Ok, so 2011 was not my year to blog. It's a new year, so I'm really going to try this year to blog more often.
To help me stay focused, here are some new year's resolutions for me:
1. Lose weight, get healthy. 2. Exercise semi-regularly. 3. Spend more quality time with the family. 4. Finish small projects around the house. 5. Shop smarter & budget better. 6. Blog more often.
1. Lose weight, get healthy: I've been needing to do this for a while, but I am seriously motivated now. I'm only down 15lbs from when I had Davis, and he was a 10lb baby, you do the math. 5lbs in almost 2 years is just... sad. So I'm on it. Goal #1: Down 20lbs by my birthday (4 weeks). I'm doing a plan that was offered to me for free to evaluate, so on that plan, its a completely reasonable goal. We shall see. I may be grumpy/hungry - just ignore it.
2. Exercise semi-regularly: I bought a treadmill last year and haven't used it nearly as much as I should have. I want to use it a minimum of 2x per week (I'm trying to be reasonable here!) I eat generally healthy, but think I would feel so much better if I just took some time for myself and walked on the treadmill for 30 min or so.
3. Spend more quality time with the family: 'We never do anything fun' is what Flint said, so we both resolve that we will do this more. It will be easier since Davis is getting older. When there is a fun event, we're going!
4. Finish small projects around the house: This includes fixing my picture frames & hanging, repainting downstairs & our bedroom & finishing the built in cabinets. Yes, those are actually small projects to us, considering in 2011 we laid tile floor in the kitchen & dining room, laid sod in the front yard, and put the built-ins in.
5. Shop smarter & budget better: This is pretty self explanatory, but I just didn't do a great job of coupon shopping. This resolution will also involve being better at meal planning. Less eating out. Buying on sale with coupons. You know, no-brainer stuff!
6. Blog more often: No, really - I'm going to try!
Thanksgiving, Christmas, January and the in-between....
Please forgive me for being so late. I've been REALLY busy!
We went to VA for Thanksgiving. Drove up EARLY on Wednesday morning, arriving in Wytheville around 9:30 I suppose. I can't remember that far back! Thursday was spent with my family - lunch at my sister's house. After that, we stopped by to see Flint's mom for a little while, and then back to Jettie's for the evening.
Friday we ventured to Blacksburg to go to the Hokie store and get some gear for Christmas presents. We also stopped in Christiansburg to see Larry & Linda (Flint's former boss and his wife). They are like another set of parents to Flint (and me a little bit). They are just awesome - Linda is the artist that is responsible for the art of Edin and of Davis. Linda is such an amazing artist - check out her work here: http://www.lindasartstudio.com/ If I could get my act together, I'm planning to send her another photo of Davis' newborn photo shoot for a charcoal or pencil drawing of him to match Edin's.
Saturday I went over to Granny's house with Dad & Jeannie to go through some of her things. We got quite a bit done for the few hours that we were there, but there is still a long ways to go. I still miss her. She was one-of-a-kind like nobody even knows, but she was my granny, and I loved her very much. Sometimes it still hasn't set in.
After watching the Hokies kick some UVA butt that afternoon, we packed up the car and headed home right at bedtime. That worked out so perfectly - no screaming in the car at all! I think we'll do that from now on!
Sunday night, after the kids went to bed, we put up the Christmas tree. Edin was SO excited on Monday morning, and so far, the barricade we have made is working. We'll see if it sticks. Just got to keep Edin out of the ornaments!
One of Edin's Christmas presents (joint present from Granny & Pappy) was to go see Toy Story 3 on ice. She loved it!
We watched the CMA awards, and have had to keep it on the DVR. Edin loves to dance to it - especially Sugarland (check out the butt shaking!):
My dad came down the weekend before Christmas - the initial reason he came was so that he could babysit for us while we went to the awesome company holiday party (Casino night - I planned the event!). At Thanksgiving, he decided that he could use that time to help us learn how to tile, and tile our half bath! I love the way it came out!!!
Edin was all too happy to get a few Christmas presents early from Papa.
After about 3 weeks of fighting her about the ornaments, and about 5 broken ones, we took the ornaments off the tree. She was sad the next morning, but it was so much better. I think we'll do that next year. No ornaments. Also didn't put the presents under the tree until the night before Christmas Eve. That really worked out well!
We were so excited to have Flint's grandparents (Mop & Pop) come down to celebrate with us! It was the first time Pop had been down here, so we were very glad he came (since we've been in this house for almost 3 years now!).
Santa left her an easel, desk, chair and art set!
Davis wasn't quite as thrilled with his socks from Santa. Loved his look in this picture.
Pop holding Davis. Too cute.
We took the tree down the day after Christmas. We were just really tired of fighting with Edin to stay out of it. The day after Christmas, it started to snow. I wish the snow had been a little earlier to have a white Christmas. Reesie wasn't too fond of it, but Edin loved it!
Edin built this snowman all by herself!
Daddy built her an igloo!
He even put a window in the back!
On a surprising note, I kind of stayed up to ring in the new year, for the first time in like.... 5 years? Actually... I made it to 11:25 or so, then headed to bed. Davis cried at 11:45, and after I put him back down, I just decided to stay up and actually see the ball drop. Then my head dropped back on the pillow.
After having so much vacation time around Christmas, it was really hard to get back in the swing of things and go back to work. After some nice wintry weather, things finally calmed down, and Edin went back to preschool.
We went back to VA to visit over the MLK holiday weekend. A rather short trip, but it was fun - there was still some snow on the ground, so Flint took Edin to ride her sled for a while. If we can catch a good snow happening over a weekend, we'll try to come back another weekend so she can sled more. She loved it.
After that, mayhem basically swallowed my downstairs. It was time to dismantle the kitchen floor in preparation for the new tile floor. After getting a good grasp on the tile from the 1/2 bath, we were ready to get rid of the hideous kitchen floor that I've despised for over 2 years.
Here's the before and after photos - they speak for themselves!
Quite possibly the ugliest floor ever. Not sure what the people that picked it out were smoking.
Just with the vinyl ripped up. Looks 10 times better already!
We spent like 4 hours figuring out exactly where our lines would be and making sure they were right. It paid off in the long run!
My beautiful floor!!! Love, love love it!
What happened next, but my lovely 30th birthday. Yep - no longer a 20-something. It was not bad though - I've had a great 30 years with a lot to show for myself. I took the day off work and spent some time on myself. I went to the mall, then had a 3 hour spa visit (pedicure, facial, massage), then went to see a movie by myself. Watching a movie by myself in the theater is soooo relaxing - I think I'll make that a monthly treat for myself!
I have the best husband on the planet. He made this cake for me, and decorated it - Edin told him what to draw on it, and he did it! Love him!
Now? We are planning to go to Charlotte for a little birthday weekend getaway this coming weekend. Flint asked what I wanted for my birthday. I said I wanted to go to IKEA. I'm easy to please, right? Now that I'm caught up - I'll REALLY try to stay caught up. Most of my reason for getting behind is taking the time to get the pictures off the camera, etc. Well, for by birthday, Flint got me the coolest gadget. It's a wireless SD card - so I'll be able to access the photos without having to locate the camera and take the card out, put it in my computer, etc, etc, etc. I've just now got to get it out of the packaging and start using it!!!
And just for fun... here's what happens when Davis finds Edin's markers. Awesome, right?
September 2010 September always starts off with the flea market in Hillsville. Gotta love family traditions. Luckily, this year, Dad held it together and we had NO emergency surgeries. Thank goodness! It was extremely sad being at Grandma’s house so soon after her passing. Even though she hadn’t lived there in 5 years, we all still had memories of her. Oh how she hated the flea market. I usually complain about going back to VA, but I really do enjoy the flea market. I mean, I can’t ever remember NOT being there. It’s fun that way. We were in VA for the flea market from Thursday to Sunday. Monday I was off work, but we were running around like crazy people for the start of another very busy week.
Edin started pre-school that Tuesday. She’s going to school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for a few hours. She really loves school too! We were so excited for her to start too. She was really ready for some interaction away from Daddy, and I’m sure Daddy is grateful for some ‘only got 1 kid for a few hours’ time.
First day of preschool!
As if September hadn’t started off busy enough, I was scheduled to go to Las Vegas for work that Saturday (11th). At the airport at around 6:45 for my flight, I knew it was going to be a long week. My flight home wasn’t scheduled until Thursday, arriving around midnight. So, almost an entire week without seeing my family.
If you squint, you can see the Hoover Dam.
Vegas was a lot of fun, but a lot of work too! We stayed at the Aria in Las Vegas and it was SO beautiful! I missed everyone back home, but sleeping (uninterrupted) in a huge king size bed was SO very nice.
My room in Vegas.
My view in Vegas.
I flew over the Grand Canyon on the way home!
After I got home on Friday morning, Flint took Jettie (who had graciously came down to help him out while I was gone) back home. Drove up there and came back, same day. That’s rough. Edin was so excited to see me, and Davis has definitely been a Momma’s boy since I returned.
Shortly before I left, we were having the most difficult time with Davis, getting him to sleep. He did so well for the first 4 months or so, but he was getting up like 15 times a night (no joke). We took him to the doctor b/c we just couldn’t figure it out. Turns out, he’s completely healthy, and the doctor gave us the go-ahead to let him cry it out. We let him cry the first night, and it was instantly better. The difference? We didn’t keep him swaddled up. Apparently, my son is a stomach sleeper. Once he was able to roll over and sleep on his tummy, he was happy! So strange, since Edin has always been a back/side sleeper. Funny how they are so different on some things!
My first day in Vegas, Davis cut his first tooth. That made me feel great. Not.
October 2010 Davis is finally eating food now. He's not a fan of green beans, but pretty much likes everything else.
At the beginning of October, I went with my best friend to Wine & Design and painted this painting - it was so much fun! It turned out much better than I anticipated.
October was a fairly uneventful month. My memory is bad, but I don’t remember anything crazy happening – good or bad. A few Hokie games watched on the TV, coupled with our VT attire that day. My kids are just too darn cute.
Way too cute!!!
They had a fall festival at preschool and Edin got her face painted - so adorable!!!
Edin dressed up as a butterfly for Halloween, and Davis was a VT football player. We got so many compliments on Edin’s butterfly wings. They were actually adult size wings, so they were quite big on her, but they worked. I loved seeing the 8 to 10 year-olds with smaller wings – made my day.
Our pumpkin that we carved. Ouch - our hands hurt.
Beautiful Butterfly.
He was so good while we were trick or treating - he even napped for about 30 minutes.
November 2010 The weather down here is so gorgeous right now. We had several visitors this month – Papa, Granny and Pappy, and Jeannie, Dylan & Jalyn came down for a visit. As if crawling at 6 months wasn’t fast enough, he’s now pulling to a stand and cruising. This is all too fast for me. Edin wasn’t crawling until about 10 months, and then went straight to walking at around 11 months. Davis has 3 teeth that have cut through already, just working on one more upper tooth.
He can even crawl up stairs!
Edin is still loving school. She’s also very excited to come to VA to visit everyone. She's doing so well! The other night she drew this 'goat' on the dry erase board. I'm not an expert, but it looks pretty good for a 3 year old to draw this!
Let’s see if I can keep this caught up for the rest of the year (and from then on too!)
Only other thing to mention is that I recently became a Scentsy consultant. My Scentsy website: https://susietaylor.scentsy.us/ or go to my Facebook Fan Page. Contact me if you need any Scentsy!!!
I’m so glad August is over with. It was so incredibly hot this year. Hotter summers and colder winters, right? Sure, global warming doesn’t exist. At the beginning of August, my mom and Grandma Ellen came down to visit. Edin was so excited! We took the opportunity to take her out to a Durham Bulls game and left Davis with my mom and Grandma. Other than the fact that we had been gone less than 30 minutes and Davis decided to poop all over himself, requiring a bath, I think they had a good time with him.
And finally, we got our angel child back. Its not that she has been bad since Davis came along, but she definitely has done things to get our attention, usually in the form of not listening to us, or acting crazy hyper or something else. At the ballgame, she was AMAZING! She sat with us, and didn’t ask to run around or anything. She walked right with us, instead of trying to run ahead. I mean, I really didn’t see until then how big of a change she has had to go through with sharing Flint and I with Davis. Don’t get me wrong, she definitely LOVES her little brother. She plays with him all the time and has never tried to hurt him at all. But she definitely tried many different tricks to get us to pay more attention to her!
We had some family pictures taken by a friend of mine this month. Here are some of my favorites:
July, 2010 We took the kids to their 3 year and 4 month well child check-ups at the doctor at the end of July. Edin went first and was great. She wasn't scared of the doctor at all! She weighs 35 lbs and 2 oz, which puts her in the 87% for weight and 93% for height. They also took her blood pressure this time, which was adorable. A cute little miniature blood pressure thing for kids. Too cute. She had to get one booster shot, and she did surprisingly well for it. A few tears, but no meltdown or anything.
Here is a picture of them both at the doctor’s office:
Davis weighed 17 lbs 10 oz and is 26.5 inches long. That puts him in the 93% for weight and 90% for weight. He was a real trooper too with his two shots.
Edin also had her very first trip to the dentist in late July. She was actually very good for it! The dentist told her ‘No more Paci’s’ and we took them away that day. She handled it VERY well – a lot better than I was expecting, that’s for sure!
We had a nice visit with my sister and her kids also. We took the kids to get their pictures made while they were here – here is one of the two youngest cousins:
Its been extremely hot down here this year, as I'm sure you've heard on the news. There is just nothing fun about 115 with the heat index. Yuck. Those days we stay inside as much as possible!
I can hardly believe that I have a 3 year old, but I do. Edin celebrated her 3rd birthday on the 4th of July. My how much 3 years will change things!
Just look at her then...
And now (see below)!
We celebrated her birthday with a small party here at the house with a few friends, some pizza, and a great cake on July 3! My friend Toni made the cake and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I work with Toni, but her cake business is ever-expanding. Check out Antigone's CAKE if you need a cake in the Raleigh/Durham area!
For the actual 4th of July, we got up and took Edin to the pool, and our friends Justin, Amy, and Emerson came over to join us. They also came over and we grilled out some ribs and chicken wings - truly making it the 4th! Edin and Emerson really got down on some corn on the cob though! They are too cute - and really becoming the best of friends!
That evening, we drove down to the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks. They scared Edin at first, and she ended up watching them from inside the back of the car.
Today Davis tried cereal for the first time. It will be a process, but he probably actually got a little bit in his stomach! He has found his voice and is babbling all the time now!
