Day 36

I had a pretty good day today... it was Saturday and of course, I wasn't sure if I would get to sleep in or not (I prayed that I could) and Steve let me. <3

This morning we spent a little time hanging out on the bed with Gus and played with the cats. It was so nice and Gus seemed to enjoy himself.

 

We still had one last Hibachi Xpress Groupon to use so we went for lunch today because it expires on the 17th and we won't be here! The experience was greatly underwhelming and we both had some intentional failure as a result of the food today. No fun.

After lunch we headed out to do our weekly grocery trip. We did really well today and spent less than $100 on groceries... it was actually closer to $70ish I believe. This is a HUGE improvement from the $150-$200 trips that have come of late.

Gus seems to be enjoying his new car seat. It doesn't have the fun toys there for him to play with, but he likes it just the same. Here are some picture that I took while we drove around this afternoon:

 

While we were out today, we stopped by the Holly Springs branch of the Wake County Library and got ourselves library cards! We're both excited to check out the ebooks that our library has. Steve was very disappointed to see that almost all the ebooks that he wanted were out. They definitely need a bigger selection!!

When we got home from our shopping, Gus took a nice nap and then later when he was up, we played downstairs for a while. We had left-overs for dinner. 

I HATE left-overs. I wish I liked them though, because it's so much easier to just nuke something than to make it from scratch like I do just about every night. I swear... I'm a regular Betty Crocker. Call me Dolly Domestic if you will. :) I've got mad culinary skills (just ask Steve).

While we ate our left-overs (me: pizza  Steve: manicotti), Gus played and then we fed him. He's such a good boy. I think the battle over solids is over, as long as he can eat what we're eating. He wants NOTHING to do with pureed foods or anything like that. He does like his yogurt and apples and peaches, but that's it. I'm okay with that.

After we ate, Steve and Gus were playing and Gus was sticking his hands inside Steve's mouth. He looked like a miniature dentist.

 

Say "Ahhhh" daddy!

I realized that I only had pictures from my iPhone today and the quality stinks. So I decided to take some pictures of Gus this evening with my good camera. I only took a few, but the ones that I took were definitely keepers!!

 

Tomorrow is Sunday and the Superbowl. We're not going anywhere and I'm so excited. I can sit around in my comfy pants and watch football in my own house. I don't have to deal with a bunch of drunks, or people that I don't really feel like being around... and I can do as I please! :)  I do hope the Packers win though... I really hate the Steelers.

See you tomorrow!

>^..^<

 

Day 35

I am so glad that it's Friday! It's been a long week! This morning I got a call from a good friend from college telling me that another friend of ours, lost her husband Wednesday night from a massive heart attack. He was young and I don't know much else, but they had been trying to get pregnant for a few years and she had recently asked me about adoption. She just found out, not too long ago, that they're pregnant with twins. I cannot even imagine what she's going through right now.

It made me think about how thankful I am for Steve in my life. Not only is he Gus's father, but he's my very best friend and my whole world. I love him so much and know that he and I were meant to go through all that we went through in the past to get to each other and find the love that we have. 


Gus had a pretty good day today. Our cleaning lady came and did a great job making the house smell good. It was relatively clean before she came, and she said, "Either you've hired another cleaning lady, or you've been busy cleaning." LOL

I'm so excited to see my family in 12 days! It seems like it's been forever. My niece was almost 11 months the last time I saw her (in July) and was just starting to walk... now she's almost 18 months and I'm sure I'll be amazed at how she's grown. I can't wait to see my SIL's belly too... little Charlie is in there and the next time I see them will be right after she is born in May!

I took some pictures of Gus today (shocking I know) and here are my favorites:

This weekend we don't have anything planned so it'll be nice to just do nothing. The house is clean and we have nothing to do but relax. I'm ready to go relax with my man... see you tomorrow!
>^..^<

Day 34

What a day! Gus was intent on waking up EARLY this morning and I haven't felt rested all day. He is teething and was a beast today!! He tested the limits all day and it was exhausting!

His morning started by coming into the bedroom with me and hanging out in his rocking chair while I cleaned and folded clothes. Well, he decided to get out of his chair (yes... even with being strapped in, he managed to wiggle himself to a standing position)! It was a battle of wills and I had to enforce some discipline and tell him to sit down. He finally got the idea, but it was a process of tears and then smiles as he was trying to stand, and me telling him to sit down and redirect. Oy Vei!

 

Sitting with Ned... the morning had just begun

Then we came downstairs and after playing for a bit, he decided to climb into the rocker chair that was downstairs. I was AMAZED that he was able to climb into the chair on his own. Then he chose to stand up in the chair... and then tried to climb on the cats' scratching post! Well... it ended badly and he fell face-first onto the floor.

 

See the scratching post to the right...

Gus then decided to eat a magazine... he literally crumbled it into a wad and stuck it in his mouth (he's trying to get anything he can into his mouth to ease the teething pain I presume). He also decided to try and eat my laptop cord. He pulled it out of my computer and stuck it into his mouth.

 

Yes... that's my laptop cord in his mouth

So even as Gus is doing all these things, he's watching me to see what I'll do. When I redirect, he starts to make a frowny face and starts to cry. He doesn't like to be told no. Then he'll smile and start to continue. It's a fun game. He decided that he wanted to be picked up and held, and then I'd pick him up and hold him and he instantly wanted down. Then I'd put him down and he wanted back up. This was repeated ALL DAY. :D

Steve got home and brought us some pizza (I didn't have it in me to cook dinner... I was literally mentally drained). While I ate, Steve played on the floor with Gus (it was really sweet).

I love that Gus is trying to hold his bottle on his own. It's neat to me that he's gaining more independence and really wants to do some things for himself.

Bedtime came around 7:15 and Gus climbed the stairs up to his room and then it was time to say goodnight. I hope that he'll sleep all night and not wake at all. I'm going to bed because it was a LONG day. 

Tomorrow our cleaning lady comes. I love having her, but hate Fridays because I feel "trapped" in my house. She'll be here from 9-12. BLA.

See you tomorrow!
>^..^<

Day 33

 

Day 33

 

Gus at the park today

So we started the day off by having only one goal: Get to a park and enjoy the 70+ degree day! I texted Wendy to see if they wanted to go to the park and we decided to pack a picnic lunch, pick up K from pre-school and then head to the park in Apex. 

Before heading to the park, I took some pictures of Gus. He's such a cutie and I love taking pictures of him and trying to practice my skills. Here are my favorites from this morning:

We headed out to pick up K at 12:15 and then headed to Kelly Road Park. I had never been there or heard of it, but I loved it. It was big and had a lot of great equipment for the kids to play on. 

 

Entrance to the park

 

Gus in his stroller ready to play!

We decided to eat first and then go play. Gus enjoyed a bottle while I ate a sandwich. My mom called me while I was sitting outside enjoying the fresh warm air, and she was telling me about how much snow they got. It's always amazing to me how very different the weather can be between MI and NC. I know that 12 hours is a huge difference, but usually it's only a 10-15 degree difference. Today, we had over 70 degrees and they were in the mid-teens. 

Today was the first time that Gus has ever been to a park. I have wanted to take him for a while, but with it being chilly here, I didn't want to go, and he's been too little to go and really enjoy himself. He's still a bit too little to have fun, but once he's walking it'll be way more fun for him. I'm hoping that this summer will be a lot of fun.

We went to the swings first and he wasn't sure what what going on at first, and he was scared, but I stayed close and cheered for him and he seemed to like it more. Here are pictures of him on the swing for the first time:

 

Looks like he's scared, but he was actually laughing

 

 After the swings we headed over to the sandbox and I let Gus play in the sand. He went to the beach this summer/fall, but he was too little to play. He seemed to like it and was loving crawling in the sand.

 

Wendy and Kaitlyn share a hug

 

Sweet little Ashley

After the sandbox, we decided to head over to the slide and Kaitlyn and Ashley went down the slide with Gus for the first time. He didn't seem to mind it either way, and Wendy went down with him a few times. I enjoyed snapping pictures of the event!

Once we were done with the slide, Wendy wanted to take the kids on the tire-swing. Gus didn't really care for the tire-swing.

After the tire-swing, we went to the pirate ship and the kids all pretended to be the captain. It was fun to watch Kaitlyn and Ashley play pretend and really get into it!

Wendy decided that she wanted to try to climb the monkey bars... it was quite enjoyable to watch.  :D

The kids were exhausted and it was definitely time to head home, so we left the park and then when we got back, I put Gus down for a nap. He didn't fight me like he has been all week, so it was a nice surprise. He slept for about an hour and then he and I played in his room together until Steve got home.

The rest of the night was spent making and eating dinner (grilled chicken stuffed with roasted tomatoes, artichokes and goat cheese, and then roasted squash medley). We didn't really watch anything on tv (besides the news) and then it was bath time for Gus.

I'm now ready for bed!