Momma! Mom! Mommy!

The never ending chatter has started! This little boy has been such an entertainment over the past 8 months. I could not imagine how our world would look without his crazy, sassy, determined self! <3

Lochlan turned two in July and had a wonderful 2nd birthday at home with our families. We threw an Octonaut party at my parents home, and Lochlan received nearly EVERY Octonaut toy (except for the Octopod) known to man! Luckily, he didn't get any doubles. It was a miracle! His favorite gift was definitely his bounce castle from his Mamaw and his Spider Man bike from his Grandma. He won't stop reading all of his funny books from Miss Megan and Ms Cedar, playing in his VW bus from his Aunt Mimi and Uncle Michael, and he loves to leave his toy cars all over the floor for us to step on. I can't get over how much fun he has with so many different things throughout the day.

He is also currently obsessed with what he calls his 'turtle movie' and his new pet fish. At first we thought he named his fish Turtle, but now we're not so sure. He just keeps insisting that he's going to eat the fish because it's growing. :-O

This summer, we spent about two weeks at home with our family, and it is always so fun to see how much he loves being around all of his aunts and uncles. I only wish that all of our family and friends were able to see us while we were in town.

Our summer! <3

2 Year Old, 2 Month Update

Milestones: This crazy little boy is speaking in complete sentences, can count to 8 regularly (10 if he feels like it) and can identify a handful of letters -- R, M, O, G, and H. They're working on numbers and letters at school, so I anticipate that he will learn a lot more very quickly.
Sleep: He's down to one nap from about 12/1-3/4 depending on how hard he runs around all morning.
Eating: This is getting better! He loves his apple sauce, kale, and mango mix ups, milk, eggs, and regularly eats all of his fruit.
Mood: Determined, stubborn, sassy, silly, goofy, and loving. This boy is going to give us a run for our money for sure!
Likes: Cars, writing with his chalk on every available surface, stickers, and Octonauts.
Dislikes: Being told no, being told anything that he hasn't decided for himself.

Things I want to remember: How sweet he can be when he just slows down for a few moments.

Looking forward to: Watching him learn and grow in school and with his friends.

Since our last post, so many things have changed! The hubs is now officially director of our part of the high school, and I am continuing to work on my Masters in Literacy and Reading. I am still co-teaching, but I have started to do a bit of instructional coaching/professional development within our school, and I'm really enjoying the opportunity to see literacy implemented across the disciplines.

We have settled into a nice daily routine, but one major thing for nugget that changed this year is that he started attending a preschool program at the local private school!

1st Day of School

We loved our daycare lady, but our boy just needed an environment that fostered more purposeful but structured play and learning with a larger group of students. We were so nervous to make the jump, but a month in, we are so happy, and he loves it! Last weekend, we spent twenty five minutes (no joke!) looking through Facebook pictures identifying all of his friends. Last night at the Homecoming game, one of his little friends was there, and both of their eyes lit up when they saw each other. It was absolutely adorable! His teachers are awesome, patient, and kind. The first week, he struggled with nap time, so one of his teachers snuggled with him until he fell asleep. Honestly, I couldn't ask for more in a two year old Pre-K program.

Since things are so crazy lately, I've realized how important this online space is in order to keep track of all of our crazy days. I'm going to go back to posting monthly updates on us and the booger. I hope that everyone enjoys them as much as they did before. :-)

The State of the World as I Know It

To say that the last six months have been busy would be, without sounding corny, an understatement!  When we went back to school, things just started flying by. Hub's new responsibilities have led to him working from 7-5:30, so we have been doing our best to balance our time together with all of our work responsibilities. He's been so great at leaving as soon as he can and as close to 5pm a possible, but I won't lie--I love mommy and Lochlan time from 4:30-5:30ish!

With all of this happy chaos, time has flown by and now all of a sudden, we have an 18 month old! So much has happened in 6 months. Everything has been so much fun, and we have been trying to relish and enjoy every single second!

We took our first family trip to the zoo during Thanksgiving break. We got to hear a lion roar, and Lochlan was absolutely in awe of the fish and uttered his first "oh, wow!" when we walked into the aquarium area. We decorated the Christmas tree together, and every morning in December Lochlan would wake up and point to the tree and say, "tchree" in the most adorable voice in the whole world! He has always been a very serious little boy, but he's so unbelievably curious about the world. It's so cool to see him just search out everything and discover just how much he can do on his own!

Post Tree Decorating Selfie

After school let out, we headed north to celebrate the rest of the holiday with our family at home. The 12 hour car ride was horrible! He did great through Charlotte, NC, but after that he was so antsy and wanted to just be out of his car seat. Neither one of us could be angry or upset, and it was awful to know that there was nothing we could do to solve things. When we got to my mom's, he flat out refused to sleep in his Pack 'n Play, and spent the bed snuggled up to me and kicking daddy.

Christmas was absolutely the most fun EVER! He was sooooooo cute saying, "oh, wow!" when he opened his presents and saying "ho, ho!" any time he saw Santa! Everyone did such a perfect job with his gifts. Everything was engaging and interesting for both him and us. He has played with everything since we've gotten home and loves all of his new books too!

Christmas Eve Compilation

Spending time with family is always the best part of going home, and it's always so bittersweet because our trips always end too soon. We were also lucky enough to have my oldest brother in town this year, and Lochlan is just absolutely infatuated with his big cousin Alex. It was one of the best things to see them playing and having fun. I can remember when I first found out my brother's wife was pregnant, and now Alex is 13. Time goes by so quickly. Sometimes I just think it's not fair how fast things go by, but then I realize how amazing it is to watch all of them (Alex, Ava--his sister, and Lochlan) get bigger and become more intriguing little people.

All of my loves.
Christmas Break 2015

When we returned from the cold and blustery north (but really, it wasn't...it was like, 50 the whole time), we jumped back into work, and now here we are--the parent's of an adorably precocious 18 month old who lights up our life every day! Enjoy some more recent pictures below and check back tomorrow for the official 18 month update!

My little devil in the bathtub!

We hosted a foster dog in December, and Lochlan was definitely the best and sweetest little guy to him!

Hubby turned 30 this month, so we went on a date to a hockey game! *isn't he handsome!*

Cheeeeeeeeeeese!