super trace

... and we're on the move!

Trace is go go go these days and has mastered the peg-legged crawl.

I've been patiently waiting for him to be mobile and now that he is I am loving it.

And most importantly, Trace loves it.
He picks out his toys, explores the house and plays with Cali.

My favorite is when he pulls up on our ottoman and all I can see are his eyes and the top of his head.

Isn't he just the cutest little bat baby you've ever seen?

Cape and all.

Suuuuuper Trace!

clearwater beach

Last weekend needs no explanation.

Happy Friday!

baby's 1st green beer festival

With his middle name being Jameson, we know that St. Patricks Day will always be special for Trace.
 And he made quite an impression at our local St. Paddys Day festival this year!

The little dude was such a hit -- he had strangers everywhere telling him how cool he looked.

Don't let these pictures fool you!

Trace appears to have quite the attitude, but I assure you that it's all a facade.

It's like he took on the persona of his 'look' for the day.

Because in reality, this kid couldn't have an attitude if he tried.

He is the sweetest, happiest baby... always smiling and wanting to be held.

But he totally looked too cool all day!

I kind of feel like St. Patrick's Day is mine and Maran anniversary.

We met the week prior to the holiday in 2012 and this festival is where we introduced our husbands.

It's safe to say that it's only taken us 2 years to finally take a good picture together!

Just our luck that port-o-potty's are in the background...

charleston, sc

Bryan and I recently left Trace at home with my parents and headed to Charleston, SC.
I've been there several times, but this was Bryan's first time there.
I'm going to be totally honest here and say that we aren't very impressed by the area.
It isn't really our seen and it's way smaller than I remember it being.
But it was nice to get away together and I'm sure that we'll definitely go back again at some point!

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but there's a town called Hanahan very close to Charleston.
Hanahan was my last name up until last year.
It's a name that defined me (still does) and I miss it every damn day.
I actually only changed my last name once I became pregnant... for family unity and all.
So every time that I go to Charleston, I make sure to do a drive-by of the town of Hanahan.
I mean, I feel like a pretty big deal there. Haha!

*If you're southern, please don't get offended by me not liking Charleston. I understand that it's a really unpopular thing to say, but I'm just being honest here. It's very similar to people saying that they don't care for Laguna Beach or San Diego. I don't get offended at all when people don't like towns/cities in socal. To each their own, right?

their love is real

Check out that eye contact above.

Staring each other down and then pouncing is the name of the game!

I mean, these two are equally obsessed with one another. 

They provide each other with endless entertainment all while nurturing their fairly new friendship.

Trace has never laughed harder or longer than he does when he's playing with his sissy.

They both move pretty fast these days and have fun teasing and tormenting one another.

Cali constantly "punks" him and Trace falls for it every time.

She also drops her toy on top of him, expecting him to throw it for her.

One day, sweet Cali, one day...

"I will chase you dooooown little doggy..."

random advice for soon to be and new mamas

This is the advice that no one gave me...

1. If you have a 2 story house, get 2 Diaper Genies. I'm sure that your child's nursery is decorated to perfection and you have a vision of walking up your stares to change every diaper on their beautiful changing table, but when the reality of having a newborn in your house sets in (or a heavy 19 lb. 8 month old), you will not walk up the stares to change most diapers. You just won't. Take my advice and just buy a Diaper Genie for downstairs also. We have a make shift changing table set up in our downstairs guest bedroom that includes a changing mat, wipes, diapers and a Diaper Genie. I change 75% of diapers here and Bryan changes 100% of them. (I must come clean, someone did give me this advice and it was the best advice ever!) Life. Changing. I tell ya!

2. Don't spend a lot of money on 0-3 month clothes. When you are expecting, you have this grandiose idea of dressing your baby up in the cutest clothes daily. Truth be told, you won't. If you have a spring/summer baby, it is so hot outside that all your baby really needs or wants on is a onesie (on overdressed baby is a hot, screaming baby). If you have a fall/winter baby, your newborn will spend most of their days in pj's and sleep and plays. Save your money and put it toward clothing for an older baby -- a baby that has had some of their shots, leaves the house more often and/or is in daycare . 3-6, 6-9 and 12 month stuff is incredibly cute and you'll find yourself wanting to dress your older baby in actual outfits more and more!

3. Baby shorts aren't sized correctly. Pants are good enough, depending on the brand and the size of your baby. But when it comes to shorts, well... This past summer when Trace was 2 months old, he could only wear newborn shorts. He was in newborn shorts until he was 4 months old. Now that Trace is 8.5 months old he can finally wear his  0-3 and 3-6 month shorts that were bought for him to wear last summer.

4. Invest in travel coffee mugs. Just face it, hot coffee is a thing of the past. Finishing up a cup of coffee that hasn't been reheated in the microwave at least twice is a thing of the past. Your baby is quite a demanding little boss and you must tend to their needs in the most timely of manners. This means you'll have 3 sips of coffee and need to change a diaper. Come back to your coffee, have 1 more sip and your baby starts to cry. By the time you're done soothing them, your coffee is ice cold. So in the microwave it goes.... and repeat! Fast forward a couple of months... Once your baby starts flailing their arms, they will knock over your coffee. And once they are alert enough to recognize your mug, they will constantly want it. So put your beloved coffee mugs away for the time being and start drinking your morning coffee out of travel mugs. Not only can you close the lid to ensure it stays warm, but you can also prevent much spillage from happening. Because it will.

5. Never use the doorbell. You will quickly learn that the doorbell is the devil and that anyone who uses it clearly has never had a sleeping baby in their house. Make sure to always ask anyone coming over to knock on the door or better yet, when you still have a newborn in the house consider putting a sign near your door asking people to knock or just come right in. And from here on out, you will always knock on your friends doors. Waking a newborn or napping baby for no reason is so not cool!

6. Sophie. Oh Sophie. Ever since we broke her out when Trace was about 3 months old, Sophie has been a lifesaver for Trace and a quest for Cali. Sophie is a great product for a teething baby, but she has an unnecessary squeaker inside her that makes every dog that's ever lived with a baby go absolutely nuts for her. Cali has been obsessive over Sophie for months, and she's practically knocked Trace out of his swing (when he was tiny) for her, so I finally caved in last week and officially gave her over to Cali. I gave up and lost the battle. Now that expensive $20 teether is a dog toy -- the most expensive dog toy Cali has ever and will ever own! And I must add that there is a Sophie teether that does not have a squeaker. It's different than the original, but we have that one too and Trace likes it... especially when I attached his beloved linking rings to it.

7. Moms On Call. Everyone has a different theory, program or lack their of when it comes to transitioning their baby into this world. Thanks to many blogger recommendations, I've followed the Moms On Call method and have had great success with Trace. I'm not making any promises, but I definitely suggest purchasing a copy of the book to have on hand once your little bundle of joy arrives.

8. NoseFrida. Do yourself a favor and purchase this asap. And combine it with a saline spray. I use this one. Just trust me on this one...

9. 9 months on, 9 months off. Is true for some of us. And that's totally okay! Your body just made a human being --  remember that and cut yourself some slack.

10. Baby food. Make your own. Not only is it extremely healthy for your baby (zero preservatives, fresh, organic), but it's seriously so incredibly easy and you'll save boat loads of money. I didn't buy into any of the notions that I needed "special" baby food making appliances or anything like that. Use what you have at home -- I use a Magic Bullet and ice cube trays from Dollar Tree. Truuuuuust me... if I can do it, you can do it! 

8 months

8 months as of February 26, 2014

Weight - 19 pounds 2 ounces

Clothes: You are wearing all 6-9 month or 6-12 month clothes. Your pj's are all 9 month and you're still in size 3 diapers.

Sleep: You sleep from approx. 7:00pm-7:00am and go down for a nap at 9:00am and 1:00pm. Both naps range anywhere between 1-2 hours long, with your first nap generally being your longest. 

Health: You've now had you cranial band on for a long 10 weeks and thankfully you graduate out of it on Friday. We are so ready to be done with it. Your head shape is much more fluid, but unfortunitely it's not perfect, which is what we were really hoping for. All in all, we've had a great experience at Cranial Tech, are happy with the results and would recommend getting a DOC band to anyone who's child needs ones. I hate the fact that you were born with torticollis, but it could always be much worse. You still have eczema patches on your shoulders, a small one on your face near your mouth and I've just recently discovered a couple new patches on your legs. It seems like just when one patch clears up another pops up somewhere else. Also, your baby acne on your right cheek comes and goes in waves -- some days you have it, others you don't.

Diet: You still get 4 bottles/day and eat 3 meals/day. You're on Similac Sensitive. You take 3 6 oz. bottles throughout the day (7:30am, 11:00am and 3:00pm) and 1 8oz. bottle as your last bottle at 6:30pm. You eat rice or oatmeal cereal at 8:15am. I make all of your baby food out of organic vegetables and fruits and have made sweet potato, green bean, peas, carrot, squash, red apple, fugi apple, banana and pear thus far. We've added meats into the mix - chicken, turkey and beef. You love everything! You kick your feet and flail your arms, out of pure excitement, when we put you in your highchair. You open up your mouth nice and wide when you're ready for your next bite and are often done eating within 5 minutes. You just love food and are such an incredible eater! You eat lunch at 12:15pm and dinner at around 5:00pm. You're getting better with your hands and are able to feed yourself Gerber Organic Yogurt Melts (strawberry banana) and Happy Baby Puffs (spinach apple). I've given you noodles (you were unsure about them, but ultimately liked) and fresh strawberries (you hated them, gave sour face and gagged).

 Baby Gear Love: Baby Einstein jumper, Britax b-ready stroller, Fisher Price space saver, Tiny Love play mat, Aden + Anais lovie, Itzy Ritzy shopping cart cover

Likes: smiling, talking, sucking fingers, playing with Cali, baby food, getting a diaper change, going on walks, playing with all of your toys, sitting up, falling over and onto your belly, standing, fake coughing, blowing raspberries

Dislikes: boredom, Nose Frida, dirty diaper, cutting teeth

Crying: You still aren't a major crier, but you definitely have your moments. Obviously teething has made you a bit more irritable, but it really wasn't all that bad. You mainly cry or whine out of frustration/boredom, when you want your diaper changed or you accidentally fall over and bump your head on the carpet while sitting up. And this crying only lasts until Dad or I remedy the situation, which usually takes just a few seconds.

Milestones: You cut 1 more tooth this month - front upper left - making it a total of 4 teeth in that cute little mouth of yours. Although you still don't roll around, you did finally roll from stomach to back for the 1st time, and you've only done it that one time. With that being said, you've started sitting up. You sit all the time and are really good at going from laying on your stomach to sitting to falling back down onto your stomach again. You do this over and over and over again. You're so strong and you go up/down flawlessly and effortlessly. You have also mastered the Army Crawl, in that you're able to scoot/drag your entire body across the floor to retrieve a toy, to get Cali or to satisfy your curiosity. You are so good at it that I know that you'll be crawling in no time.

Dear Trace, I've never known a happier baby than you (disregard the above picture when reading ;). You get so much satisfaction out of a simple smile and you hand them out to anyone who looks your way. When out in public I often get told how happy and smiley you are. This makes my heart flutter because I know that in that very moment, you - an 8 month old - have brought a complete stranger joy. And you bring that joy to Dad and I over and over again throughout our days. All I have to do is give you a quick glance and your face lights up. Your smile is contagious. You shine. I said this very early on and I continue to say it -- At the end of the day my mouth hurts... it hurts from smiling at you and with you all day long. And now that you have 4 teeth, that smile of yours has gotten even more cute. More cute? I thought that was impossible! Boy was I wrong. With every month that passes I am reminded of what a good natured, sweet and happy boy you are. I often wonder if this is how I will always describe you or if you'll turn into a tough and wild little rascal. Regardless, always know that you are loved beyond words and that that smile of yours is the best part of my day.

Scenes from the past month!