Halloween

I felt it only appropriate to change my layout.

Happy Halloween everyone!!! I wonder if we will get any trick or treaters..........better be prepared just in case.

Sad Feeling

Tonight was a true test. I finally got that feeling every other parent gets when their kid goes to daycare :-(

We went join our local YMCA since they provide free daycare and we also get a discount for being a Millington resident. So I drop little man off in the room while me and daddy went to workout. He looked up at me pouted and cried out a little. But luckily while I was walking out three other babies came in, so plenty of friends to play with!

So all through the workout of course I was like "Oh I hope he's okay!?" "I wonder if he's having fun" etc etc....and I spied on him a few times through the window and he was having a ball. Beating up the toys and roaming the room. It's good he's around other little babies.

After we got all packed up in the car headed home and he was so tired. It wasn't a struggle at all to put him down. What can I say having fun can make a little boy tired!!

Well momma is tired too. Time to soak in the tub and hit the sheets.

Buffet complete

So I finished working on the buffet this past weekend. Installed some cabinet liner to protect the wood. :-) Even got the liner to go with the kitchen's green theme.

It ended up being the perfect size. PLENTY of room to store all my china! Aiden just sat in his high chair playing with Murphy and banging his teething toy on his tray. Goofy kid!  I just don't trust his balance enough to let him roam on the tile yet. Maybe the end of next month. 

Love the finished product!

Lots of Updates

Where to begin....

Let's start with the house. We have our new ALUMINUM attic stairs in. YAH! So now when I store Aiden's old items I won't break my neck trying to get them up there with the old broken wood stairs. I tried them out and LOVED them. Yes, I'm odd for getting this excited about things like that, but I know have a comfort knowing I won't break my neck. So up with the old baby tub and the compact stroller that the infant carrier attached to. Things like make it hit home our baby boy is growing up sooo fast! Hard to believe in a week he will be 8 months! Man how time flies!!

Next project, one wall of the garage is up! YAH! Luckily Steve came over and helped, because my weak butt struggled holding those huge pieces of drywall. But I can start to see the finished product and I got excited! We've put that off for so long, that now that it's getting cooler I wanted it to get done. Especially before we get appraised. We are even going to add an attic stair in there too. That way we can access even more room up there to store items aka holiday items.

Last week I had a contractor come out and give me estimates on some other little projects I wanted the pros to do. 1st close off the stupid sliding glass door in the front and replace it with a large picture window. So of course that means some bricking needs to happen on the outside and the stairs leading to the door are BYE BYE! Then I asked him to quote me on what it would be to add a porch on in the front or just a peaking portico over the front door. The portico is what I'm thinking we want most. Simple Clean.

It's time to update the curb appeal to match the work done on the inside. Which means....I need to pick out paint for the brick....since I know the new brick probably won't match unless they can salvage some from the steps.

Once we refinance the roof is getting replaced. YAH! Last week we got our check from the insurance company, so that was exciting! Who knew they would pay half of it! AH! We would have never known if this one roof company didn't tell us. Thank you for saving us $2500!

Okay Little man update: He is has a new tooth! That's #6!!! Three on the top three on the bottom. So we have one big drooling baby over here. But mommy made a batch of frozen goodness for him. 12oz of frozen raspberries. 1 cup of water. 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Puree together and freeze. DELICIOUS and a lifesaver. Plus his faces are priceless. "Oh Mommy its COLD!" "Oh wait, that's good! MORE" "BRAINFREEZE!" Like I said priceless.

Teething baby also equals he must have mommy so tonight this is what we ended up with a worn out baby. Passed out on momma. Gosh I love him!

Well off to watch Dexter! YAH the new season!!!!!!!!!

Pampers

We are now a Pampers family all the way!!! Diapers and wipes are only Pampers!
Man is there a BIG difference in them and Huggies!

I just switched to Pampers wipes...man I wish I had MONTHS ago!

Diapers:
Huggies- These do not work for baby boys. Every morning I would wake up to wet sheets and pee smelling baby. Snug & Dry you are not :-( The tabs on the side don't stick very well too.
Size 4 Little Movers $38 140 diapers= $0.27 per diaper

Pampers-No wet sheets. Diaper retains pee by turning into one gel diaper. Fits amazingly well. We have recently moved to the "Cruiser" style and I'm still highly impressed. They have this smell to them that is so great!
Size 4 Cruisers $38 140 diapers= $0.27 per diaper

So same price BIIIIIG difference! Yes, you will noticed I recently moved Aiden to a size 4 diaper. Size 3 only goes up to 28 lbs and hes up to 25 lbs now, and size 4 is from 22-37 lbs. So that's an increase of $0.03 per diaper. DANG! At least hes not going through 12+ diapers a day anymore.

I did try Sams Club brand of diapers. DID NOT LIKE AT ALL! Donated the rest of the box. There was a reason why it was half the price.

Wipes
Huggies-I've tried the Natural Care and Soft Skin. They seem to start dry and are rough. I thought I would see a difference between the two kinds. Not really. Baby boy's face would still seem dry. Since I buy in bulk, Huggies annoyingly packages them incorrect. In each pack they have enough to refill 4 containers. Thats great, but they only have one divider in it, so I have to guess how much to pull out. ANNOYING, because I ALWAYS get to much or too little.
Natural Care $14 720 wipes= $0.02 per wipe
Soft Skin $14 600 wipes= $0.02 per wipe

Pampers-These are soooooo soft. Individually wrapped to fit in one box. So convenient! These truly feel like a soft towel and even baby boy liked it. Plus, they smell great.
Baby Fresh $15 770 wipes= $0.02 per wipe

So like I said before, same price BIIIIIG difference! I've never tried the off brand. Kinda afraid too after the diapers.

Strong

Little man is SOOO strong now. Just yesterday he started getting on his knees and using my body to pull himself up. AH! So not only can he crawl on his knees, he is learning to pull himself up. All 25 pounds! DANG!!! Way to go Aiden!

This morning was so cute, when I got up Aiden was wide awake sitting on his butt looking over the bumper waiting for us to come in there to get him. Kinda like "Hello, where are you?! I'm a little hungry and want a hug!"

Other milestone....WE HAVE ANOTHER TOOTH SPROUTING!!!!! His right Lateral Incisor is coming in! The tooth next to the front one. There might be more coming in I just saw this one last night. I'll check again tonight.

Before I have to scoot off to a meeting I wanted to share some pictures Wes has sent me over the week. They put a smile on my face during work! :-) The phone flash is so bright. Sorry!

Yum! This toy is YUMMY!

What?! I'm not doing anything wrong

Attack of the bug toy!!!

Bath Time

Aiden now officially LOOOVES taking a bath! He squirms, splashes, kicks, attacks the bubbles, etc. I use the foam cushion to make sure he stays put when he's sitting on his butt, so he won't slide away.

He gets so excited when it becomes "Naked Time", because he knows what happens next. PLAY TIME!!!!

Milestone happened yesterday......Boo started to crawl on his knees!!!!! AHH! I didn't get to see it, but I'll catch it one day with the camera to share. He's growing up so fast.

So on to news, we are refinancing our house at the end of October! Yah to lower interest rates and smaller mortgage payments! Our payment is going to be smaller even with taking money out. Basically what we are going to use that money for is a new roof, replace the sliding glass door with a big picture window, and add a stoop to the front door. Time to improve the curb appeal to match all the renovations we've done inside.

For the front door I want to add some type of extra gable roof structure, and maybe extend it over by the picture window to create a sitting area....just thoughts.

Front Door Idea

Blessed

I have the most amazing son ever! Everyday I feel so blessed. Yesterday he went with mommy and daddy to check out the church and reception hall for one of our friend's sister wedding. That I got the honor to shoot. True test of my photography skill I guess. Normally Aiden is my subject, so it was a little different.

As Wes would say he was rocking a "gay" outfit, but I thought it was precious. Reminds me of a sailor outfit.

Hey Mommy!

Murphy I see you!!!

Man, my teeth hurt today!

Aiden is DEFINITELY a momma's boy! Cries when I leave the room or put him down. One minute he's perfectly content, but as soon as mommy is in his sight its all about me. Not that I mind or anything, but sometimes it makes it difficult to complete things around the house....what can I say I'm a sucker to that cute face

Updates - Cooking

Little man stat updates...
Weight: 25 lbs
Length: 29 to 29.5 inches (he was moving to much to be accurate)

I have now switched him to organic baby food. I really like Earth's Best Baby Food. Aiden seems to like it too. I also want to start making my own, thanks to my new handy dandy

cookbook

This will also help mine and Wes' eating patterns too, because what I make for us I can make for Aiden too. YAH!

Tonight we checked out the YMCA in town. It was sooo nice! I was highly impressed. Plus the free childcare was the best part! The room was right next to the gym area, so I could see Aiden while I workout. Plus, we went around 6:30ish and it was barely packed. Unlike my other gym, which was a zoo after work. Other nice part was they based the membership rate on your income, which was nice since we are a single income family. I told Wes during the day if he needed a break from Aiden he could just come up to the Y go swim, workout, take a class etc. That's what I would do if I were him.

But speaking of cooking, yesterday at my Cookbook Club meeting we made pie crusts! YUMMY! I ran out of apples for the filling, but it looks pretty darn good! It was SOOOO simple too. Not sure when I will make another pie crust....maybe Christmas?

Step 1:
1 cup All purpose flour
pint of salt
1/3 cup Crisco
Mix together with a fork until it looks like cornmeal.

Step 2:
Add water....how much...well that's a guessing game. I'd say 1/3 to 1/4 cup. You want your dough to be sticky.
*Key: COLD COLD COLD water! Do not use your hands to mix.

Step 3:
Flour the table and rolling pin. If the dough is really sticky put a little flour on the dough. Begin Rolling. When a nice circle size fold together, and place in pie pan. Be sure all the air bubbles are out and trim the excess on the edges. Pinch the edges and you are DONE!! Fill and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, but watch it.

In my pie we cut up 3 apples (could have used more), added cinnamon, and 1/4 stick of butter cut into pieces and placed on top of the apples. I decided to get decorative and use the crust leftovers to make the top look like a flower :-) We cut a piece tonight. DELICIOUS!!!!

Bath Time

This is a long post. Sorry! Lots to update.

Aiden has officially outgrown his baby tub. Today he was just sitting up in it with his legs swished against the end of the tub. So what does that mean...he gets to be a big boy and take baths actually in the bath tub. YAH! But what does this mean for Mommy. Baby proofing time.

Starter a drain cover. All I can see his head knocking the crap out of that metal. I think not. This one is officially checked off thanks to the

Boon

It fits perfectly on our spout and was easy to install! Plus it even has a nice spot where bubble bath is stored so you can press a button and it will pour while the water pours. Perfect because we definitely use the Johnson and Johnson bedtime Bubble Bath every bath.

Next something to store all those toys that doesn't have suction cups or requires me to drill in the wall. Checked off thanks to Fisher-Price Bath Scoop N Store! It fits perfectly over the shower curtain rod, so after bath time they can drain perfectly.

Little man already had some squirter toys, but why not increase his senses and eye coordination. So what does that...more toys. Luckily, I had $15 Babies R Us Dollars so it wouldn't cost me a penny to spurge. One good thing about the reward program. So I got a wind up toy fish, which I could just see him laughing and trying to catch it in the tub. And some foam bath letters and numbers. Yah for learning!

So remember how before I was wondering what type of baby video monitor to get...well I finally got one and LOVE it!!! Man, it's a lifesaver. I'll probably try to sell the other one, since there's nothing wrong with it. We ended up getting a

Summer Deluxe Day & Night

Only complaint is the battery doesn't last that long...but the picture quality is great, and the screen is a nice size. Sorry my picture isn't so great. It's nice now not having to walk in there if I hear him cry to check on him. Nothing was worse than going in there checking on him and it becoming playtime at 3am. Not what mommy wants at all!!!

I finally took a picture of my new buffet decorated as promised. I love this thing! Thank you Salvation Army!

Lastly, I leave with some adorable pictures of my little thinker, Aiden. Swear that kid is so freakin adorable, and he doesn't even know it! I gotta watch out for all the girls. Yesterday, we were at the telephone company setting up a home line and man oh man. He was batting his eyelashes, cooing, and smiling at all the ladies. Such a flirt!

ROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL!!!!! Penn State got embarrassed tonight. Bad!

Prepared

Project. Get Aiden ready for Alabama Football games.

Seems simple huh? Well he used to be prepared for the games. However, since he is such a GROWING boy those cute outfits no longer fit. BOO!! I mean remember this one....gosh I loved it.

Well I was on the hunt to find new ones. I found some CUTE outfits but hello expensive! I mean really who would spend like $30+ on a baby outfit. An outfit that they are going to outgrow in NO TIME! Not me. Sorry Aiden, but that's a lot of money.

Well I came up with the next best thing. APPLIQUES! Essentially that's what I wanted, so why not do them myself. So I got 2 short sleeve oneies, and 1 long sleeve. Cut out elephants in fabric. Cute out ears in a different fabric. TaDa Cute Alabama Outfits for less than $5. Due to the fact I got the oneies DIRT cheap at one of our Babies R Us that was moving so they had great great sales 50% off.

I'm going to take his 7 month pictures on Saturday in one of the outfits.

7 months!

Wow! Time truly flies. I can't believe in a few short months Aiden will be 1! WOW! Pictures Later.

Stats:
Weight: Update Tonight
Length: Update Tonight
Size 3 diapers
18 month clothes
Sleeping Pattern: Down around 9pm up by 6am. He has now figured out Mommy wakes up at this time, so he MUST see me before I'm off. When I walk in there after I get dressed he's up and peeking over the bumper waiting for me to open the door. Precious!
Eating Pattern: Bottle count going down, however since he is teething bad these days the bottle count has increased back to 6-7 of 5 oz bottles a day because it's hard to get him to eat solid food. Poor guy! Mouth hurts him. However, last night he ate some yogurt at Gabby and Grande's and LOOOOOVED it! Probably the coolness helped.

I wish I would remember to record him eating one day. It's hilarious picture him spreading out his arms like he's going to fly every time he wants another bite. Once he gets that he sits back down in the chair arms down til he swallows and the arms go up and he leans forward. Such a funny baby.

Milestone (Lots this month):
*A pro at holding the bottle, but he can't figure out if I sit up I have to tilt the bottle. But if he's leaning back its natural to him. We are going to start using the sippy cup more.
*CRAWLING! He's not up on all fours, but he's got that Army man crawl down!
*Able to sit up by himself, which means he got to go to the grocery store with Mommy! YA!

Now for the most important milestone. I swear this past weekend little man said MoMoMo, which sounded like Momma. AH! Even Wes heard it. I was having to work late on Friday, so I couldn't love him like normal when I got home. So of course he was crying and just staring me down when he said it. It was ADORABLE! Then the other day I was holding him because of the teething when I asked Wes to hold him so I could finish eating lunch. Well Wes said I can't because I have fiberglass on my shirt (he was installing the new attic stairs)...well Aiden then made this face like "WHAT? You aren't going to hold me" that looked so sad and pathetic that just broke all our hearts. So Wes took off his shirt picked Aiden up and he just made the biggest smile. GOSH WE ARE SUCH SUCKERS FOR HIM! :-)

Likes:
*Mommy holding me
*Sitting between Daddy's legs
*Banging toys or slapping his hands down on the floor, table, himself, etc.
*MURPHY! He is constantly trying to crawl to him
*Trips to the fabric store with Mommy. Loves to stick his hands out of the stroller and feel all the fabric as we go down the isle.
*Going on walks through the park

Dislikes:
*Mommy not holding me when I'm teething
*Bananas, Apple Sauce, and Pears
*When you put him in his pack n play when I'm cooking, so he now sits in his highchair
*When my diaper overflows when I'm sleeping causing the sheet to get wet
*When Mommy and Daddy won't let me do what I want to do

Busy

I had such a great LONG weekend!

Friday-It was Wes' 30th birthday, so I cooked his favorite meal and we had a nice evening being together and watching movies. I got Wes some vintage Alabama t-shirts (a new style with the helmet stating 13 and not 12 ROLL TIDE), a Braves tumbler and lid, and an awesome freezer cup. Perfect tailgating essentials.

Saturday-FOOTBALL!!! Share lunch with Regina and Steve, then Aiden got to experience his first of MANY Alabama football games! ROLL TIDE! 1-0 so far! It was cute seeing his face ponder why daddy and mommy were cheering. Then I took the nap of all naps of like 3 hours. All those nights of being on-call with Priority 1 issues took their toll on me. No one likes getting woke up at 2am!

Sunday-Celebrated Wes, Steve, and Justin's birthday with friends and family. Yummy deer meat! I made the cake...that's a whole story in its own right.

Cake-So I baked it on Saturday afternoon so Sunday I could just frost it. So it was a really really simple cake for those Weight Watchers people out there. 1 box of white cake mix. 1 12oz sprite zero. 1 tub cool whip. 1 box of fat free vanilla pudding. Mix the cake and sprite together. Simple. So I decided to make it a fun cake....what else make it a rainbow cake! So I divided the mix in 6 bowls. Now comes out the food coloring (pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, then made orange).

Simple huh?! Well that was until I put in the oven....Hmmm what's that burning smell.....OMG! The cake is pouring over! Ahhhhhhhh! So I had to take the cake pans out. Clean up the mess and try it again. I think it was the fizz from the sprite. I'll just use deeper dishes. The eaten cake pictures don't do the layer justice. It was AWESOME! Then frosting time. Mix the cool whip and the pudding. EASY and SOOOO GOOD!

Monday-MY DAY OFF!!!!!!! Well Aiden apparently didn't know that and woke up at 6am.....Oh well. He was freakin cute and we both curled up on the floor after his bottle and went to sleep. I love him so much!

Next, I went with Regina and Chris to Hancock Fabrics....and what did I get....Houndstooth flannel fabric! YAH! I'm going to make a tie applique out of it and use red stitching for a white onesie perfect for game day. Also, a burpcloth, bib, and who knows what else. Maybe some pants since it's getting cold now. YAH for that!!!!! ROLL TIDE!

Then they had their Simplicity patterns on sale. YAH! So I found the perfect thing for Boo. A perfect christmas present for a perfect son! Now I have to decide which cute animal to make...........decisions!

I thought this next pattern was adorable. I loved the hood. However, I would need to make it "manly"...so I'll make one "cute" with like puppies or airplanes and the other one like a camo.

Crawling

This is one of the many many reasons why I love Aiden. He is sooo cute! He crawled from one side of the living room to the other to just see his best friend. Murphy!!! Precious! He got so excited when he reached his destination.

Sorry the quality is bad, need to get a better MOD converter.