Evan is 9 Months Old!

Evan was 9 months old last week! He's getting to be such a big boy. We went to the dr on Monday. He was 22 lbs 2 oz (75%) and 27 1/4" (20%). He has only grown 1/4" in the last 3 months...according to the nurse who measures him...and he's 2 1/4" shorter than Connor was at 9 months! It also explains why I'm struggling to get the 12 month outfits on him when Connor wore them for a year...he's just a bit "chunkier" in the middle at this age. He pretty much just wear 18 months. He's also a bit of a bruiser...he gets pushed down and stepped on quite a bit by his brother but he also gets his own punches in.

Connor refused to put his pants back on after a diaper change.

He's been drinking from a straw for over a month now and eats lots of table food despite the fact that he still has no teeth! We've moved on to the level 3 baby food...he can pack away a 6 oz jar
in no time!

Bodie's had a rough weekend. He's been peeing in the house and yesterday we discovered that he peed in the baby's carseat (I discovered this as I was putting him to go some where!). So we've had to go back to restricting his access and setting a timer so we remember to be sure to walk outside with him every hour. Hopefully he picks up on this quickly...he's smart, but extremely stubborn! We have our first Doggy & Me class on Tues.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

We went to a party on Sat night with other grown-ups and had a great time! Unfortunately I got really sick afterward and am still not 100% 3 days later...but it was worth it!

The Real Housewives of Pflugerville (Last night many of went for a Twilight marathon that lasted from 6:15pm to 2:15am! It was lots of fun!)

Today is our 3rd anniversary. It's been a wonderful (extremely productive) three years and we hope for many, many more happy years together to come!

Bodie

Well, we are suckers and ended up at the Williamson County Animal Shelter and came home with a souvenir. Some friends had posted on their FaceBook statuses that the animal shelter had taken in 30 dogs in 48 hrs and were overstocked. They are a kill shelter and were hoping to get many of the dogs adopted out before they had to make tough decisions. We had talked about getting a lab over the years, but weren't currently in the market for one, but with what was about to happen we decided we could fit one more dog in our lives. Because he had been there for over a month he was only $25 instead of $75. Also because he's black they have a special fund where they'll reimburse you $75 toward a training class. I guess black dogs are hard to get adopted...who knew.

Bodie is lab mix, maybe with Border Collie because he has a white patch on his chest and some on his feet, but he has a lab head and tail and is as big as a horse! He was a stray and had been at the shelter for 10 weeks. We think maybe his number was coming up sooner than later. He was the only dog in the place not barking when all the others were having a fit....he quickly remedied this when we got home. He is around 1 yr old and 65 lbs and is very sweet and calm. Marley is completely oblivious to him, but Sophie is scared to death by him. She's been on her best behavior this wekend (or maybe it was the trip to the pound that showed her what life CAN be like). The boys like him but he's a little too rambunctious when he gets to playing so they keep their distance. He's got this massively deep, booming bark that will scare away anything that comes near him. He has a lot of potential and we can't wait to see how well he fits into our home.

So if you have a little space, please go check out your local shelter.

Grandma Betty & Grandpa Joe Visit

I thought this was funny...Evan has a wrench and it looks like he's working on the car.

We went back to the Dinosaur Park last week. We had a good time and found some fun Little People Dinosaurs, mommies and babies, to bring back home with us.

Grandma Betty and Grandpa Joe came to help out while Daddy went to Buffalo for his 20 yr High School reunion and a family party. We had a good weekend and Connor really enjoyed the visit!

Evan had fun too!

I know you're not going to believe me, but this was the best shot I could get. I tried 5 different times to get them all looking the same way with their eyes open and this one (with the finger up the nose) was the best I could do.

Connor went to the dentist for the first time today. They let him sit on my lap and then lay down backwards in to their laps to do the cleaning (brush his teeth quickly) and exam (look fast in between screams of "No!"). He actually did pretty well though, but I'm sure it'll be a few years before he's ready to sit in the chair...can't say as I blame him.

Then when we got home Connor was being kind of mean to Evan. He was squatted down in his face and making mean faces and saying "No Enan!" So Evan decided to just crawl into him and head-butt him and knocked him back on his booty! It was really funny and very deserved. I'm sure there will be many more of these little exchanges in the future.

Field Trip

This morning we went to Jonestown, TX to check out the Angel Valley farm stand. It was a bit out of the way for us and they were the only farm represented so I had to remind myself this wasn't a farmers market, but a farm stand.

We got potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and a large garlic. It was a lot of work for me to get both boys into the stroller and keep Connor busy and Evan in sight while I tried to gather what I was looking for. I must admit I was a bit disappointed by the layout and the amount of work it was for me personally. I'm sure it was much easier for other people though. I'm hoping that we won't be disappointed by the produce. I've already put the potatoes in the crock pot with the roast so we'll see tonight.

While I was waiting in line to pay, the lady in front of us said, "Oh how sweet! He's eating the tomato just like an apple." I, of course, had no idea he was doing that and quickly grabbed it from him since you pay by the weight. He had a few bites of it and then tossed it on the floor of the car. I started to feel worried because I hadn't had a chance to wash, but then reminded myself that the worst thing that was probably on it was dirt since it came from an organic farm.

While I was driving there I saw a sign for a farmers market. So on the way home we stopped. It turned out to be the Cedar Park Farmers Market right by the Gold's Gym off 1431. This was huge...comparatively...and had probably 20-25 stands. They had everything from grass-fed beef, chicken and eggs, milk to popsicles....and at decent prices. I know the eggs were $4 a doz and the ones I got from Greenling yesterday were $6.59 and the ground beef was $5.50/lb and what I got yesterday was $7.50/lb. So I'm thinking it may be worth my while to visit this little find each weekend.

We got some peaches and Connor again had to have one right away...I think he enjoyed the little trip. This Farmer's Market is just the right size with lots of variety to make it worth the extra drive! Also I must admit that I felt cleaner after leaving there. I always feel dirty after leaving the grocery store from the carts being so gross and I didn't have that feeling after leaving there today!

Evan Sleeps

It only took 5 days for Evan to sleep all night (until 5:30am) in his bed! He falls asleep nursing. I put him in his bed. He rolls over...see ya in the morning Mommy! He's even been taking naps in there. Today he wasn't so into his afternoon nap. He decided to jump back up after I put him down and he started to cry when I tried to leave the room. So I laid on the floor across the room and waited, and waited, and waited for him to finally fall asleep. It took about 30 min but he just read his books and then laid down and went to sleep. So he knows how to do it (I wish he'd remind his brother) and he'll let me be by the door now. In the next week or two I should be able to just put him in there awake and leave and he should be able to put himself to sleep! That's amazing for a kid who a little over a week ago was waking up every two hours to nurse and wouldn't sleep any where that was more than an inch away from Mommy..EVER! The Sleep Lady did it again! Why would anyone try the "cry it out" method when this one is so much less stressful for everyone...I admit there was some crying on both sides the first night, but at least we were together and I could comfort him through the whole short process. Good job Evan!

New Blog

I started a new blog...Grass Pfed. I am using it to chronicle my research into organic food and greener living. I've always yo-yo'd back and forth with healthier eating vs easy eating, but now that we have the boys I think I need to make a real effort to teach them healthier ways of eating. I don't know if organic foods are really the way to go or just the current fad to scare parents into spending more on food, but I suspect that the hormones fed to animals and pesticides used on crops can't be good for us (or them). I also hope that by spending our food money on local fare, we can help our local economy while getting healthier food.

So if you'd like to check up on what I find, just check the Blog List on the right hand side of this blog!