Red Head "Reesie Rules"

With the beautiful weather lately (and lots of outside time), we are quickly discovering the importance of making sure that Reese is covered from head to toe (literally, scalp to toe) with a sun hat and sun block. Reese even knows that if she wants to go outside she has to follow "Reesie Rules," which include the hat, sun block and sun stick under eyes. Miss a spot? Red. Everywhere. I reapply every 45 minutes (that's another Reesie Rule). I just can't risk it with her. And if I don't use the stick under her eyes? She looks like a little Strawberry Shortcake raccoon. If I don't get her entire foot, the little spots where there are openings in her Keds get sunburned. It is crazy!

So hopefully one day her perfect alabaster skin will serve as a reminder of why Reesie Rules are so important. And she'll forgive me for spraying sun block in her hair to keep her scalp from getting burned!

Happiness!

This week has barely started, but I am already super excited about it. I officially reached 12 weeks yesterday! 28 weeks until the baby's here! And 8 weeks until we (might?) find out what it is! And we have a doctor's appointment this Thursday!

And I am in a fabulous mood! Maybe it's the fact that I have a hair appointment on Friday (hello highlights), because hair appointments always make me happy. Maybe it's just the fact that Reese is being so polite that it melts my heart. She says "please" and "thank you" routinely (usually without prompting), and she just sounds so sweet when she says it. It could have been the thunderstorm that came rolling in last night. Amazing! I think it's a combination of all that, plus a few other things...

Like Gerber daisies! I love them! At the old house we planted them in Noelle's garden, and today at Wal Mart Wyatt saw them and asked to get some of "Noelley's flowers." So we picked some up and they just make me so happy!

Yoplait Light Red Velvet Cake is amazing. I saw it today (yes, at Wal Mart) and had to get it. Absolutely amazing.

And maybe another reason I'm happy is because there was no line today at Wal Mart. And that when the cashier didn't get to ring up my Sprite before I paid, the lady behind me offered to pay for it for me! Maybe it was because she was wearing a Yankees shirt and Wyatt was chanting "Red Sox, Boo! De-rek Je-ter!" clap clap clap clap clap clap. Or maybe it was because she saw me fighting with him 5 minutes earlier over leaving his sister's shoes on.

Whatever it was, she made my day!

I got this dress yesterday from Old Navy. Our friend Ryan is getting married in June, and I need something to wear. It's a pretty formal wedding at a Yacht Club and I need something that's maternity and not expensive that I can dress up. I think this might work! And it can be dressed down for my days with the kids. I love dresses and skirts in the summer.

I also got my maternity swimsuit yesterday! We obviously spend a ton of time at the waterpark or my parents' pool, so I needed a new suit (obviously, I also got bottoms). I really like these colors and I think it will do a good job covering up what will become a massive belly!

And finally, what has really capped off this week is the fact that my husband shaved his goatee off! It's usually a winter thing for him, but it's gone on too long this year! So Sunday I asked (kind of) nicely and he shaved it off! Yay!

Nothingness

Hmmm...what do I have to say today?

We got some things done this weekend. We got a Topsy Turvy Tomato hanger and we're now going to grow our own tomatoes (or attempt to)! I looooove tomatoes and so does Reese! We also got one for strawberries, now we just need to find the plants!

We got a few things done around the house. Some closet stuff, a few little projects, and hopefully some more will get done this week!

I just remembered that tomorrow I'm going to Rockafeller's for lunch at work! My team has gotten some big things crossed off of our to do list over the last few weeks, and we're going out to celebrate. Yum! We had to make a choice, and it came down to Rockafeller's or Waterman's. Since two of us had our rehearsal dinner's there (including me), Rocakfeller's won!

I decided to take a certain blog off of my list over there ---> and to stop following it. I just felt like it had become all about money, and the more I clicked on it (even though I was exasperated with the product placement, the constant talking (or bullying) about the need to give to charities when you yourself are "broke", and adding the "new author" as another attempt to make money) the more money went in. So I'm done with it. The kids are cute, but I can live without them in my daily life.

Wyatt has his third soccer game and his team pictures tonight! I am so excited to see his first little team picture and start his little sports scrapbook!

Reese cracks me up! Every time the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse comes on and Mickey says "Hey Everybody, do you want to come and play in my clubhouse?," she says "No!" and gets this huge smile on her face.

That's all that I really have for today. Sorry I was so boring, maybe I'll be able to come up with something more creative later!

Mission: Organization

Yes, I know that we just moved three months ago. But as anyone moving with two toddlers quickly finds out, the main priority is getting all the stuff they don't need to touch out of the way. And making usable living space for them.


Which is why, three months after moving in, Brian and I are at our whits end with clutter. We got rid of a lot when we moved, but now I'm just finding even more that I don't need in my way. My biggest pet peeve (by far) is this:
Mail. Things that we need to keep because of our impending 90 day punch list (when we send all defects to the contractor to fix). Bills that could be filed if there was any logical sense to be made of our filing cabinet. Fortunately, last weekend Brian started going through the filing cabinet and cleared up loads of space by actually tossing out old bills. Or rather, making a pile for me to shred. The other big thing taking up loads of space in our filing cabinet was manuals. Manuals to outside equipment (lawn mower, etc.), manuals to vacuums and other appliances. Blech. Why file them?
So I got these. They were cheap and on sale, so I figured I would get plain ones that I can cover with scrapbook or wrapping paper and label. Then I will have one for appliance and furniture manuals, one for outside stuff (to keep in the garage), and one for toy manuals. I'll probably keep the inside ones in my linen closet downstairs. It's crazy how many linen closets I have in this house. There's one in my laundry room, one in the hallway by the kids' bathroom and one upstairs by the other bathroom. The only problem is that the house technically doesn't have a pantry, so I ended up using the linen closet by the kids' room as my pantry (it's right by the kitchen too).

Brian and I are also spending the weekend going through our closet and dressers. I went through my closet last night and switched out maternity clothes and regular clothes. Brian actually has more clothes than I do, because he doesn't get rid of anything, and I'm totally the person who donates clothes every season. So his shelf is a lot more scrunched than mine!

I went through the playroom this morning and packed up the toys the kids don't play with, so that made a bit of a difference. We both have lists of things we want to get done (including some gardening) this weekend, so I better run! Hopefully next time I blog my life will be a little more organized!

Show Us Your Life: How I Met My Husband

It's time for Show Us Your Life Friday at Kelly's Korner, so I figured I would join in this week for the "How I Met my Husband" tour.



Let's see. Brian and I didn't really have a"traditional" start to our relationship. We first met in 1998. At my very first job interview. He interviewed me to be a lifeguard, and I got the job. I went to work for him that summer, but didn't really ever talk to him! In fact, I'm pretty sure that he probably remembers nothing about me that summer. When he was moving offices years ago we found the post it where he jotted down notes during my interview. At least it was all nice! I never really talked to him that first year, so my only real memory of him that summer involves him beating a lifeguard stand with a tube to kill a wasp nest. Fun stuff.

I continued to work there, and I met a ton of great friends. I think that I probably had the best summer job ever (at the time) because the group of people around me was so fun. Once I graduated from high school and became a Lead Guard I started hanging out with everyone more often, going to parties and movies and out to eat after in-service. Usually Brian was there too, so we got to know each other better and became friends. He made (and still makes) me laugh all the time! I was on the competition team that he coached that summer, so we ended up taking an incredibly long ride to New York and then Canada. Our trip was never ending and we ended up in a car with Dave and two other friends who basically spent the entire ride making out. We advanced to nationals and went to San Antonio as well. So we spent a ton of time together that summer and found out that we had a ton of things in common. Before we knew it we were good friends.
I left for college that fall and in the age of Instant Messenger Brian and I talked pretty much every day. My computer "mooed" whenever he signed on. We hung out on every visit home (and I was home a lot). We never really started "dating" we just talked a lot and hung out and were best friends, and then one day we were together. By the next summer I was in love! We went on another competition trip (to Atlanta this time) and followed it up with our very first trip away together to the NLCS in Atlanta that fall (followed by a World Series that we still no longer talk about). We just have the greatest time together. I honestly can't imagine my life without him! We don't have a real "anniversary" (you know, aside from our wedding), we just say we've been together 9 and half years, and usually use September as the date. So yes, that means that this September we will have been together for 10 years.

...And married for 4! On September 23, 2006 we got married and it was the happiest day of our lives! I am so thankful everyday that he is my husband and we have this great life together! I think the fact that we have always been friends and then just fell in love helped us develop this great relationship.

I totally wish I had a picture of us from 1998, or even 2002 (because there are a million), but you know, we didn't have digital cameras then and we still don't have a scanner! So the pictures are either from our 2005 cruise or our honeymoon cruise/Disney trip!

Newborn Wyatt

I was looking at some pictures of little newborn Wyatt this morning and felt compelled to share his cuteness. Other than his size, I don't think anything about him has changed since he was a baby. He looks just like a little miniature version of his three year old self. My favorite picture is the one of Noelle laying underneath his swing. When he first came home, Noelle was sure to be found underneath his swing or whatever else he was laying in. It's so sweet because even now we know how much he misses her. Everynight at bedtime he asks Brian to tell him a new story about Noelle. Fortunately, Brian has 15 years of stories to tell, so I'm pretty sure he won't run out anytime soon!

Busch Gardens!

We are going through a difficult period in our house right now...with sleep. Wyatt is waking up around 5 every morning and walking up to Brian and saying "Hey Daddy, I'm awake!" Usually we can get him to go back and stay in his room until the sun comes up at 6. This is my worst nightmare. I am a sleeper. Especially in my first trimester. When he gets up at 6 he comes in and lays down with us and watches TV, but it's not like we get any good sleep. In fact, on Sunday since we were awake and all, we decided just to get ready to go to Busch Gardens.

As a sidenote, I can not wait until he's a teenager and I can wake him up every morning. At 5. Or 6. As torture.

Anyway, I'll just kind of let the pictures speak for themselves....

Reese and Daddy waiting for a ride.
Wyatt wanted to go on the Elmo ride that takes them up to the top and drops down.

And he had a blast!

We went to see the Clydesdales.

The kids went on the boat ride. They were sitting next to each other when the ride started. Then Wyatt decided he wanted to stand up and move to the back seat.

And then he finished the ride sitting next to Reese again. He didn't even get in trouble from the attendant. He got in trouble from us.

Riding the cars together. I am so excited that she can ride with him now!

Reese rode the dragons with Daddy!

And Reese got to ride the pink horse!

We spent the rest of our trip eating lunch at FestHaus, Brian debated getting a beer and torturing me, we ran in to old neighbors who are moving because they were pushed over the edge by the same neighbors that prompted our move, we shared with them that we never bothered to learn that neighbors name and instead just referred to him as"FOLG," short for Fat Obnoxious Loud Guy, they laughed, we left. And the kids were asleep withing 2 minutes.

Sorry to be so brief, but I have to go to bed. Wyatt will be awake in 8 hours.

Wyatt's Second Soccer Game!

Things went much more smoothly at Wyatt's second soccer game today! Everybody did a great job warming up and playing. It was still a bunch of three year olds, so there was a lot of frantic running in every direction, but it was a lot of fun to watch. I think I distracted Wyatt a little too much by taking him with me to buy the snacks for his team though. He walked up to me halfway through the game and said "Can I have some goldfish now please, Mommy?"

Getting ready to make a shot. This is all very serious business.
Repeating the YMCA oath. Wyatt is number 8 (like Yogi Berra, not Cal Ripken).

This is his little run. He wobbles back and forth while he waits to see which direction the other player is going in.

This picture cracks me up! If you look at the blob of white shirts on the bottom you can see Wyatt's head. The little girl tripped and fell on him. All of the other parents kept saying "Is he gonna cry? Why isn't he crying?" I told them he doesn't cry when he falls, just when he gets taken out of the game.

I have to tell you, I love his longish hair, and two other moms told me they thought it was so cute! I like to watch it fly up when he runs.

Taking one last run down the field.

Explaining to Brian why he could not share his goldfish.

Wyatt's First Soccer Game!

Last Monday was Wyatt's first soccer game! I know. Mondays? At least that's what I was thinking. The games are in the evenings (basically Brian has to leave work early to get to the 6:00 games. When the games are at 5 it will be even more difficult), but it works out nicely since the only kids on the field are the three year olds.

We didn't find out about the Y league until it was full, but we still put Wyatt on the waiting list and they were able to make a team out of the waiting list kids. We still didn't have any coaches when we got to the game, and since there were only 3 other parents at the team meeting, Brian was pretty sure there were only going to be three kids at the game. But they ended up with two dads (yes, Brian is one of them) and one mom to follow the kids around the field and make sure they're taking turns playing.

Wyatt did a great job last week! He loves every sport, and wanted to wear his shin guards the minute we bought them. He loves to be on the field running around with the other kids, but he's not as much of a ball hog as I thought he was going to be. One thing that he is (that I knew was coming because Brian and I both have this little personality trait, some might call a "flaw") is competitive. I'm not uber competitive, I didn't excel at recreational sports, but I am competitive when it comes to trivial things. Brian is very competitive at pretty much everything, and I knew that would be something we saw in Wyatt. And we did. This kid wants to play. He doesn't want to sit on the sidelines cheering for his team, he wants to be on the field in the thick of things. He pretty much had a nervous breakdown when he got taken out of the game to let some other kids play. But we realized later that it was because his Daddy took him out. When another mom did it, he just went to the sidelines and sat on her lap!

We're not keeping score or anything, so we don't know how he did.

Well, at least the league isn't. But we are. We don't believe in non-competitive sports (I mean, I guess for three year olds it's fine so they get interested in playing) but what's the point as they get older? But that's a post for an entirely different day when I actually feel like getting worked up about something. Not today. Anyway, Wyatt scored one goal for his team! And he might have scored one or two for the other team, too. These kids are so funny. They have the ball and they run to the goal, and it doesn't even cross their minds that it isn't their goal. They just want to kick the ball in! Wyatt loved playing, and asked to play again as soon as his game was over. He's already really excited for his game tonight too.

How Brian Found Out...

So we weren't necessarily "trying" to have another baby, but we weren't NOT trying either. We've always known we wanted more kids, and the biggest thing on our mind for the planning was whether or not we should have the baby before we go to Disney in December or whether I should go there pregnant. So we talked about it. But didn't actually decide anything.

One day near the end of February I was sitting at my desk and I sneezed. And I felt some crazy ligament stretching when I did. One of my friends looked at me and said "Bless you," and then asked why I had an incredibly weird look on my face. I made up some silly reason, but I knew right then...I was pregnant. It was also incredibly too early for me to get any sort of accurate result from a Home Pregnancy Test, so I just put it off for a week. And the same symptoms came back. I didn't say anything, I just waited until I was off one Friday and went and got a test. I took it during snack time, but I waited to look at it. Because I already knew, I just wanted to be sure.

And it was positive! I didn't want to call Brian at work and tell him. I wanted to do something fun. Wyatt's pregnancy was a phone call. "Hey, I know our wedding is in two months, and I know I had my final fitting yesterday, but something's suddenly come up." When I was pregnant with Reese we were trying, and I kept the secret for 3 whole days before I told him on Christmas Eve.

Since Wyatt was (technically) the first person I told, I wanted to make sure the kids were involved this time. So I went out (My poor sister ran errands with me and waited in the car with the kids while I did all this and I didn't even tell her!) and got a picture frame with three openings, and I got a Big Sister shirt for Reese from Carter's. I put pictures of Brian and I with Wyatt when he was first born, and another of the two of us with Reese. Unfortunately, she's in her isolette in the NICU in the picture and we're just sitting next to her, but I wanted the whole "brand new baby" message to come across. I left the third picture opening blank to hopefully help him figure out that it was there for the new baby (I mean, he is a smart guy, so I didn't think he would need to be coached or anything).

We had my birthday dinner at my parents house that night and Brian met us there after work, so by the time we got home it was late and the kids were tired. I almost put off telling him until the next morning, but I didn't think I would be able to keep the secret that long, and I really wanted to involve Wyatt and Reese (hey, I know my limits). So we got home and I got Reese's new shirt on, and had Wyatt carry the picture frame. This is what happened...

The funny thing is that when the kids first walked up all Brian saw on Reese's shirt was the "sister." He said he didn't notice the "big" part. At least, not until he saw the frame and figured it out. It short because I couldn't record while he was giving me a hug, but we're both so happy and excited to have Gooey join our family! And we're taking a newborn to Disney, which in my opinion, will be significantly easier than going pregnant. We already took Reese at two and a half months, we're pros at this!

The "Big" Update

So as I alluded to in both of my previous posts, I've been tired. Really, really tired. And there is a good reason for that:

Reese is going to be a big sister!

This is Gooey!

I know! You're probably all thinking "Why is she calling her baby Gooey?" And the answer to that is easy. The day I found out I was pregnant (way back at the beginning of March), I told Wyatt that I had a baby in my belly. I asked him what he wanted to call it, and he settled on "Gooey." So that's what we've been calling our third bundle of joy. You know, until it actually gets here!

We are so excited to welcome a third baby into our family. This little one will be 26 months younger than Reese (what a huge age difference!) and 3 and a half years younger than Wyatt. Some people probably think we're out of our minds. The age difference between Wyatt and this baby is the age difference a lot of people have between only 2 kids, let alone having another one in between! But this is totally how we envisioned our family, with the kids all close in age, and we are so thrilled! (Just please, don't ask me about the minivan!)

I am now 10 weeks pregnant. The baby is the size of a lime, but if you were to look at me, you would think it was the size of a cantaloupe. I know my body is used to doing this, and that from the time the baby started developing my uterus was all like "Oh, there's a baby coming, I know what to do. I should multiply by 1000. Even though the baby is the size of a lima bean, I think I'll just stretch." So this is what I looked like on Sunday. And today I'm even bigger. And I've gained two pounds. Seriously.

Little Gooey is due November 7. We still haven't decided what we're going to do about when I'll deliver (third C Section's a charm) because of Reese's birth nightmare, but we know we'll base it around when my favorite Doctor will be there. We also don't know whether we're going to find out what this baby is! I like the idea of being surprised. I like it more since I know that I have everything I need for a girl or a boy. I'm just the most impatient person I know (which is not one of my great strengths as a Mother). I don't know that I'll be able to wait until November to find out what I'm having! What do you think I should do? Seriously, HELP!

P.S. I will probably post the incredibly adorable video of how I told Brian I'm pregnant at some point soon. You know, after a million other updates :)!

Easter Baskets

So we try to keep the kids Easter baskets tame. In fact, we've never discussed the Easter Bunny with them. And we probably won't. The Easter Bunny freaks me out. And I'm fine with the kids knowing that their Easter baskets come from us.

We really didn't do much Sunday morning (like I already said). The house was a mess from the party and new toys, and I was really tired (we'll get to that, I said I have a lot of updates). So we had low key Easter basket time that included Brian putting everything together around 9:30. Here is his handy work:

Both baskets
Wyatt's basket including his new Imaginext submarine and his Derek Jeter action figure. He loves all this stuff!

Here is Reese's basket. She got some of the same things, but she also got her very own Noelley dog and a Little People Wedding set.

And here they both are in love with their goodies!

So...

There are like a million updates for me to do this week! Our power cord finally arrived yesterday, and then I had pictures to upload, and Wyatt's first soccer game, and then our hard drive was full. Yeah, so that was fun.

Anyway, I figured the most logical place to start would be Easter, since that's apparently the last time that I posted. Our Easter was actually pretty low key. I was exhausted from the party the day before, the kids woke up at 5:30, and we didn't really have anything to do that morning. Usually my Dad makes breakfast or something, but he was working. So I decided to make his traditional breakfast of biscuits and gravy , and I have to say that it was awesome. After breakfast I took a nap, and then the kids did.

We went to Brian's parents for an Easter Egg hunt, and the kids had a blast playing outside and looking for eggs. It was a beautiful day! Now before you see the pictures, know that it was Opening Day for the Yankees, and while I contemplated putting my kids in their nicest clothes so that they could run around and fall down, I instead chose to go with an Opening Day theme of Yankees shirts for the family. We all wore our Yankees shirts proudly, and were really surprised when we left and our neighbors were all out wearing their Red Sox shirts (all four of them) because in addition to being our mortal enemy, we were also playing the Sux that night.

Wyatt had a blast climbing up to the playhouse and sliding down.
And this is also how my little "Derek Jeter" (which is what he prefers to be called if he's playing baseball) likes to swing.

Both kids looking for eggs. I love Reese's Yankees dress. She got it from her big cousin (who in all actuality is her second cousin, and is actually Brian's little cousin). We really are a family of Yankees fans!

Found one!

She did a great job finding eggs too! When she found out that there was chocolate inside it was like a bonus!

Wyatt going for a gutter egg!

Checking to make sure Wyatt didn't miss anything!

Reese takes everything (including sliding) very seriously.

Wyatt loves Cody. He actually loves dogs! His newest thing at bedtime is to say "Hey Daddy? Can you tell me a story about Noelley?" It is just precious!

Petting Cody together.

Reese also adores this dog. As soon as she walks in the door she runs through the house saying "Cooooody" and runs to him and hugs him.

But here she just wanted to play a nice game of Peek-a-boo with him!