First Day of School

I take a picture each year.... and it is so fun to see the progression from being a student myself to now starting my 10th year in education! I can't believe I have been doing this for a decade now!  Where has the time gone?!  Daddy took Zander to school this morning so I could be at work by 6:45 a.m.  Notice it is very dark in the background of this picture.... needless to say.... Zander had an early bedtime tonight.;)

 One year ago....

Other pictures from the week....

Zander had pajama day last Friday.. this picture comes with bed head and tired eyes to make pajama day more believable... haha!

 My boys before church on Sunday.....

Bri and I went shopping to pick out things for her baby registry! I am so excited that Zander will have a BOY to play with in November! We are praying for this precious baby that is arriving soon.... I had to take a picture by the stork parking! ;)

Our little man turned 16 months old this past week! He is doing great recognizing his nose, belly, tongue, ears (kinda), head, and fingers (still working on this one).  Of course, he will never perform when I ask him to in front of others.  Fortunately, I do have a video as proof!  He does great with bringing you a book or ball if you ask him to.  He can say "ba" (ball), "bye bye" (says this really well and sometimes loud!), "mama", "daddy", "yeah", "hi/hey", and I swear he is starting to work on "Bur" (Burke).  It is confirmed he is my child.... he likes to put things in the trash!  I will say "go put this in the trash," and he will take it to the appropriate location!  He loves giving hugs and blowing kisses.  My favorite thing right now is to sing to him before bedtime.  He will rest his head on my shoulder for a few minutes before we say our bedtime prayers.  After I say "amen", he says "bye".  He hasn't figured out "amen" yet. ;) He loves eating corn on the cob!  (Thank goodness it is so cheap right now!... I make it at least twice a week!)  He doesn't really like corn off the cob which I think is interesting.  He is still in 12 and 18 month clothes.  He wears size 4 diapers to bed but is still in size 3 for daytime use..... when will he be potty-trained?! Just kidding!;)  Hope the rest of the week goes as well as today went!  Wish us luck!!

Our Visit with Aunt A!

We were able to squeeze in one last summer adventure for our family of three! We made our way to Georgia to spend the weekend with Aunt A and Jay! We had such a great time catching up with them.  We ate delicious food, found moments to relax (when Zander was sleeping!), checked out a local park (where I think the adults might have had more fun than the toddler!) and visited the Georgia Aquarium!  It was so fun to introduce Zander to his first aquarium with his Aunt A!  Here are some pictures from our trip.....

After Zander cried for five out of the six hours on our way to the beach a few weeks ago, Grammy and Grandpa Buzz got us dual DVD players for the car (Zack wanted to hook up the 2nd one so I could chauffeur both boys around!.... I said "no go" to that!).  Zander got to watch "Finding Nemo" and "Rio"..... the movies provided just the right amount of distraction in between naps, reading books, and playing with toys for our trip to Georgia and back!

 We went to the aquarium on Saturday morning.  I love that Zander is a little older now!  I only had to carry a small book bag with toddler essentials (diapers, wipes, change of clothes and snacks) and he fit nicely in the umbrella stroller!

 We loved looking at all the aquatic life!

 Some of the rooms had fish and other sea creatures swimming over our heads!

 Family picture

 Aunt A and Jay

 Zack and Zander's favorite.... the beluga whales

Zander was so worn out from the busy morning and all the interesting sights that he fell asleep on our way to lunch.  He continued to stay asleep during our entire lunch.... we were able to eat our food and socialize before having to help feed this cutie!

 Zander napping on the way home!

 Watching cartoons while I fixed dinner.....

 Eating dessert (a rare occasion) since Zander ate most of his dinner!

Hi Ho Hi Ho, Its Back to Work I Go!

This week has been exhausting!!! I am officially worn out, and it is only Wednesday!!  The only bad thing about having five weeks off with my cutie is that I was able to feel what it truly meant to relax for a little while and now it is hard to get back into a routine.  A routine that doesn't all the way consider what is best for a 15 month old, but a routine that has to happen if I am going to make it to work on time!  The mornings and evenings are really busy!! And work is really busy!! So.. I am left in the evenings after Zander is in bed.... simply tired.  I know I was really tired last year but I don't remember feeling this exhausted and overwhelmed!  A perk about this year compared to last is that I am not pumping and nursing.... preparing and labeling bottles.... washing and drying bottles... washing many outfits from blowout diapers and spit up.  This year is definitely going to be "easier" in that regard.... but as those of you that have children know... keeping up with a 15 month old is a full time job!! So... to have a separate full time job in addition to being a mother.... makes it challenging at times.  As I am writing this.... I am taking deep breaths.... trying to forget the to-do list from work and trying to forget the fussy baby that I brought home from daycare.  I will focus on the positives.... a cute toddler running up to me with a big smile as I picked him up from "school" this evening.....a wonderful husband that took over bath time tonight so I could clean up the kitchen and get the laundry moved over from the washer to the dryer.... bedtime snuggles where we sang three or four songs as Zander sat calmly on my lap......and over halfway through the work week!  Here are a few pictures from the beginning of our week.....

 Zander may have tried dog food this week as I was attempting to get dinner ready... he just leaned over and grabbed a piece of Burke's food from his bowl! (As a side note.. I thought it was cute that Zander was keeping Burke company while he ate his dinner.... and I was impressed that Burke didn't get upset with Z's close proximity.... I will have to keep a closer watch to ensure Zander doesn't eat any more of Burke's meals!)

 Heading out the door for our first day back!

 Eating spaghetti.... those of you that know me understand how impressive these pictures are.... my kid made a mess of himself, his clothes, the tray, the floor, and mommy.... I let him have fun and then got to spend quality time cleaning him and then everything else once he went to sleep!  Usually I take his clothes off for pasta nights but I forgot until the "fun" had already started.... did I mention that I have been tired this week and might not be functioning at 100% mental capacity?!

For another fun fact..... two years ago today.... I found out I was going to be a mommy! I didn't know at the time boy or girl or names or what he/she would look like......It is so exciting to fast forward to now.... we are blessed with a healthy boy that is into everything and looks like his daddy without a doubt!  Zander has truly blessed our lives and I couldn't imagine my life any differently!

Summer Break: Week 5

This is my final week as a "stay at home mom"!  I have loved being home with Zander this summer! We have kept ourselves pretty busy.....my favorite part of the day is being able to let our little man sleep until he is ready to wake up (which is around 6:45 a.m.).  It has been wonderful to see such a happy toddler greet me in the mornings.... knowing that he is refreshed and ready to start a new day.  It is hard to believe that the time he has been waking up this summer is about 15 minutes before we have to be out the door starting on Monday.  I hope we can give Zander enough sleep with our work schedule and still have some part of an evening with our little guy.  It is so hard to go from seeing Zander every hour he is awake to seeing him about 2 hours a day.  Pray for me as this will be a constant struggle until he is in kindergarten, and we are at the same elementary school! ;)
We started out the final week of summer break with a mini-getaway for mommy and daddy!  Zack and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, and he surprised me with an overnight trip to Mt. Airy! We were able to walk around town and get milkshakes/malts.  We ate a delicious dinner at 13 Bones and went to see a movie (Guardians of the Galaxy).  The next morning we went on a small hike at Pilot Mtn. before heading home.  Without further ado.... here are the anniversary "selfies"!

Zander and I have had fun this week...... enjoying one last swim at Kelly's pool and going to the doctor for his 15 month checkup.  Zander weighs 20 lbs and 15 oz!  He is holding strong at the 15th percentile for weight.  He did not like the shots too much...... but he took a really good nap.... which meant mommy had some time to relax on the couch!  I haven't done much relaxing this summer.... always finding something that needs done while Z is napping.  Today, I decided why not put up my feet for a bit and it was glorious!

 

We have four more days together (if you count the weekend!).  We are planning on grabbing lunch tomorrow with Aunt Lindsey and then going over to a friend's house for a playdate.  On Friday, we are grabbing dinner and watching a movie (at the casa) with Bri and Chris.  Basically, we are soaking up the last days of summer, and I plan to get plenty of snuggles in with my little man between now and Monday!