The LaBiosa Family

A party for a 30 yr old

2012-01-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to plan a surprise 30th birthday party for my husband. I wanted to do all of his favorite things in one night. Obviously I couldn't do everything but I managed to get a location where Ish does videography on the weekends. Ishmael loves to dance and so I really wanted to get a DJ for his birthday, and we made it happen! The hard part of the planning was trying to keep it a secret and figuring out how I was going to get him there. The owner of the wedding venue (party location) had to help me on this. The plan was to text him the evening of the party and tell him that there was a bride there that wanted to meet with him before she signed a contract to use him as a videographer. It sounded good so we went with it. Since my parents were coming, we also made the plan that we needed to get a babysitter so that my parents could take us out for a nice dinner without the hassle of the kids. He didn't argue with me on that! So when the babysitter arrived, he got the text about the bride but seemed a little annoyed. He told me he wasn't going b/c he didn't feel like dealing with an annoying bride (lol) I had to do some convincing without seeming to anxious. My stomach was in knots at this point! After a little convincing he finally agreed to just go for a few minutes. I was watching the clock like a hawk and texting my friends to find out if everyone was there at the party. There were a few that were running behind so we had to stop at sheetz to kill some time-still he had no clue :) Once we pulled up to Glencliffe he went inside and met with the director about the bride.Once he went inside, me and my parents ran to the tent where everyone was hiding. Within a few minutes he was walking out to the tent to "meet the bride" and that's when we turned the lights on and yelled Surprise! It was great! We had bbq for dinner, played some embarrassing games, and got to do some dancing. It was a great night. Unfortunatley, I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. And there were a few things that I would have liked to done differently but overall it was a great party and very successful! Happy 30th birthday Ishmael!

Project 1 is complete!

2011-12-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

Ok I have FINALLY finished my first real pinterest project! It definitely took me long enough lol. I tell you it's so hard to find motivation some times to do crafty things after such a busy day with 3 boys! All I do is just plop my butt on the sofa and turn on the TV. That's relaxation to me. Anyway, I finally finished it and it took me about 3 days to do 1 step at a time. Of course if I had no interuptions it would've been done in 2 days but that's wishful thinking. So here's some pic's! And by the way, I've already marked their heights :)

Staining the board

Stain completed

Marking the measurements

Ruler complete!

The boys were excited to see how tall the were!

Now all I have to do is hang it up in the house somewhere!

Oh pinterest, what have you done?

2011-11-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you all but this fad of pinterest has got me wanting to do all kinds crafty projects around the house! Since we've moved I have decided to start completely over with my decorating. This may sound exciting...and it did when I first moved in, but because redecorating is a little on the pricey side, it's got me in the waiting period right now. My walls are completely bare, my windows are naked, and most of the rooms are just half done. It is literally starting to drive me crazy.
As I search on pinterest today, I pinned all kinds of good DIY projects to get started on. I find myself just pinning away and then I decided to actually make a plan to start and finish one of these projects. Why not? They're so cool! The only problem is, most of these projects will take me more than 2 hours during the kids nap time. I have yet to finish the boys pictures I painted for their rooms. Apparantley I am horrible at finishing things. I don't think I used to be this way but since having 3 little boys, I'll get like 15 min of good work time in and then I have to stop and tend to the kids. Then, by the time I do get a couple hours to do something I'm so exhausted from playing and taking care of them that all I want to do is catch some zz's.
So anyway, back to the excitement of all these projects I want to do. I have written out my shopping of list of materials that I will need to get started on all these ideas. I just really have to discipline myself to just focus on one thing at a time. Sometimes I can get a little too excited and jump all over the place. So let the redecorating begin!...on a budget of course!
Also if you haven't jumped on the pinterest bandwagon, I suggest you do because you are definitley missing out on some great ideas. Everything about it is amazing..just saying.

The LaBiosa's are back!

2011-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Since it's been forever, I just thought I should try and start this blogging thing back up. Things are starting to settle down to where I might be able to squeeze in some blogging time. Just a quick update on what's been going on the past few months.
We sold our house within a month and moved out in 30 days. However, our loan couldn't be processed until we actually closed on our house and the buyer's bank kept messing up so it made things slower. We had moved our things into the new house basement..thanks to the owners, and me and the boys stayed in Raleigh with my parents. Ishmael had to continue to work and bunked up with a buddy. He got to experience the bachelor life again..let's just say, he missed me haha. So after about a month and half, we finally were able to close on our house and move into our new one. What an exciting time!
And for the past month we've just been trying to get settled into our new home and have been enjoying every bit of it. The boys are loving the woodsy back yard, enjoying their new neighbors and they love riding their toys down the long driveway. It's been such a blessing to be able to sell our house so quickly and to find a great home in the county of Appomattox. I do however miss having the convenience of shopping in Lynchburg because I'm so used to being 10 min from everything. It's good for me though...at least my husband thinks so :) We are definitely enjoying the quiet neighborhood and all the space that we have gained. I'll have to post some pics if I can ever find our camera battery charger. For some reason that's the one thing I have misplaced when we moved and it's pretty important too!

We did it!

2011-05-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well it's official. Our house is on the market! I'm so excited that we finally took the plunge and can't wait for it to sell. Honestly if we hadn't gotten a realtor it probably would have taken us forever to put it up for sale. I've been praying for a long time now that God will just prepare our buyer, whoever it is, that they will come along at the right time and buy our house. The most exciting thing for me is looking for a new house for us to live in. I know it can get aggravating at times b/c you have to be patient. We made a rushed decision the 1st time we bought our house and so we ended up settling on certain things. This time, we know what we want and we are prepared to keep looking until we find that perfect place for us.
So the past 2 weeks have just been crazy for me around the house. I've been trying to declutter and streamline everything. I've cleaned out closets, rearranged bedroom furniture, gave them a makeover (with a very cheap budget) and have put away lots of decorative items. I'm probably much harder on myself than I need to be, but with a decorating background I can't help but just try and make everything perfect. I want everythng to be hidden. Especially toys! I have packed up so much and rearranged lots of their things. The funny thing is, they haven't really noticed that certain toys are missing. That's when you know that they don't need anything else! It's not easy to do all this stuff while taking care of 3 boys but somehow I've managed to get everything almost done. This weekend my parents are taking Ethan and Jayden to NC so that Ish and I can do some final touches to the house without having to be interrupted. And while they are gone, we're planning to have our 1st open house since our house is going to be spotless. We better sell it that day b/c it's not going to be that clean again lol. That's going to be the hardest thing in this process..trying to keep my house clean and orderly while it's on the market. It's hard enough to keep it clean just for myself! So pray for us as we go through this process.

A quick update

2011-05-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, I have not given up on blogging. My life is just super busy these days and when I do have time to sit down, I only want to watch TV or catch up on facebook. I actually don't have a lot of time right now to blog but just thought I'd brief you quickly on some new things going on with the LaBiosa's!
Ishmael started a new a job about 3 weeks ago with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of VA working with the Media/production stuff. He works out of our home now so that's a major adjustment and something that we are really enjoying. Because Ish is working from home now, we are in desperate need of some office space for him to actually get some peace and quiet. That is something we lack in our house right now. So with that being said, we are currently trying to get our house ready to sale. It's crazy to me that we are having to sale our house and we've only lived here in 2 1/2 years but I'm ready for a change. So if you could lift our family up in prayers that we will be able to sell our house quickly and find a replacement soon, it would be appreciated!
Well that's all I have time for now and I'll try to keep you all updated on what it's like to have 3 boys under 3!

Sneaky ham & cheese soup

2011-01-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight I decided to use a recipe I had for Ham and cheese soup, but as I was making it I decided to do a little tweaking by sneaking in a little extra veggies to it. It turned out really good and both the boys ate it and was able to get 3 veggies in them without them even knowing :) So here's the recipe if you are interested in doing a little sneaking yourself!

2 Russet Potatoes cut up
1 grated carrot
1 grated zucinni
1/2 cup of fresh spinach chopped in blender
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Boil everything together in 2 cups of water. Melt 1/4 cup of margarine in separate pan. Combine 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cup milk, and 2 cup of shredded cheese and 1 cup of cubed ham until well blended. Comgine other ingredients and boil all together for 10 min and serve!

I had decided to grate the vegetables b/c when I cut up carrots the boys tend to skip over them. Once the soup was done, you couldn't even see the vegetables so my plan worked..even on my husband :)

Our Christmas Gift!

2011-01-07T16:06:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we were planning on going to church for their service when my water broke shortly before we were supposed to leave. So instead of heading to church we decided to clean up the house for family that would be coming into town that evening. I wasn't experiencing any contractions so we weren't in any hurry to get to the hospital. I actually was hoping that all the moving around would put me into labor but that didn't happen. Around 7:00 I had one of our good friends come over to stay with the boys while we went to the hospital but because I wasn't having any contractions we didn't get there until about 10:00.

Once we got there and were all settled they decided to start me on petossin around 12 since I wasn't progressing any. After 2 hrs of hard contractions I decided to get the epidural again (which I was trying really hard not to do). Apparently I'm a weakling when it comes to pain. I used to think I had a high tolerance to it but after having contractions for a while..not so much. So once I got the epidural around 2am, I was able to get a couple of hrs of sleep. At 5:13 on Dec. 25, 2010, little Rylan Jack was born weighing 6lbs 13oz and 20 inches long. What a great way to start off Christmas morning!

Since we've been home things have been really good with Rylan. He is such a good baby. He hardly ever cries and picked up on breastfeeding really quickly. Some nights he does really well sleeping and then there are other nights he seems like he can't get settled unless I'm holding him. I love cuddling with him and just holding him while he sleeps. He's so precious.

Ethan and Jayden have been handling our new addition really well. I say that meaning they are really nice to him and Ethan loves to hold him. But on the other hand the boys have been running wild for the past 2 weeks it seems. Thankfully Ish was able to take a week off from work and has been playing and taking care of the boys so that I could take care of Rylan. It's been so nice to have him around all the time. I definitely got spoiled this week and I'm not looking forward to being on my own starting next week. I'm sure it'll be fine but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous!
More beautiful pics of Rylan Jack soon to come!

"I did it! I go potty!"

2010-12-21T20:04:00.000-08:00

The past 2 weeks have been crazy here at the LaBiosa household. And when I say crazy, I mean me. Both boys were sick w/ ear infections and Ethan had a light case of pneumonia and then a couple of days later I got a cold. And when your prego, your cold seems to be more miserable then ever, plus it lasts so much longer! Last week I went through a lot of restless nights and was up alot in the middle of the night. Of course waking up so often at night plays a toll on you during the day. Thankfully I was able to squeeze a nap in every now and then (when Ethan cooperated) Thankfully the boys got over their sickness rather quickly and were back to their normal sleeping schedules. On top of all that, I had planned on starting potty training Ethan last week and then when we all got sick I had to take the lazy approach to potty training. It started off well in the beginning b/c I was too tired to even push it and he did it all on his own. However, toward the end of the week, he lost interest and I couldn't get him to even "practice" so he was back in diapers over the weekend. On Monday I decided that I was going to buckle down and just do it and get it over with! I really wasn't looking forward to fighting him b/c he can be pretty stubborn, so I did a lot of praying before I started so that I wouldn't lose my mind lol. My new rule was no more diapers and no pull ups unless he went to sleep. He fought me a little on the diaper thing but after using one of his friends as an example of being a big boy and wearing big boy pants, he gave in and wore his training pants. For the rest of that day he showed interest, went to the potty on his own and only had 2 accidents. He did so well and I was so happy!
Today was a new day and I knew the next step was getting him to do #2 in the potty. This was going to be a challenge for sure. All morning I kept watching him and whenever he'd try and run off by himself I'd catch him and try and get him to go to the potty. He fought me on this alot and so a couple of times I just gave up and left him alone. I kept explaining to him what he needed to do and just hoped that maybe he'd go on his own. I even gave him his video learning game and had him sit on the potty and I shut the door to see if it would give him the privacy he wanted lol..didn't work but at least he sat on it for a while. Just when I decided to take a break and make lunch, we all headed downstairs and w/i 5 min he told me he had to go pee, so we headed back upstairs. Then he told me he couldn't do it after t;rying after a min or so. I told him to just wait a little longer and I walked out of the bathroom and shut the door to see what he'd do. Shortly after I heard his potty song going off and then he comes running out yelling "I did it, I pooped!" haha It was exciting and gross all at the same time! So we ended up having another successful potty training day. I only hope he continues to get better and doesn't backslide. So far so good!

37 weeks

2010-12-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

37 week update

How far along? 37 weeks

Weight gain? Total 35 and I think that's my limit! Unfortunatley I will probably be gaining a 1lb a week from this point on.

Maternity clothes: Yep and the jeans are getting tighter lol. Socks and shoes are getting much harder to put on.

Sleep: This week has not been good. I've gotten up about ever 2 hrs to pee and I've been having cramping in my stomach for 2 days now which makes it difficult to get comfortable.

Best moment of this week: A friend of ours let us borrow her daughters potty training doll a while back and Ethan came across it the other day. He recently just had his 1st Christmas play in preschool and can sing Away in the Manger..so cute. Well he was playing with the baby doll and told me that it was baby Jesus. He held the doll and pretended to feed him gold fish lol. It was the cutest thing. I hope this is a sign that he is going to be sweet to Baby Rylan :)

Movement: Baby is head down at this point and I feel him move all the time. At one point I literally felt his tiny hand just tickle across my belly. It was freaky and cool at the same time haha.

Food cravings: Not a whole lot. Maybe more water and coke for some reason.

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting this little guy and being able to move at a normal pace!

My worries and frustrations: I'm hoping that it'll be an easy adjustment for Jayden when we put Rylan in his room. I'm also hoping that the baby video monitor will help me see Rylan wake up before he starts to cry and wake up Jayden. We'll see!

"Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz."

http://www.babycenter.com/

And the name is?

2010-11-30T11:38:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe the time is FINALLY approaching. I feel like this has been the longest pregnancy I've ever had. Maybe it's because I found out when I was only 4 weeks so time seems to be moving slow for me but on the other hand, my baby boy will be here before I know it!
Well Ish and I have finally agreed on a name for our 3rd son. It took lots of thinking and we have been going back and forth for months now. So here's the big reveal: Rylan Jack LaBiosa! From the beginning we thought we were going to name him Christian but just couldn't agree on a middle name and I never had that feeling of, "yes, that's it!" so we continued searching. Until one day, Rylan just came to me. I was thinking where in the world did this name come from and why did it just enter into my head. Well we actually have some friends whose little boy's name is Rylan and so it occured to me that's probably where I remember hearing it. I tried putting the name out of my head b/c I was sure that Ish wouldn't like it or want it epecially since it's his friends boy's name. But as much as I tried, I still continued to love it. So that day, without me knowing, Ish called his friend and asked him if he'd be ok with us naming our son the same as his..and they were totally cool with it. And so after about a week or so of thinking about it, we finally agreed that his name would be Rylan. As far as Jack goes? well..Ish just loves that name and wanted that to be our son's name from the beginning. So I gave in just a little..haha.
It's amazing how difficult it gets when naming your 3rd child, especially if it's the same sex as your others. So to all those people who have already picked out your kids names.. well lets just say that you have it made!

29 week update

2010-10-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

How far along? 29 weeks

Weight gain? 4 1bs this month! Total 28 lbs ahhh!

Maternity clothes: Yes but I'm finding out that I like wearing regular clothes better than maternity. I guess I feel skinnier that way (if that's even possible at this point). Everytime I put on one of my maternity shirts I just get frustrated because I feel like it makes me feel so much larger than I am. So right now, I'm definitely wearing things that are tight around my belly.

Sleep: It's ok. I am getting to the point where I move around alot just to get comfortable and there's only 2 different ways to sleep so I'm missing sleeping on my stomach.

Best moment of this week: Passing my sugar test! I was so nervous b/c I have craved so many sweets this pregnancy and thought for sure I'd fail it. The Lord was definitely looking out for me b/c He knows I hate sitting through that 3 hr process!

Movement: All the time. Especially after I've eaten a lot of sugar :)

Food cravings: Spinach dip with chips. I find myself wanting to eat some kindof dip in the evening and I never have it. So finally bought some frozen artichoke dip at the store, and another evening went to Olive Garden and had some there and then a couple days later went to a Tastefully Simple party and had all sorts of dips. And of course my taste buds got the best of me b/c I ordered like 3 different types of dip to have on had! That's stuff is amazing by the way if you've never had it!

What I'm looking forward to: His name. I think we have the 1st name (maybe) but we are having a hard time with the middle name. I guess I'm just waiting to get that gut feeling like, yes thats it like I did with Ethan and Jayden and haven't had that yet so not sure what's thats all about.

My worries and frustrations: I'm just really starting to get nervous about having another child to take care of. Now that Jayden is getting older, he is definitely starting to become more needy. I am usually so exhausted at the end of the day from both of them constantly pulling at me for my attention. I'm just kindof nervous how I'm going to handle another child in the house but then again, everything will work out and there's no need to worry!

Milestones:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.
http://www.babycenter.com/

Oh boy..sounds like I need to lay off those boston cream cakes. Shame on Ishmael for bring those home lol!

Another prego moment

2010-10-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I had another funny pregnancy moment that happened to me today. Last week when I went to bible study, I opened the trunk of my car to get out the double stroller for the kids. To my disappointment it wasn't there! I then just grabbed my single stroller and went on w/ my day. Well all afternoon I was racking my brain trying to think where we could've put it. Well I didn't mention it to Ishmael until this week and so he checked the basement and couldn't find it there either. Both of us were thinking really hard where we couldve left it or if we put it on our porch and someone stole it. We had no idea.
So this morning I went to Bible study like I do every Tuesday morning and checked the boys into their classrooms and ran into the nursery supervisor. I just thought I'd ask her if she happened to see a double stroller just sitting somewhere in the nursery. She quickly said yes and that someone had turned one in about 2 weeks ago to the welcome center. She told me that it could be mine or maybe not but that I should just go check and find out. Well after Bible study was over I went to the welcome desk and asked this older man sitting there if someone had brought a stroller there and sure enough, there it was. I was so excited to see it folded up against the wall. He told me they found it just sitting in the middle of the parking lot. This just made me laugh because it just sounds like something I'd do, Especially since I'm so forgetful these days. So that's my prego moment for this week.
Good times!

Funny prego moments

2010-10-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never been pregnant before, let me warn you..Your mind can seriously play some tricks on you. Being pregnant can make you forget things, dream some crazy dreams, and there's probably more that I haven't experienced. But for this particular post it's about me being very forgetful. I had recently posted on my Facebook status that one evening I was making sweat tea and just had boiled the water and was about to put sugar in the pitcher. Well when I opened the canister lid, I noticed that I was out of sugar so I went to the pantry to fill it up. When I grabbed the bag of sugar I obviously wasn't thinking and just immediately poured the whole bag of sugar into the pitcher. Why? the only explanation I have is that it's my baby brain playing tricks on me! Thankfully I hadn't poured the tea in the pitcher 1st (which I normally do) so I was able to just pour all the sugar into the canister and was able to make my sweat tea properly.
Well today I went to Kroger to grab a few things, hamburger buns being one of them. When I got home, I unloaded the groceries and proceded with my morning. When it came time to make my lunch I went to the pantry to get the buns for my chicken sandwhich. Well..they weren't in there. I searched everywhere for them. I even looked in the kids toy kitchen to se if Ethan had maybe grabbed them and stuffed them somewhere. I ran out to the car twice and looked in the floor boards and the trunk. I was so confused because I knew I brought them in the house but didn't remember putting them away. After looking everywhere I could think of I happened to glance at the trash bag and remembered throwing the plastic bags away. I had a thought that maybe I just accidentally through the buns away. Well, sure enough I did haha. Not sure how I missed that one! But I was glad I was able to continue making my chicken sandwhich b/c I was about to really upset!

Prego update

2010-09-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

How far along? 26 weeks

Weight gain? Not sure..I forgot to ask the nurse and by the time the doctor came in to do the check up I was so ready to get out of there! BTW, do not take more than 1 child to the doctor with you, especially if you're going to be there over an hr!

Maternity clothes: Yep! and filling them out too!

Sleep: I am always tired so whenever I get a moment to take a nap, I indulge. At night it's great, especially if Jayden doesn't wake up early. He likes to do that occasionally :)

Best moment of this week: Seeing Ethan's face when I pick him up from preschool. He absolutely loves it!

Movement: Yes! He is quite the mover. Lastnight, I felt like he was using me as a punching bag!

Food cravings: I love to watch the cooking channel and one evening Diner's and drivein's was on and watching them cook hamburgers, taco's and all this other delicious stuff made me really want what was on that show! So I settled for the chicken wings in my freezer haha. I specifically craved cream cheese wontons and chocolate eclairs on Sunday and I was a happy woman!

What I'm looking forward to: Still haven't gotten the baby's crib yet so I'm looking forward to at least moving in that direction soon.

My worries and frustrations: I've been trying to think who's going to take care of our boys when the baby is born. It's a difficult time b/c it's near the holidays and lots of friends will have plans or will be out of town. My mom usually tries to come up for a while but she doesn't have any vacation time saved up. So..I'm praying that God will just work it out!

Milestones:

"The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days." http://www.babycenter.com/

Posted by Sara

1 comments:

Chicken Wing said...: Is it bad that I loved the fact that you said the words "chicken wings" in this post? :) And being as I just saw you, I can officially say that you are the cutest preggo woman out there!; September 17, 2010 8:44 AM

They were yummy!

2010-09-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

Just to update you on the recipes that I have been trying out through http://www.momswhothink.com/ Lastnight I made their Bacon and cheese quiche, except I tweeked it a little. It called for just cheese and bacon and instead I added some leftover chicken I had from the Chicken Stroganoff meal. Then I added some spinach just so we would have a vegetable to eat. Gotta get those veggies! Well being that it was my first quiche that I had made, it turned out wonderful. I honestly couldn't stop eating it! Even the boys really liked it. So I will be making that one again!
Tonight I made Tuna casserole. I used to eat this all the time growing up but it was never homemade, always hamburger helper style. Now I try to avoid those boxed meals b/c of the MSG and other chemicals in it. So I was excited to try a homemade version. It actually turned out really good as well. I used macaroni noodles like it called for so when Ish saw the casserole and the broccoli he said, "no meat tonight?" He said this because the boy always has to eat some kind of meat every night. Well he was suprised when I told him we were eating tuna casserole. (He's also not much of a casserole fan either) But he liked it..didn't go for 2nd's but he liked it :)
So that concludes my week #1 following the dinner meal plans on that website. So far I've liked the recipes that I've tried. Because all of it is homemade there are a few ingredients that I have a hard time finding in the store and just choose not to put it in the recipe. And actually I haven't missed them b/c not sure what they taste like anyway haha. Like I said, I pick and choose which ones that I like for that week and then use them when I've run out of my own ideas. This next week looks like it's going to be a good one and might have to try all of them if it doesn't rack up my grocery bill! The good thing about most of these recipes, is that there are always leftovers the next day. So it does stretch the dollar.

Jibber Jabber

2010-09-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

What a weekend and it's not even over! I feel like lately it has been nothing but chaos at the LaBiosa household. Ever since we sold Ish's jeep we have been stuck with only 1 vehicle. With that said, we are having to share our car. It's not too bad b/c I have preschool and bible study 3 days out of the week so I'm only stuck in the house for 2 days. But usually those are the days that I NEED to get out with the kids lol.

Honestly I thought we'd have a van by now but this process has definitely been more difficult than I thought it would be. Trying to find something that isn't ancient, affordable, low miles, and a decent color is pretty difficult to find in Lynchburg. I finally just started looking on Craigslist in Raleigh just so we'd have more options. And boy were there more options! The problem is actually getting down there to look at them. With Ish's busy schedule we just hardly have a free weekend where we can travel down and do all the car shopping, especially with the boys. Nothing seems easy for us in this matter. I keep praying that God will just bring us the right van and that we'll just continue to wait for His timing. That's probably why we just haven't had any good options in our area b/c the right one just hasn't become available. So patience here we come!

On that note, God has been doing some great things lately. Ish started up his videography business Ish's Video (http://www.ishsvideo.com/) about 2 years ago. He never did any advertising and just passed his business card around and advertised through word of mouth. He eventually started getting some wedding gigs, commercials, and a few other side jobs. Thankfully God continued to provide a job when we needed it.

Well we have been praying for a while now that God would open up more opportunities for us that could bring in some extra income. Recently an opportunity came up where a local wedding company that he had done some work for in the past contacted him. They informed him that they were looking for a new videographer and really liked his work ethic. So after a few days it was settled. They officially hired Ish's Video to be there videographer. This has been a major blessing to us! Well since he's signed with them and built a website, word has just seemed to spread like wild fire! His calendar is already getting full for next year of weddings and video jobs. We are so excited that his business seems to be growing so quickly!

So this explains the chaos in our household. Ish has been super busy with editing weddings and trying to get all the details of his business in place. There have been lots of late nights and lack of sleep. Not to mention some grumpy kids every now and then and a hormonal pregnant wife! It's going to be challenge trying to learn how to balance his full time job, his business, and being a husband and a dad to 3 boys. I know we can do it with prayer. We're just so thankful that God has opened up this door for our lives and I can't wait to see what direction He is leading us.

Now if we can just get that van...

Finally something different

2010-09-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so I don't know about you but I get into these cooking ruts where I have no clue what to cook. I'l stare and stare into my pantry and can't come up with anything. Then I look through my cook books yet another millionith time and still can't find anything that really appeals to me. So that's where the internet comes into use. I check http://www.allrecipes.com/ on a regular basis to see if there's anything that I'd like to try or I'll just do random searches with a specific ingredient like chicken to see what will come up. Of course I get overwhelmed when I realize there are soo many things to make with chicken. Well I happened to stumble across this website/blog called http://www.momswhothink.com/ and they have tons of recipes to look up. They also have family week meal plans where you get a different meal idea for each day! I had heard of things like this before and they basically give you a grocery list of what to buy but those websites cost. Plus if there's something you don't like on that menu, you've put money into it and kindof lost it in my opinion. Well this option is free! And you can just go through the weeks and pick out what you want to try and kindof arrange your own meal plan for the week. All I did was just print off those recipes and went through the ones I know will work for my family. I also like that not every meal consists of a meat since that can get a little pricey on your grocery bill.
So tonight I tried my 1st recipe called Easy Chicken Stroganoff. It was easy and delicious, but for some reason Ethan put up a fight to eat it but it could just be because he's going through that picky stage right now. I'm determined not to cook several things just to please him. Of course my husband thinks differently but I don't want my kids to think that I'm their slave in the kitchen. But that's a whole other subject. So for now, we're going to see how these meal ideas work out so I'll keep you posted!

The time has come!

2010-09-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ethan started his 1st day of Preschool on Wednesday. On Tuesday we had gone for orientation and he was able to meet his other classmates and his teacher. We were only there for about an hr and when we left you could just see the excitement in his face. So the next morning when he woke up I told him we had to get ready for school. I had planned to leave around 8:30 because it does take about 20 min to get there. Because Ethan was so excited, he had his shoes on and his back pack on his back at 8:00! He kept saying "Comon Mommy, lets go!" I was trying to occupy him until we had to go but we ended up leaving the house 15 min early anyway. I was able to grab a coffee and drove around a little just to kill sometime.

When we got there we had time to take a couple of pictures before the school bell rang. Once the door was opened he ran into his room and didn't even look back! I made him give me a kiss goodbye and he just ran right to the toys. It was the cutest thing. So I'd say day 1 of Preschool was a success and I'm so glad that he loves it.

Where I'm at

2010-08-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

How far along? 22 weeks

Weight gain? 6 lbs this month! ahh those chicken wings are catching up on me!

Maternity clothes: a few items but I was able to button my size 7 jeans yesterday and was pretty excited about that haha

Sleep: Still sleeping like a baby and enjoying while it lasts!

Stretch marks: Yep still got em and apparently this Arbonne cream I bought is NOT working!

Best moment of this week: Teaching Ethan how to give an eskimo kiss. He thought it was the funniest thing. Very cute!

Movement: Definitely starting to feel little kicks here and there but nothing like I what I was feeling with Jayden at this point. However I did the baby being very active during the ultrasound yesterday.

Food cravings: This week I have actually been eating some salads with fruit. I am really liking the new apple chicken salad at Wendy's believe it or not! And sneaking a few brownies and chips ahoy every now and then. Still liking those cheeseburgers and fries too :)

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the rooms all prepared for the baby. We are putting the baby in Jayden's room so we have some adjusting to do with the furniture. We also need to get another dresser for all these clothes!

Milestones:
"Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well." http://www.babycenter.com/

It's a boy!

2010-08-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

As I was watching the nurse take measurements of the baby's head, legs, etc. I kept thinking that I was going to see that it was a boy. I was kindof hoping that I wouldn't see that "turtle" as they call it. But as soon as she scanned over to his bottom, there it was lol. I was completely shocked because I was really thinking that it was going to be a girl this time. You see, because we have gotten pregnant so quickly with Ethan and Jayden, we were wanting to be done at 3 kids. Ish and I both really want a girl and so we told ourselves if it was a girl we were going to be done, but if it was a boy we were going to have try again. Looks like God has a different plan for us. We'll see where it leads us!

Although I was hoping for a change of pace and really looking forward to buying all those cute dresses, I realize that the season of life that we are in right now just makes sense for us to have a boy. Times are tough so it's nice that we won't need to do any extra baby shopping. Except I really want a video monitor this time! I'm hoping we can at least get that and stock up on some diapers :)
We are definitely excited to be bringing in another boy into this family of ours. I'm hoping there's going to be a lot of fishing trips with daddy in the future so I can do some shopping :)
I am truly blessed that God is allowing us to raise 3 Godly men one day. We're going to need as many Godly men in this crazy world as we can! I'm kindof already starting to feel the pressure so it's definitely going to take a lot of prayer so that my boys will grow up to be great leaders for Christ. I definitely believe that God gives you the children that you need and that you can handle. I never thought I could handle more than 2 boys but apparently I can!

What's it going to be??

2010-08-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Boy or Girl?

What's your guess?

18 weeks prego

2010-08-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

So I am finally blogging about my 3rd pregnancy. Up to this point there really hasn't been much to say other than the nausea and lack of energy. Now that I'm 18 weeks along I am finally over the sick feeling but I still don't have any energy. I find myself eating chocolate or drinking a coke just for a quick fix of caffeine just so I can get through the afternoon with some kindof energy. As expected, it works for maybe an hour. Sleep is the only thing that will give me the energy I need to keep the house clean and of course taking care of my 2 boys. But most of the time sleep doesn't happen, especially when Ethan fights me on napping.
Anyway, a friend of mine did a cute way of blogging about her 2nd pregnancy by listing the main facts about her pregnancy and I really liked it so I thought I would steal her idea!

How far along? 18 weeks

Weight gain? 5 lbs! I can't remember how fast or slow I gained with my others but to me that sounds scary!

Maternity clothes: Not quite yet. Most of my pants are uncomfortable to wear but I bought a belly band so that I could put it over my unbuttoned pants. I'm still in the stage where maternity pants are a little too big.

Sleep: Great if my other 2 don't wake me up!

Stretch marks: I stopped caring after I had Ethan. He already put his marks on me so at this point it can't get much worse.

Best moment of this week: Jayden is getting more and more active. We had just gotten to the beach house we are staying for the week and we were all outside on the deck just playing around. As Ethan is running around in circles Jayden is just chasing him and around and laughing. But this time he opened his mouth so wide and took a huge breath inward and it looked like he was just laughing histerically. It was definitely a cute moment!

Movement: A few flutters here and there but the most I felt was in the middle of the night like it did a complete flip. Always a cool feeling when you think about it :)

Food cravings: Lots and lots of french fries, buffaloe wings, chocolate ice cream, coke, blueberry muffins

What I'm looking forward to: Find out whether its a boy or girl! I really want a girl to help balance out this craziness in our household but I have a feeling it's going to be another boy. My chances of having a girl is very slim!

Milestones:
"Your baby is 5 1/2" long (about the size of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He busy flexing his arms and legs--movements that you'll start noticing more and more the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they are still standing out from his head a bit. If its a girl then her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hay hide them from during an utltrasound."

Here come's the LaBiosa herd

2010-07-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today was cow day at ChickfilA! If you dressed up like a cow head to toe, you will recieve a free meal. So we all got dressed up like cows to get our free food. Ethan about had a melt down just trying to get his shirt on but once we got there and he saw everyone dressed like cows, his face just lit up. I think he was a little overwhelmed with all the craziness but I think he enjoyed it.

I had planned on getting a family picture of all of us dressed like cows but unfortunatley as soon as we sat down to eat, Ethan took all his spots off. So that idea went out the window. But at least I got a picture of all my handsome fellas dressed like cows!

Something new!

2010-06-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm excited to say that I have started up a new business of selling Thirty-one products! I have been wanting to do something on the side just to make a little extra so that we could be able to put Ethan into preschool next year. I knew I didn't want to sell jewlrey or make up so when I came across Thirty-one I just fell in love with all their cute products! They specialize in bags but they also do wallets, purses, baskets, and a few other accessories. They also have a few baby items too! Their prices are very reasonable for what you are getting and you can also get the items mongrammed.

I am having my 1st party in July and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. It's always nerve racking to have a party because you want to have a good handful of people to show up! After hosting numerous parties through other companies, I have learned that not everyone likes to go to parties as much as I do. I'm not sure if they just feel like they are going to be pressured to buy anything but I have never felt pressured at any of the parties I have been to. Granted I am tempted to buy lol and most of the time I do! But I enjoy going to parties whether it's jewlrey, pampered chef, or make up. Maybe I enjoy it because it's a way for me to get out of the house and meet up with friends and just try out new things. Especially when it's a close friend of mine hosting one. I love to help others out. So with that said, I hope that I will get a good response at my 1st party as I start this new journey!

Here's my website to check out to see what kinds of products they have and if you are in the area and would like to host a party let me know! or if you'd like to just order something from our catalog I promise you won't be disappointed.
Ok so that's my sales pitch for today! haha

www.mythirtyone.com/Labiosa

What a week!

2010-06-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

This week I have been in Raleigh visiting friends and family. Our best friends had moved to Japan for a business opportunity last year and they came back to the states for vacation to visit their families. We were able to work it out so that we could see them while they were here. So Sunday evening Ish and I drove to Greenville, NC to hang out with our friends without our kids. It was so nice to just have an evening where we could actually enjoy dinner and take our time! The next day they drove to Raleigh with their 2 girls and spent the day with us. We were going to make extensive plans but with naps between our kids we decided to just go to the play area in the mall and have lunch there and then come back to the house so they could nap. While the kids napped (all but Ethan..no suprise there!) Ish and his friend Ryan went and played tennis. Later when the kids woke up we joined them at the pool for some swimming. It maybe lasted an hr lol. Then we came back, ordered pizza and then went out for ice cream later. We had such a great time seeing them again. No matter how much time goes by without us seeing them, we are always able to just pick up where we left off. We catch ourselves saying all the time that we wished they lived closer and that we could see them on a regular basis. Maybe one day we'll be able to live in the same state and country!

Ish has to work a wedding on Saturday and Sunday this weekend in Danville, which is an hr and half away from Raleigh. So..I figured I'd stay in Raleigh through the weekend and meet up with him on Sunday before his wedding. In order for me to not go crazy being on my own at my parents house, I knew I was going to have to keep those boys busy. Everyday we drove somewhere to visit a friend or family, came home for naps and then cooked dinner at the house and went to bed. It doesn't sound like much but boy am I exhausted! I never realized how much I depend on my husband to help me out until he's not around to help. I really do appreciate him coming home and just playing with the kids while I cook dinner. Trying to cook dinner at my mom's house was a nightmare and a such a challenge. I had Jayden under my feet getting into all the cabinets, pushing buttons on the dvd player, dropping things, crying because he was hungry all at the same time. Then I had Ethan whining because he wanted to go outside and play. That was the day I wished I could've snapped my fingers and dinner would be ready! And yes, I wanted to pull my hair out.
So needless to say, I've had a great time visiting friends and my family but boy do I miss my hubby. I hope I can reflect on this week to remind myself how much I really do appreciate him. I can't wait to squeeze his neck and give him a smooch when I see him! Love you babe!

This is what's been going on...

2010-06-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

My boys are growing up so fast and are learning new things everyday. Here's a quick recap of what's going on with each one.
Ethan is learning new things all the time and is soaking up new information like a sponge. It amazes me how quickly he can pick up on things now. Right now we are learning our letters just like every other 2 year old out there. Recently I've been picking a letter for the week and starting him off with some kind of craft resembling that letter. So far we've only made it to B lol. A few craft ideas that we did was with the letter A, we made an alligator and all week we talked about alligators and happened to see them everywhere in books, tv, and in the store. This week we did the letter B and made a bumble bee since we are seeing them a lot lately. He used to just call them bugs, but now he actually says bee and does the buzzing sound. Because of my type A personality I have to go in order with the alphabet as far as studying each letter. He has picked up on other letters just from learning the alphabet such as I,O,R,S, and T. It's funny b/c some days he'll point them out to me and say them and the other days he acts like he has no idea what I'm talking about. I think he's just playing w/ me. We are also trying to learn all our colors and shapes. This is a little challenging but we're getting there. He knows the colors pink, orange, red, blue, and white. He knows how to draw a circle and can point out a triangle. We've been working on rectangles and squares this week so hopefully he'll get it down. I'm thinking Ethan must be a visual learner like his momma b/c the days that I've actually done a craft or activity with him on a color or shape is when he usually seems to pick up on it quicker.
Other things that he's doing is talking, talking, talking! I love being able to have a conversation with him now and we can understand each other for the most part. The other day when I was feeding him lunch, he was just telling me everything he wanted like a spoon for his macaroni, fork for his hotdog, and ketchup. It just made me smile how well he was communicating. Just another reminder how quickly they grow up!
Jayden is 14 months now and is walking! On Saturday he just started walking around on his own a lot more here and there and then by the time Monday came around he was doing it most of the day. Now my life just got crazier! I hope I can keep up with these wild boys =) Jayden is also eating alot better and not being as picky as he was. For a while he would only eat bread, meat, and some fruit and no veggies. But recently he's started liking macaroni (about time), spaghetti, fish, green beans, and corn. We haven't tried carrots with him in a while so hopefully he'll take to them the next go round. Jayden is also babbling a lot more and trying to form words. I've heard him say dadda, momma, and uh oh. Which isn't alot for his age but it'll come with time!
I wish I had some recent pictures of the boys but I have slacked off on the picture taking. I'll try to do better!

Give me some puddin!

2010-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just a random blog but today I had gotten hungry for a little snack and went for the jello pudding snack that I had bought recently. I usually try not to eat anything chocolate or sweet in front of the kids because of course they're going to want some. But today I was feeling a little generous and figured a little bite here and there wouldn't bother anyone. Jayden was up from his nap and Ethan was still sleeping so this is usually our bonding time together. He was playing with his toys and I had gotten up, grabbed the pudding and quickly sat back down. This didn't go unnoticed by Jayden at all. He quickly crawled to my side and started to do his begging lol. So I proceeded to give him a few bites. After I finished it, I just thought I'd give him the cup and let him go at it. This was the end result..which it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I was trying to get a good picture of him with it all over his face but everytime I took it he'd move closer to the camera and tried to touch it. So the cup is covering his messy face!

Baby news

2010-05-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

So it's true. Baby #3 is on its way! I still can't believe we're going to be adding another addition to our family by the end of this year! We have been in shock and denial for about a month now but we are very excited too. I am thankful that God chose to me to bring these wonderful babies into the world and I am so blessed to be their mommy. My life is about to get even more crazier..in a good way of course.
We are hoping that this baby is a girl, but of course if it's a boy we'll keep him :) Ish doesn't want to find out the sex and wants it to be a suprise. I however must know! Especially if it's a girl. I told him I'd think about it..so we'll see.
So far this pregnancy has been different then my other two. I've experienced extreme nauseau in the 1st 6 weeks and spent most my days laying on the couch. Poor Ethan watched a lot of tv those days :( I never left my house w/o a pack of saltines. I even went online and bought some ginger tea, ginger candy, and preggie pops which are sour candies that help w/ nauseau. They're actually really good. Now that I'm moving into the 2nd trimester I'm not as sick as I had been feeling. I do however usually get nauseaus in the evening when I go to bed. The doctor gave me a prescription of pills to take for the nauseau and it seems to help a little. Not sure why I never got prescribed this the 1st time I was pregnant! Anyway so that's the big news in the LaBiosa family!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

2010-05-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mother's day started off with me feeling sick so I had made up my mind that I was just going to stay home and take it easy. Ishmael had to collect donations at the church for mom's in Haiti so he left early that morning. Around 9:00 I started to feel a little better and proceded to get ready for the day. Ish called me and asked me if I'd seen the porch that morning. I was assuming that the crazy wind from the day before had blown leaves and pollen all over our porch after we'd just cleaned it off. So with that said, didn't rush to go look at the porch. Well at the last minute, I decided to get the boys ready for church and was rushing out the door to get there on time. When I opened the door he had a rose bush and a gerber daisy plant w/ a card sitting on the porch. I was so suprised and it just really made my day. We had been wanting to plant a rose bush in our flower garden and so now everytime I'll look at the roses, it'll remind me of Mother's Day!
Once I got to church, the church was offering up free family pictures. So we headed over to the gym to get our picture taken. It ended up taking longer than I thought it would so by the time we were getting ready to drop off the boys in the nursery I was starving. I still wasn't feeling the best so I wasn't sure I wanted to sit through church with a hungry and queesy stomach. So we decided to just grab some lunch and head home. Ish also had to record a recital that afternoon so I wanted us to have as much time w/ him as we could. Well that afternoon consisted of the boys napping and me laying on the couch watching movies. I couldn't had asked for a more relaxing afternoon. Once Ish got home we decided to order in so I wouldn't have to cook (that's Ish's way of cooking hehe) then we loaded up the boys and headed out for some ice cream. Then we ended the evening shopping at the new Kroger lol. Overall I had a great day even though Ish had to work most of it. I'm just glad he remembered to spoil me a little.

The day that would never end

2010-05-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Shew! What a day! Today started off with me waking up with a scratchy throat. For some reason, when my throat hurts, my whole body hurts. Not sure why that is...Anway, Ish had to work a wedding this afternoon so he ended up leaving around 11:30 which meant I had to come up with something to keep the boys occupied. You'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal since I'm home with them everyday but for some reason the weekends are different. It's like they know that their daddy is supposed to be there and when he isn't, they go completely haywire. So, after lunch went for a walk in the neighborhood in their wagon. At the corner of our street, a church was having a mini carnival that seemed to be open to the public. I decided to take the boys and check it out. They had lots of different games for kids to play and win prizes and free snow cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. Ethan was so overwhelmed by all the other children that it was really hard to get him to focus on something. Half the time he would just stand and stare. I did manage to get him to play a few games but like I said, he just wasn't his hyper self. Meanwhile, Jayden was getting very ansy just sitting in the wagon. Right now he's at the stage that he wants to walk everywhere but has to hold on to me. This can be a little challenging when trying to get Ethan to follow me when Jayden just wants to take off. If I take control, Jayden always throws a fit. That boy loves to have his way and if he doesn't get it, then watch out.
After playing a few games and getting some prizes, I thought I'd let Ethan try some cotton candy for the 1st time. Suprisingly he wasn't a fan. I tried giving some to Jayden but he just thought it was fuzz and threw it down. So, that meant more for me! Then I thought I'd get him a snow cone to see if he'd like that but Ethan wasn't interested. While I was getting Ethan's attention to get back in the wagon, I had sat the snow cone in the cupholder. Well I shouldve known better b/c Jayden got into it. Instead of him trying to drink it, he decided to put his hands in it and throw the ice all over his pants. What a mess he was! Good thing the house was just a block down the road b/c that's where we headed after that incident. Once we got home I had to clean Jayden up so I took him inside. This is when he threw a major tantrum that I've never seen him do. It was so bad that I couldn't even hold him b/c of how he was throwing his body. So, I figured he was extremely tired and needed to go down for a nap. Once I put him down, me and Ethan got our bathing suits on and headed to the back yard.
Ethan loves to play with water and especially loves the water hose. So I got my lounge chair out and handed him the water hose and let him at it while I soaked up some rays. This was the only relaxing part of my day and little did I know that I shouldve enjoyed it more.
Well to make a very long story a little shorter, Ethan didn't take his afternoon nap and in the midst of getting him to sleep, he woke up Jayden. Then for the past 2 hrs it's like my body just shut down. My throat started to really bother me and all I wanted to do was lay down but this wasn't going to happen. So out of frustration, I packed a diaper bag, got the boys shoes on and loaded them into the car. Went to McD's and got a frappe (which they taste just like starbucks but $2 cheaper) and we headed to the park. It was the best decision I had. All of us needed some fresh air apparently. We didn't stay very long b/c Jayden started to get cranky again b/c of his lack of a long nap. So we headed back home and I started to cook dinner. Tried laying Jayden down...not happening. The boys ate dinner, bathed them and both of them acted very sleepy. It was only 6:30 when I tried putting them to bed. I was just thinking that they would for sure go to bed, but I was wrong. So we read some books, watched some tv, played a little and tried again. Because Ethan was upset, it kept Jayden up so attempt #2 didn't work either. Brought them both down, gave them a snack and some juice and tried again. This time I put Jayden down 1st and let him get settled. Success! Then I managed to clean up the kitchen while Ethan watched a movie. When it was over...layed him down and finally at 8:30, he was asleep. A sigh of relief. There's nothing like the feeling of peace after a very long day that seemed to have one bad thing after another.

So do I miss my husband at times like these? You betcha! Thank goodness everyday isn't like this and I definitely was being tested. I'm just thankful that I have my Savior who I can go to in these stressful times and pray to get through them!
Good night everybody!

What a weekend

2010-04-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday we left Lynchburg to go to Raleigh for a family get together. My brother Nolan was in town for the week from TX, who I haven't seen since last year! He also brought his girlfriend Jen with him for us all to meet. My mom had planned for us all to get together at our church gym where we ate some yummy food and played basketball. We brought Jayden's walker and Ethan's basketball goal so that he could join in on the fun. We all had a great time and it was so good to see everyone again.
The next day, Ish and I took the boys to Marbles Kids Museum. Apparently Friday is the day for all the schools to do their field trips! It was insane! Because there was so much to do and so many kids around, Ethan wasn't able to really focus on a whole lot. He was a little standoffish because of the older kids but he did manage to find the train table and that's where he wanted to spend all of his time. we had to pull him away just so he could enjoy some of the other things that the museum had to offer. Thankfully after we ate lunch we were able to enjoy some things a little more b/c the crowds had either left or were eating outside. Overall we had a great experience and who liked to take them there again sometime. But I think we'll try it during the week instead and hopefully it won't be so crowded.
Once we came home we "tried" to lay the boys down for a much needed nap. But b/c they aren't in their beds the naps weren't so successful. However, I did manage to run out and get a much needed new cell phone. That basically just made my day lol. That evening Ish and I met with some friends for an oyster roast and ate some yummy grilled shrimp and oysters, played some corn hole and goofed off.
Saturday morning we spent our time packing and loading up the car to head back to the Burg. The car ride was challenging at times so we were so glad to get home! Later that afternoon we went to a kids birthday party, went to friends house for dinner and then put the kids to bed. What a weekend! The boys were so exhausted and soo glad to be in their own beds.

So much to say

2010-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today started off kindof cruddy with Ishmael getting Jayden and bringing him in the room when I just wasn't ready to get up yet. Every morning I have to grab a sweatshirt and slippers b/c it's always freezing downstairs and of course I'd like to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, and then I go get Jayden. But not this morning. So despite my cranky mood I really wanted some muffins. I usually just make the muffins that you add milk to but didnt have any in the pantry but I remembered that I had come across a recipe of Mocha Banana Chocolate chip muffins. I managed to have all the ingredients and started baking them. I added a few healthy ingredients like applesauce, wheat flour, wheat germ and oat bran to the mix, and let me just say they were delicious! You couldn't even taste the healthy stuff! Well since thats what Ethan had for breakfast he was in a great mood. Who wouldn't be after having chocolate lol. I actually was a little hesitant to give it to him but I thought I'd live a little on the edge today :)
I also introduced to him a new activity that a good friend of mine told me she used to do w/ her preschoolers. What you do is take a paper clip and bend it to where he can hold the curled part and stick with the pointy part. Then draw out either a shape or letter on a piece of paper and place on the carpet and have him poke holes along the lines. Basically its really good for their hand and eye coordination. I also think it helps him really focus. You can also save the pictures and see how he progresses each week by following the lines. Ethan loved this activity and would get so excited if he actually poked a whole b/c he had a hard time holding the paper clip the right way. I definitely will be doing this one on a weekly basis!
Also today I have noticed how well his vocabulary is progressing. I think it's so cute how he repeats what I say. He had macaroni for lunch and I forgot to put a bib on him and I say "oh no, you made a mess!" And he just repeated, oh no, a mess. It was cute.
He is definitely a learning machine right now and I'm loving it! Now if I can just get him to take a nap today!

Jayden is ONE!

2010-04-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how fast this past year has just flown by. Jayden grew up in the blink of an eye. He turned 1 on Saturday and we had his 1st birthday party on Sunday. We decided to try and keep it small and simple this time and only invited a few close friends and family. We planned everything to be outside and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I was running around like a crazy person to get everything perfect for the party and we all managed to pull it off. Everyone had a great time and more importantly Jayden had a blast. It was a little difficult to try and keep all the focus on him since Ethan wanted to open all his presents and take them. Jayden got upset when Ethan would take his toy away from him and even through a mini tantrum (it actually was kindof funny) but overall it went well. I'm just glad it's easy to distract Jayden...for now anyways.

My parents got the boys matching chairs for the living room and they both love them. Jayden likes to climb in and out of them over and over. Jayden also got a riding toy like Ethan's except it's a train. My mom didn't consider the fact that Ethan is obsessed with trains so naturally Ethan took to it. I don't think Jayden ever got to really play with it until the next morning before Ethan woke up. (poor guy) Jayden got lots of great toys and some cute clothes, which I'm excited about b/c he's been wearing hand me downs basically the whole year.

Well to wrap up just want to say all the things that I love about Jayden:

His big blue eyes, happy personality, the way he cuddles with his blanket when he's sleepy, the way he smacks his mouth before he eats, the way he rocks back and forth to music, noise and going to sleep, the way he scoots on one leg when he's keeping up with Ethan, the way he holds on to me, the way he wakes up so happy in the morning, the way he giggles to pieces at Ethan, that he gets so excited when daddy comes home, when I put veggies on his plate, he'll just flick it w/ his little finger...(how does he know it's good for him?), the way he loves to climb the stairs and would spend all day going up and down them. I'm sure there's so much more. He's such a loveable boy and is so attached to his mommy-which I love because Ethan is a daddy's boy all the way!

So looking back on this past year w/ Jayden has been such a blessing and I can't wait to have many more.

Happy Birthday Jayden!!

What I read today...

2010-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

I follow the Proverbs 31 blog and today's title was "Am I messing up my kids." The key verse that was shared was John 9:3 "’Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ’but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’" She then went on and explained how she was talking to her friend and her friend was struggling with her son. She was able to comfort her friend with that verse and let her know that what her son is going through isn't because of her mistakes or her sons, but God is helping her son work through some fears that will eventually be a display of spiritual depth in his life. This story immediately hit home for me. The past couple of weeks have been really tough with Ethan. He has been very disobedient and I'm just exhausted from disciplining him all day and feel like I'm getting no where with him. I find myself asking, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" So reading this devotional really helped me realize that what I'm going through with Ethan right now isn't necessarily because of my mistakes but that God is using this time to teach me and mold me into a better mother. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he's only 2 and that he has ALOT of learning to do so it's my job as his mother to hold it together! I'm not going to lie and say it's easy. I constantly have to pray for the fruits of the Spirit to shine through me. I'm so thankful that God uses these devotionals to remind me of the little things.

A new bed and new room

2010-03-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ever since Jayden was born I had planned on putting him and Ethan together in the same room. Well we kept putting it off b/c of multiple issues. First it was Ethan getting used to his toddler bed, then when I did try, Ethan just continued to upset Jayden by screaming in his face, and then it was trying to get Jayden to sleep through the night. I hadn't anticipated on Jayden taking 11 months to do so! I'm sad to say that for those 11 months he has been sleeping in a pack and play. I know that it probably had something to do with his sleeping habits to but just didn't want to take the crib apart and then move it into the other room and rebuild it. So we finally decided that it was time that Jayden needed to be in his crib. The only problem was that Ethan had started to get out of his bed at night and come into our room. So we moved him back into the crib so he could get used to sleeping w/o waking up. I had relayed all this information to my mom and so she came up with the idea of maybe getting Ethan a bed that he would really like and giving me a new room. I loved the idea and since he's obsessed with trains we decided to get him a thomas the train bed.

So this past weekend my parents came up to visit and we had decided to transform our guest room into Ethan's new room. My parents took the kids out in the morning to Rompnroll and then took them to lunch. Ish and I had exactly 2 hrs to get the room painted. Suprisingly we got it done in time. After we finished, mom and I went on the hunt for curtains and bedding. No luck on bedding in Lynchburg for toddlers but we did score some great curtains at Target. They were the right color and also had a room darkening liner on the back which was perfect b/c that room gets alot of sun.

So by Sunday we were able to get the room all done minus pictures on the wall and a few other decorations. Overall it looks great and the important thing is that he loves it!

What a morning

2010-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Today started off with both boys waking up before 7:00. I made Ethan some oatmeal which he ate like 4 bites of and then fed Jayden. Because we hardly had any groceries I decided that I'd go to ChickfilA and grab a free cinnamon cluster for breakfast. I figured since we were all up so early, it would be good to run my errands before Jayden's nap. So I quickly got the boys dressed, slapped some make up on and ran out the door. We both enjoyed our free cinnamon cluster and then I let the boys play in the play area. Because it was still early there were not any other kids in there so that was nice. After that we headed to Walmart to grab a few groceries. The boys did really well and we were in and out of there in 30 min.

Once we got home, I laid Jayden down for his nap and unloaded the groceries. I was so exhausted by the time I sat down! As I was checking my email, I could tell that Ethan was getting a little ancy for attention so I decided to give him a little project. I had gotten the idea from a website that a friend referred me to for craft ideas. Usually Ethan doesn't have that much interest in crafts but I'm trying to explore new things to see what it is that he enjoys. So this project consisted of some dried noodles, a bowl, and a couple of scoops. I told him what to do with it and then let him at it. It was a hit! He had so much fun pouring, filling, spilling, and eating the noodles. I could tell he didn't enjoy eating the noodles but he tends to just keep food in his mouth if he can't chew it. So if you're wondering why he's so quiet in the video it's because he has some noodles in his mouth lol.

Apples to oranges

2010-02-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

Jayden 10 months old (2/2010)

Ethan 10 months old (10/2007)

I am super blessed to have such wonderful boys in my life. As Jayden is getting older and his personality is forming, I can't help but to compare him to Ethan. I've realized that my 2 boys are completely different. I love that they both have such unique qualities about them. It's so funny to see how different they look and act. Ethan is a spitting image of Ishmael and Jayden favors my mom's side of the family. At least that's what people tell me. I honestly still don't know who Jayden looks like but his pictures do favor mine and my mom's baby pictures.
They also act completely different. Ethan has always been super hyper and I could never predict how his attitude would be. Jayden however is very easy going and predictable. Of course he has his moments as do all kids but for the most part he's always happy and kindof quiet. He is aslo my cuddler and loves to hang on his mama.
Jayden's milestones:
Right now Jayden is crawling around, pulling and standing up, eating finger foods, drinking a bottle, and almost sleeping through the night. He will eat just about anything you put in front of him. He loves green beans, pizza, puffs, cheerios, and of course whatever we're eating he'll eat. Jayden loves to explore and spends most his time crawling around then with playing with his toys. He has just recently started mimicking Ethan by pushing the cars around. That's if Ethan allows him to play with them for a while. I've been teaching Jayden sing language for about 4 months now and he's still hasn't picked up on it but I want to say it took Ethan a while to learn. And by then he was talking as he did it. I was kindof hoping that Jayden could learn it a little quicker so that I wouldn't have to go through that stage where he can't communicate to me like Ethan did. That was a rough season =)
Anyway, I'm loving how my precious boys are growing up to be so different. They both have the sweetest hearts and lots of love to give. I love being their mother and just hope that me and Ish can mold them into great men of God someday. With that said, good night =)

One of a kind

2010-02-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ethan: 26 months old
New words and phrases he's saying:
See you later, Look, Big truck, blue car, hey baby, sleep, shh (when he sees someone closing their eyes whether its on tv or in a book), you ok? (to Jayden when he falls), Nanny, Papa, Ewe (whenever he sees a bug or spider, hears a burp or toot), Oh no!, Fly, Chair, door, ok, yes sir, pleas, thank you, sorry, milk, book, Boz, airplane, bus, cheerios, cookie, chip, cracker, banana, apple, soup

Some fun & interesting facts about him:
As soon as Ethan wakes up, the 1st words that come out of his mouth is "juice". He hands me all 3 of his blankets, puts his arms up and we head downstairs. I sit him in his chair, fix him either juice or milk, hand him his blankets and turn on either Sesame street or Mickey mouse. He drinks his juice while I prepare his breakfast. We do this same routine EVERYDAY. And if I ever try and change it up by changing his diaper 1st thing, he throws a fit. So..I wait until his belly is full and then we proceed with the diaper change.

He LOVES cars and right now is obsessed with the movie cars. He usually just points to the tv and says "Cars" so if I don't want him watching it, I have to quickly change his mind on something else. He has also got quite a collection of cars from the movie as well. Whenever he plays with his cars, he likes to line them up and push them around. He'll line them up on the kitchen table, the couch, the floor, the bed, the chair, and the toilet seat. Basically wherever I am, there they are. Sometimes it gets a little aggravating when we have to go upstairs because he wants to bring his cars with him. I can't just bring a few of them, I have to bring ALL of them. For a while there, I was stuffing them in my pockets and sweatshirt pouch just so I could have my hands free while carrying Jayden and holding Ethan's hand going up the stairs. It was quite a challenge. We finally got him a case where he can put all his cars in and this has helped so much. So whenever he wants to take them up or down stairs, he has to put them all in this case and we bring it down. The boy has lots of toys but majority of the time he just plays with his matchbox cars.

Ethan has been in his big bed since before Christmas. He had no problem transitioning into it and seemed to really like it. For a couple of months he did really well with staying in bed and not getting out. Well just recently he's been testing his boundaries. For the past 2 weeks he's been getting out of his bed at night and coming into our room. We have very squeaky floors so I can always hear him creeping in. He just stands there at the bed and waits for Ish to pick him up. Ish is usually out of it and doesn't want to deal with putting him back in bed so he'll let him sleep wi andth us. I'm ok with it every now and then but when it starts to happen every night I have to put my foot down. So when I hear him coming out of his room, I quickly get up and just pick him up and rock him a little and put him back to bed. He usually doesn't cry and goes back to sleep.

Things that I love that he does:
Tilts his head down when I tell him to give me a kiss
The way he laughs when he's watching a movie and thinks it's funny.
Dances whenever he hears music on his kid shows or a commercial on tv
Talks on his cellphone and laughs
When he says Mama and gives me a hug
Says he's sorry and hugs me after he's been in timeout

These are just a few things about my little man that I love about him. Hope you enjoyed my rambling on about him.

To all my fellow healthy peeps...

2010-02-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe from the Sneaky Chef and had been wanting to try it for some time. It's called Easy Stove top lasagna. Right now I am very interested in pureeing vegetables or fruits and throwing it in a dish. I think it's a great way to eat vegetables. Not only am I doing this for my husband and kids but for myself. There are a lot of veggies I don't like and I tend to get very bored with the same options each night. So I have no problem with grinding up veggies and "hiding" them in a dish.

This particular recipe called for peas, spinnach and broccoli. I did all of them but also added cauliflower as well. So I pureed them in my tiny mixer-which doesn't work the best but it does get the job done.

After pureeing the veggies I added some tomatoe paste to make it brown and then added that to my ground turkey. Then you are to layer the noodles over the meat and then add the sauce and let cook for 30 min.

Once it's done then you add the cheese. I thought it turned out well and my husband had no idea that there were veggies hidden in the lasagna. (I never told him hehe) Over all I thought it tasted good. I like my lasagna to have more sauce so next time I may add more and it was also missing ricotta cheese which I think gives it a little more flavor but for being "easy" this recipe was great.

Can we say, "pee-pee"?

2010-02-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have been holding back on potty training Ethan because to be honest..I have no desire to teach him yet lol. Call me lazy or just too busy, either way I am planning on waiting. He's been showing some signs that he could be ready but not all of them. We had bought him a potty a while back just so he could play with it and get used to it. I ended up putting it away for about a month b/c he just really wasn't showing any interest in it. Once I brought it back out he's been sitting, playing, and noticing it more. One day I just asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty so we took his diaper down and he just sat. He laughed the whole time but did nothing. So like I said I haven't really been enforcing it at all and just figured he'll let me know when he's ready.
Well I had done some reading and heard that some parents' kids poop at regular times and they would just sit their toddler on the toilet and get them to poo in the potty. Ethan doesn't have a regular cycle but I do usually know when he has to "poo". He likes to hide! So he was getting behind the couch today and I just thought maybe I'd try it. So I quickly grabbed him and placed him on the toilet to see if he'd poop. The boy just giggled the whole time so I gave up and put him on his potty. I walked away to give him privacy and all of a sudden I heard the potty song playing! The only way for it to go off is if pee or poop touches the sensors at the bottom of the potty. I quickly got really excited and grabbed the toilet paper to get ready to wipe him. Well he wasn't ready to get off yet so I just assumed he was still going. After about 3 min he finally got up and when I looked in the potty, there was no poop..but pee pee!! I was so excited for him! He just looked at me like whats the big deal? haha I was trying to act out of the ordinary so he'd want to do it again so we'll see if it worked. Anyway, I think his favorite part was watching me poor it in the toilet and letting him flush it away.
So that's our 1st potty experience. Am I going to start potty training him now? Probably not. I think I may just do this method at least once a day and see if he'll show interest in it. I'm going to try and not stress myself out over potty training b/c it'll happen eventually.

Raleigh Visit

2010-02-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

For the past few days I have been in Raleigh staying with my parents. Ish had a business trip in Las Vegas and didn't want to be by my lonesome especially since we got so much snow. So I packed my bags and headed to NC where it has not snowed yet!
Whenever I come to visit it's a little challenging to keep Ethan occupied. He has plenty of toys here but he seems to get bored much quicker than when he's at home. So you can imagine the challenges that come along with that. Ethan tends to want to eat and drink all the time when he's bored so he's constantly asking me for juice and when I say no the meltdown starts.
Well on Monday I decided to take the boys to the mall so that they could play in their play area. I just love having this option for kids. I really wish our mall was that cool. He played for a while and then we had lunch at Mcdonalds. He had so much fun running around in the play area. I love to watch him interact with other kids because he tends to gravitate to the older children. He'll just walk right up to them and start babbling something. It's the cutest thing. I'm sure the older kids wonder why this little boy is following them around but I think it's cute.
Well today's adventure was taking him to Monkey Joes. It's a huge play area with bouncy houses that consists of slides, climbing, jumping, etc. He had a blast trying to keep up with the big kids. It was exhausting for me because I had to hold Jayden most of the time. There were many times that Ethan couldnt climb the bigger steps to get to the slides and I would have to asist him. Thankfully I had a friend there to watch Jayden so that I could do this with Ethan a few times. There was one bouncy area that I was able to go in with both boys and let them roam free until the bigger kids came in and took over. This was my resting spot. I was so exhausted when it was all over. I will definitely go again but will probably wait until Jayden can walk and bring Ishmael with me.
Me and the boys have had a great time visiting my family and have enjoyed all the great amentities that Raleigh has to offer!
We plan on leaving in a couple of days if the weather cooperates!

A snowed in weekend

2010-02-01T05:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we woke up with 10in of snow covering the ground and it continued to come down all day. Because the wind was blowing the snow like a blizzard, I had no desire to go outside just yet. So I spent most of my day doing some cleaning and baking. And of course tending to the boys. Well whenver it snows Ish always makes up some excuse so he can go out and drive in it. He loves being able to use his 4wheel drive. Well this time his excuse was to go get some lunch for us and thought he'd take Ethan with him. I had no complaints there so I got to take a long shower (which I never get to do anymore) and Jayden got a good long nap with no interruptions.

After lunch I got the itch to bake some chocolate cookies. For some reason whenever it snows I always want to bake somekind of sweets. Ish likes it when I get in these moods b/c I hardly ever have 'goodies" in the house. My goal was to make homemade oreos and I was pretty excited about them.

Homemade oreos

So Saturday was definitely just a day that we lounged around and had plenty of family time. Ish and I attempted to finish the night by watching a movie together but we both fell asleep halfway through.

Well Sunday started off as another lazy day. I got to take 2 naps! It was so wonderful! When me and the boys woke up from our afternoon nap we decided to join Ish for some sledding. We got the boys all bundled up and headed out for the snow. We met up with some friends and had a great time going down the hill. Ethan's 1st time consisted of us all riding together on a sled and then we hit a bump and went in the air and landed hard on our bottoms. I think that scared him a little because that ended with him crying. Ish preceeded to go down with him again and he wasn't liking it but he took him down anyways. We thought he just needed some time to warm up to it. Well he did a lot of standing around and didn't want to even touch the snow. We're hoping he'll get more into it when he gets older but for now he had no interest. We were able to borrow a large tube to go sledding on and we made Ethan go down with us. He wasn't not happy that he was getting ready to go down this huge hill but after it was all over he was so excited.

Look at that face of his!

Overall we had a great time. I do wish that Ethan had been more excited about the snow but it'll come with time I'm sure. After we wore ourselves out from sledding we grabbed some KFC to go and headed home. What a great day and weekend we had being snowed in!

Sleepy baby

2010-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to fill you in on our progress with getting Jayden sleeping through the night. We did start it a couple of weeks ago and didn't even get passed the 1st night. He cried for a solid hour with me checking on him every 5 min and he never calmed down. I wasn't sure how long he was supposed to cry before he would fall asleep so I just gave in and nursed him. And of course he went right to sleep and woke up again in 4 hrs. I waited 1o min before I went in the room and just layed in his room to see if he would calm down. I went back and forth from my room to his w/i an hr's time and he just wouldn't have it. So once again I gave in. The next day I was a little distraught from hearing Jayden scream and from also giving into his cries. I was so determined that I wanted him sleeping through the night that I was willing to do whatever it took to get him passed this. I just wasn't really prepared for him to cry that much. With Ethan it was 3o min tops and we had it perfected within 2 days. So needless to say I haven't tried this method in a couple of weeks.
When I went in for his 9 month check up I asked the doctor's opinion just to get reassurance and he said it could take up to 3 hrs of him crying like that. Once I get passed that point it will get better. Ugh it's soo hard. Especially when it's 2 am. But he also said that they usually stop after 2 hrs and it will get easier each time you do it.
So after reviewing the information on how to sleep train your child, I realized that it will prob be better for my husband to do more then me. One reason is that Jayden knows that Ish can't give him milk so maybe he won't cry as long. We'll see. I think we're going to try it again this weekend. It's definitely easier said then done. I just continue to pray for strength each time. The thing is, not only is it satisfying for me to get 8hrs of uninterrupted sleep again but it's also better for him. Babies need their sleep. And they always act better when they get the rest they need. So I'll try and keep you posted on our progress!! Pray for us!

A Bunko night!

2010-01-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago a couple of my friends and I had gotten together and started discussing about starting a Bunko group. For those of you who don't know what the game Bunko is, it's basically a dice game that involves 12 players, 3 tables, score cards and prizes. There are actually a lot of rules to this game and can tend to get a little overwhelming so we decided to tweak the rules a little just to make it more simpler. For instance the goal is to roll 3 1's which is Bunko. But if you get 2 of a kind out of the 3 dice then that is considered 1 pt. and you can continue to roll if you keep getting pts. If you got nothing, then just pass it to the next player. It goes pretty fast since you just continue roll over and over. Once someone actually gets Bunko then that round is over or if someone reaches 21pts 1st. There are 3 rounds and whoever at that table wins the most games then they move to the next table. Because it's a big group and we're split up in 4's, it's a way to kindof talk to everyone. I know it may sound confusing but it really is a lot of fun. So at the end of the game we get hand out the prizes. We decided to change the rules on this and just have each girl bring a $10 gift relating to the theme whatever the host chooses. Oh yeh I forgot to mention that each girl has to host it at their house. Well, this month it was my turn to host and the theme for gifts that I chose were scarves. We only get together once a month to play so needless to say we all look really forward to a much needed girl night.

Anyway, all the girls brought some really cute scarves and so we were all really excited about choosing our prize. The way we choose is whoever won the most bunko's, games, host, etc.

Here's a few pics of our fun night!

The display of our cute scarves that we all brought!

Me and my new scarf!

The Bunko group!

Thoughts on the flood

2010-01-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

So Ish and I received a one year Bible for Christmas and so we've decided that we are going to try and read through the entire Bible in a year. It seems easy enough but it's actually really hard b/c I've personally already have struggled with being too tired to read one day and so it's very easy to get behind. With that said, I was reading the passage in Genesis about Noah and the flood. I have heard this story over and over as a kid and have read it many times but last night as I was reading something occured to me. I found it interesting that God decided to flood the earth because of the sin and wickedness of the world. It's just strange to think of how much sin there really was from when He created the world until Noah's day. Was it as bad as it is today? It's just bizarre to think that it had to be really bad for God to get so angry and destroy all that he had created. Gen 6:5-7 says that God regretted that He had made man on the earth and had grief in his heart. I never knew that God regretted creating man. Imagine how he must feel toward man today.
On a sidenote, Ish and I were watching the history chanel about a month ago and this woman was in this desert that had fossils of whales. Also the sand was formed like it had been under the water and she mentioned that as well. Anway, after reading the story of the flood it occured to me that the desert she was at and all the fossils she found was probably from the flood. Because God flood the whole earth the Bible said it took like 7 months for the water to go down. Imagine all the sea creatures that were in the flood that were probably spread all over the place and when the waters went down, some of them died b/c they weren't in the ocean. Anyway, that's my thought and not sure if it's correct but it definitely got me thinking. It also got me excited to keep reading more of God's word. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more things from scripture that I've read many times growing up. It's amazing what God will teach you.
well just thought I'd share my thoughts and would love to know your thoughts on this if you got any!

Jayden-9 months

2010-01-03T16:23:00.001-08:00

Jayden will be 9 months next week and all I can think about is that he'll be 1 in 3 months! He seems to be growing up so much faster than Ethan! Maybe b/c Ethan keeps me super busy that I don't even have time to think most days. Anyway so just wanted to fill in on Jayden's milestones. He has been scooting around since he was 5 months old and still hasn't mastered crawling yet. I have a feeling he may just skip crawling all together b/c he gets around pretty fast by just using his arms. He's a pro at army crawling. Just recently he has started to pull up on things and standing up. I 1st noticed it when I was getting ready to put him in the bath tub and I sat him on the bathroom floor while I attended to Ethan and then I looked down and he was standing up. It's the cutest thing. I had forgotten how exciting it is when babies do things for the 1st time. Jayden also likes to blow raspberry's quite often. It's hilarious when he and Ethan go back and forth with it.

Jayden isn't quite sleeping through the night yet but we're going to work on that starting tomorrow. He does really well with going down at naptime and bedtime but he continues to wake up after 3 hrs and wants to be fed. So I'm going to have to be tough and not feed him everytime in the middle of the night. It's actually really hard b/c he's a loud crier and so I worry he's going to wake up Ethan. But I'm tired of not getting a full nights rest so I'm going to get tough.

He is eating baby food really well and has started to eat finger foods. He seems very interested in food and would eat anything I give him. I've already given him food that I didn't introduce Ethan until he was a year old. He's a good eater and I'm so glad that it's one less thing to stress over.

Well I think that's it for now. Jayden is a very happy baby and only cries when he's ready to take a nap and of course when he's hungry. Other times, he's laughing and playing! He's such a sweet boy and loves to cuddle and be loved on. I think I kiss his cheeks at least 20x's a day. I just can't help it, they're irresistable and he's so darn cute! I'm really enjoying this time with him as he grows up b/c I know it'll be gone before I know it!

2009-12-22T05:52:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ethan's birthday

2009-12-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T19:13:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-04T15:42:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T07:57:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T17:29:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-01T10:45:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

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!

Ethan's turns 1!

2008-12-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the day finally came when my precious baby boy turned 1 on December 4. This year has flown by! It just seems like yesterday when Ethan entered this world and I had no clue what to do. We've come such a long way from nursing, to teaching him to eat, crawl, talk, sleep through the night & walk. And we're still working on the walking and talking thing. He hasn't gotten the confidence yet to walk on his own without holding our hands. As far as the talking goes, he basically just babbles in his own language right now. He does say mama and dadda but that's basically it. Oh and he definitely knows how to get his way when he wants it. It's amazing how they just figure that out. Yep, thinking back on this past year has really made me think how blessed I am to have just such a wonderful boy. And now I get to do it all over again! :)

For Ethan's birthday we had a small party with some friends and family members. We definitely had more people than I really anticipated but we all had a great time. Ethan didn't hesitate at all when it came to eating chocolate cake. He just dove right in like he was a natural. Ishmael even questioned me if I had given him chocolate before! It was a great day to visit with friends and family and to see Ethan's face light up when he opened his birthday presents!

Oh and if you haven't heard, we're having another boy! So Ethan will get to have a brother to play with! I'm excited for him b/c I knew how much my brother really wanted to have a brother to do things that I wouldn't do with him....Which was a lot b/c we are complete opposites. But anyway, 2 boys! I'm going to need lots of prayer :)

11 months old

2008-11-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe my baby boy is 11 months old today. Ethan has changed so much in the past month that I can't imagine what new thing he's going to be doing next. He is pulling up on everything now and it'll be soon when he starts walking on his own. He loves to walk in his walker and especially with his daddy. He has started eating table food the best he can with only 3 teeth :) Recently he started eating bananas and the one day he wouldn't pick them up anymore so we let him bite the banana while we held it and that's the only way he'll eat it now. He's so funny how picky he is. He doesn't like for us to feed him baby food because I think he enjoys feeling all grown up by picking up his food. He has also discovered drinking out of a straw. The other day we were out to dinner and the waitress brought us our drinks and I forgot to order him one and he just went crazy. I had never seen him get so upset over something so minor. So we got him his own cup just so he could suck through the straw. While he was drinking, he started blowing through the straw and so this created a new thing for him. When we finally had to take it away from him b/c he was getting water everywhere he definitely through a fit. So I'm beginning to think the boy likes to have his way and if he doesn't get it, he's going to let us know. These are just some of the few things that make us love him so much more. I have to laugh when he goes through these stages because I know it's just his personality developing and that is just who he is. He is so special to us and I can't wait to see what new thing we get to experience next.

Up before the crack of dawn!

2008-10-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

So I am writing this post at 4:45 am in the morning. Crazy huh? Ethan woke up around 3:30 for his bottle as usual and so I got up, fixed it, gave it to him and went back to bed. Not too long afterwards, he started crying again. This is unusual because normally when we give him his bottle, he'll just go back to sleep. I went in his room and quickly made another bottle because I thought he just didn't get enough milk. I tried giving it to him but he just pushed it away. I picked him up and tried calming him down but no success. My only guess was that his teeth were bothering him. Eventually Ish came in the room because Ethan just wouldn't settle back down. So I changed him and Ish just talked to him and held him and he started to calm down. We layed him back in his crib and gave him his bottle again and he took it. Success! So we went back to bed. Well at this point it was about 4:30 and Ish and I were wide awake. We could still here Ethan moaning as he drank his bottle and was just waiting for him to fall back asleep. He then started talking and within seconds he was quiet. It was funny because Ish and I weren't really saying anything to each other because we were trying to go back to sleep. Finally Ish said he was wide awake and I was too. He decided to get up and go watch tv downstairs and I was going to force myself to fall back asleep. As soon as Ish turned to stair light on, Ethan sat up in his crib with excitement. Ish of course goes into his room to mess with him. At this point I am still in bed trying to go back to sleep and all I hear is Ethan laughing and babbling. I was starting to get mad because I had thought Ish woke him up and I guess he technically did by turning the light on. Well at this point I could tell there was no way Ethan was going to go back to sleep with all this excitement going on. So that led me to getting up and getting on the computer while Ish is entertaining Ethan downstairs. I can honestly say that this has never happened before and it is very strange to me. I guess I'm not too worried because I know he'd normally be waking up in a couple of hours anyways and it may be a good thing so that he can get an early nap in before we go to church. And usually he needs a nap before we go to church but it can be very difficult some Sundays. So maybe having him up at 4:45 in the morning might not be so bad afterall. Of course if I wasn't wide awake I'd be thinking differently. Happy sleeping everyone!

Life is full of changes

2008-10-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

My little boy Ethan! He is just changing everyday...sometimes it's for the good, but there are times that I'm wondering what in the world is going on. Last week he went through this stage of not taking naps. It's like he just went on strike and refused to sleep in his crib. It was frustrating at times because you could tell that he was so tired and that he needed his rest. I was beginning to think that he was trying to cut out one of his naps, but then I was also thinking that maybe it was because he was teething and it was causing him to act like a different child. Who knows..but, this week has been a little better.
Teeth. Now that's an interesting story. I feel like Ethan has been teething for 6 months. For months I would see signs that he was teething but no teeth ever showed up. Finally at 10 months old he has started getting his first 2 teeth in. I was so excited because I have been waiting for them to come through for so long. BUT, those 2 teeth have been sitting in the same spot for like 3 weeks now. I thought that they would just pop on out and whala! but no, they haven't grown any and it seems it's taking forever. I just wish he would get his teeth in so he can start eating real food. He can chew a lot with his gums but there are just somethings that I know he won't be able to chew. So while most 10 month olds are eating chicken, noodles, pizza, etc. my baby is still eating smashed jar food. I just hope his teeth will come in by the time he turns a year old! At this rate, we may only have 2 teeth by then :)
On another exciting note, Ethan has started pulling himself up more. He's definitely getting more brave every time he does it. A couple of times he lets go and falls back and hits his head. And when he does, he lets you know that he is not happy! I guess he hasn't figured out that he has to hold on to things in order to stay standing. It's definitely cute seeing him stand up like a big boy. He's so tiny so it looks funny seeing this baby crawl and walk around (with mommy's help of course.)
Although we may struggle with Ethan's wonderful sleeping habits and still might have trouble getting him to eat his baby food, I remind myself that he's not going to last this way forever! These are just minor things in his life and I need to not worry about it so much and just enjoy being Ethan's mom. He definitely keeps me on my toes and some days, I am just exhausted! But no matter what, I love our happy and adventurous little boy and I can't imagine my life without him! He is the happiest baby and is always smiling. When I'm in the grocery store or shopping, Ethan is constantly getting attention from men and women. He just smiles at them and tries to act shy. You can tell that he loves the attention just like his daddy. Well once Ethan finally gets those teeth to pop on through I'll let you know!

"What's the big deal with the pumpkins?"

2008-10-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

Right now I am missing my baby boy. My parents came up to visit for the day and took Ethan for the weekend so that Ish and I could get some house projects done while Ethan is gone. It was sad seeing him go but I knew he was in good hands. When Ish and I got home this evening he told me he missed his boy and I totally agreed. It's amazing how empty you feel when your baby is gone. Sometimes it's nice to have a little break to do something as a couple, but we still miss him!
Today we took Ethan to the pumpkin patch for the very 1st time. I was so excited to see how would act and couldn't wait to pick out his pumpkin. As soon as we got there, we immediately went to the bin full of the baby pumpkins so Ethan could see them. He acted very interested at 1st and wanted to touch them. Because I wanted to take pictures with the pumpkins around him, we sat him down in the grass next to the big pumpkins. Well Ethan has never really sat in the grass before ( I know, weird!) but he just started crawling so there has really been no need for him to be in the grass. Anyways, b/c of this he was very intrigued with the grass touching his legs and not interested in looking at the pumpkins, much less the camera. We tried everything to get him to look and touch the pumpkins but he just wouldn't do it. At one point we tried to get him to stand next to the pumpkin and to hold himself up with it. But when I picked him up off the ground, he just left his legs in the sitting position and wouldn't stand up! Ethan was acting very strange and not himself. It was like he was scared of the pumpkins or something. We tried to get as many pictures as we could but he never did look at the camera and acted more interested in other things besides pumpkins. I felt like Ethan was saying to me, "Mom what's the big deal with the pumpkins! Seriously!" Even though I didn't quite get the reaction I wanted from him, we still had a good time. We eventually picked out a baby pumpkin for Ethan and decided not to get one for ourselves. I just couldn't find one that I really liked. All of them were really big and I'm just way too picky. Maybe I'll pick one up at the grocery store if it catches my eye. So that was our eventful day and a good memory to put in the scrapbook (if I ever start it!)

News and more news

2008-09-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything but it's because we have been super busy! Just to catch everyone up on things the 1st thing is that Ethan is definitley crawling now. He started crawling on the day he turned 9 months old. It was so funny watching his little body just move across the floor. Right away he noticed the cable box and dvd player and can't seem to keep his hands off the buttons. No matter how many times we say no, he continues to touch them. I've started to put something in front of the boxes so he wouldn't be tempted to touch the buttons, but if we're watching TV, we can't change the channel b/c we're covering up the sensor.
Another major thing that has happened is that we just moved into our very 1st home on Sept 15! We are so thrilled to finally own our very 1st home. We've only been in here for about a week and half and are still unpacking boxes. It amazes me that we were able to fit all of our stuff in a 2 bedroom apartment for so long. I definitely keep myself busy with trying to organize everything and keeping an eye on Ethan as he explores the house. I can't say I actually get much done during the day but I try not to worry about it. The last major thing that has happened is that I'm pregnant again! I am about 12 weeks along and I am feeling pretty good. I haven't had morning sickness like I did with Ethan which is causing me to just eat whatever. This is not good! I am trying to eat healthy like I did with Ethan but it's been really hard. The due date is April 10 and we're really excited and nervous at the same time.
Well, I'll try and update this blog more often but these days I've had hardly anytime to sit down and think!

The sweetest thing

2008-08-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

Now that Ethan is 8 1/2 months old he is exploring more than ever! He hasn't actually started crawling forward yet but he is so close. He can crawl and scoot backwards and likes to scoot around in a circle. You can tell that he gets frustrated that he can't get to where he wants to go. The other day, he managed to scoot himself backwards into the sofa chair. His legs and butt got stuck under the chair and he couldn't get himself out. It was pretty funny b/c I didn't see him do it and just found him that way. Ethan definitley makes me laugh with all the funny things that he does. Recently he started saying Mama but he started rambling nana and then mama got mixed in there. Then about a week later he was having a rough night and wouldn't stay asleep so I just picked him up and held him while rocking side to side. He eventually stopped crying and just got quiet and within a few minutes he said Mama in the sweetest little voice. It was the most precious thing ever. It made me just want to enjoy that moment forever and never let him go.

Ethan's 1st words

2008-07-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

Every day when Ish gets home from work he'll grab Ethan and start playing with him. While they are playing Ish is always telling Ethan to say Daddy. I thought this was a good idea because how else is he supposed to learn if we never say it to him. So for the past couple of days I've been trying to get Ethan to say Mama. Well lastnight I had a friend over and we both were trying to get him to say Mama. He would move his mouth but the words just wouldn't come out. As it got later, I put him in his crib for him to go to bed. Ish had to work late that night so he was disappointed when he didn't see Ethan in the living room. He went into Ethan's room to give him a kiss goodnight and saw that he was still awake. As I was watching a movie, out of the corner of my eye I see this michevious look on Ethan's face just peeking around the corner. It was so funny because he knew he was supposed to be in bed but when daddy gets home, he thinks he gets to stay up later. As Ish was holding him, Ethan was wired with energy. Ish said to Ethan, "Say dadda" and Ethan started bouncing in his arms and slapping his hands on Ish's arms and said "dadda, dadda". My heart just melted. It was the sweetest thing. I had to laugh because I had been trying to get Ethan to say Mama all day and as soon as Ish says dadda to him, he repeats him. Amazing. So now, I'm continuing to say Mama until he says it. He gets so close too!

Growing, weaning & eating more

2008-06-26T05:35:00.000-07:00

Ethan will be 7 months next week! I just can't get over how time is flying by and how fast he is growing up. The other day I went and visited a friend who just had a baby a couple of weeks ago and it was so hard to believe that Ethan was that tiny not too long ago. I actually couldn't remember how it felt holding him when he was that tiny! It's amazing how the little things just slip by you but when you're in that stage of life all you can think of is how you want them to grow up. I'm trying to cherish the time I have with him now because I'm realizing how fast he is growing. The other day when I was nursing him I just rubbed his little arms and legs and tryed to take in that moment. Right now I'm actually trying to wean him and so I know that I'm not always going to have that special moment with him.
For the past 3 months I've been trying to get Ethan to take formula just so it would make it easier for me when I would leave the house, but he just would not take to it. Well my mom came for a visit and she was determined to get him to take formula. She started off giving him canned milk (which is what I was raised on as a kid) and Ethan hesitated for a while but eventually he took to it. After being persistent, he drank 8oz! That's the most he has ever drank! I was so suprised. So after a few bottles of canned milk we switched it to the ready made formula and he drank it right away. I was so estatic! Well as soon as my mom left that weekend, I fixed him a bottle of formula the next day and he would not drink it. Everyday for a week I would try and I would always get the same reaction from him. Not only was I having to nurse him but he was very moody and fussy. It seemed like he just wasn't happy unless I was holding him. I was having a hard time because he never acts this way. My first reaction was that he was teething and that it would eventually go away. Well my mom decided to come up for again for the weekend to watch Ethan while I went to work. I told her that I needed her to get him used to the formula again. After being very persistent and Ethan crying for about 20 min., he eventually drank it. While I was at work, she fed him the formula and he drank 6-80z and was the happiest baby all day long. So we came to the conclusion that he just wasn't getting full off of my milk so it caused him to be fussy. So now, I'm just trying to get adjusted to this new eating schedule. The hardest thing for me is deciding if it's even worth me nursing him anymore if he's not getting full. You would think he would eat more baby food if he was so hungry but that's not the case. He seems to go through fazes with the baby food. Some days he eats really well and some days he just eats a few bites. I'm assuming that one day he'll just take to it and want to eat more so I'm not trying to worry about it. There's no need to try and force him to eat more food right now b/c he'll eventually get to the point where milk just won't be satisfying to him and he'll want more food. So that's where we are right now...but the boy loves him some bananas. When all else fails, feed him some bananas!

Ethan's 1st beach trip

2008-06-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ethan went to Myrtle beach for the 1st time and loved it! He didn't really have a reaction at first and just kindof sat there and took it all in. After awhile he started to put his hands in the sand and would try and catch the waves as they came up on shore. It was soo cute. Ishmael had a great time interacting with him at the beach. Ish would lay Ethan on his boogie board and pull him around on the water. Every now and then it made me nervous thinking he was going to roll off the board when a big wave came. Thankfully Ish caught him in time! So I would say that Ethan enjoyed his time at the beach. He did get exhausted and had a hard time napping on the beach but he managed to get a cat nap in every now and then.
Ethan has started to eat really well and so far likes anything I give him. I thought he was going to be a picky eater like his daddy but I kept introducing it over and over and eventually he grew to like all the vegetables. Now I'm starting to give him fruits and I know he won't have a problem with those since they are much sweeter. As far as the sleeping goes... well, he got really spoiled on this beach trip because I didn't want to keep our friends up all night with him crying. But as soon as we got home I have been trying really hard to stick with his routine and to not nurse him when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Most of the time he's not hungry and just wants me to nurse him back to sleep. Last night he only woke up twice crying but he eventually fell back to sleep. So we are making progress! Hopefully this time he'll stick with it and not go back to his old ways! The boy is 6 months old and growing fast. I cannot believe he has hit the 6 month mark. It feels like just yesterday that he was a newborn and I was wishing he was 6 months old and now it's here!

Why me...

2008-05-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

I want to say this past month has been quite interesting. Ish and I decided to go out of town to Hilton head for the weekend and left Ethan with my parents. Over that weekend Ethan developed a terrible cold and so he just wasn't himself at all. All the hardwork it took to get him sleeping through the night slowly went out the window. He woke up in the middle of the night crying and my parents just couldn't get him to calm down. Poor thing was just miserable. The only thing that calmed him of course was eating. So needless to say by the time I got him on Sunday he was still sick and needed comfort throughout the night. Well ever since that week I have not been able to get him back on his good sleeping schedule. Ethan is almost 6 months now and he's still not sleeping through the night! I am trying so hard to get him back where he was but when he wakes up he just cries and cries and no matter what I do, the only thing that calms him down is to be fed. I didn't mind doing it for a while because I knew he was going through a growth spurt, but seriously it's been like 4 weeks now!
On a good note, I have been feeding Ethan oatmeal 3 times a day for about a week and I think he's finally getting used to it where he'll open his mouth and eat it. It has definitely taken him a while but he's getting there. Pretty soon we'll start some veggies!
It's so hard to believe that Ethan will be 6 months next week. It's amazing how fast he has grown! The neat thing is that he's getting more exciting everyday. I love how he can sit up and play with his toys now. He is constantly reaching for things in front of him. He's a curious little booger. It's so cute how the littliest thing can be so exciting!

5 months and sleeping good!

2008-05-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! Ethan has been sleeping through the night now for a couple of days now. I think I have finally trained him to not want to eat every 3 hrs in the middle of the night. It definitley took a lot of patience and prayer. When he would wake up I would just give him his paci and just pray that he would go back to sleep. So now, if he wakes up he can pretty much fall back asleep on his own. So proud of my little boy! And the best thing is that it's soley on breastmilk. So now I know that breastfed babies can sleep through the night, it just takes a little extra work getting them on a good sleeping schedule. Now our next milestone will be getting him to eat cereal or oatmeal. He hasn't perfected it yet and still is not interested so I'm hoping that he'll eventually enjoy it.
One more thing, Ethan is sitting up pretty good now on his own. He still tumbles over every once in a while but he loves to sit up and play with his toys. Can't believe he is 5 months old! Time is flying by so fast!!

Just a few new things

2008-04-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

It's been about 5 days now that Ethan is only waking up once a night to feed. It has been wonderful! I can't believe that he's been doing so well. I really hope that he sticks with this and that this isn't just a faze. Now all I have to do is try and eliminate that one feeding...that should be fun! Ethan finally turned over from his stomach to back the other day and I missed it! I had put him on his tummy and turned my head for a second and saw that he had flipped over onto his back. I was so excited and tried to get him to do it again but he didn't. Finally today I put him on his tummy a couple of times and each time he rolled onto his back. Now he just needs to roll from his back to his tummy. Ethan is also grabbing his feet now all the time. I had been waiting for him to do that and last week he started doing it. Finally! I can't wait to see what new thing he's going to do next. Everyday it seems to be something!

Could it finally be?

2008-04-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lastnight I put Ethan to bed around 8:00 and I went to bed at 9:30 because I wanted to get in as much sleep as I could. Usually Ethan wakes up about every 3 hours so I was expecting to get up as usual. To my amazement I woke up around 1:30 and realized he was still sleeping. I was so glad but I still thought he would wake me up soon. I heard him cry a couple of times but it was only for a few minutes and he fell right back to sleep. Well the next time I woke up it was around 4:30 and he was still sleeping! At this point Ethan had been sleeping for about 8 hrs without me having to feed him. I was so estatic! I kept thinking to myself, "Could this finally be the day that he sleeps through the night?"...Well, I spoke to soon b/c around 5:00 he woke up crying so I had to feed him. But I wasn't complaining b/c that was the first time I had gotten 7 straight hours of sleep since he was born! I felt so refreshed when I had to get up but I still went back to bed after he fell asleep again. Ethan decided to sleep until 8:00 this morning so I definitley got plenty of sleep lastnight! It's amazing how much energy you have when you get the amount of sleep your body needs and my body has been craving it for 4 months!

Ethan's 4 month checkup

2008-04-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

So I took Ethan to the doctor today for his 4 month check up. I was kindof nervous because I don't like getting the vaccination shots done. Last time he didn't handle it to well so I was expecting Ethan's reaction to be a lot worse. I gave him a little tylenol before the doctor saw him and requested to only get some of his shots done today and to do the rest later. The nurse came in and gave him the shot in his leg and Ethan wimpered for about a second and then was completely happy afterwards. It was the strangest thing b/c I was waiting for him to let out a huge scream like last time but instead he started spitting bubbles out of his mouth. Now I just have to go back in 2 weeks to get the rest of his vaccinations. I think by splitting them up, he was able to handle it better. By the way he weighed 13lbs and is 25" long. He's only in the 25% with his weight so he's tiny compared to the other 4 month olds!