Lately...

Not much going on around here so I just thought I'd post some ramblings about our life lately...

-Owen is not only sitting up but can push himself into the sitting position on his own now.  I discovered this the other night at 2am when I went up to check on him and found him sitting up in his crib watching his Rainforest Soother.

-Austin will do just about anything for a Hershey Kiss or a Dum Dum.  A little bargaining (aka bribery) works wonders sometimes!

-Austin's newest obsession is coloring with markers.  He can only color with his markers while sitting in his high chair.  Now, meal time is associated with marker time.

-Owen is getting another tooth...already!

-We read the same 10-15 books over and over every night before Austin goes to bed.  He has them all about memorized now and has started reading them to me lately.  I absolutely adore it!  However, when I read them to him I can no longer skip words, pages or make any shortcuts whatsoever.  That little booger knows how each story is supposed to go and will make me read it the correct way before turning the page.

-Babies R Us employees are HORRIBLE and poorly trained and I hate shopping there.  In the past week I've had to go there twice though.  The first time the cashier forgot to scan my gift card and instead of fixing his error, handed me back the giftcard and told me "just use it the next time you come in."  If I hadn't already been there for an hour with both boys borderline meltdown by myself, I would have let him have it.  Instead I just gave him an annoyed sigh and hurried out the door.

-The second trip to BRU was to purchase a fancy new Medela Pump In Style to replace my trusty ole Lansinoh that has been less than trusty lately.  Breastpumps were 15% off in-store, we still had my gift card and I had an additional 20% off coupon.  The cashier rang it up all wrong and then IGNORED my husband when he was trying to ask her about it....3 times!!  A steaming mad Ryan ended up going to the manager and we walked out of there with a $280 pump for $170.  Sometimes it pays to get a little pissy!

-When Austin falls down or gets hurt, I always ask him "Are you OK?"  Recently he's started answering me with "I'm OK!"  Occasionally, when he falls or trips or bumps his head he'll just look at me and say "I'm OK" before I even have the chance to ask.

-Owen has developed a real mommy attachment lately.  He's started reaching out for me and lunging towards me so that I'll hold him.  I love it!  I don't, however, love that he's started to cry sometimes when other people hold him...like his daddy for instance...

-Ryan working so far from home has really started to wear on us lately.  He saw Austin for a total of 2 hours last week and Owen for about 10 minutes.  No wonder Owen cries when daddy is almost a stranger!  The single mom thing isn't all that fun, but we make it work.  Mainly, the boys (and me) just really miss seeing their daddy...and I know he misses seeing us.

-We have something planned every weekend from now until after Christmas...literally.  Then, Ryan will take part of January and February to study for the North Carolina bar exam.  At this rate we'll be lucky to be moved by Owen's 1st birthday.

-I am amazed with how far Austin's speech has come lately.  He is talking in sentences, understanding most everything we say, and correctly pronouncing words he used to mess up.  I love that I can have an actual conversation with him and he can tell me what he wants and what's going on.

-We made a quick trip to CVS the other day to pick up a few essential items.  I put Owen in the cart and let Austin walk beside me.  We went to check out and there was a lady with a newborn baby sleeping in his carrier that she had set on the floor beside her while she checked out.  Austin walked a little closer to the carrier and looked in, he looked back at me and whispered, "baby sleeping."  I smiled and nodded my head, he walked a little closer and out of nowhere yelled "WAKE UP!"  See, we play this little game at home where Ryan and I pretend we're sleeping and Austin tries to wake us up.  I never thought he'd try it on a stranger's newborn baby though.  Thankfully the baby's mother found it entertaining and thankfully the baby did not wake up as Austin commanded him to do so.

-There is just no easy way to go grocery shopping with two kids, both of whom need to be restrained.  Currently, Austin sits in the cart and I wear Owen in the Baby Bjorn.  Thank goodness for the helpful people at Publix who so willingly unload my cart, bag my groceries and put them in my car for me.  While not impossible, those things become quite the tedious task when you've got a baby strapped to your chest!

Gosh...I could go on and on...but I'll spare you the book for now.  Lately... 2nd Edition, coming soon!