Thursday, August 19, 2010

My wonderful little girl

So, I've stopped doing monthly updates on Chaselyn. And the reason is that I'm just trying to keep up with her in the real world, I don't seem to have the time to keep up with her in blogland. But, I hope you all have been able to see the wonderful little tot that she is becoming. She's really hit the point where her vocabulary is growing on an hourly basis. Which means we have to be careful about everything that goes into her little ears. For example, we spent this week at home with my parents. My parents have 4 dogs who bark... a lot. So my dad (aka Papa) says "HUSH!!" to which Chaselyn immediately copies "Hush Puppies!!" Now this in itself is hilarious, so we laugh, which only encourages her to now yell "Hush!" at random points throughout the day. She only told Mommy to hush one time. It's usually "Hush Puppies!" even if there are no puppies around.

She asks to wear dresses and will comment on whether they are cute or pretty. She still wears any shoes that she can find. But shows a definite preference for sparkly ones. This week she has been Papa's little farmer. Feeding the fish, dogs and horses is such a treat. And she'll even ask to "ish food" and "Nay Nay food" which can easily be interpreted as feed the fish and feed the horses.

On occasion we can catch her rambling in her crib or talking with her toys. And right now these seemingly non-sensical babbling sessions are our favorites. She's saying things with such intent, we know she thinks she's saying something, but we're not in on the translations. And that's ok. This week she has really developed her ability to convey things to us. She'll say a word, I'll say back what I think she's trying to say and then with the sweetest voice, she'll say "no" as if I'm silly for even thinking that's what she was trying to say. Usually we can both stick with this game long enough until Mommy figures out what Chaselyn is trying to say.

Funnest new words:
Crazy - sounds like "Say-zy" sometimes followed by her head swinging wildly about and making silly noises
Family names - Has attempted everyone except CrawDad (she just giggles). Some other fun ones
Granny - "Gwenny"
Kimberly -"Mimerly" (only heard this one a couple times)
Heather - "He-er"
Football - "Feetball"
I love you - "I ldl you" can also be followed by a persons name :)
I got you - "Idotchu"
Silly -"Si-ey"
Time Out - "Mime out" If she is in trouble at all she suggests that she asks "mime out?" I only really send her to time out for hitting and not listening.
Big - "Beeeeeeeeg!"
Pig - "Peeeeeeeeg!"
Read -"Read"
Horses - Nay Nays

Amazing kids

Monday, August 9, 2010

I've got some questions for you.

1) Does everyone in TX refer to pacifiers as "Binky's"?

I have heard them referenced as such before, so it's not like I didn't know what you all have been talking about. But, it seems that every Texan who has referenced that wonderful little first toy for my baby they call it a Binky. We refer to it as a "paci" or as Chaselyn says "pashi".

2) Would a red kitchen be overwhelming?

I've got the redecorating bug. Actually I've just got the decorating bug. REdecorating would imply that it had been done before. We love red as all of you know. And I'm sick of all these beige walls.
Above is a picture of our living room not too long after we moved in. (You can see Chaselyn's little feet in the swing in the foreground. The same swing Jacob's in now.) We have a little more color with a green recliner on the far side of the couch. So the red would come in off to the left by that window. I think from here, the red wouldn't be too much.
Now, a closer look reveals where the impact would actually be. It's primarily that wall where the cabinets end. Don't worry, we've removed the gold curtains. If you look, the curtains are in a little inset in the wall. We are thinking of painting that inset a yellow. Beyond that wall, there won't be too much more red in the kitchen area. We have a lot of cabinet space.
Looking back into the kitchen from the table, only above the cabinets and a thin little bit coming down on the wall beside the cabinets on the left of this picture. In between the upper cabinets and the countertops there is a white backsplash.

So, what do you think?

BTW, my dream kitchen has a 50's diner style, with black and white tile and red and chrome appliances.

3) Still on the decorating, what about an accent wall behind my fireplace?

I'm hoping that if we the red in the kitchen that will be enough of a power pop that I won't feel the need to paint a wall in the living room. It's not that I'm worried about doing the work, its the color. The brick on our house and our fireplace is a pinkish color. I have no idea what color I would even try. So far the only thing I've come up with is a deep brown. But that seems like it will automatically shrink the space. And our space gets smaller by the day with the toys and accessories for 2 kids.

4) Do you take good pictures? And if you do how do you do it?

I would love to learn how to capture the moments of our lives with more expertise. If you are a photographer, can you give me one tip on something that will make my pictures better?

5) Do you love football?

I do. I can't wait to watch football this season. But at the same time I know this season will be like nothing I've experienced before. I'll have a 2 year old and a 6 month old by the time the season is over. And while Chaselyn is getting our hopes up by yelling things like "Hooray feetball" over the monitor when she woke up this morning after watching the pre-season NFL game last night. I know it will be difficult to keep up with any game while trying to keep the 2 little ones happy.

I guess that's enough. Tell me what you think!

Friday, August 6, 2010

And that's the end of the first quarter

Babies are great! Especially my babies. There's a lot of other babies I love too. They are amazing! With each little smile and coo, they can transport you to a place where nothing else matters. It's like a hypnotic state. And my friends, I may have been living in that dreamland a little too much lately. But, I have no regrets.

Our little man is growing every day. We took him back to Arkansas last weekend and the weekend before that Stanton's parents came to visit. And no one could believe how big he's gotten. And it's true. He's HUGE! He currently weighs 13.2 pounds. He's expressive too. He smiles and coos and makes sad faces. He's such a little person. I love it! He's still sleeping a lot, but does stay awake to paly a little more these days. If he's awake, he mainly likes to lay on the floor and spread out to watch his big sister run around. He's a snugglesaurus for sure. He loves to be held and loved on. And he's the best napping buddy ever. You have to be careful when you hold him or you'll fall asleep too. Speaking of sleeping, he's sleeping through the night. It started on his actual 3 month birthday and every night since then, he's been sleeping from about 10:30 - 6:30. YAY!

I feel very blessed to have been able to stay at home with him for these first three months. But, starting soon, we'll be apart on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm going to miss my little man. He's so precious!

Jacob,

We are so happy to have you in our lives. You have brought another level of love into our hearts and our home that we could have never imagined. It is amazing to see the way you admire your big sister already. You are an amazing little baby boy. We can't wait to see the man you become, but we're going to soak up these precious days while you're still little.

We love you!
Mommy & Daddy

Morning Play Time

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Groupon

Hey don't know if any of you out there know about Groupon, but it's a good system. Essentially, businesses offer a coupon/gift card/ deal of some kind, but it only becomes valid if a certain pre-determined number of people agree to purchase the deal. Well, today's deal for the Indianapolis area is a Shutterfly 8x8 photo book for only $10. They have already met the group number (they only set it at 25, currently 1692 people have bought in). It's a great deal! And don't worry, you don't have to do the whole photo book today, the coupon doesn't expire until February. But you have to hurry to purchase it today. The deal offer only lasts until tonight at 11 CST.

So, if you are interested, please click my LINK so that when you purchase yours and sign up for Groupon, I get $10 in Groupon bucks which means you essentially me a free 20 page photo book. What a nice gift! Thank you so much!

Oh, I love a good deal. And if nothing else, a 20 photobook makes an excellent gift for parents, grandparents, and all the other adoring fans of your family.