houston we have a problem...

Meet our friend the swaddling blanket. Well, it used to be our friend. When Bryce first came home from the hospital he didn't sleep well. Not counting the fact that he had to be fed every 3 hours because of his weight and his jaundice, the only way he would sleep is if he was laying on someone (me specifically) or in his swing, occasionally he would sleep in his bouncy seat, but he never wanted to just lay down and sleep. When he was 8 weeks old we bought 2 of these, one of them is this exact one in fact. The first time we wrapped him in this and put him down he slept through the night...at 8 weeks. I was sure that it was a fluke, but we continued to put him in it and he continued to sleep through the night. Everything was going along just fine until a few nights ago. See this blanket has become too small for him. The "weight limit" is 14-15lbs, which by now Bryce is probably over, and his legs are starting to get scrunched in the bottom. And the biggest thing is that he can get himself out of it in about 5 seconds now. They have larger ones, but I am hesitant to buy them, because realistically we can't keep him in one forever. Last night he woke up 5+ times. Not the kind of wake up but he just needs his pacifier and he's back to sleep....oh no, he is wide awake at 3am! What the heck is going on here? Bob ended up feeding him a bottle at 3 because I couldn't function anymore. The kid hasn't had a bottle in the middle of the night for 4 months! I do realize we are extremely lucky to have as many sleep filled nights as we have, but that doesn't really take away from the fact that I am really tired this morning.
Goodbye swaddling blanket, we have loved you, but now if you could just leave quietly and not wake the baby no one will get hurt! (told you I was tired :)

outside...

So, we've been spending a lot of time outside these days, either in the yard, at the park or just taking walks around the neighborhood. (Hence, the lack of posts lately) The kids love being outside and it fills our day so much more productively than sitting in the house watching TV. I'm uploading a bunch of pictures to the shutterfly account, but here are a few of my favorites from the last few days.

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we are having as much as we are!

graduation and birthday parties...

Last Saturday we headed downtown to attend Mary's law school graduation from Loyola. It was a beautiful mass and a wonderful ceremony. The kids did really well during the whole thing, mostly because they were so excited to see Brian and Mary I think! :) (side note...Lovie Smith was also at the graduation, apparently his son's girlfriend was graduating. He sat a couple of rows behind us!) Congrats Mary, we are so very, very proud of you!

Sunday we had two birthday parties to attend. The first was Brianna's little friend from daycare. Brianna was sooo excited to see her friends and as icing on the cake the party was at the Painted Penguin so she got to paint as well. Pretty sure that was one of the best days ever for her. After that party we headed off to our friend Josh's surprise 30th birthday party. It was a good time and it is always fun to see Bob's golfing buddies. By the end of the day we were all exhausted and all piled into our bed to watch a movie. I think everyone was sleeping by 8:30 (except me of course). All-in-all it was a fun filled weekend.

See, even when we're home on the weekends we're not really ever home! :)

mother's day...

We had a pretty low key Mother's Day. We spent the weekend in Wisconsin at Ben & Amanda's house. The boys golfed and the girls shopped and got pedicures and we played some Guitar Hero World Tour. It was fun to spend the weekend with them it has been a while since we've seen them. On Mother's Day we went to Bob and Nancy's and had breakfast with the family. Bob and Brian had to take off for Indiana for a qualifier Brian had the next day, so we stuck around to chat with Nancy for a while and Brianna ran around outside. We headed home and spent the afternoon napping, playing and just relaxing. It was a great Mother's Day all-in-all. My kiddos and hubby are the best...what more could a girl ask for!

6 years in the books...

Yes I am quite aware that this post is significantly late, however...better late than never! So on Sunday May 3 Bob and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. It is shocking to me that it has been six years. So much has happened in that time, loss of grandparents, births of children, weddings of friends and family, the buying of our first home and more laughter and memories than I have the time or space to share. I don't know that on our wedding day, these two kids (and yes, we are kids...holy cow we look young!) could possibly realize what their life would be this six short years later.

(I do realize this is a hideous picture, but it was actually taken on 5/3/09 so I wanted to use it :)Bob and I had a great anniversary we slept late (for us) and went to brunch and then played 9 holes of golf, it was nice to walk around the course talk and just be us for a little while. Life is crazy and hectic, but there is no one I'd rather be in this crazy, hectic life with. I love you, Bob! Here is to 100 more years of (mostly) wedded bliss :).

my favorite things...

As I've said before I'm not an optimistic person. I would call myself a realist, I prepare for the bad, so I'm not disappointed when something doesn't go the way I want and am pleasantly surprised when things do. In an effort to appreciate all the small things in my life, here is a list of the things I love about the ages my kids are.

Brianna age 3 (almost 4)
The crazy outfits she puts together.
The way she complains the whole time I brush/braid/whatever her hair, but then looks in the mirror admiring her hair after I'm done.
The way she says "don't be upset Bryce, big sister is here"
The way she runs to the door screaming "daddy!" when she hears the garage door open.
The way she wakes up in the morning and smiles at me and asks "did you have a good sleep, mommy?"
The other million little things that make her my sweet, funny, aggrivating little girl.

Bryce age (almost) 6 months
The way he smiles when I get him out of his crib in the morning.
The way he stretches after I undo his swaddling blanket and the look on his face that says "I'm free"
When he is really tired I can pick him up and hold him close to me and he immediately falls asleep.
The way he laughs when I change his dirty diapers.
The way he smiles and gets everyone to fall in love with him within moments of meeting him.
The other million little things that make him my adorable, flirty little man.

monday musing...

So, question for you. Today the kids and I walked to Wal-Mart (it is a few blocks from our house...long enough that it sort of tires Brianna out, but short enough that she can walk the whole thing) anyway, there is a redbox there where we rent movies almost every Monday (they have free movie Monday's with a code that is texted to your phone or you can go here and get the code). After we got our movies we walked around Wal-Mart for a bit looked at toys and got Brianna a new thermos because her lid was broken. As we were standing in the checkout line she started whining and wanted to be held. I picked her up for a moment to talk to her and then set her back down. She started whining again and the guy (or maybe he was a boy...he looked very young) in front of us eyed me and then Brianna and then me again and then he looked at her and said "are you OK?" I was a bit taken aback by his question to her. she wasn't screaming bloody murder, I didn't hit her or anything of the sort, I picked her up and talked to her and then put her back down. She is (almost) 4 and she sometimes doesn't behave perfectly. He kept looking at me the entire time until he was checked out and gone. Now, maybe I'm overly sensitive, but I don't believe there was anything going on that warranted him asking HER if she was OK. I know that people's actions can be misinterpreted, but the whole thing is very odd to me. I'm pretty sensitive about the judgement (as I perceive it) other people pass on me as a parent. After the guy asked Brianna that I said "she is fine". What would you have done? Do you think that is super strange or that I'm overreacting? (I realize that is hard to answer since you weren't there...but I swear to you it happened just like that) :)

I will be back soon with an update of our weekend, because I'm sure you are all wondering how we spent our 6th anniversary! :)

29...

Yes, I know I already turned 29, but today this guy joins the club. I could not ask for a better person in my life. He is a wonderful dad and a fantastic husband.
Happy Birthday, Bob!!
We Love you!