{Life Lately} 2019

Hello Strangers!

I'd apologize for my absence, but I don't know who reads this anymore. If you do, let me know! 

In January (above and below), I went to Florida to visit a friend I hadn't seen in almost a decade! It was wonderful and so needed. I'd love to go back when the ocean isn't freezing. I still walked barefoot on the sand because hello, it's the beach! 

Then this guy came into our lives and our house has been a crazy mess ever since. It's Nate's dog (according to him) and his name is Rex. It's a Great Pyranees mix. He's already so much bigger, it's insane. We still also have Snickers, Lily's fur baby, and Krypto, our old dog, and Rocky, the cat. Oh, and the six chickens. 

If I'm not busy with work, practicum (internship) hours, or in grad school (I graduate in 6 weeks!), I'm spending time with the kids. Miss Lily is a Girl Scout and we spent a couple days out in nature a couple weeks ago. It was beautiful weather, not like the thunderstorms we are currently having, and we checked out The Pinnacles, which is north of Columbia, Missouri. 

I'm currently working on the garden in between homework assignments, kid activities and surviving life in general. More to come on gardening soon! 

{Lily} Birthday Photos

 For seven years now, I have taken Lily to a local flower garden for her annual birthday shots. This year was a little late but better late than never, right?! And I need to soak up this time with her before she refuses. This year I also just took her instead of both her and Nate. The past two included him, and I adore both together in photos, but she needed some one-on-one time. 

Here she is staring at a squirrel. It allowed us to get really close and I bet if we had food, it would have ate out of our hands. Something we aren't used to but this park is next to a few businesses so people walk in it all the time. 

I love the bottom photo as it's been the same bench she's sat on for a few years now. I didn't post the photos from last year but here's a collage of years 1-5. 

I do plan on going back with both kids to get some of them together. For Nate's birthday, I took him to a local state park with a cave for his first but to a different place for his 2nd due to weather and time. I wish I had stuck with the first place, so we'll be returning there in October. 

Do you do anything for your kids' birthdays that are the same every year? I love this simple tradition and it doesn't cost anything but some time and energy. I did buy her some Orange Leaf afterwards, which was almost a waste as she would rather just have candy. But she asked, so I let her go. 

{Lily Lately} County Fair

Summer means one thing for a little girl... fair time!! She has a memory like you wouldn't believe, so she knows that there is a fair that we go to every year. They've kept some of the same rides the same for the past few years and this is her favorite. It's a fun little rollercoaster. She loved it the first year she rode (age 2), hated it at age 3, loved it again both last year and this year. 

Here she is last year with her friend, Daisy (who we didn't know at the time but now goes to the same preschool). 

Here's 2012 when she was NOT a fan! 

And the first year we went, back in 2011 with a two year old Lily...

{Life} Messy Kids

"Hi, my name is Nate and I love food." 

Can I teach him that?!? While giving a person a hand shake (and a strong one too!). 

And yes, that's a blueberry piece on Lily's tooth. She's fully aware, thought it was funny, and wanted photos of it. She then got sad it finally came off. True story, I can't make this stuff up.

Nate's issue? His momma dumped out a bag of freeze dried fruits on his tray and half the bag was dust. He thought it was great. The white stuff is cottage cheese. And there's some puffs in that mix too. He has a well rounded meal.

And just because... here's Lily covered with freeze dried strawberry powder from February 2011...

{Life} Catch Up

Oh my goodness.... Summer is already here (as in I'm done with work until August) and things are moving too fast. 

Nate is 7 months old and had his first hair cut. It makes him look so much older. He goes for his wellness check Friday, so we can finally see how big he is!

And then there's the princess. My oh my. She's my little fish and would spend all day, everyday at the pool. Lucky for us, my parents have a new one. Plus, I won passes for our local pool. And, Lily now goes to the local pool with preschool three times a week. Talk about happiness! Yesterday was their first visit and she slept for over 12 hours last night. 

And back to the busy bee... I get to stay home with him this summer. It lowers my productivity by about 90% but I wouldn't have it any other way. He is my little animal lover. 

{Lily} Yearly Photos

5 years and 5 days ago was my third wedding anniversary with Doug and I was due any minute with Lily. She came three days later but I had gone to town to walk in a beautiful city gardens right in the middle of town. I figured it'd be a safe spot, just a few miles from my doctor, if anything were to happen. Nothing did other than some photos of flowers. However, I realized that I could bring Miss Lily to do yearly photos and it would provide a great back drop. At some point in time, probably after the invention of Pinterest, I came up with the numbered shirt idea. I kept it simple - white shirt, pink number with white polka dots. Her grandmother made them (and has every year!).

Here she is over the years... 

I love watching her change but the background stays almost the same. I'm planning on doing the same thing for Nate but maybe in a more "manly" setting... a state park possibly. His will happen in the fall so the colors would be great!

This year was obviously a little different as Nate came with us. I brought the stroller to keep him contained (he's not walking or crawling yet but it helped a lot to keep him somewhere safe and out of reach of everything!). As we got to the gardens, it was about to rain but we got in and out before it came! It did bring some cooler temps though, so luckily we had a matching jacket in the car. The girl loves her pink! 

There is a series of photos with these two and I just adore them. They make my heart melt. She loves him, he adores her. Two beautiful babies if I say so myself! 

And as Lily was getting fed up with the show, I put Nate down and took a few of him. It looks like he's showing off these flowers... which I want by the way... he also tried to eat them. Good thing they aren't poisonous! 

{Life} Sleeping Babies

Lily came home from preschool just as tired as can be on Tuesday. The poor girl had such a busy weekend with her preschool graduation and birthday, that come Tuesday, she was out before 6. 

And then Nate...he's 7 months old and fights sleep just like big sis. He does, however, love to sleep with a blanket covering his face. 

{Lily} Preschool Graduation

This past Friday, Lily and her friends "graduated" from preschool. She is one of 5 kids (and the only girl) that graduated and will move on to kindergarten. Her best friend celebrated with them but she is younger, so she'll stay at preschool for another year. We aren't sure what we'll do when they won't see each other every day, all day. They are so close! 

I didn't get that many shots because there were always other kids... but there are some more on Facebook for friends and family. 

{Boy vs. Girl} 4 months

Nate is winning in the hair department! 

At 4 months old..

Both have tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes (as Lily is showing off) and other baby foods.

Lily was the better sleeper, Nate is the better eater.

Both are big (18 lbs).

Both have blue eyes, the doctor told us Nate will be keeping his. Nate's are darker.

Lily has Doug's face shape (rounder), Nate has mine (longer).

Nate has bigger ears (they look giant here!), Lily has Doug's ears.

Very similar noses, Nate's looks wider.

Nate is in 6 month clothing (can even go up to 9 months). I'm thinking Lily was the same.

Nate rolled over front to back and back to front this weekend. I think Lily could do it too.

Both are able to push up on their hands.

Both love being hold and walked around the house.

{Throwback Thursday} Lily's 3 Months

As we just past the 3 month mark for Mr. Nate, I thought I'd share these from when Lily was 3 months. There are definitely some similarities, but a bunch of differences too. I think the biggest differences are Nate's crazy long hair and their face shape. Lily had a round face, full of cheeks and Nate has a longer face with his pointy chin. Lily's eyebrows are darker (as in noticeable!). 

Both of my babies know how to make some awkward faces for photos. Luckily Lily has outgrown it (with the exception of "funny faces").

And here's what I wrote...
This month has seen:
- the intro to a babysitter. It's going well, which makes me VERY happy!
- bottles. Although we don't use them at home, she is getting used to them at the sitter. We are using a Playtex Vent Air bottle that has a nice, 45 degree angle, which helps her. She sucks so hard with regular bottles that she has trouble getting milk, which upsets her. 
- Although she can still fit in size 1 diapers, we have started to buy size 2 for the sitter. Weight wise, she'd be in size 2 but she's skinny, so she can fit size 1.
- She has started using a pacifier. 
- She continues to sleep well (except this past week due to the change of everything), averaging 5-6 hours a night of straight sleep.
- She wore her first pair of shoes - pink gellies!
- She loves to smile!
- She's beginning to laugh. We've heard a few chuckles out her and it's the greatest sound.
- She is talking, A LOT! I love it!!! She is so expressive and just lights up when she talks.
- She's an excellent at making raspberries.
- She has great head control, almost to the point that there's no question she'll be able to do it.
- She loves to sit up on people's laps. She's starting to be able to do it on her own, but is a little wobbly.
- She can put all of her weight on her legs when held. She really loves this.
- She hit a new note while talking - a very high pitch squeal. Not a bad scream, just happy. It's adorable.
- She holds her head well while on her belly. We need to work on this, but she's doing great!
- She loves to move. She can get a little overwhelmed when held all day long by a lot of people, but loves to lay down and move her arms and legs. 
- She's finding her body parts very interesting. Her feet and toes are her favorites.
- She's started sucking her thumb. But not really sucking like you'd think - she really likes to put it in her mouth, make a sucking sound, and then play with her gums

{Nate the Great} Snow

Don't we all just hate the snow now? This isn't our first snowfall this year and I have a feeling that it won't be our last. I'm crossing my fingers though, 'cause I am sick of it! The photo below shows that it's roughly 8" of snow. That's on top of a nice layer of ice too. 

Many of these photos were shared on Instagram (@thebrickbungalow) so feel free to follow me. I am private now though, so you'll have to request to follow. 

{Throwback Thursday} Lily's 2 Months

Here's part of the post I created for Lily's two months (on our old blog that I'm currently in the process of transferring over here so I can delete it)...

So what's going on in the life of Lily at two months?

- She is watching EVERYTHING she can. Her vision is improving every day and she can see us from a distance. She also seems to be recognizing faces (especially grandparents). 
- She's turning at the sound of our voices. I love this!
- She's sleeping more at night, which I LOVE. There have been nights where she'll sleep through the whole night, ranging from 5-7 hours before waking up to nurse, and then going back to sleep for a couple hours. 
- We moved her to her own crib. She was slowly outgrowing the bassinet and it allows me to sleep a little better, as I'm not waking up at every single noise she makes. She also takes naps in her crib. She's still small in the crib, but it's a huge bed!
- She can bare weight on her feet when held to a standing position. She has started to enjoy her standing time. 
- We are working on Tummy Time and today saw the longest time she was on it before crying. She is so strong in her legs that she'll push with her feet (either on her back or tummy) and inch along. She's not a fan of using her arms yet, but she still has plenty of time!
- We're also working on sitting up. Her head control is the biggest problem with this, as it's still a little wobbly (but really good!). She sits with me on the couch some times and plays on the computer or watches TV. I think she likes the change and that she's not always laying down/propped up. 
- She makes so many noises! She definitely does more than a few at a time. It's adorable!
- She SMILES all the time! Her happiest time is in the morning, but she is such a happy baby. Even when she cries, she'll stop and try to smile. 
- Her hair is growing in and looking reddish. We can't tell if it'll be like Mommy's or a lighter strawberry blonde. But it definitely has some red in it!
- She had her first big trip this past week while we went on our family vacation to the lake. She enjoyed boating but not swimming. 
- Her nails are finally thick enough to cut with the nail clippers. This makes my job a lot easier as I used to have file or pick at the nails. 
- She can go 2 hours (or more) in between feedings. It helps when she has distractions, but 2 hours seems to be her average time. I need to work on this as next month sees me going back to work.
- She easily fits in her 3 month clothes. 0-3 works on some, but some seem to be a little small. NB is out of the question and look tiny!!
- She's still not a fan of bottles or pacifiers but has taken both on a few occasions. 
- She HATES to be wet. Dirty is fine, wet is not. She will CRY so loud and hard when she's wet. 
- Car rides are still going well, unless she's wet. 
- She still fights sleep and will cry when super tired. Some times she'll cry for a few seconds and then fall right asleep, other nights it takes a long time (just ask daddy!). 
- Her cries come for reasons (although some people think she may be colicky, we don't think so) and they come in various sounds, pitches and lengths. 
- She loves attention and loves being held, but needs her own time too. She really enjoys time on her back to stretch out and move. 
- She has fallen in love with her Grandpa J after a few naps together. He was great at getting her to go to sleep during the vacation. (But don't worry other grandparents - she loves you all!). 
- She watches me eat. She'll watch the food and then she'll watch me take it to my mouth. It's fun because I know that means one step closer to eating her own food (and maybe a little less dependency on mom). 
- She's starting to notice her feet. She hasn't grabbed for them yet or seemed that interested, but she'll look at them some.

{Life} Photo Dump

Wow! How are we already almost half way through January? 

(All above photos were taken Christmas Eve at my parents' farm.) 

Last week, as everyone was aware of, we had horrible weather and it postponed the beginning of our Spring Semester by two days. So, instead of starting on Monday, we started Wednesday. Although I miss spending all day with Nate the Great, I know he's in good hands with my mom. I also missed some of my coworkers and being around adults through the day. I'm still learning my new students as I have about 40-50 new faces. I have roughly 100 students that I see daily but I know most of them. My 6th graders (I teach 6-8 for those that don't know) are new to the building so I may recognize them from last semester but I don't have all of their names down yet. Getting there!

Photos above include Christmas Eve at my parents' house and a later celebration of Christmas at my in-laws' house. The above photo was a challenge to get! Four kids, 4 and under! Lily and Will are 3 months apart (Lily being older) and Nate and Kyla are 3 months apart (Kyla being older). This Christmas was calm compared to what future years will hold! 

Below: Can you believe Nate is three months YOUNGER than her?! 

As for the rest of life, it seems to be flying by! I wanted to get some photos uploaded since Christmas but between spending extra time with our family and Lily (we kept her home from daycare for two weeks), we've been busy with being lazy and enjoying each others' company. 

So...instead of random posts about individual things, this is a "catch everyone up to date" post and I'll hopefully get on a schedule at some point. I also have a blog for my classroom and I want to work on it, getting pictures and information up on it, so hopefully I can do both. 

Doug and I are both working full time, Doug's doing extra coaching after school (and that'll continue until May), Lily is loving preschool and being with friends, and my parents are watching Nate. My dad even installed our dishwasher! If you want more up to the date happenings, follow me on Instagram at thebrickbungalow.