30 Days of Blogging- Day 23

Something I crave- SLEEP!
This morning, we woke up at 3 am to head to Lewiston to pick up Mike's niece Sienna. We wanted to leave so that we could get to Lewiston by the time Grayson would wake up for the day. Of course- the night Mike and I wanted to be able to go to sleep early- we found ourselves wide awake. Normally, nights Mike needs to do stuff, he can't stay awake while putting Grayson to bed....
So, we drove to Lewiston at 3 am, we just got home at 4 pm....we are TIRED!!!!

Sienna is going to California with us. We hope to leave tomorrow night and drive all night so that Grayson and Sienna can sleep that time frame. So, Because of that, Mike is napping right now (5 pm) and then he is going to stay up late tonight, doing the last of his homework, then he will wake up normal time and go to bed tomorrow afternoon so he can be well rested to drive most of the night. I will take over driving in the morning.
We are super excited for vacation! We have a special surprise in store for Sienna.....but I can't share it yet because that would not be fun.....

30 Days of Blogging- Day 22

What is in my purse? Most moms answer (well at least when they have a child Grayson's age) that they don't have a purse- but a diaper bag....
Well, I HATE diaper bags. I can't bring myself to spend a ton on the ones I do like, and I hate the plastic, huge ones.
SO- I have a purse that I use as a diaper bag.
In it I have:

• a fold up changing mat that has diapers and wipes in it
• an extra outfit for Grayson in case there is a blowout or something
• those ring/link toys
• a board book
• hand sanitizer
• lotion
• painkiller for me- in case I have a major headache
• heart burn medicine
• a few pens
• a pack of gum

That is it. I have a little zipper wallet/coin purse that fits all my ID and cash and stuff that I keep in my back pocket. Pretty simple stuff.

I am going to try and not miss a day- however, we are heading on vacation soon- so I might....IF  I do- I will just start where I left off.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 21

Today I am supposed to share my favorite picture of me of all time...LOL!
Well, it isn't my favorite of ALL TIME, but is my favorite that I have loaded up on this computer.....

Why is this one my favorite? You would think my favorite would be one with Grayson in it (and it actually is but I used it for Day 1 so I picked something different). I love this one because it is a rare picture of me with a smile that I like. It also shows my eyes. My eyes are my favorite feature. Lastly, it is unique. I only wear a hat in the winter- and I don't take many pictures in the winter- so this is rare to find a picture of me- in my favorite hat.
This picture was taken the winter I was pregnant with Grayson.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 20

Turd and Turd Nugget are terms of affection in our home. Today is blogging about Nicknames....these are the main ones in our house. There is actually a funny story behind it.

Mike has always called me Turd when I tease him.

One day we were playing Scattegories. (You know the one where you roll a letter, then you have a list of 12 things and you have to come up with things for them that start with that letter...)
Our letter was T. Well, one of the items we had to come up with was a term of endearment. I answered all the others, thought long and hard and wrote down Turd.
Mike tried to challenge it. The conversation went something like this.
Mike "That is not a term of endearment."
Me "Yes it is."
Mike "It is not."
Me "It is. You call me a turd all the time and I know you would NEVER use anything but a term of endearment with me, right?"
Mike, shaking his head and smiling "Turd."

I one that argument...and the game. So now I am Turd, Grayson is Turd Nugget.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 19

WOW- I almost forgot about this today. There is a lot going on at our house right now between getting ready for Spring Break, a bathroom being remodeled by the Managemnt Company because upstairs neighbors flooded our ceiling and walls, and more....and I guess I just didn't think about it.
Today's post is something I miss. Well, I miss the sun....but it came out a little today....so the other thing I miss:

THE BOLANDER FAMILY!!!!!

I miss them living close by so we could hang out at night and play games. I miss seeing the kids, talking with Terrie, and more.

I am so excited that they will be moving closer this summer. We are already trying to decide when we will go seethem first.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 18

Today is about my favorite place to eat. I have several places I like, but different things at each one.
I LOVE Olive Garden for the breadsticks. Chili's has an AWESOME dessert (Molten Lava Cake) and Texas Roadhouse has some great steak.
However, we like to go to The Cracker Barrel the most. We love the country store part and they have some great food. Mike is a HUGE fan of the homemade Macaroni and Cheese. I love that I can fill up on a kids meal.

But really, we eat at home mostly. Eating out is expensive and we have only done it a hand full of times since Grayson was born.

10 Months!!!!

Where has the time gone? My baby boy is 10 months old! Not only that, he is WALKING!

This is him today, walking out to the car with Mike. It was really cute because he would keep stopping to look at everything around him.

So here are some 10 month stats:

Weight: Actually, not sure on this one. He has not been weighed for a while. We packed up our baby scale. I will do the weigh myself holding him and without him tomorrow and come and update this. UPDATE: He is just under 17 pounds

Diapers: Size 3

Clothing: Finally has outgrown his last item of 0-3 month clothing. He can still wear some Carters 3 month (different than 0-3) because they are much longer. He is mostly in 3-6, although a few things he is wearing 6-9 months (mostly Gerber onesies) and some brands that have 100% cotton shirts, after I wash them he can wear and they are 12 months. They look a little big- but not too bad. I still mostly dress him in 3-6 though.

Shoe Size: 2, except a weird brand I found that he needs size 3 because they run REALLY small.

Other items of business:

He climbs like crazy, walks- although he is just starting this so he will often drop down into a crawl half way to his destination, dances, bounces, rolls balls, just started clapping, can push most of his toys- including the lights and sounds table, shakes his head no, feeds himself finger foods really well, drinks from both a sippy and regular cup, knows how to open the wipes container, and can take off his shoes.

He says Banana, and just today started saying Mama to me. He loves to sing and scream

He LOVES finger foods. He also had Spaghetti for the first time this last week.

His other favorite foods are bananas (of course), toast, plain yogurt, applesauce, and unfortunately puffs and yogurt melts and the things I call baby cheetos- they are made by Gerber and I can't remember what they are really called. He loves the sweet potato, spinach, tomato basil, and blueberry flavors of those things. He also likes to eat ANYTHING we are eating...be it chicken, potatos, pasta, or anything else. We can not eat in front of him without giving him some of OUR food....even if he has his own food. He knows if it is different.

While at Grandma and Grandpa's today, he discovered the piano and gave us his first recital

Blogger's video upload is not working right now, so I will add the video later.

2 more months and my lil man will be a year old. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 17

Here are some things that I am looking forward to right now-

The SUN!!! Both when we go to California next week and when it decides to hang around Boise more. I am so ready for warm weather, trips to the park, walks outside, and days at the zoo....In Caliornia I am excited for the beach, spending time with friends, and more.

Of course- there is something else I am looking forward to....2 months from today....

Grayson's first birthday! I can't believe he is almost a year old. I will do a separate post for his 10 month stats today.

I am also looking forward to a few small trips this summer, Disneyland in October, the Bolanders moving much closer, and more.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 16

My Dream House- Well, I mostly want a house that is big enough for my family and our needs. Nothing super fancy. I have a few things I would like to have- double ovens, lots of counter space (my parents home had tons and it was so nice), a BIG laundry room (also my parents house has a HUGE one and it is wonderful), and nice big rooms for family to gather in during holidays (another great thing my parents home has). The one thing I really want though is a nice big yard for my kids (Grayson & Mike...oh and any future babes) to play outside in. Yep- my parents house had that too. Unlike my parents home though- I would like a bigger master bedroom then they have- with it's own bathroom attached to it. I would like to have a room to have as an office/craft room, and maybe also double as a guest room.
However- I know with our current situation- Mike still in school, finances, etc...purchasing a home is quite a ways away. So now, we make due with what we have....even though our home is quite cramped...it still has the most important aspects of my dream home- FAMILY, LOVE, THE GOSPEL.

30 Days of Blogging- Day 15

I have made it halfway without  missing a single day! HOORAY! That is really good for me.
Today I am supposed to share a bible verse. To be honest, I would have rather it said scripture.... While I LOVE the Bible and have a few versus in there that I really love, the scriptures that have stood out to me the most in different times in my life have been in the Book of Mormon. However- there is one scripture that I love from the Bible since I was a teenager.
In John Chapter 14 Christ speaks a lot about comfort. This is a wonderful chapter.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:

Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

Let not your heart be troubled,

Neither let it be afraid.

Walking and Crashing

I guess I spoke too soon. Grayson decided he would venture on his own today as soon as I finished my last post. I was trying to just let him walk and get a video of it- but he would get to interested in the camera and you could see his little thought process "Forget this, I can get there faster by crawling." So, Mike helped me control the enviorment a little more. However, Grayson gets so excited when he gets close to his destination that he tries running and falls.

Also, Mike is so nervous about him falling that he doesn't like to let him go.

I sound like a nagging wife in the beginning and a hyena at the end...but this isn't about me. It is about those adorable first steps.

(Also, ignore the pile of clothes on the couch that are waiting to be folded.)

I am sure once he gets into a more open area he will just take off.

BaNaNa

That is OFFICIALLY Grayson's first word. Yep- that is right- Banana! Not Mama, or Dada- BANANA!
He can say the entire word! He still says nana half the time, or he will say bana-na (a pause before the last syllable) but both yesterday and today while I was holding a banana for us to share for breakfast he said it perfectly clear- BANANA

Also- he is so close to being a full walker- but with how slowly he has gone through the walking phases (we are at 3 months of couch walking) I don't want to get to excited yet. He will walk holding on  to just one of our fingers, and he takes several steps on his own several times a day to take shortcuts from one part of the couch to the other.

He is growing up so fast!

30 Days of Blogging- Day 14

A picture of me last year. Well, last year I was pregnant, and this is the only picture I have that actually shows my face and my belly. Mike snapped it while I was at the park, actually showing someone else how I wanted them to stand for a maternity shot, and trying to not laugh. But it was still nice to have one.

How has my life changed since then:

Well, I now have a wonderful, gorgeous, energetic little boy in my life! I have the hardest but best job in the world now. I get to spend my day playing with toys and listening to kids music. Although, there are days that I crave adult activities, I am mostly loving being a stay-at-home-mom. I am grateful for a husband who works really hard in order to allow me to stay home. I am thankful that I have been able to coupon and more in order to help cut our bills down to lower the stress of me being home.

Most of all, I am thankful that Heavenly Father knew when was the right time to send this special spirit to us. Grayson is such a blessing in our lives and I can't imagine life any other way!

30 Days of Blogging- Day 13

Goals. I must admit, I am not a huge goal person. However, I think they are important. If you don't have goals that you are striving for, then really, you don't progress much. Since we are here to learn and progress, it is important that we have some kind of goals, even if not the standard "do this by such and such a date" type goal.
Here are some goals I have been working on:

• Organizing my home. I had a great routine down pat after 8 1/2 years of marriage....and then I became a mom and that routine, well, it went out the window. Crazy how someone can find themselves home all day and not be able to do any housework. But, I am getting better. Problem for me now is I got so far behind it is overwhelming to try and catch up. But I am doing it...slowly but surely. Plus, the living area of our home is much more cramped then pre-baby and we are still trying to find a way to make it work for us.
• Lose weight/Become healthier. Really, I could care less about the number on the scale. I think they are mis-leading. So much goes into it. However, it does help me to stay motivated to see that number going down. I don't have a set "weight" I want to be at. I just know I need to lose at least X amount to be in a range where I am not judged at first glance by doctors, and then after that, I just care about being at a size I am comfortable with and feel good at.
• Find a balance of activities that keep both Grayson and I happy. This one is ever changing of course. One day Grayson loves a toy, the next he is bored with it. Yet, I have been doing good recently. We are both much happier.
• Give up soda. This one is hard for me. I don't drink TONS of soda, but I drink maybe 1 a day. I have given it up in the past, but for some reason, this time it is much, much harder.
• Learn to cook more variety of meals. We eat about the same 10 meals in our home. I want to add some other things so that Grayson learns to love all different foods.

I am sure there are many more, but that is more than enough to bore all of you. I am almost half way through this challenge and have not missed a day yet! WOOHOO!