Houston’s monthly catch-up: 15 months!

Since I haven’t done one of these monthly since MARCH at 6 months :( … I have much to catch you up on……… or more like write down for my own memory’s sake since I haven’t filled out the first page of the baby book!

 

Big boy WAY BACK at 11 months!

 

• April 11th, at almost 7 1/2 months old, Houston started crawling.  Actually more dragging himself than crawling in a G.I. Joe in the trenches kind of a way, but it got him where he wanted to go. There were times we were slightly concerned with the way only one arm and one leg did the work while the other limbs stayed straight and completely unused, but all is well! Little man started TRULY crawling like a “real baby” on his hands and knees not long after and began to get where he wanted to go {a.k.a. trouble} very quickly.

 

• Furniture cruising began at 9 months and quickly turned into more with him able to “cruise” the walls and cabinets and everything in between. I highly recommend the VTech Sit-to-stand Learning walker. It has done wonders in aiding him learn to walk and has lots of entertaining things to do and learn when he wasn’t walking.

 

• On August 4th, at 11 month, Houston took his first few steps unassisted. He simply let go of the ottoman and walked over to the couch like it was no big deal. Thankfully, both Nick and I were there to see it and were so excited! It wasn’t until about a week after his first birthday that he started walking without a short Point A to Point B destination. He does laps around the house now and can run pretty well!

 

• Houston has been up to eight teeth now and BOY OH BOY can he take a chunk out of you if he decides your finger/calf/shoulder is looking mighty tasty at the moment. Currently working on teaching him that biting people is very much frowned upon and he has thankfully, mostly grown out of that stage. Presently, he has had swollen bottom gums for 2 weeks {possibly his top are too but he won’t let me look!} and his molars should be here *hopefully* any day.

 

• Breastfed until he was 8 months old, Houston is still taking an 8 oz bottle at this moment at naptimes and bedtime. Sippy cups – he loves straws especially! – accompany him the rest of the day. My pediatrician recommended to aim for weaning from the bottle at 15 months, but… oops! I’m in no hurry since right now, the bottle is used only as mom and dad’s sleep crutch! {He has NEVER went to bed with a bottle or even held his own bottle EVER.} Our babe is a skinny boy and he certainly can use the extra whole milk calories he gets. He would never drink a full 8 oz of milk from a sippy and he gets 16-24 oz a day from the bottles at the moment. Agree with our methods or not, it’s how we’re doing things ;) Houston suddenly quit his beloved paci without any warning way back at 6 months old, so that’s one hurdle gladly out of the way!

A rare picture of the one time he held his own bottle…. elbows propped up with pillows ;) ha!

 

 

 

• Speech: This is one area where he looks like he is following in his momma’s footsteps. I didn’t speak until almost 2 years old {I’ve more than made up for it!} and at 15 months, we have lots of constant babbling, but no words yet!! The doctor doesn’t seem worried yet and I definitely am not, just starting to get a little inpatient wanting to hear that sweet work : momma ;) One of my best friends and college roommate is a speech pathologist and has observed him many times and says he’s right on track, just a little delayed which is natural for a boy {and ME apparently….}. Houston understands many phrases we say and performs commands as well. Some favorites: give me a high five, waves hi and bye A LOT, give the dog a treat, close the door, push the button

 

• Personality : the BEST! We have a sweet, funny, flirty, sneaky, loving little boy on our hands. He is extremely social, loves other kids, and definitley makes his momm and poppa happier than they every thought they could be. It is TRUE how much better my days are just to come home to his smiley, playful face. It is so hard to imagine what in the world life was like before him! I can tell you this, I don’t miss it… 99% of the time at least ;)

 

Kiki and Grand-dad brought him an early Christmas present that he is just CRAZY over!

• loves: tupperware, the dog’s food bowls, dogs in general, looking out windows, his grandparents, sunglasses – but not his own, toy baseball bats and banging on things with them, knocking on doors all over the house and ringing the doorbell at the sitter’s, pulling everything out of it’s container/basket/cabinet/drawer, “talking” on cell phones and the landline house phone, eating, letter magnets on the fridge, bathtime/swimming/water play, throwing things –especially while sitting in his high chair, riding in the car, flashing lights on toys, going for walks in the stroller and “walking the dog” himself {aka holds the leach while sitting in his stroller}, playing patty cake, being tickled, his new Kitchen set, dancing to music, Yo Gabba Gabba and playing peek-a-boo is a million giggles with him!

 

• dislikes: not much. Diaper changes are fought about 50% of the time since he doesn’t want to every sit still. Also, he’s not that fond of the high chair for the same reasons :) Oddly, and thankfully, he does tremendously well in his car seat!

 

Christmas is so much more fun this year getting to see it through the eyes of child again. He is in awe of EVERYTHING!

 

• Foods – Recap: He started eating oatmeal at 4 1/2 months just for “practice” and ate that for a full month before moving on to “real” foods at 5 1/2 months. I’ve made the majority of his babyfood purees and  posted about that adventure recently! Recently, he has moments where no puree entices him and he only wants what’s on our plate, other days, he downs purees and spits out chunky food. He’s nothing if not unpredictable!

 

• We do, however, have a GREAT eater on our hands {for now} and it is very seldom he turns down food {not feeling well, sleepy, teething, etc.} He has NEVER refused to eat a food based on taste, if he rejects it, he’s just not hungry which I can tell because he’ll end up eating every bite of it at another time like it’s his favorite food! I’ve almost shied away from giving him different foods that I thought he would definitely not eat, but he shows me time after time that he’s game for anything. I would say green beans and black beans are his favorites and that he eats veggies MUCH better than fruits. Go figure! Yogurt with some oatmeal is usually our morning staple that he gobbles up better than anything else at that early hour. I found out recently that he LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES egg nog! haha!

 

Spoiled so early – Mimi and Poppy brought him another early Christmas present! He loves sitting like a big boy at his new table in his new playroom…

 

• Sleep: wow! This is more than a long saga at 15 months, but in the past week we pulled our final straw and resorted to crying it out, Ferber style. This takes a post all of it’s own – a long one. Just when it seemed like it wasn’t going to work for us, he began sleeping through the night 11-14 hours straight for 3 nights in a row now and taking longer naps in his crib. This has been nothing short of a miracle for us and I would be a bad bad person if I didn’t share for other momma’s feeling a little hopeless in their personal sleep situation!

 

15 months stats at his doctor appointment on 11.27.12

Height: 33 inches {95-98%}

Weight: 23.2 pounds {50-75%}

Head: 19 1/2 in {98%}

 

He remains our tall, skinny, big headed boy!

 

We love you to pieces, small fry :)

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

a germy covered kind of thankful ;)

 

First and foremost, it HAS to be said, if you are Cyber Monday shopping today, and you’re not using Ebates, you are LOSING money!

You simply click on the store you want to shop at through Ebates website and it redirects you straight to their page and you shop as normal and earn cash back while doing it. It’s amazing! I get a check quarterly and have been doing it for years and kick myself whenever I online shop and FORGET to go through Ebates!! I couldn’t NOT share with you :)

 

 

I have been MIA for 2 weeks now with one very yucky reason:

a nasty case of the stomach virus has spread through out our family – INCLUDING the dog!

 

and guess who was patient zero???

 

ME :(

Sorry, beloved family members!

 

Technically, the dog was first but his wasn’t truly our stomach virus, of course. It was, however, most definitely our fault… 2 weekends ago, we had a baby boy with terrible wheezing, chest congestion and a low grade fever. When we ran out of dog food but had leftover chicken from that week’s chicken and dumplings, it seemed like the PERFECT substitute while we were worrying over and taking care of our sick little boy and having little time for a Petsmart run.

Hendrix happily chowed down on the chicken for a couple days… then it began. Our poor pup was sick from BOTH ends. SICK happened on our beige couch, all over our living room rug, and on our white bedding. This sweet pup NEVER has in door accidents, he is perfectly potty trained and to know he was so sick he couldn’t hold it breaks my heart. In addition, every time our furry white dog actually made it outside, I had to put him in the bathtub and wash his little derriere since the not-so-solid was all caught up in his fur.

DOUBLE-TRIPLE YUCK!

 

Out of all of us who were sick, he is the only one who made it to the doctor. After days of sickness and not eating, we were deeply concerned. A $252 vet bill later, lots of antibiotics he wouldn’t even take and our little pup is all better on his own.

 

Just about the time our babe’s chest congestion cleared up and our dog was all better, this momma started my own middle of the night hug-the-toilet marathon and Nick followed with the virus the next day. THANKFULLY my parents were already here visiting because I have no clue how we would have taken care of Houston between the two of us.

NOT SO THANKFULLY, my parents were actually visiting for my dad’s BIG 60th birthday on Saturday and by Sunday, the birthday boy had caught the virus.

 

We went to church with my sister and brother-in-law in Richmond on Sunday, after dinner we changed and hung out at her house trying to celebrate one very sick Poppy the day after his birthday.

 

Guess who was blessed by the stomach virus next? It looks like when we left my sister’s house, my dad left a present behind for my sister. Victim #4!

 

Thanksgiving came and *thankfully* no one was sick for the holiday! We spent Thursday with my side of the family in Prestonsburg, then were lucky enough to have a second day of Thanksgiving back at our house with Nick’s side of the family on Friday.

 

All of our little turkeys on Thanksgiving morning:

 

 

 

 

 

I even got to experience my very FIRST black Friday shopping experience.

At 10 am, if you just enter the large appliance section of Sears, do your business and get out, it’s quite pleasant actually ;)

A new fridge and stove at a GREAT price? Black Friday SUCCESS!

 

 

Our house had been clear of illness for at least 5 days when my brother-in-law came to stay with us on Friday. He even worked hard along side his brother to clean out our garage and get our 12 foot Christmas tree put up while I was at work on Saturday. He is the best!

Sunday morning came and BAM!, victim #5 was confirmed.

He ended up staying an extra day than he planned and left this morning… I feel like I brought the plague to America and killed off a bunch of the pilgrims right before Thanksgiving.

 

So today, several days late, I am thankful for a *presently* healthy household. That we are normally very healthy and that our little boy never caught the virus nor has ever had one sick visit to the doctor. I feel so blessed that he hasn’t had a single antibiotic yet when I fill them all day long for lots of other sick little ones in the pharmacy.

All of this I say while knocking on wood of course…

 

 

I am thankful for my beyond supportive, tolerate, handsome, funny, LOVING husband and father to my most precious gift, our little boy. I am thankful for our wonderful families who are also extremely supportive and a barrel of monkeys to hang out with. We have been so lucky in this economy and depression to not feel the sting and though I complain about it too often, I am thankful for my job and my husband’s as well!

 

Most of all I am thankful for forgiveness. Our families and my sweet husband are always so forgiving and I am relieved for that because I am most definitely a screw-up. But most of all, I am thankful for Christ who died for our sins so that we may receive a forgiveness we could never deserve. His love for us is amazing and beyond understanding!

 

Here’s to hoping you and yours are avoiding the dreaded stomach bug and your Thanksgiving was just as wonderful!

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

Planning a Playroom & Smocking Beauty Giveaway Winner

 

 

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may or may not have noticed I’ve been pinning like crazy on my {Playroom} board. Art, storage, reading corners and of course – toys, toys, toys!

This coming weekend, while my parents take the little man on a day trip to see my his great-grandparents in Louisville, we will be working diligently to move Nick’s office to a new basement location, the old office will become the new playroom(!), and the family room will look more like a family room again instead of a very messy FAO Schwarz…

 

There is SO much to do, but I am SO excited for Houston. Christmas is coming early this year for one little boy!!

 

Some of my favorite Playroom Pins:

{Sorry, time is short - check my Playroom board for sources!}

 

 

Christmas came early for another little boy today too!:

Comment #82

Meredith’s little boy from the blog, The Life of Riley, won the Smocking Beauty giveaway.

 

Meredith, email me at robertslove {at} live {dot} com and I’ll hook you up with your prize!

 

Now from one job to another… at home mom/wife/blogger has to go spend some time in the pharmacy ;) Be back soon, friends!

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

Foodie Friday and Disney DVD Giveaway Winner

 

Love chicken salad but not all those crazy extra calories and fat after you’ve demolished a delicious extra large bowl of it? The secret is replacing mayonnaise with yogurt! Trust me, you won’t even notice and you’ll be thanking me later when you still fit in those jeans ;)

 

My ingredients are simple to list but as for portions, I’ve never truly measured, just usually eyeball it and make it to my own tastes... so if you like less celery, more grapes, prefer chopped pecans instead of walnuts, by all means alter it! I usually try to make a little more than what I’ve listed below so we have leftovers for a couple more lunches. We LOVE this chicken salad!

 

{as for the yogurt instead of lots of fatty mayonnaise – I’ve never missed the latter and like I said, even the hubby loves this healthy version of chicken salad!}

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked & shredded/chopped skinless chicken breast
• 3 stalks chopped celery
• 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
• 1 cup chopped apple
• 1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 TBS fat-free mayonnaise
• 2 packets Splenda (or a no-calorie sweetener of your choice)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• dash of salt and pepper
• lemon juice

*Makes about 4 servings.

 

Directions:
*Boil the chicken, let cool, then **shred or chop. Mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise, sweetener, lemon pepper seasoning, and salt. Coat the chicken with this mixture, and then stir in the chopped celery, grape halves, and chopped apple. Sprinkle with your desired amount of chopped walnuts then let the salad chill in the fridge for at least a 1/2 – 1 hour. Then TRY to remember to SHARE once you start inhaling this wildly delicious chicken salad!

 

Celery chopped and grapes halved:

 

I was so proud of peeling my apple in one long continuous peel… it’s the little things ;)

 

Don’t have a handy dandy peeler or apple corer thingy? You gotta get one! I love mine, especially when it comes time to make a big ol’ batch of baby food, life is made easier – especially the peeler for not just apples, but sweet potatoes, white potatoes, parsnips, whole carrots, etc.

 

 

 

 

*As for boiling the chicken, I use skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and usually bring to a boil then turn down to medium heat, covering the pot and letting it simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink.

 

**Now here’s the COOL part I learned for easily shredding the chicken for ANY recipe that calls for it:

Once the chicken is finished cooking,drain and toss it in your Kitchen Aid mixer with beater attachment {and put your bowl shield on} then turn it up and watch in awe as your chicken is shredded to perfection!

 

 

 

Ahhhhhhhhh-mazing!

 

 

Can you believe I forgot to take a final picture of the scrumptious finished product?!

Blogger FAIL.

 

So either use your imagination or trust me when I say it looks something like this one:

 

{Source}

 

 

Now are you ready for the Disney DVD winner?

 

 

It’s comment #87 - Stevy from The Rest is Still Unwritten. I love this girl and was so excited when she {honestly} was randomly selected!!

    Stevy, please email me you mailing address as soon as possible so Disney can get your package to you and your precious little girl who is just going to LOVE it :)

 

Have a great weekend! It’s supposed to be 70 degrees here in Lexington tomorrow – I can’t wait♥

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

Ultimate Collector’s Edition Disney DVD Giveaway!

 

 

 

I was so excited when Disney sent me a copy of Brave to review before it’s release is even out next Tuesday! I had been loving the previews with the red-headed lead role – who I found out once I watched IS actually a princess in the movie. A brave, go against the traditional, tough, kick-butt princess.

Did I mention red-headed?

Totally my favorite since Disney gal since Ariel hit the scene ;)

 

 

 

I love the whole movie’s cast of Scottish accents!

Did I even mention my heritage is Scottish? Or that I have red-hair? Did Disney know this when they contacted me?????

 

 

This movie had such a great story based mostly on two great story lines:

• A girl doing what “a girl isn’t suppose to” in a man’s world
• a tumultuous loving relationship between a mother and a growing young lady

 

Perfect for your daughters AND your son’s – teach ‘em while they’re young…

 

I was blown away by how much was in the DVD case when it arrived too!

 

 

Ultimate collector’s edition 5 Disk Combo includes:

• 3-D Blu-ray Disc
• Original Blu-ray Disc
• Blu-ray Bonus Features
• NON Blu-ray Disc
• The digital copy DVD for download to your iPad/computer/phone etc so you’re not pulling your hair out trying to convert it for your kiddo’s viewing pleasure away from home!!

 

 

 

Jealous? Don’t be! Enter my FLASH giveaway {winner announced TOMORROW!} and win a collector’s pack for yourself!

As usual, you must be a follower of this blog to enter the giveaway. Leave a comment to enter and a separate additional comment for each of the following for extra chances to win:

 

“Like” A Blue-Eyed Boy Met a Brown-Eyed Girl’s Facebook Page

Follow me on Pinterest

Share the link to the giveaway on your Facebook or Twitter

 

 

 

May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

 

P.S. Winners will be announced this Monday for the Smocked Clothing giveaway… don’t miss your chance for that picture perfect precious get-up for your little one’s Christmas photos!

 

{I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are my own.}

The Homestead 1766

 

 

I am SO very lucky to be married to an incredibly talented, handsome husband who just so happens to work for an amazing company that treated us and a group of others to a long 4 day weekend at The Homestead Resort a few weeks ago♥

 

We took a route there that was just a tad bit out of the way so I could see my old stomping ground from pharmacy school. It’s been 3 1/2 years since I graduated, which feels more like AT LEAST a decade since I was there.

This is just one of the gorgeous buildings nestled in the hills of Virginia – while I waxed nostalgic that day, I never EVER wish to be back in pharmacy school, only for a reunion with the great friends I made there!

 

 

We even drove by my old apartment… this is where Nick proposed to me!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh the memories♥

 

…and we got to witness America’s first two story Walmart, built after I graduated… BIG stuff in this extremely small town.

 

OK, onto the trip I was telling you about.

If you haven’t heard about the The Homestead, I truly suggest visiting their website. It is AMAZING and steeped with history. It opened in 1766 and many U.S. presidents have vacationed here, most famously Thomas Jefferson frequented the resort.

 

 

The lobby had me imaging all the “greats” that have walked through those grand halls!

 

Our room:

 

Our little balcony – so quaint:

 

The colors of the fall surrounded us on the entire drive as well as every activity we took part in that weekend – fall, as you MAY know, is MY FAVORITE so I was  in heaven!

 

 

 

We had no agenda while we were there, just ENJOY and take part in whatever we pleased. We were just plain excited about the over abundance of uninterrupted sleep we were going to get on this trip, but the excursions turned out to be true adventures!

 

The first morning there, Nick went golfing on their beautiful, pro course while I went horse back riding with friends:

 

My horse Roanie… good times old friend, good times.

 

Then we shot a little skeet :)

 

 

Christine and I at the top of a mountain overlook. I really wish you could take in the whole scenic view in the picture, it was breathtaking.

 

I’m loving the panoramic picture option on the new iPhone…

 

Night time fun hanging out – got a little goofy…

 

On Saturday morning the company held an awards banquet… the president of the company borrowed this picture from my Facebook for Nick’s award slide – we laughed HARD when this showed up in the Powerpoint. Sneaky, sneaky, Tony!

 

SO proud of my baby!

 

We couldn’t travel all the way to Hot Springs, Virginia without visiting the Jefferson Pools. What a wild experience!

 

These “pools” are natural warm springs with the buildings set around them built in 1761. Thomas Jefferson and his wife frequented them often for their “healing” powers. There is a “ladies” and “gentlemen” pool, but they are both co-ed these days with the exception of a few hours during the day.

 

Our “changing” room to get in our swimsuits… it was COLD outside and those cracks in the boards you see are pouring in the outside air. We could only laugh!

 

We swam in the “gentlemen’s” pool which is deeper than the ladies. They provide pool noodles for your floating enjoyment ;)

 

Our friends, Christine and Nick in the year round 97 degree water. It was really comfortable once you were in. The floor of the pools are only smooth rocks, the water bubbles up NATURALLY from the ground… so weirdly wonderful!

It also smells like sulpher – yummmmmmm.

 

The ceiling of the pool here - it seemed like a strong wind could blow this rickety old building down on us at any time. But we didn’t let that scare us away from the experience ;)

 

Clean and “healed” after our sulpher baths:

 

What else is there to do after you’ve been magically invigorated by the springs than a swanky dinner back at the resort?!

 

 

 

Christine and I wanted just ONE last shot in the ballroom where we had breakfast every morning… I ask you, is this real life???

 

We went home with mixed emotions. Sad to leave but so excited to see our boy again!

It didn’t hurt that the views on the road trip kept me very content to be such a lucky, lucky girl.

 

Thanks to Christine and Nick, we also got to enjoy AWESOME cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes on the trip home, better known as “D.C. Cupcakes” for their TLC hit show with the same title. Great end to a great trip!

 

We shall be back, Homestead!

 

XOXO,

Stephanie

 

P.S. – Don’t miss our smocked clothing giveaway going on right now!