camper independence

so i never got to tell all about our first time out in the camper.

let's rewind a week...

there was a lot of packing.

we brought more crap than i thought possible and

somehow i had to run to walmart saturday morning

for a list of more crap we forgot.

hopefully, the camper is all set up and next go around

we'll just have to bring the basics.

the weekend went smoother than i thought it would

and the girls slept better than i ever would have dreamed.

brette had some late nights but both girls took

THREE HOUR naps in the afternoon.

sa-weet.

at night we could put them both down and then

go back out to hang with the adults with our

trusty video monitor.

then, when we're ready to go back inside

we can sneak in the second entrance to our master bedroom

without waking anyone up.

the other thing i really loved is the u-shaped kitchen table it has.

we can all sit and eat, even reid, without a highchair.

and the two chairs in the "living room" work really

well for nursing/rocking at night.

basically, the layout of the camper suits us really nicely.

it's a good thing i liked the camper because

it rained all day saturday.

wah wah.

that made everything a

little soggy but the group we went with had pop-up's

so we basically had a big covered room outside.

i did some light reading, some light drinking,

played a few games and basically just sat around bullshitting.

the kids watched a few movies and colored.

sunday the sun finally came out so we took

the kids down to the beach to play in the water and

after nap we were able to take the boat out.

brette really loves the lake.

 

i have practically no pictures from the whole weekend because

i don't get service down there so i never had my phone on me.

but here is reid climbing from the couch to the

kitchen table like a little monkey.

and then a few from one afternoon outside.

 

monday, we got up early and hit the road.

my bff, kassie, had her baby over the weekend i was

bound and determined to meet that kiddo asap.

we were back home, unpacked and showered by 3:00

so i got back on the road to see little elle.

she is precious and perfect and i don't

think i've seen kassie as happy as she is now.

i'm pretty sure she was made for motherhood.

 

 

 

a diamond in the rough

remember way back when we started

working on the outside of our house?

no?

well, read this.

it was definitely looking a little rough.

it started with adding a new railing around the basement stairs.

then replacing the siding that had rotted out.

they replaced some fascia board and used

bondo to fill in places that needed it.

it actually took ronnie and cale almost three months to get done.

i know.

waaaay too long.

once i found some painters that would actually show up,

 they were ready to start painting within three days

of hiring them.

ronnie spent two nights

outside until 10pm finishing up.

honestly, i didn't even feel bad because,

COME ON,

let's get this done already.

it also only gave me three days to pick a final color.

oh my god, the pressure.

in the end, i found a picture of a house from

sherwin williams that i liked and used those colors.

i changed out their gold color for a gel stain.

 

needlepoint navy, classic light buff and a wood gel stain.

i really like the combo but i was worried what it

would look like up against the brick so i started to do some research.

here's what i found:

 

i thought they both looked good and

honestly, i was never planning on keeping my brick untouched.

a limewash is in my future.

ronnie is trying to talk me out of it,

but he might just come home one day and i'll

have a least part of it done.

i'm sorry, but this brick is SO MUCH cooler.

 

 

we also contemplated changing the wood shake back to

a nature color and gel staining it as well.

i was worried that between the brick, the shake shingles,

the trim and the base color we would have too

much going on and it would look a little crazy.

although, if we didn't have brick,

how good does this look?

 

but like it said,

 we are doing a limewash brick,

a needlepoint navy base,

classic light buff trim

and a gel stain on the front door and shutters.

here's the whole transition:

 

 first, we had to take down the rotten siding and

replace the garage header.

 

 

i thought it looked pretty good when they got

it all put back together.

i thought: holy cow, maybe this won't take too long.

 

 but the rest of the house was slow going.

 

 

but finally - just last week - it was time to PAINT!

first, they primed all the new siding.

 

next, base.

then trim.

 

finally, the gel stain.

and we're done!

it only took them four days.

i can only imagine what it would have

taken ronnie to do it.

 

 

 

done, but not TOTALLY done.

we need to go buy new outside lights this week and

we need to stain the deck and the new railing.

i also want to add the hardware to the garage to make it look a little nicer.

one day, i want to replace the garage doors completely.

i'm IN LOVE with this:

 

i know it seems silly,

but for real,

i think new garage doors are important.

it just gives it a more polished look.

and windows.

windows on a garage door are my jam.

 

and if i REALLY get my way,

ronnie will be adding a little pergola above them too.

um, yes please!

this looks so good.

 

but for now, i'm going to live with a cheap update like this:

 

i looks so sad in comparison,

but i'll live with it for awhile.

 

i think next year ronnie

wants to work on landscaping and tree removal.

for real, this place it never-ending.

but i like it and it seems

pretty simple in comparison to what we've been doing.

 

 

pretty soon the house will actually LOOK like the diamond it is.

 

 

campering

things were going so well.

we actually looked like a fairly normal family.

me, with the yukon.

ronnie, with his truck.

the harley was tucked away in the garage.

the 4Runner and jeep were sold.

the only huge monster left in our driveway

was ronnie's shed-on-wheels that he has for work.

(and there's not much i can do about that.)

 

and then he went and bought a camper.

 

 

technically, I bought the camper,

but lets be honest.

i would never actually buy a camper without

it being ronnie's stupid idea. 

let's back up.

we had a lovely time over memorial day weekend.

ronnie wanted a camper.

i said next year.

ronnie found a camper online that he liked.

i said it was too expensive.

ronnie called the guy and he had just dropped his price by $5000.

i said i guess.

ronnie sent me to look at the camper and make sure it was in good shape perfect.

i said what the hell am i looking for?

ronnie listed off a bunch of stuff that i have no clue about.

i put him on speaker phone the whole time i was there and

shot a video for him to look at.

he approved.

i jewed down the price.

they accepted.

ronnie's life just got better.

i just added more work to mine.

 

ronnie:

 

me:

 

but we both agree:

 

we're taking off on our maiden voyage this weekend.

my list is a mile long.

its has a queen-size bed and a full-size bed,

both sizes of sheets and comforters have been stored away

in the basement for the last several years.

looks like i'll be doing laundry.

and buying groceries, figuring out meals,

packing (for me, 2 girls and 2 dogs), making sure we have all the random shit

that you might need over a three day period

and hopefully having a whole lot of fun once we get there.

what's ronnie doing?

packing for himself and the coolers.

 

i'm anxious to see how this goes.

hello, you know me. i'm a planner.

i like to know how things are going to be before i get there.

my biggest fear?

my girls don't sleep.

they turn into a hot mess and i'm stuck with whiney, crying kids.

i wish i was more go-with-the-flow about stuff like this,

but i like my schedule and i get a little nervous when we try to veer off.

especially for several days at a time.

i'm sure i'll get better at this campering thing the more i do it,

but for now, i'm making huge lists so i don't forget something mandatory.

wish me luck!

 

 

 

mermaid vibes

 

 

brette and madeline had a sweet little birthday

party over the weekend - - mermaid style.

they actually decided this together, which i

thought was sweet of them.

i made ocean themed food,

blew up green & purple balloons,
hung "seaweed" streamers,
laid out some seashells and called it a day.

i really wanted them to be dressed as actual mermaids

but the cute dress i found only came in

brette and eden's size and nothing for madeline.

that was not an option.
but oh well,

i think the girls had a really good time and

its always nice to have a family day.

 

seashells = pasta salad
seaweed = spinach/artichoke dip
fish food = cheetos
tuna salad sliders
fish sticks
shrimp cocktail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

now i'm off planning reid and eden's party...

love all our summer girls.

 

reid: eleven months

 

 

we are one month away from her big birthday.

but let me tell you...

the amount of change i see in reid in the last month is crazy.

c r a z y.

it's times like these that i'm so glad i get to stay

home with my girls because

honestly, just like that, they grow up.



 

 

growth:

still no news on her height and weight, but

i promise to do an update when we have her well-baby visit with the pediatrician.

i actually don't see a lot of change in her physical appearance.

i'm sure she's grown some, but

she so active that i doubt she's gained much weight.

she's wearing 12 month clothing and size three diaper.

actually, right now she's wearing a size 2 because i'm

an idiot and bought the wrong size.

i already busted them open before i realized and

so we're squeezing her into these until i need another box.

whoops.

her hair might be a tad longer and i do notice it

is finally starting to grow some around her neck.

but let's get to the big changes:

she's standing, she had her first word and she got her first tooth.

 i know.

i told you it was a big month!

she pulls up on everything - - she definitely

likes to be standing.

and she's always on the go.

she'll crawl from my room to the playroom,

but her favorite place is the bathroom. (of course)

she crawls right to the bathtub, stands up and tries to reach the toys.

it freaks me out that she might fall in, so

i keep the door shut the majority of the day.

we also taught brette to be on high-alert about the baby gate at the top of the stairs.

since brette was doing well going up and down on her own

we got kind of lax about keeping it shut,

but now that reid is all over the place we are nazis about

making sure it's shut.

my darn stairs will forever freak me out.

and yes, i still miss my ranch house.

and now for her first word!

ahhhhhhhh!

she will drop something and say "ah oh!"

its really freaking cute. and she does it all the time.

she'll also say "da" for ronnie, "oo oo" for louie and

yes, i've even gotten a few "ma's."

it's all very exciting.

and last, her teeth.

that's right.

not just one tooth but several!

her two middle bottom ones are coming in and i

can feel one on the top now too.

i think by her first birthday,

we should definitely have all three in.

i can't wait to see her toothy grin.

but, with all these teeth finally popping through,

we've had a few hard nights.

only a couple, but still.

that always sucks.

i dose her up with infant tylenol and hope for the best.

 

 

sleeps:

sleeping is same ol' same ol'.

except for those few rough night dealing with her teeth,

she's right on schedule.

down at 8:00pm,

up between 6:30 - 7:30.

first nap at 9:30 and second nap at 2:00.

i'm working on putting her down awake and letting

her put herself to sleep.

she can definitely do it, but

some days are harder on her than others.

she will start going to a sitter on friday's next month

and i want it to be a smooth transition.

i figure, that easier she is to put down,

the easier her day will be away from home.

here's the thing - - she is still very reliant on a pacifier.

i haven't been too concerned with it because

she had no teeth.

but now that her teeth are busting through i get a

little paranoid about letting her keep her pacifier.

after we're done nursing, the pacifier will be the first thing to go.

 

 

 eats:

reid eats like a champ and will

for real, out eat brette.

she is pickier than i remember brette being though.

she won't eat hamburger, avocado or certain fruits,

which i think it weird, but

when you do find something she loves

(black beans/eggs/peas/tuna salad/cheese)

she will eat a ton.

 she is still nursing, but the weaning process is going really well.

i cut her 5am feeding first when she started sleeping through the night.

then i cut her 5pm feeding.

the next to go was her 7am feeding.

instead, we just went downstairs and had breakfast.

so right now this is her schedule:

7:30 - breakfast

9:30 - nurse

12:00 - lunch

2:00 - nurse

4:00 - snack

6:00 - dinner

8:00 - nurse

next on my list is giving her milk out of sippy cup.

i think i might start with breakfast.

if i can get her to eat and drink her milk together

then i will stop nursing her at her naptime.

this will also allow me to put her down while she's

still awake so we can work on that too.

since i only have four weeks left,

i will cut one nursing session per week and

the last week i will start mixing whole milk in

with the breastmilk to convert her over by her birthday.

i'm interested to see how she likes milk

out of her sippy cup.

hopefully, it's easy-peasy.

 

 

plays:

we put new batteries in our stand-to-play toys because

that's her favorite thing to do.

the piano, the dog that walks and kitchen are

all her favorites.

anything that she can crawl over to and stand up and play.

she also loves the tool set.

she always has a screw driver in her hands.

when we're downstairs she's always into the dog bowls.

i have to pick up the water bowl 80 times a day

so she doesn't make a mess, but i let her

clang around their food bowls just because she loves it so much.

she also loves climbing up on our brick step.

i put a rug over the edge to save her from hitting her face

but she's always on a mission to get to the front door.

she also messes around with the little white table and chairs a lot.

basically, if there is something down on her level,

she's into it.

 

 

firsts:

she is standing

she has teeth

she said her first word

she can climb up a stair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

brette: 3 years

 looking back i can't believe i've been

doing these updates for so long.

once a month for the first year,

then every six months and now, yearly.

and how do i remember or accurately describe brette's growth

for a whole year?

going from two to three...

i wouldn't call it the "terrible twos" - -

instead i would call it the "trying twos."

she tries your patients, she tests her limits (and mine)

she fights back, she talks back.

she is just trying.

 

 

growth:

brette weighs 32 lbs.

but i don't know how tall she is.

we have her three year check up soon,

so i'll report back.

i'm interested to see what the doctor says.

she almost as tall as eden which is almost 4

but she's thicker in her legs.

i don't think she's built like me,

so i'll be interested to see if this changes in the next year.

i can't wait to find out her percentiles.

she wears 3T clothing and at

night she's in a size 5 diaper.

she's not crazy about her clothes... yet, so

i still relish in the fact that i get to pick out her clothes.

most days i give her two options and we go from there.

she still hasn't fully mastered not peeing when she sleeps.

besides that though, she's got the potty thing down.

the ONLY time she ever has accidents are on mondays

when she's way too busy playing to take a break.

we took her to the dentist last month

and they said she looks good.

i still haven't cut her hair.

i just don't want to.

what's cuter than long beautiful hair on a little girl?

you know me and my love for long hair.

she loves running and jumping.

she's finally into climbing too.

she climbs in and out of reid's crib,

she's up on the kitchen counters and on

the back of the couch.

i thought i'd never see the day.

 

 

sleeps:

she goes to be around 8:00,

but since we took down the rails to her crib

we sometimes find her asleep on the hallway.

she doesn't come in our room or cry.

she just grabs her pillow and makes herself

comfortable out in the hall.

its so weird.

she's normally in our room around 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning

and climbs into bed with me until 7:00 or

whenever she hears reid.

(that's her cue that she can talk)

she was going for awhile where she never napped, but

thankfully that has gotten much better.

i have to bribe her with gum or popsicles,

but it seem to be working.

she's been consistently sleeping for a couple weeks from

1:30 to 3:30 or even after.

and she's been waking up so much better.

i used to hate the afternoons because she was such

a nightmare when she woke up.

she would cry, had to held and

was just plain miserable.

she's like a new person now.

she doesn't wake up cheery, but

she can pull herself out of her fog and

be normal relatively fast now.

thank god.

  

 

eats:

she loves:

pea crisps

cheese sticks

peanuts

chips & dip

turkey sticks

sausage

hot tea

honey

cheez its

peanut butter and jelly

blueberry pancakes

veggie straws

broccoli

ice cream/popsicles

 

she hates:

dinner

really it doesn't matter what it is,

she rarely eats it.

rice, potatoes, pork, meatloaf,

spaghetti, corn, casserole, anything and everything.

the only way i can get her to eat is if

i sit around and spoon feed her.

it's annoying.

i'm not sure if she's just not hungry?

recently i've been giving her a pretty good snack

around 4:00-4:30 just so i know something is in her system.

she eats breakfast, lunch and two snacks just fine.

but dinner is always a battle.

   

talks:
oh my god, the talking.

there are some days i wonder how long she can last.

i mean really.

how long can she go?

it's constant.

it's clear.

and it's correct.

she's got great language skills.

she uses words in the correct context and

can say basically anything you can.

some of her blends are still wrong and

her "k" sound is a "t" but

i think she's clear as a bird.

she also repeats ANYTHING she hears,

so we have to be extra careful.

just today there was a wasp in the playroom and

i ran away saying "oh shit."

after i killed the thing, brette says,

 "mommy, why did you say oh shit? was it because of the wasp?"

juuuuust great.
    

plays:

she still loves her swing.

going for walks instead of stroller rides.

anything with princesses.

running through the sprinkler.

dancing and singing.

helping ronnie outside.

watching movies - - especially toy story, tangled or frozen.

wearing "high heelies" but they never match.

she prefers one shoe of each color.

she is constantly playing her in kitchen baking cake

or making tea.

she will also get out her tool box and fix my leg.

we play "nap" where she'll get me a pillow and blanket

and make me close my eyes. (i love this game)

she loves watching tv, which is useful when i need to get reid down,

but i limit how much she watches a day. (normally only 2 shows per day)

her favorites are umi zumi, bubble guppies or mickey mouse club house.

she'll ask to play the touch game, which is basically where i say something and

she runs to touch it and then come back.

it's a good game to burn energy while i get something done.

 

firsts:
 jumping for real

puts on her own shoes

takes herself potty

has full on conversations

knows some letters and numbers

walking up and down stairs without me

climbing

has an opinion  (about everything)

has songs memorized

 

 

i'm really excited for this next year.

she'll start preschool and i'm hoping

that she learns some set limits

so we're not battling as much.

but honestly, i wouldn't expect anything

less from a child of mine or ronnie.