WOW September is here already...

(Well tomorrow anyways)

Okay, so it honestly feels like YESTERDAY that I was just writing about how I can not believe it is August. Now here we are.. another month has come and gone. It seriously feels like I was just planing Connor's birthday party, and memorial day. Now the weather is getting cool again, and labor day is this weekend. I guess the saying is true-- time flies when you're having fun, and that is what we have been doing!

I wrote earlier this month about my Aunt Leslie's Visit, and Logan's Dedication.. Those events took up the whole first half of the month. The rest was spent just enjoying everyday life.

-Connor-
Gave up the Binky this month! When he turned a year we started telling him he can only have it for sleep time, and it must stay in his bed. He has done WONDERFUL with that (and so have we). He learned quick that he wasn't allowed to walk around with it. Then one time I attempted to take it away at night.. I think we lasted two nights. He was miserable. He was hysterical. I couldn't justify it enough. It was really harmless to me, especially sine he only used it as a comfort object to get to sleep. He was is an amazing sleeper. I didn't want to ruin that. Then he had his first dentist appointment ( I thought for sure I'd get a pacifier lecture )! I was told quite the opposite though. He said the fact he only had it at night was awesome, and not to stress about it until he's 3. So I let it go. Then one night Todd was like "how about daddy takes your binky, you dont need this anymore" then I walked in saying "ya mommy has a cool new car from the CARS movie you can have instead. We traded. That was that. Not a single tear!! He asked about it a couple of times, but I just said, "ewww where's your new car?!" Then he would get excited. I think it also helps that Logan hates them. So now we are an official binky free household (kind sad :( my baby is really a big boy).

Connor has been showing a lot of interest in using the potty. When we are at home I let him walk around in the nude (what a life), and he stops what he's doing and goes potty. Then I started putting underwear on him, and he was doing great for about 4 days. Then one day he woke up hating the potty. He was physically holding it, and screaming "no potty, diaper pease". It was terrible. So, after attempting to bribe him, convince him, beg of him, he ended up in a diaper. He is fully aware of where "pooopy in the potty" goes, and he tells me when he's about to go, and after. However, still terrified of sitting on the thing. So I let that go for a while too. He will do it when he's ready.. especially since he knows how.

Other then that he has become completely obsessed with the movie cars. We watch it once a day, and he has a meltdown when I attempt to explain to him we are only allowed to watch it once a day. It's to the point that he is starting to memorize words in it... YIKES!!! However, I can not wait for Cars 2 to come on DVD so we can switch it up some (for my sanity). He carries lighting mcqueen (our binky trade) everywhere with him. He comes on every car ride, to the dinner table, to bed every night, downstairs every morning, and has even went for a swim in milk, paint, and spaghetti. Whatever works.

(Notice the cars shirt... oy vey!)

He is truly a little sponge, and full of personality. I adore our daily conversations, and his cute comments. Most of all I love hearing him say "ove oo mommy" as I leave his bedroom at night.

-Logan-

He will be 4 months/ 17.5 wks on Saturday!! Which is crazy, but also a good thing. I am not a fan of the first few months of babyhood. The constant holding, crying, eating, sleeping, etc doesn't work for me. I remember Connor became more enjoyable around 4 months, and the same is holding true for Logan. His personality is really starting to show. He is such a happy camper! He's been sleeping better at night, and on the same schedule as Connor now (which makes life so much easier). He has become verrry interested in toys and loves to reach and pickup them! He adores Connor and smiles at him all day long. We started him on rice cereal a few days early, and he loves it. Im impressed by his spoon eating ability (or lack of the tongue thrust reflex) whichever you want to look at it. He is still sleeping in bed with me (and will be until 6 months), and his favorite thing to do still is nurse. I've been trying to get him more used to a bottle, but sometimes he's weird about it. Overall, he is a doll to be around!

We survived an earthquake and hurricane in one week. (Side note: do you know they are actually making shirts that say that?!) Luckily, we survived with very little damage, and no loss of power. This was the worse of it by us.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Summer flew by. However, I am excited for fall leaves, pumpkins, and the smells of autumn. If you want to read more of what we did this month, click this.

Oh!! And tomorrow is our one year anniversary in our house!! How crazy is that?!?!



P.S. I am sure this is obvious-- but I never reread my blogs after I write them. No patience for that. So, please ignore typos/ grammar errors. If they really bother you-- dont read! :D

Emergency Kit

This is something that has been in the back of my mind for quite sometime now. I think it started when we had really bad snow storms in NJ. Sometimes we would loose power for quite some time. Every time it happened I would think about how I wanted to create an 'emergency kit.'However, it never got done. When we moved into our new house it would still cross my mind often, but I never made it a priority.

Lately we have been having some really severe thunderstorms. With hail and everything! Everytime we would have one I would think how I hope it doesnt turn into something so serious because I dont have a kit formed. Then recently in Parents magazine it had an article about making one, and I took it as a sign.

Then on Tuesday we had an earthquake. It was extremely scary, and out of nowhere. It's one thing to watch a storm outside, and be able to go downstairs and take cover. However, not knowing where to go, feeling your entire house shake, and watching furniture move drastically is very scary. Apparently we have already had 8 after shocks... luckily havent felt those!

That was the last straw. It was time to make an emergency kit. Just in time too! I am watching the news, and now its saying Huricane Irene is going to hit us. We are ready now though!

My kit includes:
-paper towels
-blankets
-baby formula
-canned food
-flashlights
-battery radio
-candles
-matches
-pry bar/ wrench for water shut off
-first aid kit
-dust masks
-diapers/ wipes
-jackets for the boys
-lolipops
-paper/ crayons
-deck of cards
-latex gloves
-cat food
-can opener
-13 gallons of water (enough for everyone for 3 days, and one for cat)
-important phone numbers
-check book

I used FEMAs website for a guide. There are probably a few more things I would like to include, but for now I feel better. A lot of the stuff we already had-- it was just the matter of getting it together. I spent about 70$ for the items we didn't have. I plan to keep it in the basement, since that's where we will go for severe storms.

I am not worried about the storm coming this weekend so I don't think we will need it. However, if we do we are ready!!

Logan's Dedication

We had Connor baptized when he was two months old, and I wanted the same for Logan. However, I didn't want to make a big production/ send invitations, etc. I wanted just a simple personal ceremony, to make his Godparents official, and basically to be able to say we did something for him as well!

We planned it very last minute, and it was a very nice, quick ceremony. We did it at my Aunt Valerie's house, and we only had a few people. I made lunch for everyone and brought it over! We also had a cake!

Todd & I with Logan on his dedication day.

Logan and his Godparents

Ceremony

Logan with his cake

Lunch! Baked Ziti, Ceaser Salad, and French Bread! YuM!

Aunt Lesli's Visit

My Aunt Leslie, and her three boys decided to come down from New York for a few days! We had a really good time hanging out! We went to the pool, to DC, and to the Baltimore Children's Museum (which was pretty fun!!) Here are some pictures!

Then we decided that the two older boys would stay for two weeks! They have never stayed away from their mom and dad before, so it was interesting, but they did really well! It wasn't that bad having 4 boys running around all day either! I kept them all pretty busy! We went to the Germantown Splash Park, Raspberry picking at Butler's Orchard, and to the Brickfest in Northern VA!

My aunt came back to pick them up. It was sad to see them go. We had a really good time, and it was nice having some company! I think they are going to do it again next summer!