Christmas, Part One

What a crazy Christmas this has been!

I was so excited by the talk of a white Christmas, little did I know that we would get 7 inches of ice/snow here in Oklahoma! We even had our 1st blizzard warning. I wanted Bryson's first Christmas to be memorable- and it was!

Lindsey and Asher planned on going to our church's Christmas Eve service with us and then dinner at my parents house afterwards. They ended up getting stranded at our house and had to stay the night and spend Christmas day with us! We had a great time though- Christmas did not go as planned, but it was so nice to take it slow, remember the REAL reason for Christmas and enjoy the time with family.

Here's just a few of the photos I've taken:

Out in the Christmas snow....

Christmas fun- opening presents, etc....

Our Christmas celebration is only 1/2 way completed- we're off to see Brandon's side of the family for the rest of the weekend. Hope you had a very merry Christmas.

Four Months

Bryson turned four months old on Christmas eve!

He has been quite the little ham!

Milestones include:

• started and loves rice cereal
• now drinking about 5-6oz per feeding
• not sleeping straight through the night consistently anymore :(
• more consistent napping
• LOVES bath time!
• doesn't appear to hate car rides, as much as before
• has really started to recognize Brandon and I, and he smiles when we enter the room
• can roll tummy to back, back to tummy
• gums all.the.time.
• refuses to take a paci. Would rather gum on his hands or a teether.
  
  
  
  

new recipe, yum!

Bryson and I have been watching the Today show every morning. I saw these on the cooking segment, and they looked pretty good. They were really easy to make, and have been a big hit- so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Orange Juice Balls

INGREDIENTS
• 3/4 box powdered sugar
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1 pound box vanilla wafers
• 1 6-ounce can frozen orange juice
• chopped nuts
• shredded coconut
extra powdered sugar (to roll 'em in)



DIRECTIONS
Crush vanilla wafers in a food processor or blender to make fine crumbs. Add all other ingredients and mix with your hands. Form into balls and roll in powdered sugar, or nuts or coconut. Refrigerate to set. Store in refrigerator.
(these cookies would be really easy to make with children too!)

Time

December seems to be flying by. My friend Dana and I were discussing this the other day- I can't tell if it's because I really enjoy my new job or if it's because of Bryson, OR everything combined!
I am really enjoying my job(s). I feel like I have the best of both worlds- I'm able to work and do what I love, but I'm able to spend more time with Bryson. I'm still struggling to figure out the balance of housework/cooking dinner and the above mentioned things, but who isn't?
It's just crazy to think that this time last year, we were just finding out that we were expecting! It's amazing when you realize how much our lives have changed in a year's time.

This past weekend, we took Bryson to Rhema to look at the Christmas lights- it was colder than I thought it would be/prepared for, so we didn't stay long. Here's some of the photos we took:

Bryson seemed to enjoy himself. He wasn't super kick-y or grinning the whole time- it was like he was just trying to soak it all in!

He has really been enjoying his jumperoo and excersaucer lately :) His teachers at preschool have been commenting on how much more content he is while at school. His temperament really seems to be shinning through.

I hope to post again before Christmas- I'm working on some cute little cards for his preschool teachers (all 5 of 'em) that I'd like to share. But, if I don't post- have a Merry Christmas!!

New Obsession

I have a new obsession.
It's Craigslist.

I adore it. I got an iphone about a month ago, and I tend to look at craigslist in-between clients and while waiting in line at the store! I can go days without seeing anything I would be interested in purchasing and then, bam- something will pop up!

So far, I've gotten mainly toys/games/materials for speech therapy- that Bryson can play with when he is a little older. Some of my best finds thus far?

• Leap Frog fridge toys- garage set and animal matching set for $10 total
• Elefun for $2
• Melissa & Doug puzzles, 6 for $10 total
• Melissa & Doug lacing blocks and castle building blocks for $10 total
• 64 jars of gerber baby food for $10

I've sold several baby items on Craigslist as well- items that we just didn't use and I can't see us using the future.

What do you think of Craigslist? I was a little creeped out by it at first, but I always meet the seller/buyer at the local gas station, during the day time. I also never give out my phone number.

What have you found on Craigslist?

Thanksgiving Review

We spent Thanksgiving in Texas this year. Bryson was able to meet Aunt Susan and the rest of our extended family- here he is with Grandy & Susan: He did really well on the drive down there, but he had a rough trip home. I don't know what else we can do to make traveling easier for him. Any tips?!

While in Texas, we did some Black Friday shopping. Target, CVS, Michaels and Ikea. Oh, how I wish we had an Ikea up here!
After the embarrassing OSU loss, we headed home- here's Mr. B in his ADORABLE OSU hat-

We finished off the weekend by decorating the house for Christmas and attempting to hang Christmas lights outside. I love this time of year, and I can't wait to teach our traditions to Bryson!

How was your Thanksgiving? Any 'traveling with baby' tips?

Three Months!

Bryson is three months old today! I'm way behind on uploading photos, so I'll upload Halloween, etc soon!

Milestones:

* still sleeping from about 9:30/10pm to about 6:30/7am.

* better head control

* you love to stand!

* you started using your jumperoo and you like to stomp your legs while 'jumping'

* you are now wearing size 3-6 month in onesies and one piece outfits

* you are drinking about 4-6 oz now per feeding- you still love your food, and hate to burp!

* you've started drooling more, thus you've been wearing more bibs.

* you had your 1st ear infection last week :(

* at your ear infection doctors appt, you weighed 14 lbs 3 oz!!!! You are a big boy!

* you wear size 2 diapers

* you love to smile at those around you, and everyone eats it up!

* you sleep in your crib every night now

* I found this mobile at a garage sale- you love it!

Diapers!

Walgreens is running a decent sale on Huggies diapers right now. Here's how I used the coupons I had to walk out with some pretty cheap diapers:

4 packages of Huggies diapers- $8.99 each
- $5/25 purchase coupon in this weeks ad
- 2 $3/1 Huggies diapers coupons I received in the mail
- 2 $2/1 printable Huggies diapers coupons
= $20.96, or $5.24 per package

THEN- if I send in the Caregivers Marketplace rebate
- 4 x $0.75 a package

= $4.49 for a package of diapers!!

We have been crazy busy lately, but I'm loving it! I have alot of photos I need to upload, but I've just been enjoying our time at home together as a family. I'll eventually get them up.

Also, we're getting geared up for the 3rd annual Friendsgiving celebration- I can't wait!

Target deals

I went to Target this morning at 8am (Bryson didn't get the memo about the time change) for the post-Halloween deals. I noticed that Kelloggs cereal was on sale- and I scored big! Here's what I did:

Buy 3 boxes, get 1 free
4 x 2.66= $10.64
-$2.66 (free box)
- 4 $1/1 Kelloggs cereal target printable coupons
- $1.50/3 Kelloggs printable coupon from their website
= $2.48, which comes to $0.62 a box!!!!

Since our school colors are orange and black, I always stock up on the Halloween cups/plates- they are great for tailgating!

Fall Catch-Up

Football season is in full swing; thus, we have a very busy fall! I love this time of the year though.
Last weekend, we went to OSU's homecoming. The house decks didn't seem to 'wow' me as they have in years past, but it was sure nice to be in Stillwater and participate in Walk-Around. This was my favorite one- can you believe all this is done with chicken wire and tissue paper?!?!

Every year, we have our photo taken at Theta pond- it never turns out as well as I would like, but we still attempt it every year!

In Bryson news, he loves to sit up now- he sat like this for over 30 minutes last weekend! It was just too cute!

And here's our little pumpkin- we took him to Pumpkin Town, which is something Brandon and I have done since we moved back to town. It was different this year to take a baby with us!! I can't wait til he's a little older and can participate a little more, but we still had a good time.

In Leia news: she has adjusted to Bryson! She isn't scared of him anymore and she enjoys giving him kisses from time to time :)

Two Months

Bryson is now two months old!

Milestones from this month:

* He sleeps from 10pm to at least 6am (sometimes as late as 7:30am) every night!

* He weighs over 13 lbs

* I'll know his length after his 2 month check up- my guess is 24 inches

* He is such a little ham- he smiles at everyone!

* He can roll over from his tummy to his back, but only to the right. He's done it on 7 occasions now!

* He spent the 1st over-night away from us, with MiMi and Grand-daddy

* He really seems to enjoy preschool/daycare. He loves to watch his friends crawl around.

* He now wears size 2 diapers, 0-3 month pants and shirts

* The 0-3 month onesies are getting to be a little snug- Bryson's just too long!

We are so blessed to have such a sweet baby!

Today

My 11:30 patient cancelled today, so I seized the chance to go to the grocery store and coupon! Homeland has some pretty good deals this week- so I decided to go there. Here's how I did:

Total spent: $24.37
Total saved: $29.66 (54%)

free deodorant- dove and degree
$1 Honey Nut Cheerios
$0.97 Pace Salsa
free colgate toothpaste
parchment paper (for holiday baking)

My total was a little high due to the fact I bought velveeta, chips and a balloon for one of my patients birthday's :) Overall, I was really pleased with my trip. It was nice to go to the grocery store by myself and to not feel the need to rush.

Time flies....

Time really seems to be flying by right now!

I started back to work last week, thus, Bryson started his 1st week at church preschool. I took these photos at the 6 wk, 1 day mark- his 1st day at 'school'.

During week 6, Bryson started to sleep even longer- on two occasions he slept til 7:15am!! He's also become quite the little ham. My friend Kristen got married this weekend, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, so we had quite the weekend. I was so happy that Bryson was well behaved- he even stayed awake for the wedding and reception!

Kristen is one of our last friends to get married; Brandon and I are definitely starting to feel older. For a long while we were in the 'wedding/wedding shower' stage of life, and now we have transitioned to the 'baby shower' and 'early bedtime' stage of life.

Several of our friends are moving away though, and it feels like graduating from college all over again. It's not as easy to make friends now- we're so busy with Mr. Bryson and just life in general. It makes you really appreciate the friends you have!!

Happy

Bryson started smiling this past week- we love it! He's been haming it up for everyone he comes into contact with, which makes him a very popular baby.

We had an eventful weekend; Friday we attended a bonfire/hot dog roast, Saturday we just hung out around the house and attended a neighbors birthday party and today, we visited a new church.

This afternoon I hope to drag out my fall decorations, make some pumpkin bread and actually clean house.

I start back to work this week, thus Bryson starts pre-school. I'm excited to get us more into a routine...I hope he enjoys his teachers though. They are nice, Christian ladies, I'm sure he'll do just fine!

Garage sale finds

Bryson and I hit the garage sales yesterday morning and then Brandon kept him home this morning- but we found some good deals! I found this Fisher Price jumperoo for $15!! It retails for $90 online right now......... It was never used either!
I found alot of 6-12 month clothing for Bryson all for $0.50 an item this morning. The same lady had Gap and Old Navy shirts for $0.50- I went ahead and purchased 3 of 'em for myself.
Alot of my old shirts fit, but they are tight across my tummy. These are a size bigger, so for 50 cents they'll work for now :)

I found a few BrainQuest sets to use with my therapy kiddos and a kids nativity set for Bryson to have later!

Have you been out garage sale-ing lately? Have you found anything good?

One Month

Today, Bryson is one month old! And to celebrate, he slept from 10pm to 5:50am, making two very happy parents.

It's amazing how much he's grown- he's so much more alert!

He's now wearing 0-3 months in clothing, although the pants are a little large. He's still in size 1 diapers. I'm anxious to see his weight at his checkup- I think he's at least 11 lbs now!

We got several packages in the mail this week too- the clothing is from our Aunt Susan and the burp cloth, book and toys are from my Texas friends- the Kidd's.

Overall, its been a good week. Bryson has started on a new formula, and it seems to be sitting well with him. He's on more of a schedule and I've actually started to feel like myself again. I can't wait to see what's ahead!

three weeks

Our little man is 3 weeks old today! My in-laws were in town this weekend to meet Bryson, so the weekend flew by.

Now that you are three weeks old:

* You have slept from 10:45pm until 5am on two occasions- I hope this is a new trend!

* I found you on your side in your pack-n-play when I left you on your back, so maybe you are trying to roll over?

* You stay awake longer- mainly in the mornings and after supper

* You have outgrown a few of your newborn sized onesies- they are just not long enough!

* You still wear size 1 diapers- you never fit into the newborn ones

* You have 'watched' two OSU football games and been to church twice :)

* We are finally figuring each other out!

Grocery deals

I saw some good Quaker deals in the Homeland ad this morning, so I thought Bryson and I might stir out sometime this week and attempt the trip.

But Brandon, being the awesome husband he is, encouraged me to go ahead and make a grocery run while he stayed home with Bryson! I jumped at the opportunity!

Here's how I did:

Total Spent: $31.57

Total saved: $57.88

% saved? 67%

* 9 boxes of Quaker granola bars + Cap'n Crunch Cereal, 5/$8 sale

-2 $3/5 Quaker coupons= 10 Quaker products for $1 each AC

* 2 Knorr Lipton rice sides= $0.04 AC

* 4 Ronzoni pastas for about $0.50- $0.75 each after assorted coupons

* Hungry Jack syrup= $1 AC

* Welch's juice= $0.99 AC

* 4 cans of pillsbury grands products- FREE after coupons

* 2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter- $1.50/jar AC

* 2 Pace Picante sauce- $0.94/jar AC

Not too bad for my 1st trip :)

Number 5, baby!

Our amazing Oklahoma State Cowboy football team is #5 in the AP rankings this week. #5!!!

Whoa.

It's been since before I acknowledged college football that OSU was this good! So, to celebrate, here's some photos of my 2 OSU babies :)

My parents kept Bryson and Leia on Saturday so that Brandon, my sister and I could attend the OSU vs. Georgia game. It was great to be back in the football stadium, and to have some 'adult' time. We sure did miss Bryson- but a Cowboy victory and some Mexico Joes salsa helped console me :)
I'm told Bryson enjoyed his time with his MiMi and Granddaddy, and he even watched some of the game on TV!

Fun faces

I can't believe how much little Bryson has grown in a week and four days! Here's some of my favorite 'at home' photos- this is from his first weekend home...

And I took this one a night or two ago- He keeps making such serious faces and doing funny things with his hands..he just looks to be in deep contemplation! Brandon was home with me all week, and we made an effort to get out of the house every day. We went to Wal-Mart yesterday and I price-comped a few good deals from Homeland. I didn't get anything for free, but it was still better than paying full-price for watermelon, chinet plates and potato chips!

I'll have clearance to drive again after Labor Day, so I'm excited to get back into couponing and get on a more regular schedule once Brandon returns to work.

Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day!

The lowdown on c-sections

Our c-section was scheduled due to Bryson's estimated size on ultrasounds. I felt pretty prepared going into the c-section, as I had researched it on the Internet and read my baby books.
BUT- there are a few things that I wasn't prepared for, and I thought I'd share 'em!

1. Swelling
I had no clue how bad the swelling would be after the c-section. I was told it had something to do with the IV fluids, etc. My feet were swollen for over a week, and it was very painful. It felt like my skin was going to rip open. yuck.
What did I do to help reduce the swelling? We started walking every evening for 30 minutes and I've been drinking a TON of water.

2. Gas
Gross, I know- but my whole belly was filled with gas about 24 hrs after the c-section. I had actually read about this, but I wasn't prepared for it to be that severe. If this happens to you, make sure and tell your nurse sooner rather than later! They have medicine that can help!

3. Feelings
I was talking with my friend Kacey the other day about my 'baby blues'. She made an excellent point- and I thought I'd share it. :)
With a vaginal birth, you go through all this pain, but the pain goes away when your child is born. With a scheduled c-section, you have no pain at the beginning. You lay on an operating table and your child is surgically removed from you. Then, you have intense pain right after the birth of your child.
I had amazing doctors and nurses who managed my pain medication very well- and within 24 hours of the surgery I was feeling pretty good.

4. IV's and catheters
I knew I would be receiving an IV and a catheter, but I didn't realize that the IV would be on my wrist. Yuck. It was difficult to hold Bryson and to push myself up in the hospital bed with the position of the IV. The IV was in place for a little over 24 hours. The catheter was in place overnight since my c-section wasn't til early afternoon. It took a while after the catheter was removed to feel like I could use the restroom 'normally'. Enough said.

Overall, I just wasn't mentally prepared (and I don't know if you ever can be) for the birth of our little one. As soon as I prayed about it and accepted that Bryson's birth and breastfeeding experience was different than what I had expected, things got much better.
It was fine for me to have expectations, but I need to learn how to roll with the punches a little more. So much of Bryson's birth and first week home has exceeded my expectations! I can't wait to see what the future holds.

He's Here!

Bryson arrived on Monday

9 lbs, 11 oz

20 and 1/2 inches long

We are so glad to be home and are trying to figure out each other!

Lots 'O Links

Since I've had some extra time off while waiting for Bryson to arrive, I've discovered some pretty cool websites. I figured I'd put them all in one place and share 'em with you'all!

Online Shopping:
Both of these websites have daily deals, released at 9am, Mountain time
http://www.babysteals.com/
and their new, sister store:
http://www.scrapbooksteals.com/

I found these really neat 1-12 month baby onesie stickers:
http://www.pickysticky.com/

Photos:
Newborn photo tips- this is actually a link to a message board, but the 1st post is AWESOME!
http://www.justmommies.com/forums/f939-education/1612572-tips-for-photographing-your-newborn-epic-post-lots-photos.html

Post-Partum:
Couch to 5K Running Program- I hope to do this program once I'm cleared for normal exercise at my 6 week appt!
http://www.coolrunning.com/

Show us your life Friday: my baby showers

Over at Kelly's Korner, it's another 'show us your life' event. I decided to join in! We have been blessed with FOUR baby showers for baby Bryson. I've posted numerous photos of each shower on this blog, but I figured I'd re-post with just a few photos....

The first shower was with the wonderful women I worked with at the elementary school- back in early May. The shower was in the library at 8am! We enjoyed a potluck breakfast, but I didn't get any photos of the food.

Our next shower was at my friend Erica's house. I posted about that shower a while back- most of the photos are on my mom's camera- but here's one of me with my YUMMY cake!

We did something a little different at this shower- I took a photo with each guest and their gift. The pictures turned out really well, and its a nice way to remember who gave you what!

In July, the church I grew up at- Skelly Drive Baptist- hosted a wonderful shower for us. During high school and college, I babysat for a family of 4 children. They are all too big for me now- but my shower was held at their beautiful house and hosted by their mother. It was over the top! Here's the gift table.....And one of the hostesses, Mrs. Bobbi and I by the yummy and beautiful food table!Our last shower was a few weeks ago, at Brandon's office. It was nice to be able to meet all of his co-workers and see how much they love him!

Make sure and check out other baby shower photo tours over at www.kellyskornerblog.com