February - it's almost over! (well, kinda almost over)

Good evening!

It's hard to believe we are almost halfway through the month of February, in the year 2015! Time is really sailing by rather quickly. It hasn't really been THAT terrible of a winter (quite yet) but February isn't over just yet! Lately we've had some pretty chilly temperatures, but we've been given with some decently sunny days as well. Almost every February I reflect back on my time at St. Andrews in Sewanee. It was always foggy, cold....wet.....FREEZING. We had to walk everywhere, to the dining hall for lunch, to the gym for sports, to the theater for....theater. Father Wade was the Headmaster during my time at SAS, and every February he would give the same sermon, basically about getting the wintertime blues. The dreary, cold, sunless weather always made life just a tad bit harder, taking every bit of willpower to get out of bed in the morning. He would talk about how if we could get through February, spring was right around the corner (then he would relate it to Christ, Easter, new life, etc) It was always a sermon I actually looked forward to hearing, because it gave me hope of sunnier days....I am extremely excited about sunnier days, and it's halfway through February, so if we can just wait it out, spring will be here before we know it! :)

Moving on, we (Brandon, Tate, and I) have been chugging along, trying to slow down and enjoy life, even in the cold. We stay fairly busy. Brandon has class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and seems to like it okay. It's an English class with a studio session which means this is the only semester of English he will have to take! He is excited about that. I've scoped his syllabus and his professor's wordpress website (are you surprised?!) and she is definitely not your typical college English teacher, so I think that is a plus. For February, we have been fairly busy at the park. The latest project I just helped complete was correlating our field trip standards to the current TN state science standards. It was quite a task! But I actually enjoyed all the paperwork, the compiling, and organizing. Now teachers will be able to see what standards are correlated to each of our specific programs when they book a field trip with us, which I think is really important now. But it makes me question the state of our schools. I don't really know enough to form too much of an opinion (since I don't have a child in school) but it definitely makes me consider the future!

Anyway, that last paragraph was a bit boring. Sorry! Here's a little bit more of an exciting story: I got to go visit my friends Jessica and Jaron in east TN the last weekend in January. They live in an amazing new house in Greeneville that they just had built! It's beautiful! And their view is amazing. 

Those are the blue ridge mountains. On Saturday, we spent most of the day in a little town called Hot Springs, which is in North Carolina, about 40 minutes away from where they live in Greeneville. It is SUCH a cute town, a resting place/stop off for the AT, huge beautiful rivers, adorable outdoorsy stores, and amazing food. I really enjoyed it. And really loved getting to stare at the mountains all day. I miss the mountains. Murfreesboro is so dang flat. Anyhoo, here's a picture of Jessie, Charlotte, and I in one of the cute artsy stores.

Jess is preggars, due in May, and I can't WAIT to meet baby Hallie Snow. She is going to be SO adorable! We had a really great time and I'm so glad I got to go. Tate stayed with Brandon and my parents and they were both happy to have some one on one time with him :)

Speaking of Tate, I am in the process of planing his second birthday party! Crazy right?! It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait! He is in full blown toddler mode; happy one minute, angry the next. Then back to being happy. He's quite stubborn and seems to know what he wants most of the time. He still loves to sleep and takes about a two hour nap everyday. He is normally in bed by 7:30 at night which is nice for me, I must say. He is learning all sorts of new things now, and has started to delve into more "crafty" things like finger painting. (This is all Brandon-this sort of mess stresses me out unless wine is involved) 

He has also been enjoying play-doh, dry erase markers, chalk, and crayons. He seems to like coloring, which is not something I enjoyed as a child. I actually didn't enjoy most artsy things, and I hope he isn't like that. So far it seems like he's a bit more like Brandon, he likes to explore things with his hands, and use tools. When I was a kid, I liked to explore things with my legs, and run around everywhere! Hah. Anyway, we have been trying to get outside any time it's sunny and over 50. On the way home from Ms. Angie's house is the Discovery Center playground and Kids Castle that we have been too a few times this month. He loves both of them, especially the ladders at Kids Castle. 

He clearly says "bye-bye" now, along with uh-oh, mama, and da. And today while we were at Kids Castle playing, I told him to say excuse me when he wanted to go around a little boy and his mom, and he really said something like "cuseme!" and the mom said, aw that was nice! And I said, I'm not sure who this kid is! Lol, just kidding ;) It's just that he normally doesn't try to repeat what I say and especially when he's in a hurry, so I was definitely happy he tried today. It's the little things!

So I hope everyone has had a decent February so far, remember, we are almost FINISHED with winter! More sunshine is on it's way. YAY! 

Thanks for reading! 

Januaryness

Hola!

Today has been a good day; it is sunny! The weather has been terrible lately. Typical winter blah-ness. Us summer people, we need the sun! Thank goodness it decides to come out every now and again during winter....otherwise I think Brandon and I would go crazy!

Anyways, this week has been tough. Yesterday we said goodbye to the best babysitter ever, Ms. Shannon. Her husband is in the Navy and they are being moved to San Diego (poor them!) but really, poor us. She was such a great babysitter, always flexible and willing to work with my ever-changing work schedule, not to mention just being a natural kid-person. We will miss her so incredibly much, and wish the best for her husband and two kids, Jeremy, Hailey, and Ethan (who Tate had grown to really like)

Typical morning conversation:

Me: Do you want to go see Ms. Shannon

Tate: Grunting "uh-uh" while shaking head

Me: Do you want to go see Ethan?

Tate: Nodding nodding nodding!!! 

So yes, we are very sad because she and her family were so wonderful, but times changes and I'm beginning to learn life is constantly changing, so we will too.....we hope to visit them one day out in San Diego....we hear there's a good zoo there ;) 

In a few minutes, we are actually going to visit Tate's new babysitter, Ms. Angie. We are very excited to have met someone we really like very quickly! She has a nice home and seems to love kids....she has some big shoes to fill though! 

In other news, Brandon starts class next Wednesday! He got his book today. He is taking a 2000 level English, the only English he has to take for his major! It's a 3 hour credit and shouldn't be too terribly difficult. 

Tate is actually 22 months old today! Just realized that as I was pondering what to write next. I can't believe that in two months, he'll be two! I deeefinitely am not used to 2015 yet. Time, you crazy phenomenon! Anyway, his newest fun activity is play-doh....lord he loves the stuff. It's the first thing he wants to do as soon as he wakes up in the morning. I'm all like "coooooffffffeeeeee" and he's all like "plllaaaayyydooooh" well except he hands me the playdoh cup to open and pulls himself up onto his stool. He is getting a whoooole lotta use out of the table Brandon built for him! We love it.

Also, Brandon re-did our laundry room and half bath next to it. It's completely different! As in new tile, new paint, new washer/dryer, new utility sink, etc! It totally needed it. It had terrible laminate black and white "tile" and was straight up white. Now it looks amazing! I will post pictures next time. 

Until then, here's one of my faves

We love you Ms. Shannon. Safe travels to California!

 

It's been awhile!

Hello!

Long time no blog. I've been wanting to start blogging again on a regular basis, and I think I'm ready to make that happen now. I've been posting less on Facebook, and lately it is a form of social media that I do not enjoy. So I decided I will keep my family and friends updated on this instead. My goal is to post twice a month. We shall see. So here goes!

We are loving life with our crazy child! I say "crazy" in the sweetest way possible ;) He is officially a toddler now, so anyone who has had toddler children knows what I mean! He is so sweet and funny one minute, and then turns into godzilla the next! Even the pediatrician said something about babies at this age and how they are a bit bi-polar. I know not all children are this way, but Tate does have his moments! I think part of it has to do with the fact that he can't express exactly what he wants to say. He's not really talking yet. He is really vocal though, just not verbal. The only words he says are Mama, Dada, and Uh-Oh! But I'm not really worried. I know some children don't start talking to 2 or even after. We communicate sometimes through sign-language. He frequently signs More, Hungry, Milk (which just means thirsty), and Dog. So I know he can communicate. He also understands us fairly well. Like the other day, I bought a huge bag of popcorn (the healthy, non-GMO kind ;) ) and we had some as a snack as soon as I brought it home. The next day I asked him if he wanted a snack, 

Me: Do you want applesauce?

Tate: (shaking head) grunts no

Me: Do you want stringcheese?

Tate: (shaking head) grunts no

Me: Do you want turkey? 

Tate: (shaking head) grunts no

Me: Do you want popcorn?

Tate: (nodding head) squeals with delight

He also leads me around by the hand and points at something that he wants to play with/do. He got playdoh for Christmas and now brings me the little containers if he wants to play with it. He also takes my hand and leads me towards a door and puts my hand on the doorknob like he wants me to open it. This happens most often at our bedroom door in the afternoon when Brandon is sleeping (he is still on third shift) Tate wants to play with Da all the time so I normally just say "Da is sleeping" and sign sleep. Normally he understands, but he can be quite persistent. So I think he is developing normally. He loves to play outside, even in cold weather. He likes to play with Kenzie the dog and has just recently started playing fetch with her with a tennis ball. Sometimes he lets go of the ball too quickly and bounces off his head! It's very funny. 

So all in all he's a pretty happy kid. I could probably write a book about him, but I'll limit these to a few paragraphs ;) 

As for the rest of my little fam, the most exciting news I have is that Brandon is going back to school! He starts classes at MTSU on January 20th. He actually just took his writing placement test this morning, and is meeting with his adviser this week to register for classes. Of course he will only be part time since he still works full time at Nissan, but he already has about 40 hours from Nashville Tech. so that will help. He will be studying Mechatronics Engineering which is a brand new program at MTSU and luckily it's a lot of what he already does at Nissan, programmable logic controls and mechanical/robotic things/stuff. I am so excited and happy for him! 

As for me, nothing new to report. I am still happily employed with the city Parks and Rec dept and love it (for the most part!) No job is perfect, right?!?

Okay, I think that about does it! I'll end with some photos of some of the major events for us in 2014. Love to all! 

Tate turned one on March 16th!

My 10 year high school reunion was in May! We had a fabulous time!

My dad's 70th birthday party was in September, we had a blast celebrating him!

My friend Meg's wedding was at the Memphis Zoo in May! Awesome!

My parent's annual Bonfire in October was so fun like always

Tate cheesin' sometime last summer

My friend Erin's wedding in Charleston was in September and it was so fun!

My friend Charlotte's wedding was in October. I LOVED it!

First family vaca to the beach, Hilton Head in Sept. Had the BEST time ever!

Tate saw the Trains at Cheekwood for the first time

Tate was a dinosaur for Halloween this year :)

Playing Catch-Up!

Hello Friends and Family! SO. I realize I haven't written a post since Tate was about six months old. I apologize! I believe I mentioned in the last post how I feel about blogging. I love reading other peoples blogs (sometimes) and I really love that our friends and family can keep up with OUR family through my own blog (mostly) but what I REALLY love is spending time with my people: My husband Brandon, our family, friends, and kid.

*(and sleeping) I do not prioritize enough time in my day to blog regularly. HOWEVER, I do see the advantages.....so here goes a catch up post (through photos!)

Tate was a giraffe for Halloween! Here he is with Batman Corbin :) This is the baby of our next door neighbors Ryan and Jessica. He was born about five months after Tate (early August). And him and Tate love spending time together. They went on my work's Not-So-Haunted Hayride this Halloween. I hope this becomes a tradition for the future! Ryan and Jess are the best neighbors anyone could ever ask for (seriously). They are SO down to earth and for real the easiest people to get along with. They are the ones whom I mentioned a very long time ago when we adopted our pup Kenzie. If it weren't for them, we would not have that little black and white crazy hyper terrier dog that we call our 1st child :) As you can obviously tell, they are the BEST neighbors ever!

 

This next picture is of Tate playing with his BFF Jack. Jack is the baby of MY bff Hallie. Hallie and I have been friends since the 7th grade. She and her husband Neil live in Bell Buckle and are teachers at Webb. Jack and Tate LOVE playing together. We all recently dined together at the new Chipotle in Mboro. (It was DELICIOUS!) It makes me SO happy to have her close to me, and for our babies to be friends.

  

Brandon is for sure a "baby person" And everyday he stays at home with Tate while I work (which is not very often) I often think how great he really is with kids. Maybe we should role reverse and I work 60 hours a week ?! 

 Tate LOVES being outside. We still go on as many walks as possible!

 We celebrated my mama's birthday at Tony's Mexican restaurant in Tullahoma. It is one of the BEST Mexican places in middle TN (we are quite partial to their guac) and I'm pretty sure Tate had his first taste of refried beans there ;) He also had a little taste of ice-cream cake!

Thanksgiving this year was a whole lot of fun! Tate got a little taste of everything we ate. He still loves beans, bananas, avocados, and cheese the most. Oh, and scrambled eggs!

I recently celebrated one of my dearest friends Charlotte B. Hutson's engagement! (Soon to be Charlotte Brinkley! LOVE how that sounds!) I absolutely cannot WAIT to be apart of her big day! I freaking LOVE weddings! And speaking of weddings, I am SO excited about the ones Brandon and I will be attending in 2014! May, September, and October ;) Beautiful times to exchange vows if I do say so myself!

So, Tate definitely enjoyed his first Christmas. We had such a good time opening his presents from Santa, Grandma & Grandpa, Nana & Papa, Aunt Dev, Aunt Winky, and Uncle Dub. He is truly a very blessed little child, and we are surely a very lucky family. Sometimes times are tough, and sometimes I get frustrated and upset with life. But when I really sit back and allow myself to realize how amazing my circumstances are, I can only feel thankful and happy. I am alive and well and have been given the absolute BEST friends and family a girl could ever hope for :)

Till next post! (Hopefully before Tate is a year old!) ;)

-NIKI

6 (3/4) Months!

Hello!

So surprise surprise, I am again late in writing my monthly posts. On the 16th of THIS month, my child will be SEVEN months old! Oops!

ANYways, at least I am writing something I suppose. I really don't think I am meant for blogging. This is honestly just a way for our out of town friends and family to keep up with us and Tate man ;) As I type, I am currently thinking of other things I should be doing, such as folding the towels that have been in the dryer for a day and a half now. (I was never really good at laundry, even pre-Tate)

HA! So. Back to our current lives. Tate is just a growin' and a growin'!

He is crawling all over the place. Our house is sloowwwllly getting baby-proofed, but it's been a little difficult so far. We have a sunken in fire-place AND living room, so both of those things have been challenges. He is very quick on his hands and knees!

He had his 6-month check up and shots about a week ago. Brandon had to take him by himself because I couldn't get out of work :/ But he said Tate did okay! The doctor also mentioned that it was a little early to be having the crawling conversation; normally that's an 8-9 month appointment subject! SO. I think I have a bit of a determined child on my hands. Just this evening, he pulled up from his knees to his feet on our step stool in the kitchen. He did it about 5 times in a row before he got it, and then just stood there like....what next?! I was like child don't you even think about walking!

Brandon and I adore him and just love spending as much time with him as possible. We hope that at some point in the near future, Brandon won't have to work such long weeks and hours. We are thankful he has his job at Nissan, but some days it's a struggle. Thankfully we have several great babysitters for Tate man :)

He is starting to eat more everyday but still isn't a huge fan of solids. His favorite though so far is avocado and surprisingly, he doesn't really like sweet potato or applesauce. Maybe he won't have such a strong sweet tooth like his mama! Either way, I am going to try to add a few more items to his menu to encourage him to eat more solids! 

He is also still waking up once at night. I know it's probably my fault. I will admit, he sleeps in the bed with me sometimes. A big NO-NO as far as "sleep training" is concerned, I realize this, but honestly I sleep better when he sleeps with me! So now we're going back and forth from him sleeping in his crib all night to coming into the bed with me after he wakes up once. I realize it is going to take me working with him for him to stay in his crib all night, and it will be easier in the long run, but sometimes I just like sleeping with him. I don't always have 9-5 hour days, but when I do I honestly just like sleeping with him. It makes me feel like I am spending time with him. I've thought a lot about this and for right now, this is working for us :) 

 

 

Last weekend I got to be re-united with these girls for the UT/GA in Knoxville! It was SO much fun. We really did have such a great time. It was a nice getaway although I did start crying in the middle of the hotel parking lot Saturday night because I missed my Tate man! (A bit of alcohol may have been involved, however). I think maybe we should have just been away for one night, but oh well, we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

We got to tailgate and drink beer and sing rocky top :) And although the game was such a heart breaker, I'm still proud of the Vols and will always root for my team!

So sad story but I have no recent photos of Brandon and I. We did celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary in September but instead of doing anything fancy, we got a new fancy blender to make Tate's babyfood. Hahaha. The life of a mama and dad! We are trying hard (kinda) to budget our monies and this just made the most sense to me! 

ANYways, I think that about sums up our life right now! Until next time, which I hope is sometime before December! Thanks for reading!

5 Months!

HOLY COW! Every month I totally intend it do these posts around the 16th, when Tate is actually turning however many months. This month it obviously did not work out that way. In fact, it was my baby app that reminded me on the 16th that he was 5 months old in the first place. I was at work and immediately thought I was a bad mama because I forgot. What made me feel a tad bit better is that Brandon didn't remember either, or my mom....haha. Soooo, either way I made up for it by spending every single minute of my time with Tate on whatever day I had off work that week. I ignored the dirty house (which is hard for me to do) and the only place we went was the grocery store. I even carried him in an Ergo carrier that someone is lending me while we grocery shopped. It was a great day and although I know Tate could care less if I remember it's his "x month" birthday, I still want to be able to wake up and think about him first, rather than work or bills or upcoming commitments. I've always loved staying super busy but I am starting to realize that I can't do everything all at once, and be a good mama at the same time. It's definitely an adjustment and a slow one at that. I am technically working 3 part-time jobs, and Brandon works an average of 60 hours a week. SO, we are slowing learning to adjust our schedules and our mindset to becoming good parents. I can't complain because we both have jobs we love so we'll just keep on truckin' until we find the right balance :) ANYways, Tate man is the best baby EVER and I love him sooooo much! The rest of this post will be photos :) 

He LOVES this swing!

He also love his Grandma. She's the best babysitter ever :)

We are home like every other weekend now :)

We had such a good time celebrating Jack's 1st Birthday!

Until next month friends! Take it easy!