What We've Been Up To!

It's been over a month since I've posted! I've wanted to write, but whenever I fall so far behind it's hard to get started again. How can I ever catch up!?

It's been a pretty busy month, with lots of fun activities. October is my very favorite month of the year. It's just about the one time of year that I love being outside. Daniel and I have been taking advantage of this and going on lots of walks and playing outside. We've also started going to the library every 2 weeks.  We pick out 5 or 6 new books and he gets to play with the train table and Legos.



A few weeks ago Kendra came to visit for a long weekend! We had so much fun and Daniel absolutely LOVES his Aunt Nenny! It was fun getting to spend time together. Growing up we weren't super close. With a 7 year age difference it was hard because we were never really on the same level. Now I love spending time with her and we definitely have a sister/friend bond!

We went to The Great Pumpkin Patch together and had tons of fun. She and I love everything fall so we couldn't wait to go! Daniel loved it too. It was the perfect day for it.











We spent close to 4 hours there and then went in search of the Amish store we found 2 years ago that sells these enormous whoopie pies! It was a success.

We enjoyed the rest of the weekend playing with Daniel, taking him to the playground, gorging on Mexican food and other such crap and rotting our brains with a Sister Wives marathon. Man, I love that girl.

Thankfully she came when she did. She had debated coming the following weekend, but if she had it wouldn't have been fun at all. Between Friday and the following Wednesday we all had our turn with the stomach flu. It was not fun. Not fun at all.

I had wanted to go to the zoo that weekend, but once the sickness hit, that was out of the question. We ended up deciding to go this past Sunday because the weather looked perfect! It was a bit on the chilly side, but really enjoyable. Far less miserable than going when it's over 100 degrees which we've done before! Daniel loved it all. He did a great job in the beginning ,but the fits all started once he started wearing down. All in all though he was a good boy.













Daniel passed out in the car about 2 minutes after we left, but we stopped for a late lunch at Steak and Shake. Jacob has somehow converted me into a Steak and Shake fan. And let me just say...I tried the limited time S'mores Shake and I kid you not, that is the BEST shake I've ever had. I want more! (Daniel thought it was pretty awesome too, but my phone died before I got a picture of him with it).



There. That about catches us up! Daniel is still being ornery as ever, but we're working on it. At 22 months he knows almost all of the letters of the alphabet and knows all of the numbers from 1-10! He points out letters and numbers wherever we go. He's impressed several people. I'm not gonna lie. I'm totally a proud Momma! It's fun watching him learn so many things and knowing that I helped teach him those things!

The Roller Coaster Called Parenthood

It's been a long weekend.

It seems that our kiddo has officially hit the "Terrible 2's" early. I suppose I can still just pray that it's a fluke, but holy smokes!

The weekend has been filled with timeouts, tears, tantrums and a bit of silliness mixed in there thankfully. I've been hit, pinched, and smacked in the face. Then again, I did get some hugs and kisses too. I've had moments of frustration, and annoyance and other times I've been able to take a deep breath and stay patient. Oh parenthood. Such a roller coaster.

Yesterday was a battle from the start. It was hot so we were stuck inside. I'm sure he was bored at times, but even when I tried to do things with him he had more interest in climbing up on the table, climbing in the computer chair and turning on the screen, finding pens and taking off with them, stealing and throwing the remotes, opening things he knows he's not supposed to, etc. etc. etc.

Nap time was a battle, as it has been all week long. It resulted in him crying, ripping letters off his wall, and throwing his stuffed animals and blankets on the floor before finally curling up in a ball and falling asleep...only to wake up as a bear.

Apparently when he woke up he wanted a snack. Instead of asking, he ran into the living room, started crying and throwing his toys. He tipped over his big car ramp and then to show us just how mad he was, he picked up his activity table and chucked that too! I managed to stay calm for that one. I asked him to pick up his toys and then tell me what he wanted. He calmly put everything back, hugged me and requested a granola bar.

Then the rest of the evening was a mix of good moments and not so good moments.

8:00 arrived and I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or full of dread. We brushed teeth, got our books, read and turned off the light to rock. My little boy suddenly turned back into my sweet child. He snuggled up and didn't move. He didn't fight me and wiggle all over, he just laid there. We talked about our day and how tomorrow would be a brand new day. I reminded him just how much we all love him. When we were done with our songs and prayers I told him it was time to go to bed. Lately, I usually get a whine and him shaking his head "No". This time he nuzzled right into my chest and just laid there. After a day like that, I decided he and I BOTH needed extra snuggle time.

We started out fresh today...but it's been a bit rough too. He's testing all of the boundaries right now.

Thankfully, he decided to take a real nap today. I'm hoping it helps since he hasn't really had a decent nap this week compared to normal.

Ahh...just had to vent and I know my fellow moms (and dads too) will likely be able to relate to this.

Daniel of course has had his adorable moments too. One of my favorites of the weekend was yesterday morning. I caught him waving and talking to his shadow. When he moved the shadow disappeared. I asked him where the shadow went and he steps into the light again and says, "There it is!"

Last night, he and Jacob were sitting on the couch and Jacob's phone vibrated in his pocket. Daniel's foot happened to be next to him. Daniel goes, "Toot???" and then, "What was that?" Haha!

We also made him malfunction. He's been confusing, "up" and  "down". In general he gets "up" right, but also says it when he means down. We've been correcting him when he gets it wrong. He wanted out of his high chair and says, "Up? Up?" I was washing the table and not quite ready to get him down yet so I didn't even reply. Then he pipes up, "Down?" I told him that was right and that I'd get him down in a minutes. He proceeds to sit there the whole time going, "Up? Up? Up? Down??? Up? Down? Down? Up? Down?..." Silly boy.

Here's hoping to a better week. I need some ideas of things to do with him. It's getting to the point that I dread going places because I know there's going to be a meltdown at least once...but alas, he's a toddler and that's what toddlers do.

Really though, no matter what, who couldn't love this kid?

My Ever Growing Boy!

My kiddo is just over 3 months away from turning 2! This just can't be possible, right!? Wasn't he JUST this tiny?



Now he's our very active toddler. I mean, the kid doesn't stop until he falls asleep!

He's curious about anything and everything.

He's a very good helper for the most part. He helps me pick up toys and organize. He totally gets that from me.

He loves to read. His very favorites are his "Little Pookie" books. I can recite both of them. He also enjoys asking us to read the same ones over and over again. Tonight he climbed up on my lap with his "Nini" book (aka...his Illini book). He had already heard it four times today so I told him to pick another book. Instead he sat on the floor and looked through it, then climbed up into my lap, gave me a kiss and then handed me the book again. He won. I am a sucker.

The kid would live outside if we would let him. Like I've said before, Jacob and I are not outdoor people. I'm learning to be more of one just for Daniel, but only when the weather is nice. Thankfully it's been a mild summer. Plus I love taking pictures outside, so I can mess around with my hobby and it makes it more enjoyable for me too.











I get bored doing the same stuff so I try to mix it up a little. Sometimes we play at home. Sometimes we go to our favorite playground. Then we explored the lake. Yesterday I took him to the other park. He even got to feed the ducks thanks to another couple there with their grandson. I think we'll go do that again this week!

He has a new obsession with fire trucks. It's to the point that any time he hears a siren..."Fire truck?" Any time a truck, van, car or any other vehicle drives by, "Fire truck?" The fire station is just down the street from us, so I walked him down there the other night and we looked at them. He was thrilled! I'm thinking one day we'll go in and I'll ask if he can look at one up close. :)

He's also obsessed with letters and numbers. He thinks all numbers are "One!" though. He gets what letters are but doesn't correctly identify them. Actually, he does know the letter Y. (Thanks to my work shirt!) But he'll point to letters, "N. S. O. P." Haha! I love that he's trying to learn though!

He went potty twice last week! He hasn't gone since, but that's okay. We'll work on it. It was still pretty exciting and we were really proud of him!

Daniel Tiger is the just about the best thing ever in Daniel's world. We know all the songs from every episode. He knows each character. The funny thing is he calls Daniel, "Bear" At night he says goodnight to Bear and Laina (Daniel and Miss Elaina). It's so stinking cute. I'm thrilled that they're coming out with a line of toys next month. Perfect for birthday and Christmas!

Anyway...he is the cutest kiddo in the whole world! Of course, he has his naughty side too. Our biggest struggle lately is transitioning from one thing to the next. I think he had 10 meltdowns today as I tried to get him to do things. It's frustrating, but it will pass. I had a bad day on Tuesday with him. He wasn't listening to me. Then we went grocery shopping and he kept pulling things off the shelves and throwing them into the cart. Then he'd take stuff that I put in the cart and throw it out. I about blew a gasket when we got home and he started screaming because I was feeding him lunch. Heaven forbid! Thankfully Jacob pointed out what a complete spaz I was being later when I was still grumpy. It helped me out and I calmed down. Just wasn't my day! I'm working on patience! Oh, life with a toddler (I suppose that can apply to any age!)

I do love being his mommy though. I told him that tonight and said, "Do you know that?" He giggled and went, "Mmm hmm!" He's awesome.

Jacob goes back to school this week, so Daniel and I will get back into our school year routine again. Hopefully we'll get to the park a few times. Jacob and his dad are going to a Cardinals Game on Saturday, so I'm planning to go to my favorite consignment store and then maybe Daniel and I will find a new park. Excited for a fun Mommy and Bubby Day!

The Bad and the Good

The last couple of weeks have been kind of crazy! I always mean to blog, but when you fall so far behind it's always hard to know where to start!

Like I talked about in my last post, on our way home from our trip my car had started leaking oil. Like massive amounts of it. I was pretty well convinced that my car was a goner. I figured it could be fixed, but the car is old and I wasn't really planning to spend a ton of money to fix it. Thankfully that only cost us about $100!

When we got home, we also discovered that our air conditioner was broken! After calling our normal place and having them give me the run around, I called another local company and I'm so glad I did! They were awesome! We ended up having a brand new air conditioner and furnace installed this past week. It was a scary price tag, but ultimately the right decision. This will make selling our house that much easier when the time comes. Our old furnace was about 45 years old and the air conditioner wasn't far behind. Quite honestly other than our mortgage I've never financed anything in my life. I always save and pay with cash. It's how we bought Jacob's car and our roof. (See...being very frugal has it's perks!). This time we had to finance though. Once again, I was nervous, but we'll be able to put a decent chunk down. Phew! The air works amazingly well! We LOVE it! Although, with this great weather we're having it's not needed right now!

And since things always seem to happen in 3's, Jacob's car didn't want to miss an opportunity to cost us about $500 in repairs! Not to mention it needs new tires too! Holy moly. Hoping now that everything is fixed we can catch a looooong break.

We've still managed to have plenty of fun too, as the summer is winding down.

We went to Villa Grove 2 weekends ago for Rachel's graduation party. We spent the night and had lots of fun!







That little boy was awake from 7:00am until 8:00pm. No nap and he was still going strong! I couldn't believe it. He had a blast running up and down the halls at the church and playing in the nursery too.

He also learned to say Uncle Micah's name that weekend! He's working on Aunt Rachel's. It basically comes out as "Cel" right now. Ha! It's weird teaching him to say "my" name. Another new word from the weekend was, "cupcake".

He was only in it for the frosting.



Before we came home, Daniel got to help Grandpa out in his garden by digging up potatoes!



Then over the weekend we went to Springfield. Went to Kohls to get Jacob some pants for work and also got some clothes on clearance for Daniel for next summer! Then we hit up Olive Garden for some never ending pasta. I'd say it was a hit. Little man ate soup, salad, pasta and an entire breadstick!





Then we hit up Dick's Sporting Goods. I printed off a $10 eGiftcard from a Facebook promotion. Everything is super expensive though but we ended up finding Daniel a soft Cardinals bat and ball for his birthday and only paid $5 for it! He was cracking us up though. When we got home he grabbed it and ran away yelling, "Mine!" Silly boy.

On Sunday, Pa came over to visit for the afternoon. We played outside, went to the playground and then out for his birthday and even got some ice cream before heading home again.







And then on Monday, Grandma and Aunt Sarah came for a visit. The little booger will not say Grandma or Ma, even though we know he can and knows who both of them are. He kept asking for Pa and then at supper I pointed at Brenda and asked who she was. He either didn't answer or said Pa. Then I pointed to Sarah and asked who she was, to which he replies, "MA!!" Such. A. Booger. Brenda and I were cracking up though! We went to Krieger's for supper that night. Lot's of eating out...but lots of delicious foods!





Lot's of fun! Today Daniel got to go to school with Daddy and hang out with him while he's getting his class ready. He apparently had tons of fun! He's going to be a very confused little boy next week when Daddy isn't here in the mornings!

One last picture for good measure because I love it!

Our Family Vacation!

No way can I write about EVERYTHING from our vacation, but a recap with pictures seems legit.

We began our 10 day journey by traveling to my parents house. We originally planned to stay overnight, but left a day early to spend a little more time. This actually turned into 3 nights instead of 2 because our brother--in-law ended up in the hospital with a blood clot in  his leg!

We hung out at my parents and Daniel enjoyed the sprinkler...until I put his swim trunks on. Then he decided he didn't care for it. He let Pa take him through once though.



Also, while we were there we had supper at Texas Roadhouse. Mmm...rolls. Had Orange Leaf. Mmm....fro yo. Plus Jacob and I got to go see the Fast and the Furious at the Collins Rd. Theater! Yay for a cheap movie and popcorn. Mmm...popcorn. :)

Monday we headed up to Minnesota. Once again I have to comment on what an awesome little traveler we have!

That evening Daniel enjoyed exploring.





The next day, Aunt Rachel made some "super bubbles" and we went to the park and lake.







It's all fun and games until it's time to go!



On Wednesday we hit up the zoo! Wasn't prepare to wake up to chilly weather, but it warmed up as the day went on and we really enjoyed it!

So stinking cute!





We even found Daniel Tiger! He would look at him and say, "RAWR!!!"





We were so happy that we got to go up to Minnesota and see where Rachel and Micah live! Daniel enjoyed there place as well and did a pretty good job sleeping somewhere new too!

Had to prove we actually did get to see Uncle Micah now and then, even though he was still in quite a bit of pain.



We set back off for Iowa on Thursday morning. Car loaded and driver's mirror duct taped on. Rachel may or may not have hit it with her car. Haha! It was fun giving her crap about it. :)

Daniel was excited to see his Pa again (and Grandma too!). I got caught back up on laundry and we just hung out. Then Friday afternoon we were off again! This time we were all headed to Chariton to visit Grandma T.

Grandma of course was prepared for her 2 great grandsons and had balls and sand out for them when we got there!



He also loved the "park" across the street! (The school playground). We spent many hours over there playing as kids.

He face planted off this slide twice and both times got up, brushed himself off and carried on. So proud!



Saturday was just a fun day all around. It was filled with:

Piano playing



Ice cream eating:



"Peep Mobile" making



Bubble Blowing:



Family Picture Taking:









And hotel fun:





Sunday we said our good-byes after a yummy breakfast made by my Grandma! It was a long uneventful trip home until a red oil pressure light came on an hour from home.

Since we've been home my car has been repaired...after leaking massive amounts of oil. In fact I left a nice oil trail all down the street taking it for repairs. Oh...and our air conditioner broke. We're taking the plunge and having a whole new air conditioner and furnace installed next week. It's scary spending so much, but our furnace is (no joke) about 45 years old. The air was VERY old too. Hopefully this will help in selling the house later!

Alright...this still got long. I've got to post again next week. I have so much to write about our little man! We're off on another mini adventure this weekend!