Since Last Time

This post will be a hodgepodge of highlights and pictures mostly! This mommy has escaped to Starbucks for a small break and the Little Man is having some Daddy/Son time!

Since being home (for nearly two months now!!) we have enjoyed so much time together as a family as well as other small milestones.

Well, at home. We did do sponge bathing in the NICU, but this was his first bath, in a tub, at home! We definitely have a water baby on our hands, he absolutely loves being in the water.

On July 29 this squish nugget turned one month old! I am taking his monthly pictures on a quilt my friend Kim and her Mom made for Little Man and using his giraffe for size comparison. He was still in a premie sleeper for this picture but it was probably the last time he wore a premie outfit! When we had his weight check he was clocking in at 8lbs and 20 inches long. The blond hair was still there, getting a smidge darker, and his eyes were still a dark blue.

Of course I preordered The Cursed Child months before it came out but Amazon did not deliver until after it was in stores! I was not happy! But once it arrived Little Man and I cuddled on the couch and I read it all in one sitting. There were tears and nostalgia and some really?? moments but overall I enjoyed it. I hope when it comes to the US I can convinced Ryan that we HAVE TO SEE IT. I would love to see how they do the technical elements of this show! My inner theatre nerd was drooling at the ideas.

After he was a little older we took Little Man outside during the day. Just in the back yard for a bit as he needed some sunlight! The wind startled him the first time it hit his face and he jumped! We felt like terrible parents for laughing but he settled pretty quickly and seemed to like it after that. He looks so itty bitty on our big beach towel!

I had to go to the Endocrinologist during my post partum period to work on my thyroid levels post pregnancy, but on our way back we decided to take Will to the beach for the first time. It was dark and much cooler than the 100 something degree day. At first he was not having it because he was hungry, but we gave him a bottle and tried to dip his toes in the ocean...

And he loved it! We did it a few times, it was so warm being it was August in North Carolina, and we loved having that moment with him. We also walked on the beach for awhile and just relaxed. We went back to the beach during the Perseids Meteor Shower too. Will slept on my chest the entire time and we saw at least a dozen meteors streak across the sky as we laid together on a blanket on the sand. I didn't take any pictures since it was a dark night and I just had my phone, but I love that Ryan, Will and I got to experience that.

In late August we drove to my parents' house as a pit stop on our way to New Jersey (which will be a separate post of its own). We stayed a day or two and Little Man got to swim in their pool. My parents' pool is salt water so I felt better about him being in it, plus it was basically 95 degrees in the water as we were in the middle of a streak of days topping 100 degrees! Again, he absolutely loved the water. He kicked his little legs and blissed out in my arms and Ryan's.

Overall I love being Will's mom. He is such a good baby and aside for some formula difficulties we haven't had many issues. I can barely remember my life before him, it seems like he has always been here. We haven't really changed our lives much since he is still so little. We go out to eat, walk in the park, take road trips.... and he mostly sleeps! Now is the time to do it! I know once he is older and moving around those won't all work out, but we even took him to a nice restaurant for my birthday and he slept the entire time without a single peep!

For Labor Day weekend we went to South Carolina to visit Ryan's family... and to house hunt. That also will be another post.

With Ryan's grandmother Skeetsie... she didn't want to put her first great grandson down! I can't blame her. He is the first boy born in Ryan's family since Ryan and is great grandchild number four.

My two favorite guys. Check out that terminal leave beard! It is so weird to see but I am finally getting used to it!

My big, blue eyed, serious man. He just warms my heart! Before I knew it my big boy was two months old! (Ok, that happened August 29th before we went to South Carolina!)

He was 9lbs 8oz at his two month appointment and 22 inches long! My string bean! He did have his first round of shots and I honestly cried more than he did. He did cry at first but then promptly fell asleep for two hours. He then cried a bit after that, as did I, but we fed him an hour or so early and he was ok after that.  

 On September 8th I turned 29 years old. No idea how that happened! We had a low key day as Ryan and I took a trip into New York City when we were up in NJ and had that be my birthday celebration (post coming I promise)! We did go to Duck's for dinner, Little Man slept the entire time and I had one of my first glasses of wine in nearly a year!

Donna and I decided to celebrate my birthday with Moscato and Wine and Design! We had a great time and I got a new painting for my bedroom. One of the best I had done yet there!

A few days later we took Will to Buffalo Wild Wings for the first Giants game of the season... he was not impressed! But we did win so I think he is a good luck charm for sure! (Woohoo 2 and 0!)

 He is almost three months old now and just getting so so big! His little cowboy boots melt my heart! He sleeps mostly through the night, usually only getting up once or twice, but just to eat and then go back to sleep. We are working on it!

His hair is still dark blonde, his eyes are blue, and he is the spitting image of his daddy at times, just with my cheeks and coloring!

Last week my mom came to visit and we drove to South of the Border to meet Ryan and gave Little Man his first visit. I will note, my husband hates this place with a passion but I love how corny it is!! Since my mom was in town she babysat Little Man so we could have a date night. I had been dying to take Ryan to Wine and Design for years and going with Donna a few weeks ago made me really want to go! So we went to an open studio.

 We decided to try Starry Night as it is my favorite painting. They had a double canvas version but we did more along the lines of the actual painting than the example. We got so in to in that we were there for nearly five hours and the last people to leave! Our artist Bryan was awesome! He traced the large tree and houses for us and guided us where needed, but I am super proud of how well Ryan and I did on our own. It was very chaotic getting everyone settled (it is BOGO September so it was packed!) but once we got going we were happy. The painting now hangs over our bed. Awesome!

So, it a nutshell.... I am caught up. I will blog separately about New Jersey and ... well the big change coming down the pipeline. That entry will be husband read and approved before posting. Stay tuned!

Halloween 2015

We had a pretty busy and fun Halloween weekend this year! It kind of sneaked (snuck?) up on us but we ended up having a blast. First, on October 25th, the infamous Dup turned four years old. She celebrated with a day at the beach with Ryan and a candle lit cookie that night. The candle freaked her out a bit so we made sure to sing really fast!

The Dup turns 4!

Then we got on to Halloween weekend! On Mischief Night Ryan, my best friend Donna, and I all went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show on base. I had seen bits and pieces before but never the entire thing. So when the base theatre had a free screening, with props encouraged, we couldn't resist! Especially since it is the 40th Anniversary. We had an absolute blast.

I loved the audience partici-(SAY IT!)-pation. We brought along most of the props allowed, including rice, toast, confetti, noise makers, flash lights, party hats (obviously), and toilet paper. At the very beginning when the rice started flying it went EVERYWHERE. When we got home that night we had rice falling out of our shoes, jeans, hair... it was nuts.

I only took one picture during the chaos, during the flashlight use.

Halloween itself I woke up early not feeling very well, but after lounging around for a few hours watching the marathon of The Librarians on TNT I started to bounce back. We went last minute shopping for costumes and I saw a bad wig that I showed Ryan. I jokingly told him he should be Donald Trump for Halloween and he instantly went with it. I decided to just buy some face paint and wrist bands and wore my good ol' Eli Manning jersey and was a football player.

 

It is kind of scary actually how good of a Donald Trump my husband was. It freaked some people out! Especially when he threw out some catch phrases like, "Make America great again!" and talked about building a wall... scary indeed.

 

Our first stop of the evening was at my co-worker's house where we watched scary movies, ate delicious homemade pizza and played Cards Against Humanity. Jennie made some delicious food and I was bummed we couldn't stay longer than we did. Ryan made plans to meet up with a friend of his so we had to bounce out earlier than I was happy with. We met up with his buddy and girlfriend and went to stop number two, the house of another friend of his. We played cornhole and had some more delicious food before making our way to my friends' house for stop number three. My friends were from the plays we did and they always have something crazy going on and it was a lot of fun. Ryan and his friend Derek tied for funniest Halloween costume too!

A full sized Donald and Eli.

Derek and Ryan ended up having to Rock Paper Scissors battle for the win of funniest costume and they had to duke it out about ten times because they kept throwing the same things!

Finally Derek won and got the fun prizes of a blow up girlfriend and a small beaker from Breaking Bad. Donna met us there too so we all had a great Halloween for sure! 

Even though we bounced around a lot it was still a blast. The extra hour of sleep definitely helped me out when the clocks went back an hour. Sunday we just did some chores and watched movies. We listened to the Giants game since it wasn't on our local channels (GOD what a game. Horrible loss.) and had Buffalo Wild Wings to go. We then watched Toy Story 3 since we've never seen it and I was a crying mess. Really Disney? An incinerator!? Come on! I know I am late on this but geeze, my poor heart.

 



Turning 27

On Monday, September 8th, I turned 27.

It was pretty low key, as far as birthdays go. My parents sent me Georgetown Cupcakes, flowers, and some clothes. Ryan, the smart man he is, got me gift cards to go shopping. My friend Donna got me some Coca Cola things for my Coca Cola Bathroom (a soap dispenser, a soap dish, and a cool metal tin that now holds my daily make up and hair things) and my phone blew up with well wishes from friends and family and Facebook.

So, thank you (:

I was off from work since I worked the weekend and I decided to go get my hair done. I last got partial highlights in March so after six months it was kind of driving me nuts.

 I went over to the mall and got them done... I love how they turned out but I was there nearly three hours. Bit much! But at my price I won't complain.

After I brought home some food and Ryan and I sat on the couch and watched television for a bit before we went off to spend my birthday giftcards. At Kohls I got a gorgeous red pea coat (with a hood!) since I have wanted a red coat for years. At Old Navy I got two long sleeved shirts, two tank tops, and a nice blue work shirt. At Shoe Carnival I got a gorgeous pair of grey boots that I cannot wait to wear.... so Ryan definitely did well for me for my birthday!

Then wen we went home to drop off my bags something unexpected happened....

A tornado warning! My phone started letting off a siren sound and we flicked on the television to see the red radar hovering directly over us. My husband quickly ushered the dog and I into our guest bathroom where we quickly realized we should at least look outside before we cower in the bathroom. Outside it was gray, not raining, but definitely did not look like tornado conditions. No green clouds, no rotation.... nothing! Fifteen minutes went by and the alert expired. I always thought a warning meant a funnel cloud had been spotted but the television never said one had been. Just have to keep things interesting I suppose!

Donna met Ryan and I at Ale House where I watched my Giants get their butts handed to them for their first game for the second year in a row. Sigh. At least I got a free dessert since it was my birthday!

All in all, a good, low key day. Let's hope 27 is a good year!

Go Big Blue!

Rylie and I are having a pretty low key weekend. Tonight, we are watching the Giants/Packers game!



She did not like wearing my shirt. She got revenge by peeing on the carpet. Putz.



But now she seems into it! Between chewing her giraffe and stealing my sneakers from the bedroom and bringing them to me (aka me chasing her down and getting them back) we have moments where she is watching tv. Rylie could not be more my dog if she tried! It is too cute.

GO BIG BLUE!!!! Let's do this!

Kim's Visit

Friday night one of my greatest friends and former bridesmaid, Kim, came down to visit me and Ryan. I was so excited to see her! It is always good to have someone from home nearby and especially nice to have a FEMALE friend to hang with for a change! Yes I love you Ryan, but you are hopelessly male! Which is usually a good thing... but I need a dose of estrogen every now and then. Kim and I have known one another since my sophomore year of highschool, her freshman year, when we met at our theatre school, and we have been great friends ever since. Hence the whole bridesmaid factor! Now she lives and works in NYC and is still wonderful. She is still acting, doing theatre and small films (which I am totally jealous of) yet still made time to bus all the way down here for the weekend.

Ryan and I picked her up Friday in DuPont Circle and drove around a bit while we chatted to catch up. She got to see the monuments from the nice warm car and not have to walk! We went back to the apartment and changed as it got chilly and walked up to our favorite bar on King St, Murphy's. We had a few drinks and listened to the Irish guitar guy play and had a good time. Now... Kim has this irrational fear of deer. Once in highschool, when it was her birthday, I got her a stuffed Bambi from the Disney store and hid it in her locker. When she opened it she screamed and proceeded to smack the hell out of me... rightly so! I felt awful and I had a real present for her too, which helped, but I never messed with it again. Now this whole time Ryan is playing on his phone and I don't even know if he is paying attention. He then goes, "Hey Kim.... ROAR!" and holds up a picture of a deer he uploaded to his phone. Kim jumped and actually teared up! I was ready to kill him! I smacked him upside the head and he was truly apologetic but he was trying so hard not to laugh. My charming husband... oy.

Saturday we went to the HFStival in Columbia MD. It was cool, we had a nice time walking around and eating bad for you food and beer. The USMC naturally had a booth for recruiting and I went and did a 25sec flexed arm hang (I so remember that being easier!) and won a keychain! We wanted to stay and see Billy Joel and Third Eye Blind but we did not want to wait another four hours so we just left! We heard Lit, Fuel, Macy's Playground, and the Presidents of the United States of America. I recognized maybe two songs total... but yay free concert!

We drove to the barracks and watched Weeds with Josh for a bit and ordered Dominoes. PS, that show is hilarious and I love it thanks to Netflix! After Kim and I went back to the apartment and got ready to go to Nick's, the country bar I wrote about here.


Ready to party country style!

We mostly had a good time until Ryan gave Kim some unasked for love advice concerning a previous relationship (*ignoring me frantically shhing him and squeezing the hell out of his knee*) and made her cry again. Once again, SO ready to kill him. He gets a few drinks in him and he turns into Dr. Phil. It just was not his place. He apologized and they went out to talk for a long time so Josh and I danced. The line dancing was HARD but fun. Two old guys danced with me during the night so I got the basic two step down as they twirled me around and I tried to teach Josh how to do it. We ended up just randomly hopping and spinning in circles on the floor! It was fun! Ryan tried two line dances early in the night and gave up, which kind of made me upset. I wanted to dance with him, not Josh! (even though Josh was great too! He is just not my hubby) Then they all tried to drag me to the back bar for karaoke and I nearly cried. Luckily it was near closing and I didn't have to sing! Ryan promised me next time we go to Nick's he will go early and do the lessons with me before hand so he doesn't feel so stupid not knowing the steps. I told him Josh Kim and I were winging it and still had a blast, no one cared! But at least next time he is willing to try.

Sunday we had a nice brunch on King St and just hung out until I took Kim to the bus to go home. I miss her already!

We learned on Wednesdays Nick's does Swing Dance Lessons from 7-9pm, so guess what we are doing this week? I am pretty excited.

Ryan and I did laundry and watched the Manning Bowl at the barracks. I don't want to talk about it. Giants, Eli.... really????? Ugh.

Lunch time! I love being able to write at work a bit!