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Ethan's birthday

I can't believe my 1st born is 2 years old! It's amazing how fast this past year has just flown by. Well for Ethan's birthday we decided to keep it simple this year and just have some of his closest friends over for cake and ice cream. He started the day off by not cooperating and taking a nap. He must've known something was going on b/c he always takes his nap at the same time every day. I was a little worried that he was going to be in a cranky mood w/o a nap but he actually did really well. He had so much fun with all his friends and all the new toys that he got. Each car or truck that he opened he wanted to play with it right away. Christmas is definitely going to be fun this year with him.

It was a great birthday and we're looking forward to many more!

Puffy cheeks

On Friday I was scheduled to get my wisdom teeth taken out. It was definitley time to have them out since they were fully grown. I wasn't too worried about the surgery as much as I was about Jayden. I am still nursing him and he does not like taking the bottle. We have tried every single bottle that is out there and we've tried sippy cups and the boy just doesn't like it. He did drink from one particular bottle and we were thrilled but he has never drank the whole thing and still wanted to nurse off of me. So you can imagine that I was getting a little stressed out how he was going to handle not being able to nurse from me for at least 24 hrs. For weeks we have been introducing the bottle and formula at least once a day but we never had any success. So when the day of my surgery came he refused to drink from the bottle. I pumped enough to last him most of the day but I was hoping to mix it with formula so he'd get used to it. Well after trying numerous times throughout the day he would never drink from the bottle. Thank goodness he ate his baby food otherwise he would've been really cranky. He wasn't too fussy but he definitely wasn't himself. Amazingly we made it through the day and night but it wasn't easy. And no, he never drank any milk except for like 2 oz. Apparently jayden is pretty stubborn. So I stopped taking my pain med and dealt w/ the pain just so I could nurse him the next day.
I was kindof hoping that I could wean him but apparently he's not ready and I'm ok with that.
Well it's day 4 and my cheeks are still puffy from the surgery. I'm really hoping that the swelling will go down in time for thanksgiving. I want to be able to enjoy our thanksgiving meal!

Brawny Brownies

With Ethan's 2nd birthday coming up I really wanted to make a cake for the kids that wasn't just filled with sugar and somewhat healthy for them to eat. I decided to do this because when Ethan gets sugar in his system he just gets super crazy! Most of the time we avoid giving him any kind of special treat on a regualr basis so when he gets a cookie or a cupcake he devours it. I don't want you to think he never gets any sweets b/c he does...just not everyday. Well I decided to google healthy treats and the Sneaky Chef came up. She has a lot of recipes that she has come up with by pureeing vegetables and sneaking them into the recipes. Well I decided to give her brownies a try because they looked pretty good.

First I had to puree spinach leaves and blueberries together. This is when a food processor would come in handy. I only have a food chopper so it blended it pretty good but it wasn't as smooth as it should have been. So I may invest in one if I decide to do this more often. The other secret ingredient that she uses is oat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat flour and white flour. Then you add the other ingredients like chocolate, sugar, vanilla, etc.

So after baking them for 3o min I sprinkled them with some powdered sugar and gave them a taste. And..they were actually not too bad. I could kindof feel the texture of the spinach in them b/c of it not being finally chopped but you couldn't see it by any means. Of course they don't compare to the Pillsbury or Duncan Hines but they do taste good enough to serve to Ethan and that's all that matters. He thinks he'll be getting a delicious treat when in fact he'll be getting some fruit and vegetables and fiber. How exciting! So I will probably try her cupcake recipe so that I can serve them at his bday party. Hopefully they'll be delicous enough that the adults will eat them too. The funny thing about this is, Ish is my pickiest eater so I'm actually learning how to sneak things so that he'll get his veggies in.

So if you're interested check out the website. She's got some pretty interesting recipes that I think I will continue to try!

www.sneakychef.com

Just a few things about the boys

Ethan is a one of a kind. Sometimes I can't help but to compare him to other boys because he is usually the opposite of the others. I love him like crazy but boy is he a handful! He definitely has his sweet moments like when I put him to bed I like to sing Jesus Loves me to him. As I'm singing he just stares at me and tries to sing a long with me. At this point he just mumbling words but it's so cute. He also likes to touch my earings but everytime he touches that area it tickles me so I start laughing. He thinks it's histerical. Then there are his playtime moments when he gets really into playing with his trucks. he could spend hrs playing by himself just moving the trucks around. He likes to line them up in random places like the bottom of the step, the top of his toy chest, his bed, and my favorite, the dishwasher lid. Those are the moments that just make me laugh. Then there is his wild side. When he gets excited he loves to scream. It's not just a little yelp, it's a full blown out, high pitch girly scream. It will literally leave your ears ringing. This is one thing that I really wish he would grow out of b/c it can be a little aggravating at times. He loves to do when I'm driving, nursing, when we're eating dinner and of course when he doesn't get his way. Of course we'll tell him No, and not do it, but this just makes it worse, so I just ignore it most of the time and he'll eventually stop. I could on and on about Ethan but for the most part he has SO much energy and requires a lot of attention. Right now he's struggling with sharing and gets mad when Jayden even touches his toys. So that's a fun stage :)
Jayden is still scooting along and is getting closer to crawling every day. He'll scoot to me when I ask him to and he loves Ethan's trucks and cars. For some reason whenever I put the age appropriate toys out in front of him, he tends to go for Ethan's toys. LIke right now, he is playing with a toy spatula that belongs to Ethan's kitchen lol. Jayden is a very happy boy just like Ethan was at his age. Except Jayden is much more aggressive than Ethan was. It's cute now, but it also makes me very nervous for when he starts getting older. I think he's going to be the boy that gets into everything. Well Jayden is eating pretty good still. He takes like 2 days to get used to a new vegetable so there are some days that he doesn't eat food and I have to nurse more frequently. I've been trying to get him to take formula b/c I'm having to get my wisdom teeth pulled in a couple of weeks. so far it's not going very well. But I did find a bottle that he'll at least take! Anyways, I could ramble on and on and need to get going. That's it for now!

Another update

So I realize that it's been forever since I've blogged. I just don't take the time to sit down and blog, instead I fill my time with silly games on facebook. Things like farmville, sorority life, and cafe world have consumed most of my time.
Jayden is 6 months now and I can't get believe how fast he is growing! He is scooting all over the place. I like to watch him scoot across the floor to reach for a certain toy. He gets so excited and it just makes me laugh. We have started feeding him solids now and he's doing pretty well. So far he likes peas and carrots and not a fan of rice or oatmeal. I'm determined to get him to like oatmeal so I'm trying to introduce it a couple of times a day so that he'll get used to it. Jayden is still nursing about every 3 hrs. He continues to wake up in the middle of the night quite often to eat but I'm pretty sure he's comfort feeding. We just have to get over that stage of him falling back asleep on his own which I don't enjoy doing. It's a lot harder with 2 b/c you don't want one to wake the other when they cry. So when Jayden wakes up crying at night, naturally I hurry to calm him down and many times it requires me to nurse him. I'm trying not to stress about it like I did with Ethan becauase I know he will eventually be a good sleeper. We are also in the transition of trying to get him to take a bottle and will eventually get him to take formula. I am having my wisdom teeth taken out in a couple of weeks and since I'm going to be on pain med. I'm not going to be able to nurse. I haven't decided if I want to wean him now or not. I thought I'd be ready but I'm not sure that I am.
ON another note, we've finally gotten Ethan's toddler bed together and in his room. My plan is to get him used to having it in his room and let him lay and play on it and then we'll try the transition. I'm really nervous about this transition b/c he loves his crib. He hasn't tried climbing out of it so technically I could keep in there for a while but I really want to put Jayden in there. It also makes me nervous to think about putting them in the same room together but one step at a time.
Ethan's been talking a lot more now and sometimes he'll just jabber on and on about who knows what. It's very cute though. I love when he's watching his shows and then shouts out what he sees. One funny thing that he does is point out trash whenever he sees it. I was getting him out of the car one day and he saw a line of trash cans and points and says trash. yep my son knows exactly what a trash can looks like haha.
Well it's way pass my bed time and I realize I could go on and on about my boys b/c they are just so precious! I'll try to not allow so much time to pass the next time I blog.

Changes

Well it's been a while since I last posted anything but just thought I'd talk about Ethan & Jayden a little bit. Ethan's been saying a lot of words alot now. His main words that he'll say are: Ball, truck, car, kitty, ear, mouth, teeth, no, thank you, please, oh no, uh oh, juice, cookie (haha), ow (when he is playing & hurts himself) & he'll make noises for a cow, dog, monkey, lion, & elephant. Whenever we'll ask him to say something he actually will say it or at least try. It's a lot of fun b/c of how he says things. He still has a lot of energy and it seems to come out more and more each day! Just recently he's been loving to throw his ball at us & he seems to have a pretty good arm. The only problem is, he is also throwing other toys and has been known to throw them at other kids. Everyday I think I tell him not to throw toys and I have discipline him but it hasn't quite clicked yet b/c he thinks it's funny. He does seem to understand us more when we tell him no. Sometimes when Ish tells him no, Ethan will just give him this look like, "I'm really going to test you to see if you'll do anything". It's amazing how much they really know at such a young age. Despite the disciplining, we're really enjoying this stage that Ethan's in. He's learning so much and loves to makes us laugh.
Jayden is 5 months now and I can't believe how fast time is flying with him. He's rolling over both ways now and loves to put stuff in his mouth. If he doesn't have a pacifier or a toy then he usually is sucking on his hands. He's such a good baby and is always happy. He's still sleeping in our room and want to put him in Ethan's room. I haven't figured out the best way to do that but I'm thinking about putting Ethan in his toddler bed but not sure he's quite ready. I guess we'll never know unless we try! I'm hoping that it'll be a good transition and that the boys will like sharing a room. They do go to bed about the same time and at least one of Jayden's naps falls with Ethan's. The only thing is that Jayden only naps about an hr at a time. He rarely takes a 2 hr nap and i worry that it'll mess up Ethan's nap. And when Ethan is awakened too early..it is not a good sight! That boy needs at least 2 hrs and does better with 3 but that only happens like once a week. So anyways, we'll eventually get them together once I feel it'll be easy. It might happen once Jayden sleeps through the night and right now he still likes to wake up about every 3 hrs.
It's amazing how much my boys are changing every day. Some days are more challenging than others and then are days that go really well. I pray everyday that God will give me the wisdom to make the right choices as their mother.

Baby dedication

Today was Jayden's baby dedication. From the moment Ethan woke us up at 7am we have been moving nonstop. My inlaws were coming to the dedication so we spent most of our Saturday cleaning the house. Well Sunday mornings are very hectic for us and for some reason the house usually gets destroyed in the process of us getting ready. So while I'm trying to nurse, shower, get the boys dressed, get my husband to hurry up, I am running around the house picking up toys, cleaning the kitchen, and tidying up. We had planned on getting to church around 9:30 for sunday school and to meet Ish's parents but we didn't leave the house until 10:00. I couldn't believe how long it was taking us to get to church. Since we had to be at the certain area around 10:30 we decided to pass on Sunday school. Meanwhile, Jayden was kidnapped by his grandparents and loving every bit of it. Ethan was getting very anxious and wanting to just run around as usual. When we finally got on stage, Jayden was so exhausted from all the excitement that he slept through the whole thing. Ethan belted out a few exciting screams but thankfully it was before we got to the pastor. I wish Jayden could've been awake during his dedication b/c it would have made for a great picture but I was glad that he was able to get a little sleep seeing that it was his nap time but I think it lasted about 15min.. Well b/c of that Jayden was completely off schedule all day and was a little restless. He was still his happy self but you could tell he was just over stimulated at times. But I tried not to worry about it and just went with the flow of things so that his grandparents could enjoy his company.

After church we had a big lunch at home and Jayden received his 1st bible and a couple of other gifts from his grandparents. Because Jayden is starting to really look at things now, it was cute seeing him look very interested in his new toys.

So after an exciting day with family, the boys were just exhausted and went right to bed. Gotta love those nights!

What would you have done?

So this past week the wonderful stomach bug has been passed around our family. Last week Ethan had it and then 5 days later, I got it. Without giving too many details I was just extremely nauseaus for 2 days. Well just when I was kindof getting over it, the bug hits my husband at 3am. So on Monday he literally laid in bed ALL day and slept. On Saturday when I was feeling at my worst, nauseas, weak, extremely tired, Ish had to leave to go work a wedding that evening. So I was stuck taking care of both kids by myself. It wasn't easy but somehow God got me through it. I say this b/c I wasn't able to "sleep" it off and I don't think my body was able to heal properly.
So anyways, back to the story--Monday I woke up actually feeling descent & was able to eat a little throughout the day. By the evening I felt really good and was able to do plenty stuff around the house. Meanwhile we were out of groceries and I had nothing healthy to eat in the house for me or Ethan. I normally do my grocery shopping in the evening so I can concentrate on what I'm doing and since I have coupons it takes me a while. So no kids! Well I wanted to take advantage of Ish being home so I could just run to the store w/o the kids. Well needless to say because of all the chaos I wasn't able to get out until about 8:00 that night.
So... (I know you're thinking just get to the point already!) I head to Walmart, had my list & coupons and was on a mission. Well b/c we were out of water at home I was completely dehydrated and so I decided that a sweet tea would be really good to drink. I stoppy by chickfila and chugged the sweet tea b/c I was so thirsty. After taking a few sips too fast I realized that I probably shouldn't push my luck. Well sure enough as soon as I got to Walmart and started shopping I felt really nauseated. I just started rushing through my list so I could get in and get out. So finally I was done and went to get in line and noticed that there were only about 8 lanes open and everyone in Lynchburg was in them with huge carts full of groceries. Aggravated I got in line behind 3 ppl. At this point I was feeling really overwhelmed and really sick. All that was going through my mind was that I was going to have to puke soon and how embarrassing that was going to be in front of all these ppl. I tried to keep my mind off of it, but I started sweating and getting really nervous. So I just left my cart in the line, grabbed my purse and went to the bathroom. OF COURSE they had the womans bathroom closed to extreme cleaning. HA just my luck. Ok now I was really getting worried b/c what was I going to do? My stomach wasn't getting any better and the line was moving any faster. Finally the thought of me just ditching my cart and heading home seamed like the best option. I kept debating it in my head over and over and thinking that I could wait and get through this but seriously there were a lot of ppl ahead of me with a lot of groceries and I really didn't think I could make it.
So what did I do? I drove my cart in an aisle and walked away. I know! I'm such a bad person! All the way home I felt so mad that I couldn't get the groceries that we desperately needed at home and I still felt like I was going to puke any minute. But of course when I got home that feeling turned down a notch and just was nauseas the rest of the evening.
I felt so bad about leaving my cart full of groceries but I didn't know what else to do. I was worrying myself to death thinking I was going to puke in front of everyone at any moment. So I ask you..What would you have done if that were you in the position?? Just curious!

Ok so just to show you how complicated my life is I had planned on getting up around 5 and heading to the store before everyone woke up. At 4:55 Jayden woke up to eat which was actually a good thing b/c I could put him right back to sleep when he was done. At 5:00 am Ethan woke up screaming and Ish hops right out of bed and grabs him and brings him in our room. "Ugh" was my initial reaction. As Ethan layed in our bedroom talking and whining that he wanted juice, I thought I'd still get ready to go to the store. But of course as I started to I began to feel sick again so I just stopped. Meanwhile, I had to give Ethan something to drink and ended up feeding him breakfast at 6am. Around 6:30 he acted really sleepy so I put him to bed and surprisingly he went to sleep without a fuss. I was so tired so I just took that opportunity to sleep myself. Ish decided to take another day off to recover and so I was able to go to the store around 8:30 with the boys still asleep. Thank the Lord!
I was so happy to finally have food in the house again. And within 2 hrs of being home, Ethan had blueberries, string cheese, apples, carrots, and chicken nuggets to eat. He just kept eating and eating. Haha I guess he was sick of eating chicken noodle soup and crackers. I know I am!

Ethan's vocabulary

Ethan has been saying a lot of new words just recently. He's got a couple of books with pictures of things and after reading to him at night, I started putting those books in his crib. I did this so that he would see these books when he wakes up so that he'll be in a good mood and not scream for me to come get him. Well in the morning I can hear him saying his usual words, ball, truck, uh oh, no, trash. Well recently we've been trying to get him to say eye, nose, mouth, etc. Well he's finally picked up on "eye" and he'll point to his eye. It's so cute because he drags the word out when he says it. Once I saw this I started to try and teach him I love you in sign language. So far he hasn't picked up on it but I'm hoping he will soon.
He's also started to repeat more words to us when we ask him to. A few things he has said:
Water sounds like War, fish sounds like tish, he can count to 3 but skips #1 and says two, tree, kitty, & thank you but know one would be able to understand that's what he's saying.
It's exciting to hear him learning more words and very cute to hear his little voice trying to pronounce them.

My good deals

Yesterday I was able to get out of the house and just do some browsing and decided to check out Big Lots. I don't shop there often but I was on a mission to find a cheap outdoor mat (which they did not have) but as I was looking around, an employee gave me a 20% coupon to use on my entire purchase. So I decided to take advantage of this coupon to get things that I normally don't buy unless I run out of. I ended up getting some shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, loofah, sandwhich bags and a few other things for only $6.00! I was pretty excited for just running into those good deals without me planning it.
Since I've started clipping coupons I am constantly checking the sale fliers for the best deal. My grocery shopping usually consists of me going to Walmart, Kroger, CVS and sometimes Target. Well last week I went to CVS and came across their deal of spending $15 of Kelloggs products then you'll receive $5 in extra bucks. This was a great deal to me b/c this included the kelloggs protein bars which I eat one almost everyday. These are at least $7 a box so to see that they were on sale for $5 a box I couldn't pass up such an offer. I ended up getting 3 boxes of the protein bars and a box of nutrigrain bars as well. They also had a deal on their Gain detergent to receive $2 in extra bucks so I snagged that deal too. It would have been nice to have a coupon to put on top of that but those don't come around too often. I ended up getting $7 worth of coupons back which made me happy. I am planning to get a beach chair with the umbrella and so I'm planning on using those coupons toward that purchase. That's if I make it there before they all sell out. Thing are just so busy at the LaBiosa household that it's not as easy for me to go out shopping like I used to, especially when the boys are with me. I tend to just stay at the house b/c I don't like dealing with all the work of leaving it. I only leave when I absolutely have to!
So that's my deals for last week and I'm constantly checking the papers for even more. Sale and coupon hunting have definitely become addicting!

4th of July weekend

Ish had Friday off so we decided to go to take the boys and hang out at the lake for the day. We invited a few other friends to tag a long and at 9:00 that morning we headed to the lake. We ended up having a great time and Ethan loved it. It took him a while to get adjusted to walking on the sand and it definitely took him a while to get used to the cold water. He had a great time being able to run around and play with his daddy. We ended up leaving around 3:00 and within 5 min of the drive he was out! This was a huge shocker to us b/c he's not the best traveler. Usually we have to entertain him many different ways just to keep him from whining. He definitely was exhausted from the sun!

Playing with trucks at the lake

Getting used to the water

Worn out!

On Saturday morning Ish decided to take Ethan to the pool to go swimming. I really wanted to go but I took this opportunity to get some cleaning done without any interuptions. But..Jayden decided to not nap as long and wanted alot of attention. I did get a lot done but I was still trying to hurry up before they got back. These days I can never clean without rushing.
That evening we went over to a friends house to have dinner. We ended up staying there until Ethan started getting really tired. We wanted to keep him up to watch the fireworks with us but we weren't sure if he was going to make it. As soon as we got home he found some more energy inside him. Because we live downtown and are close to the baseball stadium we have a descent view of the fireworks that shoot off from the stadium. Every weekend we get to see them and of course hear them but it is neat to watch from our front porch.
So we invited a few ppl to come watch them at our house and while we waited for it to get dark, Ethan loved being able to play outside. He played with his chalk, trucks, & lawn mower. Every now and then he started to whine b/c he was really tired and it was way past his bedtime. We continued to try and hold him off but the whining just got worse. Around 10:00 the fireworks still hadn't started and Ethan was ready for bed so we just put him down. My boy needs his sleep! O well, maybe next year he'll be able to stay up.
The fireworks ended up starting about 15 min after we put him down and they only lasted for about 5 min! We were a little disappointed but it was cool that we could watch them from our porch.
We ended up having a really great weekend spending time with our little family and some friends. We didn't get much sleep but we did have a lot of laughs!

My sweet Jayden

Ethan enjoying a delicious cupcake after dinner!

Someone's in the kitchen...

When Ethan goes to visit his friend Raegan, he loves to play in her little kitchen. He mainly enjoys putting food in the microwave and opens and shuts the door. This usually entertains him for quite some time. Well I have been looking for a tool bench with some kind of doors or gadgets to easily entertain himself with. I usually look at the local consignment shops and check craigslist periodically and I hadn't really been successful.
Well yesterday I thought I would venture out to the consignment shop since I hadn't been there for a while. I came across a tool bench that appeared to be really nice but there really wasn't anything interesting about it. He already has a set of play tools but the play area didn't have anything for him to really push or open. I did however love the fact that it was only $15. I decided to put it on hold and check another store to see if they would have something similar cheaper or better. I didn't end up finding another tool bench but I did find this awesome kitchen set. It too was only $15 but it had 7 doors for him to open and it came with a few plates and silverware. I knew he would love it but I was a little nervous to know what my husband was going to think. He has made it very clear that he doesn't like Ethan playing with "girly" things. I've told him many times that it doesn't matter but he just gives me a look. O but the cool thing about the kitchen is that it's not pink like most of them are, it was actually gray and black. It definitely looks like a little boys kitchen.
Anyways, I decided to make the executive decision to get it b/c it would help me a lot during the day if he would play by himself.
When I brought it home, Ethan's face just lit up and he immediately starting playing with it. He quickly discovered that the stove makes noises & if you push the eye on the stove they make a frying and boiling sound and there's knobs that sound like a timer going off. I had no idea that it did all that so I'm glad that I ended up getting that for him instead of the tool bench play area.
I'm hoping that it'll encourage him to want to be in the kitchen when he gets older so he can cook for his momma! :D
I'll have to post some pictures up of him playing with it if we ever buy a new camera!

The doctor visiIt

So today I had to take Jayden for his 2 month check up and Ethan for his 18 month check up. I knew it was going to be alot of work with 2 kids on my own but I know mom's do it all the time so I tried to not make a big deal about it.
It started off fine until we had to wait in the room until the doctor got there. Ethan kept crawling back in his stroller and pointing towards the door, so I knew he either was trying to tell me that he wanted to leave or he wanted to go for a stroll. After bribing him with juice it held him off for a little while the doctor looked over Jayden.
Jayden ended up weighing 11 lbs and 9 oz which I thought was amazing but apparently it's still in the 25% of his age group. I need to look up Ethan's info from his 2 month check up to see how much different or similar they are. Jayden had to get his immunizations today but he did really well.
Ethan however, haha he's just a handful. He had to get a couple of shots as well, which he did not appreciate. He screamed so loud that my ears were ringing. The nurse even commented that he had a very loud scream. He's just a little dramatic when he gets hurt but I did give him the mommy hug to try and get him to calm down. I tried offering him a cookie and when he turned it down, I knew he felt bad.
By the time I finally got the boys in the car I was extremely exhausted. I had no idea how tired I was until I sat down to breathe. Overall I think they did really well considering but I'm glad it's over.

All about Jayden

Jayden is now 8 weeks old and he has changed so much already! He's the sweetest baby and I've really enjoyed my time with him. He has already developed a personality and is cooing and smiling at me all the time. Whenever I change his diaper and clothes he always smiles at me and just loves when I talk to him. He eats really well and sleeps really well. He has developed a really good routine during the day so I don't have to really worry too much about him. He eats on schedule and is happy when he's awake and then he'll let me know when it's nap time.  He hasn't quite perfected falling asleep on his own. Sometimes he'll fall asleep with me just laying him down and then there are sometimes he just wants me to rock him. He's just my little cuddler and I love it. 

He hasn't quite slept through the night consistently yet but I know it'll come with time. Right now he can stretch his feeding times to 4 hrs at night. So depending what time I go to bed I really only wake up once in the middle of the night and then really early in the morning. Recently he's developed a pattern of waking up at 5:00am which is hard b/c he acts like he's ready to stay up. Once I change his diaper in between the feeding he starts smiling and talking. It's hard not to smile back because it is so cute...even at 5 in the morning. So needless to say he wants to stay awake and I'm just trying to get him to go back to sleep b/c I'm still a zombie. I'm hoping this habit of his fades so that I can get more sleep. Sleep is very precious to me now that I have two kids. I am usually exhausted after dinner time and just ready to go to bed but that's usually Ishmael time so I strive to stay awake as long as my body lets me. I'm hoping once Jayden starts sleeping through the night then I'll get the rest I need to stay awake during the day. I'll probably sneak a nap in every now and then b/c I just love to nap!

Jayden will get his 2 month checkup soon so it'll be interesting how much he has grown. At his 1 month check up he weighed 8lbs 14oz so he gained about 2 lbs within a month. Which I was really impressed b/c with his jaundice he had gotten down to 6lbs 3oz during that 1st week. 

I now realize why God brought Jayden into our lives a lot earlier then what we had planned. Because Ethan is going through his tantrum stage I tend to get frustrated but when I look at Jayden and he's so happy and smiles at me it makes me feel a lot better. So I believe Jayden is here in our lives to get me through this tough time with Ethan because otherwise I think I would be cranky all the time.  So I'm very thankful for both my boys and I am truly blessed to have them in our lives. Even though I may get stressed at times, being a mom is always rewarding. 

Oh Ethan...

I had a free moment and thought I was just blog on Ethan's new favorite word...TRASH. He has been saying it for a while now but it still cracks me up. Whenever I change his diaper and throw it in his pail, he says trash. Sometimes he'll see a crumb on the floor and he'll pick it up and hand it to me and say "trash". Every now and then, he'll throw the trash in the trash can. I just laugh when I see this little toddler holding a huge wet diaper and walk towards the trashcan. I know it may not seem funny to you but it just cracks me up watching his little legs walk.
Well Ethan is doing much better with Jayden. He likes to rub his head gently and he'll try and put his pacifier in his mouth when Jayden is crying. He likes to touch his hands and feet..he's a sweet big brother. He's still throwing some tantrums here and there but I've come immune to it and actually think it's funny. Sometimes I just have to laugh otherwise I it'll get to me and I'll want to just give up. Thankfully Ish and I have now figured out how to handle it when he does throw his fits but we still despise them!
Everyday I pray to get through the day..thank goodness I have God by my side to guide me!

1st road trip

For Mother's Day I decided to go to Raleigh for the weekend. Ish had to work a wedding in MD so I had to make the trip on my own with 2 kids. This was not the 1st time I had been alone in the car with them but it was the 1st time that it would be longer than 20 min. I wasn't too nervous because I had planned to leave at Ethan's bedtime so I was planning on him sleeping. He didn't end up sleeping until after about 45 min into the trip but I was happy he and Jayden slept the whole way.
We had a great weekend visiting family and eating some delicious meals, but I really missed my hubby and was wishing he was with us. Ish was planning to arrive back in Lynchburg on Sunday around 3:00 and I just mentioned to him that it would be nice for him to come to dinner at my uncle's house. Well at 3:00 he called me and said that he was on his way! I was so suprised and so happy that he was making his way to see us all. The funny thing was that on our way to Cary I pulled up to this burgandy jeep that looked a lot like Ish's and got really close to see his liscense plate. Sure enough it was him..how in the world did he beat us? Obviously he was flying to get there on time.
After some time visiting Ish and I got back on the road to head to Lynchburg. We ended up leaving around 8:00 pm so I thought for sure Ethan & Jayden would sleep like they did last time. After about an hr of both kids screaming I had had enough! I pulled over and Ish followed. I told him that we needed to switch cars b/c this is not how I wanted to spend my Mother's day. He graciously said ok and so we got back on the road. Well according to Ish, Ethan fell right to sleep after that (of course) but Jayden was not a happy boy. Ish had to stop a couple of times to give him his pacifier and by the time he got home you could tell he was stressed out. I had to laugh because he doesn't REALLY know what I go through during the day so he got a little taste of what it was like. But it just showed me how much he loves me for him to give up his joy ride so that I could enjoy some peace and quiet on the way home. Needless to say I really don't want to make any more road trips without him but that's not going to be the case. I have to get my kids to enjoy riding in the car. I really don't understand why Ethan throw's a fit everytime he rides in the car. I guess we're going to have to buy a dvd player so that he can watch movies. Maybe that will help...I don't know.

The 1st week

It's been a week since we've had Jayden in our family. He is such a good baby. The only time he cries is when I change his diaper and of course if I don't feed him right away. He does pretty well at night but he really likes sleeping next to his mommy. Whenever I lay him in his bassinet at night after his feeding, he seems to have a hard time falling back asleep. I've tried rocking him to sleep but once I lay him down he tends to wake up and will just kick his legs and move his arms all over the place. So naturally I'm not getting any sleep by listening to him move around and hearing him suck his pacifier. But as soon as I pick him up and lay him next to me, he falls right to sleep. And since I'm up every 2-3 hrs, I want as much sleep as possible. I hope I can get him to eventually sleep in his bed but for now I'm enjoying Jayden being cuddled up against me.

The most interesting part of having Jayden in our lives is Ethan getting adjusted to his new brother. Ever since we brought Jayden home, Ethan has acted like a totally different child. For the most part he's sweet around Jayden and seems to understand that Jayden is his brother. But sometimes he gets a little too excited and starts waving his hands close to jayden and I'm also scared he's going to slap him. I definitley have to keep an eye on him b/c there's no telling what he'd do. Ethan has also started screaming more and throwing these temper tantrums. It is not a pleasant thing to witness. I just pray that this will only last a short time and that this is just his way of dealing with change.
So our 1st week at home has had its good moments and its bad but most of all it's great being a family of 4!

What a "Good Friday" it was!

On April 10, 2009, little Jayden Ross was born at 10:20 am weighing at 6lbs 15oz and 20 in long. He is the cutest little boy and so far I haven't noticed any features on him that are mine. Jayden definitley has taken after the LaBiosa side but I'm hoping there's some Ross in there somewhere!
We were very suprised when he decided to show up right on his due date. I had gone to the doctor the day before and she told me that I was only dialated at 2 1/2 and that it looks like I may be delivering him as much as 8 days late. I left the doctor feeling a little disappointed and called my family to let them know that I probably wasn't going to have the baby the next day like we were hoping.
At 2:30am I woke up feeling some mild contractions in my lower back. I layed there ignoring them thinking it was nothing and that they would go away. Well they didn't. Finally around 3:00, I woke up Ishmael to tell him I may be in labor and after finally getting ourselves packed and ready we headed to the hospital a little after 4:00. Thank goodness I listened to my gut because when we finally got settled in, I found out that I was dialated about 6 1/2. We didn't have to wait too long before it was time for me to push because time seems to fly by when you are in so much pain! After a couple of pushes he decided to grace his appearance at 10:20 am. How exciting it is to see your baby for the 1st time! For 9 months I had been wondering what he looked like and now he was finally in my arms. When he came out he was so alert and just looked all around him. He has the skinniest little legs and long fingers and toes. I didn't recognize his features so I know they must be from the LaBiosa side. It's so funny when different genes show up in your child. At least with Ethan, he got my ears and eyes but with Jayden, I'm not too sure. I'm sure with time I'll be able to tell who he looks like.
So it's been a great Easter weekend welcoming a new baby boy to our family. Ethan is still adusting to his brother but he seems to be very intrigued by him. I'll try and post some pics soon!

Ethan 16 months

My boy Ethan cracks me up! Sometimes I wish people could see the things that he does that is so funny. The past 2 days when he's woken up from his long nap, I've gone in to get him but he enjoys his crib so much that he just doesn't want to get out. This is unusual b/c most of the time he's ready to get out. Today he just handed me his bear and ran around his crib cuddling with his blanket. He was laughing and having a good 'ole time. It's so funny and I really wish I could get it on video.
Well now that Ethan is 16 months old he is finally getting a descent vocabulary now.
Juice, Hey, Dada, Mama, Hot, No (just sayed that today), Uh oh, Vroom (when he plays with his cars), meow, shoes, ball
He understands us when we say things like, "Put it in the trash" and he'll walk to the trash can and throw it away, When we ask if he's ready to go Night Night, he'll walk to the steps, When we ask if he's ready to take a bath, he'll walk to the bathroom and stand by the tub. He also understands the difference b/t upstairs and downstairs.
He also can make the sounds of a dog, cat, and monkey.
So he's getting there and continues to suprise us with new things.

Baby Jayden

I know, it's been a lifetime since I've posted last. Things have been just crazy busy at the LaBiosa household that there's no time to just sit down and blog. But here I am making time to update the status of Baby #2. We've decided to name him Jayden if I haven't noted that already. We're still working on the middle name but I think we might have made a decision tonight but we'll see. I've got about 2 weeks left and it couldn't go any slower. I've had mild contractions but nothing painful. Every now and then I get a little cramping in my stomach but nothing too serious.
I think we're finally ready for Jayden to arrive. This past weekend we had my parents come up to help us do some finishing touches around the house so now I definitley feel a little more prepared. The pack and play is all set up in our room and Jayden's clothes are all washed and hung in the boy's newly organized closet. I can't wait to meet him and hold him for the 1st time. I really look forward to seeing how Ethan is going to react when he sees me holding his little brother. It'll be interesting watching him adjust to all these changes.
I'll try and keep you posted on our family updates!

When funds are tight...

I'm so excited about the $ I saved at CVS that I just had to blog about it. But 1st let me back up and say that we've really been tight on funds recently and especially since there's a new baby coming along and so I'm determined to do everything I can to save any kind of $ when I go to the grocery store. Recently there were these 2 woman on Good Morning America explaining how they get coupons for things and explain how to use them. These women end up saving tons of $ when they go to the store. They've created a website with links on where to get coupons and also tips on how to save $. I was very interested in their stories so I decided to check it out and do some smart shopping on my own. First I went and bought the Sunday paper and clipped out coupons of things that I could use and then I started going through the fliers of different stores for that week. I looked at the items that were on sale at Target, Kroger and CVS and wrote down what I could buy from them and then I compared the items to see who had the best offer. All 3 stores were advertising Pampers to be on sale and suprisingly CVS had the best offer. I had also gotten a coupon off my receipt from a previous purchase that would save me $5 off $15 or more purchase, so right then I knew I could save more $ by buying the diapers at CVS. CVS also had their tissues on sale for buy 1/1 free and some toothe paste for 88 cents! Because I needed both these items I decided to purchase them there. While I was there I also noticed that they had chips ahoy cookies on sale for buy 1/1 free so I couldn't pass that up! I ended up buying 2 packs of diapers for $14.99 each, 2 boxes of tissues, 2 things of cookies, & toothe paste all for $33.00. Because I had my CVS card and an extra coupon, I saved almost $20! so if you think about it, I basically got all the extra items for free after purchasing the diapers! I was so excited and just wanted to share my news with everyone.
So now I am going to plan out my grocery shopping differently so that I can save the most $ where I can. It may mean me going to 3 different stores to do so but in the end it'll be worth it and my husband will appreciate it as well. And now, clipping coupons and searching for them online is like a hobby to me!

The past 30 weeks

So I've just realized that I haven't written anything about our new addition that will be arriving soon. Well to start off this pregnancy has been completely different than it was with Ethan. First of all, it's a completely different time of year and since it isn't warm outside I have no desire to go outside for a walk. I used to walk a lot with Ethan so that I would stay somewhat healthier. So on that note, I have gained weight much faster this time around...which is a little depressing. Plus I crave sweets way all the time and I have to have a cup of coffee every morning. With Ethan I felt nauseaus often so I ate a lot healthier. Because this pregnancy has basically been completely opposite than before, I thought for sure we were going to have a girl but the ultrasound proved us wrong. I was completely shocked when I saw that it was a boy. I was very excited to hear that Ethan was going to have a brother to play with so close to his age. I knew that there had to be some benefit from getting pregnant so early with our 2nd. =)
Overall this pregnancy has gone really well but I have to say I have been a lot more careless, forgetful, and hormonal. In one week I managed to break 2 glasses, my coffee pot, fall down the stairs, and get a flat tire. My husband finally had to sit me down and tell me to really start being more careful b/c he didn't want to know what I'd do next.
So back to the actual baby in my belly. This little boy moves all the time. I feel like this boy never sleeps! But whenever I want to record my stomach moving or get Ish to watch, he's completely still. Sometimes it gets a little aggravating when I'm trying to go to sleep and the arm or leg is poking me on the side. I would love to have a camera in my belly to see what he does all day. Sometimes it feels like he's just dancing with his arms and legs and bopping his head back and forth. Wouldn't that be a sight! Well I'm 30 weeks now and I don't have too much longer to go. I feel like time is flying by and we're going to be meeting our baby boy any day. We've picked out a name (I think) but we haven't agreed on a middle name yet so my husband won't let me reveal any information until the name is complete. It took us forever to agree on a 1st name and that was me begging him almost every day and praying that God would convince him! So hopefully we'll reveal the name soon!
So that's basically what's been going on the past 30 weeks of my 2nd pregnancy. I'm feeling good but a little worried how much more weight I'm going to gain in the next 10 weeks so I'm trying to not give into my cravings but it's really hard!

A social butterfly

Lastnight Ish and I took Ethan to this indoor playground at our church. It's called Kids Cove and it's for all ages. They have an area for toddlers and then they have an area for the bigger kids to climb through tunnels and go down slides. Anyways, we decided to take Ethan there since he's walking now and thought he'd enjoy playing around. His face just lit up as soon as we walked in there. There were kids running all over the place. I was kindof nervous as I sat there watching him walk from one end to the other with children running right past him. The funny thing is, it didn't faze him one bit. He was having a great time just being around all the children. At one point as he was walking around and my husband was following behind him, Ethan would stop at each parent and just stare at them and smile. I couldn't help think that he was being social just like his father. It made me realize that Ethan will probably grow up smiling and talking to people he doesn't know and being that social butterfly. It was very cute to see my husbands greatest qualities being produced in my little boy. It's amazing to me how he has qualities of me and Ishmael. I just hope that we will always be good examples to our children. Just when you think they aren't paying attention, they suprise you with either a phrase you may say or an attitude that is like yours. I guess you could say that parenting really challenges me daily to want to strive to be a woman of God and to be that perfect wife and mother.

He's a walking machine

Ethan has finally took the plunge and started walking. He doesn't do it all the time but it's getting more consistent every day. I love watching him walk b/c he's not very smooth yet, he kindof walks like a robot. He did kindof start walking really fast yesterday and then lost his footing so that only means that it'll be no time before he's a pro. The cute thing about it is that he knows we get excited everytime he takes a step. He'll squint his face and laugh when he knows we're watching. Yesterday in the nursery, the workers said that they had so much fun being entertained by him. He would walk a few steps, sit down and then clap. They said that he did this for quite a while and had everyone laughing and clapping. That's my boy trying to be the center of attention! He must get that from his daddy b/c he definitley didn't get it from me!

Just a few funny things

So Ethan changes everyday and is always doing something new. As I am with him all day long, I get to witness some pretty funny stuff that no one gets to see but me. I had to share some recent things that probably are just weird or it may make you laugh.
*The other day I was eating some chips and breaking pieces off for Ethan. After about 10 min of this I realized that we had made a mess on the floor. As I was picking up the crumbs and putting them in my hand, Ethan insisted on taking them out of my hand to eat them. Just as I thought he was going to put it in his mouth, he took the small piece of chip and started rubbing it on his legs and across his belly. I just thought this was hilarious b/c in my mind I'm thinking, "what in the world are you doing?" Apparently he must have been able to feel the sharp edge of the chip through his clothes and thought it felt good to him. At least that's the only conclusion I could come up with, but either way it makes for a great story.
*Ever since Ethan was a baby he has loved soft blankets around his face. Sometimes when he's playing and he sees his blanket he'll grab it and just rub his face into it. There are times when he'll just roll around on the floor with it. Well anyway, we have a throw blanket on our sofa and I was sitting there watching tv when Ethan crawls over to me and just takes a piece of my blanket, clutches it in his hand and begins to lightly rub it across his lip. He did this for a while and as he rubs it back and forth he hums. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
*Ethan took his 1st steps on his own on Christmas morning. It was a great suprise! Ever since then, he's been taking a few steps here and there on his own. He loves to walk holding our hands and is just now getting brave enough to do it on his own. While he's been learning to walk, he's become and expert in crawling. I'm assuming since he wants to not crawl anymore but is too afraid to walk on his own, he has started walking on his knees. At times he will walk on his knees completely across the room. It's quite impressive but I wonder if he knows that he could get there much faster by either crawling or walking...apparently not =)
*Once Ethan gets bored with his toys down stairs, we'll make our way upstairs to change the scenery. I'll sit in my rocking chair while he plays in his room. It's a great way for me to just lift up my feet and read a book while he's in lala land. Well one of the things that he does on a consistent basis is that he loves to move objects from one place to another. Whether it's a toy in a basket and moves it to another basket or in this case, he puts things in his diaper pale. I know what you are thinking...gross! But how can I say no don't touch that when he enjoys moving the handle back and forth so much! He will be so entertained for the longest time by just taking the small books and putting them in the pale and trying to flip the handle. He can never get it to turn all the way (thank goodness) but it is amusing to watch him move these books back and forth from the basket to the pale. By the way, the pale is santitized.
So these are just a few of my funny stories of what goes on during the day when I'm home with Ethan. I'm sure he'll just continue to amuse me as he discovers new things!