Outside updates!

Here's another peek at the outside of our house!  

Two years later and we are finally BETTER than we were pre-flood! 

(which by the way, the 2nd anniversary of the sirens sounding was on June 22 @12:57 p.m.)

YAHOO! 

HOLD UP! 

Let's go back down memory lane....

Pre-flood

 I couldn't find a full shot of the front of the house pre-flood.

June 2011

When we first were able to get back into the house after the flood....

July 2011

July 2012 (weeds make for a nice plush green lawn!)

And 2 pictures of the PRESENT
JUNE 2013 house....

Grass looks WAY better....

My sister and I planted some nice flowers in this planter while she was here on HER mini vacation. 

(thanks for the planter Ma & Pa Hoff!)

This is the other side of the house... 

We did not have this little area tilled/leveled and hydroseeded.  We will complete the project on our own.  We are still debating whether to seed it, gravel it, or just bite the bullet and pour some concrete here.

 BEEP BEEP! Back it up again for the backyard!

Pre-Flood June 2011

I don't have a whole picture of the backyard preflood that I can find right now.  

However to the left there WAS a shed...

Backyard July 2011 right after the flood

this is panned a little more to the left....

We had been working on the house for about 3 months by this point...

June 2012

And currently! June 2013

This lovely little indent is over by the big egress window. 

Possible kennel area for the dogS!

Looking out from the indented area....

This is one of our big projects for next summer.  

We will be leveling it out, adding some rock, and building a "built in" above ground fire pit.

Progress has been made! 

Hoping to get a shed back up in the fall in one of the back corners!

"It'll get better"

**I will preface this with the following.  I'm writing this post because I have a lot of friends and family with newborns or infants that complain to me that their child is either not sleeping through the night yet or that they don't think their child will EVER sleep or be on a schedule**

As many of you know P was a hard baby.  Crying almost all day and most of the night for a few weeks.  Then he started sleeping longer through the night so it was just crank baby during the day...all day...alllllllll day.  

I didn't think it would ever get better.  Honestly I thought it was going to be like that forever.  

We got told to try a million things, from a million people, a million different times.  While we welcomed the advice and kindly responded with "oh yes, we've tried that and it just didn't work for P." or "oh why didn't we think of that!", we were welcomed back a good portion of the time with looks of disgust because we didn't try it right then and there to prove it or show them they were right.  

Then it turned into he's too cold, you aren't dressing him properly, you aren't feeding him enough/the right thing, he's wet, he's tired, you need to swaddle him the rest of his life, you are doing SOMETHING wrong. 

And a lot of the times it turned into this "The baby is feeding off of your anxiety."  

Yes, I know the baby reads and feeds off my levels, but that's not always how it goes.  When I'm nice and calm inside and out, and he's screaming his brains out.....I just don't see the correlation there.  

****After two hours of this, hey! I see the correlation!  I was frazzled by that point so he had to REALLY be frazzled by that point!****

He did have some  good days where he was a happy little clam.  But to be honest, those days were far and few to come by the first 8 weeks.  I didn't have a huge cuddler either... Not with me anyway.  I'm bony though, so I understand his disgust =)  

I had a no-nap-ninja... and let's say the cat-nap-ninja somedays.  He didn't nap.  I tried EVERYTHING to get him to nap. Nothing worked.  IF...IF IF IF IF something worked, he really only napped for about 10-15 minutes.  

I remember the time he napped for 2 hours.  I was freaking out! This isn't my kid!? Whose kid is this?!  Yeah, see up there...the bolded part? That was ONCE in his 4.5 months of existence in the world.   

I remember everyone telling me it's going to get better (or my dad's infamous jinxing words "babies just eat, sleep, and poop").  

It took awhile, but it's finally better.  

Since I have been home from work this summer (I say work because I've noticed that when I say I'm home from school people ask what my job is or tell me I'm just a teacher and don't have much work to be working on...that's a whole new can of worms) I have managed to get P on a nice schedule for ME AT HOME.    

He wouldn't nap forever, but AT HOME he is taking two to three naps now, scheduled naps, AND they are becoming longer!  While my sister was here this past week he took an almost 4 hour nap.  I was going crazy!  Again, whose kid is this?! this isn't my kid!?  He has been having a few fussy early mornings but we are working on those.  The last three mornings he has woken up around 6 or 7 for his first bottle.  Woop!  

P is sleeping about 9-10 hours a night and sometimes goes back down for another 2-3 after his first bottle (of course only right now because I'm at home and not having to leave for work).  

So, coming from someone who didn't have it too terribly easy to start out (I know, it could have been worse.....he could have not slept at night too!), it does get better.  It may take awhile, but it will get better.   

**someone remind me of this post if we ever have another child and they are a no-nap-ninja too**

{8 months}

[month 1]

[month 2]

[month 3]

[month 4]

[month 5]

[month 6]

[month 7]

Growing and gaining! We had a check-up today because his reflux seems to have come on stronger (ie...we have a lot more spit up lately) But I didn't ask for his stats =)  

HE:

is CRUISING all over the house! This kid is a crawling machine!....

has been getting a lot more bumps and bruises because he is a rockstar at pulling himself up on things! Or he decides he is a rockstar and crawls through things and face-plants it off the other end....

is starting to get on a nice schedule AT HOME.....

is wearing 9 month clothes and growing out of some of them quickly.....

wears two piece jammies without feet now mostly because he is such a wiggler and fighter to do snaps or zippers (and then if we do get those on him, he falls all over the place because they are too slippery for him to stand up anywhere but the bedrooms!)

enjoys eating and has now mastered the "puff'.....
mom and dad (more so than mom) aren't doing too swell on this "more solid than a purree" journey....

loves to drink water out of his sippy cup......

plays with Sadie girl........

talks and yells our ears off all day long!
In the mornings, after his nap usually, he will sit quietly in the rocker with me and talk really quietly and sweetly with me.  We have the best conversations right now.

moved up to size 3/4 diapers....cruisers.....

has some "big boy" toys now!
A thing to walk behind, some alligator ball pop toy, and a table (which yesterday happened to go flying across the room.....He was holding onto it and fell backwards without letting go and took the table with him and ended up literally throwing it behind and over him as he fell down.  He laughed about it...it was amazing.)

has become "okay" with the grass....
however I can still leave him on the blanket and he won't crawl off because he doesn't want to touch the green stuff, HA!

doesn't enjoy wearing hats anymore......

is working on 4 MORE teeth right now.....
the 4 he is working on haven't broken through just yet, but dang are his gums swollen, red (and white where they are about to break through), and FULL of more drool than we know what to do with!  Poor guy.  I hope they stop playing games and break through soon because it is NO FUN!
 (currently has 4, his 2 bottom central incisors -aka front teeth) and his top two lateral incisors--aka he looks like a vampire)....

takes baths in the big tub now.....

.............................................................................

Some things that were loved this month....

Tommee Tippee Explora Truly Spill Proof Sippy Cup They really are spill proof!!!!
Now, don't get me wrong here, they aren't "Parker spit it out" proof, but I can shake it and pinch the spout and NOTHING COMES OUT!!!
Seriously in love with these cups and he handles them like a boss!

Cotton snap up FOOTLESS pj's Seriously awesome.  We are now transitioning into 2 piece pj's though because we have a squirmer/fighter when it comes to getting dressed....

Off! Clip-on because the mosquito's are horrible! Our's is smaller and gray compared to the picture here, but it seriously rocks at keeping the majority of the bugs away.  Got some deet free bug spray for Pman the other day and used it yesterday finally and it doesn't mist well so this was a lifesaver....and I sprayed the blanket around P too to see if that would also help.

..........................................................................

Last month I wrote about P not enjoying his seat....huge turn around this month.  He is definitely becoming okay with it.
P has had a rough few nights this month but he's doing great.  All these bumps, bruises, gagging, and teething are taking it's toll on our little man.  He for sure has been showing signs of having the infamous Hegel clumsiness.  Oye.  He's great at cruising along and then face planting it...WHAT?! Not even walking, crawling. *face palm*

He is growing and gaining and seems to be a happy healthy little trooper.
Learning new skills and practicing them are fun to watch but not fun to wear!  He's been blowing raspberries for months and now he thinks it's great fun to blow them when he gets a spoonful of food into his mouth.

He's enjoying new foods and textures (esp thanks to Auntie Krissy).

He tried some lettuce, real green bean, and is a master of whole puff's now!

He is talking up a storm and keeping me SO busy!  He has started exploring the rest of the house instead of staying just in the living room.  It's fun to watch.

Bath time has been fun!  I don't do it very often, it's turned into daddy's time, but when I do it's fun to watch him crawl in there, stand up on the side of the tub and help wiggle out of his clothes!  He gets excited when the whole bucket of toys goes in and likes to pick out his favorites and play!

The pediatrician also gave us the go ahead to try some different formula! WOOP!
Here's to hoping he does great on it!  Wish us luck! 

This has become my view most days lately....

Chado decided to leave early on Father's Day so he could enjoy some fishing with his brother before working at another location so he captured a pic with our big guy the next day!

He was SO excited to see daddy pull up when he got home!

Little Fishies!

While we were in Montana celebrating and visiting we went swimming for the first time!

Now, if you know me, you know I HATE THE WATER.  

But, I took one for the team and got in the pool with P so that Chad could play with one of our nieces.

I was SO SO bummed I forgot to bring P's super cute swimming trunks *sad face*

But, he didn't hate it but he wasn't in love with it either.  As long as I had a good hold of him he was having fun, but as soon as I tried to float him or have him kick he turned grump face.  Didn't really fuss but got that "really mom? don't even try it" look!

And NO he didn't "feed off my anxiety" I was actually pretty cool calm and collected and wanting and willing to try to get him to float.  

I truly do not want him to fear the water like I do.  

I'd love to have a little fish to take after his cousins!

Friday

We tried to play outside in the grass last night with Chad but the mosquitoes were HORRIBLE!  

Not even worth it.  

So, we went out today after lunch!

Sadie enjoys being in her yard and getting to lounge and eat grass to her hearts content.

We have a lot of these in the yard from the vacant houses and lots surrounding us.  Soon the fence will be up and or lawn will be sprayed for weeds!

far away

closer up

"Hey mom, this blanket is the best idea ever! Now I don't have to touch that green stuff!"

I know, horrible mom here.  But he tried to turn around to find Sadie and fell into the grass.  Didn't hit hard, but that dang grass touched him.  And it was too cute not to take his picture. 

{commit} update 4

I'm checking in with my 2013 commitments!

The original posts with my checkin in red!!

HELLO SUMMER!  Work ended up coming home with me maybe once or twice a week, but that's about it!  P will go to daycare a few days a week this summer and I plan to do work stuff later on during those days.Work comes home a few nights a week with me.  I don't always get to it though.  Playtime is WAY more fun.
Yep! Still not bringing home much work at all and haven't been going to work on the weekends! However I have been next door visiting a bit more lately.....
-----Totally doing this!  I don't bring much of anything home and I've only went to the school one day on one weekend...that's it! WOOP WOOP-----------
I didn't bring home piles of work each night/weekend.  I didn't spend countless hours at the school on the weekends.  Sure, maybe once a month (dang centers) I spent a few good hours there on a Sunday....but it wasn't EVERY weekend or EVERY night. 

**I'm committing to that again.  

I need to use my time at the school wisely and not always 

over talking to bugging Alysha :-)

I only have the evenings with Parker once I'm back at work so I want to make the most out of them.  Sure I might have a few things to bring home to work on here and there, but it won't be as much as it used to be.

Getting better! Tonight we had chicken, rice, and corn on the cob!  Last night we had the every week staple of tacos...I put on veggies but Chad didn't.  AND while my sister was here we had crescent roll pizza and we totally put broccoli slaw and extra carrots on it! This past week was bad. We have been doing a lot better though.  
Less boxed meals are being made and we are now consistently having a vegetable each night.

---Let's not talk about this one yet.  I'm not making boxed meals and neither is Chad as much, but I still feel like they could be better. So, still working on this one.------
**I also want to try and make cleaner meals...less boxed stuff.  

I'm committing to 1x a week for now.  I think that's reasonable.  

I can't commit to an all or nothing....that isn't reasonable.

I've just come to the assumption that one day a week will be my clean the whole house day.  ugh.We are cleaning one day a week still.  BUT I have started doing a quick 10 minute pick up after P goes down for the night.  I've also been trying to do a load of laundry each day or every other day so that it doesn't all get done one day.  

....still working on finding a happy medium.... hopefully something will find us soon because we are going to have a crawler in a few short months from the way he's trying to pull himself right now!
------This is still a work in progress.  We are teaming the cleaning but doing it all in one day--------
**I also want to find a balance for keeping the house clean.  I used to spend one day during the weekend to clean...that gets to be too much when your husband is just a "picker upper" and not a "cleaner".  So maybe Mondays I'll clean up the whole kitchen, Tuesdays I'll do windows, etc etc.  I'm bound to find a balance somewhere. I've got quite a few "cleaning schedules" pinned on pinterest....

Cleanin' Fool

orGaniZe mE

The bedroom wall words were painted...now just waiting for Chad to put them up.....
Have some other words for the dining room to paint now too.A shelf has been made for our room, coasters were made for the house, I just finished a "welcome" sign for the entryway, and am currently working on some decor for the big wall in our bedroom.

...nothing more has really gone up.  I did put some blocks up and changed out seasonal decor....
----Got the coat hooks up finally! That's a start!------
**I am committing to finally getting the house decorated....

crap shootthis one may just be a crap shoot....
not yet....
------Haven't done this yet-------

**I'd like to explore the Dave Ramsey envelope system again...

not committing to doing it, just exploring it a little more.

summer to do list!Next up is the spare bedroom downstairs.....
We went through and got rid of tons of stuff! It's not perfect, but it is better!

------Haven't done this yet-------

**The utility room WILL get organized in 2013...COMMITTED!

Summer to do list!No new books lately!
I've read a sleep book and I'm reading a baby food book right now...so nothing for pleasure since the first two.
----I have totally read 2 books so far!-----

**I'm committing to reading 1 book for pleasure this year.  
I haven't done this in awhile and I'd like to.  

So I'm committing to one, if I read more than that GREAT!   

Tried som new foods! *that is a huge thing in my house!*Essential oils are being explored in my house (THANKS DAD) now.  
I went to a Pinterest Party and tried a maple bacon doughnut (but only because it was brought to me at work--for the record...it wasn't that bad). So that is 3 things already that I can think of currently--it may be more.
-----I tried new make up in January.  I really like it!  Yoga is in my near future also I think!-------

**I'm committing to trying/doing/going to 5 different things.  Maybe it's going to a new store, going for a walk in a different park than normal, trying to crochet, attending an event we've never been to... WHO KNOWS! The possibilities are endless!

 I would commit to 12, but that is one a month and that 

is not currently reasonable for ME. 

 5 is a good number...

still haven't found a user friendly solution for both Chad and I.  I have a new plan that I hope I can finish before the summer is over.Yeah I suck at this now.  I used to be so on top of it before P, but now by the time he goes to bed and I have everything laid out and ready for the next day I'm BEAT and I just want to go to bed so I push bill paying and checkbook balancing to the next day, and the next, and the next.....
I still haven't found a good solution.
---This is in place and is lame...not fond of it at all------

I've also got a new bill book idea that we will be starting in January.  With this record keeping I have decided it's best to start fresh by following the calendar....so this doesn't get changed up often =)


How are your 2013 commitments going???

Cry Baby

Listen.

 Everyone says "Oh he's such a happy baby!"

I'm here to remind you that he isn't always smiling.

my favorite....by far.