Beach Babes:-)

We're still on vacation down in NC on the Outer Banks and loving every second of our break!  Right now every is sleeping in so I have a chance to blog and enjoy hot coffee (I almost never get to drink a whole cup of coffee while its still hot anymore... so its the little luxuries that count;-)).

Trey is my beach boy!  He absolutely loves it down here.  He loves to pick up seashells, dig in the sand... but most of all he likes to dip his feet in the FREEZING water and watch as the waves comes crashing.  He will say, "Here they come, Mama!" and just stare at them fascinated.  The wind and water were freezing the other day when we were down there and he was soaked and in shorts, but it didn't bother him one bit and he had quite the tantrum when we tried to leave.  Pj is having fun having special Trey/daddy time.  Almost every day they have gone out in the morning either to the donut shop or to the park or just take a walk.  Later on this morning they are going mini-golfing with Mike and Trey's cousin Brett.  Karen and I are going to look for a nail salon and get a pedicure... we'll see if we can find a place nearby that is open!


Ethan went to the beach finally for his first time the other day.  He seemed to enjoy it, as much as you can tell from a 6-month old's emotions.  He definitely seemed to take everything in.  We got some cute pictures!  He is having a rough week.  His teeth are still pushing through and every other day he seems to be in discomfort (like this morning when he woke up at 6:30am just cranky and hurting).  But he's a champ.  Pj is amazing... the first few nights he took over Ethan's sleeping and whenever he cried he went in and shushed him but then let him cry it out.  It took two or three nights, but now Ethan is sleeping pretty much from 8pm-4am, feeds, and then 4am-8am.  I love it!  Just to give you an idea of what it was before... he would wake up at 12pm, 2pm, 4am, 6am.....  yeah I didn't get much sleep up until this week.  Thank God the plan worked!!  My husband is awesome.  It's hard to be firm with Ethan when you are sleep deprived and know all you have to do is to nurse him to get him to go back to sleep.  I think Ethan knew he had me under his thumb!

I've enjoyed the nice hot weather we've had the past couple of days.  I've spent in in my bathing suit by the pool with a good book... feels like summer!  It will be hard to go home.  We are actually debating leaving tomorrow (as previously planned) or just waiting till Monday.  We'll see!  We are so thankful that we can stay down here.  We were just talking the other day about what a blessing it is... because if it weren't for Pj's parents and their beach home that they generously open up to us... we probably wouldn't be able to go on vacations at all its just so expensive.  It's just been really great to know we can get a break and not go completely broke! 

Well, the sun just came out and apparently its already 64 outside and still no one is up yet... so I'm headed out for some sun and reading.  Here are some cute pictures to leave you with!

Teething, Toddler Bed & A "Good News" Kind of Week

I'm pretty exhausted right now, but the house is fairly clean, laundry done, dinner cooking, and car is packed for our week long vacation that will start at 4am tomorrow morning.  I figured, since Ethan is starting to wake up, I might as well update you all on what's going on!  I feel like alot has happened since my last update.

Teething -- Yes, Ethan is cutting his first two teeth (they are the front bottom ones).  I can see the white tops just about to pop through.  The last few days he has been pretty fussy, wanting to nurse alot and then not wanting to nurse at all... wanting to be held alot.  It's been crazy!  But for the most part he's still a happy smiley baby through it all.  Will post a cute toothy pic once they are out!

Toddler Bed -- Trey is sleeping in a toddler bed now for all of his naps and sometimes at night (we leave the night sleeping up to him).  We debated alot on when to make this transition, but figured since Ethan is still with us, this was the best time... so Trey still has a crib option to slowly transition and also so he doesn't wake Ethan up when Ethan is in there.  So far so good! 

Ethan's 6 Month Checkup -- I can't believe my little man is already half a year old!!  He had his 6 month checkup yesterday and is a nice whopping 19 lbs and 27 inches long.  I figured as much!  I can barely carry him around anymore in his carrier.  Ethan is still a laidback baby with lots of big smiles for everyone, especially the ladies.  He loves Trey most of all still!  He loves his bounch Baby Einstein activity center and will easily bounce an hour in there... strong legs.  He doesn't want to do tummy time and hasn't shown much interest in moving around yet, but there is no rush.  He loves to screech and make lots of other crazy sounds, but no babbling yet, except "mamamama" when he's crying and really upset!  He loves his solids and had avocado, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, broccoli, apples, bananas, and pear so far.

WCA -- We had good news this week!  WCA, the school where Pj works, will be able to stay in their new bldg another year for sure.  They just found out yesterday.  There is a chance of a long-term deal too.  Be praying about that... that the long-term deal would work out.  Not knowing the past months had been very stressful for Pj so we're just so excited about this and happy we go on vacation and not have to think about it anymore.

Graphic Design Business -- I guess its marketing season out there!  I have been getting lots of graphic design jobs lately... which has been a fun artsy break for me not to mention good for our checking account.  I would love even more business so if you know of anyone who needs something designed, let me know!  I have a blog

http://katherineflemingdesign.blogspot.com and a FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katherine-Fleming-Design/312789769764?sk=info.  Check it out and "like" my FB page;-)  I'm not just limited to business looks or print on paper either.  I can do personal mugs, pens, t-shirts.  I can design your invitations... or create an e-announcement for you!  Just let me know:-)

 

Babies -- My sister Sarah is due with her little girl at the end of April and I'm so excited.  I've had fun buying girly stuff for my niece.... she will be spoiled!  Absolutely spoiled!!!  I can't wait for Trey and Ethan to have a female cousin too!!  It will be a fun summer.  We had a baby shower for her last weekend and it was so great.  I can't believe she is almost due now!  The time has flown by!

Beach Trip -- Tomorrow morning we are headed down to the Fleming's beach house in Corolla, NC for a Pj's spring break week.  We can't wait!  It is a much needed much anticipated break for us.  I've planned lots of fun new stuff to do with Trey, plus I hope to sleep and go running for me time!  Not to mention they have cable so I will tune in to HGTV (my favorite) pretty much all the time.  We'll be posting pics!  It will be Ethan's first trip to the beach!

 

Aquarium -- We took Trey to the aquarium in Baltimore a few weeks ago without Ethan so home could get alone time with us.  He had so much fun!  He ran from tank to tank checking everything out.  Partly I think he just thought it was cool we were letting him run and look on his own.  He LOVED the jellyfish and dolphins the most.... wasn't to big on the sharks... and came home with a stuffed octopus animal that he loves to pieces!  Afterward we took him for a late dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  He was just glowing the whole night... it made us so happy to see him so happy:-)

 

 

Ethan Is Almost 6 Months Old Already!

I just realized the other day that my little Ethan is almost half a year old.  Where did the time go?  He's grown way too fast.  And so I figured it was time to write a post just for Ethan!

My little linebacker is currently jumping wildly in his Baby Einstein activity jumper.  He loves that thing!  Sometimes he will jump for an hour or more.  Strong legs I guess!  Lately he really wants to be upright, but unfortunately he is not moving much yet so its up to us.  He still hates being on his belly.  When on his back he will roll almost all the way over, but not quite.  When he's on his belly he will get super mad and push himself up into a crawling position, but that's usually the only time.  It's okay though.  We're not in a rush!  He will sit on his own for minute or two if we put him that position.  He loves that!

And yes, Ethan is still a big dude!  In January he was 16 lbs.  February he was 18 lbs.  I wouldn't be surprised if he were 19 now.  I haven't measured him in a while, but he's atleast 26 or 27 inches.  So he's by no means small;-)  I used to carry Trey easily around in one arm while doing stuff but with Ethan my arms wears out fast.  I have noticed I've got a some pretty good muscles on my arms showing though thanks to him;-).

Ethan loves to eat his solid food!  I still nurse alot, but sometimes at lunch and always at dinner he will eat rice cereal mixed either with applesauce, banana, pear, sweet potato.  We tried carrots and he didn't like that!  I mixed broccoli in with the sweet potato (recipe in my baby food cook book) and he liked that.  Oh, and we tried avocado and he thought it was okay.

One thing we enjoy the most about our Ethan is that he LOVES to cuddle with people.  He is most content just sitting on someone's lap and looking around.  He loves to "attack" my face with slobbery kisses.  He loves to play hide-and-seek.  If he has human-interaction, he's a happy camper.  I look forward to the day when Trey actually wants to play with him too.  He ADORES Trey!  When Trey enters the room, no one else matters.  His eyes are glued to Trey's every move.  He will smile the biggest for Trey!  It's so sweet.  And Trey has gotten alot better about loving his brother.  He will ask to hold him sometimes.  He will bring him toys and blankets.  He still gets very concerned if Ethan is crying and will let me know he needs help.

Ethan's hair never really fell out (except for where it rubbed off on the back of the head) and now its thickening up.  It's like light brown with some gold in it.  Pretty much the same color as mine when I was little (except a little darker).  His eyes are still mostly dark blue/gray with specks of either green or brown (hard to tell which at this point).  He still has a darker skin tone than Trey!

And so that is our Ethan!  We love him so much and are excited to see what sort of little boy he grows to be.  I have a feeling he will be alot more laid back and calmer than Trey though... which is okay... you can only deal with on Trey at a time;-)