15 Months

Dear Patrick,

         15 months! I remember thinking that 15 months seemed so far away this time last year. I wondered what you would be able to do, and I remember looking at 12 month clothes thinking you would never be able to fit into those! Now you are running everywhere and barely fitting into 12 month clothes! It makes me a little sad to think about, but so proud of all you have accomplished!

         You probably weight around 23 pounds now, but that’s just a guess. You eat a TON, so you had to have put on weight! You are getting so tall and are probably around 30 inches, if not taller! We go to your official 15 month check up next week so we will know more then. You are in size 4 diaper, but are starting to grow out of those too, and 12 – 18 month clothing. You also wear a size 4 shoe, even though you would much rather run around barefoot!

         You eat like a moose! So may people comment that they can’t believe how much you eat! On a typical day your normally eat breakfast around 8:30 and will have an egg and a banana and blueberries, or a waffle instead of the egg. You have a small snack of goldfish around 10:30. Lunch is at 12:00 and normally consists of yogurt, two different fruits and maybe some crackers or hummus. You have another snack around 4:00 after your nap, which includes goldfish or teddy grahams, and then dinner at 6:00 which is normally whatever we are having. You eat so much and sometimes still ask for more! What a growing boy!

         This month you learned how to stand up on your own instead of using furniture. It’s so cute. You have to stick your butt up in the air as you push yourself up. It’s quite funny to watch. Unfortunately you have also started to hit! I’m not sure if it’s just to see our reaction, or if you really know what you are doing. Either way, it better stop soon! Right now when we reprimand you, you smile and laugh! That won’t work! I hope you understand that hitting is NOT nice soon!

         Patrick even though you are starting to show your stubborn side, you are still really cute, and it makes it hard to be upset with you for long! I know there will be times that you test your Daddy’s and my patience, but always remember we love you and want what is best for you! We can’t wait to see what you do this month!

Love,

Mommy

5 Years

Today, Michael and I have been married for five years! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. We have survived a deployment to Iraq, and the pregnancy and birth of our first son! I love him even more now then I did then.

Today he also returns home from his two week AT (Insert excited squeal here!) I told him I didn't want anything for my birthday besides a date night out to my favorite sushi restaurant. He has planned that for tonight, and even arranged care for Patrick. To say I am excited it an understatment!

Michael, I love you more now than ever. You are an amazing husband and father and I can't wait to see what there is in store for the next five years.

Pinterest

Since Michael has been gone, I have been doing a lot (besides playing with Patrick and cleaning the house!) Pinterest is a serious problem that I have! I just can't stop pinning things, it's horrible! Here are the projects that I have done so far:

Patrick now has lots of new CUTE onesies! I need to start putting these on regular T-shirts, but I haven't found ones without pockets! Suggestions? I know he will thank me later for his cute wardrobe (Insert Michael's eyeroll here!)

Ok, so this wasn't Pinterest inspired, but we needed to plant plants on the side of the house to finish off our gardening. I took care of that! Ignore the weeds, I am letting Michael finish those off....and mulch!

This is a wood growth chart I made for Patrick. The numbers aren't on yet because I haven't quite decided how to do it yet. It is supposed to look antiqued or distressed. I thought I did very well with that, then my Dad came over and was confused by the whole concept. HA. Oh well!

Yes, just call me Martha. This was done on burlap. CUTE.

This is our front door. I ordered the Welcome from Etsy, because I wasn't quite that talented (and didn't own a Criket machine) but the burlap wreath I made!

I am quite impressed with my talent! I already have other projects in mind, but I need Michael to sand things when he gets home! I know he is beyond thrilled!

Patience

We are more than halfway through this two week AT and I feel stupid and ridiculous even feeling like this. I am exhausted. Words can't even describe the exhaustion. I am just tired. Tired of doing everything around here. Don't get me wrong, I do most everything anyway, but the at least Michael is normally here to give me a 5 minute reprieve.

Not to mention Patrick is starting to get a stubborn streak in him. He is also starting to hit. I am torn as to what to do with that. I have been smacking his hand and firmly saying "No." I would much prefer a timeout to hitting. It doesn't make sense to me...hitting him because he hit me. Don't get me wrong, I believe a kid needs a good spanking every now and then (if the need arises) but Patrick is too little to understand a time out. Any suggestions?

Today, he was hitting his head against the wall (Why?) so I moved him from the wall and tried to distract him with other toys. Well he didn't like that, came over and smacked my leg! I said, "No, we don't hit Mommy." To which he smiled, and hit me again! Ughhh. Then I smacked his hand and sat him on the carpet away from me, again saying 'No.' He cried that time, but then came right back and did it again! What do I do?

By the end of the day I am spent and my patience is gone. I feel so bad getting short with him or yelling, when he is so little and doesn't understand why I am doing it. After bath time today he would NOT sit still long enough for me to get his diaper on, even after handing him everything I had in arms reach to distract. I yelled at him, and he started crying. My heart hurt. Seriously. But what do I do? After I put him down for bedtime, I felt so bad I went back up and rocked him.

When I tell Michael he always suggests getting my parents to watch him for a bit. Well that's nice, but then I feel like a failure. Why can't I watch him and just handle it. It's two weeks for crying out loud. I did it for a whole freaking year and survived and I am struggling with TWO WEEKS. What the hell would I do if he deployed?

Ugh. For now I am going to have a glass of wine and feel like the WMOY...Worst mom of the year.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is such a great Mom. She coached me in field hockey since I was old enough to hold a stick, gave me advice and guided me. She never pushed, but instead let me come to my own decisions, but was always close by if I needed her. Now she has turned into a great friend. She swears we have always had a 'connection.' She claims when I was a baby, when she would walk by the room, I would ALWAYS wake up out of a dead sleep and look for her. She also claims that she knew I was pregnant before I even told her (She may be crazy too!)

Love at first site! Patrick loves his Nana!

Happy Birthday Momma! I hope I can be half the Mom you have been to me.

House Tour

Ok, so this post took long enough for me to get together! We still have pictures to hang and furniture to sand and repaint, and boxes to unpack (still!) but here it is! Welcome to our House!

Front of house (obviously!)

Our (Michael's) office. We still have many things to hang in here!

This is our entry way when you walk through the front door. Off to the left, is our office. 

Once you walk through the entry way, past the office and stairs you walk into the family room. It has two story ceilings and you can look up into the loft area. 

Off of the family room is our kitchen. I LOVE this area. We have so much counter and cabinet space it's amazing. Off to the left (behind the cat) is all counter space and the oven. I guess I should have done a better job of taking pictures! You can see our breakfast area off to the right in the dark. If you look in the left corner of the picture there is a doorway that takes you to the laundry room and an entry to the garage.

If you look back at the entry way photo, there is a doorway off to the right. This leads to our master bedroom and a half bath across. I didn't take a picture of the bath, but here is our bedroom. Again, in LOVE.

Master bathroom. Double sinks, shower and claw foot tub on the left. Straight ahead is our closet. Not the best lighting...I should have turned more on!

At the top of the stairs is the loft area. Patrick's room is right on the left at the top of the stairs (He is asleep so you get that picture some other time!) This is where we keep some of his toys. He loves it!

Loft, another view. I love that you can see downstairs.

Guest room upstairs - a work in progress!

Another bedroom upstairs. Again, a work in progress. There is a bathroom attached to this room, and a huge storage area. The door isn't pictures but it's to the left of whats in the picture. 

Upstairs bath

We are so happy with everything and we are loving living here. The neighborhood is nice and quiet and Patrick loves playing outside! I am excited we have off in the summer because now I have time to really turn the house into our home!

Sorry about the picture taking and format. I don't claim to be a photographer!

Another Year Older

Today I turn the big 2-8. I don't like that number. When I hit 27 this past year I was a little sad, I am getting OLD! I know many people will laugh at that, but for some reason that number just seems old to me.

28. We are supposed to have our ten year reunion this year (which I don't think I am going to anyway) which is just crazy to me! I have been out of school for ten years? Where has that time gone?

I look at my life and am so amazed at how much I have accomplished in 28 years. I have my Master's degree, a good job, an amazing husband, a smart and handsome son, and a gorgeous house. Does it get much better than that?

Today, my husband is away (like every other year....I can't remember the last time we spent my birthday together!) but little man and I plan on having some fun. Today will be our first pool day! It is supposed to be HOT, so he won't stay in too long! I plan on taking the pack and play to my Mom's and putting him down for his nap and then I can get some much needed relaxation and sun! After that, maybe I will go to dinner with Patrick too! He can be my birthday date!

While I may not like the age, I am thankful for another year to spend with my amazing family and friends and look forward to what the next year brings!