Pigtails and Cowpies: February 2015

Sunday, February 1, 2015

I'm linking up with Laura from Navigating the Mothership again for a Day in the Life post. I love how these days capture what's happening in our lives! Now onto our day...

Ahh....Glorious sleep. Owen woke up this morning around 3:15; fortunately, he fell asleep on his own within a few minutes. Back to sleep for me! Brad was up early this morning too--he was up at 4:30 to make it over to the farm to milk the cows. Somehow, I never hear his alarm (not that I'm complaining).

A bit before 8, I woke up to a silent house. Those few seconds of peaceful tranquility are wonderful. That silence was short lived, and O woke up shortly after me. It's probably because, I used the bathroom which is right next to his room. Oh well.

Poor buddy clearly didn't want to be up. I started to nurse him and within 10 minutes he was sleeping again. Since our nursing days are dwindling (I made it to a year! Woo-Hoo!!), I enjoyed the next 45 minutes snuggling my little guy. The baby stage goes WAY TOO FAST!

Around 9, Owen decided it was time to be up for the day. We went to make breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast. He was a bit upset that he couldn't see what I was doing on the stove-top. Baby on the leg syndrome continues...PS, check out my redneck cabinet locks. I have rubber bands on the cabinets that contain things that I don't want Owen playing with, but things that are safe. Don't worry, sharp things/chemicals/etc are locked up!

Once he was in his high chair, and food was being shoveled into his face, he was a much happier guy!

After we finished breakfast, it was play time. Owen loves his puppy. Our dog, Rylee, is about 4.5 years old. She is so good with him. She loves giving him kisses! He even tries to give her kisses back.

Around 10, I called Brad to see if he was going to make it to church. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to make it so I decided to stay home. It's so hard to go to church by yourself with one wiggly baby. To the people who do that, I congratulate you! Much easier having daddy with us. So instead, we stayed home and read books. Owen decided that Dad's farming magazines were pretty interesting!

Around 10:30, I realized that I had diapers in the washer that needed to be dried, and diapers in the dryer that needed to be stuffed and put away. To the laundry room with my little helper.

All done, Mom!

He loves, LOVES to help with laundry. He will empty the entire dryer and put stuff in the basket. Once the basket is full, he will "reverse" and put all the contents from the basket back into the dryer unless you intervene. Now, if only I could get him to start folding and putting away laundry...

Around 11:30, Owen went down for a quick 30 minute nap. Brad finally came home close to noon. Like clockwork, Owen woke up. He must have known that Daddy was home. Brad and Owen played while I made lunch. We had leftovers wild rice soup and hot ham and cheese sandwiches. After lunch, I decided to work out. I am following the Couch to 5K training program to get back in shape. So far, I'm taking it slow, but I want to be healthy for family and for myself. I'm only on week 2, day 2, so it's pretty manageable so far.

Post-workout selfie

After I got cleaned up around 3:00, Brad left to go do the afternoon chores. Typically, he has a bit of a "relaxed" schedule on Sunday's so we can spend time together as a family. Owen and I left to go have his one-year photos taken. We have a local photographer take his pictures, and she is so good with getting him to show his sweet personality. He was quite the mover and didn't want to sit still very long. I can't wait for the sneak peak to appear!

After we were done with the photoshoot, it was time to run to the grocery store. We needed a few of the basics: milk, cheese, bread, fruit. I also had to pick up ingredients for the fruit dip (CoolWhip and Greek Yogurt) that I was bringing to my BIL and SIL's superbowl party. Nothing like remembering and whipping something up last minute!

Around 5, we finally made it home. Owen was starting to get ~~crabby~~ clingy by this point, but I had fruit dip to make and a party to get to! By 5:30, the dip was made, our bags were packed, and we were at my BIL and SIL's for the party.

It was a small crowd (just the neighbors, and my two BIL and SIL's) at the Superbowl party, and we were really entertained more by Owen and his cousin than the actual game! However, it was a good night with good friends and good food! Oh and good wine!

By 9:45, we were back home. Owen was pretty tired, but surprisingly not crabby. I was in disbelief as he hadn't had a nap since 11:30 this morning! I nursed him and put him to bed by 10. I got my jammies on and hopped into bed. I'm a big fan of Downton Abbey--so I watched the latest episode courtesy of my DVR. After that, it was lights out.

Well that was fast! My baby is ONE! Where did the past 365 days go?

1 week

1 year

Overall, the last year has been amazing. It's been a privilege to watch our son change and grow. I love watching him explore new things. It's fun to see the world through his eyes. The relationship and bond he has with his Daddy, melts my heart. I love hearing his giggle when he sees his puppy in the morning and the way he laughs when she gives him kisses. I will never forget the way he looked up at us when he took that first step all by himself--he was beaming with pride. I know future years will be just as exciting even though those "firsts" are checked off the milestone list.

Anyways, enough sappiness for now. Now for the fun stuff..the party! We held his party a few days before his birthday. We invited all the immediate family members--there were about 14 adults total. "Farm" was the theme of choice for our (hopefully) future farmer. I made Philly Cheese-steak Sandwiches, roasted sweet potatoes (Owen's favorite), cut up pineapple, broccoli/cauliflower salad, and cherry/pretzel desert. It was a pretty tasty meal.

For the cake, I cheated and made a boxed confetti cake. It was easy, I was running out of time, and who doesn't love confetti cake?!? For Owen's smash cake I made an apple/banana smash cake; I modified the recipe from Our Haven Hill. I used all-purpose flour compared to whole wheat since I don't stock whole wheat in my pantry. It's actually, a pretty tasty cake--it was more like banana bread than cake. Going along with our farm theme, I frosted the cakes in a barn/farm scene and cow print. My husband joked with me that I spent far too long decorating the cake. I probably spent 2 hours on it, but I thought it was well worth it!

Farm themed for our future farmer!

Owen is definitely spoiled. He received so many wonderful gifts from family members. At first, he was pretty exited to open presents...however, that excitement waned after his new car came out! Note to self: save the exciting gifts for the end! After he opened his car, he was done with presents for a good 30 minutes or so. We gave him a Case IH sweatshirt, a few books about tractors, and a swing for outside. He also received a lot of cloths, books, and toys. In the weeks that followed his party, we had to put a few of them away to bring them out for later.