catch-up part 1 of 4

Posted on 3.28.2017 by sarah

It’s been a while…

Meredith turned two-years-old this month, and it’s only fitting as her new year begins, for me to play massive catch up. The last update was when Meredith was 6 months, so there has been a lot of growth happening around our household, including a sweet little boy. He keeps getting bigger and sweeter; you’ll see that, too. This means it’s been almost a year+ since I’ve updated you on their sweet transitions from baby to toddler. My heart aches a little because I feel like all my photos and all my memories aren’t solidified until they are published on this little blog. So, instead of starting now with the new renovations, recipes, and moments, and there are exciting ones (eek!), I’ll do a mini catch up, in four parts, to make my heart happy and hopefully yours, too.

Let’s do this…

We spent the fall 2015 enjoying Dallas again. As the summer temperatures slowly faded, we embraced the fall weather with open arms. Jack enjoyed entertaining Dad with his Mizzou gear. We really do love football season around here. MIZ and Go Packers are definitely words our babies know well.

Plano had their annual balloon festival, where we arrived just in time for the lighting of the balloons and to worry Jack a little with the sounds of all the balloons being blown up.

We visited pumpkin patches at the Dallas Arboretum to get our yearly fix of pumpkins! In Dallas, pumpkin patches are more like a glorified outdoor petting zoo for kids with pumpkins dispersed about. Jack and Meredith absolutely loved it!

We celebrated Meredith’s baptism weekend with family. We’re always so grateful for our families making the trip down to Texas and only wish we could have them down more often. Or be closer to home. I guess I’ll just have to keep having babies so they keep making the trip! Ha.

Meredith had a wonderful time taking up the spotlight on her big day. What a beautiful day for our sweet baby girl. She did great in church, but enjoyed her Papa even more.

We picked my brother and sister-in-law as Meredith’s godparents and were so thankful they were able to make the trip down for the occasion. Meredith’s smiling ice-blue eyes are identical to my father’s and brother’s, so it’s only fitting we have Eric as her godfather.

And then it was back to our normal routine as a family of four. There were a lot of lazy mornings spent lounging, playing, and making brunch. This usually involved good breakfast food and long adventurous walks.

Jack always has to stop for sticks or rocks on our walks. This kid can find them anywhere and Dad loves him bringing them back to our home and yard.

Jack had his first injury that fall. He was laying on Boston and as Boston got up, Jack hit his ear on the coffee table. I finally reaped the benefits of my day job on this one, though, the doctor I worked with was kind enough to come in and help stitch up Jack’s ear. “You don’t want to sew up your own son, Sarah. I’ll be in to help.” Jack was a trooper, and I think we missed dinner that night and went straight to ice cream to celebrate his first stitches, not having to go to the emergency room, and Jack taking it like all like a boss! Go Jack! I think sour gummy worms can heal all wounds.

When Halloween rolled around, we were prepared for the occasion with 1st Halloween jammies for Meredith. Mer was’t too sure about her first Halloween, but Jack was there to reassure her with hugs; this was going to be a great day!

We celebrated with our neighbors, Jack’s first actual trick-or-treating, lots of candy, and some beer for us adults. For Meredith’s first Halloween, she enjoyed being her older brother’s sidekick as a football. The cutest football I’ve ever seen, actually!

And Jack was a football player. Again, the cutest football player we’ve seen!! Side Note: Mom broke her sewing machine sewing in those cute shoulder pads for Jack! But it was totally worth it!!

We ended our night passing out candy to the big kids that could stay up after dark. We also enjoyed the fruits of their labor, splitting a kit-lat with Jack.

That night Jack and Mer washed up and got into their matching jammies. The next morning and the month to follow, Jack would ask if he could trick-or-treat again. Please mom, just around the block, that was fun! Ha. (Sorry, this one was from my phone and a little blurry. But I loved it too much not to share!)

Meredith had her first plane ride in November. I flew alone with her up to Wisconsin. We were lucky enough to sit in first class and have this wonderful grandfather of two sitting next to us. He even held her by the bathroom door after I changed her, so I could go to the bathroom. PSA: I know it’s hard, but be kind to parents with children on the plane; they want their children to be quiet and calm as much as you do. I’ve been pretty lucky with our two travelers and more empathetic than ever before to others.

While Mer was up in Wisconsin, because I was still nursing full-time, Jack spent Thanksgiving with Grammie and Papa at their farm. I don’t think he was too upset about that.

Meanwhile, the hubs and I spent Thanksgiving at Lambeau Field with my brother and sister-in-law. Back in August, he surprised me with this awesome gift to see the Thanksgiving game at Lambeau, and to have my brother and sister-in-law there too, was a wonderful (and too quick) trip for all!

Green Bay welcomed us back with rain (we were wishing for snow) and cold temperatures. You can definitely figure out who lives in Fargo and who lives in Dallas from the picture below. We had amazing seats provided by my Dad and waved to Bart Starr and Brett Favre that night. Brett got inducted into the football hall of fame and I became a Brett Favre fan again, a little, that day. Why the Vikings Brett, Why?!? Gosh, I hate purple and those stupid Vikings!

We drove down to Missouri after our magical night with Meredith and picked up our sweet baby boy in Missouri. Their cousins were there to keep them entertained and not wanting to leave.

We headed home with heavy hearts always longing for more time and to be closer to our family. We stopped at our usual Steak n’ Shake to fuel up for the rest of the ride home. Jack enjoyed a cheeseburger, fries, and split an Oreo shake with Dad. All were happy campers to get out of the car for a while!

In December, we continued to enjoy the Texas mild weather with park dates and long walks.

My favorite season was upon us now! We scurry around decorating for the Christmas season and try to absorb all the magic of the season. I always wish Thanksgiving and Christmas weren’t so close and Christmas could last three whole months. The tree falling on the hubs started off the season with a literal bang! Luckily, no one got hurt and the tree looked beautiful as always when it finally was in the stand.

Jack spent the majority of the season counting ornaments and being told not to touch them. It was a tough task all season. Mer on the other hand worked on her lego eating skills, started to crawl, and holding herself up. Oh, the magic of the season.

Jack and I also had a heated debate about the importance of not throwing anything at the tree. To this day, we are still missing two magnets from Jack’s magnadoodle he got that year, and no one seems to know where they went?

We went to the Dallas Arboretum for their display of Twelve Days of Christmas. My favorite was Seven Swans a Swimming, with two of my favorites gazing in awe.

Our sweet community puts on a Santa’s Village throughout the Christmas season. Every night, Santa graces us with his presence, coming in a on fire truck and greeting all the children waiting in line. Jack talked up a storm in line waiting for the jolly guy, but when it was our turn it was nothing but tears. Oh, sweet Jack, maybe next year!!

We spent our “Christmas Eve” making cookies and assembling “minimal assembly required” toys until midnight! I enjoyed a couple sips of coffee before reading the directions for the hubs.

Our Christmas at home was wonderfully simple. We woke up with coffee in hand and enjoyed the kids wide-eyes at all the treasures under the tree.

Then it was time for the Christmas shuffle as we hit the road to enjoy Christmas with our families afar. We spent Christmas in Missouri, but we decided to spend a few days at the farm before heading into the city to spend Christmas with the family. Jack absolutely loved it, and I was happy I packed his rain boots.

After our time at the farm, we headed to see the whole crew for Christmas. We spent more time outdoors. Jack and Mer loved playing with their big cousins, and the weather was wonderful for December.

Sweet Jack postponed his nap, so the big kids wouldn’t have to wait to open presents. He was in a daze the whole time, but endured the chaos of the moment and loved opening up his gifts.

Plus, he had a lot of help if he got sleepy.

Mer kept busy with all the cousins and aunts that wanted to hold her.

New Year’s was spent in Wisconsin and another airplane ride. Jack is becoming an old pro on flying by now. Plus, the stars aligned and there was an open seat next to us! So Mer was able to stretch her little legs, and I didn’t have to have her on my lap the whole time! Win-Win!

My dad picked us up and we stopped off at Mullin’s Cheese to enjoy a Wisconsin delicacy: The Cheese Curd! Wisconsin genes are strong in Jack. He loved them, squeakiness and all! Mer took a little cat nap and will enjoy some cheese curds in her milk later!

There was a lot of lounging and sleeping during our Christmas/New Years in Wisconsin. Jack slept with Grandpa Wayne at night. He was in a crib in my Dad’s room, woke up saying he was cold, so my Dad brought him into his bed and was the perfect heater. I walked in to get him in the morning and saw them both sound asleep. My heart skipped a beat that morning.

We opened presents New Year’s Eve and visited my sweet Mom in her assisted living facility. I did my usual prayer and cursing of God for the disease she has but thanked him for the amazing gifts I have in my life and my children. I always find comfort in my made up idea that she had a talk with God many years ago, giving up her own health to guarantee her grandchildren’s health, because these kids are pretty perfect. I know it’s silly, but it’s the only way I can make it through those sour moments at her assisted living seeing a shell of what she once was. She hasn’t known me for years now, but what hurts me the most is that she will never know her grandchildren.

That night I stayed up to see the New York ball drop at 11pm and was fast asleep around 11:10pm. It’s hard getting old.

We were off again to Texas. Another plane ride with my wonderful babies and another year upon us.

This ends 2015! I’ll be back with the first third of 2016; including Meredith’s first birthday collage, Easter and many moments in between.

Welcome Back, Friends.

six months

Posted on 11.08.2015 by sarah

Somewhere between month four and six, I completely fall in love with my babies. This happened with Jack, too, so I say this with experience. Yes, they are sleeping through the night but it’s more than that. They start becoming little people and less like pet rocks that poop. Meredith gets excited when I walk into her room or when I walk through the door after work. She delights when she sees the bath water running or her busy brother running past. I love watching her; taking her all in. I love watching her reach for the dogs as they sit next to her and her simple smile between bites of butternut squash. It’s simple but magical. She calms my ~~anxiety~~ sole. Here’s a couple of my favorite pictures from month six including finding toes, first tastes, and reading with her big brother.

Jack and Meredith both at 6 monthsMeanwhile, Jack’s first semester of swim class started this month! We did week long classes in the past but nothing this consistent. He is enjoying every Friday with his mama, and I’m enjoying a little time with just he and I. Go Jack!Happy Week, Friends!!

five months (and a midwest adventure)

Posted on 10.10.2015 by sarah

Meredith started her fifth month celebrating her older brother’s second birthday! We celebrated small with grammie and papa. But he enjoyed the best dairy-free cake we could find! Angel food! Always a fan favorite.I had a little mom guilt not taking more pictures, or throwing a big party for our sweet boy, but maybe next year? We’ll see.

Right after Jack’s birthday we took the family on a midwest road trip. Much of our family is in the midwest, and we were lucky enough to have two weddings in a row to see much of them. We took the week in between to see even more friends and family to maximize the time spent in the northern states, while happily getting out of Texas during the miserable August heat!

Our first stop was Story City, Iowa! We hit up the local wooden carousel with our nieces. Jack was overjoyed to ride… and ride AND ride and ride again.

We headed down to Ames for our first wedding and some hotel fun. I remember the joys of visiting hotels as a kid. The two things always on the agenda; the pool, and the array of cereals they had available for breakfast. Jack enjoyed both with all the cousins.
Meredith enjoyed chillaxin’ in the hotel room, too.After relaxing, it was time to start the wedding festivities. There was a bride and groom at this wedding but these kiddos were so cute that I didn’t get a picture of them. Eeek.Of course, there was a failed attempted to get a picture of my kiddos, and well… I can say, I tried. Jack looks super excited to be sitting doesn’t he!We ate cake, danced, and had a wonderful time seeing family and friends, including Jack and Meredith’s Great Grandma Johnson. We headed out the next morning to our next destination, another small town in Iowa with warm hearts and a fabulous meal waiting for us. We were greeted with open arms and Jack fit right in.Jack and Meredith met their Great Grandmother for the first time.And Jack realized where that sweet Iowa corn really came from.We said goodbye to our Iowa hosts and headed on yet another journey, this time to Wisconsin.On our way to see friends, we realized we were just miles away from a famous brewery. New Glarus, home of our beloved Spotted Cow! We made a detour and happily walked our babies through a brewery tour. Ha.After the tour, we made our way to Appleton, WI, where we met up with our dear friends and their new baby boy. We spent time reminiscing, laughing at our ourselves and our babies, but mostly soaking up as much time together with each other as we could. We spent our night by the campfire drinking Spotted Cow in jeans and sweatshirts and the day with our babies. It was fabulously simple and perfect… of course, we didn’t get any great pictures… Trust me, I’m kicking myself. Travel hit us again, but Jack was an old pro by this point.We headed up to my hometown in North Wisconsin for the rest of our trip. We welcomed the super green grass, beautiful weather, and, of course, a ride on Grandpa’s “tractor”. The hubs and Mer looked on, a little less impressed with the lawn-mowing-tractor than Jack was.Jack and Meredith’s cousins came into town, and they spent their days in the backyard (clothing optional) and on the grandpa’s boat.There really isn’t anything better than Wisconsin in the summer. Oh, how I miss it. The lake, the green, and the family.Jack celebrated a belated second birthday with everyone and ate up every moment he could.Our last weekend was spent at wedding number two … again, just kiddo pictures and slim pickings at best.Meredith made sure she was on point during ceremony. Atta girl.Jack took over the dance floor for the first few hours. It was hilarious and sweet all at the same time. He clapped after each song and danced his little heart out. He made many friends, including the band who came up to me after, in admiration of his love for dancing and good music.We ended our midwest adventure by splitting ways. We said goodbye to the hubs and Jack, and I said a little prayer for us all. Jack was nervous and not excited to have to drive home. Sorry buddy.Meredith and I headed out in style on a first class flight back to Dallas. Meredith was so embarrassed for mom to ask the pilot for a picture, she closed her eyes. But she was super excited to have a piece of cheese on her head! Wisconsin genes run deep. We all made it home safe and got back into our normal routine quickly. Bedtime stories with Dad is one of their favorites times of the day.Meredith had her first taste of rice cereal served up by Mr. Jack. He was absolutely loving the process and Mer took her first meal like a champ!Month five was a busy one, but we are loving every exhausting minute. The hubs and I have been awakened a couple times this month to Meredith just talking. We laugh as she cackles to herself, and I know there will be nights in our future we’ll tell her go to bed! But for now, we enjoy her spirited squawks. Here’s my little lady at five months!Happy Weekend, Friends!

four months

Posted on 9.13.2015 by sarah

Month four was full of family fun! Meredith went on her very first road trip and loved every minute! She loved being entertained by Jack, loved the open road… and slept a lot! Jack was a little freaked out about having “TV” in the car.

Mind. Blown.

Meredith met her new cousins for the first time and agreed with Jack’s assessment on just how cool they really are!

We headed out to grandpa and grandma’s new farmland. Jack was so in love with every aspect of this new heaven that Papa will forever be synonymous with tractor!

Believe me, these two had so much fun. Jack loved getting rides in the Polaris ,and after a couple of rounds he figured he could venture out on his own.

With all that wonderful fresh air and activity, some of us didn’t make it through dinner.

I took a stroll around the property, taking in all the scenery. It’s a wonderful peaceful landscape and I cannot wait to see this beautiful space in the fall!

We said goodbye to Grammie and Papa and headed back to Texas.

The rest of the month was spent staying cool. In our backyard and at our neighborhood pool! Boston always loves join in the fun.

We found our inner Picasso this summer, too! Painting a Kaboom! for July 4th.

Meredith decided to rollover for the first time on 7/2/2015, and five days later she rolled over and pushed herself up. We all know Otis has been working with her for weeks. He’s such a great trainer for tummy time and meal time!

On Meredith’s four month birthday weekend, some of our Missouri family came down for a visit. They had a wonderful time exploring all the great attractions Dallas has to offer and let Jack tag along, too.

Our doctor’s visit was for both Jack and Meredith this month, 2 whole years and 4 months! I tried to hold back the tears, but they are both so perfect. Or at least that’s what I heard!

But mostly, I try to capture my little ones doing what they do best, enjoying each others presence and getting annoyed at mom wanting a picture or five hundred!

Month four has been wonderful! This is the age I so dearly love! They start interacting with the world around them, and they start laughing and smiling so much more. It’s just wonderful!

Happy Four Months, Lady!

18 months (at almost 20 months, oops!)

Posted on 3.22.2015 by sarah

Jack turned 18 months. That’s a year and a half people, back in January, and it’s already March! I’m so so behind! But here he is in all his naked belly glory at 18 months.

We are just loving this sweet boy. He is talking up a storm and is such a little helper. He’s so curious and just loves being active, which makes it hard to get anything done during the day but we’ve been blessed with a good napper (3 hours!) and sleeper in general, so we know we shouldn’t complain too, too much.

With the anticipation of our baby girl, we cannot wait to see the interaction between the two. Will he think she’s pretty cool and want to help out or will he think she’s a nuisance that takes up all of his mom and dad’s time? I’ll keep you posted. Here’s a couple photos of our little man amidst his daily quest to discover the world around him.

We love you tons, Jack. Happy week, friends!

kitchen progress IV: countertops

Posted on 11.08.2014 by sarah

Now that we have cabinets and everything painted, we can move onto the countertops and backsplash! Above are just a few of the may choices we brought home and debated over. Our contractor was trying to steer us toward granite, but I didn’t like many of the variations for our kitchen. Plus, we were leaning toward a lighter shade of countertops, and if you spill red wine on granite, it will stain! I like red wine, and I know I will spill, so that was a lot of pressure.

A new-er product that has been getting a lot of respect in the kitchen is quartz. It’s about the same price as granite, but you don’t have to seal it when it’s installed nor annually like granite, and if I spill Kool-aid or red wine on white quartz, which I can pretty much guarantee, this countertop is safe! Win-Win! Plus, it comes in simple patterns and some variations look like marble, which we were both drawn to.

We went to a bunch of countertop stores around the area, looked on-line, and found two that really stuck out. LG Hausys Rococo Quartz and Vicostone Calacatta Quartz. Rococo quartz only came in 2 cm and we really wanted 3 cm. Calacatta quartz was the one that shined through the rest, the whole time. It looks great with the cabinets, the newly painted walls, and was a touch of bold in our white-on-white kitchen.

I was able to go to the quartz showroom in Dallas to see the exact piece. This was exciting!! Look at those bold stripes! I was a little nervous but overall super excited!

Then it was time to talk to our fabricator. This is crucial when picking something with a pattern. Talk to your fabricator, often. I printed out this exact image above, then used it to “puzzle” the pieces we wanted for our lay out. The fabricator took it with him, laid out the design on the slab and had me come out into his shop to make sure I was okay with the design before he actually started cutting. This is what we thought it would look like…

The fabricator had to change a couple pieces, when he got the actual slab and measured everything out. But as I said before, he had me come out to the shop, and three guys and I walked through the layout. I had the puzzle pieces on the floor, and we working with the big slab until everything was correct. We came up with a plan that kept the flow of the lines consistent, kept the pieces I wanted in each area, and matched the seams perfectly! Sorry, the masking tape is hard to see, but they are there! Here’s a crude/discolored idea of what the sink side of our kitchen countertop will look like… see how the lines on the top of each side match up where the seam will be above the sink!! That was the work of one of the fabricators! Moving, measuring, and taping, over and over! Trust me, it’s worth your time to sit and make sure your pattern flows! Your eye thinks the other line connects were the sink is cut out, too (see the arrow below). Bonus!!

Okay, enough with all the details, are you ready for a peak of the real countertops?!? I figured you would!

Besides the whole sink side, this little gem is one of my favorite pieces.

And here’s that seam I was so worried about… they got it! Perfect!

I’m in love! It’s a little bit of boldness in this simple kitchen! Plus, a little dose of Jack, who absolutely loves the construction site!

With a durable surface like quartz, I won’t be as worried about every little thing I’m doing on them! It’s been a pretty fun process from start to finish.

I’ll be back with our backsplash! Yay! We’re getting SO close to the end!

halloween

Posted on 10.31.2014 by sarah

Happy Halloween, Friends!

May your costume stay on…

and may you get all the candy your heart desires!!

14 months of cloth

Posted on 10.08.2014 by sarah

I’m here to give all those parents wanting to try cloth diapering a boost!! Bottom line, we love them. I love that I don’t have to run to the grocery store when I’m out of diapers. Love that my heart’s happy with a little less landfill use. And, well, happy I went through with another thing I wanted to do before I even had a bambino.

Back on this post, I described how I bought 18 bumGenius Elemental One-Size All-In-One organic cloth diapers for Jack, and they are still going strong! We’ve transitioned the snaps with our growing boy, and they have worked great. Here’s a picture of them the other night after being washed!

I usually wash them every other day or every three days. Once every other week (usually Saturday or Sunday), I wash them once regularly and a second time with bleach. It has kept them fresh and clean.

There has been one drawback to our cloth diapers. Around a year, Jack started waking up in the morning with wet pajamas. The poor kid would sleep right through the wetness, but this meant daily crib changes and it got old. At first, I bought 4 bumGenius Original Elemental diapers that had an extra layer of cotton. When that didn’t work, I used the bumGenius Originals with two layers of hemp liners. It was hit-and-miss if it worked. After talking to other moms and researching online, we decided to use regular disposable diapers at night. We use them when we travel and didn’t have this issue at night while on the road. It has worked well, and there are still a couple nights during the month that Jack wakes up with wet pajamas, but we’ll take it! I’m glad Jack stays dry through the night, and using 7 disposable diapers a week is a win in my book!

Here’s my happy baby in his white cloth diap! I think he likes them as much as we do!

That is just one of the keys to finding success with cloth diapering: don’t be set in stone, all cloth or bust! Go with the flow! Also, we love Burt’s Bees Diaper Cream! It’s a great paste and won’t ruin our diapers!!

I hope this helps anyone that is considering the cloth diaper route. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

one year

Posted on 9.27.2014 by sarah

It’s been how long? 2 months? Almost 3? Wow. Well, I have had a little quarrel with WordPress. They wanted to charge me for more space on my blog. Apparently, I like to take pictures in full definition and that takes up space. The quarrel was mainly one sided and yes, WordPress won. I gave in, two months later… Sorry for the delay.

Jack turned one back in July. We were able to make a trip all the way to Colorado for the festivities with the hubs’ side of the family, and he had a blast celebrating with his cousins!

We took full advantage of our environment and the free babysitting! Side Note:I am super jealous of people who live close to family! We hiked…

We also took Jack for his first bike ride, and he loved every minute, as did the hubs and I. I just wish I would have gotten some audio of Jack squealing with delight as we road or at least a picture of his cute little body in the Burley. We definitely need one in Dallas! It was so fun getting out every day and just exploring! We biked in Frisco, a town close to Breckinridge and stopped at an adorable coffee shop before we headed back. It was amazing.

We also went to downtown Breckenridge and made a very needed stop at my favorite eatery! Crepes!!

And here’s our man in his final month! Gosh, it just gets better and better doesn’t it?!! He’s a super sweet boy, waves and claps at everyone and is always smiling. Happy 1st Birthday, Jack! I love you.

Also, here’s a link to Jack’s One Year photos. Just put in our last name and you’ll see all the Jack goodness! Enjoy.

11 months

Posted on 7.06.2014 by sarah

Jack turned 11 months last weekend and well, I can’t quite grasp how a year went so fast and yet so slow at the same time, but it’s almost here. This kid has gained so many things in 11 months including a couple inches and an amazing personality. He’s still walking with the assistance of a walker but picking up confidence and speed daily and really loving his voice. Saying da-da and uh-oh all the time! Here’s to you, Jack!

Happy 11 months!

spaghetti on bath night

Category Archives: Jack