You would think that I would be able to keep up with this better....

Wow, again it's been over a month since I've posted!  Where does the time go?  Here's what's been up....

Tanner:  My two and a half year old is a singing, dancing, running machine!  He is never still!!  (Boys!)  He loves to sing "Jingle Bells" and "Mr. Turkey" that he learned in school.  We went to his school's Thanksgiving program, where he did not sing, but did point to to me and say "Nonny's here."  At the dinner afterwards, his teacher handed out his turkey place mat that he made that says "I am thankful for my daddy."  Needless to say, Bobby is so proud of that one!!!  He is obsessed with all things Christmas.  We have seen Santa 3 times and he has sat on his lap twice.  His favorite Christmas movie is Frosty, followed closely by Elf.  Elf is my fave, but after watching the first part about 20 times, I'm getting sick of it!  Tanner has many cute sayings that I should have written down after he said them, but a few are "yuuuuun more" (one more), "moniecycle bin" (recycle bin), "I'm gonna need this....,"  "Ninkle Little Star" (Twinkle little star) for any star that he sees, "yatch dis" for watch this, followed by some sort of jump, "Bodice" for Thomas the train, and he still calls Brennan "Dede" or "Deedle" but calls other babies, "baby."  We are still working on using the potty.  He now likes to sit on the big potty, but is still telling us when he needs to use it every time.  He had his first big fall at school last week.  He was playing on the playground and fell and bit his tongue.  It bled quite a bit before I got there, but was done by the time I came to get him.  No stitch needed, in fact, we didn't even take him to the doctor because there is usually nothing they can do for the tongue and it heals quickly.
Brennan:  My baby is now 10 months old and just as spoiled as can be!!  He is starting to army crawl (just like Tanner did), but would rather be held.  Daddy has been the main spoiler, but it's hard to resist that "Bundle"-Bobby's nickname for him.  He continues to be the happiest boy around.  He loves almost everything we do-walks, the park, shopping, etc.  He LOVES to eat!!  I haven't found anything that he won't eat yet.  After he takes a bite of something he really likes, like mashed potatoes and Vovo's gravy, he says "mmmmm."  He still does his happy squeals and babbles non-stop.  He loves his big brother and gets so excited when Tanner comes into the room!  He now has three teeth and is working on the fourth.
Halloween:  Tanner was a monkey for Halloween and Brennan was a tiger.  Bobby was supposed to be a monkey too, but never ended up dressing up, and I was a leopard.  We had a few friends and neighbors over for a party here.  It was fun!  :)  The boys and I went trick-or-treating with Emma and Leslie.  I was hoping that Tanner would be a good listener since Emma was there, but it was a tough one!  I didn't take the double stroller-big mistake!!  So Tanner walked, and well, he liked when we rang the doorbells, but didn't really want to walk and hold Mommy's hand.  Oh, well.  Live and learn...double stroller next year!!
Thanksgiving:  For Thanksgiving this year, Bobby wanted to stay here.  Our first time having Thanksgiving here!!  My mom came and stayed for about 4 days.  I loved it!  She had just bought a wii, so we played bowling and it was so fun!!!  Bobby fried the turkey for us, mom, Jon, and Kas.  We ate delicious food and had some drinks.  :)  We decorated the tree with my mom while listening to Johnny Cash's Christmas album, and Tanner really liked putting on the decorations (over and over).  My Uncle Steve, Auntie Lynn, cousin Stephanie and her fiance came to visit.  My cousin had never met Brennan, and she wanted too!  Brennan was a bit fussy and teething, but it was fun none the less.  Jacqui, her mom, Tony, and Curtie B came over too.  Such a fun night with friends and family!!  :)

OK, gotta make dinner, so that's all for now!  Stay tuned for Christmas updates and some exciting news!!!!!  :)

Busy, busy September

As you can tell, things have been busy, busy around here!  Here's what's been going on!

School:  Tanner started back to school on Sept. 1st.  He has 11 children in his room and only one of them was from his class last year. Luckily for her (?), Tanner has decided that she is his girlfriend!  He kisses and hugs her throughout the day.  He teacher said that he was "really loving, I mean, REALLY!"  I started to get concerned that he was turning into the creepy kid.  I asked the little girl's mother about it and she said that she didn't mind a bit.  So I guess it's fine!  :) Tanner had a few days of crying when I dropped him off, but now he is over it and loves school, like I knew he would!!  Tanner is not the only one who started school.....I did too!  I am going to school online and getting my master's in Early Childhood Development. I am hoping that this degree with insure my K position when I go back to teaching (in a few years).  I could even be a director of a daycare or preschool with this degree, so who knows!!  So far, the program is good.  There is a lot of reading and a lot of reflecting on my teaching practices.  (No wonder I haven't posted in almost a month)  :)

Brennan:  Mr. Brennan is 7 months old now!  He now likes to sleep on his belly, which worries Bobby a lot.  But "they" say that once a baby can roll there, they are fine sleeping like that.  He loves to eat baby food and I haven't found anything that he won't eat!  That explains how chunky he is!!  Hehe!!  He is always interested in what his big brother is doing and he lights up when Tanner comes into the room!  Tanner is still very sweet with him.  I love seeing my boys interact!!  His best friend is his paci, but we will worry about breaking that habit later!  He LOOOOOOOVES to be carried around in the carrier facing the front.  He squeals and squeaks the whole time!  Such a happy baby!

Tanner:  Tanner likes to be Mommy's little helper.  He likes to carry the reusable bags into the grocery store for me.  He even plays pretend while at home by filling up his bag with toys and saying "Bye bye, going to the grocery store!"  When I ask him what he's going to get, he says "Dede Oatneal" (Baby oatmeal for Brennan).  I created a chore/behavior chart for Tanner.  He puts foam pieces into the chart when he cleans up, wears his seat belt, brushes his teeth, or refrains from hitting and scratching.  He loves to do the chart, and is really proud when he gets to put a piece in!  (I have pics of the chart, and will try to upload them later)  He also helps me put away the laundry and burp the baby!  Such a good helper!!

Beach:  Bobby's parents bought a beach house in Carolina Beach and we went there for a few days this week.  The house is still pretty bare, but it was fun nonetheless.  We went down to the beach twice.  Tanner loved getting in the water and building sandcastles with Daddy.  Brennan had a better time this time at the beach.  He liked watching the big waves!  It rained a couple of the days that we were there, so my in-laws and I took the boys to the Fort Fisher aquarium.  Tanner really liked seeing the fish and Brennan babbled to the fish as well!  Bobby and I got to have a romantic dinner just the tow of us one night, which we followed up by having some drinks on the pier.  :)  I am looking forward to many more stays at the "Hotel Meroney Beach House"

Terrible, I mean Terrific Two's!!!

After my last blog Tanner has done a 180.  We went from the terrible two's to the terrific two's!!!  Instead of hitting or scratching me when he gets angry, I say "make a good choice or you will go into your room" and he hugs me and stops fussing!  This basically happened out of the blue.  I hadn't even started using the booster seat as a time out seat yet.  (That was my plan if he hit, bit, or scratched.  He gets sent to his room to "cool down" if he is yelling for no reason.)  Bobby started talking with him about the rules and having him repeat them.  "No hitting, no scratching, etc"  and we have added "Always keep on your seat belts" as he can somehow get his arms out of his straps, no matter how tight we have them!   :/  I think it has also helped that we have been keeping busy.  Since he is not in school, I need to get him out and about as much as possible to avoid the meltdowns over being bored.  This week, we did gymnastics twice and Monkey Joe's twice!  It was really fun for Tanner, but poor Brennan had very short morning naps and was not feeling up to par, so that meant tired arms on Mommy from holding him constantly.  I have also been making my alone time with Tanner more fun and giving him choices of what he would like to do during that time!  It is so nice to see him assert his independence!!
Mr. Brennan Burger can sit up for a little bit on his own now, before toppling over.  He likes to play with any toy that Tanner is willing to share with him.  He went to the doctor's today for his 6 month check up and shots.  He is 26 1/2 inches long and weighs a little over 20 pounds.  He is in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height.  He took his shots like a champ and only cried for a min afterwards.
Today is Bobby's birthday.  I will not mention how old, but let's just say it's a bit of a milestone birthday.  :)  Bobby would not let me throw him a 30th birthday party (waaaaaaay back when he turned 30).  So this weekend, I decided to throw him a surprise party!  Let me go into the back story of this.  The girls and I were supposed to be going on our 2nd annual girls beach vacay this weekend.  Well.......Hurricane Irene cancelled that!  I was bummed!  I am reading this book from our book club (my pick, just saying), The Happiness Project.  (I highly recommend it).  In this book, the author focuses on different aspects of her life in order to become happier.  Well, one of the things she talks about is turning a negative into a positive.  Beach weekend is cancelled....that provides me with the perfect opportunity to do something nice for someone else (in the book she talks about how it makes people happy to do things for others) by  throwing Bobby a surprise party.  I was a little anxious about it, but it all turned out well!  Thanks to Marc for being my wing man and Maggie for helping me set up!  Bobby was surprised and really enjoyed his party!
I don't know why I feel like I should give each post an ending, but I just do.  So....that's all for this terrific post!!  :)

The latest......

I haven't posted a "new" blog in a while, so I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on!

Tanner:  "Nanner" (as he calls himself) has hit the terrible twos!  :(  He has been hitting, scratching, biting, and pinching us when he is upset.  This has been a very hard time for me.  I hate to see him so upset and acting like this.  Where did my sweet boy go?  I know it is just a phase, and he is "acting like a two year old," but I struggle with how to stop this behavior.  Should I ignore it?  It's hard to ignore when he is hurting the baby.  Should I put him in time-out?  That's not always an option (like when we are in the car). I know that I am not the only parent to go through this.  Any advice you have to give is welcome (as long as it comes without judgements)  :)  On a better note, Tanner has many cute sayings......bug bug bite, he calls me Nonny, he yells for Bobby and I by saying "Honey,"  he calls Thomas the train "Bach Train,"  he says animal names by the sounds they make (meow-meow, nah nah).  He went camping with Bobby last weekend and did so well!  He didn't nap, but he did sleep all night in the tent!  Tanner and I had a day out with just the two of us last week.  We had a play date with his friend Tom ("Bach").  We played at the mall, then went out to lunch at Olive Garden.  Then we finished up by going to the grocery store.  He did so well the whole day.  No tantrums, no hitting.  It was lovely!  I know that he misses spending quality time with Mommy and I miss it too!  I have made a mental note to do more of those!

Brennan:  "Dede"  is 6 months old now!  A half a year....wow!!!  His napping is wonderful now!  I rock him, give him the paci, and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."  Then I put him in his bed and he goes right down!  He sleeps anywhere between 1-3 hours per nap!  YAY!!  He is still just the happiest baby and is only fussy when he needs to nap.  He loves the Exersaucer and can somehow move it across the floor in the kitchen to get to the table.  He loves to watch his big brother.  He LOVES when he is facing out in the carrier or Moby and we go shopping or for walks.  He squeals the whole time!!  He is a good eater, just like Tanner.  I haven't found anything that he won't eat.

Guess that's all for now!  :)

Flashback Blog: Our Wedding 8-8-06

In honor of our 5 year anniversary on Monday, I thought I'd write about our wedding week in Jamaica, Man!

We decided to do a destination wedding since it had been a while since either one of our parents went on a nice trip.  We left for Ocho Rios, Jamaica on Sunday Aug. 6th, 2006 (which is also my mom's birthday).  We flew with my mom, Bobby's parents, Tonya and Bobby Buchanan.  We were meeting my dad there, since he lives in Denver.  We got to Couples and realize that my mom picked up the wrong bag at the airport!  Luckily, her bag was also in Ocho Rios (at Sandals) and we got it with little trouble.  That evening, the resort had dinner on the beach and entertainment, which was fun.  The next day, we met with the wedding coordinator and went over details of our wedding with her.  The gang all had planned on going on the Catamaran cruise, and as Bobby and I were walking down to the boat to meet everyone, his sister, Shannon surprised us and came walking up the beach!  I was so excited to have her there!!  :)  Then we all did the cruise, drank some really strong rum punch and jumped off the boat!  Bobby jumped off the boat first, and I made Tonya hold my hand and we jumped together.  On our way back to the resort, Shannon and I danced.....such fun memories!!

The next day was our wedding day!!!!!  We got married at 4 in the afternoon, so for the first part of the day, we just all hung out.  Then I went to the salon to get my hair done, and that was when I started to get nervous.  Not nervous about marrying Bobby, just nervous about walking down the isle and saying my vows. (I knew Bobby was my soul mate) After my hair was done, I went to my mom and Shannon's room to get ready.  Shannon, my mom and Bobby's mom stayed with me and helped me get ready.  Bobby's dad and the Buchanan's helped Bobby (gave Bobby beers).  The wedding coordinator called Shannon and my soon to be MIL to go down and meet Bobby.  After a few minutes, they called for us.  This is it!!!!!  I wanted both my mom and my dad to walk me down the isle.  I owe so much of who I am to my mom, and I like the tradition of the father walking the daughter down the isle.  On the looooooooong walk to the gazebo (we were married in the garden gazebo), my mom whispered some sweet words to me that made me tear up.  Then, I walked around the tree and saw my husband waiting for me.  He looked so handsome!  We chose not to write our own vows because I was afraid I would cry too much when saying them, so we just repeated after the Jamaican minister.  By the end, both of us kind of took on a Jamaican accent.  During our vows, there was some random chicken cock-a-doodle-dooing in the background, which kept us girls laughing!  :)  We did our first kiss, and YAY, we were finally married!!!!!  Then we went to the gazebo for toasts and to eat the world's worst cake ever! Shannon made a great toast that made Bobby and I cry.  My mom cried A LOT, and at one point, I asked her if those were good tears....she said yes!  We did our first dance, and the father/daughter, mother/son dance. (Bobby's mom was crying quite a bit too-shocker!)  We did pics, ate a good meal (after they finally found our reservation) and Tonya helped me out of my dress and took my hair down.  Then Bobby and I enjoyed our first night as a married couple!

The next few days we hiked the falls, swam, and just had fun with our family and friends.  Everyone but us left on Friday.  We stayed until Sunday and enjoyed a couples massage and some quality alone time.  When we got back, Bobby still had some vacay days and we laid in bed and watched movies and just enjoyed being with each other as husband and wife!

It's hard to believe that Bobby and I have been together for 9 years, married for 5 years, and have 2 great boys.  We are so blessed!

In your child, you will see yourself

The more Tanner's personality comes out, the more I see myself in him.  He is shy (in new situations), emotional, and loving.  He started summer school 3 weeks ago.  Summer school is more like a camp.  They have a cooking day and a water day each week, plus, they go Mon-Thurs.  The night before his first day, we talked about going to school (he had been out for a month) and meeting new friends, playing, etc.  He started kind of whimpering, but didn't cry.  Then, the next day, he was up really early (I think because he was anxious about school).  On our way to school, he continued to whine/whimper and suck his thumb.  I could tell, it would not be an easy goodbye.  When we got into his new classroom, we didn't see any of his friends from last year.  So, we meet his teachers and I sit down with him on the floor and show him a fire truck.  There is another little boy playing with a train beside of us.  He is older than Tanner and starts talking to him about trains and trucks.  Tanner played for a second, then I told him that I had to go bye bye......That's when things went south!  He started really crying and screaming.  I kissed him and told him I would be back in a little while.  His teacher, Mrs. Martha, picked him up and I left him still crying.  On the way out, I saw the director, Mrs. Katie.  She asked if that was Tanner she could hear crying.  I said yes and that his last teacher got him with snacks in the beginning.  Mrs. Katie said "Ok, I'll try that and I'll call you if I need too."  So I left feeling like I wanted to cry too.  When I came to pick him up, Mrs. Katie said that he calmed down after a few minutes and going into the gym to ride a bike.  When I walk into his room, he yells "Nonny" and runs to hug me.  Best moment ever!!!!
That night, we talked about school and his new teachers.  Anytime I said anything about school, he would fake cry.  I tried to tell him no, we say "yaaaaay" when we are talking about school.  It didn't work, but was worth a try!  The next day, same thing on the way to school and same thing when I dropped him off....crying, screaming, sad Mommy.  When I picked him up, Mrs. Katie told me that from now on, his class (the ones and twos) will be dropped off in the gym because Tanner and a few others do better in there.  So the next day, I drop him off in the gym and he runs away, right over to a bike.  The rest is history.  He has been so excited to go to school and ride on the bikes!  Today was the last day of summer school, so he will be out of school for the month of August.  But, when he goes back, a few of his friends from the summer will be in his class, so that will be nice.  Hopefully, we will have an easier transition, but I am not holding my breath about it.   I can sympathize with how Tanner feels because I am also nervous and shy in new situations.  Even as a teacher, I would get anxious about the first day of school.  Thankfully, it gets easier the more you do it, and Tanner will have plenty of practice before Kindergarten!  :)  

Flashback Blog: Tanner's birthday

In honor of my big boy turning two, I thought I would do a flashback blog about his actual birthday (June 26th, 2009).
On Thurs. June 24th, Bobby and I were scheduled to be induced at 7 am.  The induction was because of my high blood pressure and protein in my urine, which is a sign of pre-eclampsia.  The night before, Bobby and I ate at Olive Garden and tried to go to bed early.  He seemed to sleep fine, I was sooooooo nervous.  I even told him that if something happens to me, tell Tanner that his mommy loved him very much.  The hospital told us to call in the morning to make sure that they had room for us, and they did!  So off we go!  I tried to eat a little breakfast, but that didn't really happen.
We get to CMC-Pineville and they tell check me.  I am 80% effaced and a whopping 2 centimeters dilated. Do the midwife puts cervil on my cervix and tells me to walk around.  Bobby and I walk a few rounds, then his parents arrive.  They walk with us a few more rounds, then my mom get there.  We all walk around a bit more and my sis-in-law gets there.  At this point I am sick of walking so, we go back to my room and chill.  I am feeling some slight cramping, but nothing major.  They check me, I have dilated to 3 centimeters.  Now time for the pitocin.  They give me the pitocin, the contractions really start, and I request an epidural.  After the epidural, all I kept saying was "Now this is the way to have a baby."  By this time, it's dinner time for everyone (except me, of course) so the crew gets Japanese take out and a dish for me for after the birth.  Then I rested for a bit.  The nurse kept checking me and at 11:00 pm, I was at 10 and she said I could start pushing.  The midwife was in another labor when I started and the nurse said that she can see the head, and he has hair, so if I am a good pusher, she will have to have me stop and wait for the midwife.  I guess, I was not a good pusher because it took me 1 hour and 16 mins. to have Tanner.  When Tanner was born, Bobby, his mom and sister, and my mom were in the room.  What a special moment!  :)  Right after he was born, he had a busted blood vessel on his umbilical cord, so they had to take him over and work on that.  Then I delivered the placenta and that's when things went downhill.  After the placenta comes out, my uterus should have closed, but instead, it didn't and therefore, I hemorrhaged.  I knew something was wrong because the nurse had all of the visitors except Bobby leave and suddenly there were TONS of nurses in there.  I kept telling Bobby that something was wrong, but he said no, everything is fine (even though he knew it wasn't, he was trying to keep me calm.)  They worked on me until about 1:30am and Bobby stayed by my side, holding my hand, the whole time. They still could not getting to bleeding to stop, so they put a sponge in me and told me no food or drink until the morning after I go into the Operating room.  The doc wanted to have more help just in case I was still bleeding  and they had to take out my uterus (aka a hysterectomy). That night, I was on bed rest as I was too weak to get out of bed.  Therefore, Bobby held Tanner all night long.  Tanner slept on his chest and Bobby was smitten!  My mom also ended up sleeping in our hospital room, I think she was worried about me and didn't want to leave.
In the morning, they took me to the OR waiting room, where I waited for almost 2 hours to go into surgery.  They ended up giving me a blood transfusion since I had lost so much blood, then took me into surgery.  When I woke up, they said the bleeding had stopped and I did not have to have a hysterectomy!  YAY!!! I was finally wheeled back to my room to be with my new baby!  Finally, it was my turn to love on Tanner Boo Boo, and I've been doing it ever since!  :)
The difference between Tanner's birth story and Brennan's is like night and day, but in the end, we got two healthy, happy babies....what more could one ask for?

Tanner turned two (how did that happen?)

On June 26th, Tanner Boo Boo turned two!  I am so happy and proud of the toddler he's becoming.  He is such a sweet boy. He hugs and kisses Brennan all of the time. He has started kissing everything on the way out of the door when we leave the house.  He kisses the baby swing, his motorcycle, the couch, etc.  He no longer clings to me or Bobby at family events.  One of my favorite things we do is to cuddle on the couch before bed.  After I put Brennan down, Tanner and I get into PJ's (Ok, I'm always in mine), and then cuddle on the couch watching "Wheel of Fortune."  What can I say, he likes it!  :)  He can count up to 3 now and he recognizes that words have letters.  For example, he will see a word in a book like ELMO and say "A, D, E, R."  Then I will say the letters in the word. We have been working on the letters in his name.  He now says 2-3 word phrases.  They usually start like this "I do.......(mom mow, poo poo, night night)  or "I need........(this, water, shoe)  or "Where.....(Daddy, sock, Dede) go?"  He is getting into the independent phase, which, for the most part, I am happy about.  However, when he insists on walking down a big staircase without holding my hand or putting on his shoes by himself it can be challenging!
For his party, we decided to have it at our house so that Tanner's friends could come.  His friends Tom, Ryan, Andrew, and his girlfriend Emma came!  We were going to have the kiddie pool up, but it had a hole in it.  Oh well.  The kids got to play outside with bubbles and Tanner's many vehicles.  His grandparents came and some of our friends too.  My first attempt at mini meatballs came out pretty good, if I do say so myself!  Plus Mama Roney made some delish mushroom and cheese apps and her famous jalapeno poppers.  We had cupcakes and Tanner opened presents.  All of which had wheels!  Hehe!!  The night ended with fireworks, too bad Tanner was already in bed!

These past two years have gone by so fast.  I think back to when Tanner was a newborn and sleeping in the swing, or when he was army crawling after the cats, or trying Mommy's spaghetti for the first time, or cruising around the couch, and it makes me teary, but in a good way!  :)

Life's a BEACH!!!

Last week, we took our first family vacay to the beach.  Here's the day by day play by play.......

Saturday-We pile into the car (Bobby, me, Tanner, Brennan, and my cousin, Lizzy).  We drive 7 hours and arrive in Kitty Hawk, NC.  The car ride was a major success!  We had one short stop for me to pee (of course) and one longer stop for lunch.  Brennan started getting a little fussy as we were almost there just because he needed to eat.  I'm thinking "wow, this is gonna be an easy vacay!"  We decide to go check out the ocean (at this point, it's about 7 pm, so we aren't going to swim, just going to see the beach).  Tanner was a little hesitant at first about the waves, but he warmed up after a bit.  He liked digging in the sand with his shovel.  We walked down there (big mistake-Tanner kept stopping to dig in the dirt on the walk and it took forever).  Bobby was wearing Brennan in the carrier and it was quite windy, so he had to walk along and couldn't help wrangle Tanner.  Finally, we get back to our house and feed the kids and get them down for bed.  Then Bobby and I went out to get groceries, or so I thought.  Bobby surprised me and took me out for dinner and drinks at the Outer Banks Brewery, it was DELISH!!  We did end up going grocery shopping after that, which is a lot more fun when you've had a glass of wine!  :)

Sunday-Brennan is up at 6 am, which was the average the whole week.  Plus, his naps were only 10-15 mins the whole week.  Bad combo which resulted in lots of crying!  When you are used to getting up at 8, the 6 am wake up is not pleasant!  So we eat breakfast and pack up for the beach.  We pitched a cabana for Brennan, so he was covered from the sun and wind.  While Bobby and Lizzy were doing that, Tanner and I got our feet in the water.  It was COOOOOOOOLD!!  But Tanner loved it, he was ready to go in deeper.  This made me very nervous because I am not a good swimmer at all.  I still have to hold my nose to go underwater.  Needless to say, Bobby will be teaching the boys how to swim.  Then Bobby took over and took Tanner out, he loved it, and didn't want to get out.  I sat with Brennan, he napped for a bit, then I fed him, and we played in the cabana.  Then it was time to go back to the for lunch and naps.  We leave, with Tanner having a fit and Mommy starting to get stressed.  Then back  at the house, I bathe Brennan and Tanner in the bathtub quickly, so we can get lunch going.  While making the mac and cheese, Brennan is screaming because he needs to nap and refuses to, Bobby is outside with Tanner grilling the hot dogs and Lizzy is in the shower.  So I am left listening to a screaming baby for 15 mins.  Bobby comes in with the hot dogs, and I have a meltdown.  After lunch, I take a nap, and feel better.  I realized that I just need to go with the flow.  Things are harder when you are not at your house, in your routine, but at the same time, you are making memories with your family (and that's what matters).  After nap, we try to go to the Dunes.  Notice, I said try.......well now it was time for Tanner's meltdown.  We get to the Dunes, and I decide not to try to climb them with Brennan in the Moby, so Lizzy, Bobby, and Tanner walk on.  They didn't get far....Tanner started screaming "water, water" over and over.  We thought he was thirsty, no not it.  I guess he expected to see the ocean again, but there were only dunes.  He was not happy about it.  So we left.

Monday-Bobby took Tanner back to the Dunes and he great, they went all the way up and there were no meltdowns!  YAY!  Bobby and I went out for drinks that night after the kids went to bed, like old times! ;)

Tuesday-Bobby and Lizzy took Tanner down to the beach while Brennan and I stayed at the house.  This was much more relaxing for me.  I gave Brennan his bottles on the deck and swung him to sleep in the swing under the deck.  Ahhhhhh....now this is a vacation.

Wednesday-Bobby toured the stores at the beach, and Lizzy, the boys, and I went to a gift shop to look around.  Tanner, again, had a total meltdown.  He screamed the whole time in the store because I would not let him out of the stroller.  :/  On the upside, he took a 3 hour nap that day.  Then my Uncle Pete and Aunt Tina joined us!  That night, we grilled some yummy steaks and drank sweet wine!  The gals walked down to the beach to see the moon shining on the water, and saw some big a** holes-hehe!!  Fun times!!!

Thursday-We went out for a tasty breakfast, then all headed out to the beach.  Tanner again loved it!  Bobby and I even took him out together into the deep water and that was really fun!  Brennan took his best nap of the week (about 25 mins) in the cabana.  That night, I took Lizzy out to eat a really good Italian restaurant.  We had so much fun eating and having girl talk!

Friday- We decide to go up to Corolla where the wild horses are.  I saw a commercial that said if you have 4 wheel drive, you can drive on the beach.  Sounds fun, until you get stuck!  Uhhhh...yeah.  Instead of paying to take a Jeep tour to see the horses, we tried to follow where they were going (up a dune).  Bad idea.  We did not make it, not even close!  So as Bobby is pushing us, I am pressing the gas, Tanner is having yet another meltdown!  Finally a chick comes to help Bobby and we get unstuck.  Then we say, forget it, let's just go.  As we are leaving, we see some horses!  YAY-success!!!!!  We decided to leave that night to come home instead of driving all day Sat.  So we nap (Tanner) and pack up.  We headed out around 5:30 pm, stopped for dinner at 8, and got home by 12:30.  The first part of the ride was pretty awful, with Tanner crying to get out and hitting and pinching Lizzy.  The last part was good and went by fast with and epic game of "Top Three."

Our first family vacation sure had its ups and downs, but in the end, we got some wonderful memories, and what more can you ask for!  :)  I will try to add some pics-no promises!

Finally getting the swing of things!

This week, for the first time since Brennan was born, I feel like I have a handle on things.  First off, Brennan is starting to get into a more predictable routine (YAY).  He has always been a great sleeper at night, but during the day, his naps became only 15-20 mins at a time, which is not a restorative sleep.  So, I tried to sleep train him, by using the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child."  I bought this book to help with Tanner's naps when he was 5 months old.  Tanner was soooooooo hard to get to sleep during the day.  I would rock him for 30 mins only to have him sleep for 20.  So.....I bought the book and followed the "cry it out" technique for naps.  It work, and Tanner has been a champion sleeper ever since!  Naturally, I thought Mr. Brennan would take to it as easily as Tanner.  Well......I was wrong.  In the book, it says to do whatever routine you choose for naps, be consistent, then lay them down in their cribs to sleep.  They should sleep for an hour, ideally.  If not, you can let them try to "cry it out" and get to sleep (or back to sleep) for an hour.  So I tried it with Brennan.  It did not go well.  He cried so hard for the entire hour, which broke my heart to hear.  :(  After a few days of doing it this way, it was still not getting much better. Then I tried to go in after he woke up (15 mins after laying in crib) and give him his paci.  No picking him up, no eye contact.  It worked!  He went back to sleep for 30 mins!!  I did it again, and he went back to sleep for another 30 mins!  Then today, his naps have been 45-60 mins each!  Hooray!!!  :)
Since he has been napping longer, I have been able to get more done.  I cleaned the whole kitchen this week.  And I mean CLEANED!! I scrubbed the baseboards, washed the walls, and dusted the laundry room.  Go me!!!  I have also given in to the fact that Brennan may be my last baby and is my baby now so, I may as well enjoy this time instead of hoping for the next phase to come.  So I have decided that I am going to wear him more.  I am still getting the hang of the Moby, but so far, I really like it.  I like having him so close to me, he likes it, and I have my hands free!  I have not taken the boys shopping by myself yet.  With Tanner sitting in the front of the cart, and Brennan's car seat in the back part, there is no more room for the stuff I am buying!  So, I put Brennan in the Moby and Tanner in the cart and headed to my fav. store-Target!!  It went great!  I got many smiles from others moms and an older man commented on "my contraption."  Hehe!!
Mr. Tanner finished school last week.  On the last day, his class had an awards ceremony where all of the students got recognized for something.  Tanner got "Most Athletic"  (Bobby was so proud)  His teacher said he is always throwing or rolling a ball!  He misses school already, every morning he says "School, yeah, school, yeah."  I am so glad that we decided to sign him up for preschool, he has really blossomed.  It is really fun driving around with him now.  He is obsessed with anything with wheels.  He loves to point out lawnmowers, airplanes, motorcycles, etc.  He has also started to notice landmarks, like the big baseball at the Knights Stadium.  Now whenever I say we are going in the car, he says "biiiiiiiig bawl,"  hoping to see the baseball.  He has also become quite the singer.  He loves to sing "Baa baa black sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, the Elmo song (kill me), and random ones that he makes up that have Mommy, Daddy, Deeeeedeeee, and monmowers (lawnmowers).  Memorial day was also Papa's (Bobby's dad) birthday, so we went to High Point to surprise him.  Bobby took Tanner in the pool and he took to it right away.  He has always liked baths and the water, but this was the first time that he could really "swim" with the floaties on.  He was booking it and loved to jump in from the side and even the diving board a few times.  What a daredevil.  :/  Mommy's not too happy about that one!
Next week, I get all four of my wisdom teeth taken out, again, I'm not too happy about that!  Wish me luck.  Then, on Saturday, we take our first family trip to the beach!!!!!  We have never taken Tanner and I am excited to go.  We are also taking our nanny (my little cousin) with us!  I will blog about our epic beach adventure later!  :)

Wonderful Week!

Last week was a WONDERFUL week!  Bobby took the week off and so did I (just kidding, sorta).

OK, let's start with the Saturday before last....We transitioned Tanner into his big boy bed (finally) and he did WONDERFUL with it!!  I thought that he would need extra reading and snuggle time before nap, but instead, he literally pushed me off of his bed and said "night, night." He has been doing great in it ever since.  (There have been a few times of reminding him to get back into bed during naps, but only a few)   This was Bobby's special day to do whatever he wanted.  So he went to a free concert with Marc, then swimming at Tony's, then to Grapevine for a beer.  Then the gang all came here (Jac and Tony, Marc and Kas).  It was so fun hanging out with everyone!  And we were celebrating Kas passing the GMAT!!  :)

Then Sunday, was my day!!!  Jac and I went out to lunch at, guess where.......yup, Olive Garden!  We then went to see the movie, Bridesmaids.  It was WONDERFUL and hilarious!!!!  A must see, for sure!!!!  We finished the day by shopping!  Loved it!!!!

During the week, I got to do some solo shopping.  I also went on a coffee date with my Mommies group sans babies (for me).  I took Tanner to the Rock Hill Children's Museum just the two of us.  It was so nice to hang with just my big boy, like old times!!  I also got to do a dinner out with Maggie and Jac in Baxter Village, so relaxing!!

Friday was date night!!  Or first since Brennan was born.  Maggie and Jacqui babysat the boys and said they did great!  Bobby and I were going to see the new Pirates movie, but we didn't have time before our dinner reservation, so instead, we got some pre-dinner drinks at a wine bar.  The we went to dinner at Villa Antonio in Ballantyne, so yummy!

Then this Sat. was my friend Shannon's bridal shower.  There was tons of wine and all of my teacher friends were there!  So fun!  Then we ended the night with dancing, just like old times!!!  Can't wait for the wedding!!!!!!

This week I got a much needed break, and Bobby got a little taste of what I do everyday, all day long!  He even said that he can now understand how I feel at times, and I really appreciate that!  I am so thankful for my sweet and hardworking hubby!  What a WONDERFUL week!!!

My baby is three months old!!!!!

Hello all! On May 9th, baby Brennan will be 3 months old!!! Where has the time gone? We sure have been busy around here....well, Brennan has been sleeping through the night for the past few days. Hooray!!!! He goes down around 8, and can (most nights) soothe himself to sleep. He wakes up around 5, eats and goes back down until 8ish. He is still a very easy baby, he only cries when hungry or tired. He will "play" for 20 minutes with his tummy time mat, which is great when I need to cook or clean. He is starting to get fussier when we are out, but I blame that on the fact that he gets so hot in his car seat. His hair is getting a little lighter, but I think it will stay brown. He has laughed one time with me, but many times with Daddy! :)

Tanner is going to be 2 in two months! He is doing great in school. His teachers comment on how sweet he is!! :) He is talking up a storm. He loves to sing and dance and just be silly! He has decided on a lovey......it's a sock. Well not just one kind of sock, any will do. At first, I tried to discourage it. But I have given into it. Whatever works!!! He has been showing an interest in using the potty, so I am going to start potty training in June (since he is out of school). Any tried and true tips are welcome!! Tanner loves to ride on the lawnmower with Bobby. He still likes to do art and loves, loves, loves going "outhside". The Easter bunny hid eggs in the yard for Tanner and he enjoyed finding them.

Well.....guess that's all for now!!!!

In a perfect world......

In a perfect world I would be able to do it all. I would be skinny in the right places and have curves in the right places. I would be able to function on little to no sleep and not be cranky about it. I would not only have dinner on the table waiting when my husband wants it, but also breakfast and lunch. I would have an abundant amount of energy to play with my kids at any moment during the day. I would never get frustrated, angry, or emotional. The house would, of course, be spotless. My hair would always be fixed, with not a strand out of place. My makeup would always >look flawless. I would be able to be in multiple places at the same time (playing at the park with Tanner while at home so Brennan can nap). I would be able to hang out with my friends, staying up all night and not "feel" it the next day.

But we do not live in a perfect world. Here I sit with my postpartum body, tired, as always, even though I got a good amount last night. Here I am surrounded by toys that should have been picked up, dinner not even close to ready, the rugs need vacuuming, and the floor seems to regenerate crumbs the moment I stop sweeping. And yet again, I had to make the choice of who to leave crying because I can only comfort one of the boys at a time. I miss hanging out with my friends but when I do, I feel guilty for not being with my family.

Now, on to the thankful part. I am so grateful for my husband. He is my support system and I could not live without him. I am so blessed to have my sweet boys. They are both just so precious. They bring joy to me everyday. I have an awesome extended family, who are always there to help and my close friends have moved from being friends to being family. With this post, I just needed to get some things off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent!!!

The first 5/6 weeks

Brennan is almost 6 weeks old!!!  The time has flown by......here's what's been happening in the Meroney household.
Tanner is very sweet to his "dede" (baby).  He gives him kisses all of the time.  He even cries when Brennan is really upset and crying-which is not very often (YAY!!)  When I pick him up from school, the first thing he says is "dede" if the baby is not with me.  It took Tanner a few weeks to get adjusted to having a new baby in the house.  The first week while I had help from the grandmothers, Tanner basically ignored me.  That really made me sad, but it passed quickly.  Once it was just the 3 of us (since Bobby was back at work), Tanner became extremely clingy and whiny!  He was also teething and running a fever, so.......that was a tough week.  But after that week, he has been back to his little silly self!  :)  Speaking of silly self-Tanner now plays pretend and imitates almost every thing we do!  It's really cute!  His vocab is picking up and it seems as if he learns a new word everyday!  He is still doing great at school and we decided to sign him up for summer school.  It runs for the last 3 weeks in July and he will go Mon-Thurs!  They are focusing on science experiments and I think he will LOVE it!  Tanner has started to test his boundaries with us, so we have started using time-out for discipline.  Bobby and I do not believe in spanking, so hopefully time-out will continue to be effective.
Brennan is such a good baby.  He has a really easy temperament and doesn't cry much.  When he does cry, he is easily soothed!  Hooray!!!  He has been socially smiling for a week or more, but I refused to believe it at first.  Now, there's no denying it!  He gives Tanner huge smiles when they "play" on the floor!  He is starting to do a longer stretch through the night.  We moved him into his own room when he was 3 weeks old.  I sleep so much better without hearing all of his sounds.  He sleeps better when he is swaddled and thanks to my friend Jamie, he has some swaddling sacks!  He is on all formula because again with him, I did not make enough milk.  With Tanner I supplemented and nursed him for 6 months. We spent at least an hour nursing every time and then supplemented with formula.  Since I have a toddler who I need to keep a constant eye on, nursing for over an hour was not possible.  Plus, Brennan did not latch on well and ended up cracking my nipples-OUCH!  So I decided to pump until my milk ran out and go with all formula for him. He eats every 3 to 4 hours and is taking in about 5 ounces per feeding.
Oh....Need to go-Brennan's up and ready to eat!  :)

Brennan's Birthday!!!

After going to the doc's on Monday, Feb. 7th, Bobby and I decided we would choose to be induced.  At the appt, I was 4-5 centimeters dilated and the doc said I may not make it to the induction date (set for Wed. Feb. 9th at 6:30 am).  We called the grandparents and got prepared for our big day!!  My mom was coming on Tues night to stay the night and get Tanner up and to school the next day.  Bobby's parents were coming down on Wed morning.  BUT........Mr. Brennan had a mind of his own!  On Tues night around 5 ish I felt a really strong contraction (while I was on FB-go figure).  Then another one came about 20 mins later.  I was like, OK, this could really be it!!!  Then another 8 mins later.  I kept having random ones here and there until 5:45 when they started coming 6 mins. apart! I was caught by surprise, I thought they would come at 10 mins apart for a while, then slowly get closer together, but nope, 4-6 mins apart for an hour!  So I called the midwife and she asked if I was wanting an epidural.  I was like "Oh yeah!!!"  She said to come up to the hospital and she would meet us there.  Luckily, my mom got to our house at the same time as I was on the phone with the midwife and Bobby and I hauled off to the hospital.  Even though he was driving super fast, I was so scared I would not get there in time for the epidural.  (The hospital is  about 25 mins away).  Luckily, I made it in enough time for them to give me the epidural-YAY!!!!!  It only took on one side the first time, but they took it out and fixed it.  The nurse checked me after I had the epidural (around 9 at night) and said I was 9 centimeters, but that he was still sitting really high.  So we decided to just have me chill out, try to take a nap, and let them know when I feel the urge to push.    Well, my mom and Bobby both fell asleep, but I just couldn't nap.  So at 1 am on Feb. 9th, the nurse said, I guess, I'll just check you.  So she did and she said, "I see hair, get ready to push!"  Boy, was I surprised.  I woke up Bobby and my mom, started pushing at 1:05 and had him at 1:10!! It all happened so fast we didn't even have the cameras ready to take a pic of Bobby cutting the cord!  :)  There were extra nurses on hand in case I hemorrhaged again, but I did not (thank God) and they layed Brennan on me and I was smitten!  He had dark curly hair and was just so cute!  He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.  That night I held him all night as he slept on my chest.  I couldn't really sleep, I was just so happy that he and I were both healthy!  I breastfed him immediately and many times throughout the night!  He even pooped 3 times the next day-Whoa!!!  Kas, Bobby's parents, my mom, Tanner, and the Montini's came to visit us on Wed. We requested to go home on Thurs. and were released around noon!  Then we began our life as a family of four!  The next blog will be about our first few weeks as a family, but for now, this is all I have time for!!  :)

The waiting is the hardest part

Quoting one of my fav. singers-Tom Petty "the waiting is the hardest part!"  So true.  Here I am one day after my due date and still no baby!  I am so ready to meet Mr. Brennan!  Not only because I am so uncomfortable, cannot sleep, and tired of getting excited when I feel a twinge only to be let down, but because I am ready to hold my sweetie and start being family of four!  Everyone keeps saying, he will come when he's ready, blah blah blah.  That is of no comfort at this point!  I'm trying to relax, but that is really hard to do when you are so uncomfortable. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions since Tues, but no real ones.  Ughhhh.  Plus, Bobby has been "lightly" working all week, and I feel bad that he was unable to do the work he needed to do for no reason.  (He has a corporate meeting in Kentucky that he did not go to)  I should note that Bobby was very sweet about it and said it's not a big deal and he's not worried about missing the meeting for nothing, but I still feel bad.  Hormones! 
With Tanner, we were induced 2 days before his due date because I had developed pre-eclampsia.  When we went in for our last check up, I was not even thinking about when he would come.  I was still feeling pretty good, and sleep well, and just enjoying some me and Bobby time.  I know many people who have had bad experiences with being induced, but mine was great!  I liked being able to tell our family, that Thurs was the day!  (My mom, MIL, and SIL were in the room with us)  My doctor said that this time, we can choose to induce based on the fact that Tanner was 9 pounds and Brennan will most likely be the same.  But I was really thinking he would come on his own by now.  However, I am leaning more towards an induction the more time that goes by and the more discomfort I feel. 
Today is the Superbowl!  Today is also the birthday of two of my cousins-Sierra and Schyler.  When we first found out we were due a day before the Superbowl, I was hoping for a Superbowl baby.  Bobby, because of working in pizza, is NEVER off for the Superbowl.  (In fact, last year, he got home during the 4th quarter)  Sooooo...I was hoping we would have our baby on Superbowl Sunday so he would be off.  But then he got a promotion and he is off for the day sooooooo.....then I hoped that he would be born before now!  Now I am back to hoping that he will come today just so I can be more comfortable and get (at least at little bit of) sleep!  On a side note, I am pulling for the Green Bay Packers over the Steelers.  Nothing personal against the Steelers, but they have won too many times-Sorry Maggie and Mary Jane!
That's all of my venting for now!  Hopefully my next post will be about Brennan's birth!!!  :)

It's been a while!!!!

Ok, first off, let me say I am sorry for slacking on the blog!  I have so many things to update but have been so tired that I have not wanted to attempt it!  But here goes:

*White Christmas 2010:  This year was my first ever white Christmas!!  We spent Christmas day in Durham at my SIL's house.  We did dinner and let the kiddies play and open presents!  Then on the way back to my in-laws house, it started snowing!!  We spent the night there and ended up getting about 5 inches of snow.  It was very pretty and Bobby and Tanner loved playing in it.  I usually like playing in snow, but being 8 mths preggers doesn't mix well with snow.  The snow also gave us a chance to test out our new 4 wheel drive SUV.  Bobby bought us a Honda Pilot and surprised me with it in the driveway 2 days before Christmas.  I LOVE it!!!!!!!
* Preschool:  Tanner started preschool in Jan.  We wanted to get him adjusted before Brennan came and we were lucky enough to get a spot in the school of our choice!  He goes on 3 days a week from 9-12.  He did well the first week, was off the whole second week because of snow, then had a little trouble getting back into the swing of things the next week.  He cried every morning I dropped him off, but only for a few mins.  It's hard to leave when he's crying, but I know that he really enjoys his time there (and I enjoy getting things done around the house while he's there).  They have Spanish and Kindermusic once a week and do an art project every day!  He loves painting and playing in the activity room!  He even has a "girlfriend" who waits for him and holds his hand to lead him where they are going.  :)
*Baby Brennan:  As mentioned above, we have picked out a first name for the baby!  I pretty much knew this was his name, but Bobby wanted to wait and see if any names jumped out at him.  We still do not have a middle name-I am leaving that up to Bobby soooooooo who knows when it will be decided.  The office is finally all moved downstairs and I must say-Bobby did a great job on it!!  We are in the process of setting up Brennan's room and should be done by this weekend.  (Nothing like leaving it to the last minute)  I have washed all of the newborn clothes and have packed our hospital bag.  I made up some freezer meals and got my hair and Tanner's cut.  I feel very ready to meet him, but I know he will come when he's ready.
*My grandfather (Pepe):  Last Tuesday, my Pepe passed away.  We knew it was only a matter of time because he had cancer.  The Friday before that, Tanner and I went to visit him.  We almost didn't go because I had a stomach virus a few days before that and I didn't want to make Pepe sick.  Luckily, I was over it and Pep did not get it.  We went to see him and I am so glad that we did, I just had a feeling that if I didn't go, I would regret it.  Pepe did not seem to suffer for too long in the end and I know he wouldn't have wanted to be alive in a vegetative state.  He is now with my Vovo and in peace.
*Tanner:  My big boy is growing up so fast!!!  His talking is coming along, he repeats us quite a bit.  He loves saying "Ut-oh" when he "drops" his food on the floor when he's done eating.  He also says "More" when he wants more to eat and boy, does he love to eat!  He loves to make animal sounds and even act like a horse by jumping when he's on all fours.  He really likes to rock on the motorcycle that Pepe made for him.  He likes to dance and sing to Good Charlotte's new album.  He knows most of his body parts and will point to them when we say them.  He loves to watch videos on the computer of himself and the fish ones from when we went the Baltimore Aquarium.  He LOVED sledding in the snow this year.  He is learning how to use a fork and does pretty well, but he still eats with his hands too!  He still likes to help clean up-he sings the clean up song while he puts away his toys.  Every night, he puts his clothes in his hamper.  He helps me do the laundry by taking the clothes out of the dryer.  He wants to walk to and from the car like a big boy now by holding our hands.  When he goes to school, he wears his book bag and it's just too cute!  I can picture him going to Kindergarten with his book bag and that makes me teary!

Ok, enough of the updates for now.  Time for this preggo to go nite nite!!!  :)