The Pumpkin Patch

Easton's first year has been very exciting!...Especially for me.  I love to think about all the things we get to do together and to be able to watch him discover all of these events for the first time!  In late October I took E to the pumpkin patch.  Kevin and I couldn't find a time, when he or I wasn't working, to go together so my mom and I took him instead.  She probably had more fun than Kevin would have had anyway...=)  We decided to go to The Pumpkin Patch at Shadow Lake.  It is done by Grace Life Baptist Church in McCalla.  They had so many activities to do, food to eat, games to play, and of course pumpkins!

Excited already and we haven't even gotten out of the stroller!

First stop....Photo op!



We ate straw....



Petted the goats and sheep in the petting zoo!

Easton wasn't even phased by the animals in the petting zoo.  I guess because he has 2 dogs that are bigger than most of them in the pin.  The funny thing was that when we arrived at the pumpkin patch E got a sticker to put on his shirt that says Jesus Loves Me.  I moved the sticker to his pants so that it wouldn't cover up his shirt in pictures...While we were petting 1 goat in particular, he found Easton's sticker and decided to eat it right off his pants leg!  Guess goats will eat anything!  I hate that too because I wanted to keep the sticker.

We pretended to be Scarecrows...

We rode the train.....

And of course we took our picture with the pumpkins!

 

Overall it was a wonderful day at the Pumpkin Patch!  E, Mom and I had to much fun!  Cant wait to do it all again next year!  Then he will be walking....

Man Cave- Update

Today's update is a combination of several weeks of work.  Its paint on the walls and the flooring put down! Its finally starting to look like a room.  (I forgot to take a picture of the room with just the walls painted before the flooring was put down...So its going to be a drastic change since the last update)

Ceiling tiles to come....

Looking into the bathroom. 

Stay Tuned for more updates!!

Under Construction-Update

Man Cave Update:
This week.... Primer on all of the walls and a picture of the flooring!!

We decided to go with laminate hardwoods.  Carpet is SO hard to keep clean, especially with a crawling baby and 2 dogs!  Real hardwoods are beautiful, but are very expensive and also show ALL of the dog scratches.  This will look just as good and we are saving a dollar $.  =)
Stay Tuned for more updates!  

Flyball- My New Obsession!

     About 5 months ago, at the end of March, I started a canine sport that I am just IN LOVE with.  Our 3 year old Weimaraner, Wriggley, has been obsessed with tennis balls since he was a puppy.  Even when we go to the dog park he wants to play fetch the whole time instead of playing with the other dogs (weirdo).  I had always said that he would make a great flyball dog.  Well in March one of my coworkers Haley, got her pitbull into it.  Once I heard that I decided that now would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. I have always wanted to participate in something like this.

     Flyball races match two teams of four dogs each, racing side-by-side over a 51 foot long course. Each dog must run in relay fashion down the jumps, trigger a flyball box, releasing the ball, retrieve the ball, and return over the jumps. The next dog is released to run the course but can't cross the start/finish line until the previous dog has returned over all 4 jumps and reached the start/finish line. The first team to have all 4 dogs finish the course without error wins the heat.  For every heat that you complete under 24 seconds your dog earns 25 points towards a flyball title.  Under 28 seconds....5 points and Under 32 sec....1 point.  The current  NAFA record is 14.9 seconds to send all four dogs down and back.  (That's FAST!)  

This is a flyball course.  The people you see are the box loaders.  They load the balls for the dogs to retrieve once they have completed the jumps. 


   Wriggley started training at the end of March.  The length of time it takes to teach this sport is different for every dog.  It helped that he was so much in love with the tennis balls.  It doesn't seem like it would be that hard when watching from the outside....but to be able to send your dog away from you, complete hurdles, trigger the spring loaded box and return to you with a tennis ball all in a hurried fashion, is harder than you might think.  But so far we are both loving it!  He competed in his first tournament on September 8th and 9th, 2012 and achieved his first two titles of Flyball dog (FD) and Flyball Dog Excellent (FDX).  He only has about 144 more points until he gets his next title which is Flyball Dog Champion (FDCh).  It took him 5 1/2 months to be tournament ready.  He is still considered a green dog and will only get better as he races more and more.  His current time is about a 5.2-5.4 seconds to go down and back.
     We run with a flyball club called the Dixie Flyers.  Check us out!  We love this new sport that we have gotten into and everyone is SO sweet and encouraging.  Any breed can participate and its so much fun with your dog and friends!  Its a great sport that I hope to participate in for a long time to come. 



Wriggley running in his first tournament




Running in a Flyball Demonstration for Bark in the Park.

Getting his tennis ball from the box.

To Learn more about Flyball check out http://www.flyball.org/

Under Construction- Update

Man Cave Update:
The room is really coming along!  The process is a little slow go because our contractor does contracting on the side.  His full time job is actually a fireman.  But he is a super nice guy and does a great job!  This week....Drywall and doors.  (ignore the mattresses)


Sheet rock is in!



 It actually feels like a room now.  This view is standing in the main doorway as you come down into our basement.

This is the door that head out to the patio and backyard.  This door was already here (obviously)


Yay Doors! =)



Easton at 8 Months

Well I guess its that time of the month again....time to blog about how much older my little Sprout is getting.  This little man is the light of my day!  He is so happy all the time and just an all around Joy!  He's always making me smile and laugh.  Hes getting so big and I cant believe that I will be thinking about a 1st birthday party soon....Ive actually already thought of what the theme will be!  AHH (freaking out)!     



Weight: 16 Pounds
Height: 27 inches
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: Size 6-9 and some 3-6 still fit
Blonde Hair and Blue eyes! (The light in his room makes it look red for some reason)



My little Sprout:
-Loves to clap his hands.  He started this right after he turned 7 months old.  Sometimes when we sing "If you're happy and you know it" he will start clapping.  He's so smart!
-Can eat bananas that are cut up, real cheese puffs, and peas among other adult foods.
-Loves his Gerber puffs and little crunchies! I haven't found a flavor he didn't like.
-Sticks his tongue out and spits.  Its cute!....for now.
-Loves to talk and scream when happy and playing.  He has lots more sounds when he is "talking."  I can hear S, R, and M's instead of just Da Da.  So amazing to sit and just listen to him. 
-Now that E is an expert roller, he sleeps on his tummy alot at night now.
-Moved to fast flow nipples.  He drinks 6-7 oz every 5-6 times a day.  He has a container of fruit with oatmeal, cereal or granola for breakfast and a container of a vegetable for lunch.  Then he has a snack about mid afternoon.  Depending on what they are having for breakfast and lunch at daycare depends on whether or not he eats baby food or adult food at meal times. He liked the avacado he tried too.  I love my good little eater! Keep it up buddy.
-Still only the 2 teeth.
-Great Sleeper!!
-Gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth but has yet to move forward and actually crawl.  However he is very good at crawling backwards.  This frustrates him sometimes.
-I reluctantly lowered his crib mattress all the way to the bottom level. =(  He will be pulling up in no time.  He didn't seem to notice the change.  Boy mommy sure did...
-He never completely got over his 2nd double ear infection.  We went through 10 days of Amoxicillin, 10 days of Omnicef, and 3 Rocephin shots....The Rocephin finally cleared up the pus in his ears but there is still so much fluid that it could turn into another ear infection at any time per Dr. M.  So Easton will be headed to an appointment with an ENT to talk about tubes.   Hopefully this whole process will go smoothly.
Our little Sprout is really growing growing.....
WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH EASTON!!
I cant believe you are 8 Months Old!!

Under Construction- Man Cave

When Kevin and I bought our house in June of 2009 we had a list of things that we wanted to do to the house over a period of time.

-Fence in the yard.
-Build a "Man Cave" in the basement.
-Cover part of the porch.
-Replace the counter tops in the kitchen

Well the time has come to strike through the second item on our list.  Kevin couldn't be happier.  He has been talking about this for so long.  He mainly wants this room to watch football and baseball games in.  And when he does have poker night, he can use his "man cave."  He does alot for this family and I guess, since I have the rest of the house pretty much, he deserves his own room.  =).  I am excited to host a football party when it gets finished! RTR! 
There is a discrepancy over football decor since we are a house divided.  My sweet husband has said that he doesn't mind me hanging a few Daniel Moore Alabama prints. (I'm surprised) 
The construction started August 20th, 2012 with framing.  We decided to only use half of our basement space for the man ca.  It is very long and I still wanted to have room for Easton's outside toys for when he gets bigger.  Plus Kevin also wanted to build himself a work bench off to the side.  So the pictures that you are seeing are only half of the basement space we have. 
 Since the room is near completion at this very moment (haven't had time to blog), I will just post about updates every couple days. 



The Before



Before

Framing has started

 Our basement was already plumbed from the previous homeowners, so we decided we may as well put in a half bath.  That is what the framed box in the corner is. 

Insulation!



Framing and Insulation....Done!

  Its really starting to come together!  Stay tuned for more Man Cave updates!

Easton at 7 Months

Well, my little man is on the downhill slope to 1! =( Say it ain't so!! He has really become even more "animated" in the last month.  Now that he can sit up well on his own and entertain himself  it makes life just a little bit easier.  I love watching him learn new things and soak up new information about his surroundings.  He's so observant and alert about everything.  He really is just THE BEST baby!  Good pictures, as you can see, are getting harder and harder to come by.  His outfit in this picture is something special.  This is actually the onesie that Kevin and I bought when we first found out that we were having a boy.  I almost waited to late to put him in it because its a little snug. =) I love this little munchkin more than words can describe!!

Weight: 15 Pounds
Height: Probably 27 inches
Diapers: Size 2
Clothes: Some 3-6 and most 6-9. 



Easton Lately:
-Still babbling all the time.  Of course its still da da da da.  And it varies in pitch and volume.  SO CUTE!
-Grunting and roaring while hes playing
- Has TWO teeth now.  (the two bottom ones)
-Still my great little sleeper.  He goes to bed at 8:30pm and wakes up at about 7:30-8am.
-Eats 6-7 ounces about 5-6 times a day.  He also eats a 4oz container of baby food for breakfast and another 4oz container for lunch.  I still have yet to find anything he doesn't like.  =) hopefully this good eating streak will continue. 
-Uses a highchair at home and daycare
-Really likes to snuggle now.  He will lay his head on your shoulder if hes tired or if he just got up from a nap.
-He will reach out his arms when I'm walking over to pick him up.
-Had his second double ear infection. =(
-LOVES his Sophie Giraffe!!!
-Has really started to like his Aden & Anais blankets and loves to rub his face in them.  We got them as a gift, and I think they are swaddle blankets, but work great for nap time.  They are super soft and thin.  I'm hoping he will get attached to them.  (especially because one has elephants on it. RTR)  ;)
-Bumps his little hiney up and down on the ground like hes feeling the beat. Its pretty cute!
-Started straightening his legs while sitting up (instead of keeping his feet together).

WE LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH EASTON!! I cant believe you are 7 Months Old!

6 Month Check-Up

Easton had his 6 month checkup on 8/7/2012.  Doctor M said he looked great!  He said he was very strong when he was feeling his hips and that he was sitting well, like an 8-9 month old.  He was very impressed with the change in his percentiles.  From his last visit (5/22/12) he went from:
5-10th % in Weight
5-30th % in Length
15-50% in Head Circumference.  Doctor M said "his brains are growing good!" =)

Even though Doctor M gave him a tongue depressor to play with, Easton was still not going to be his friend so long as he was lying on the table.  Since he was 4 month old, Easton smiles at the nurses and even Dr. M when they are in the room but, when he lies down on the table he immediately starts crying.  Dr. M would say "Easton you are too young to know who I am and not like me."  So he thought... Haha! Am I going to have one of those kids who will be kicking and screaming in the doctor's office?? I hope not! 

STATS:
Weight: 14 Pounds 11 ounces
Length: 26 inches
Head: 17 1/4 inches
Clothes: 3-6 and 6-9 months
Diapers: Size 2

First Food Faces

 Easton started eating solid foods when he was almost 5 months old.  So far he has had rice cereal, 5 different vegetables, and 4 different fruits.  I haven't found anything he didn't like.  I'm hoping that means he will be a good eater as he grows up.  I had started taking pictures of his first few food reactions and then continued, thinking (as usual) this might make a good blog post.  Enjoy!

RICE CEREAL

SQUASH

PEACHES

GREEN BEANS

GREEN BEANS

BANANAS



CARROTS




PEARS




PEAS




SWEET POTATOES




APPLESAUCE

 Though some of these faces may say otherwise, he loved all of the food that he has had so far.  Hopefully we have put a smile on your face! It did mine.  =)