21 months and a big change!

Tomorrow I officially go back to work! I am nervous, excited, sad, happy and everything in between! I get to go back to work for a company that I have worked for before and grew up visiting as a child.....and most importantly that I LOVE! Sully will be starting his 1st day of full time preschool....wow...it will be a huge change for him but I know after he gets adjusted he will Love it! Our little man is growing up so fast! He counts to 5, can show you on his fingers 1, 2 and 5, speaks in short 3-4 word sentences, repeats EVERYTHING, loves playing with his choo choo, Schleich animals, cars and anything outside. He says thank you or thanks, your welcome or welcome, bless you and sometimes we can get a sweet please. tantrums have started, mostly when he is hungry or tired, he still loves flirting and being affectionate.....when i leave him with josh to go to the grocery store he says mama back constantly....tomorrow and the coming weeks will be tough on us so please say a little prayer that he adjusts quickly! I hope to update more soon but for now I am off to get his stuff ready for school!

He is the most precious, handsome little boy and we are so thankful that God picked us to be his parents!

Gobble Gobble

Our little princess

We have a new addition to the family..........no it's not a baby!


Meet Sully's princess....he picked this out at a toy store in Florida. He loves her and takes her everywhere....Josh is not so in love with hermit sheeted does make Sully happy! I don't even know where he picked up the word princess. When he looses her he calls out to her as he searches for her....in hopes that she will call back at him. He also tells her to walk and places her on her feet. At night he tucks her into bed and says nigh night princess. He is so sweet!

Mann museum

Since it was a rainy day we decided to head into town. We went to the Mann wildlife museum and hat lots of fun!

I have to admit it was a little creepy with all the stuffed animals and low lighting. But all Sully could say was WOW! he loved it and was amazed at every turn!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I love Clifford the big red dog!

 

Tonight when we went in his room to go night night he grabbed Clifford and waved goodbye to me as I began tucking him in. I took that as my cue to leave....usually when I walk out while he is WIDE awake he cries. But, not tonight! he continued waving at me as I closed the door and turned out the lights. As I watched him on the monitor I realized how quickly my baby boy is growing up. I am so proud of him for being such a big boy! I crept into his room about 30 minutes later and this is what I found....so of course I had to bravely sneak back in with my camera and bright flash to take a picture! He slept right through it!

The boy who doesn't slow down

Sully is crazy busy ALL the time. If he is not running, spinning circles around things, chasing dogs, jumping on furniture, banging toys on things or eating he is more than likely asleep! He is constantly in motion no matter where we are. I can't even begin to explain how excited he is about everything too. He loves learning new things and I love watching him grasp new concepts, actions and words. He is talking up a storm...his word count is over 70 now and he is able to answer lots of questions and make small sentances (2-3 words). He has lots of new teeth coming in and has started waking a lot at night because of it. Poor baby! At his 18 month checkup he weighed 22.2 lbs (10%), 31.4 in tall (50%), and 19 in (80%) head. The doctor seems to think he needs to drink pediasure to put on a few pounds....I explained to him that it was the Hornsby metabolism and that he already eats everything all day! But I got some anyway to the tune of $13 which is completely ridiculous....sadly no coupons....and Sully hates them! So I am not going to worry and let him be his own little healthy self...10% and all!

Big boy bed and a potty obsession

Sully started climbing out of his crib last week in addition to waking every other hour....screaming! So in an effort to curb any falls I decided to move one of our guest bed mattresses into his room. I didn't want to jump the gun and get a full on toddler bed yet so for know he is sleeping Montessori style....fancy way of saying his mattress is on the floor....and loving it! The past three nights he has slept until almost 7am and wakes up happy, playing and laughing at the door until I come and get him. I have been deciding on big boy room decor for a while and have narrowed down some options....but for now we will not disturb my sleeping man with any more changes!

For the past few months sully has been very interested in his diaper and tugs at it and tells you or hides when he is going to the bathroom. Last week he successfully took his dirty diaper off and decided to paint himself...GROSS! once he realized what he had done he was horrified and not happy at all, can you blame him? He even says bath and runs to the bathroom when he is going. I always take him and strip him down and let him sit on his potty but we are always to late. Once he perfects his timing I think he will be a breeze to potty train. I have been told to just let him wear big boy underwear and see how he does....it will be messy but I think we can do it. If any of you hAve suggestions I would love to hear them!

Sweet Taylor

Josh's sweet cousin Taylor was in a terrible car accident last weekend and remains in ICU at UAB....we ask that you all send loving thoughts her way and continue to keep her in your prayers. She is such a strong, beautiful, kind, loving, funny young woman....God has been so good to her and has continued to lay His hand on her and her family through this difficult time. Miracles are happening every day for her and the doctors are amazed every day at how she is progressing in her recovery!! God is good and I know He has big plans for her!!!

A blog has been set up to keep everyone up to date on her recovery....please follow her and show her you are supporting her in prayer!

Julie (Taylor's Mom), Taylor and Sully....Easter 2011

www.prayfortaylor.blogspot.com

Back on the wagon

Whew....we have been busy! Updates will be frequent for the next few days! With all the stuff going on the past month couponing was put on the backburner. I have to admit it was kind of relaxing just going shopping without preparing, that is until I got to the register to pay for everything! I probably spent three months worth of my typical coupon budget in just a few short weeks! I got back into it this weekend and did great! I love seeing the $$ fall off at the end of a transaction!! Here is what I got:

6 Nivea Body wash (men and women)
1 suave body wash
2 freshmate tubs
1 cottonelle tub
8 oral b toothbrushes
2 crest pro health toothpaste
3 baileys coffee creamers
1 gallon milk
1 loaf wheat bread
1 kraft mayo
1 playtex cars sippy
2 morningstar corn dog
2 morningstar chicken tenders
2 always liners
1 box tampax
1 box playtex
2 edge shave gel
4 skintimate shave cream
1 walgreens tampons
2 scunci ponytail holders
2 irish spring deodorant
1 8ct mens shick razors
1 8ct womens shick razors

I did a few trips, 2 to cvs, 1 to walgreens and 1 to publix. I have started couponing for my mother in law too which is why there are some higher amounts of products. I did my 2 cvs trips at two different stores so I wouldn't get all of anything....but I will say both cvs' near our house were fully stocked with tons of sale items! Nice to see they have finally started ordering more for upcoming ads!!

So my grand total spent out of pocket was:::::::::: 41.21
Total Tax:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::11.18
Total Savings::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::135.40
Total extra care bucks and register rewards to spend later:::::::::::::::::32.50

So I basically paid 8.71 for ALL of that stuff!!! Great way to get back in the swing of things!!!

On a side note......you may not see a lot of fruits and veggies on my shopping trips....that is because our garden of fresh fruits and veggies is doing great!  We are also trading neighbors and friends! What a great way to save money!!

almost forgot how to blog....

where have we been, all over the place! Since my last post Sully has been to the zoo with Cumpaw and Grammie D, lots of fun playdates and lunch dates, desota caverns, hanging out with Nona, the lake about 10 times, Nana and Papa's farm, swimming and grilling at Mort and Papa D's, dinners and puppy chasing at Pop Pop and Lala's, visiting with his Great Oamu and Aunt Karen and getting to hang out with his Great Gran and Pops and so much more!!! He still loves riding in the car so it has made all of our trips fun and mostly stress free!

He is loving the garden and watching the chickens peck around.....I haev noticed the older he gets the less I am taking pictures, mostly bc I am literally chasing him around ALL the time! What a blessing to have such a sweet, healthy and active little boy! He is a complete ham and cheeses it up when the camera does come out!

He has added a few new words like night night and even I love you when he gives hugs sometimes. Bye bye is being used quite a lot, as well as uh-oh. He has two new teeth and LOVES brushing all 8 of them every day. he is mastering the fork and spoon like a champ but seems to eat less than he used to. The dr said that is fine and that he is right on track and will eat what he needs to and not to worry....but as all mommas know you can't help but worry when its your child! I think he is just so excited about exploring everything that he does not have time to sit and eat dinner, or any meal for that matter so we pack his meals with lots of fruits and veggies to make sure he is getting what his body needs! He was 21lb 9oz and 30.5in at his 15 month check up last month so he is definitely growing!

I have finally gotten back into running some, well right now it is more like a walk/jog because my knees are giving me some trouble, but I am happy to be at it again after such a long break! We try to go first thing in the morning bc it is so dang hot! Plus the neighborhood dogs are less likely to be out that early and I don't have to worry about getting chased! We have a busy month ahead with weddings, lake trips and a trip to Birmingham to see family and friends. I will try to take more pics and be better about posting them! One would have thought that once I finished school I would have more time for stuff like this but that is not the case anymore!

Until next time, hope you all have a wonderful weeK!!

Wordless Wednesday

Crayons...Pools and Puppies....

Sully is a mouth baby, there is no denying it! EVERYTHING goes into his mouth at least once a day. Crayons are no exception. This is why I have waited until recently to introduce him to the wonderful world of Crayola! Thank you to crayola for making washable crayons because Sully has decided everything needs to be colored! Here he is enjoying his new hobby!

his Cumpa and Grammie D were sweet enough to bring him a swimming pool last weekend! The water was a little to cool but that didn't stop him from splashing around!

Our poor doggies get no mentions now, but this is what they have to deal with when they are roaming free. Sully loves "feeding" them and picking them up!

Friday Finals

Publix Trip

(2) Kibbles & Bits Dog food
(2) Ritz Crackers
(2) Ritz Sandwich Snacks
(1) Publix Gallon Milk
(1) Publix Honey Wheat Bread
(1) Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
(4) Beech Nut Mini Meals
(1) Mylicon Drops
(1) Publix grape jelly
(1) Wisk Detergent
(2) yoPlait Fiber One Yogurt 4pk
Total OOP: 12.72 Total Saved: 47.53


CVS TRip
(2) Planter Peanuts
(2)Ritz crackerfuls
(3) Smartwater
(10 12pack Coke
(20 Crest ProHealth Toothpaste
Total OOP: 3.12 Total Saved: 37.43 ECB Remaining: $10

Total Spending for week: 15.84Total Saved:84.96

13 month Update

britches LOVES our new house and new yard for the doggies because he can run outside and play with them! His favorite thing to do is feed skye leaves which he thinks are important to her diet. She graciously licks them off of his sweet little fingers and he cracks up! He really is so happy 98% of the time....everything is funny and he is such a ham!! Here are some things he is up to:::::::

::::dancing at even the hint of music....he loves all music
::::clapping
::::stomping around the house
::::talking on the phone
::::knocking on the door over and over again saying "rehro" his version of hello
:::new word is banana
:::climbing on ABSOLUTELY everything, it is a nightmare to contain this child for real!
:::sliding on his new slide
:::giving high fives
:::panting at the dogs when he sees them
:::spinning in circles (at first we thought he was chasing his shadow, then realized he just enjoys getting dizzy)
:::shaking his head no when you tell him no, then laughing and doing what he isn't supposed to! he totally knows what it means and is becoming very independent and slightly defiant....any tips on how to handle would be appreciative!!

We are working on many changes to Sullys routine, like getting back into his crib. Last night Josh took him to his crib and since we really can't take listening to his sad cries, we are trying something new. By we, I mean Josh, because lets be honest by the end of the day I am exhausted and would much rather just put him in bed with is because I KNOW he will fall asleep. So, Josh took him back and read him not one but seven books and he finally drifted off to sleep. he only cried for the first few minutes and then he just watched and listened to Josh. I did this method today at nap time and he did great. His schedule now consists of bed around 9, up around 8, 2 hour nap around 11am and then a late nap between 4-5 that usually lasts a hour, sometimes longer. we are still nursing before bed and when he gets up and will be dropping the morning nursing very soon. I know some of you are thinking what the what??? But I swear I will not be nursing a pre-k student! I commend the women who do and fully believe it is the best thing for them, but I just don't think extended nursing is for us. Josh and I used to joke that when Sully could walk up to me and pull my shirt, the nursing ended and I think we are officially at that point. I have enjoyed every minute of being able to nurse him and am so thankfully that it is what has worked best for us....but the end is drawing near. My goal is by 15 months to have him fully off the boob....wish us luck because that before bed feeding is going to be a tough one!

On a side note, I celebrated my 29th birthday this week. While it may have seemed uneventful to the younger self, it was the perfect birthday for my 29 year old self! Josh and I spent the day getting some things done around the house, I went shopping (by myself, very exciting!!!) and our little family of 3 grilled some delicious rib-eyes. Wouldn't change it for anything!!! My boys also got me some gorgeous flowers to make the day even better!


Say a little prayer for Josh next week....he will be having an interview with a great company that I shall not name doing the thing he absolutely loves!!

Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!!!

Friday Finals

This was a big week for me! I don't think I have ever done this many trips....there are also items not included in pics like milk, white bread, tomatoes and the lysol no touch hand soap system. That thing is AWESOME! I will donate a lot this week and bought some stuff just for that, like the tena pads that i actually made 2.50 on! I wont go into detail and list everything so here are my totals,,,,,

Total Out of Pocket:  30.04               Total Saved: 189.03

I had my first trip to Rite Aid this week and am so glad I live close to one now! The rite Aid, Publix, Walgreens and CVS are all within less than a mile of each other so it is super convenient to get everything done at once.....obviously we go before or after little man's nap, otherwise it would not be possible!

Not trying to annoy you with all these posts...i finally figured out how to blog from my palm..yay! Here is Sully testing out his new woogie thanks to LG's advice! It is a stuffed thing that holds an ipod or iphone so the little ones can play with it. Minus all the drool and dropping! It is made bygriffin if you are interested in on.e

Testing....

Friday Finals

Here is what I got this week from Publix.....

(2) Lysol AntiBac Kitchen Cleaners
(2) Lysol All Purpose Triggers
(4) Voskos Yogurts
(1) Mountain Dew (took Josh with me)
((2) Yoplait Smoothie Mix
((4) Sargento Shredded Cheese
((3) Birdseye Frozen veggies
(2) Nabisco Graham Crackers
(1) Dozen Publix Eggs
(3) Pegriee Dentastix Dog Treats
(2) 4.5lb Pedigree Dog Food
(1) Land O Lakes Sliced Honey Ham
(2) Bush's Kidney Beans
(1) Bananas
(1) $50 gas Card

Total Spent: 51.18
Total Saved: 81.95

I also went buy Walgreens this afternoon and got 2-pedia care fever reducers for only $0.38!

Friday Finals

The move put a slight delay on my shopping, plus there really has not been that much we needed, my stockpile is looking great! Now I am only shopping for staples and freebies, or close to freebies!

I managed to squeeze in 2 trips to Publix, one trip to CVS and score a great deal on baby wipes from Amazon!
Total Out of Pocket: $17.38
Total Saved: 113.45

I have to say this was a great week for me...paying only 3.48 for all 3 packages of baby wipes was by far my favorite deal of the week....thanks to the $10 Amazon Baby code found in one of our baby mags!! The CVS trip was great too, I actually made $2 to take all that stuff in the 1st picture home!! I also had to get bananas and whole milk for munchkin this week, forgot to add them in the pic!

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

We have moved!

yep, we moved! We had an opportunity to make some changes and have moved to the country, outside of Montgomery. We really like it, it is where I grew up and it is so pretty out here. definitely not Little Texas but we will grow to love it just as much! Josh is on the hunt for the nearest pond to go fishing and we are both glad the move is over. I can't tell you how stressful the past month has been between packing, working and chasing around little man. But we got it done and can finally relax a little. The area we lived in before had HORRIBLE schools and our only other option for Sully was to send him to private school. I went to private school and loved it, but it is expensive and we really would like to have more kids and that would mean it was not an option. home school scares me so that is a definite no. Our new home is 5 minutes from a brand new elementary school and there are plans to build more new schools too. We have lots of hopes and dreams for our new journey and know that God has some great things planned for us!

12 Month Stats....

Sorry we are behind...we have had a lot going on!

We went for Sully's 12 month appt Feb15 and he is doing great! he weighed 20lb4oz and is 29 1/4 in tall. Doc gave us the go ahead to turn him around in his big boy car seat and he is loving it!! he is talking up a storm and exploring everything he possible can. He loves to climb everything, luckily he has not climbed out of his crib or pack n play yet! He got his 1st haircut recently and looks like such a big boy!

Belated Birthday Post

Our sweet little man turned 1 on February 11th! We had a birthday party at our church with close family and a few of Sully's friends. Everything was great and Sully loved all the attention and of course the cake!! Here are some pictures of the Birthday Boy!!

.

11 months...........

 Munchkin is 11 months and continues to amaze me each day with the fun things he is learning and skills he is mastering! He weighs right at 20lbs and has got two sturdy feet that take him exploring everywhere! He is still eating everything and loves trying new things like lemons, pickles,catfish, hush puppies and cookies! Last weekend one of his friends had their 1st birthday and I finally caved in and let him have a sugar cookie with frosting. Yes, I have been weird about giving him sugary sweets....but I figured he needed some practice for his birthday that will be here VERY soon! We have birthday parties from now until the middle of February for all his friends from group and I still can't believe our babies are turning one so soon! He has gotten used to sleeping in his crib and now enjoys it much more! Sully now has 6 teeth and his hair is getting so long. I think we will still wait a while to get it cut though, I think little boys with longer hair is so cute.

As far as birthday preparations go we are going with an owl theme. I have decided for some strange reason to hand make each invitation, his birthday banner, birthday hats and favors. What the hell was I thinking??? I was considering making the cake, well actually cupcakes, but have decided I would go insane if I took all of that on. I can't wait to see how everything comes together!

Friday Finals...a day late!

We haven't really needed much lately but there were some great deals this week....here is what we got.....

12 birdseye Steamfresh veggies
4 boxes special k cereal
4 twin packs of beech nut lets grow mini meals
2 yoplait smoothie mixes
2 boxes garden delight pasta noodles
2 healthy harvest pasta noodles
3 packages texas toast croutons
1 publix brand laundry detergent
1 johnson & johnson head to toe lotion
1 peter pan peanut butter

total spent 8.15 total saved 63.47