Beach bums, motherhood, and milestones

 It has been waaaayyyyy too long. I miss blogging. Sometimes life just gets the better of you...and I decided if I didn't continue with my blogging now, when would I? So here we are.

Steven will be 11 months tomorrow. 11. I spend my days now planning his birthday. He is so much fun, but sometimes it hurts thinking about how fast the time has gone. What does life with an 11 month old (and don't forget, our crazy 5 month old puppy Gator) look like? It is chaos! Steven is walking more and more each day (he just took his first steps about two weeks ago), and can take as many as 10 at a time. Last week he started standing on his own without any assistance, and prefers to not have any help (he is a little bit stubborn!). He is really starting to eat a lot of table food, and as of now, has refused to eat baby food in the last week. He learned how to clap, so that is now his new favorite thing to do! I didn't think this kid could get much happier than he already was, but clapping at everything just makes him giggle! He is truly such a joy beyond words. Did I mention that he says "mama?" We are trying to teach him other words, but he seems to be content with this one for now. :-)

We just got back from a wonderful beach vacation with my husbands family, and despite yucky weather for part of the time, we had an awesome time. It was so great to be at the beach, but my husband and I both agreed that the best part by far was being able to share family time with the three of us, without someone being at work (like we usually live with me working on weekends). Steven had the BEST time on the beach, which was a huge relief to his parents who love the beach and wanted to spend time on the beach.

Vacation with a child is soooo much different than before we had a child. Whew, it is exhausting! I miss the days of being able to just lay on the beach, read my book, and not move or talk to anyone. Sadly, those days have ended....but wonderfully, I have this little life that I am introducing to the world and that is so much more than the life I used to lead.

First day on the beach...he is still unsure here, but quickly learned to love that sand!

A little too much of the sand. It was pretty hot, also, and that heat got to all of us pretty quickly.

Playing guitar "with" daddy is always a favorite. When the boys were hanging out, playing around, he would dance and get a kick out of it. I think he'll definitely play some sort of instrument when he's older.

He was always trying to get at the stuff on the table from underneath, it was too funny! Here he was playing with the boys again, this time cards.

Best view of the ocean is clearly from standing on a chair

Steven and his cousins (Steve's cousin's kids). The four girls didn't know what to make of this little boy!

Us with all the grandkids and great grandkids

Grandma and Grandpa in front, and just a few of the kids, grandkids, greatgrandkids that were along for the vacation.

Family portrait

Uh, mom, can you put me down? I'd rather be on the sand.

Steven's first clap that we were able to get on film. He was sooooo proud of himself!

Our amazing beach view....we will miss you!

Going to the chapel, gonna get married!

Moments happen in life that you never thought would ever happen....case in point, my mom got remarried. It was a small wedding with family and a few friends, and it turned out beautifully! I got to meet my "stepsister" for the first time (still a little weird to say that yet) and a lot of Dave's family. It was wonderful to see a lot of my family and friends that we don't get to see too often, plus getting to spend time with my mom and sisters. We had a great time at the wedding, and surprisingly, there was no drama! The baby made it almost all the way through before he passed out. No offense to my mother, but he did steal some of the show with his outfit! 

The hat says it all...priceless!

My sister Jenna and her husband, Kris

My sister Christine and her boyfriend, Cody

My Aunt Karen and cousin Chris

Sisters!

Trip to Dallas

Even though a month has passed since our trip to Dallas, it doesn't make it any less blog-worthy. We went to visit good friends of ours for a few days, and we had a blast. Our trip started out rough (first attempt our flight was cancelled and we had to start over the next day :( ) but it ended up being ok. It was Steven's first flight, and he did better than I did.
Our Dallas friends have three boys, and Steven thoroughly enjoyed playtime with the big boys! The kids were not the only ones who had fun...Steve and Charlie went to a Rangers game and Beth and I got to play Yahtzee and watercolor (which turns out to be one of my gifts). If that's not enough, we also got to enjoy great food with our wonderful company! We left wishing that we got to see them more often. 

 Garrett (left) is about a month older than Steven (right) and these boys got along famously! It was wonderful that we could let them play and they would entertain themselves!

 Steve and Charlie(kneeling) created some sort of golfing game with the twins' toddler golf gear. They eventually caught us girls spying. :-)

 Steve at the Rangers game

 Steven loves the swings!!

 So does Garrett!!

 Best pic I had of Owen and Eli...they are two and a half year old twins, and couldn't be any cuter! By the end of the week, I felt like they were actually starting to feel comfortable with us around!

 Me and my little man!

 Beth and me and all the kids...jeesh! Funny that just a little over two years ago it was just her and I.

Steven and his daddy!

The Last 2 months...

2 MONTHS???!! Really??? I cannot believe it's been that long since my last post...but I refuse to give up! Our lives have been super crazy lately. It all started with a broken computer (baby pulled the space bar off :( ), then we were in and out of town a few times, then we had a virus (physically and on the computer), then we got a puppy. Phew. It has been a very busy two months for us! Not to mention our kid is growing and changing like a weed!

Steven is now 8 1/2 months old, and everything about him has changed. He crawls, pulls to standing, and is starting to "cruise" a little bit around the furniture. He loves solid foods and has started on some finger foods. He is happy and laid back, and so social. He loves to play with other kids, as we have begun to learn, and loves to play with toys. He is so funny, he loves to "talk" to us, and he is getting so much more expressive every day.  He is a great sleeper for us and has been mostly sleeping through the night. He had his first cold, and boy was it a doozy. He had sick symptoms for a little over 3 weeks on and off, ending up with a mild ear infection, on antibiotics, then developed a virus with a terrible fever. Ugh. Having a sick kid is definitely not fun! It puts what I do for a living into perspective, that's for sure.

Now to the major life change...the puppy. I bought him for my husband for his birthday as a surprise, and I surprised even myself a little. I have been fighting this dog thing for the last 5 years, and I figured now would be as good a time as any to bring a puppy into our home. We drove to get him from a breeder in the Poconos (5 hours each way, yikes!) and it has been a learning experience if nothing else. I cried a lot the first week, and it has been WAY harder than I ever thought was possible. This puppy training is not easy, especially when you have a crawling infant around (who has been sick and very clingy). I can say that it is finally getting better two weeks into this thing, much to my relief. Housetraining seems to be going better, and we are all learning how to live with each other. It's a good thing puppies are cute!

Sorry to throw so many in here...but here are some of the snapshots of what we've been up to!

Trouble in every corner!

First time standing at the "elmo table" as we call it. It plays music and talks and he loves this thing.

Our crazy boy!

Snapshot of our cute little crawler in his Easter outfit! Cutest kid on Easter ever!

Us on Easter...best pic of us, especially with me being sick.

And here's the little man, Gator.

Their first day together, going after the same toys!

He is not allowed to have this bed anymore, he chewed into the bottom of it already. Teething puppies are hard work.

Us going for a walk! I love that Steven loves to wear his hat and sunglasses...at least he tolerates them, anyways.

We love the swings!

The addition of the puppy meant the addition of baby gates in our house. The first few days have not gone too well...hahaha. If he's not crying at the gate, then the dog is.

Love!

He is growing so fast!

HA!!!! Cousins in the tub. They were too funny together!!

Steven the Explorer

First time with Blue Bunny. Steve had one as a kid, so he bought one for the baby as a present, which I thought was pretty cute. He had never met him before, but they were fast friends!

A foot for each hand, what could be better?

This is a great book, but how does it work?

I could probably fit some more toys in my hands if you'd let me!

Favorite face! He was rolling around and blowing raspberries with his blanket.

The trouble is starting. He can't crawl, but he squirms enough that he moves, and he is starting to be so curious about all his surroundings.



Oh, the remote, our fickle friend. He wants it so bad ALL THE TIME, he squirmed towards it yesterday! Not quite a crawl, but getting there! I don't know whether to be excited or terrified of him almost being mobile...

No longer just gums!

Attempting to capture his new teeth on film is ironically like pulling teeth

The one on the right has been working its way out for about a week now, and just yesterday in this picture (you may not be able to see) his second tooth is popping up right next to it!

Where's the laundry? I want to help!

Best containment ever! Especially after the accident last week where he fell off our bed. Mother of the Year, right here.

New sippy cup, inspired by his love for drinking out of cups. We'll figure it out eventually, but he does love to chew on it. Easy to please!