Eating Solids!

I know that this does not sound terribly exciting, but it is for me. Baylor is finally starting to eat solids. His doctor suggested that we try a while ago. She thought it would help with his acid reflux issues. I have been trying different foods for well over a month a half. He would always spit them out. Like Brighton, he wanted nothing to do with rice cereal ( and I do not blame him, yuck!). I finally got him to swallow a few bites the other day. Applesauce was the winner. Even though I have tried that before, I guess he just wasn't ready until now. 

So, I will continue giving him applesauce and try to mix in some vegetables as well. I hope he is a good eater! He seems slightly more interested in holding his spoon!

Back to Back Picture Time 6 Months Edition

 Well, it is hard to believe it, but Baylor is 6 months old! Below, is Brighton when he was right at the same age. 

Weekend and Easter Bunny Visit

We had a nice weekend, even though the weather was still lacking in the sunshine department. Jason and I both got some errands ran and things done around the house on Saturday. On Sunday, we woke up to pouring down rain, and low degree temperatures. You know, the perfect kind of weather to stay at home in front of a fire and some movies or good TV. Instead, we ventured out to see the Easter Bunny! We really had no choice, as next weekend is Easter weekend and is completely filled up with egg hunts and such. 

These are not the actual pictures that were taken by the photographer. I did not purchase the disc. These were taken by me on the sidelines with my iPhone. You get the idea. No one was crying, so that was good!!

Baylor was all rosy cheeked because he has been trying to beat a cold since Thursday. He was doing much better as of Sunday and is today. We cannot seem to get a break from these bugs that keep invading our home and bodies. Now I am starting to feel sick. The good news is that Baylor is doing so well on the costly new formula. We started it 2 weeks ago and he has only projectiled once since then, verses about 5 times a week. Also a lot less spitting up. I think we are onto something!

Brighton was funny on the ride home and stated that the Easter Bunny "didn't talk...".

 He  has been learning in school the REAL reason for Easter, and is excited for his school Easter party this week, and then the egg hunts and visit from the bunny this weekend.

What is wrong with this picture??

The problem with this picture is that it is March 21st, and these boots should be packed away in a storage bin, sitting in my basement, waiting to come out next Fall! Instead, they are still out and about, ready to be worn by me, or by Brighton when he is playing Super Hero. It is still so cold and looks like it will continue to be for the next couple of weeks :( I have never done this before, but a few of my friends who are fellow bloggers often throw into their blogs some recipes that they have been making or some health and diet tips. Those who know me, know that I LOVE to cook. I am not a baker but will try to tackle cooking almost anything, especially savory dishes. Both of my grandmothers were/are true Southern Cooks. If you had a grandmother like that, then you know that it is some GOOD eating!! I enjoy cooking some of those dishes such as fried corn, iron skillet cornbread, chicken pot pie etc... but for the most part, in my household, those are enjoyed more in the winter months of the year. Once it gets warm out, I find myself craving and making healthier, lighter fare. For the last 2 years I have been a huge fan of kale. Kale is one of the healthiest foods that you can consume. Very good for you. I recently made my favorite, very simple kale salad and brought it to a party where everyone seemed to be interested in it. I thought I would share the recipe in case anyone wants to try it. Remember, I am not a baker so I do not do actual measurements in my recipes!! This large bowl of my kale salad consisted of the following ingredients:
2 large bunches of kale, pulled from the stalks and chopped or torn into small pieces
 1 large lemon
 4-6 Small sweet peppers cut up
 A tablespoon of kosher or sea salt
 About 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 "Massaged Kale Salad"
 To the chopped kale, with clean hands, massage the leaves with most of the salt. This breaks down the bitter kale. In a separate bowl, combine the juice of the lemon with the oil. I add a pinch of salt and pepper to "wake up" the lemon juice flavor a little. Whisk. Pour dressing over the kale and mix well. Let it marinate for 12-24 hours before serving. For a fancier touch, add some pine nuts before serving.  ENJOY this healthy and tangy salad. Its great as a side or an entire meal (that is, if the weather is warm and you are not craving country fried steak with gravy!!!).

Happy Birthday to Me!!

There is nothing better than being woken up by your husband and your 3 year old, singing Happy Birthday to you on the morning of your birthday!! Jason also gave me a beautiful spring bouquet of flowers for the occasion. The dessert and spinning, musical, petal expanding, flower thingy at the Asian restaurant for lunch really "took the cake" though!! This thing was really amusing! Loved it. Having a great day. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. My only wish would be for Spring weather to be here on the 1st day of Spring!

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

Saturday we went to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown. We 1st dropped Baylor off with my parents as we did not think he was quite ready for this occasion. Maybe next year! He had a great time with my dad as you can see from his little smile! Meanwhile, we met the Antley's and Alecia & Jake downtown. It started out as a very chilly morning. The sunshine eventually found us and it turned out to be a beautiful day! We ended up running into quite a few friends who we had not seen in a while, so that was nice! The parade was okay. It kept the kids entertained although they were very disapointed that no one threw them any candy :( Brighton, Jameson and Michael quickly forgot about the lack of candy after the parade. They danced a jig to the bag pipes and ran all around the courtyard while the rest of us had lunch and Irish beers. The dancing wore them out. Look at these two bums in downtown Charlotte! .jpg" imageanchor="1" > We all went back to Aunt Lacey's after the parade and grilled out and enjoyed the weather. On Sunday, Jason took Brighton to visit Gigi and Pop and Baylor and I ran some errands. When I returned home, I got out some of Brighton's baby clothes bins to go through for Baylor. Its kind of unfortunate as my boys were born in totally different seasons, so Baylor cannot wear all of Brighton's stuff, but some of it has worked and will. It was really fun to go through the clothes, especially some of the cuter, dressy outfits that take me back to specific moments in time of Brighton's baby life. I hope that Baylor is able to wear some of them soon. I dug out a little pair of sandals and put them on Baylor. He could not wait to take them off!! He was determined. This was his 1st time wearing shoes and he thinks socks are bad enough, so you can imagine. We ended the weekend by eating our traditional St. Patrick's Day meal at my parent's house, corned beef and cabbage, of course!

Seeing Green

We are having some nice weather this coming weekend!! I was just thinking back to last year. Right around this time, I was at the end of my 1st trimester of pregnancy. Went to Savannah for Billie's bachelorette weekend and then the next weekend we went to the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Charlotte. We will be returning to the parade this year. The kids will love it. Jason and I have come a long way since our early days of partying it up in Columbia for St. Patrick's Day weekend! Speaking of green, I just wanted to point out that Brighton's eyes have officially changed from blue to green. Just like his mommy! Can you tell?

Around the house

We had a good weekend. Very productive. It was chaotic at times, as usual but fun and busy. This is how I found Sugar Bear Friday when Michael and Brighton were playing together in Baylor's room! Fun times. Saturday Jason put up our new mailbox that we got for Christmas, as well as numerous other projects outside. While he was doing all of this, I was able to do a little bit of spring cleaning inside. On Saturday, I was able to get away to go to my sister in law, Kelly's baby shower. It was thrown by her sisters and mother. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful shower! Not to mention the beautiful Mama To Be! When I got home I was surprised to see that Jason had hung my new mini chandelier! While we were picking out the fan for the bonus room last weekend, he shocked me by buying me the fixture that I had been eyeing for our bedroom! It is my early birthday gift. This replaces this one that we had in the little sitting area of our bedroom. Former one is below. I picked it out when we were building because the price was right but always knew I would want to replace down the road when I found the right one. This is the new one. It is a bad picture and hard to see, so here is a more clear pic of it. It looks perfect! Also over the weekend, Baylor started feeling much better! He is sporting his band again (with improved shamrocks!) as well as eating his new formula well.

Rough Week

We have had a rough week at our house lately. Brighton was sick with a cold last week. He stayed at home on Thursday and Friday to recover. We are used to him catching these things though. He has a runny nose these days more than not! Unfortunately, he passed what he had along to Baylor. Baylor has had a MUCH harder time with it. He hasn't been able to breathe, and because of his fever, and inability to sleep while stopped up, we had to remove his band for a few days, once again setting us back with that! If all of that weren't bad enough, the virus has made his already bad projectile vomiting even worse. He was not keeping anything down and then just stopped trying to eat all together. So, not only did we go to the specialty Dr. this week, we also went to the pediatrician. There was nothing they could do but tell us to let it run it's course. They did say that due to his cold, his vomiting was worse but at this age he should not be vomiting as much as he does and recommended a new, very pricey formula. Yesterday was his 1st smile since Saturday. He started doing a lot better last night. Since he is eating again, I am trying to gradually introduce the new formula to him. He seems to take it well now, mixed half and half with his other one. As soon as I feel he is 100% feeling better and can breathe well, I will try to give it to him straight up. I really hope this helps! The projectile thing has been so stressful on POOR Baylor, Jason and I as well as our furniture (We are having it all steam cleaned soon!). I am hoping that he will start eating solids soon. Dr. recommended that we start trying a month ago, but he just spits everything out! Even though he has not felt well, Baylor has been trying hard to roll over and sit up. You can't really tell from this picture, but he is sitting up in his swing. Don't worry, he is strapped in!! Once again, we are starting over with wearing the band.

I married a carpenter

I meant to blog about this a couple of weeks ago, but it got lost with all of the excitement surrounding Brighton's birthday. We were given a couple of quotes on finishing the bonus room a few months back. I have to say that we were a little sticker shocked. As I reported earlier, Jason decided to take it upon himself to do the insulation. That turned out good. My brother in law Mickey is pretty handy. He convinced Jason that they could do the dry wall themselves. My dad showed up early that Saturday morning for the job as well. The 3 of them went to work dry walling for 13 hours!! Since the room consists of mainly sloping ceiling/walls, the job was extra hard as they were not working on level ground but over their heads! There were some profanities yelled, and a couple of times I thought I was going to have to take someone to the hospital, but by the end of it, somehow, they were all cutting up and laughing. They got it done!! I am proud and thankful to all of them for doing this. So, the rest will be left up to the professionals. They have been painting it this week, and next week they will do the floor and lighting, and it should be finished!! As for Jason, he has already moved onto his newest project, which is improving our dock, getting us ready for boating season. After that, he has another project he is eager to start on! It never ends!

March is FINALLY here!!

Happy, Happy March everyone! I have never been so glad to welcome the month of March. February, although technically the shortest month of the year, has been the longest. I only wish that I had counted the number of days that it actually rained. We have had so much rain in January and almost the entire month of February that it has been seriously depressing. I have literally ruined 2 pair of boots that I just got for Christmas due to walking in rain puddles. Uuuugh. So, with all of that being said, welcoming March is a breath of fresh air. It is still cold and rainy some days (so far)but I know that warmer times lay ahead! Speaking of heads... Baylor is doing okay with his band. As I mentioned last week, we had a set back but that was only for a couple of days. He went back to wearing it and is doing pretty good with it. Over the weekend, Brighton went to stay with his GiGi and Pop some, so I took Baylor with me to the mall and to run some errands. Since this was our 1st public outing with him wearing it, I was scared that we would get stared at, or worse, people would pretend that they didn't see him. I am the 1st to admit that I have done this before. I decided to jazz it up a little bit to make him seem more approachable with these shamrocks. Not my best work, but I did not have a lot to work with. It turned out that he got so many compliments from strangers on how happy and cute he was!! No one mentioned his band, just his huge, smiling blue eyes. This made me feel better. Unfortunately he came down with a bad cold Saturday evening, so we are struggling with that. Last night was rough so I hope he is feeling better soon. Went to the doctor today and they think they can already see early progress from the band in a week!!