Guilty?

Doesn't this face just scream "I'm guilty as charged."?

I think so.

But it's also absolutely precious. And it is just life with a boy.

Bye-Bye Bottle

It's official: we're broken of the before-bed bottle!!! Woo hoo!! We should have stopped it about three months ago but we got too comfortable with it as part of the routine.

We began breaking it last Monday night by seeing how he would react if we just didn't give him one. Instead of his bottle after bath, we put him in his pajamas and took him in the living room for some more play time. After twenty or so minutes, we put him in bed and he fell asleep. WHAAAAT? Could it have been this easy all along??

We decided to try again Tuesday night and...same thing. Right to sleep.

So I decided that was it! We now give him a light snack of fruit or cheese and a tiny bit of milk in a cup before bath, and then that's it! On Wednesday, I packed up all of the bottles and liners and put them away so that there would be no cheating and giving him one when things got rough. We're over a week in and the child has seriously not even noticed. I'm so excited because I anticipated that to be a bad weaning. I'm also sad because that's another part of babyhood gone. :(

Next step: pacifier. That one won't be as pretty - I know it.

Hug me.

Date Night and an Overnight

It's been awhile since Seth and I have had a true date night--or rather, one that didn't involve kids' chicken fingers. My sister proposed that we have a "kid swap" and exchange free babysitting.

Our night was this past Saturday - I had scored a wicked deal to get two movie tickets for $9 (which later turned into free because, on LivingSocial.com, if three other buy the deal after you post about it, yours becomes free). I also recently purchased a $25 gift card to a local restaurant for $3. THREE DOLLARS. So this date night had the potential to be pretty cheap!

We went up to my mom's on Saturday morning, had breakfast and stayed until about 3:00. Carter was napping at my parent's when we left, but then went out to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jason's for the night, as we planned. Michelle texted me lots of pics throughout the night - little man had a LOT of fun with his cousins (and they liked entertaining "Carker"). OF COURSE the little stinker slept til 7:45 a.m. on Sunday (why wouldn't he???).

Seth and I had a lot of fun - we went to see a movie which we haven't done in awhile, and then went for dinner. We both got filet and agreed it was the best filet we've had in a LONG time.

Michelle and Jason had Bentley too so we got to enjoy a quiet night of sleep (HA - yeah right, since instead of Carter and Bentley, we got Irene), and even got to sleep in a bit.

It was so nice to get to spend time alone with Seth - I truly feel that it is incredibly important part of a marriage to make plans to spend time together and stick to them. Of course, I missed the little rascal so much and it was only one night.

How could you possibly NOT miss this??

We have McKenna and Eli this Saturday as part of the swap. I'm sure stories will follow. :)

Last Year/This Year

Last year at this time, my baby boy weighed 16 pounds.

This year, my toddler weighs 31 pounds.

Last year at this time, he was wearing size 1/2 diapers.

This year, he is wearing size 5 diapers.

Last year at this time, my little man was wearing size 3 month clothing.

This year, he is wearing size 24 months.

Last year at this time, Carter was starting his first day of daycare.

This year, Carter is a seasoned professional and sometimes cries when it's time to leave to go home.

Last year at this time, Carter was saying "goo" and "gah."

This year, he says mama, dada, Bubba, bubble, duck, turtle, ball, all done, and more; he signs when he wants "more" and when he is "all done" and makes sounds for cows, tigers, trains, and trucks.

Last year at this time, my baby love was waking up every 3 hours during the night.

This year (And, for the love of all things good, KNOCK ON WOOD), he almost 100% sleeps through the night.

Last year at this time, he was the love of our life.

This year, he is the love of our life.

Some things change, but some things never will.

Want to get the full flashback? Check out his 3 month recap.

Hersheypark Happy!

Because we aren't quite crazy enough, we opted to take our 15-month-old to Hersheypark today! We had free tickets, so we figured that even if things went south and he hated it, we wouldn't be out of an astronomical amount of money (seriously, at $55.95 per person, how do those people sleep at night?!?!).

Our plan was to hit the road by 8:30 a.m. and hope that he would doze off in the car for a little morning nap-a-roo...worked like a charm! He slept the whole way there, and we even sat in the car for a little to give him a few extra minutes. We were at the gates nice and early with all of the other people who had the same idea as us to be there as soon as it opened to avoid some lines. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. In the meantime, we measured the little guy so we knew what rides he could definitely go on.

He's a Hershey's miniature, by the way. And the cutest one ever, I might add. :)

When the gates opened, we went right for the carrousel for his very first ride ever. He seemed impartial to it while we waited for it to start, and he chewed nervously on his finger the whole time. It was absolutely precious.

Then, we hit up his first "thrill" ride. It was absolutely hysterical. When the ride started, he got SO nervous and clamped onto my arm and slid over on the seat. Again, totally precious. I laughed the whole time and a few laps around the track, and he was loving it!

Throughout the morning, we went on many kiddie rides and some family rides - the train (I almost died watching my loves on this - it was SO CUTE to see their blonde heads side-by-side), the antique cars (daddy drove!), the busy bees (a kiddie coaster), the cars/trucks/motorcycle (mommy and Carter had to squeeze into the front of the fire truck - I am 5'4" and my legs were SQUISHED), and a couple of others.

By then, we were all hungry so we found a nice, uncrowded place to eat. Carter had a hot dog, applesauce, and milk and then was rarin' to go again! :) After lunch, we took it easy and did the ferris wheel.

As we were passing by the tidal force (a water ride that splashes bystanders), I decided that it would be a fun idea to wheel the stroller into the "splash zone" and stand there with him to get a little mist. Well, needless to say, it was a FULL boat and we got absolutely soaked. It was unreal. Carter FREAKED - poor, innocent little boy. Good thing it was hot and we dried quickly. I seriously had to take off my glasses to dry them, pull my shirt away from my body, and run my fingers through my now-wet hair. Lovely, huh? :)

After some soft-serve, Carter was getting super sleepy so we decided to head toward the monorail and call it a day. He was literally in his stroller for two minutes and he was out cold. We never made it to the monorail because strollers weren't allowed and we didn't want to wake him up, so we headed to the car. We were happy that we made it four hours, and thought Carter did really well for his first time at an amusement park.

It was so much fun!!!! We were definitely Hersheypark happy! :)

A Best Friend Happy Birthday!!

You know how when you're growing up, your mom says "some of your best friends in life will be ones you make in college."? I remember chuckling at that and think ok mom, whatever you say.

Well, it's true. I am still best friends with a handful of people from high school who I know will be best friends for life, but one of my very best friends is from college.

And today is her birthday!! :)

If you know me, you know Allie. She's fabulous and gorgeous and sweet and hilarious and sarcastic....and she lives too far away. I'm sad and missing her right now because I have not seen her since Christmastime, and have been stalking Expedia for a cheap plane ticket to Atlanta to visit her. Right now, they are like $450!! How do the people at these airlines sleep at night?!?!?!

I told the story before - we met the very first day of freshman year and we didn't like each other (that whole petty 18-year-old thing, ya know?). By day two, we were becoming friends, and I think by day three, we were connected at the hip.

And since then (2002) - almost TEN years of being best friends - she's been there for break-ups and deaths in the family, bad grades and awesome spring break trips, funny texts and inside jokes. I simply cannot imagine my life with her, and am certain college would not have been as fun.

So, happy birthday, my wonderful friend. I hope you have a blessed day! I love you!

Wordless Wednesday

Home Alone...and a Weekend Away

For the past two weeks (minus two weekend days), I've been operating as a single mother while Seth has been away for work.

I now have a whole new appreciation for single mothers.

And some gray hair.

We survived, and quite honestly, things went better than I thought they would. Aside from the fact that I had to take an hour of vacation every day at work because I had to leave to get Carter from daycare (something Seth normally does most days), the fact that talking to Seth was virtually impossible since he lost his cell phone at Cedar Point, and the fact that we had some interesting dinners, we made it and I had fun bonding one-on-one with my little man. We did a lot of outdoor playing, a lot of multi-tasking, a lot of book reading and ball playing, a lot less laundry, and some other fun mommy-son things, like a weekend away at camp with cousins, aunts, and great grandparents.

We headed to camp on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. Aunt Michelle, McKenna, Carter, and I squished in a teeny tiny room where I promptly began the prayers that Carter would choose these days to sleep through the night and not wake everyone up in our room and the rest of the cabin (note: he did sleep through the night each night, though the first morning he did get up at 5:05 a.m. My goodness.)

We took the kids to the playground, to the camp store for some fun new toys, and to play in the creek. We went for lunch at the camp lunch stand (where Carter refused chicken nuggets...what kid refuses chicken nuggets!?!?), took lots of walks, watched Veggie Tales, played in the water table, and went for a drive to a somewhat nearby mall for the 75% off kids clothes sale.

Carter did great while we were there, and seemed to really enjoy his second year at camp (we went last year, too, when he was only three months old!).

Here are some pictures of our time playing and splashing in the creek near the cabin - they both loved it!

Now, we're glad that daddy is back home!! This weekend, we are taking Squirt to Hersheypark. Should be a great time. I am so excited to see him on the kiddie rides. A post will surely follow after this!

Jump, Jump!

With being two full-time working parents, Seth and I like to squeeze some additional family fun in on the weekends. This past Saturday, we took Carter to Monkey Joe's, a local bounce place for kids age 12 and under. There is even a special "tot zone" for kids under 3, which was part of what drew me in. He's never been in a bounce house before, and I had a feeling he might be a bit skiddish at first. The place was super cheap ($5 for kids under 3, parents are free!) so we figured if he hated it, we'd just head out.

We got there promptly at opening time (10 a.m.) because we knew it was only a matter of time before he got sleepy.

He was a little nervous at first, but once he got his 'sea legs,' he had a blast! For the first 10-15 minutes, we had the whole tot zone to ourselves, so he had some time to get used to everything.

That is one handsome little boy! :)

Before we left, we explored the building a bit and we found a little arcade. Carter played his first arcade game - Whack a mole! - and it was absolutely precious. He got 12 points (with some help) and his momma was so proud!

Around 11:30, he started laying down in the bounce house like he wanted to take a nap, so we headed next door to the mall to go to the food court and then home for naptime. It was lots of fun and we'd definitely go back again!

He Loves His Daddy...

He was daddy's biggest fan at the softball game tonight. He stood and the fence and cheered and yelled for him.

It was absolutely precious and I love both of my boys (all three of my boys if you count the furry one). :)

[Recipe] Crockpot Pulled Pork

Oh my word, this pulled pork is amazing. On day while at work, I randomly remembered that we had a pork butt or shoulder (seems like they come from very different parts, so I'd be able to recall which, but I don't) in the freezer that needed to be used. So I called Seth and told him to get it out and start thawing it while I found a recipe.

I came across this recipe on My Baking Addiction, and decided to give it a whirl.

Vedict? YUM. It didn't take nearly as long as it said (we had it cranked on high), and it was even more amazing with a squirt of delicious barbeque sauce and a spoonful of pickle relish on top.

Crockpot Pulled Pork
Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction (I made tweaks on her recipe; my recipe changes are below)

Ingredients

1/2 to 1 large onion, chopped
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
A generous squirt (probably 4 tablespoons) of your favorite barbeque sauce (with more for the top later)
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Couple shakes of cayenne pepper

Directions

Place chopped onions in crockpot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, barbeque sauce, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle the mixture over roast.

Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 8 (we only did 5 and it was pull apart wonderful). Add any additional barbeque you feel you want in there.

Shred the meat and return it to the crockpot for the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Serve on warm rolls with more barbeque sauce and some pickle relish and ENJOY.