9 months old!

B-rad turned 9 months old on October 23rd! I probably should've squeezed a blog post in before the Halloween madness began, but ain't nobody got time for that...Especially since I've been working on re-vamping my desk that I've had for the better part of 10 years. So I'm updating from the floor of my office.

Here is our 9 month old!!

Remember last month when I said that Brady wasn't standing yet and that we'd save that heart attack for another month?? Yea...about 2.5 minutes after I said that, he start standing. He will hold onto anything. The table legs while looking up at Griffin eating. The TV stand, already blinding himself at the ripe age of 9 months. The recliner while Griffin "not-so gently" rocks it back and forth. He's also damn near pants-ed (sp??) me a few times by pulling on my yoga pants while I've been doing the dishes. 

He doesn't even sit for pictures anymore.

Brady now has 4 top and 4 bottom teeth with a couple more rearing their ugly little heads. He's been tolerating the teeth popping thru much easier than he was a few months ago. He would prefer to have a few sips of formula and a whole BUNCH of people food. He eats EVERYTHING! Which I am loving and hope his appetite sticks. Because the other tiny human living in my house only likes hot dogs and fruit loops.

His personality is so cute. He's starting to really engage in all of us around him, besides just the adorable smile he's been using against us for months now. 

How big is Brady??

SO BIG!

It never gets old.

He's officially mastered saying Mama and Dada. He even points to me when I ask him where I am!! I mean, he has to be laying down, on his changing table, looking up at me, in order to do so...but I'm pretty sure he knows just what he's doing.

He also is really enjoying "Peek-A-Boo!" I use a burp cloth and put it over his face and he pulls it down over his eyes with a big 'ol smile! The only thing he loves more than Peek-A-Boo is sucking his 2 fingers. I'll try to play the game with him, take the burp cloth, throw it over his face, and it just sits there...b/c he's sucking those dang fingers. He's like, "Nah...I'm good, Ma."

There is still all kinds of brotherly love going on in the Walsh house. 

Despite the occasional dirty diaper that Griff shoves in Brady's face.

Griffin has been doing this "tackling" thing with Brady lately that makes me pretty uneasy. All I see are visions of my littlest smashing his head on the floor, getting choked out, breaking a bone under the weight of his brother, etc, etc... So, every time I see Griffin go to bear hug Brady and take him down, wrestler style, I stop him with a loud, "GRIFFIN!! KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!" Well, the other day I finally got the chance to see, first hand, how this rough play plays out. Brady stands up on something, Griffin comes up from behind him, hugs Brady from around the waist, and pulls him on top of him and they fall back onto the ground. Ok...not so bad. Especially when I saw the biggest smile of smiles on Brady's face. I was like, Oh...he actually LOVES this! As a Mom of boys, I need to remember that rough-housing is going to happen and it's going to get much more intense as they get older and stronger. (Deep breaths, their just boys, takes checkbook out to pay broken bone bills, deep breaths, little girls are all drama, deep breaths, you don't even like pink, deep breaths) :-)

I have never seen my kids look so gangster.

Marathon trip to Oklahoma!

First off...I had every intention of packing my best outfits for our trip to Oklahoma with the hopes of running smack into Blake Shelton...

Spoiler Alert: That did not happen.

In reality, we were there for a much more important reason. Our, one and only, cousin (yes, I really only have ONE cousin) was getting married to her main squeeze, Chad. After Chad popped the question, it only took Meg a few weeks to ask us if they could have Griffin be a part of their special day. My first thought was, well duh....of course! But after discussing the whole situation with the quick trip, plane flights (now that he's two....almost 3!), and realizing we could possibly have a kid-free weekend (that's so selfish, right??) we ended up declining the offer.

Not that he wouldn't have looked amaze-balls in a mini-tux.

So we set up plans for Nana to watch the boys here in Georgia (Thanks Nana!) and on Friday morning, we were Oklahoma bound!

As much as I love spending every waking moment with my boys (said with sickly amounts of sarcasm) it was nice getting dolled up 2 nights in a row without having to sacrifice some form of the "getting ready" process. I even enjoyed cocktails while getting ready...which was pretty simple being that my parents brought their "home-away-from-home" bar they practically keep packed in their car when they travel.

I even managed to fit my cowboy boots on my carry-on!

I didn't even own a pair of cowboy boots up until about 6 months ago. But I am obsessed with them and look for every single chance to wear them...which with the summer heat in Georgia and my flip-flop-wearing Florida girl self...it has been a grand total of 2 times. But we were in Oklahoma. So I did as the Oklahom-ians do.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding...

Yes...I did the Pinterest "sock bun" for my wedding hair. The actual process of it seems simple. But I NEVER do my own hair, unless I am blow drying and flat ironing it, so I realized, in that very moment, what every hair dresser has dealt with for every up-do I've ever had done in my life. I've always heard them say "what am I going to do with this piece of hair?" "You have SO much hair!!" "I just need a place to put this bunch of hair." So the whole cutting the sock, putting your hair in a pony, sliding the sock on, and making the bun is easy. It's what you manage to do with the rest of the hair sticking out that was my problem. Nothing a hundred few bobby pins and a half a bottle of hair spray couldn't fix!

Any QT spent with my sister is A-OK in my book!

I need to give a small shout-out to my Sis and Brother-In-Law...they have made some serious lifestyle changes over the past couple of months and they are looking more and more FABULOSO as each day passes! I've told you both a bajillion times...but I'm super proud of you!

Never can say enough good things about these two. My parents are amazing and made this weekend happen for us! Thank you Mom and Dad for an AWESOME time!!

Megan and Chad <3

Meg and I...only 6 months apart!

For realz...she's our ONLY cousin.

Happy to have been able to spend such a special weekend with our family. We missed the boys so much. As soon as I came home I wanted to go up to Brady's room, pick him up, and rock him. But then I stopped thinking like a crazy person.

We made up for lost snuggles today.

Congratulation to Megan and Chad...we love you guys!!

"No sense of emergency"-room Visit #2 for G

So there we were...on Saturday morning... I was dicing olives for my 7 layer mexican dip to take to the baby shower I was hosting that night when I hear Griffin fall off of his tiny blue plastic chair...followed by his "hurt cry." All you Mama's know the difference between a "I'm whining cry because I bruised my knee a little bit" and a "I'm screaming bloody murder cry because, well, in this case, I just split my chin open."

When I kneeled down to check out the damage Griffin was holding his mouth. As I put my hand under his chin to tilt his head up, I knew it was bad when blood ran down my own hand. Oye. Queasy and a whole bunch of "Oh S#@$'s" came out of my mouth and that's when Bri ran in...saved the day with his paper towel and applied pressure. I was still looking at the blood on my hands thinking, "there is no way we aren't going to the ER today."

You see...we are split chin connoisseurs...Griff managed to split his chin open when he was just under a year old. We took him to the ER then, b/c duh...we were new parents and we saw blood. Turns out he just needed a little glue (like he was a broken toy) and off we went.

As soon as I pulled myself together and looked at the cut, I immediately could tell this was twice as big....twice as deep.

So before I knew it, Bri was coming downstairs fully dressed with a Brady in his arms (poor baby JUST laid down for his morning nap) when I thought, "Crap...I need to put a bra on." So I hurried, got decent, and we rushed to the car. Bri is putting Griff in and I see the blood going all over his car seat and I'm thinking "Ugh...I JUST cleaned that car seat cover." Oh c'mon...ya'll know what a pain those are to take apart!!

Our neighbor....our AMAZING neighbor...came thru in the clutch and took Brady for us so we didn't have to drag him to the hospital. No...it wasn't even an option for us for just one of us to go.

The ER usually takes children and their injuries pretty seriously. We got back to a room right away. Within about 10-15 minutes we had seen a doctor and she had confirmed that he would most definitely need stitches. After that, we waited FOREVER for him to be numbed. They used a topical numbing solution, which by the way, if you are ever in this situation...request a shot! Short term pain for a long term gain. You guessed it...by the 2nd stitch G was screaming saying that it hurt. He was fidgeting and the doctor said, you need to stop kicking Griffin...as if he was some sort of adult. I was about to get all Mama Bear on her ass.

He was re-numbed and we were able to finish the 3 other stitches with little to no problems.

FOUR HOURS! 4 hours in that ER....Thank goodness for great friends! I was running so far behind in the day, I needed my grocery list finished off before the baby shower started.

Things like split chins ONLY happen on the days you have some big event.

Here are pictures from our lovely morning/afternoon spent in the ER... Beware...the sliced chin is a little gross. I love that when I texted my best friend (the one whose shower I was hosting) that I wasn't going to send her the picture b/c it would make her nauseous, she responds, "No...just do it. Send it. I can handle it." *Love her*

The pic I took before we left the house.

Waiting patiently...the cartoons helped!

 Waiting for the numbing solution to kick in!

LP makes these situations a little better :-)

And Kindles...

Oh, and popsicles...

 The final product!

Lastly.....

#toddlerproblems

I've been wanting to post on this for a LONG time...but it seems that I am too busy dealing with my crazy, stubborn, too-smart-for-his-own-good-which results in being a bad thing, impatient, mean, attitude-y (I'm so flustered I'm making up words now), toddler to even have one single second to rage my frustrations.

Before I begin, it helps that I have talked to both friends....and complete strangers (b/c I will vent my toddler frustrations on just about anyone who will listen) and they have all told me that they are either 1. having the same issues with their own child or 2. they are past that point and tell me "Not to worry, it really is just a phase."

Side note: there are also the parents that are just one step ahead of me and tell me, and I quote, "Don't worry...3 is MUCH worse." << And even this somehow makes me feel better... like I am on some sort of Mommy level playing field and it's not just my kid.

Of course, I am my toughest critic. I am constantly asking myself, "Am I disciplining him right?" "Am I being consistent?" "Am I being too hard on him?" "Should I pop him on the tush for that?" "Is time out really working?" The list of questions is endless....

I take into account what my friends do with their kids...then usually push that to the wayside b/c there isn't a single child I know that is just like Griffin, therefore, I can't discipline the same.

I was texting a friend the other day and told her that I am SHOCKED that there are days that Bri feels comfortable leaving the 2 of us alone together all day long. I'm pretty sure he's expecting to come home one day and see Griffin tied to a tree in the backyard.

Some of the things I say to Griffin EVERYDAY:

"Stop saying Mommy...I just answered you 5 Mommy's ago..."
"Get off your brother."
"You're going too fast...you are going to run over Brady."
"No you can't have fruit snacks in the morning."
"Stop climbing on your brother while he's drinking his bottle."
"Color on the paper...not the table."
"Don't throw that at me when I'm not looking."
"Get in the corner."
"Be careful, son."

A few discovery's I have made from raising this little human:

- Yelling is a horrible disciplining technique. Unless they are in danger, it's best not to raise your voice. They will most likely laugh in your face. At least mine does....and it scares the baby.

- Time out for Griffin was fun for him until I turned "Get into time out!!" into "Put your nose in the corner!!" He hates that corner. Probably b/c it has cobwebs.

- I have 2 phrases that work 99.9% of the time...especially in public... "That is not an option" and "This is not up for discussion." It sounds advanced. He may not even know what the words mean. But when I say one, or both, of those...he knows I mean biniz...

- It is physically impossible to hold a grudge with your toddler. The other day, Griffin busted into Brady's room (without me knowing) after B had only been asleep for 45 minutes. I don't think I have ever been so mad at my child...you just don't MESS with nap time. After he spent more than enough time in the corner, he was over it...I, of course, was still fuming..... I just wanted to be like, "DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU DID?!?" But it's just another lesson learned for them.

At the end of the day, I just want him to be a good kid. I want him to be respectful and kind and gentle with other peoples feelings. I also want him to throw touchdown passes and hit home runs...but thankfully he got his Daddy's genes for that ;-) I just hope this "phase" makes us both stronger for enduring each other...b/c I'm sure there are days he doesn't like to be around me as much as I don't like to be around him!

BG is 8 Months Old!

It's October 1st 2nd...which means I am officially behind on posting. If you had asked me a few months ago how staying home with 2 wee ones is, I would've said that it's a lot like staying home with just one! As I sit here, guzzling down my second cup of coffee, I'm laughing at that former statement.

I'll start with stats...b/c if another day passes, I will forget them....

B-rad turned 8 Months Old on September 23rd! He is still as freakin' cute as can be....

He's about 22 pounds of chubby goodness. Wearing all 12 month clothes...and I tread lightly when I say all 12 month clothes. B/c if I had 18 months jammies unpacked, he'd be wearing those. You know those times when you have to have your hubby, friend, Mom, etc, etc, zip up a dress that you know fit last month, but you have to hold together the sides all while screaming "Don't zip my skin....don't zip my skin!!"?? Well...that's kindof how  feel when I'm trying to zip footie jammies over B's chubba-licious thighs.

He went from having 2 teeth to 5 teeth in ONE week. He mouths EVERYTHING...and I know it's a baby thing, but Griffin never put anything in his mouth, so it kindof grosses me out. We officially stopped all purees and his meals usually consist of veggies, cheese, small pieces of meat, and cut up fruit....and cheerios. Always cheerios. And he feeds himself! Which amazes me. I'm not sure when Griff started picking up food himself...but it most definitely wasn't this early.

One bad thing about the 2nd baby doing things faster?? My kid has officially started weaning himself off of his morning nap....ALREADY!!! This topic could seriously bring me to tears...not really...I'm being overly-dramatic about this...but I REALLY enjoy my time with Griffin when Brady naps. Especially since I have set their schedule to take their afternoon nap at the same time so I can take a nap tackle my to-do list. Griffin and I spend this time reading books, playing baseball outside, coloring, doing some pre-pre-K learning activities, etc.... I've been spending this time with him since Brady was a newborn, so another adjustment is about to ensue! For now, I'm still trying to squeeze a little nap out of Brady, but he is fighting back like Mike Tyson...minus the whole ear biting thing.

B has officially started his own little vocabulary. He can say Dada, Mama, and Ba...which we *think* means bottle, sometimes I think it's his word for Griffin. Either way...it's ADORABLE! Brian spends a lot of time with him in front of our picture frames around the house asking him to point out "Mama" and "Dada" and "Griffin." Only problem is, when he's sitting in his high chair or in the playroom and we ask, "Brady...where's Mama??" He looks for the nearest picture frame and not for me. So it needs some work.

Brady hasn't quite started standing on his own yet. Save that heart attack for another month. He gets around quite nicely. Although, Griffin thinks that now that Brady is mobile he can do all the things that Griffin can do....like throw a baseball. Which usually ends up with a baseball (soft, of course) getting thrown at B's head. I don't think Brady minds so much. After all, he spends most of the day trying to get Griffin's attention. Crawling on him, taking his toys, touching his face when G gets close enough. No one can make Brady smile quite like Griffin can. It makes the rough days worth it.

Catching up from our busy August!

I've started to use my small point-and-shoot camera again b/c it's just easier to catch a quick pic of a crawling baby...or a big bro/little bro "sharing" moment. So I plan on catching you all up on some fun things we did in August in one post...b/c I play with kids all day...so I'm tired.

As you all know, Summer was busy...and full of driving. So I was happy to finally be home, not living out of a suitcase, and ready to enjoy the rest of what was left of Summer doing fun things with our Georgia friends!

 First off, Braves game! We tried to sneak in a game with Bri's fam when they were down from NY, but couldn't find the time on a day when the weather was actually nice. So we were pumped when a couple of our friends invited us along to a week night game. Total bonus of living near a big city!

Look how excited Bri is to be baby-wearing B-rad. Summer in Georgia is hot, hot, hot. This evening was NO different. I remember telling my sister-in-law that holding Brady at the baseball game was like holding a sweaty, 20 pound sack of potatoes...that cries.

There is something about Turner Field...that is so NOT like Petco Park ;-) I can definitely appreciate a good baseball stadium after attending numerous games in SD. Turner Field doesn't quite add up. But who cares? It's hot dogs, beer, baseball, friends, kids...doesn't get much better!

B-rad was totally digging the game...

 A few pics I took at home...

One of the many things I love about my husband is that he dives right in as soon as he gets home from work. Still dressed in his work clothes he's on the floor letting the boys crawl all over him <3

Omg...he smiled for a picture. HE SMILED FOR A PICTURE! 

See the carpet in the background. That's the edge of our living room rug. He started out in the middle of the living room rug about 3 minutes prior to this picture. Mover and a shaker.

The dogs are messy...and hairy...and stinky...but the boys LOVE them. And the dogs love the boys. I just love this picture of B relaxing with his feet up on Abby. 

Boat Day!! Our friends invited us out on a pontoon boat last Sunday and we quickly said YES PLEASE! We knew that this was probably going to be the last nice-ish weekend of the Summer that we could all get together, so we packed up the coolers and the froggy potty and headed out on the water!

Ry and Griff ready to get movin'!

How perfect...a train passing by the bridge we were about to go under. Griffin and Wyatt could not have been more excited!

Wyatt & Griffin~ BFF's

I swear he is awake *most* of the day...

Daddy and G!

Um, pure cuteness :-)

Bri and G getting ready to go on the jet ski!

Bri came back about 3.5 minutes later and told me Griffin was NOT having fun on the jet ski. Lame. Of course he pitched a fit 3 hours later when it had to be returned to the rental place. Next time...

Our friends came prepared with their pack n play...B was obviously HATING the boat... :-)

Look at my handsome hubs <3

The boat will definitely be happening again next Spring/Summer...such a fun time!

More cuteness at home. B eats All. Day. Long. And he clearly loves his food!

A little brotherly play time to end the post....I've said it a million times before and I'll say it a million more times...these boys melt my heart!!!!!!!!!!