spring fever

 dear mother nature-

you seriously need to get your act together.  while the vast majority of this fine nation in which we live is experiencing spring-like temperatures (you know, the season that started last week) it is currently 18 degrees here.

that is not acceptable.  

neither is the 2 days of forecasted (not a word, i know) snow this week.  TWO DAYS.  

get it together.

mother nature obviously never had to bundle up in regular winter clothes, add a coat on top of that, then carry a full diaper bag and a baby who was also bundled in winter clothes and a coat.  i am ready for skin-to-skin carrying and my diaper bag actually fitting past my elbow.  

14 months

thank you for all the sweet comments on ian's one year photos.  we are so pleased with the way they turned out!

ian turned 14 months old on sunday.  it seems like we were just celebrating his birthday! 

i guess the 13 month mark is a good time for temper tantrums to begin because they really came on strong this month and are still going strong.  he throws some good ones too.  various degrees of crying, flopping around on the floor and throwing things are also included.  sometimes they're just laughable.  i'm not sure what kind of discipline to give for a tantrum!

we got rid of the bottles!!  after we got ian fully on milk, i wanted to drop bottles for full-time sippy usage.  this worked... kind of.  we are off bottles, but we are also off milk.  he refuses to touch milk in a sippy, so we're just leaving it alone for now.  he's drinking plenty of water and on rare occasions, a little juice concoction that mommy makes known as 1/16 juice and 15/16 water.

nursing is the same...

ian is eating more of the foods we're eating.  he's still on purees for breakfast- pureed fruit and baby cereal.  the dr. wants him off baby cereal by 15 months, and we are down to 1/2 a box of oatmeal.  we will use what we have left and then i will probably switch him to plain oats- he has seemed to like those.  for lunch he usually has some kind of meat (low-sodium lunch meat, or i will cook him a piece of whatever meat we had for dinner- ground turkey/beef/chicken, etc), fruit (he loves blueberries- which is great b\c i don't like like them plain) a vegetable or grain- (he loves mac n cheese, and his favorite vegetable seems to be beets).  i usually eat my meals when he does and he has started crying (again with the tantrums) when i sit down to the table w\ something different than what he has.  if it's something i'm not sure about giving him, i will either ignore him until he stops or if i feel ok giving it to him- i will break off a small piece.  however, if i have greek yogurt and i'm not sharing with him, a full meltdown will ensue.  he LOVES the stuff.  my kid loves to eat.  ian also got to eat with a fork for the first time at dave's cousin's house- and he thought he was hot stuff.  so, we bought him a fork. 

he is still not walking.  nor does he have any interest in walking.  he is cruising furniture or whatever he can get to with ease.  he will occasionally stand on his own, but he does all of this only on his terms.  if you try to stand him up or walk with him, he will go limp.  turkey.  he is the oldest out of all his friends who are not walking...  oh well.

swim class has ended.  by the end ian was having a lot of fun.  he loves getting on the kick board and floating.  we will probably do the class again when it starts next month.

talking is still the same.  he is a little imitator.  if dave and i are talking and one of us laughs, he will do the same thing.  if you tell him "no" you will hear "nonononono."  he actually said "bye" once and has even waved a few more times.  this kid's motto "whatever, i'll do what i want."

he is napping well, and sleeping at night well.

for daytime activities, he likes to "play" in his room (crawl from wall to wall), play downstairs (same as in his room) and play in our room (again, the same).  he loves yo gabba gabba and we usually watch at least 1 episode a day.  i don't worry about having the tv on in the background while he plays b\c he doesn't sit still to watch it, so i know he's not just sucked into it.  there are too many places to crawl instead of concerning himself with tv. 

 eating.  always eating.

 here is ian using a fork for the first time.  dave's cousin's wife made a cake and we gave ian a small piece.  notice how he has cake on the fork, which is he shoving in his mouth, and cake in his fist.  

 all, done.  i'm going to need more cake, guys...

 ian and daddy at ian's girlfriend lydia's first birthday party.

 ian and mommy's first time watching daddy play ice hockey

i love this.  if you can't tell, there is glass separating us from dave.  he got to play ice hockey at the all state arena.  it was a big deal.

the monthly photo.  these are getting harder and harder to capture.  only 24 takes this month...  ai yi yi

one year photos

we are so blessed to have so many photographers in our lives.  we have 3 relatives/close friends who do photography- so we are always lucky to have great photos taken. we once again chose dave's cousin's wife, julie to do our pictures (she did ian's newborn pics).  julie runs her own photography business, king photography.  i don't think any of my readers live in the ft. wayne, indiana area, but if you do- you should give julie a call!

i wish i could post all 45 photos, but i'll select a few of my faves. 

bt-dubs.  a big thanks to blogger for up adding all the photos to my upload box and then promptly disappearing as i tried to add them to my page.  good one.  i loved having to start that all over.

enjoy!

(we had a) blizzzzzzzzard...

so, i'm a little late, but we had a blizzard on the night of february 1st.  it started innocently enough with talks of snow- but i got to work that monday night and you would've thought we were in georgia.  bread, milk and eggs were flying off the shelves- and this is in an area that has a gazillion plows.  people were straight actin' a fool.  tuesday was the day that we were expected to get the snow.  dave called around noon and said they would be getting out of work early.  he came home, we prepared dinner, put the little guy to bed and waited...

around 7 pm is when it really started snowing- the wind was blowing like crazy and definitely unlike anything i had seen before.  a couple friends from home had called to see what the weather was like.  we watched the news and things were getting bad out- people were without power, lake shore drive had been shut down, starbucks was closed.  around 10, dave & i decided to have a couple drinks, bundle up and head outside to see what was going on.

this is all you could see.  also, this picture might be turned the wrong direction.  i really can't tell.

this is what you wear when you drink margaritas before going out into the snow.  rain galoshes, socks, fuzzy socks, tights, athletic pants, a tank top, a tshirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a hoodie, your husband's most hideous old hockey sweater, a scarf, a ridiculous hat, gloves and mittens..

me, standing by a snow drift.  notice the snow is almost up to my hip

pretty crazy stuff!  by the next morning, the snow had stopped, but a state of emergency was declared in many counties and towns.  roads were closed.  we probably got around 20" total.  yikes!  the damage...

these pictures were taken while standing in my front doorway.  i literally couldn't take one step out of the house.  the snow had drifted into the walkway.  it stayed this way until they came and cleared it out around 7pm.  

views of our backyard. the first is between the screen and sliding glass doors.  the second is the backyard.  just solid white.

the driveway.  snowdrifts surround my car.

looking out to the right of our house

they came to plow around 12:30- and when they plow, they just pile it as high as it'll go!

the front view of our house

deadly icicles that were hanging off the shared roof

family fun.

so, we all managed to make it.  this was fun for about 15 minutes and then i was ready for it to go away.  i  really couldn't care less about blizzards or snow for that matter.  i have the "i've seen it once" mentality now, and would take the mild georgia winters (that i always thought were so cold) any day of the week...  

what about you?  are you a fan of snow?

vote for our pic to win!

as you are reading this we are entered into a contest hosted by modern bird studios on their facebook page.  we had ian's 1 year pics made a few weekends ago and i can't wait to share them with you... but for now... here is a preview... this is the photo i chose for the contest...

seriously, he is so cute you'll wanna slap yo mama....

we would really love this picture to be made into a beautiful modern bird piece... and that's where we need your help!!  it's so easy.

1.  like modern bird on facebook
2.  find our little guy's picture and like it!  update:  we're photo #110

easy!!

i'd love you forever if you voted, but i already do...

mommy shops- GO international designer collective

so i was really excited to sneak over to target today and take a peek at the GO international collection.  target is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the collection by re-releasing the most popular dresses from the collection.  i remember when the collections first started debuting- i was a skinny 25 year old who had just moved into midtown.  i bought 4 pieces from the luella collection...  i have mostly been too poor or too pregnant since to partake.

so, i didn't get to target until around 4- 8 hours after the store had opened..  here's what they had left.

luella bartley- hot pink empire dress
richard chai- navy tuxedo dress
tara jarmon- colorblock dress
jovovich-hawk- mini dress, floral dress, dot dress
libertine- crepe dress, striped tunic
zac posen- pink wrap dress, polka dot dress,
proenza schouler- palm-print dress
rodarte- lace-print dress
rogan- leopard print dress
alice temperley- ruffle-front
thakoon- colorblock shift
tucker- ruffle-back dress, black floral, pink floral

that's out of 34 dresses total in the collection.


dresses i wish i could've tried on that weren't available:

tracy feith- hibiscus print dress, white eyelet dress
erin fetherston- bunny print dress
rodarte- peach slip dress (this was in stores right after i had ian- trying it then on probably would've damaged my self-esteem forever)
jonathan saunders- colorblock dress
thakoon- printed b/w dress


what i did try on with reviews (sorry, no pics of me wearing them b\c 1.  i had little time, 2.  it's better this way.

1.  Libertine Black Crepe Dress

this dress is super cute- would be perfect for work if i had a "real" job and i liked the thick material.  i grabbed a medium, which i could barely zip, and then had to jump around like a monkey to get off.  it looked nice in the front though.  also, i had to rip the tag off the belt to even get it on...  sorry, target.  i passed on this.

2.   Rodarte lace-print dress

this was the first dress that caught my eye while perusing the racks.  i tried this in a medium and it fit perfectly.  i love the print.  i think this would be a wonderful dress for easter, which is what i'll probably save it for.  the material is thin, but it didn't appear to be see-through, plus if we spend easter in atlanta, it will be perfect b\c i will think 80 degrees feels like 120 degrees after spending winter here.  i think this can be brightened up with a colorful cardigan or jacket, and i think my nude pumps would go perfectly with it.  took this one home.  boo ya.

3.  zac posen pink wrap dress

i wish i could say i tried this on all the way.  it's actually a wrap dress with a slip underneath.  the slip was attached to the dress, and i had an impossible time trying to figure out where to step and put my arms.  i managed to rip the string that kept the dress and slip together on one side, but couldn't get it on the other, and therefore, couldn't get into the dress.  needless to say, this one stayed at the store...

4.  zac posen polka dot dress

this dress is a little twee, but i seem to go for that, so i grabbed it.  i currently wear a 6 in jeans (8 if the fit is slim) and a 4-6 in dresses.  i picked a 9 (i think they had a 7, 9, and 13), and well, i should've grabbed the 13 if that tells you anything.  i got into the dress easily, but the zipper wouldn't even come up a millimeter.  i tend to stay away from clothes if i have to size up so far that it hurts my feelings, and this did the trick. 

5.  tucker signature floral-print dress

this picture doesn't do the dress as much justice as the picture from the actual link.  i tried on a medium, and really liked it, though i thought it was too poofy- so i decided to get it, but grab a small on my way out.  i haven't tried the small out yet.  i think the print is really pretty and springy.  and i need some spring in my life in a major way.  i hope it works out.

so, those are my reviews.  i would definitely encourage anyone who wants a designer label, but has no designer budget to give this collection a look.  there's something in it for everyone

13 months

here's what went on for ian during his 13th month of life (january 20-february 20).

i've already talked about it before, but this month was hell.  the dr.'s visits, the er visit, a very unhappy, crying, screaming, mad-at-the-world little boy.  that was the story of this month.  it was no fun being one.  initially.

nursing is still going.  i'm really torn on whether to quit or keep going.  the bonding is great, but i want my body back (and i hear you drop 10 lbs, but who knows).  right now we're only doing it when he wakes in the morning and before lunch, and depending on the day when he wakes from his afternoon nap or before dinner.  so 2-3 times.  we're also only nursing at home, as his latest habits have made public nursing out of the question.

he is not a big fan of milk (which is crazy b\c i could drink a gallon a day if i had no self-control)- we've tried it at meals- cold or warm, and he's just not having it.  he is taking a bottle before bed though- i ran out of frozen bmilk, so we just switched to milk and used up what tiny amount of formula we had left- gradually reducing the formula and increasing the milk.  now, he will drink a warmed bottle of 2% milk before bed, but that's about it.  i am not too concerned.  he has a slight allergy from dairy.  plus he loves yogurt & cheese, so he's getting his fill.

on other foods- things are going the same.  i'll write more on this later.

ian is still saying "mama" "dada" "yeah" "uh oh" and has now added "hi" or "hey" "all done" and "no" (all these are rare).  he is a little giggle box now that he's not angry all the time.

swim class is going better.  there are still tears, and he wants his binky in the pool- but he seems to be liking it better.

i'm going to post pics now before i say too much considering it's time for me to post another one of these updates in just 10 days.. doh.

 there's a rumor a blizzard is coming, so they're making me wear this stupid suit...

yep, definitely a blizzard.  get me back inside.

me and mommy (or as one of her friends said, "look, snooki kidnapped your baby").  i was rocking those glasses long before snooks, btw.  and a family blizzard moment.

it takes the tub for-ev-er to fill up!

yay, finally in the bath!

13 months old!  this picture is sadly the best one.  someone doesn't like keeping still...

i resolve... march

not to make stupid resolutions this year that i will have forgotten about by... yesterday.

instead.  my "resolution" is to make a short list of attainable goals each month- and to share them with you.

ok, so we're a little over a week into march, but again i already have goals in place.  first, let's revisit february's goals:

no, first let me say what a wretched month february was.  my son acted a fool for 3+ weeks, we had a blizzard, my child went to the hospital and dr's office 800 times, and i basically just wanted to move to a desert island...

ok...

• lose 5 lbs.  i'm telling you- my scale must be broken.  first it kept telling me i GAINED 5 lbs, and now it says i've gained 2 lbs.  i can't figure out wth is going on.  did i mention that i'm working out 6, yes, SIX days a week (this is week 4) and i have GAINED weight?!?!  this is why i don't work out.
• finish reading that darn book already  notice i crossed it out, yet kept it bold?  i did not finish THAT book, but i read 2 other books.  i will get to that book one day. 
• complete 2 more items on my 30 before thirty list  i feel like i have been doing this list long enough to say i've accomplished at least one of these things:  #21: eat healthier by cooking more at home
• go to bed before 2 AM (to most of you, this is probably crazy, but i have a lot of trouble winding down- this is a HUGE deal for me)  once again, a little of both.  some days i succeeded and some days i was up until after 3.  i need ambiens. 
• start listing clothes on smashion  i thought about it.  really i did. 
• start implementing the cleaning plan  see above...

and now, my goals for march (where i promise not to be such a slacker):

• go to bed before 2 AM (it's 2:15 already...  le sigh).
• list clothes on smashion
• seriously, clean your house, it's a disaster.
• finish something else on the 30/30
• read 2 books
• have 2 "date" nights with husband.  one where we stay at home and the other where we actually pretend like we have lives and we leave our house without our child (we will leave our child with someone, not alone if you were wondering).  
• see to it that the first day of spring arrives in the midwest.  i curse you snow, i curse you with 1000 curses.
• win march madness (or my husband can win... what's yours is mine...)

mommy reads: carrie

go me.  i have finished yet another book.  which probably explains why i have had little time for anything else.  my email inbox is a mess, i haven't been reading my favorite blogs.  just books. 

carrie is probably my favorite horror movie.  i prefer my thriller/horror movies to be more on the side of creepy/funny rather than bloody/gutty.  and carrie has just enough unintentional humor for me to enjoy it.  

carrie was written in 1974 by stephen king- his first published novel.  it also is one of the most commonly banned books in school.  carrie was adapted into a movie in 1976- which is one of the most popularly watched movies by teens on halloween.   sissy spacek and piper laurie were both nominated for academy awards for their performances! 

ok, i'll say it now.  i enjoyed the movie better than the book on this one.  the book was a little hard to follow with its style of writing- which is written through narration + the use of book excerpts, magazine articles and interviews.  the movie stays pretty true to the book, but there are parts of the story that aren't included and new parts added in.  the biggest difference is in prom night.  surprisingly, the book is WAY more violent than the movie.  shocker.  i don't know if i didn't enjoy the book as much just b\c i already knew how much i loved the movie.  i guess it's scarier to see something than to read about it!  if you haven't read the book, you're probably fine either way, but you should definitely see the movie- even if you don't like scary movies!

book:  2.5/5.  movie 4.5/5

mommy reads: the lovely bones

i picked up this book to read in 2009 after we first moved up here.  i was bored and pregnant and needed something to do.  i really enjoyed the book and i've been wanting to see the movie since it came out- we rented it last weekend and i decided to reread the book.  in a week.  i'm impressed with myself.

susie salmon (like the fish) is raped and murdered by her creepy neighbor in december 1973.  with the exception of a little introduction, susie is basically dead for the entire story which makes for very interesting subject matter.  ever wonder how your friends and family would carry on after your death?  the rest of the book follows susie's friends, family and her killer as she looks down on all of them from her heaven.  her sister, forever living in susie's shadow, her brother too young to understand, her father overcome with grief, her mother pretending like nothing ever happened, her killer fooling everyone.  

i won't go too much into detail because i don't want to give away what happens.  i can image that a lot of people may not like this book based on the way it ends- i thought the ending was fitting though- ending any other way would have just dragged things out.  eventually everyone, even susie is able to move on from her death.  i know this review seems vague, but really- i just don't want to give too much away.

i also saw the movie.  definitely not as good as the book.  being that the majority of the book is looking down on earth from heaven- it's just kind of hard to portray in a movie.  plus, the book is almost 300 pages long- a lot of stuff just didn't make the cut.  i thought saoirse ronan was perfectly cast as susie, susan sarandon made a perfect grandma lynn, and stanley tucci made mr. harvey even creepier than i thought possible. 

if you're going to see the movie- you should definitely read the book.  much better.

book:  4/5

movie:  2.5/5