, which is a bummer. One boy cried ALL DAY because he missed his mom. There was another boy with a COOL Green Lantern Backpack. The End.

meal time at our house...

2011-08-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

.................................

................................................................................

believe me son, i feel the exact same way.

Thirty things I love about Mr. Murray - A Birthday Edition

2011-08-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

I love

1. His dimples. (I'm sorry, I know you've probably heard it a million times, but I do SO love his dimples :-) )
2. His appreciation for good food.
3. The way he plays the air drums when one of his favorite classic rock songs plays.
4. The way he wrestles in the floor with our boys like he's a little boy himself.
5. That he picks me up to give me bear hugs for no good reason.
6. How he can get totally captivated by the television, even if it's something really random (Quantum Leap, anyone?)
7. That he uses me as his spell check.
8. His awesome streets smarts.
9. That he still doesn't realize how book smart he is.
10. The way he can charm absolutely anyone, young or old, man or woman, crazy or grumpy, or anything else.
11. That he passed that trait along to our oldest :-)
12. His unfailing loyalty to his friends and family.
13. How he takes a genuine interest in MY interests...even if they would normally not be that interesting at all to him (helloooo knitting!)
14. How he sucks up before and after playing a long round of golf. Ha!
15. That he always eats what I cook without complaint, and usually with compliments. Even if it's lousy :-)
16. That he's really really really good at his job.
17. How he can fix things around the house.
18. His bed head.
19. That he is an amazing teacher to our kiddos. Thank goodness - have you ever heard me try to explain an abstract concept?
20. His excellent taste in shoes.
21. How seriously he takes making me a good drink, whether it be a mixed drink or coffee or picking a wine he thinks I'll enjoy. It's serious and important business, my friends.
22. The silly/obsessive quirk he has about clean sheets.
23. That he makes me feel beautiful even if he comes home from work to find me still in my pajamas with unbrushed hair.
24. That he is financially responsible.
25. That he ALWAYS puts the toilet seat down. (I would like to personally thank his mother for both 24 and 25. I'm forever grateful, Dona!)
26. How he can throw me in the air just for fun.
27. That he puts up with Aprilla (my sleepy/mean alter ego) with extreme patience.
28. That he is never too embarrassed or too "cool" to try something new.
29. His mad face.
30. That he's turning thirty first :-)

Some of these are serious and some are silly, but they are just a drop in the bucket of what I love about you, Mr. Murray. Happy 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Four.

2011-07-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Schafer,

Four years ago I welcomed the best surprise of my life into my arms. You were a little stubborn in how you entered the world, but when I got to hold you for the first time and look into your eyes I knew you were someone extra special and that I would love you fiercely and with awe and forever. Your eyes were squinty and trying to gain focus in the bright operating room, but you settled as soon as you were in my arms. If someone had told me then that I would be even more amazed by you now than I was in that moment, I wouldn't have believed them.

But you honestly almost bowl me over every day with how awesome you are.

Even though you are still oh so stubborn you are always kind-hearted and hilarious and sweet. I love the way you think about things scientifically (definitely got that from your dad) and the way you love your little brother. I love the way you come into our bedroom in the mornings and wake us with a big smile and an exclamation of, "It's daytime!" I love the way you bargain so determinedly to get the things you want. ("But Mom, I asked NICEWHEE!!!") I love how you are so friendly and outgoing to everyone you meet, and can carry on a conversation like a little adult. I love that you randomly say to me, "Hey mom? I fink you're cute!" I love how you like to "define" words. ("*Kind of* means when you're puzzled and you don't know sumfin for sure." or "Why is Andy starin' at me? *Starin'* is when you look at someone and your face goes still.") I could go on forever and ever at all the things I love about you. I am SO SO proud and humbled to be your mom. You are worth every sleepless night, spilled milk, super temper tantrum, potty training accident, and beyond. Thank you for making me a mommy. Thank you for being such a bright ray of sunshine in so many people's lives. You are loved to bits and pieces and I hope you have the happiest of all the happy 4th birthdays!!!

"Scuff" & Summer Stuff

2011-07-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to say. I guess that's what happens when you ignore your blog for close to two months. Oops. We're having a fantastically fun and busy summer, which I think is a pretty great excuse for being scarce around here, although you may not agree by the time I finish my ramblings. I feel a smidge (what? spell check says smidge is not a word?!?! okay...i googled (which is ALSO not a word according to spell check...) and it's apparently smidgeN. whatever.) guilty because when S was little I did SO many posts about every little thing he was doing and the days just get away from me faster this time around which means less milestone posts for Andy. I'm sure in the long run this will bother me much more than it will bother Andy. Am I going somewhere with all this drivel? Maybe. Here's a cute picture to tide you over.

Our summer has included many zoo trips (prior to the heat blast, anyway...)

There have been loads of trips to our neighborhood pool, a few visits to both Tulsa and Ada, and an awesome trip to my aunt and uncle's lake house for the 4th of July. They boys had a blast with their cousins and Travis and I decided we were way old judging by how incredibly sore we were after skiing and tubing just one time.

We've had several cookouts with both new and old friends, and also finished up Schafer's first season of t-ball and a few small projects around the house. The boys kick my tail most days, but they sure are cute and hilarious the whole time they're wearing me out. We found out Andy has a dairy allergy, but cutting out most milk, yogurt, and cheese has immensely helped the awful eczema issues he was having. Yes, the eczema issues I never posted about because I was ignoring my blog. Both boys go in for doctor's visits at the end of the month, but by our scale at home...it seems Anderson only weighs about 7 pounds less than Schafer. If there wasn't such a height difference they could easily share clothes.

I love how much they interact these days. Andy has a bit of a hitting problem (namely, he smacks Schafer whenever he gets the chance and runs away laughing about it. the harder the smack and the louder Schafer's "ouch" is, the harder he laughs.), but Schafer loves him in spite of the bullying. He gets back at him by insisting that Andy dress up in various superhero costumes so he can have a "sidekick." It's funny stuff. They also have their first inside joke...who would have thought a 15 month old and not quite 4 year old were capable of such a thing? Since it's an inside joke, I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but it seems that Schafer has nicknamed Anderson "Scuff." He generally reserves the nickname for when Andy is feeling especially bummed about one thing or another at which time Schafer will look over at him and say, "Hey Scuff." That's it. Just, "Hey Scuff." and Andy cackles like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard. We have no idea where it came from and S won't tell us, but they both find it beyond hilarious.

Anderson talks a lot these days. Usually just his same favorite words over and over, but we're slowly adding in new ones here and there. He says: mom, dad, dog, cat, out, nonna, pops, up, uh-oh, that, ball, eye, cracker, and milk. I know there's more, but those are the popular ones. Especially ball and dog. He's sort of scared/fascinated/skittish/enthralled with dogs. All at the same time if that's possible. It's funny to watch.

I'll be shocked if Anderson isn't some sort of sports star. He is OBSESSED with balls. He is constantly on the lookout for anything round/circular/ball shaped and will say it repeatedly as soon as he finds something that meets the criteria. He flips out when he's on his changing table looking at his ceiling because his light fixture is globe shaped and he wants me to get the "ball" for him so. bad. Playing catch is one of his favorite past times and he has a pretty impressive arm on him.

He still drools like a great dane, runs with an adorable peg leg gait, rubs food in his hair at almost every meal, and gives the stink eye like it's his job.

He also climbs like a monkey, and laughs when I get scared that he's going to fall. Awesome.

He loves to "sing" his ABC's which sounds sort of like Ay E A Eee A Eeeee Eh to the ABC tune. Maybe I'll get a video someday...I'm just better at pictures.

I'm working on a birthday post for Schafer because he turns (gasp) FOUR years old this week. We're having his party this weekend, the weekend after that we'll be leaving for Vegas to celebrate (a bit early) for Trav's (BIG DRAMATIC GASP) 30th birthday. My 10 year reunion (no gasps allowed) is shortly after that; then Schafer will be starting preschool and fall t-ball. And so the time continues to fly :-)

Schaferisms

2011-05-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Schafer has always been a funny kid, but throw in the fact that he's at that awesome preschool age where he can really put his thoughts into words and OH MY, THE FUNNY NEVER ENDS. I forget soooo many things, but I try and make notes in my cellphone and on facebook so I can remember at least some of his hilariousness at this age. I love him SO much.

"Hey mom? When I get bigger and bigger and bigger I will have hair on myself. And then I could carry Andy...and drink coffee, too!!!"

"Can I play with my GPS?" (He means Nintendo DSi...)

Me: Jabbering to Andy.
Schafer to me: "Why you speakin' baby??"

Schafer trying to get out of bed without getting in trouble, "Hey mom...I need to tell ya somethin'....k? I love you and uhhhh...well, I think you're cute."

Upon first meeting our elderly postman, Vernon, "Hey!!! I'm Schafer! What's your name? I like your shoes! Where did you get them?" (Vernon's shoes are from Lands' End, in case you're dying to know. Vernon is also visibly bummed when Schafer doesn't come to the door to accept a package.)

To our neighbor Oren who was working on his pickup, "Hey,that's a COOL engine." (Note, Oren now thinks Schafer is awesome.)

After towel drying Schafer's hair, post bath time, I tell him it looks like Justin Bieber. He looks confused and says, "WHAT is a Justin Beaver??"

He works words like humongous, scrumptious, interestin', frustrated, and ackCHOOwhee (actually) into conversations on a daily basis.

He was heartbroken when he threw himself off the small play set at my parent's house and was NOT able to fly, but instead hit the ground with a dream crushing thud. It was possibly one of the lowest moments of his life when I explained that he was not a superhero and the batman cape velcroed to his t-shirt was, sadly, not enough to make him ackCHOOwheee fly.

Sometimes it's hard being three, but mostly it's awesome.

Little brother can hold his own these days.

2011-04-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

And big brother is loving every minute!

Baby got a haircut.

2011-04-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sap Alert

2011-04-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm high maintenance and hard to please (shocking, I know.) And I hold my husband to what I think is probably a pretty high standard on many things (which means that I do my fair share of calling various girlfriends to vent about his random, usually minor, offenses. Don't worry, I'm not outing myself on the blog. He's always well aware when I'm less than happy with him. Ha!) So, I'm taking a quick moment to say that I'm just so darn thankful that he is the father of my children. I love watching him coach Schafer in t-ball with such patience, take him on bike rides and for drives in the Mustang. I love that he splits bedtime duties with me and never forgets to make sure Schafer takes enough bathroom breaks to avoid any accidents (not my strong suit.) I love that he gives his hugs and TIME and kind words to us so freely. I love that I can leave him high and dry at dinner time with a suuuuper cranky one year old and a high energy three year old to go on a long run and return to our neighborhood to this sight....

I've been skeptical (panicky?) at times, but God knew just what he was doing when he gave me a house full of Murray men.

Splish Splash it's Andy's First Birthday Bash!

2011-03-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

Choosing a first birthday theme is not for the faint of heart. (Yes, I realize it's a little silly that I rank choosing first birthday themes up there with life's most difficult decisions. Ha!)

I started thinking a few months ago about what we might do...Anderson is completely uninterested in any baby TV shows and still would rather eat books than listen to them being read, so that was no help on the theme front. He does love throwing and catching the ball, but I figure I have many years of sports themed parties in my future... He also loves to eat, but I was sort of blanking out on a cool food related theme for a one year old boy. Long story short, we were left with his other love - bath time. The baby loooooooves bath time and has since he was born...so rubber duckies it was! I love color and the rubber ducky theme played perfectly into a palette of springy yellows, oranges and blues.

(The invite is from Tiny Prints & the too cute for words duck hat was crocheted by my good friend Melinda.)

I went all out on the DIY front with a little help from my friend Natalie and her adorable etsy shop, The Pretty Paperie. Every bone in her body is creative! I threw out a few random thoughts that were in my head and she came up with some adorable designs that I was able to print from my home computer and incorporate into the decor of the party (I chose cupcake toppers, water bottle wrappers, snack cup wrappers and treat bag tags.) I was so, so pleased with her work! Thanks again Natalie for helping make Anderson's first birthday party as cute and sweet as he is :-)

After a mediocre cupcake experience at our New Years Eve party, I also decided to DIY the baked goods as well (with a little help from Betty Crocker, shhhhh!) Anderson's smash cake, the cupcakes for guests, and the ducky sugar cookies we sent home as favors were all pretty edible if I do say so myself!

I think Anderson agreed.

So did Schafer :-)

A few other inexpensive ideas I used included the little bunting/pennants that I knitted and strung with ribbon to hang on Andy's highchair, a little personalized banner that I made just using dollar store construction paper and Mod Podge with a picture of the little guy from each month, and the ONE sign I made out of japanese masking tape...which is very cool stuff! I've found a million uses for it already and am mildly obsessed with finding new things to slap it on :-) For snacks (not including the sweets), we did a "create your own trail mix" lineup that worked perfectly for all the little people at the party, and the grown-ups seemed to enjoy it, too. I saw this idea somewhere in blog land, but can't find it to link back...Anyway, it's super easy and you have a million options to choose from. We went with goldfish, raisins, cheerios, marshmallows (all personal favorites of the birthday boy) and honey roasted peanuts for those over a year old!

Sooooo, my long story short has turned into a long story long. I think I'll just zip it now and just show you the pictures...

It was a wonderful day with our family and friends, and we are so thankful for our new little one year old!

It's rough being ONE.

2011-03-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

First birthday party post coming soon!

T-ball!

2011-03-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

Schafer played his first ever t-ball game last week! Let me just say that a group of three year olds trying to play an organized sport for the first time ever is high class entertainment :-) S did an awesome job...covering second base most of the time and even scoring a run. I'm so proud of this big boy of ours! Some of my favorite photos...

Andy @ 11 months.

2011-03-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hello blog world. I haven't really done my blogging part the last few months, but I HAVE been playing with my babies a lot and snuggling with my hubby in my free time, so I really don't feel so bad.

The littlest Murray man is 11 months old, and I pretty much suck at writing in his baby book (mommy fail.) SO I'm going to jot a few things down on ye olde blog to jog my memory when I play catch up in the next few weeks to make his baby book look somewhat complete before he turns one. (I gag a little when I say my baby is almost one.)

Anderson is a happy baby - laid back and very social. (If you met him at any point in February, you would call me a liar, as he was cutting his first FOUR teeth and spent his time being ticked at the world. It was super fun.) But he is now the proud owner of two very cute, slightly crooked, bottom teeth AND two top teeth, one that made it's entrance much quicker than the other so he has a bit of a snaggle-tooth thing going on. Adorable, really. Babies have it so easy, don't they? I mean, what adult could get several compliments a day about how cute they are while sporting a snaggle tooth, several chins, shaggy flyaway hair and cellulite from their tush to their ankles? To illustrate my point....

Lucky babies!

I'm going to resort to bullet points now because I have a lot of (other) things to do and nap time only lasts for so long.

Anderson likes:

Food - any (grown-up) food. He is OVER baby food. He's especially digging cut up grapes this week.
Bath time - especially if Schafer is there to play, too.
Playing ball. S wasn't at all interested in catch/throw/chase at this age. Hello sports superstar Andy?
Finding eeny-meeny-teeny bits of who knows what on our floor to put in his mouth ALL THE TIME.
His sippy cup. You can tell he feels very very big and important drinking out of it.
His dad. They have such a great bond already and I love watching them laugh at each other and play.

Anderson does not like:

Sleeping in. But he is a much better sleeper than S ever thought about being so I will NOT complain. (Don't hold me to this if it's the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning.)
Riding in the car unless it's nap time. He doesn't scream incessantly or anything, just yells and gripes often enough to make you feel rushed and tense about getting to wherever the heck you're going.
His soothie. That's right - the pacifier is kaput. It's a blessing because we don't have to take it away, but a curse when nursing him isn't enough to put him to sleep.
Sleeping on his back. If you want to tick him off, just TRY to lay him down on his back. That's grounds for immediate wake up, flail and scream mode.

Quirks

"The stink eye" which is a patented look that only Andy can give when you're doing something he doesn't like (taking something away, looking at him the wrong way, withholding snacks, etc.)

The ability to stand up in the middle of the floor without pulling up on anything. He's been doing this for months now. It's so bizarre to watch a little baby just pop up to his feet without crawling to pull up on something. (My mom said I did the same when I was a baby.)

Accomplishments:

says dada, mama, nonna and dog with purpose.
signs more, eat, milk, and his version of all done when he feels in the mood.
self feeds table food.
drinks from sippy.
takes two steps unassisted.
sleeps through the night.
claps, waves, blows kisses,plays peekaboo and points to noses occasionally. ha!

We love this little baby and are so glad he's part of, as Schafer refers to us, "The Murray Family!"

His words, not mine.

2011-02-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

baby loves bath time

2011-01-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

One month later.

2011-01-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

It seems awkward to post about Christmas a month after it happened...because somehow that's how long it's been?!?! So...I'll squish it into a few sentences. We had Christmas Eve/morning at our house this year. My parents, sister, and Trav's parents all joined in the happy scene. There was food, fun, and gifts galore. S loved ripping into gift after gift, barely stopping to examine his loot until later. Andy tried to eat any gift that was in his general vicinity. Then we headed to Ada and did a little more celebrating with extended family. More food, fun, gifts. S still ripping into gifts. Andy still gnawing on them. I got a Kindle from my parents. I love it. I love it dearly. After reading 6 books in the 10 days after Christmas, I had to confess to Travis that I have no reading boundaries, so I am currently on a bit of a reading fast until I can set some healthy limits to control my addiction. You know, because it's important to focus on things like feeding my family, sleeping and getting dressed. In that order :-)

The only photo I have of all four of us on Christmas...

The post that wasn't.

2011-01-07T19:13:00.000-08:00

I had a cute wrap-up post for 2010 that was going to include several pictures that never found their way to my blog or facebook last year; HOWEVER, our desktop computer which houses said photos, is running at the complete opposite of warp speed. There's two hours of my life I'll never get back. So here I am - waving my white flag in defeat. Okay, you'll actually just have to *pretend* there is a picture of me waving a white flag in defeat because there is no way I'm going to set myself up for another photo download failure. When we meet again, I'll be on my laptop. Until then :-)

Santa Success!!! Four years and counting :-)

2010-12-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

Schafer loves him some Santa! We met Travis at the mall today for the annual "picture with Santa" and things went off without a hitch, minus the fact that it took me TWO HOURS to wrangle those crazy boys of mine into their holiday best and get out the door with all of us in one piece, without drool on our shirts, sans sticky hands, and sporting matching footwear. Hmmm...I was originally saying that with sarcasm, but I'm actually rather impressed with myself.

Schafer strolled up to Santa and informed him that he wanted "superhero stuff" which is certainly his most current and passionate obsession. If it's not superhero related - he makes it that way. For instance, my friend Sara made him an adorable stuffed dog out of a pair of tights and Schafer has deemed it, "Lightning the superhero dog." Cute. This was Anderson's "picture with Santa" debut, and he certainly held his own. He managed to not cry, look in the general direction of the camera, and kept his outfit drool free until all was said and done. Way to rally Andy, way to rally.

(This is a picture I snapped from "behind the blue gate" because I'm too lazy to scan the original picture we paid $20 for...) Also, you can go here to see some pictures of Schafer with Santa in Christmases past, although it looks like I slacked off last year and didn't post about his 2009 visit with Santa (in short - he met Santa, I took a picture, all was well.) And my friend Anna was right, the Santa at Quail Springs Mall is the perfect Santa! Let's see if we can go five for five next year :-)

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season! I'm totally ready to celebrate...minus finishing a few last minute handmade gifts, cleaning my wreck of a house from top to bottom, wrapping alllllll the gifts, baking, packing for holiday travels, and...yeah. Totally ready.

Anderson @ 9 months

2010-12-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

Anderson will be nine months old this week...and what a sweet, happy guy he is! I just love this baby to pieces. Over the last month he has had an absolute explosion of physical and verbal milestones. He is crawling (fast!) on all fours (no more of the hilarious crawl where he drug one of his legs straight out to the side along with him) and he started pulling up a little over a week ago. The first time it happened he was in his crib. I went in to check on him because he wasn't settling down for the night and when I walked into his room I figured out why...I think he'd surprised himself a little by managing to pull up in the dark! He has continued to practice pulling up tirelessly over the last several days and has even stood unassisted for a few seconds a couple of different times, but as soon as he realizes what he's doing he immediately plops to the ground (and safety.)

He says "da-da" ALL. THE. TIME. and with purpose. He loves his daddy! He says ma-ma as well, but usually only when he's in distress. He tried to repeat "pops" with my mom's coaching and Travis informed me that he was trying out "dog" the other day as well. It's so cute to hear his sweet baby babble!
One thing I just love about him is how jolly he is - he just LOVES to laugh. Schafer makes him laugh the hardest of anyone and it is just so cute to hear them giggling together. He also loves games - he started giving kisses just last week and started playing peek-a-boo this weekend when his Grandma was watching him. Then, when we were in Ada later in the weekend he started "winking" at his Nonna and Papa Lee, which consists of him blinking both eyes for a long time and then opening them back wide and grinning proudly. It is beyond cute.

He is sleeping well, generally going to bed around 8 and sleeping until the early morning hours when he will sometimes wake to nurse maybe once, and other times he makes it all the way until morning. I looooooove getting good sleep and hope desperately that it lasts!!! He is eating well, and loves real food that he can chew, even though he still has zero teeth to speak of. The only foods he doesn't seem to really care for are peaches and pears. He seems to be a meat and potatoes kind of guy, which is the exact opposite of Schafer, whose favorite food in the world was pears and who could pretty much care less about meat.

I love this age that he's at and all the new things he is learning, although I forgot how tiring it was to be (literally!) chasing after a little one all day. I'm also a little sad at how fast his babyness (I think I made that word up) is fading...I can't believe how big he is and I honestly don't even let myself think about the fact that in a few short months he will be one :-/ I am just trying to soak in every day with him and cherishing all the baby kisses and giggles I can get in the meantime!

ANY PICTURE WILL DO.

2010-11-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

The worst thing a mom can do is think to herself, "Today, I will get an awesome photo of my children for our Christmas card." Believe me, I know. My first attempt was a few weeks ago, but it turns out that Andy loves to eat leaves and the sun was "bodderin" Schafer too much...so I'll just let you guess how big of a fail that was. We tried again last week, and I don't think I snapped even one picture before I gave up - for various reasons I won't bore you with. At that point, I gave up on the idea of a cute, outdoorsy picture of just the two of them. The odds were just not in our favor, given Andy's love of leaves and Schafer's intense anger for the sun "bodderin" him. Then, I thought maybe I could have one of my extended family members snap a picture or two of our whole family while we were in Ada this weekend. This thought prompted Andy to immediately start running a fever and hacking up a lung. Schafer and I followed suit. No "third time's the charm" for us! That brings us to this afternoon when I decided I would get a stinkin' picture of the two boys if it killed me. And it almost did.

Christmas Card Photo Attempt # 9,312

(At this point, I had to bribe Schafer with the promise of a sucker if he'd take the darn hat off.)

Fast forward a few minutes later, minus a hat, to Christmas Card Photo Attempt # 10,044

(At this point, Andy thinks Schafer is a total weirdo.)

Fast forward a few minutes later, to Christmas Card Photo Attempt # 10,578

(At this point, Andy has been bribed with a Mum Mum in order to keep him still/happy, and obviously, said Mum Mum is MUCH MUCH more interesting to the children than their crazy mom behind the camera screeching Christmas Carols and throwing her leg up in the air - Rockette style - to capture either of their attention.)

Fast forward a few minutes later, to Christmas Card Photo Attempt # 11,265.

(At this point, Schafer is saying, through his gritted teeth, something like "ForTheLoveOfPeteAndy,JustLookAtTheWomanSoShe'llQuitTorturingUs." But Andy is still MumMum obsessed so he chooses to ignore the desperate plea.

Fast forward a few minutes later, to Christmas Card Photo Attempt # ??? That's right. I've lost count. I'm sweating. Frustrated. Out of bribes. Out of Christmas Carols. Out of high kicks. In need of a nap. A drink. Some chocolate. ANY PICTURE WILL DO.

Or not.

Christmas Card Conundrum - Shutterfly Style

2010-11-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

I was never much of a Christmas card girl, until I had children. (Don't get me wrong, I always loved receiving them I was just too lazy to put forth the effort to send out my own - hmmm, that sounds a little tacky when I say it aloud.) Anyway, now that my two little loves are here and so cute that I can hardly stand it, photo Christmas cards are a perfect way to ~~show them off~~ wish our family and friends a Merry Christmas and let them know we're thinking of them during the holiday season! There are so many options out there, that choosing the perfect card can be a bit overwhelming, so when I heard that Shutterfly was gifting bloggers with 50 FREE Christmas cards, the decision was made a little easier! I've narrowed it down to three...which do you like best? Make sure and stay tuned for our final decision!

1. Color Me Merry

2. Mod Love

3. Big Red Bow

Do you blog? If so, you can sign up for your own free cards right here!

We've been...

2010-11-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

painting...

playing in the leaves...

learning to crawl...

unpacking the last few odds and ends...

going on first father/son camping trips...

knitting gifts...

getting our rainboots muddy...

laughing...

sliding...

swinging...

being silly...

having date night...

fishing...

and much much more!!!

A note from Andy

2010-10-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

HI!

Mommy asked if I could write a quick blog because she's really busy. She told me to tell all of you that she is sort of overwhelmed with the task of unpacking and putting our new house together, and I'll be honest, I don't really like it when she pays attention to anything but ME. So, my big brother taught me this look where I poke my bottom lip out as far at it will go, then let my eyes fill up with tears and cry SUPER loud, sort of like I'm hurt. Then she comes running from whatever she's doing to give me all her time and snuggles. It works every time! My big brother is so smart. But I think I heard Mommy telling Daddy that's why she can't get anything done. Plus, she has to feed me a lot. It takes work to maintain these rolls, ya know. My doctor told me last week that I weigh almost 20 pounds. I am SO big and manly. Oh, and I've also really been practicing my crawling skills, but I'm not very good at it yet, so I keep getting stuck under the couch and things like that. Then Mommy has to stop what she's doing and come rescue me. But I'm getting better every day! Yesterday she only had to rescue me about 50 times! Anyway, she'll be back to the blog soon. Thanks for checking in on us!

Love,

aNdy

a (long) list.

2010-09-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

1. Our house is sold. Did I tell you that already?

2. We bought a house. Did I tell you that already, too?

3. We're moving next week.

4. I need to pack.

5. Anderson and Schafer had ear infections.

6. I think that was part of Schafer's problem the last few weeks.

7. He's been very sweet the last several days.

8. Trav noticed Andy pulling at his ear in the first place.

9. I feel like a jerk that *I* didn't notice the tell tale sign.

10. Schafer never pulls at his infected ears - just acts like a maniac.

11. Remind me to check his ears if I'm freaked about his freakouts.

12. Thanks.

13. I need to pack.

14. Anderson can sit up now.

15. He has some balance checks, but definitely capable.

16. It's very cute.

17. You can tell he's very proud.

18. He had oatmeal for the first time the night before last.

19. He LOVES it and was more than ready.

20. I think he'd eat a steak if I let him.

21. I need to pack.

22. We found Schafer a new preschool in Edmond.

23. They seem very nice.

24. Schafer seemed to like it.

24. I'll miss his old school terribly.

25. In fact, I don't wanna talk about it anymore for fear of crying.

26. I need to pack.

27. I think Anderson is about to cut his first tooth/teeth.

28. He gnaws on whatever he can get to his mouth.

29. Fingers, toes, toys, binky, blankets, my collar bone.

30. He reminds me a bit of a rabid animal.

31. He even growls sometimes.

32. I need to pack.

33. Last weekend we celebrated my sister's birthday.

34. We went dancing.

35. It was awesome.

36. Are you having a rough week?

37. Go dancing. Dance crazy. I promise it will cheer you up.

38. I need to pack.

Happy

2010-09-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been extremely stressful/emotional for me...(family & friends, don't worry...I just freak out during major life changes - i.e. moving) but I'm going to focus on the positive. It's moments like these (captured on my old Nikon point and shoot we resurrected for the evening so Schafer could practice his photography skills) that I will not take for granted.

Keeping it Real. Schafer Style.

2010-09-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today was not my best parenting day. In fact, it was one of my worst. I'll give you the lowlight, which included a sobbing call to my sister where I choked out something along the lines of, "I don't know why God thought I had the skills to effectively parent this child of mine! I'm a failure!!!" Dramatic, I know. But have you met Schafer? On his best day, he is FABULOUS. On his worst, he is still fabulous...while being an absolute holy terror. Today was the latter. I don't want to get into the nitty gritty details, but we'll just say that multiple time-outs, countless power struggles, tantrums and poop were involved. The stubborn streak on that boy could span the Grand Canyon. And believe me, I know "he's three," but that can only be used as an excuse for so long. You know, like until he's four. ANYWAY. I just went to turn off his bedside lamp for the night. I saw his sweet profile and the ridiculous winter mittens and hat he has insisted on sleeping in for the past two weeks and was reminded that my love for him is completely unconditional and I wouldn't change a single thing about him. I may be gray haired and look 80 years old by the time he's 18, but I would not trade him for anything in the whole entire world. He is perfect in every way and I will do everything in my power to be his perfect parent. (Please note that perfect, in this post, is relative.) Tomorrow is a new day, right?

A peek into Andy's thoughts.

2010-08-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Sam

2010-08-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

After a particularly large dinner tonight...Schafer came into our room in his pajamas, sporting a rather rounded mid-section. He informed me that there was a baby growing in his tummy. "A very very small baby." And he thought the baby needed a name. "What a good name for the baby is?" he asked. We decided on Sam. When Travis went to tuck him in he got to hear all about Sam, too. Apparently, Sam is not only "very very small" but also "very cute." It's possible I should have nipped the idea of "baby Sam in Schafer's tummy" in the bud before, well, before we named him Sam ;-)

Faces @ Four Months

2010-08-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Cute

2010-08-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

Schafer: Mom, I wanna watch a movie.
Me: What movie?
Schafer: I wanna watch (garble garbled blah blahs) Adventure!
Me: Huh?
Schafer: (garbled blahs) High Flying Adventure!
Me: Son, slow down. You want to watch WHAT High Flying Adventure?
Schafer: repeating above, somewhat slower, still a bit garbled.
Me: (finally) OH! You want to watch TWEETY'S High Flying Adventure!
Schafer: (perfectly clear now) Yes. I DO want to watch Tweety's High Flying Adventure. Tweety is such a GOOD name for a nice yellow bird, huh Mom?
Me: passing out from cuteness.

Favorites - Part Deux

2010-08-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ugh. The summer heat is OPPRESSIVE. We've had twelve house showings in the last month with ZERO offers. I quit Diet Coke. And I'm feeling cranky.

Soooo....I'm cheering myself up with a favorites post!!! Here are a few things, in no particular order, that make me happy these days.

Gelato

Okay. Gelato is like ice-cream. Except less calories, fat, and just better for you in general. And it still tastes GREAT. Seriously, do I need to say anything else? (Execpt, find one near you and get the Dulce de Leche flavor. Heaven.)

Hanson

Look, I know I may be judged for putting this out there. But Hanson (yes the MM BOP boy band from the 90s...) came out with a new cd and it is just fabulous. My good friend D got it for me and I have not stopped listening to it since! Such fun, summery music. If you need a dose of sunshine, just go here to watch their new(ish) video. It was shot in Tulsa and it so fun!

Goat Milk Soap

I heard about this soap from another mommy blogger well over a year ago. Our entire family has the plague of super-sensitive skin and this soap is so great. I can't say enough good things about it. No yucky chemicals, additives or skin drying stuff and sold by a family who makes all their soap right at home on their own goat farm. How cute is that? We love it. (Note to those with young ones though...it burns the eyes like a son of a gun...Schafer learned this the hard way...so if using it on little ones don't let them get a hold of it!) Go here to get your own.

Snickerdoodles

I'm a self proclaimed chocolate addict, but baby Anderson seemed to have a sensitivity to it in his early days, so I (begrudgingly) cut out my daily dose of chocolate and these little beauties soon took their place. Go eat your guilt free Gelato and then come home and enjoy one of these (full of sugar, and butter, and white flour deliciousness) snickerdoodles! I use this recipe. Minus the cream of tartar, because really? Who just keeps cream of tartar on hand? They still turn out great. I just ate ~~three~~ five.

Groupon

Do you guys know about Groupon? It is so great! It's basically a site where each day there is a local business with a product or service at a deeply discounted rate. I bought Travis an hour long massage for 29 bucks and got half off a purchase at a local knitting store...so far :-) You can sign up for the daily Groupon e-mail in your area so you don't miss an awesome deal!

That's all I have for now. I'm off to eat more snickerdoodles.

Mexico with the Murrays...

2010-08-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

and the rest of my family, who are not the Murrays, but the title sounded best this way :-)

We returned late Monday night from a week of fun in the sun at The Beach Palace in Cancun, Mexico. If I could go back right now, I would in a heartbeat. We had the BEST time. With my parents, sister and brother-in-law, Travis and myself...caring for the babies was a breeze. (Yeah, I called my three year old a baby...that's what he'll always be to me!)

The weather was perfect, the food was yummy, the drinks were plentiful (not so much for me since I had to plan any indulgence around a nursing baby's eating schedule, but I still managed a few sips), and we had no agenda except for fun in the sun. Seriously, can we go back? I think I'm going to go pack a bag and empty our bank accounts...

One highlight included my brother-in-laws (otherwise known as my BIL) obsessive preoccupation with checking his bag for his passport, made funnier only by the fact that I could somewhat relate to the same OCD tendency/fear. He would unzip his bag and check for his passport, then zip it back up, get nervous that it had somehow fallen out as he was checking for it, so he remedied this by unzipping the bag only enough to put one finger in and feel that the passport was indeed still safe and sound where he left it. He rinsed and repeat the process about 35 times before we got to Mexico. He did the same on our trip home. HILARIOUS. If anyone mentioned passport we'd both be grabbing for our bags for a double, triple, quadruple, (you get the idea) check. I'm happy to report that we both made it there and back with our passports safe and sound.

I also would like to proclaim here and now that my mother shall henceforth be known as The Baby Whisperer. I can not tell you how talented that woman is at getting my baby to sleep. It's miraculous really. I miss her. Oh how I miss her and her sleepy baby vibes. I don't think I got the gift because my baby has seemed very tired since our return. She would pop the pacifier in his mouth and rock away and he'd be out like a light. I try to give him the binky and he looks at me like I'm giving him poison. Hmmph. I think I just need to hire her as my nanny. I guess people would probably judge a stay at home mom who employed a nanny though, huh? I can dream...

Schafer had a blast on his first airplane ride that he can remember; he was 8 months old the last time we flew. And Andy was quite the little travelling trooper as well. Travelling for all of us was pretty painless actually. (I'm choosing to forget the last hour of our car ride to the Dallas airport where Andy screamed non-stop and the semi-hissy fit S threw while boarding our very first flight because I wouldn't let him push our stroller IN TO other passengers waiting to board. Oh, and the fact that my sister got detained for over two hours in the Mexican Immigration office because of some glitch with her passport and we all ended up sitting around on the airport floor, me nursing Andy in a corner while sitting in Schafer's carseat...just small obstacles in the grand scheme of things!) Schafer also had a great time swimming and is pretty proficient in the water with his arm floaties on now and even practiced dunking his head underwater and holding his breath. He LOVED looking for seashells on the beach, and Andy loved taking naps in the shade, with The Baby Whisperer's help of course.

We were sad to go, but we have nice tans and some fabulous family memories that will last forever. It's a shame the tans won't last forever, too...

Da Boys...

2010-08-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

Those cute little Murray boys of mine had their well baby/child check-ups a bit ago, and I wanted to do a quick post on their visit. First, I should probably say that baby Anderson is actually not little at all. In fact he's quite the super chunk, weighing in at a hefty 16 pounds, 10 ounces just a few days before he turned four months old. He is short though, measuring a mere 24 inches long. That landed him in the 75th percentile for weight and the 10th percent for height. Ha. Anyone need a baby sumo wrestler? I may have just come up with the perfect Halloween costume for him...I mean the poor guy has rolls on his rolls! Knee flab, man boobs, and chafing are involved. It would be sad if it weren't somehow SO adorable. Schafer was a super chunk baby too, but Andy is still beating him by a good margin. If he's anything like Schafer he will slim up once he's on the move. Speaking of, he's still doing lots of rolling and has a great swim/grunt motion that I assume will eventually lead to an army crawl in the near-ish future. He's found his voice and loves to coo and squeal to get attention, which is pretty much all the time that he isn't sleeping. He reaches for toys and he especially loves the little birdy that hangs from his carseat as well as any kind of soft blanket that he can nuzzle up to his face. He sleeps on his tummy and is already fascinated by his older brother. He's sweet sweet sweet and we love him to pieces!

Schafer had his three year check and was just AWESOME at the doctor's office. He weighed 32 pounds (50th percentile) and was exactly 3 feet tall (10th percentile.) He is such a charming little guy and often reminds me SO much of his father in that aspect. He just really has a way of wrapping people around his little finger and it's very endearing. I have to remind myself of that often when he's making me want to tear my hair out with his {super size} stubborn streak! The nurse had him do a quick hearing and vision test and he was so very cute answering all the questions she asked him. They asked him to pee in a cup, which sounded like something that could be disastrous, but after a quick trip to the restroom with Travis he apparently stepped up to the plate and did great. Haha!!! He was equally animated for the PA who was happy to hear how great he's been at pottying the past several weeks and after their chat she pronounced him to be very healthy and intelligent. The nurse came back in and Schafer had one shot, which was obviously the low point of the visit. But like always, Travis was there to do the dirty work while I cowered in the corner covering my ears. Schafer recovered eventually, but would have a fresh set of sadness at various times the rest of the day about the "pinch" he'd received that "really really hurt." Poor guy. I did step up and hold Andy for his shots, which weren't too eventful. I think it's definitely easier with a baby because they obviously forget the pain so quickly and you aren't stuck with the awkward "Do I eplain? Not explain? Warn? Not warn?" dilemma like with an older child. Maybe next time we'll give S a quick heads up so he's not so shocked AND in pain all at the same time. Oops.

So...that is that. I plan on being back tomorrow with a giant vacation recap post regarding the beach getaway we just returned from with my family, so stay tuned :-)

lovable, huggable, snuggable baby boy...

2010-07-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Celebrate!

2010-07-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

Our (first) baby is three years old today. And what an awesome three years it's been!

He came into the world weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and was 19 inches long.

He now weighs close to 30 pounds and is almost three feet tall.

He LOVES fruit (blueberries and bananas, especially), cheese, crackers and ice-cream.

His most recent TV character obsession is Go Diego Go! And he goes around the house talking about saving llamas and pumas.

He is beside himself with joy when we go and visit Nonna & Pops house and Grandma's house, too.

He is the best big brother I've ever seen.

He's been in underwear only for almost two weeks, with only a few accidents.

He loves it when I read him books before bed each night.
He loves cruising with his dad in the "mustang car" anytime they get the chance.
He's a night owl and usually likes to sleep in.

He can read most two and three letter words.
When he gets in trouble he tries to melt our hearts by giving us teary blue eyes with his arms wide open while he says, "I need a hug" in his most pitiful voice. It usually works.
He's brilliant and stubborn and hilarious and wild and perfect.
And he's OURS!!! We love you to pieces Schafer William.
Happy 3rd Birthday.

4th of July Recap & other TidBits

2010-07-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

We headed to Ada last Friday for our annual Fourth of July celebration. My dad, sister, cousin Tiffany and I started Saturday off bright and early with a run in the Fireball Classic, that has become a bit of tradition in our family. My friend Cat KILLED the 5k and my friend Lindsay posted her best 5k time ever. I was so glad to see her, albeit rather far, ahead of me for motivation to keep going. My sister was hot on my heels, crossing the finish line barely TWO SECONDS behind me. Did I mention that we ran this entire race in the pouring rain??? We were literally splashing through puddles that covered our shoes and I was praying my IPOD wouldn't short out the whole way. What a fun and memorable race, especially since it was my first one post baby #2. It took me over six months to even start running again after I had Schafer so I am proud that I'm already back to racing in only three short months this time. Travis has been a HUGE help and has encouraged me to take the time for myself to train, even if it means he's left after a long day of work with two cranky kiddos in the evening. I love that man :-)

We spent the afternoon at my Grandma's house having water balloon tossing contests and eating homemade ice-cream then we finished up the evening with a fireworks show in the big town of Francis, Oklahoma (population 463.) They put on a good show!

On Sunday we had an early celebration for Schafer's third birthday (he actually turns three on July 13th) at my parents house since almost all of my family members and several friends were in town anyway. He had such a great time opening his gifts, eating his (adorable) cake and playing in my parents awesome backyard with tons of family and friends. We are so blessed to have so many people to celebrate his special day!

As for a quick potty training update, we went cold turkey to underwear last Thursday and we are NOT looking back. Thank you Keisha for the inspiration! (It appears I'm trying to link up to practically all of my bloggy friends in this post....) Anyway, he's done fairly well, with only the occasional accident and still some resistance about heading for the potty when a number two is in order. Haha...I'm sure all of you non-mommy's are dying to know about that. I'll just finish this bit up and say that I'm hopeful he'll be 100% accident free in the very near future. What a stinkin' (literally!) LONG road this potty training adventure (?) has turned out to be!

Anderson is just as sweet and snuggly as always. He's a super chunk and I'm anxious to see how much he weighs at his well baby appointment later this month. He's also started drooling and gnawing on his hands like mad a good majority of his awake time, so I'm wondering if teeth are in our near future. Oh joy. He is SUPER smiley and we just love him to pieces, even though he isn't the dream sleeper I thought I might be blessed with since Schafer was such a terrible sleeper. Oh well...I just remind myself that they are both adorable, healthy and happy and I'll get sleep someday....right?

One more big piece of news on the Murray home front, we've put our house on the market and have found a house we reallllly want to buy just a short drive north of OKC. Please oh please say some prayers that we can sell our house quickly in order to have a chance at this house we love. Because HOLY COW keeping a house "show ready" at all times just may be the death of me :-/ Maybe someone will just buy it tomorrow and that will be that? Ha...I can hope, right?

(An observation after skimming back through this post - I seem to sound a bit desperate for reassurance. I thought about changing it, but, well, everybody likes a little reassurance, right?) Ha. Happy night to all. Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Reality...

2010-06-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's reasons like these that I'm behind on blogging.

favorites

2010-06-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have a a few friends who have a friend that started a recurring post on her blog to share some of her favorite products and such each week. You can find the starter posts from each of them here, here & here. I LOVE reading about other people's favorite things because I usually find something I "need" while reading, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and share my own. You should do the same!

In no particular order...here are some things that I'm loving this particular day ;-)

1. Snowcones. Is there anything more refreshing than a cold and fruity snowcone on a blistering hot day? Please, if you're in the OKC area, visit Hawaiin Mikes Snow Balls on South Penn...DELICIOUS.

2. American Apparel Tri-Blend tees. Best t-shirt ever made. I get mine on Amazon for about 8 bucks apiece. I have four or five (in various colors, v neck and crew.) And you can bet that four out of seven days a week I will be sporting one of these shirts :-) Soooooooo soft and not too tight, which is VERY important to me these days. Ha!!!

3. My Canon Rebel T2i. I can't say enough good things about this camera. It's pricey, but worth every penny I believe! It's awesome for pics of the kiddos and it takes HD video as well. You just can't beat that it's all in one. I use it daily.

4. Mini Boden. Woe is me trying to find cute baby boy clothes for my little men...I HATE going into a store just to see 5 racks of girly stuff and one or two racks of boy stuff. So unfair. Enter...BabyGap and MiniBoden. I figured you all knew about BabyGap cuteness...but maybe not Boden. I get 25% off plus free shipping coupons from them in the mail all the time, and it's the only way to go :-) Everything I've gotten from there so far has been excellent quality and totally adorable.

5. My SleepyWrap. I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but it really has been a lifesaver for us. Hands free is invaluable these days. And Andy looooooves it, so everyone is happy!

I think I'll stop at five today, but maybe I'll come back with more next week. I'd love to see your favorite things, so let me know if you join in the fun!

Enjoying the Moment

2010-06-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Having two boys is wonderful. Anderson is my sweet little snuggly guy and Schafer is hilariously entertaining and fun. I have really been trying hard to enjoy Andy's "babyhood" as much as possible. But I'm going to be honest and say that I have been royally ticked off, on more than one occasion in the last few months, about how little I've been able to "accomplish" during the day. Try as we might, Schafer has never really been a super scheduled little guy...and Anderson is the same (so far anyway...I realize it's still early in the process.) Some days he takes an awesome nap...some days he barely sleeps at all. And much of his waking time is spent demanding to be held.

I have bemoaned the lousy state of my house and how my arms are full of babies all the time, too many times to count, to Travis, my mom, sister, friends - pretty much anyone who will listen. Travis and I were talking about it last weekend and he said something to the effect of, "Babe, Andy will only be so little and needy for a short time, let's just relax about the state of the house and enjoy the moment." It sounded like a great idea. Until today, when we spent literally all morning and into the afternoon getting Andy's birth certificate and then both boys' passports for our trip to Mexico with my family at the end of July (side note - YAY for vacation!!!) And Schafer decided to take a (super rare for him) nap. I thought to myself "AWESOME!" I'll get Andy down for a nap and have TWO WHOLE GLORIOUS HOURS to myself to get this house in shape! Of course, the joke was on me, as I spent the next two hours trying to get Anderson to sleep, only to have him finally succumb at the exact time Schafer needed to be woken up. I certainly won't quote myself, but let's just say that Travis saw and heard some ugly ranting when he walked in the door this evening.

Anyway, I got over myself long enough to get dinner on the table before Travis headed off to do tumbling privates for the evening. I figured since Anderson was asleep I could get some laundry done. But Schafer asked so sweetly to go outside, that I gave in. We've been out here for the last hour and a half now and he's made me laugh more times than I can count. The weather is beautiful and we are having the best time. Andy will probably wake up soon and my house will still be a mess. But so what? I'll get to snuggle his warm little body and kiss his sweet chubby cheeks. I know I won't look back in twenty years and think, "Gee - I wish I would have swept my floors more often." I'd MUCH rather look back and think, "I enjoyed every moment." So take that dirty Murray floors...I'm spending time with my babies.

(EDITED to add that as I finished this post I remembered a poem - only bits and pieces until I googled it....but it's even more fitting than I recalled. I'm posting it - because what a great reminder it is.)

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep

He came back...

2010-06-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon in my hometown, I married the love of my life. A teeny tiny apartment, a duplex in the ghetto ;-), then our first real home...a master's degree for me, a great job opportunity and several promotions for him...two pregnancies and two perfect baby boys...and many other life changing events later...I love him more than I did that day five years ago. If you would have asked me on my wedding day if I could love him any more than I did that day, I would have told you it wasn't possible. For me, the sun rose and set on him - on US...I'd venture to say he felt the same way :-)

A little background on how I can so confidently say that he felt the same way? From the moment we met,we spent virtually every moment together and were "that" annoying couple that could rarely stand to do things apart because of missing the other too much. Just two short months after we began dating, Travis had an amazing opportunity to travel to Canada and train to be a performer in a new Cirque du Soleil show that had yet to be named (now Corteo)...most people know that Travis cheered in high school and college and was *really* good at it...especially in partner stunts. Months and months before we met, he'd sent in an audition video to Cirque and never heard anything back until a day in late April, finals were looming and he had just picked me up from a class when he got a call from a strange number. It was Cirque and they wanted him to come to Canada to begin their summer training camp; they had a specific show and spot in mind for him (which is almost unheard of - many people give up jobs and other commitments to train all summer in Canada - far from any friends and family, with only a *chance* that they'll be picked for a show)...and they wanted him to come as soon as possible.

I was elated for him and sick for myself. I knew it was something he had dreamed about doing, the travel opportunities that came with it were alone were enough to make it his dream job, and to be doing something he was so good at and loved doing AND getting paid? It was too good to be true. And we'd only been dating for two months, so I was certainly not going to tell him to say no to this chance of a lifetime. I knew we were going to be together and he knew the same, but the logistics of being in a traveling show were certainly throwing a wrench in things. He talked to his contact at Cirque to figure out his long term options if we were going to be together. Basically, he could see me on "leave" (the shows take a 2 week break between each country...which would probably equate to us seeing one another a handful of times in each calendar year) or we could look into me working for the show in some aspect (i.e. ticket sales or some other not so glamorous job....) I knew that I would do whatever I had to do to be with him, so I figured I'd finish my last year of college and run away to be a ticket salesgirl for the circus :-) Ha...obviously not something I was broadcasting to the world at that point since we'd been dating for such a short time, but that was pretty much the plan! I've never had any doubts when it came to being with him.

So...off he went just a few weeks later. I was SO. SAD. I spent the next few weeks moping in Ada (where I was working and spending the summer with my family) planning my first trip to Canada, crying, composing long sappy e-mails and waiting for his next call. In retrospect it seems a little melodramatic, but I can assure you the feelings behind it were very real. And then my beloved MiMi passed away less than three weeks after Travis had gone...I had experienced very little loss in my twenty years and this was by far the worst loss I'd ever faced. Travis felt awful when he found out. He knew that my sadness had just multiplied tenfold, and he was thousands of miles away. He talked about terminating his contract with Cirque. He knew I was miserable and we just couldn't imagine being away from each other indefinitely. The moping grew worse, and not even a trip to Mexico with my family could cheer me up because it was almost impossible with our internet access/phone services to reach one another. We came back and I was SO excited to be back in the states because I knew it meant we'd be able to at least talk again. I called him right away and it was so great to hear his voice, even though he was so far away. After hours of travel we were back at my parent's house and just minutes later Travis walked through their front door. He had actually been driving from the airport to Ada when I'd spoked to him in Ada, and I still thought he was in Canada! I honestly think it was one of the happiest moments of my life. It seemed like a dream. It still does thinking back on it. He proposed just two months later and obviously I said yes ;-)

And here we are...five years of marriage and two beautiful babies later. We may not get to spend every waking moment together anymore, and with two little ones in the house - it may not be about just us anymore, but that is part of the reason I love him more now than I did then. He works hard everyday so I can stay at home with our babies, he is an amazing father and he loves me just how I am - sweatpants, spit-up, post baby body, and sleep deprived crankiness.

When I was just a few months pregnant with Schafer, we traveled to Dallas to see the Cirque show he would have been in, and we went backstage afterwards to meet the performers he'd trained with in Montreal. (The show is currently in Japan.) He would have seen most parts of the world by now. But he came back. And he stayed. When we were leaving the show that night, he told me that he'd never once regretted it and that he was exactly where he wanted to be. With ME. I love him. I love him. I love him.

Happy Anniversary Travis Murray. I love you more every. single. day.

The Artist & The Snuggle Monster

2010-06-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

Schafer produced a lovely puppy dog piece on his Magna Doodle this weekend. It's so good (I think) that it just feels right to call it a "piece" - I mean, this is like real art people! It's a talent that certainly comes from his father, since I'm only capable of drawing stick figures - and really lousy stick figures at that.

In other news, Andy has boycotted naps all day today, but remains perfectly cheerful and bubbly as long as I'm snuggling him at all times, thus his new nickname "The Snuggle Monster." My arms may fall off and my house may be in shambles around me, but I'm still trying to enjoy every fleeting baby moment. Schafer is totally on board with the snuggling concept and actually threw a leg over Andy today as he laid in his Boppy on the couch. I ran over thinking Andy might be scared/squished, but he was just grinning with pure enjoyment on his face...in true snuggle monster fashion. And really, who could refuse snuggles with this sweet, dimpled little roly poly???

what's up?

2010-05-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

What's been happening at the Murray house these last few weeks, you ask?

Schafer's cold/virus turned into an awesome ear infection that took two rounds of antibiotics to clear.
In the process, virtually every family member he came into contact with was the recipient of said cold/virus (Pops, Nonna, cousin Cason, Travis, Andy, myself....the list probably goes on.)
Andy had to have his first round of antibiotics (at the ripe old age of 7 weeks) to fight off this, obviously ridiculously contagious, illness.
Great fun was had by all.
No, but really things are better and everyone is pretty much back to 100% now.
Andy turned two months old.
He weighs 12 pounds, 9 oz (75th percentile), is 22 inches long (25th percentile), and has a head circumference of 15 1/4 inches (25th percentile).
He enjoys - eating frequently, sleeping on or near me, pulling out fistfuls of my hair, being held, rolling from tummy to back, his Soothie pacifier, warm baths and staring blankly out windows.
He does NOT enjoy - sleeping on his back, riding in the car seat when he's not tired, the swing for more than three minutes at a time, okay - pretty much being left alone anywhere awake for more than three minutes at a time (Boppy, playmat, bouncer, etc.), having the hiccups or losing his Soothie.
He bears a pretty striking resemblance to his brother at this age, don't you think? (First pics are S and second ones are Andy.) (Also, you can go here to see what Schafer was up to when he was 2 months old.)

All that said, we're just enjoying the warm weather. Schafer and I had breakfast on the back patio one morning...he brought me various leaves and "berries" that he found in our yard :-)

and I've been making warm weather foods like strawberry short cake and bean salads...you know, on the few nights a week that I manage to corral both boys long enough to actually cook something.

I'll try to be back very soon with more posts..."try" being the operative word, of course ;-)

This & That

2010-05-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Soooooo many things I could post - I think of something I'd like to blog about at least once a day. Unfortunately, my arms are usually full of baby, and it's midnight before I know it :-)

Anderson is almost 7 weeks old...and a chunky little monkey who is always thinking about his next meal! He weighed 10 lbs, 3 oz at his one month appointment and with the way he eats I'm certain he's keeping up with his steep weight gain curve. He has a bit of an obsession with my hair. I think it calms him, he loves to grab handfuls and bury his face in it which is almost as painful as it is endearing. I find stray pieces wrapped around his fingers all the time. He sleeps *okay* as long as he's snuggled up near me or another warm body. Travis reminded me when I complained that my arms were going to fall off from holding him that I'd always wished Schafer was a snuggler as a baby. Guess I got what I asked for! We had a fluke roll when he was only ten days old, and not much action since, but as of this morning he is kicking butt at rolling tummy to back. He's done it at least 6 times today and I caught one of them on video. Really? Semi-mobile at 7 weeks? I'm going to need him to relax a little on the physical milestones because just the thought of two wild little boys running in opposite directions someday soon is enough to make me (more) tired. He's just now starting to give us some social smiles, but they aren't really frequent just yet. Love those dimples though :-)

Schafer is as cute and funny as he could possibly be. He's actually been trying to get over a virus this week and has been running fever with watery nose and eyes since Sunday. He's been coughing all day today and his fever has gotten over 101, but when I ask him how he feels he just smiles at me sweetly and says, "I'm good." It is sort of pitiful, but precious. He loves Anderson and has, on more that one occasion, thrown an arm around him and declared, "Andy - you're cute!" He also says helpful things when Andy is screaming like, "Hey mom, I think he needs his binky" or "Hey mom, I think Andy needs some of your milk." He seemed oblivious to the logistics of me nursing Anderson for several weeks until the other day when I brought out the breast pump. Well, the mechanics of that just fascinated him so I finally gave him a short explanation of how Mommy makes milk for Andy. He seemed somewhat interested as I explained and once I was finished he thought for a moment before he looked at me with wide eyes and a big smile, like he'd had some sort of epiphany, and said, "Oh! Well you can make the milk and I'll make the juice!" I just love that kid.

We recently bought him some flashcards and he can sound out every three letter word and some of the four letter words in the stack. I am such a proud mom at how bright he is and how quickly he picks things up. It really amazes me the things he retains. Our only miserable fail these days comes in the form of potty training. In fact, I don't really even want to talk about it. But I'll just say that we've seen epic regression since Anderson has come home from the hospital and I may throw a hissy fit if I have to change another poopy pull-up. I just want to scream EWWWW and run away, but I'm trying to take the high road. No promises for how much longer I can hold out before I pull a poopy pull-up protest. Ha!

Besides adjusting to life with two, we've just been hanging out and taking it easy. My parents watched the boys for a few hours so we could have a date on Friday night. It was FAB-U-LOUS to have a quiet dinner and watch a grown-up movie with hubby. Amazing how much I've learned to appreciate a date night. Definitely great for our marriage and our babies loooove having time with their grandparents. It's a win win! Mother's Day was great as well; Anderson was dedicated at Lovelady in Ada and there were many church members who gifted us with diapers, wipes and other baby goodies. We should be set for several months. Sweet!

Baby is snoozing peacefully for the time being, so I'm off to catch some sleep as well. Thanks for tuning in and good night for now :-)

now or never

2010-04-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost 1 am and I'm feeling pretty worn out, but I know if don't post *something* right now - it will probably be another few weeks before I get to it. The last month has been a whirlwind...I really can't believe Anderson is going to be a month old on Monday. I find myself getting so darn sentimental about the time passing. My babies are growing up too fast...and I don't care if I sound old and sappy and cliche when I say that. They really are!

Schafer has literally blown my mind this last month with Andy being here. He truly truly LOVES his little brother and nothing in the world could make me happier. If you know Schafer at all, you know that he wants things HIS WAY and he wants them RIGHT NOW. I was, quite truthfully, a nervous wreck throughout my pregnancy thinking he would resent Anderson and want to send him right back as soon as he realized that he might have to share some of the limelight but I will happily eat my words. Don't get me wrong...there have been adjustments and some minor setbacks (i.e. some freakishly awful tantrums - even for Schafer...which is saying A LOT and many many potty training "fails" over the last few weeks), but he seems truly happy to be a big brother and willing to share his time when Anderson is in need of feeding, changing, cuddling, etc. I know most parents think their child is exceptionally special/smart/etc, and I'm hopping right on that bandwagon. Schafer IS just so ridiculously smart and fabulous that sometimes it blows my mind. Haha! But really :-)

As for Anderson, he is a sweet and cuddly baby. I've taken to calling him Snuggles because that is certainly what he does best. He sleeps quite well once he goes down for the night and is gaining weight rapidly as he loves to eat as much as his big brother did. I was destined to have super chubby Gerber babies I suppose. His swing ticks him off, but we're hoping that changes in the coming days since my poor arms need a break during the day! He LOVES his Sleepy Wrap which is a giant piece of material that wraps him up all snuggly to my chest so I can have my hands free once in awhile. That thing is an absolute Godsend and I am recommending it to any and everyone who has a baby/is thinking about having a baby/knows someone having a baby...you get the idea.

There are several, more specific, things I want to post about but sleep is a rare commodity right now and I need to take advantage while I can....I'll be back soon with some Schafer funnies and a few other things. Sweet dreams!

Introducing...

2010-03-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Anderson Lee Murray

My body is tired and my brain is fuzzy from pain medication. The following are things I want recorded, but don't have the energy to put into narrative form.

ANDERSON

Born March 26, 2010

@ 7:56 am

weighing

7 pounds, 6 ounces (one ounce more than his big brother @ birth)

19 inches long (1/2 inch shorter than his big brother @ birth)

A cute round head covered with gorgeous brown hair

Nose and mouth like his big brother

Long skinny fingers and toes like his mommy

DIMPLES like his daddy (One of the happiest moments of my life when I saw those dimples)

A night owl

Champion nurser

Maker of "piggy noises" when he's hungry (his brother made cow noises - he would literally cry "moooooo" when he was hungry. guess we're just trying to keep with the farm animal tradition.)

The *perfect* addition to our family

Lucky

2010-03-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

As if these two adorable guys weren't enough...in just a few days I'll be blessed with another. Feeling like the happiest girl in the world right now.

Countdown

2010-03-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well...the countdown is on. I just googled how long, exactly, it is until we meet Anderson. The verdict? Eight days, nine hours and 24 minutes (It's Wednesday at 10:05 pm as I'm writing this...) OH. MY.

I've done some pretty serious nesting the last few weeks...it has included (but isn't limited to) refinishing Anderson's dresser & putting the final touches on the boys' room, breaking down, washing and reassembling the bassinet and car seat (Okay, Travis helped with the reassembly, but please note that I made a valiant effort and decided it was best to call in the professional when the bassinet started resembling a weapon instead of a baby bed...), digging out and washing/folding/putting away all of Schafer's baby clothes and linens, along with the new stuff we have for Anderson, packing hospital bags, knitting a million baby hats to go with every outfit A owns (it's an addiction - moms of girls have their big bows and tutus - I have my hats!) and MANY things unrelated to baby - but still necessary to have done before baby (i.e. finishing two cases for my contract work, taking the dogs to the vet, renewing my car tag, backing up all of our pictures and videos on an external hard drive and clearing off our SD cards to make room for lots of new pictures and videos, and the list goes on....) If I could finish up the last of my work (instead of blogging and organizing three years of pictures HA!!!) then I would feel fairly prepared. So...that's next on the list. Really.

And I should mention that for three of those "nesting days" in the last few weeks, I was fighting off one of the most miserable stomach viruses I've ever had. I was sure, more than once over those 72 hours, that I was going to die. I even got to take a jaunt over to labor and delivery to be monitored, which ended with me receiving two bags of IV fluids to get me back to (somewhat) normal hydration and a shot to stop the contractions my extreme dehydration had caused (with the fun side effect of making your heart race like a rabbit... bringing on a serious case of anxiety and repeated statements to Travis warning him of my impending death.) Thanks to Nonna and Pops for keeping Schafer safe from the misery that was his mommy for those three days, leaving Travis free to take care of his other little ray of sunshine ;-) You were a real trooper babe!

Oh, and did I mention we decided to jump head long into *serious* potty training this last weekend too? Yes. Please, feel free to call me crazy. For some reason, it just felt right. (Don't ask me how WRONG it was feeling this morning though, when Schafer let loose approximately one gallon of urine onto our wood floor and then ran gleefully through it leaving a trail of pee pee foot prints all the way down our hall. Or tonight, when we went to eat at Freddy's and Travis asked S if he needed to pee in Freddy's potty and Schafer refused - then promptly changed his mind when we were in the car heading home and wailed off and on for the next half an hour "NEEDA GO BACK AND PEE PEE IN FREDDY'S POTTY!!!") Anyway, other than a few minor fiascoes like that, potty training is going fairly well. I figure we'll have it down pat by next week just in time for Andy's arrival to throw a wrench in the whole thing.

We had our last ultrasound yesterday morning to get a size estimate on Anderson. Autumn and Travis both guessed that he would be six and a half pounds and they were exactly right. The tech put him at six pounds, eight ounces. He looks great and seeing his adorable little face just made me that much more excited to meet him next week! We brought Schafer along and he was sooooooo excited to "see Andy on TV" and kept us all laughing throughout the ultrasound with exclamations of "see?!?! SEE?!?! That's Andy's head!!!!" and so on with whatever body part he thought was on the screen. I really thing he is going to be the BEST big brother.

I'm sure there is much more I could ramble on about, but we're down to eight days, eight hours and 46 minutes til Andy's arrival - and I have things to do :-)

Wakin' Up Is Hard To Do

2010-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

The Bump...& some anxiety.

2010-02-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

My sweet cousin (I seem to have a lot of those, don't I?), Lindsay was the first person to join me in the world of DSLR cameras...and we have had such a good time figuring them out together. I think we're getting better everyday and she told me I had to let her come take maternity pictures of me before Anderson was born. I agreed, mainly because she forced me to take some during my last pregnancy, assuring me that I would be thankful later, even though I was NOT excited about my watermelon bump being captured forever. She was right, and I've been happy to have some pictures to look back on and remember my first pregnancy, so I had no choice but to say yes this time as well. Turns out, I'm much less awkward behind the camera than I am in front of the camera, so when she came up last week we had a pretty great time laughing at how whiny and uncomfortable I was posing for pictures. It really was a good time and I think she did a great job working with the worst model ever ;-) Schafer, however, was a GREAT model and I actually love all the pictures he was in...he is such a little ham! Lindsay also brought Cason along and he and Schafer had a good time playing like big boys together. It is SO FUN (and kind of surreal) to see our little ones becoming friends like we have been since birth! I'm posting a few of my favorites at the bottom of the post.

As for the anxiety that I referred to in the title...I'm starting to feel some real anxiety about life after Anderson's birth. I'm not so worried about taking care of a new baby, and I'm certainly excited to meet him and get to know him like we know Schafer. I just wonder how in the world I will (successfully) juggle being a mommy of two. I hesitate to even say that, because let's be honest, there are lots of people who have more children, closer in age, with less help and more responsibilities - so who am I to be freaking out? Well, I'll just tell you that all the rationalizing in the world has not quieted my anxiety just yet. I was actually feeling pretty confident about the whole "Mommy of two" thing until the last few weeks. All of a sudden, Schafer is completely insistent that I be the one to do everything for him. This includes, but isn't limited to, demanding that *MOMMY* be the one to get him in and out of the highchair, car seat, bathtub, etc. Not to mention that he refuses to let Travis put him to bed (a change from just a month ago, when he ONLY wanted Travis to put him to bed), or get him a snack, or refill his sippy cup, etc. etc. LUCKILY, he still loves playing with Travis (ha, who am I kidding? I am too big and slow to be any fun to play with right now!), but all the other demands he makes of me is honestly just starting to FREAK ME OUT. HOW OH HOW will this work when the new baby gets here if he continues to be this way??? I'd love to know.

Also, I think I'd be less worried if I were having a normal vaginal delivery, but since Schafer was a c-section, I'll be having another c-section this time around. If I recall, my doctor sent me home with strict orders last time to "lift nothing heavier than my new baby for 6 weeks." HA HA HA HA. Any other mom's of little ones want to join me in that laugh knowing that it will be virtually impossible for THAT to happen this time around?!?! I think I just have this horrific vision of hobbling around for weeks while Schafer is running after me screaming "UP UP UP!!!" feeling neglected and left out. I know - some of this is my hormones talking, (not to mention the general dramatic nature and anxiousness for which I approach new situations...) but it's still how I feel. And like I said, I haven't been able to talk myself out of it just yet. My mom will be staying with me for a week, then Autumn is coming to help out, and Travis will be working from home the week after that to make sure I'm getting along okay...so obviously we'll all survive (as in Schafer, Anderson, and myself) with their help. And maybe Schafer will surprise me...or maybe I'll surprise myself...either way, I'd love any advice, thoughts, prayers, positive thoughts you could throw my way. Ya know, since a large glass of wine or a Valium aren't quite what the doctor ordered for a nervous pregnant woman. Kidding - mostly.

baking bonanza

2010-02-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

We ♥ cookies at our house. Schafer and I aren't especially picky - pretty much any cookie will do. Travis prefers the cookies with lots of nuts and grains and healthy stuff, but since he was out of town for work yesterday I decided it was time to break out the sugar cookie making supplies my sweet cousin Tiffany bought me for Christmas. I had good intentions of making Christmas cookies, but here it is 6 weeks later so Valentines Day cookies were obviously more appropriate. Plus, we get really bored when Travis isn't here to entertain us :-)

Schafer wasn't particularly interested in the makings of the actual cookie, but he was a very willing cookie decorator. He had a great system that involved him saying, "Icing for cookie, Icing for me" while haphazardly throwing a meager spoonful of icing in the general direction of his cookies and then carefully carting a large spoonful of icing directly to his mouth with little wasted along the way. Let me just tell you mom's of toddlers who are needing a rainy day activity- this whole process killed a good two hours of our day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Snow & Ice & other stuff.

2010-01-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma has been in the middle of a giant ice/snowstorm the last several days and after three straight days of being stuck inside, we finally made it out for a few hours this afternoon. Thank goodness because I think all three of us were feeling pretty stir crazy! I was so glad that Travis was able to work from home on both Thursday and Friday. I think I would have really gone crazy if he wasn't here to help out with Schafer and provide me with some adult conversation.

Schafer has been super congested with a cough since early Monday morning and if he doesn't seem much better on Monday I think I'll take him into the pediatrician. It's one of those "it's probably just a cold...but maybe not" kind of things. He hasn't run a fever or anything and has been sleeping okay (ha - for him, which really isn't saying a whole lot) but he has seemed a little more irritable than usual so I'd hate to let it go if he has ear infections or anything else going on. I swear - I never knew, pre-baby, how much time mom's spent debating on the whole "is he doctor sick or teething sick or just a silly little cold sick!?!" kind of dilemmas...They seem never ending!

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I wasn't sure how much of a grasp Schafer had on the whole "new baby" concept. Well, I think it's safe to say that he totally gets it. We were sitting on the couch last night and Schafer was flipping through a book. He was asking me the names of various characters in the book and we got to one that neither of us knew, so he leans over and says very seriously, right into my belly button, "Andy, do you know what dat name is?" Of course Travis and I both cracked up and led him into a more in depth conversations about Anderson. Just the usual kind of questions we ask him like if he's excited to be a big brother, etc. He started jabbering excitedly and one of the clearest parts was when he said something like this, "jabber jabber jabber...and we go to the park....jabber jabber...and me and Andy...jabber jabber jabber...we slide on the slides...TOGETHER!" Yeah, so I pretty much almost died from the brotherly cuteness of it all and Anderson isn't even here yet. And once again, I've underestimated how much this two year old of mine understands the world around him. This age is soooooooooooooooooo trying sometimes, but it's also just fascinating to interact with him as such a little person that GETS IT. Ha...is that weird? It probably is.

We took some advantage of being stuck in the house for so long by working on the boys' room a little bit. I found some really cute prints of an airplane and train at the Salvation Army for FOURTEEN DOLLARS. So we hung those up (i.e. Trav hung them while I sat and said things like, "a little higher...no maybe lower...hmmm, I'm not sure - maybe you should just keep it like you had it in the first place.") They look great above his bed and I love a good bargain...especially since I spent more than I wanted to on Schafer's new quilt for his bed. But for the record, I love it, he loves it, Trav loves it, it pulls the whole room together and IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY. (yeah - just call me if you need any help in justifying any baby/kid purchases ;-) ) So...basically all I have left to do for their room to be complete is to paint Anderson's dresser (also thrifted and I have high hopes that it's going to be the cutest thing in the room, besides my boys of course!) Unfortunately, it's the project that will probably take the longest and the one I have the most anxiety about. We'll see how that goes :-)

Okay, I'm sure I could type on and on with a million other mundane tid-bits, but I'll just wrap it up so none you pass out from the excitement that this post entailed. Pictures below so we can leave on a high note!

Day One of winter storm. Travis - trying to set a good example for Schafer in regards to weather appropriate attire...

Day Two of winter storm - Schafer feeling a little stir crazy from being cooped up inside.

Day Three of winter storm. We're FREE!!! Having lunch at Freddy's with the cutest boys I know!

Museums, Bike Rides & Belly Love

2010-01-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I'm just here...growing a watermelon baby and trying to thaw out from the FRIGID weather we've been having. Things started warming up over the weekend, so we finally got out and about to have some fun. My parents came up on Saturday and we decided last minute to take S to the Oklahoma Science Museum. SO FUN! I think the adults had as much fun as Schafer did...well, not counting the huge train exhibit. He definitely had the most fun with that part...I think we spent 30 minutes at that one exhibit, and then we had to go back for more before we left. The kid LOVES trains.

On Sunday, the weather was a balmy 44 degrees, so Travis decided to take Schafer to the park for his first official ride on his new bike. I'm pretty sure I've never seen anything cuter. It's obviously been awhile since I've learned to ride a bike, because I certainly forgot about all the coordination it takes to make the thing work. I was reminded very quickly as I watched the toddler struggle of pedal pedal pedal (forward Schafer forward - not backward!!) and steer steer steer (look up Schafer not down! you're about to run into the curb/mailbox/dirt pile etc...) You get the point. It was a little exhausting. But he was a huge trooper and had moments of greatness when all his little appendages were working in unison. We were very proud and I think he had a good time.

Ten and a half weeks until Anderson's arrival and I am quickly remembering the trials of the third trimester of pregnancy...Schafer alternately makes things harder AND easier on me. Harder when he does things like shove his food away and proclaim, "That's terrible." (that is only one tiny example; there are ones that are much worse, but I used it because it's cracking me up that terrible is one of his new favorite words.) And easier when he asks to color my tummy and then proceeds to cover his beautiful artwork and "Andy" in kisses...

First post of 2010

2010-01-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

I think you'll be able to tell by my title that I'm not feeling particularly witty or creative tonight. Maybe by the end of the post things will improve. But maybe not. Keep your expectations low, and I think we'll all make it through just fine.

Christmas and New Years have come and gone. I thought I'd be gung-ho for a big recap post, but I'm not really feeling it at all. It's sort of giving me the same feeling as if I were to turn on Jingle Bells right now - almost two weeks after Christmas. Just depressing and wrong. So...I'll just say that we had Christmas and it was great. Lots of family time, good food, good gifts and snow. How fun for Schafer to have a white Christmas!

It was bitterly cold the day of, but we had a blast in the snow when things warmed up a bit the day after Christmas. My dad and Travis spent approximately two (labor intensive - by the look of it)hours building a fabulous igloo in the backyard for Schafer to enjoy it for a grand total of 15 minutes. But grand it was I tell you! And totally worth it, I think. Although, if I'd actually built it I might have a different opinion.

We went out on a limb and had a slightly last minute get together at our house for New Years Eve. It gave Schafer a good opportunity for some more quality grandparent time, and gave us a chance to let loose. Although, let's be honest here, three of the five of us girls at the par-tay are currently with child so the letting loose was kept to a pretty bare minimum. But we still had a great time. Lots of snacks and fake champagne made it much more bearable. We also played some pretty fun games, and I think we'll definitely be entertaining at home more in the future. Sometimes I feel like our house is too small to accommodate more than a few people, but we fit 10 people comfortably into our living room so I think I'll throw some caution to the wind and do it again soon. It basically forces me to deep clean our house. And I need all the forcing I can handle in that department.

I could talk about Schafer's potty training. But we're pretty much at a standstill in our progress. Several successful pee pee potty trips throughout the day, but rare #2 success and nighttime is a total wash. It's mostly me. I think. I'm just not ready to commit 100%. Schafer may or may not be. I can't tell. Because I think I'M going to have to commit 100% before he does. I don't know. That's really all I have to say about that.

I would like to write a few other things about how he's tantruming less and doing much better in general on outings. But I don't want to jinx anything. So, that's all I'm going to say about that, too.

I feel like I haven't posted much about my pregnancy. But I'm amazed at how DIFFERENT it is this time around compared to last. I just have SOOOOO much more to think about (i.e. Schafer) than to really sit around and obsess about pregnancy. So things seem to be moving remarkably fast. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually enjoying this time around WAY more than last time. I'm *trying* not to freak out about the watermelon belly that is growing bigger everyday. I swear I carry babies in the strangest way. I have seriously been scarred by the comments people made about how huge I got last time, but I'm trying to take that all with a grain of salt this time around. I have 11 and a 1/2 weeks left. Anderson is a total mover and shaker just like Schafer was in my tummy. And his most active time is usually after 10pm until sometime into the wee morning hours. Awesome. I think it's highly likely that I'm growing another super energy charged night owl like this other little boy I know so well...time will tell :-) Either way, I can't wait to see my boys together!

Schafer is really (sort of? I think?) grasping the whole "baby in my tummy" thing. Although, sometimes he likes to change things up. He walked into our bedroom the other night with his shirt raised up and said to us "See? Andy's in my belly!" And when I asked him, "Well then what's in Mommy's belly?" He flippantly replied "A banana" and walked out of the room. But like I said, most of the time I think he gets it and I really do think he'll be an awesome big brother. Here is Anderson bump...6 months pregnant.

Schafer funnies & a video

2009-12-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

Schafer is probably the funniest kid I've ever met. He comes up with the most HILARIOUS one liners on a daily basis, and I wish I was better at writing them all down. My most recent favorite happened yesterday when I was wrapping gifts and he was "helping." Please picture him jumping up and down on our bed, clad only in a pull-up and flapping his arms crazily yelling something at the top of his lungs. It took a few times, but I finally realized that he was shouting "NEEDA FLY, BUT THE WINGS IS TOO SMALL!!!" Over and over again. This was followed by pauses where he would stop and look disdainfully at his hands like they were failing him. Then he'd start again. SERIOUSLY??? Where does a two year old come up with these things. I was just cracking up watching him try desperately to "fly" with his "too small" wings. Oh...what a fun time he (and all of us) will have with that imagination of his!

I also think that he may have a pretty big ego already...which is no wonder considering how spoiled he is by our entire family. We got in the car today to run some errands and when I caught sight of him in the rear view mirror in his little pom pom hat with the ear flaps I said "Oh, Schafer you are the cutest." He replied right back with, "Yeah, I the cutest thing EVER, Mommy!" I had to laugh, but I'm thinking we're all going to have start scaling back the compliments or he'll be waltzing into preschool thinking he's the man of the hour.

He also has a fun new past time of making funny faces. They crack us up and he LOVES making us laugh, so the faces make frequent appearances at our house these days.

And here he is stunting with Travis tonight in the living room floor. They wear me out just watching them.

We've had a few holiday celebrations already, and we're gearing up for lots of fun in the next few days. After it's all over I'll just do one big holiday post. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Collages

2009-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Schafer and I had a little photo shoot in the living room this week to get some picture options for this year's Christmas card. He is such a ham...I put several of my favorites into collages. We're heading to Dallas this weekend to kick off our holiday season with family. Next weekend we'll be in Tulsa, then more travel on Christmas Eve or Day...busy busy!!! Pray for some laid back toddler behavior and patient parents :-)

Murray Mornings...

2009-11-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

Potty Training (hence the nakey-ness)
Janet Jackson music
Fuzzy Orange Gloves
Peanut Butter & a Pink Maraca...
What else does a happy toddler need?

Bad Mommy Blogger

2009-11-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Yes...that's me. The worst mommy blogger on the bloggy block. I think almost nightly to myself, "APRIL, you NEED to update the blog..." And here it is...weeks later and I have a million things I should post about it and a million more that I'm sure I will never remember I wanted to post in the first place. Blech.

I'll do my best at a quick recap of the last several weeks. The Oklahoma weather has been kind to us the last month and I dare to say that we might actually have four distinct and lovely seasons here, which is completely unusual. (Confession - Travis pointed out the aforementioned point - but he doesn't have a baby/life blog, so I'm stealing his thoughts and passing them off as my own. Okay, I WAS passing them off on my own until I felt guilty and made this confession.)

In October, we hit up three different pumpkin patches and Schafer loved every one of them! He was a pirate for Halloween, and of course I'm biased, but he was one SERIOUSLY cute pirate. Travis and I attended a friend's Halloween party as Fred and Wilma Flintsone...we actually wore costumes that my parents wore for a Halloween party at least 15 years ago. SO fun!

An announcement that hasn't yet reached my blog, but most everyone probably knows - I still feel the need to make it official on here. We are expecting our second baby! Anderson Lee should make his grand debut around the 1st of April and we couldn't be more excited about adding him to our family. He's taking it easy on me so far, I'm 19 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good, but I'm trying not to kid myself - ask me in a few weeks and I'll probably give a different answer. We're just busy preparing Schafer to be a big brother and decorating nursery number two!

In Schafer news, this boy of ours is continuing to amaze me every day. He is so stinkin' smart that it blows me away. He talks like a little man most of the time and the things that come out of his mouth just crack us up on an hourly basis! One of his new "things" is coming up with solutions to different problems that come up throughout the day. Of course I have some examples! It started when I snuck away to our master bedroom one day and locked myself in for a few moments of privacy while I got ready. Travis and Schafer were in the front part of the house, but it wasn't long before Schafer came looking for me. I heard him walk down the hall and he came to rattle on my door calling "MOM?? Mmmmoooommmm?!??" while I stayed silent just trying to get a few moments of peace until he padded off. A minute later I hear him dragging Travis down the hall saying "SEE? It's locked!" Travis wiggled the door and said something to the effect of "You're right. Daddy can't get in either because it's locked." There was a short pause and I hear Schafer reply, "Ummmmmm...How 'bout da KEY?!?" Ha. We were cracking up. I know Schafer thinks we are just giant dummies sometimes. The next day he asked to go outside and when I informed him that it was too cold he stared at me like I was a moron and said, "How 'bout a coat?!?" Another time he brought a toy to me that wasn't working for one reason or another and when I told him it was broken he said, "Ummmm, how 'bout a battreee?" SO CUTE. He's a problem solver just like his daddy. This will probably really come in handy to me later, as I just whine about my problem until someone else fixes it...now I'll have not one, but two little fixers, and if Anderson is anything like them - well, let's just say I think I've hit the jackpot.

We've also had some extremely successful trips to the potty...Schafer's not fully potty trained by any means, but considering the kid wouldn't even SIT on the potty a month ago, and in the last few weeks has gone at least ten times - I'd say we're making some pretty serious progress!

He's had some good times with his grandparents lately, as well. Nothing he loves more than tons of spoiling! Travis and I went to an OSU football game the weekend before last and he stayed with his Grandma (Dona) for the evening. Dona took him trick or treating (after a disastrous afternoon trip we took to an open trick or treat in downtown Tulsa that ended with us dragging him away from the crowds kicking and screaming and completely overstimulated for a seemingly endless three blocks back to our parked car)and according to her, he completely redeemed himself that evening and impressed the block with his cheerful "Trick or Treat!" followed by a "Thank you!" at each door he visited. This weekend, we left for two whole days to see our good friends in Springfield, MO and he spent a fun filled weekend with his Nonna and Pops. We had an AWESOME getaway that involved a lot of yummy meals and shopping, but we were of course excited to get back and see our favorite little person on Sunday evening! He must have played incredibly hard all weekend (with three "pee pee in the potties" at their house too!)because he came back and slept for 14 hours straight.

We have a pretty laid back week ahead of us and we're just going to try and enjoy the still beautiful weather before winter hits and work on potty training a little more (Schafer willing, that is.) I can't BELIEVE it's already November, and I know the next few months are going to FLY by with the holiday bustle. I forgot about pictures in the post, but I'll post a few of my favorites below from the last month.

First pumpkin patch of 2009

Schafer and his cousin Cason

Pumpkin Patch #3

Fred and Wilma

Schafer the Pirate

Crazy Sleeper

Baby Bump!

I stand corrected

2009-10-02T21:21:00.001-07:00

Recently, my two year old has decided that he's two going on twenty, and has taken it upon himself to correct me, in any way possible, on an almost daily basis. It started a few weeks ago. I innocently asked him, as we made our way into Wal-Mart, if he'd finished his crackers. He looked at me like I was missing a few brain cells and replied, "No. I finish GOLDFISH." Hmmmph. Well, OF COURSE. Some other moments that stand out are when I caught a whiff of something not so pleasant and said, "Schafer, did you poop?" He quickly replied, "No. I TOOTED!" Not long after that I praised him for acting like a "big boy" and I was shot down with the reply "NO, I a SMALL boy." And there was the time we were at the park and I mistakenly said, after he'd gone down the slide, "Oh, you are so good at swinging!" and he coldly informed me that he was actually good at "SIDING." (Yes, the L is missing on purpose...if I was really feeling snippy I guess that would have been an opportunity to correct him back, but one of us has to take the high road here.) Another evening, Travis asked Schafer "Is that your laptop?" And Schafer snapped, "NO, it a puter!" This really ruffled Trav's feathers, as just a few days before Travis had called it a computer and Schafer informed him it was indeed a LAPTOP. People, what I'm trying to say is that this is a lose lose situation. But at least it's a funny one.

Long overdue vacation post!

2009-09-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well here it is a month after our vacation, and I'm just now getting around to posting a recap. I have been such a lazy blogger lately! Here's the short version. My parents rented a cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma for almost a week. It was absolutely beautiful, relaxing and perfect, not to mention a week of fun firsts for Schafer. He got his first chance to canoe down a river, ride a boat on the lake, take a ride on a train, AND go horseback riding. I, being the typical anxious mom that I am, was certain he would meltdown during each experience, and he, being the fabulous and adventurous little toddler that he is, was an absolute angel during each and every excursion. I think it was a little bit of an eye opener (for me!) to the fact that he is really becoming a little boy now, and is not the tiny baby I held in my arms two years ago! It's a terrifying, but also exhilarating feeling watching him grow up and do so well trying new things. The weekend was really amazing, and it was wonderful to spend time with my family. I hope we can make it a yearly tradition!

(Updated to add that Blogger isn't letting me post pictures for some reason. So, I'll have to come back later and try that part again!)

(Updated AGAIN to add that I'm a complete moron and the picture issue was MY fault...not blogger's.)

M.I.A.

2009-09-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ugh...It's been over 5 weeks since my last post. August was an insanely busy month for us...my sister got married...it's also a huge birthday month in my family...(Travis, my mom, ME, a cousin, and four of my aunts...to name a few!) and we were out of town for one thing or another EVERY SINGLE weekend. We ended the month with a week long vacation and just got back a few days ago. So...that's my excuse :-) I'm no longer missing in action and I'll be back to my semi-regular posting pattern as of right now!

I'm going to post something quick that I have been meaning to share for weeks now. My mom and dad watched Schafer sometime in July while Travis and I did something (it's been so long I can't even remember what!) and my dad kept me up to date on their good times with a series of picture text messages. I'm going to post the captions my dad sent along with the pictures below. I found them highly entertaining...hope you do as well.

Schafer likes to stomp in the water

Schafer likes to look at his reflection in the water

The scary boat scene of Finding Nemo

The shark scene of Finding Nemo

How cute is it that my dad thinks to keep me updated with messages like this? And how hilarious is Schafer's reaction to the suspenseful scenes in Finding Nemo? Hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer/beginning of fall and I'll be back soon with a vacation post :-)

Joy

2009-07-28T23:04:00.001-07:00

2 year check

2009-07-28T22:14:00.001-07:00

The littlest Murray had his 2 year well baby (can I still say baby?) on July 14th. We rolled in to the pediatrician's office eager to see how much our little guy had grown since his 18 month appointment, and to show off all his new skills. He weighed in at a bruising 27.2 pounds and was 33 and 1/4 inch tall. Basically, he's small for his age! Ha. I guess he doesn't have any particularly large genes going for him ;-)

When Dr. Moore came to his round of developmental questions, Travis and I were ready with lots of praise and, I'll admit it, a little bragging, about Schafer's ability to sing the alphabet, recognize all his letters and count to twenty. Now. When Dr. M. whipped out a children's book and pointed to a letter do you think our baby Einstein was ready with an answer? Well of course not! That would be entirely too easy. Instead he hopped around a lot and spoke gibberish while Trav and I sat there feeling like one of "those" parents, you know, the ones who say their kid can do brilliant things, but he can really only hop around and act like the adorable two year old that he is :-) (UNTIL, the doctor leaves the room and gets out of earshot. THEN, the two year old in question fires off every letter in the "PLEASE CHECK OUT HERE" sign at the top of his lungs.) I just wanted to run after him and yell "SEE?!?! We're not making it up!!!" But I didn't, and I'm sure Travis appreciated my self-control.

And now? Schafer doesn't have to return until he's three so we can't redeem ourselves for a whole year! Ha. Oh well. It makes for a good story, right?.

Shenanigans

2009-07-28T22:13:00.001-07:00

Schafer has gotten himself into some hilarious situations lately and I've been making mental notes for the last week about various posts related to these "shenanigans" of his. They started piling up, so I decided it was best to compile them into one post...or maybe two if this one gets too long...(UPDATE - It DID get too long, so I'll start another post of his other shenanigans and post it soon.)

Last week, we were dog sitting for my mother-in-law's jack russell, Penny. Penny came, and brought along her little blue pet taxi. Schafer loves Penny. Turns out, he also loved her cage. I left him in the living room alone for approximately 90 seconds and came back to find this.

It was all funny and cute, until I snapped a picture and told him to come on out. That's when I realized how tightly he was wedged in there, right about the same time HE realized and started shouting "STUCK MOM STUUUUUUUUCK!!!" If I weren't mildly panicked, it would have been hilarious. I had to REMOVE THE DOOR to get him out. I feel like it was something akin to what birthing him would have been like, if I hadn't had a c-section, that is. Well, and the fact that he was in more pain with his head being smushed and I wasn't really in anything but emotional pain because I was terrified I wouldn't be able to "unstuck" him. But I did. And all was right in the world.

UNTIL, I decided it would be funny and cute to download the picture above and send it out in a clever little e-mail to brighten my family's day...I set Schafer up in the living room with his little V-Tech game and came to the computer room. I was moving right along until I realized that Mickey was repeating himself over and over on our tv, which of course meant that S had abandoned the game completely. I darted in to find an empty living room and heard some toddler talk coming from the kitchen. I rounded the corner and this was the sight that greeted me.

I thought about being mad for a split second, until he looked up at me, smiled sweetly and said "clean clean clean" and went back to scrubbing the kitchen floor. BLESS HIS LITTLE HEART. So I did what any good mother would do when they've found their two year old playing in the cleaning supplies and making a huge mess, I told him good job and went to get the camera :-)

The 2nd Birthday Post

2009-07-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm posting this almost three weeks after the actual party, but better late than never, right?

We had Schafer's party on July 10th at a park near our house. The temperature that day? Around 102 degrees. I'm not lying. A strong wind picked up that afternoon, which blew (literally!) my vision of beautifully breezy balloons and smooth tablecloths to bits, but at the same time saved us all from sweating to death. So for that I'm thankful.

Schafer was in good spirits and had a great time running around the playground and devouring two whole cupcakes while everyone cheered him on. He loves an audience! He got loads of great goodies and has been having an AWESOME time playing with all of his new toys. I love that his birthday falls in the middle of the year for this very reason. Just as he was sick of all his Christmas toys we get a new batch! Lots of family and friends were on hand to help us celebrate and we are thankful for each and every one of you!!!

Nostalgia

2009-07-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today. Today, my baby is two years old. Was it really TWO years ago today that I was laboring in a hospital room with my sweet husband at my side and the rest of our extended family rushing from their respective homes in Ada & Tulsa to "make it in time" for the birth? If they would've known my labor would stall shortly thereafter and I would end up having a c-section over 7 hours later...things might have been less frantic. But I digress.

In a way, the last two years have felt like a lifetime. The time before Schafer seems a distant memory, faded around the edges. In another way, I can barely wrap my head around the fact that this little boy of ours, who runs almost as fast as I do and is starting to speak in sentences, was still hours away from making his grand entrance into the world just two short years ago.

I love him more than I could ever even think about putting into words. He is my joy. He is my job. The most important job I will EVER have. The BEST job I will ever have. He has more personality in his pinky toe than most people have in their whole body. Seriously. If you've spent five minutes with him, you know I'm not exaggerating. He is a car lover and daredevil like his Daddy, but at bedtime he loves to read and cuddle like his Mommy. He wears me out most days, but I wouldn't have him any other way. How blessed am I that I get to be HIS mom? He is the wildest and most hilarious and most opinionated and most joyful toddler I know. I think we'll keep him.

Jesus Loves Me

2009-07-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick video of S singing Jesus Loves Me with his Nonna. The dang battery to my HD video camera died, so I was stuck using my old Nikon point & shoot to capture the moment. It's grainy, but still so adorable that I had to share.

I blog when I have other things I REALLY need to do.

2009-07-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have work to do...plenty of work. I guess that's why blogging sounded like such a good idea. A great weekend was had by the Murray family! Travis took Friday off and we had some fun family time around the house before heading to Ada.

I ran a 5k on Saturday morning and then we headed to my grandma's house in Francis for the annual festivities. It was super hot...which can probably go without saying since it's July in Oklahoma :-) Schafer was a part of his first parade! His "Num" (my sister, Autumm) pulled him in his little Radio Flyer Wagon and he did great. He just smiled and relaxed and even waved his little American flag in the air a few times. Adorable!

That was followed by turtle races (Schafer's turtle, who was dubbed "Crush" made a good effort but didn't win the race), watermelon seed spitting contest (which would have worked out better if the person in charge hadn't bought a SEEDLESS watermelon), water balloon toss (my cousin Kortney and I didn't win but made a pretty respectable showing considering we're former cheerleaders!), three legged race (which my cousin Lindsay and I totally would have won if our ankle binding would have stayed intact!), and a bunch of other games and activities I decided to opt out of for fear of sweating to death.

We ate a lot, did some swimming, and ate some more. The fireworks were cancelled due to a crazy summer thunderstorm that dumped loads of (much needed!) rain on us. I think it may have been a blessing in disguise because when we got back to Moore on Sunday evening I tried to take Schafer outside to see a fireworks show that was close by and he flipped out. We were back in the house in about three seconds flat. Maybe next year :-)

Here's Schafer trying Mommy's glasses on for size!

Schafer & Travis playing on Friday in the living room floor. I love this picture SO MUCH. These boys just make my day!!!

Dad & I after the race. He ran the 10k and kicked butt!

Autumn & Schafer parading down Main Street...yes that is Main Street, dear readers. Please say a warm hello to Francis, Oklahoma. Population 476...or something like that. This is the real deal, small town, old school 4th of July celebration. I. LOVE. IT.

Did I mention that my grandparents house in Francis is over 100 years old and used to be the bunkhouse (it's very possible that I'm using the wrong terminology) for conductors on the railroad that you see in the picture below. I love that even more :-)

Crush the Turtle

Schafer and Lindsay's niece, Addison, sharing a popsicle

Grandma Brenda taking Schafer & Cason for a spin in the wagon

I'll leave you now...in picture overload :-) Happy week to all!

Bullets + Black&White

2009-06-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

I have several things I need to update, but very little energy. It's been a crazy long, but also VERY productive day for me.(Thank you Mother's Day Out - who knew errands could go so quickly and tantrum free?!?!) I'm going to do a quick list of things that haven't yet made it into Schafer's baby book so I don't forget. He is learning so many new things!

*He can sing his ABC's all the way through and also recognizes each letter by sight.

*He knows all of his days of the week thanks to a kiddie CD we have in the car that he sings along to while we're running here and there. Picture him crooning loudly, with his arm, show choir style, held up in the air. If I don't get video of him singing this song, I deserve to be shot. Because it is the cutest. thing. EVER.

*He can count to twenty, and also backwards from 10. He LOVES to countdown and shout BLAST OFF at the end. He finds ways to blastoff anything rocket shaped in our house (crayons, spoons, sidewalk chalk, the list goes on...)

*He insists on a BUBBLE bath every night. Plain bath water just doesn't cut it for him. He starts asking for one before we even tell him it's time.

*He picks up on most things REALLY quickly, but he kind of struggles with colors. We've been practicing a lot and he gets most colors right about half the time...EXCEPT when it comes to the color pink. That's right. My little boy loves the color pink and can pick it out every time in a crowd. Funny, since it's one of the few colors I haven't even tried to teach him! I usually only work on primary colors like red, blue, yellow, and green, but he has seen a Signing Time show over colors and I guess pink was included. I asked him today, just for the heck of it, what his favorite color was and he promptly responded, "pink." I snorted with laughter and asked him about 12 more times and received the same answer each time. I'm sure Trav's gonna love that. Ha!

*His "flavor of the week" (food wise) is "cawcaw cheeese, appahsauce, & a sam-witch," otherwise known as cottage cheese,applesauce, and a sandwich, of course. He asks for this about 10 times a day and it just cracks me up to hear him rattle it off like there isn't a better meal in the world to be had!

*His "flavor of the week" (toy wise) is sidewalk chalk and racecars. We have been spending literally HOURS every day (in the super hot and sticky, awful Oklahoma weather) on our back porch. Schafer starts asking for chalk, we round it up and head outside where he then hands me the smallest, crummiest piece of chalk (while he keeps the big nice pieces in all the pretty colors...especially the pink ones...) and orders me to "draw a cat." So I do. It should be noted that I am the world's worst artist and if I wasn't too embarrassed, I might add a picture of the cats I draw. But turns out I AM too embarrassed, so I'm not gonna. After I draw several of my pitiful cats, he moves on to racecars. We drag them all outside and he pushes them round and round while I try not to sweat to death in the shade. Then we come inside. Shortly after, it starts all over again.

*He remains completely and totally disinterested in potty training. In fact, TWICE during his *bubble* baths during the last week, he has pooped in the tub. He gives no sign, no verbal notice, just poops quietly without us ever noticing. The first time it happened I PICKED IT UP thinking it was a toy. Then I yelled "OH MY GOSH TRAVIS IT'S A PIECE OF POOP." Schafer thought that was hilarious and shouted "PISA POOP" the rest of the night. The second time he pooped in tub, he started yelling "PISA POOP" before we'd even seen it. It is terrible and gross, but SO hilarious to hear him say that. I feel like we're on track for late potty training, but I'm hoping he'll be a little more open to it in a few months.

Okay, my bullet point statements turned into paragraphs...and it certainly wasn't quick. That's no big surprise. But I'm glad I got it all written down anyway! I'll wrap up with some black and white pictures from the last few weeks. I just love him to pieces...he is such a great sport with me always sticking the camera in his face!

Oh, and my husband, who is MUCH more artistically inclined than I, was the one who drew that Mickey Mouse...Schafer ONLY asks me to draw my pitiful cats, because he knows I'm completely incapable of drawing anything else. Smart boy.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-06-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

We had a busy, but FUN weekend here in Moore. On Friday night, we had a cookout with our good friends Brady and Sara. Schafer ran around their backyard like a maniac, we ate a ton, and everyone had a good time. Saturday rolled around and we spent the morning SLEEPING IN (S got to stay up late when we were at Brady and Sara's so he slept until 10am...it pretty much rocked.) We headed downtown to the Blues Festival in the afternoon and listened to some live music while we ate BBQ. It was incredibly hot, but we still had a good time and Schafer did so well, especially when I bought a banana snow cone to share with him. We came home in time for him to grab a nap and I headed back downtown to run a 5k with my friends Katie and Kristina. It was super hot, humid, and hilly but I ran my best 5k time ever and Travis, Schafer, Sara and Brady all came down to cheer me on as I finished. I love having cheerleaders; it was the best feeling in the world to see Schafer waving and saying my name as I crossed the line!

We spent this morning at the pool and this evening getting Schafer's two year plus some family pictures taken. He actually did really well, much better than I expected, and I'm anxious to see how they turn out. We're not slowing down this week either. Schafer starts swim lessons tomorrow and we'll being going Monday through Thursday for the next two weeks. He'll be staring Mother's Day Out this Wednesday as well. I have a to do list a mile long for those four baby-free hours! Hope everyone else had a good weekend of their own!

Full Steam Ahead!

2009-06-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's almost the middle of June? Really? I feel old when I say this, but WHERE OH WHERE is the time going? I have an almost two year old? REALLLLYYYYY??????

So, here we are, rolling full steam ahead into the summer. And what better way to kick it off than with a trip to see (drum roll please...) Thomas the Train! Dona (Trav's mom) bought us all tickets to take Schafer to see Thomas in Tulsa this past weekend. If you'll recall, we took Schafer to Sesame Street Live a few months ago. We considered the first half of that show a success and the last half a bit of a failure. This time around, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Thomas the Train (Live!) was a full fledged success. (I'm choosing to overlook the few teeny tiny moments towards the end where S went a bit stir crazy and started diving from Trav to Dona to me and then to the STRANGER MAN who was sitting next to us...)How embarrassing. It didn't faze Schafer when I kept hissing in his ear, "We don't KNOW HIM." He just loves to make new friends. Anyway, he seemed to really enjoy the show, and we were really proud of how he held himself together. Things with him can be so touch and go these days. Anything that requires acting human in public, as opposed to a temper tantrumming wild child, is pretty much a gamble.

Said temper tantrumming wild child actually pushed me to my absolute breaking point last week in Wal-Mart. I knew it was a bad idea to take him. And I was very very right. I won't go into all the gory details, but you should know that our trip ended with him shattering a glass jar of natural peanut butter (you know, the extra messy kind that separates with all the oil at the top) on the floor of the grocery store. OH MY WORD. It was so very very awful. I left in tears and called my good friend Lindsay, who gave me the number for a Mother's Day out program that she'd just enrolled her little boy in for the summer. I'd been thinking it was time for me to look into something like that, but the few places I'd called last month both had long waiting lists. This place just happens to be at a Methodist church only three miles from our house and is relatively new. I nabbed the last spot for summer. So, starting next week, Schafer will be going to Northhaven Day School once a week for four hours. I think it will be GREAT for both of us. He really needs to interact with kids his own age and run off some energy and I need to go grocery shopping ALONE. Everybody wins!

We also start swim lessons next week, so we'll certainly be busy, but I'm thinking if we can just keep him busy enough having fun and redirecting his energy then hopefully our house will be minus a few tantrums each day. Fingers crossed everyone!

My lovely husband and I also celebrated our four year wedding anniversary last week. I LOVE THAT MAN. We had a late celebration while were in Tulsa this weekend which consisted of exchanging cards (you should know that Travis picks out the best cards EVER and I almost always cry whenever I read them) and a trip to the Melting Pot. My favorite restaurant ever ever ever. We stuffed ourselves until the food ran out and then we met up with some friends and had drinks while sitting on the patio outside the bar and enjoying some beautiful weather. It was a throwback to the pre-baby days, and we had a really good time just hanging out and having adult conversation!

I think I should add that even though Schafer is in a super high maintenance phase, he is as adorable and hilarious as always. Right now, he loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and sidewalk chalk with his heart and soul. There really isn't room for much else in his life at the moment. He's very much a "flavor of the week" kind of kid. I think all of us (besides Schafer) are pretty much OVER Mickey, but Travis and I still really enjoy letting him loose on our back porch to go crazy with the chalk. Last night he ran around making score marks on the concrete yelling "one! two! three" and so on until he got to twenty. I can't believe our not quite two year old can count to twenty. And can count backwards from ten. And knows the ABC's by memory and sight. He never ceases to amaze us! And seriously, with a face like this...

I'm pretty sure I'll love him more than anything no matter how many times he humiliates me in Wal-Mart.

Friday Funday

2009-05-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I made up Funday...just because I thought it looked cuter that Fun Day and went better with Friday. Did that make sense? I'm sure you could have figured it out without my explanation, but that's just how I roll.

We really DID have a Funday though. Schafer and I spent a good amount of time playing in the backyard this afternoon. It was pretty warm out and within minutes my little towhead's cheeks were flaming red. He wasn't concerned, but I was. Turns out trying to keep a toddler in the shade is a losing battle though. At least at our house. I just hoped it wasn't a strange sun allergy and let him play awhile longer. He had a great time playing with my giant workout ball and finding sticks and rocks to carry around (I really don't know why we bother with toys)...and luckily his cheeks toned down once we were back inside and he'd cooled off a bit.

We took some time after that to play with Schafer's toy cars (some of the only "toys" he is interested in)....that kid is so hilarious. He took four cars and lined them up...after a long pause he shouted at them "Ready....Set..............GO!!!) Then he stared at them, apparently waiting for them to take off on their own. When nothing happened he started batting at them frantically, trying to get them all to "GO" at once. After cars went flying every which way, he looked over at me and slapped his hands across his face and said "OH NO. Cars BROKEN!" Oh my. I was in stitches. We rinsed and repeated that scenario several times before it got old.

When Travis came home we decided to enjoy the nice weather and have dinner on our back porch. I made stir fry. Schafer wasn't a huge fan of the meal, and didn't really eat any of it, unless you count the carrot he kept tucked in his cheek for approximately half an hour. I have no idea why.

Now it's quiet (i.e. Schafer is in bed, asleep) and we're just watching some TV. Our big plans for the long weekend include cleaning out the garage and painting the laundry room....I know you're jealous :-)

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

2009-05-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Sorry it's been awhile. I got in trouble from some of my readers (ha - that makes it sound like there are so many of you!)for not updating the blog in a few weeks. All this rain has just been making me feel BLAH BLAH BLAH. On top of that, Schafer and I have some cold/allergy yuckiness and Travis is getting over a virus (funny tidbit - he had all the symptoms of swine flu, but tested negative). Needless to say, I've been severely lacking in motivation to write a post.

Happenings since I last wrote?

1. I ran the OKC half-marathon. It was VERY windy and VERY humid...two of my least favorite running conditions, but I managed to finish a minute or so faster than my time last year, so I was content (not overjoyed, mind you, but content.)

2. Schafer and I accompanied Travis to a 5k race that took place at the OKC Zoo last weekend where Blue Cross was a sponsor. Travis dressed up as the company mascot, "Blaze the Braggin' Blue Dragon." We let Schafer watch him get ready in hopes that he wouldn't be scared. It wasn't a huge success, I think S thought that daddy had been eaten by a dragon for several minutes, you know, judging by the was he was screaming and shaking in terror. He finally seemed to "get it" when I explained to him, several times, that daddy was just playing "dress up" :-) After that, he was happy to wave at Blaze and blow him lots of kisses. (I just showed him the picture below and asked him who the dragon was, and he said "DADDY!" So, I guess he still gets it! That will hopefully make the next time less traumatic.)

3. Schafer and I went to the YMCA twice last week. We hadn't gone in awhile because of all the time I was spending training for the race, but Schafer did his usual "I don't want you to leave me, Mommy!" routine at the beginning and then the inevitable "I won't leave these trucks I'm playing with here without a huge embarrassing fit" when we left. Oh, and then he got sick a few days later, as usual. I swear those places are just germy cesspools...but what can ya do? He has to build up some immunity sometime - and I don't want him missing his first two years of school!

4. We celebrated my second Mother's Day. Travis got me a FABULOUS Coach purse. As my friend Sara put it, reverently, "A cow definitely died for that purse." Schafer hand delivered me a lovely card he'd made full of bright crayon scribbles. We took a quick trip to Ada Sunday afternoon, without poor Travis who was still running fever and feeling like death, to have lunch.

5. Schafer learned to count backwards from 10 (thank you, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for your Rocket, Blast Off sequence!) and has also memorized about half of the books we read him on a daily basis, no small feat since we read him 10-20 books a day!

6. He continues to be a daredevil "with no regard for his personal well-being" as I like to say. And it doesn't help with his dad doing things like this with him. I just dread the days where he wants to jump off the high dive, or off a cliff, or out of a plane....it does make him climbing to the top of his high chair (yes, he really did that last night - got all the way to the seat) or bailing off the arm of our loveseat seem "safe" and tame, though. My heart is palpitating just having this conversation, so we'll stop there.

I hope all of you are handling the rain well...we may go stir crazy, but hopefully we will have sunny and dry weather,with lots of green grass and trees, VERY soon!

How To: With Professor Pops

2009-04-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today, Schafer and I are in Ada. Travis is traveling for work, and my favorite little guy and I go a little stir crazy without Daddy around to distract us (i.e. give Mommy a break) in the evenings. So, here we are at my parents house. I'm cozying up on their fabulous new sectional while Nonna does the nighttime routine. Can I get an amen for that?

Back to the point of this post. Pops got home this evening and Schafer was waiting anxiously to play. They took off into the backyard and did, well, backyard things. Country, backyard things, if you will. Pops taught Schafer how to water a tree.

And how to drink out of a water hose.

Pops is a good teacher.

It's a skill that will no doubt serve Schafer well in life, not to mention he was THRILLED with the whole idea of putting his face right into the cold running water. I'm being serious, too. He really really loved it.

Of course, the perfect end to a backyard, country evening ALWAYS involves a swing.

Aren't they precious?

Quick Easter Recap

2009-04-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

The rainy Oklahoma weather didn't stop Schafer Murray from hunting easter eggs for the first time! Probably because it stopped raining before it was time to hunt the eggs, but I like to think he would have prevailed either way. He had some help navigating the mud in his cute little Lightning McQueen galoshes, and ended up with a pretty good haul of eggs. My family loved watching him run around the yard excitedly gathering his loot. We can't wait for next year when Cason can join in the fun with him!

And on a different note, Schafer sang the entire ABC song on his own tonight with NO prompting from me at all. My mom and Dad were watching him on the webcam as we talked on Skype and it was sooooo cute! The middle was a little garbled, but he definitely gets the idea. I love hearing his voice, which is usually raspy, get really high and sweet when he sings. I'm going to stalk him with the video camera the next few days to see if I can get any footage to post. We'll see how that goes.

The Swing Series

2009-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Schafer loves to swing. Mostly because it's an outside activity. And he LOVES being outside, especially at the park. If this ridiculous wind doesn't die down soon he might go crazy without his park fix. And I might, too. I may just have to get a baby leash to tether him down and pray we don't both fly away. These were taken on one of our park trips last week.

Toddler Tidbits

2009-04-01T13:00:00.001-07:00

After a very trying morning with a terribly ticked off toddler…

a terrific trip to the park was just what that toddler did need.

Trekking through the trees totally did the trick, and soon that toddler was tickled, not ticked,

and then very tired indeed!

The Baby Brigade

2009-03-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

What a fun day we had on Wednesday of this week! Three of my very best girlfriends and their babies came to my house for the best playdate ever. Seriously, we've all known each other forever it seems. There were four of us and four babies altogether.

The fun included my cousin Lindsay, who I've been buddies with since birth, my friend Kasey, who I met at my first sleepover (we were three!), and my other friend Lindsay, who I've known since elementary school. I really love these girls and it was SO FUN to hang out together with our little ones.

It was really warm and sunny, so after visiting for a bit inside we strolled down to the park. Schafer wore me out with his daredevil antics, and I think the other girls are a little worried about their babies hitting that precocious toddler stage (S is the oldest by almost 7 months). We joked about being the "Baby Brigade" as we walked to and from the park in a long line of mommies pushing babies in strollers.

We came back to the house to cool off and have a snack before everyone packed up to head home. Hopefully, we'll make this a regular event. Can't wait for next time!

the cutest little cowboy...

2009-03-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Back in Business?

2009-03-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I hesitated even typing the title "back in business" because I'm so afraid I'll jinx things...but I figured the question mark will keep me safe. Don't want to sound too confident just yet. Schafer has had quite an interesting few weeks. I think we've honestly been to the doctor more times in the last two weeks than all the other times put together since he was born.

It started off with a cold, which led to the ear infection, which led to him being on an antibiotic for the first time, which led to the allergic reaction, which led to discontinuing the antibiotic, which led to another flare up of his not quite healed ears, which led to another round of (different) antibiotics. OH MY. Did you get all that?

Needless to say, poor S has had a rough go of it. He did feel better for a few days last week, for which I'm very thankful, because we had tickets to Elmo Live! And I would have hated if he had to miss that. Our friends Sara and Brady have a niece, Reese, who recently turned two. They bought her the Elmo tickets for her birthday and invited us along. Schafer happens to LOVE Elmo, so we were excited to see what he thought of the show. All things considered, he did really well. I was a little miffed when the show started over TWENTY MINUTES LATE...who keeps a thousand one to six year olds waiting?!?! Still, Schafer really enjoyed the first part of the show and we enjoyed even more watching him shout and point at "ELMO!" and clap his hands while yelling "Yay!" after each performance.

Travis and I did both have to take him on a few walks around the building when he got antsy. The show lasted almost two hours...which I think is just a big too long for a children's show, don't you? We got some great pictures of him and Reese (who he calls "Beese" while signing the word "friend"...I think because I always call her his "friend Reese" - it's so very cute.)

His ear infection didn't flare back up until Saturday, we were in Ada at the time and thanks to my sweet cousin, Lindsay, who works in the ER, we were able to get S in and out with some antibiotics in about five minutes. I love all the nurses I have in my family. They come in so handy! It was great to have my extended family around to help with giving medicine and just soothing him in general. They are wonderful! Schafer was straight up miserable until sometime Tuesday, when the antibiotics started kicking in. We've had some sleepless nighs (4am wake-ups on two different occasions, I so felt your pain Chalna!) He finally seems to be getting back to his normal self, which we are SO thankful for!

One more thing I have to share - I have a case for work right now that required a home visit last night, so I left the boys at the house for a few hours. I came back to find Trav's camping tent constructed in our living room. So cute. I'm sure they'll be camping out in the backyard...or even in the wilderness (ahh!) together before I know it!

Dots, Spots & Speckles

2009-03-03T14:44:00.001-08:00

Hello all! Ha.. and by "all" I mean the five or six of you that read my blog, which I appreciate very much of course! Here's the deal. Schafer has a rash. A rash of epic proportions. THE rash of all rashes. It's been a long road (okay, about 36 hours) but we've finally come to the conclusion that the Wild Child is having an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin he's been on for his ear infection. He's a very dotty, spotty, speckled little person right now. Luckily, that is virtually his only symptom. No fever, itchiness, or crankiness...which is why it took two trips to the pediatrician to nail down the cause. Dr. Moore thinks alternating doses of Benadryl and Zyrtec will have him much improved in the next day or two. I was so looking forward to getting my hair done today...it's been about four months since I've done a thing to it and it looks pretty ragged. Finding out what was ailing S was certainly more important than my hair. But, if you see me sometime soon can you tell me that my hair looks like the "after" in a Pantene commercial? Because I'm going to pretend it does until I can get another appointment. And of course I have to leave you with a few pictures...tell me he isn't the cutest little thing...even with the spots!

Poser ;-)

2009-02-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

I think my favorite little person has resigned himself to the fact that my camera isn't going away anytime soon. So, he's making the best of things and hamming it up.

We've had a rough several days with Schafer being completely out of sorts (i.e. throwing 35 tantrums a day about anything and everything). He also had a low grade fever...but after four days of this I took him into the doctor because I was convinced it was NOT teething. I was right. It wasn't. S man has himself a double ear infection. Dr. Moore fixed him up with some delicious, pink, bubble-gum flavored antibiotics and assured us he would be as good as new in a few short days. You can see by the pictures that he's already feeling more like his cheerful self!

New Camera & the ABC's

2009-02-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

Travis gifted me with a fantastic new camera on Valentine's Day...now all I have to do is learn how to use it! I've been having a lot of fun playing around with it the last few days...but I think Schafer is going to disown me if I make him "cheese" for me even one more time. This week has been pretty tame overall. We did have a good time out last night with our friends Sara and Brady. We all went and checked out a new dessert place in OKC called Sara Sara Cupcakes. All I can say is YUM! It was a totally cute, re-designed colonial looking house with fun decor and amazing cupcakes. I'm sure we'll be going back for more very soon.

And, since this IS my blog and all...I have to take a moment to do a little bragging on my little guy. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Schafer is VERY into letters these days. It all started with his foamy bath letters. He loves them and seemed interested in knowing what each letter was...in the last few weeks he's learned to recognize about half the alphabet. That, in itself, is cute, right? But he's taken it a step farther and now constantly looks for letters in our everyday life. He especially loves to scan large advertisements when we're running errands and yell loudly while pointing at any letter he recognizes. I always get a big kick out of it, except when he yells "S" because it unfortunately sounds more like a$$ with his hick accent. Oh my. I need to get a video of him so you can hear his Oklahoma drawl. B = baaay, L = ayull and so on :-)

Anyway, to top off my letter story, we were in Hobby Lobby yesterday. I took S in on my hip because I just needed to do a quick return at the front of the store. As we were waiting, he noticed the words Hobby Lobby on the checkout pad. Much to my surprise (but not really) he started banging excitedly on my shoulder and proclaiming Baaayy (B) so I pointed out the rest of the letters and he yelled out each one immediately. A lady in line behind me noticed his little performance and asked me how old he was. When I told her one and a half her mouth fell open. She was, apparently, very impressed. I smiled sweetly and thanked her. I almost mentioned that this was my child who only grunted for practically the first 18 months of his life, and still refuses to string even two words together, but I decided to leave it be and just bask in the moment. What a cutie my son is.

A few of my favorite pics with the new camera. Please remember I have A LOT to learn. I honestly considered attaching the lens and powering it on a victory in itself. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T08:35:00.001-08:00

difficult concepts

2009-02-10T11:34:00.000-08:00

Schafer loves to read. What Schafer loves = what mommy and daddy do. Therefore...we read a lot of children's books around here. Schafer and I were taking a little reading break from laundry this morning (he really likes to "help" with laundry). The third book he picked out was Dr. Seuss's Amazing Alpahbet Book. He's really into letters right now, so I praised him for a good choice and off we went. When we got to the "C" page, this is what we saw.

Schafer grabbed the book out of my hands. I was annoyed at first until I realized what he was doing. He had flipped it upside down so that the camel on the ceiling was right side up! You could just see the little wheels turning in his brain. Once he realized the camel was right side up but everything else was upside down...he flipped again. After a few more flips and me giggling in my head at how cute and clever he was...he stopped and looked at me inquisitively. I realized at this point that he was looking for an explanation. So...explain I did. I launched into a lengthy explanation about the difference between upside down and right side up. I think it's safe to say that, at the end of my spiel, we were both more confused than when I started. The problem is that I'm an OVER explainer. Ha...read my blog just once and you'll probably realize that! Travis is much more concise...so maybe I'll just have HIM explain difficult concepts from now on...I'm sure it will save us all a lot of time and headaches in the end...and me from a really embarrassing "where do babies come from" chat in several (yes, SEVERAL) years! :-)

But seriously...how cute are one year olds? And much smarter, I think, than we often give them credit for.

check-ups and such

2009-02-01T23:15:00.000-08:00

Well...I can say with certainty that Schafer does not like the doctor's office or anyone in it. Just ask him. He'll tell you all about it, I'm sure...although it may sound mostly like Chinese. Things were going fine until the sweet nurse pricked his finger for an iron check...actually, he didn't get terribly ticked off until she squished the blood out and gave him an awesome Tweety band-aid. He didn't think the band-aid was awesome. That's when things really started to go downhill. By the time Dr. Moore came in to visit, Schafer wanted NOTHING to do with any of it. He grunted, scowled, and finally just gave in to his anger and howled inconsolably at the top of his lungs until we were out the door. I thought he gave the whole experience a really nice touch when he pointed accusingly at the receptionists and screamed at them like they were to blame as we waited for the elevator to arrive and end the drama. It's possible that he might have missed out on inheriting his dad's tactfulness and got an extra dose of his mom's attitude instead ;-)

His 18 month stats were pretty on par with his growth curve. He weighed in at 24 pounds and 4 ounces and was 30 and 3/4 inches long. That puts him in the 10-25th percentile for height, the 25-50th for weight, and 75-90th for head circumference. Travis and I always get a kick out of his big noggin...he certainly came by it naturally! He seems to be perfectly on course in all other developmental areas as well. I was kind of sad, like my friend Chalna (by the way friend, can you tell me how the heck to link people into my blog like you always do? i'm remedial when it comes to things like that...) when I realized we wouldn't have to go back for SIX MONTHS because Schafer is getting SO OLD. That is just crazy to me.

I remembered to bring my camera along to the appointment and we got just a few pictures before the big meltdown. They are kind of pitiful...but I think they illustrate the first part of the appointment pretty accurately. Please notice that he's looking disdainfully at the tweety band-aid on his index finger...that boy cracks me up. He even resorted to cramming his finger in my mouth in an attempt to scrape the band-aid off using my teeth. Oh mY!

BRRRR!!!

2009-01-27T08:40:00.000-08:00

This fantastically unpredictable Oklahoma weather of ours has decided to rear its' ugly head again. While trying to celebrate our good friend Sara's birthday last night, we indadvertently ended up stranded at her and Brady's house until this morning. I started having flashbacks from the awful ice storm last winter that left us without power for almost a week. Brady and Sara were kind enough to let us stay at their house the entire time. And while we all love each other very much, we were definitely NOT hoping for a repeat this year! Four adults, a rambunctious toddler, and multiple dogs cooped up in the same house is a little stressful for everyone involved.

Thanks to a night of sleet that covered the sheet of ice on the roads, we were able to gain enough traction and slowly make our way back home after only one night out of our element. Travis stayed home from work, so we're just laying low and trying to stay warm! I have a feeling we'll all be taking a long nap this afternoon since Schafer spent the majority of the night tossing and turning between Travis and me which resulted in VERY LITTLE sleep for all three of us.

We were supposed to have Schafer's 18 month well baby appointment today, but decided to reschedule for Friday. I'm anxious to see his height and weight because we've had tons of people commenting on how grown-up he's been looking lately. I'm also excited to share with Dr. Moore that, in the course of about four weeks, Schafer has gone from saying about four words to saying well over fifty! It's AMAZING. Dr. Moore warned us that once he started talking it would probaly come in a big explosion and that was certainly the case. It is awesome to hear what new things he comes up with each day.

That's all for now. We're in the midst of a toddler meltdown. Those are a pretty common occurence in our house these days, and it can take a lot of negotiating to get them resolved. That's probaby my first mistake..."negotiating" with a one year old...

Confessions of a Mamarazzi

2009-01-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

So...I really like taking pictures of Schafer. I mean, REALLY. It's possible that I am addicted to taking pictures of him. Which I'm fine with, because there is nothing worse than an adorable moment that I miss getting on camera. It makes me sad for DAYS. And as Schafer has gotten older, it's gotten harder and harder to get good pictures of him because he is just entirely too busy doing VERY important toddler things to bother with his silly mom shoving a camera in his face. So, I am always trying to come up with new and creative, and let's face it, just plain ridiculous, ways of getting him to sit still/look at the camera/smile, etc.

I'm writing this particular post today because I'm quite certain I've reached an all time low in my antics to get a great shot. Schafer climbed up into his rocker this morning and started playing with his books and puzzles. I was hovering around trying to sneak a knit beanie on his head that a friend of mine had given him at my baby shower. It was WAAAAY too big for him when he was born, so I put it in the closet and when I found it this morning I decided that it finally looked about the right size. He was actually pretty patient with me and I coaxed him into putting it on his head and assured him that it looked absolutely adorable. He really likes compliments, so he left it on. Then...out came the camera. He wasn't feeling it. But I WAS. That hat on his head just had to be captured on camera.

So I pulled out a book of my own from his bookshelf and wacked myself over the head with it and then yelled "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" in a very dramatic way. He looked up, mildly interested. So, camera ready in the other hand, I did it again. "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW." He giggled. I snapped. YES!!! And then we repeated...about five times. Because the giggles just kept getting louder and in turn the pictures were cuter...you get the idea. I think it was worth it. But ask me again when the people at the YMCA tell me my son is wacking himself, or other kids (eep!), over the head with a book and laughing...

new year - loooong post

2009-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over a week into the new year and this is my first post. Typical. I've been jotting down notes to myself the last few days because Schafer keeps doing cute things that I know I'll forget unless I write them down.

We brought in the new year with a lovely stomach bug, that has apparently been running rampant around here for the last few months. On New Year's Day (after a tame evening at home with our good friends Keith and Kaci), poor poor baby Schafer puked for the first time. Real puke. WOW - what a difference from spit up that was! I got covered in the first round and Travis took the honors on the second round. We really knew he felt bad when he happily laid on both Travis and me without moving for hours at a time. He NEVER does that. Did you see the pictures up top? Those are probably some of the only "cuddly baby" pictures we have since he was about three months old! Luckily, Schafer seemed to have a fairly light case of it, so the puking was over after the first day. Unfortunately, it was followed by another four days of ghastly diapers. Ewwwww. I can proudly say that he has been "yucky diaper free" for the last three days now.

Oh, and did I mention that I ended up with a case of the bug that made Schafer's look like a walk in the park? It came on Saturday evening while we were in Ada for a wedding. I'm actually really really glad we were in Ada, because my mom stayed up all night long to take care of me...I'm pretty sure there were a few moments when we both thought I would die. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but she DID say it is the sickest she has ever seen me. Needless to say, I spent the next two days laying around my parents house trying to recover. It was awful to have such a bad case, but I am just so so glad it was me and not Schafer. Everyone else managed to avoid the yucks, except for my dad who came down with a light case on Tuesday. HOPEFULLY, that was the end of it!!! I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Another big event in the Murray household was the end of the binky days. That's right everybody, Schafer has been pacifier free for 11 days now. Ugh. It makes me sad to even type it. I don't know why, but I have had the hardest time mentally letting go of this object that still made him seem like a baby, you know, like an "I don't want him to grow up" kind of way, if that makes sense. I have had a harder time letting go of this than I did nursing him, which is weird. I think it might be because he still really WAS a baby then, barely walking, taking a bottle, using the binky (sniff). Besides diapers and his crib, it was one of the last "baby" items he really had left. I'm just not ready for him to grow up!!! Travis, wise as usual, pointed out to me that not having a binky didn't actually make him older. Obviously, I know this...I just FEEL like he's older. Did I mention that he had taken to lovingly calling his binky "BoB"...which we all thought was just the cutest thing. Okay, I'm sure you're all about to die of boredom reading my "Ode to Bob," so I'll just wrap it up by saying that Schafer handled it like a real big boy (sniff again...sorry, I just can't help it!) and has been falling asleep and riding in the car with very few problems. I know I did the right thing for his independence...and his teeth, and that's what matters :-)

Beyond that, Travis and I are just sitting back in amazement as our little guy master's the English language. Some fun new words of the week are water, belly button, and ice cream (which is his most certainly his new favorite food...I opened a can of worms with that one.) He didn't really stand a chance in missing the sweet tooth gene since Travis and I both go nuts over chocolate and other sugary treats. He also knows the sign for "socks" and "shoes" which he learned from Signing Time without us even realizing until he busted them out during a conversation about footwear. He really never ceases to amaze us!

Okay, one last tiny thing! And bless you...if you've made it this far. The Murray family, as of last week, are officially members of the YMCA! It's something we've been discussing for awhile, and we finally took the plunge. We made our first trip last night, since everyone was stomach bugless and finally feeling good. The Y has a child watch area that is basically set up like a daycare. It's for children 6 weeeks to 6 years and there are tons of toys, games, and childcare workers to entertain the kiddos. Schafer has been to daycare at church, but this was a much bigger area with a lot more kids than he is used to, so we were curious to see how he would react. We stood outside the door and watched for about ten minutes. He was just so precious standing there in the room full of kids and toys. He looked a little nervous, but bravely made his way over to pick up two toy cars...one for each hand of course. And then he put in his mouth. HORROR! Oh, the GERMS! Travis and I stood outside and cringed, but stood our ground. We knew what we were getting into when we signed up. Germs are part of the package. I silently told myself that it was good for his immune system...and cheered on his little body to do it's job and fight off all the ickiness. I know. I'm weird. Anyway, he was doing great so we headed off to workout. When we returned a little over a half hour later he was sobbing in despair as he held on tightly to one of the childcare staff. Apparently, it was just a little too much for him to take. He was so very happy to see us both and kept alternately diving for me then Travis while waving bye bye to the Y. It was kind of pitiful, but really cute at the same time. I'm confident that he'll be running around and playing with no problems after a few visits. Think positive!!!

If you really made it through this whole post, let me know and I will personally bring you a cookie. I just made some tonight. Oatmeal chocolate chip :-)

Murray Christmas :-)

2008-12-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

I'm a few days late on the Christmas post. I knew I had to get in a post before the new year, so I just sat down to make myself do it! We had a VERY busy but wonderful Christmas this year. It started with Dona (Trav's mom) coming to our house for the weekend of the 20th. It was her birthday as well, so we just combined that celebration with our Christmas celebration. We had a really really good time together. She bought Schafer a tricycle that he LOVES and many other goodies as well. Travis and I received generous gift cards and a membership to Sam's Club!!! I was soooo excited about that and I know we will definitely use it all the time. She got us several other things, but I'll spare you all a list. Let's just say she spoiled us! It was great to spend time with her and Schafer enjoyed "Grandma time" as well!

We spent Christmas Eve and morning at home, which is a first for us. We decided that with Schafer getting a bit older that it was time to start a few traditions of our own. I made a roast and after Schafer went to bed we finished up our Christmas preparations, which included Travis blowing up a giant ball pit for Schafer. He was a real trooper...and luckily found an air pump that made the last part of the job go much faster. We woke up Christmas morning and went into Schafer's room with the video camera. He loved his gifts from Santa and ran back and forth checking out each one. John (Trav's dad) came over late in the morning and we all ate, drank coffee, opened gifts, and did some dancing. John has been taking lessons and is quite the ballroom dancer these days. He taught me a few moves and I can now (with his help!) fake my way through an East Coast Swing and Foxtrot. There was a very funny moment that was caught on video when John and I were dancing and Schafer decided to bring his Papa John a full cup of coffee. He dropped it and it went everywhere, but luckily it wiped up easily off the wood floors and no one was burned. Watching the video back was hilarious because Schafer just sneaks into the corner and grabs the mug and proudly carries it to John. We were so busy dancing and Travis was so busy filming us that no one noticed until it was too late.

After John left, we headed to Ada for some time with my family. Schafer got tons of gifts at his Grandma and Papa Mel's and then we headed to my parent's house to open MORE gifts. Again, Schafer was drowned in gifts and loved every minute of it, not counting his scare with a toy my parents got him named "Kota the Triceratops," which is a toddler size dinosauar that moves around and makes noise. Schafer is slowly warming up and will pet Kota (with some encouragement) but has yet to take a ride or really enjoy him. All in due time, I'm sure!

We spend some time with my other grandparents on Friday (Papa Lee and Jean) and Schafer scored even more loot. He really made out like a bandit this year. My mom fixed some amazing lasagna and we stuffed ourselves. It's not really the Christmas season if you aren't miserably full on delicious food! We also stopped by my OTHER granparents that evening (Meemaw and Paul)...I have a humongous family if you haven't picked up on that already.

We headed back to Moore on Saturday afternoon and went straight to Bricktown to wait at Zio's restaurant for my sister and her new FIANCE to arrive!!! That's right, Autumn is engaged. Her sweet significant other, Quinton, arranged the coolest proposal scenario ever. He planned a carriage ride in downtown OKC. Beforehand, Quinton arranged a plan with the driver to take Polaroid pictures of them during the ride. Little did Autumn know that Quinton had also given the driver a Polaroid of a picture of the ring with "Will you marry me?" along the bottom. At the end of the ride the driver gave Autumn the pictures to review and at the bottom of the stack was the proposal polaroid. SO CUTE AND CLEVER!!! They are both so excited and happy and we are too!

It's been a crazy and exciting week...we are certainly blessed beyond measure. We'll be spending New Year's Eve here in Moore with some friends coming over to hang out after Schafer goes to sleep. This weekend we are heading back to Ada for a wedding. Keep my dear cousin Lindsay in your thoughts. She is almost 39 weeks pregnant and we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Schafer's little cousin, Cason! Any day now!!!

Success with Santa...two years and counting

2008-12-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

I looked back through the blog to see if I had posted Schafer's picture with Santa last Christmas, but I hadn't. So, I had to post it for comparison purposes. What a difference a year makes. This post is for Travis and his co-workers, but I'll make sure and post the few pictures I have from my camera and a more detailed Santa story later.

It's December?!?!

2008-12-09T21:40:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? Christmas is just a little more than two weeks away, which seems a little unbelievable. AND, we have an almost 18 month old?!?!?! Seriously, that is REALLY unbelievable. Travis and I cruised our way to Mexico last week, and I'm just now mentioning it on the blog because I was so anxiety filled about leaving Schafer for 5 days that I could barely speak of it beforehand. Luckily, I survived and Travis and I both had an amazing time. I was never worried about Schafer! He had a blast in Ada with his Nonna, Pops and everyone else, and was, of course, spoiled to pieces the whole time! Travis and I are both lucky to have wonderful families to leave our baby with and rest assured that he will be in the most capable of hands.

Apparently, the highlight of Schafer's week in Ada was attending a basketball game at my old high school. His favorite new word (along with the sign) is "ball." What's even funnier is that he says it with a bit of an English accent. Kind of like "boowl." And to be in a situation where he could use this new word was right up his alley. I hear he entertained the whole crowd by shouting "GOOOOOOOOOOO" over and over again at the top of his lungs to any and all of the ball players. He would throw in an occasional "ball" to get his point across. When he got tired of that, he did a little dancing in the lobby along with music from the school band. Everyone who attended the game (which was the majority of my extended family...there's a lot of them!) said that he was the hit of the game.

Travis and I prepared ourselves for Schafer to be ambivalent about our return from the cruise - we though he might be miffed that we left him...but to our surprise he was soooo excited to see us. He just dove right for us with the biggest, happiest grin on his face. He waffled between both of us for a good 10 minutes, diving to Travis then me and repeating...like he was making sure we were really there. Needless to say, coming home to that pretty much made our whole trip!

We've just been enjoying being back together and are so excited about spending Christmas with Schafer now that he is so aware of everything going on...things are so much sweeter through the eyes of a baby, don't you think?

I had to include some pictures of Schafer from this morning. If you know Schafer, you know he often has a "thing" every few days that he likes to fixate on, whether it be a book, toy, animal, household item, etc...just something he especially likes for a short span of time and wants to have/hold/be with nonstop...one day in Ada it was an empty Cinnamon spice container, you get the idea. Anyway, today his chosen items were a lampshade (that he utilized as a spiffy top hat) and the end of a disposable toilet wand (used as a cane, for the most part, and a bat if he got rebellious.) Oh my...what a sight. That boy has got some personality.

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season so far...I still have 1,324,567 things to do before Christmas, so if anyone sees me running around cranky and frantic in the next few weeks, remind me to stop and enjoy the moment.
Oh, and I meant to let everyone know that I disinfected the toilet wand before I let him carry it around all day. I'm classy like that.

haircuts & manners

2008-11-17T14:20:00.000-08:00

The day finally came. Schafer needed a haircut. It only took 16 months of hard work for our little guy to grow enough fuzz to merit a trim. Travis, being the savvy and talented guy that he is, pulled out his clippers and cut Schafer's hair himself. It started out awesome. Schafer smiled and acted like he was loving it...then I think he started to feel the buzz of the clippers and decided he'd had enough. The last few seconds weren't as enjoyable but Travis was quick and Schafer got over it fast when we turned on the bathwater. He looks adorable and his hair is much more "even" than it was before.

Also, Schafer busted out the sign for thank you this weekend and has continued to thank us at appropriate times (with a little prompting here and there). I'm so glad! He's halfway to being well mannered...we just need to master please and we'll call it good ;-) He's also been babbling what sounds more like "words" than his previous babbling. I think we're just a few months away from having a chatterbox on our hands!

The kitchen is complete :-)

2008-11-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY!!! Praise Jesus the kitchen project is OVER!!! Can you tell I'm excited? I certainly was not cut out for remodeling...no big surprise really since two of my most dominant character traits are impatience and distractability, if that's even a word. Either way. We're done.
It only took about three months and included everything from new tile, a new fridge, a new stove, new counters, and a painted backsplash...the painted backsplash was the biggest headache of all. Of course it was, because we thought it would be the easiest. Unfortunately, there was a "Molten Bronze" disaster along the way. (Why we ever thought that we would score with a painted backsplash in a color called "Molten Bronze" in the first place...I'm not really sure.)
Anyway, after that fiasco, we went with a color we've dubbed "Murray Mint." Murray Mint is a very special color we made by mixing all the leftover paint colors we had in our garage into one big gallon. I know - it sounds like that might have been as big a disaster as Molten Bronze, right? Fortunately, for my sanity's sake, it turned out pretty great. So. We're DONE!!!