6 Random Things About Me

Okay, I was tagged by Allison, so here goes:

1- I've had the same hairstyle since my senior year of high school (1994)... so 14 years. For those of you trying to figure it out, I'll be 33 this year- YIKES! Anyway, sometimes it's been shorter & sometimes longer- but overall the same for a long time. I'm just afraid to change it and then end up hating it.

2- Shane & I will have been married for 9 years this July! We met in 1995, started dating in 1996, & got married in 1999.

Our wedding- July 3, 1999

Our 8th Anniversary- last year

3- I am an only child & love it! It's great not having to share my parents with anyone!

Christmas several years back

4- We treat our cat, Max, like a person (actually like our child.) We've had Max for over 3 years & he's slept on my pillow almost every night since we got him (except for about 2 weeks after Austin was born when he was scared of me & the new baby.) We talk to him like a baby, we carry him around like a baby, we feel guilty leaving him alone, we take pictures/video of him as often as Austin. Oh, and he weighs 20 lbs....

Max on my pillow (back in his thinner days)

5- I DO NOT have a green thumb. I cannot stand working in the yard, planting flowers- any of that! I leave it all to Shane! Part of the reason is that I hate being hot. It makes me super grumpy (ask my parents or Shane!) Yet... I love summertime & hate how I look without a tan!

Our porch in the spring (thanks to Shane)

Cabo San Lucas tan!

6- I really enjoy being a Pampered Chef consultant, but don't really like to cook. I LOVE baking, but think it's more because I love eating sweets (not because I enjoy making it.) On the other hand, I'm a CPA & don't really enjoy it. I'm good at it, but don't love doing it. Weird huh?

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a wonderful long holiday weekend! Shane was done working by mid-day on Friday, so the 3 of us headed to Central Market & Sprouts to get some fresh meats & produce for dinner! I forgot how much I love shopping at those places.... Wal-Mart just doesn't hold a candle to them (but it sure is cheap!) We came home & Shane fired up his new grill for the first time- he loves it! The steaks were yummy! :)

On Saturday we did a few things around the house & I worked on Austin's scrapbook (almost finished) & my photo albums (up to date now!) That evening we went to church!

Sunday was another day of getting things done around the house & Shane worked in the yard for a bit. Even though it is work, I know how much he enjoys being outside- it's an "outlet" for him like fishing. Meanwhile, I packed up all of my maternity clothes & pulled out my regular clothes. Keep in mind that my regular clothes DO NOT fit me yet, but I figure this will give me incentive to go to the gym... or at least start eating better & going on more walks. That evening we got together with several families from our church small group for a Luau! It was so much fun! We hadn't gotten to spend much time with everyone since Austin was born, so it was wonderful to catch up & also for them to see Austin! They grilled out & then had lots of fun games such as hula hoop & limbo contests. I missed out in participating in both because I was feeding Austin, but Shane tied for 1st place in the Men's limbo! Here are a few pics!

Austin relaxing at the luau

Shane doing the limbo

Kristen doing the limbo

Everyone visiting after dinner & games

Shane & Austin

On Monday Shane power washed the house (what a difference that made), and then we both cleaned out our closet. We have over 5 BIG garbage bags of clothes to take to Goodwill this week. How embarrassing is that? Plus I think we have AT LEAST that much or more in the attic that I stored up for a garage sale that we will not be having! I loved doing garage sales before Austin (when I had the time), but now I'll be taking everything to Goodwill! That afternoon Shane's sister & brother-in-law came over to grill out for the holiday! Mat & Shanna played with Austin for a while & then we watched a movie. I know Austin enjoyed spending time with his Aunt & Uncle- he told me so! Some pics of the day:

Mat, Shanna, Shane & Austin

Aunt Shanna & Daddy with Austin

Austin loves smiling at his Aunt & Uncle

Overall we had a great weekend! We got to spend time with people we love & had a productive weekend around the house! I hope everyone else had a Happy Memorial Day!

Funny picture of Austin in a hat!

First night in his crib

Since Austin turned 10 weeks old yesterday, we decided that it was time to transition him from sleeping in our room to his room (at night.) He sleeps in the nursery during the day, but only for naps lasting 1-2 hrs.

Let me just say that I was quite anxious about it. It felt VERY weird not having him in the room with us- although I will admit that it was nice to be able to have the tv on, have the lights on, and be as loud as we wanted! Usually we have to tip-toe around after we put him down. I didn't like the idea of him being all the way across the house from us during the night, but having the sensor monitor (to let us know if he stops breathing after 10 seconds) really helped to ease my mind! Of course both times we got him up, we forgot to turn it off & the alarm sounded. :)

Unfortunately his feedings got off schedule yesterday, so he ended up eating and going to sleep by 7:30pm (earlier than usual.) Since he had only eaten 5 times instead of 6, we expected him to wake up during the night. And he did at 1:30am, but was back down by 2am (WHOO HOO.) He then slept until around 7:30am! So overall he did really well! I think the main problem was the feeding schedule being off- otherwise he probably would have slept through the night! We'll try again tonight!

UPDATE: Austin's 2nd night in the nursery went great! He slept from 9pm to 7am!

2 Month Appointment

Austin's 2 month appointment was today (even though he is between 9-10 weeks old), so here are the stats:

Weight- 12 lbs (50th percentile)

Length- 23 in (50th percentile)

Head Circumference- 38.8 cm (25th percentile)

So it looks like Austin is pretty average! I honestly thought that he would be at a higher percentile for his weight and head size- but no. He also had to endure 6 shots (combined into 3 injection & 1 oral.) It was NOT fun for any of us. Shane held him while the nurse did the shots. I sat in the chair and cried. At one point the nurse said, "Mom- are you doing alright?" I couldn't even respond because I was crying so hard. It just hurt me so much to see my sweet boy screaming (red face, not breathing, etc.) Shane held his arms and comforted him with kisses on the forehead... but he was still quite upset. After both Austin & I calmed down, we gave him Tylenol and a bottle. He settled down after 30 minutes or so, but I still get teary when I think about it. I know, I have to toughen up because he will get shots for many more years to come.

After the appointment we went to eat lunch at Panera Bread (to cheer us up.. well, Shane & I at least!)

3 bandaids to cover the boo boo's

Recovery= Sleep

Mommy & her boy

Since we are bad parents and forgot to take pictures of Austin & I together on Mother's Day... we made up for it yesterday! The last picture makes me laugh so hard- can you tell he's sick of taking pictures? He was waking up from a nap & having a difficult time adjusting to the light outside too :)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, he's lost a bunch of hair (in the front) from the dreaded cradle cap. It happened about a month ago, and thankfully only lasted a few days- so we were lucky! But now he has barely any hair in the front!! He's still a cutie though!

As for an update on sleeping through the night... this week he has slept 9 hrs, 7 hrs, 10 hrs, & 11 hrs the last two nights! WHOO HOO AUSTIN!!!! I'll post weekend pictures on Monday/Tuesday... hopefully!

2 Months Old

Happy 2 Month Birthday to my sweet Austin! He's such a big boy! We will find out his weight at his 2 month appointment next week- but I can tell it's going to be a lot! It hurts my back to hold him for too long! He is also much more in control of his head- which makes him easier to hold! My little baby is growing up so quickly! Where does time go???

The serious look

Smiling (just a little though!)

In other news, I have a Pampered Chef party this friday night- my first since Austin was born! It's been so long since I did a show that I feel like I need to practice! Plus they have introduced over 60 new products that I know nothing about! I'll be anxious to see how Pampered Chef fits into our lives now- afterall, this is the reason that I started consulting... so that I could stay at home when we had kids! It will be good for Shane to be able to spend some time alone with Austin when I'm doing shows, and it will be good for me to get out and socialize with adults! And the money is nice too :)

We also have company coming to visit this weekend! Our friends Jason & Beth are coming into town to meet Austin on Saturday. Another friend, Amy, will be stopping by to meet him on Sunday! I can't wait to show off my little one! I'll post more pictures soon!

Mother's Day

Yes, his shirt says "Property of Mom"- Shane picked it out for him to wear today. :)

What a wonderful first Mother's Day I had today! Shane played Mr. Mom all day so that I could spend the day doing whatever I wanted- what a treat! No bottles, no diapers, no listening to the monitor, nothing! So what did I do?

11pm-9am: slept (Shane always takes night duty on the weekends)

9am-12pm: ate breakfast, took a long shower & got ready, watched some tv

12pm-1:30pm: got a manicure & pedicure (a deluxe one- I splurged!)

1:30pm-3:30pm: went clothes shopping

3:30pm-5:30pm: took a nap

5:30pm-7:00pm: watched a movie on tv

7:00pm-8:30pm: went to eat at Red, Hot & Blue (BBQ) with Shane & Austin (including blackberry cobbler- YUMMY)

8:30-???: WHATEVER I WANT!

Thanks to Shane for making my Mother's Day very relaxing and special! And thanks to Austin for making today be my first Mother's Day! What a precious husband and baby boy I was blessed with!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there- I now realize what a challenging and rewarding job it really is! And a special thank you to my mom & Shane's mom for being such wonderful mothers to us- you raised us well! Today is their first Mother's Day as grandmothers! So Happy Mother's Day to GiGi & Gran!! XOXO