Sleepless in Green River

Lately I have been SO tired! I want to sleep but for some reason after Guy leaves for work every morning I just can't get back to sleep. I wish I could say that this was because I am so well rested and ready to start my day but in reality I am EXHAUSTED! I have watched more than my share of music videos and learned the most comfortable way to lay down on our new couch. The problem is that the longer I go without sleep the more forgetful and irritable I become. I think last night was the last straw for Guy even though he didn't say anything about it to me. Luckily I have been in one of those moods where I am annoyed with everyone but him (and you, of course) but that means he has had to listen to all of my venting.
I am so thankful that I have Vaughn around to keep me grounded and make me smile. This boy has a seriously funny sense of humor which he shares with me all day. Here is a picture of him after his bath one night, eating some fruit salad and watching TV. What a stud!

Baby Take a Bite of My Big Red Dinner!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I wanted to make it very special for my favorite boys. While everything didn't go exactly as planned, (Guy had to go to work for a couple hours and I had some other stuff that took me away for a bit) it still turned out WONDERFULLY!!

I had been planning all week to make a red dinner for Guy and Vaughn. My friend Cindy had a picture of a similar dinner she had done on her blog and I was super impressed so I decided to copy her!

I tried to make everything either red or pink. When you look at the table it is a little overwhelming! The menu consisted of:

A caprese salad

Manicotti

Homemade pink lemonade

A strawberry cake

After dinner the boys got to open their cards and presents. Guy's present was delayed in shipping because of all of the snow so I wrapped some Reese's hearts for him. Vaughn got a red devil that dances to the song, "Do You Love Me?". It was so fun!

We were too full to eat the cake last night so we will have to chow down tonight. Here are some more pictures of our night:

Our family sitting down to eat

Vaughn isn't used to getting his picture taken when he prays (hence the look on his face) but I had to capture him asking us to pray before dinner! He is learning so much so fast and picking up on everything we do (good or bad).

My boys enjoying some bubbly (well, lemonade in bubbly glasses).

Mini Me

I think that someone looks like his dad!!!

Vaughn really is a daddy's boy. He clings to me when his dad is gone but when Guy gets home he follows him around everywhere! They are two peas in a pod!!

Big Boy Bed!

It is not usually like me to blog two days in a row but today I am making an exception. Last night we had a huge milestone! For the first time EVER, Vaughn slept in his new big boy bed!

We bought him a bed a couple weeks ago (my first Craig's List purchase). I knew that we were coming to need it because when I was staying with Guy's sister Vaughn was able to escape the pack-and-play. However, he has never gotten out of his crib so I was not in a huge hurry to make the transition. Guy and I decided that we would wait until he had a weekend home so if the transition resulted in an all-nighter we could share the sleeplessness.

Last night we put Vaughn to bed as usual. We were in the living room listening to him talk to himself while we folded laundry. Then...a big boom followed by crying! I was so worried because I knew that sound meant that Vaughn had just escaped his crib. He was fine (I checked all of his bones for breaks) but I didn't want to take the risk again so we pulled out the big boy bed! I am so glad that we had it ready to go so that we could move it in quickly. It is also a toddler bed so he can keep the same mattress from his crib. After we got his bed set up we layed him down and explained to him that it was time for bed and left the room. We sat in silence for about 10 minutes (not wanting to talk for fear of jinxing it) and then I couldn't take the suspense any longer so I went to check on him. This is what I found:

I am very proud of Vaughn for falling asleep so quickly and adjusting to the change so well. We didn't exactly have a full nights sleep but I think it was a very successful start. Tonight Guy is taking the crib down and putting it in storage for a while.
Before we decided to turn in for the night I checked on Vaughn one more time...

This Cowboy...

This cowboy is growing up so fast! When I took this picture I could not believe how old he looked. When did my baby stop being a baby? I remember when he was smaller and I relished in every little thing he did. Now that he is a toddler I spend more time chasing him around and less time remembering his unique character.
This month Vaughn will be 22 months old!
He loves to wear his cowboy hat. He finds it every morning and wears it all day. He will point to it and say, "cowboy hat". His dad taught him how to wave it around and say, "yee-haw".
He climbs on everything! He rarely falls but loves to pretend he is falling to see our reaction. When we run to catch him he quickly lets himself go and then laughs.
Every night he wants to go around the house and say "good night" to: the fish, a picture of grandma and grandpa, daddy, Max and whatever toys he can find. In the morning the first thing he does is say "hi" to the fish and the picture of grandma and grandpa.
He talks all the time! He knows what he wants and will ask for it repeatedly (we call this broken record style) until we give in or distract him with something else. He can say 3 word combinations now. I don't know if that is on track for his age or not but it impresses me every time. He even said "Mom you're pretty" one time which melted my heart.
He recognizes most animals and can imitate their sounds.
I love my little boy more than I ever could have imagined. We want another baby so bad! I am constantly wondering if it would be possible for me to love another child as much as I love him but I know I will and can't wait to experience it!
I am in awe of a mother's love every day. I love knowing that so many mother's feel the same way about their own child(ren) as I do about Vaughn. I think every child deserves to be loved like this.

The Curse of a Mother

My mom and I often talk about "the curse of a mother." The curse works like this: when your baby is awake you want to them to sleep but once they are asleep you can't wait for them to get up. I hope that those of you who are mothers can understand and those of you who aren't will forgive me for how awful the curse sounds.

Here's the thing though, when Vaughn is awake I have a hard time getting anything done unless (*cringe*) I put on the TV to entertain him. But, as soon as I put him down for a nap or bed I miss him. I tried to explain this to Guy once and he thought I was crazy. I physically miss Vaughn sometimes even when he is less than 25 steps away in his room. I just want to hold, cuddle, kiss, hug, play...Once I lay Vaughn down and I am sure he is asleep I can't help but go and check on him. Here are a few pics of him being irresistibly cute.

Vaughn somehow fell asleep with his feet sticking out of the bars of the crib. He is one wild sleeper!

*Disclaimer: Vaughn does very well playing by himself but he has quite a bit of separation anxiety right now so when I leave to do something he wants to come with me. The TV will keep him distracted from me leaving. Please don't judge me for this; I judge myself enough about it!

The Help

I just can't keep it in any longer...


I read the best book! My mom gave it to me for my birthday and I can't help but reccomend it to everyone. If you are looking for a book to fall in love with that you can't put down, this one is for you.
Let me know if you have read it, are planning on reading it or have anything else to say about it!