LWP Giveaway

LWP is not only the best photographer in Arizona, but she is having a fantastic giveaway for the holidays. I just love every single item she has on this giveaway list. Can you imagine willing all of them!? Lets keep our fingers crossed. Go to: http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog/

to enter for your chance to win!

Quote

"Mom I want to be just like you when I grow up. You make my heart feel special"

I just had to document this somewhere as I know there will be a time when I REALLY need to hear it. This little girl just melts my heart. I wish I could just bottle up her innocence, honesty, and compassion and keep it with me forever!

My life, as I know it, is officially over

Yes, Michael is crawling! It started as a squirm, moved into a lunge, then came the army crawl, and now he is full on moving. Watch out world, here he comes :-D

Quote

"Mom, did you know I have sleep stories?" -Mckaley

Mckaley's first pet

When we were in Ca, Mckaley took a trip to Sonora to get her first pet. My mom bought her her very own goldfish. 4 of them in fact. Mckaley got to chose exactly which fish she got and I've got to report she was just smitten with them. She wanted to do everything for them. She was really good about putting their bowl together, feeding them, keeping them out of the sun, and just plain watching them swim. Too bad 3 had to die within 4 days- yes 3/4 are now dead :( Actually make that 4 because I'm pretty sure that my mom and dad are no longer caring for "Walter" now that Mckaley has left town. What are you doing to do when we return mom!?

(here they are picking the little suckers, I mean fishies, out)

(Putting together the fish bowl)

(success)

(pure bliss)

Conversation with a 3 year old

4:45 am
Mckaley: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! My milk spilled and my bed is all wet (crying)
Me: Its okay M, you just had an accident, its no big deal.
Mckaley: But it is my favorite bed, I can't sleep without my bed. Can I come in yours?
Me: Sure (too tired to even dispute)
5:10 am
Mckaley: (Rolling around in our bed like crazy!) Mom I can't sleep, can I have an egg sandwich?
Me: What???
Mckaley: You know a sandwich with egg and cheese and bacon.
Me: Like right now? How about you go to sleep instead?
Mckaley: How about you make me an egg sandwich?
Me: How about an eggo?
Mckaley: No deal. Egg Sandwich please.
5:30 am
Me: (frying up bacon)

3 year old=2 points
Mom=0 points and its not even 6 am yet

Bear with me

I am posting a ton of saved posts from this summer. My updates are a work in progress-sorry! They may be late, but the adventures will get posted :)

Mikey is 6 months old

Michael turns 6 months old today. I can hardly believe that half of a year has gone by. He has already begun to show so many signs of his true personality. He and Mckaley are so different, yet so the same. They both have a very pleasant disposition and love to smile and laugh. I know I've said this before, but no one can make Michael laugh the way Mckaley can. It is SO cute. Event though they are both happy babies, they are also very different. Mckaley is my spirited child with a very high energy. Michael on the other hand is really really laid back. I think he has more of my personality than Tyler's. He just pretty much goes with the flow, but he also still lets us know when he doesn't like something. He usually only fusses if he is hungry, tired, or bored. He makes life very easy for his momma :) We all just love having him around and I can not wait to see how he continues to develop and grow as the months and years go on. Happy 6 month birthday Mikey!

Stats

Age: 6 months, 0 weeks

Weight: 16.9lbs (he dropped from the 72% to the 39% so I need to take him back in for a weight check, although I'm pretty sure he will just stay a skinny boy like his dad from here on out)

Height: 27.5 inches (85%-they said he didn't grow at all from a month ago-weird)

Head Circ: 17 inches (36%)

Sleep patterns: He slept a few times through the night, but then we took a long trip to Ca which pretty much messed him us. I've been up anywhere from 1-3 times a night-agh. I know he can do it, I just feel so bad having him cry it out in a unfamiliar crib or if we are in a hotel.

Feeding: Michael has had really bad allergies so we haven't been able to feed him any food up until this point. The doctor finally gave us the okay to try baby food. We are skipping the cereals and giving him fruits and veggies first. I'll post some pics of his first bites of food on a later post.

Play: He loves to play with things that make noise, shake, or rattle. He also now rolls over onto his belly which is fun to watch. He can also sit for a second or two without falling, but not very long.

Here are some pics of Mikey on his 6 month birthday.

The good life

(Our backyard paradise)

(Pop-Pop Greg and the kids)

(Mckaley taking a picture of Mimi Cathy on the patio)

(sorry for the upside down pic, but didn't feel like uploading a new one)

We are at the lake and loving every second of it!!!!!

Albuterol = psycho

So Tyler and my biggest fear came true the other day. . . Mckaley has asthma :( We both have asthma so we pretty much figured that our kids would have it, but we were still praying that they wouldn't. Gasping for a breath of air is not something you ever want your kids to have to go through.

Well, during our flight to Ca the plane circulation (and all the germs that go along with it) did a number on Mckaley this week. She has bronchitis, an ear infection, and a sinus infection. My poor little girl is a mess. We are staying at my brothers apt and luckily my mom was there to notice that she was breathing really rapid and really shallow. When my mom and I timed her breaths she told me to call the doctor. Good thing I did because they rushed us in to see them, diagnosed her with asthma, and told me to give her albuterol right away. Her oxygen saturation level was not even close to what it should have been. Plus, if it didn't get any better I was going to have to take her to the ER. Luckily the albuterol worked, but let me tell you it is like a shot of adrenaline. Mckaley was literally bouncing off the walls at Keegan's place. I'm not exaggerating here-she was bouncing. Like full blown Tigger style. Anyhow, I probably shouldn't post this picture, but I couldn't resist. Here is my sick kid, wearing Keegans flip flops going psycho off her albuterol rush. . .

Stop #1

G.G.Ma and G.GPa's house!! We spent the weekend at my great grandparents house and the kids loved every second of it. We spent a day at the pool in the sun and got some quality time with aunts and cousins. Every time I fly out here with the kids, I am just reminded of how wonderful it is to be around family. Thanks for letting us crash at your place Grandma and Grandpa :-)

And we are off

To California that is. Mckaley, Michael and I are off on our 4 week adventure to Ca. Wish me luck! We have a lot of stops to hit. First we are staying at Keegan's apartment while I work NorCal camps, then we are heading to the lake, and finally mom is going down to Manhatten beach for the 6 man tourney and a little R&R. Here's to a great trip :)

(Mckaley keeping herself busy on the plane. Does a 3 year old really need 2 electronic devices?! If it keeps her smiling the answer is YES!)

Happy 25th birthday Keegan

My younger brother turned 25 the other day and I just wanted to wish him a very happy birthday!! We all know that Keegan wears numerous hats throughout his days. He is a son, a brother, an uncle, a coach, a friend, a role model, an employer, and a boss. So, in honor of the many hats he wears, I thought I would share the many faces wears underneath them. Enjoy :)

In all seriousness though, Keegan you are the best brother I could ever ask for. You are possibly the kindest, most intelligent, and funniest man I know. I am so proud to call you my brother. Here's to another 25 years of fun!

A Big Fat F for Fail!

Okay, so if you read my last post, you know that Michael has an allergy to milk and eggs. I am still breastfeeding (supplementing with formula from time to time) so this means that I'm passing any egg or milk products I eat directly on to him. When I found out about his allergy, I had two options: 1) take these foods out of my diet 2) go totally on formula Those of you who know me, know that this is an easy answer: start the formula. I endulge when it comes to eating so watching every little bite was sounding like way too much work for me. Plus, I love things like chai tea, milk, cookies, cake, butter, mayo, and plain old eggs. Wait, did I just say that? Did I just say that I loved food too much to change my diet so that my son would be eczema free?? Yes, I said it. What is wrong with me?

Anyhow, I decided that although I do love diary and eggs and I am planning on moving to formula eventually I could and should go without these two items at least until Michael and I are ready to go exclusively on formula. The allergist recemmended that I go without diary and egg for at least two weeks to see if the eczema went away. I can do that. It won't be easy, but for two weeks I can do just about anything! Or so I thought. Here's is how the first 24 hours have gone:

Tuesday

3:30 find out Michael has an egg and dairy allergy

4:00 decide that I am going without those two items for at least two weeks

4:15 decide to have my last chai tea

6:00 dinner- steak, scalloped potatoes, broccoli and calliflower with cheese (dinner was already planned and in the works so I decided it would be my last dairy and egg meal)

Recap: Tuesday = FAIL but I wasn't really trying either

Wednesday

6:30am oatmeal with brown sugar

7:00am hot tea with sugar (no milk though! Way to go Meg, you passed the first test!)

11:30 rice, terriaki chicken, broccoli and carrots

5:00pm steak tacos, no cheese or sour cream :( tacos suck without those two items, but hey I passed test number two

5:30pm cookie for dessert. I decided to skip the chocolate creme filled cookies and go with a mint milano

6:30pm diet root beer at the Herr's, was going to go with cherry pepsi, but decided against the caffeine that late

Recap: Wednesday = FAIL didn't know it, but apparantly root beer has eggs-HUH!? Oh, and that cookie did too-Lovely! Even a better surprise was that those chocolate creme filled cookies that I resisted DIDNT have milk or eggs- WTF?!

Thursday

6:30am bagel with margarine (good alternative to butter or cream cheese)

9:30am soy chai frapuchino (alternative to creme chai frap, BUT I forgot to say no whip-ugh! So I sadly scraped the best part of the drink along with the caramel drizzle off)

12:30pm licked the bottom of Mckaley's strawberry Hagen Daas Ice Cream cone before we entered the car because it was dripping. Ooops, sorry Michael. Bad habit.

1:00pm Mckaley wanted Sabarro after going to SeaLife but I couldn't have pizza or the freaking ziti that they served there so I picked the next best alternative I could think of at the time: McDonalds. I hate MCD but Mckaley loves it and I knew it would get us out of the mall without a meltdown plus I could get a good old fashion chicken sandwich without the cheese of course. Anyhow, skipped the cheese infested Sbarro and got a chicken sandwich, fries, and a sweet tea

6:00pm roasted chicken, watermelon, rice

7:00pm went for those chocolate creme filled cookies for dessert :-D

Recap: Thursday = FAIL didn't know it, but apparently margarine which I thought was oil, actually has dairy in it. Seriously?? Whats the point in using margarine then-butter is WAY better. Oh and skipping out on Sbarro did me zero good as Mcdonalds has egg in their McChicken sandwich breading and milk in the bun. I should have just left the mayo on the sandwich as well and sent Michael into a full blown rash!!!!

So, like I said at the beginning I get a big fat F for failing these first two days. I've now printed out a list of foods that contain egg and put it in my wallet. Hopefully this will help some as now I'm more determined then ever to not give up and to get this diet down. If my poor father in law and sister in law can go on a 500 calorie diet with pretty much nothing but grilled chicken, shrimp, asparagus, or celery for 30 days I should be able to manage this right? Right??? I sure hope so. Wish me luck!

Yay Michael, Poor Michael

So I had a great and not so great day with Michael today.

First the great: Last night I decided that it was time for Michael to sleep through the night. Sounds funny I know, but I really believe that I can have some sort of control over this. Maybe not all, but some. The night started off just fine. He went to bed at 6:30pm but then he woke up at 11 wanting to nurse. This time instead of loaning myself as a pacifier, I decided to use the actual paci instead. Well that just pissed him off and he didn't take it at all, but I knew I couldn't give in. I was determined to help him sleep through the night even if it meant waking Tyler and Mckaley. So, he cried for a while but it wasn't an all out scream feast so I let him. Tyler got fed up, so he went up to Michael's room around 11:20 to put socks on his hands (yes socks! I don't know why but ever since Michael was a baby he has liked to suck on the cloth mitts that covered his nails so he wouldn't scratch himself. Tyler couldn't find the mitts, so he used socks haha). Anyhow, by 11:40 or so Michael had soothed himself to sleep. I wouldn't say it was easy, but he did it. And even better, he slept until 6am!!! At that time I went running in because my right boob felt like it was about to explode. Michael was just laying in his crib smiling completely content. It was like he was waiting for me to arrive. This was the great part of my day as I was proud of myself for not giving into his cries and proud of Michael for sleeping so long and soothing himself. I was a well rested momma. YAY MICHAEL!

So, being well rested was important for today because I had to take Michael to the Allergist :( Like I've mentioned before he has really bad eczema and I just can't seem to do anything to get rid of it. I finally decided that enough was enough and I took him in. They did a prick test with the 6 most common allergies for infants, plus two control tests. Turns out the poor guy is allergic to dairy and eggs :( I, of course, eat/drink both on a daily basis. So, when I eat it, it is getting transferred to him through my milk supply. I felt so bad for him. Not only was the test not great, but to be allergic to those two foods is not ideal. I can only hope that he will grow out of it. We go back in about 6 months to test him again to see how he is doing and to see if anything changes. I hope it does. What's a guy to eat for breakfast when you can't have any dairy or eggs!?!?!? POOR MICHAEL!

The last dance

Mckaleys dance recital was back at the beginning of June, but I've never had the chance to post a bunch of pictures of it. The girls in her dance class were Kadie, Payton, Ava, Brinley and Mckaley. I have to say, the five of them are just about the cutest kids you will ever see. They all became very good friends through the year and it was so cute to see them perform. I was very proud of all the girls as they nailed their dance and didn't seem a bit nervous performing in front of hundreds of people. I really couldn't believe it. I thought for sure one of them would freeze, start searching the audience, wave, or just flat out cry but nope they were all fantastic. I was especially nervous about Mckaley because she was not the best dance student. Most of the time in class she would just play with the other girls or try to chat it up with Ms. Heather or Ms. Megan. She never practiced at home and if I turned on her dance song she would refuse to show it to me. I even tried to give her pep talks about practice making perfect and what it takes to be the best (yes she is only three, but I thought it would help haha). Anyhow, I thought that there was not way she knew the routine, but she proved me wrong. I guess she is a gamer just like her mommy :)

Family Bed - kind of

5:58 this morning- not very happy both my kids are up and in my bed

6:05 this morning- running to get my Flip as they are already forgiven

Michael Caden is 4 months old!

How time flies! I can not believe that my baby boy is already 4 months. I no longer refer to his age by weeks anymore :( Here are a few stats about him at this wonderful age:

Age: 4 months

Weight: 16.2 pounds (72 percentile) and feels every bit of it!

Height: 27.5 inches (99 percentile) no surprise here, he is a long boy!

Head Circumfrance: 16.7 inches (50 percetile)

Shots: he had an oral immunization and two shots today. He cried loud for about 2 seconds and then was fine after that. He cried more when the doctor was examining his belly.

Rash: he has had bad eczema all over his body with the driest spots being in the back of his knees, elbows, under his neck and on his belly :( I have tried everything to get rid of it, including not eating any dairy products for 10 days. The doctor thinks it may be a food allergy, so it looks like I am going to go to formula earlier than expected.

Some interesting things he does right now

• he is very playful right now- laughing and smiling at everything, especially mom (which of course I love)
• he has just started reaching and grasping for objects above his head-he is a very determined young boy. I have seen him stare intently at an object and try his hardest to grab it until he finally reaches out and gets it. His face showed pure excitement. It was adorable.
• he puts his fingers and hands in his mouth all the time. Mckaley did this too, so I think its a baby thing.
• he giggles like crazy, especially when he is tickled on the sides of his belly
• he rolls over on his side to sleep, but hasn't rolled completely over yet
• he kicks and kicks and kicks and kicks non stop I tell ya
• he talks SO loudly now. It is like he is screaming for attention.
• he has this half smile kind of grin. It is kind of like a little Elvis smile. It cracks me up.

All in all Michael is a very content and easy baby. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but is SO happy through the days that I don't even care. I am a very proud momma of two and I love watching Mckaley and Michael interact.

Naked Baby!

Whats up guys?!

Chomping on my fingers

Just hanging out before I go to the Dr. to get my shots. I have no idea what I'm about to get myself into!

Am I going to be a little rock star?

Tummy time

Mckaley loves me

And I love her!

Quote of the morning

Mckaley: Mom, there's nothing like a tootsie roll for breakfast?

Me: What! Where did you get a tootsie roll?

Mckaley: Why, do ya want one?

HOA

"A dormant lawn is fine in the winter, but needs to show signs of greening up in the spring. Please water/fertilize the lawn in order to green up the grass. If you would like to replace the lawn with gravel, don't forget to fill out an application to submit for the change. Thanks you."

Dear Home Owners Association,

Our sprinklers broke three months ago. These little letters you are sending do not do anything for my husbands motivation to get them fixed. I found this letter in the trash. How about you come over and kick his ass for me as I have tried everything to get him to fix my lawn? No, I do not want gravel. I want a husband who will either take care of our lawn or fork up the money to get someone out here to fix it.

Sincerely,

Meg Herr

Take 1

Okay folks, here it is in all its glory. The SAS Dance Recital take 1. Tonight we had Mckaley and Tyler's dress rehearsal for the SAS Dance Recital. We are not allowed to video tape anything the actual night of the performance, so this will have to do for now. In the Broadway Baby video you will see (from left to right) Ava, Kadie, Mckaley, Payton, and Brinley. In the Daddy Dance you will see Tyler, Scott, and Bret front and center until there is a line change. Lamont had a recruit so he couldn't be there tonight, but don't worry. Kim will be sure to get a video of the actual show. I'll upload that once I get it from her. Until the, Enjoy! Both videos are pretty funny!

Happy 30th Birthday Tyler!

Tyler turned 30th this past month. Yes, the big 3-0! Even though we couldn't throw a big bash this year because it was really hard to get all our family and friends in town at the same time, I still hope he had a wonderful birthday. We celebrated a few times for him. The first was at Scott and Jenna's house. We all try to get together once a week or at least every other week for dinner. Sometimes it at our house and sometimes it is at their house. This last week we did it at their house and Jenna made a rice crispy cake with a 30 written out in chocolate chips. The girls thought this was great and loved singing happy birthday and helping Tyler blow out the candles. Pictures are above. Our second celebration was with the Watson's, the Smith's, and the Herr's at Blue 32. On his actual birthday night we all ate dinner there because the boys all had to go to dance practice right after. Yes, dance practice. Oh just wait for a follow up blog on this one- its great! The third celebration was dinner at Tylers parents where they made him tri-tip (his favorite) and a red velvet birthday cake-yummy! We even took some cake home where I proceeded to rip off a slice from Tyler a little at a time in hopes he wouldn't notice. No such luck, he noticed, but not before I got some extra cake for myself :-D

Tyler-I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Over these past 30 years you have so many things to be proud of. I love that you set goals for your life and that after you attain them, you set more. I am incredibly thankful to have you as my husband and Mckaley and Michael are very lucky to have such an involved father. I can not wait to see what the next 30 years bring us.

Happy 30th Birthday Tyler!