I can feel it:)

It is almost that time of the year....I can feel it now as I sit on the back porch in the dark night.  I hear the leaves rustling and feel the cool breeze.  I look forward to this around July 5 every summer.
I LOVE FALL! I could live with no summer if it meant a longer fall.


This reminds me of growing up in Fairview on Forest Glen Road. So beautiful!



I sure hope there is autumn in heaven....and pumpkins too!

Can't wait to "fall" in love with this season and my three handsome boys!



Why does this make national news?......

This morning I was watching Good Morning America, as I do most mornings.  There was a story about a mommy-blogger who caused a firestorm because she took a vacation and left her 10 week old baby at home. There were 2 people on GMA to discuss this issue and then GMA also polled people on the street to ask what they thought about a mom leaving her baby to go on a vacation.
Seriously? This is news-worthy?
People said rude comments and even said that if you want to take a vacation and leave your baby at home then you weren't ready to be a parent to start with.

Why am I blogging about this you may wonder?

Because I took a 4 day vacation with my best girlfriends and left Cohen when he was 8 weeks old. I had decided before he was born that I was going to do everything I could to make this girls' trip. It was a bachelorette getaway for one of my 8 best friends from college. So, very quickly after Co was born I began "power-pumping" to save enough breast milk for him to have in my absence. This was extremely time-consuming. I even set my alarm to wake up and pump in the middle of the night once he dropped the 2am feeding. I was also taking my 26 herbal supplement pills per day to increase my supply.
I was a bit nervous about leaving him with my mom and Chad and thought about not going on the trip a few times. Yet, at the last minute I knew I had to go.
I had to go for a few reasons.
1) The first weeks of being a mommy are exhausting. This trip would provide some rest.
2) I knew I would be a better mommy for taking a few days to let loose.
3) My husband realized how difficult it is to care for a baby, and he appreciated all my hard mommy work even more.
4) Cohen would never miss me.

I pumped the entire trip, and had a wonderful time with my besties.  Cohen did fine without me. Chad did great flying solo for the first time as a daddy.
I honestly do not understand why there was such anger over a mother taking a vacation and leaving her child behind. Who cares?
I highly recommend getting away any time you can. Your child and your mind will thank you:)

Oh yeah, Chad and I both went on a week vacation to the Bahamas when Cohen was 5 months old and left him with our parents. And yes, Co did fine. And I also pumped the entire trip and Chad carried over 200 ounces of frozen breast milk in a backpack for me through security as his carry-on on the way home! That's a great husband:)

Sutton is 10 Months!

Our little "Henner" (my nickname for Sutton) is 10 months!  I took the monthly picture in the baby leather chair with a sign, but I have packed up my camera cable so I cannot download those pics to the blog. I'll add them in a few months when we unpack. Until then, Ill just use pictures from my phone.

Sutton is walking!  I have been traveling so much lately I was so worried I would miss this special moment. But he is such a Mommy's boy that he literally started walking about 2 minutes after I got home from Minnesota last Friday!  He waited for me to see it!! He walked from one side of our living room, to the other, all while holding a lunchbox full of cars.
Cohen said, "Yay, Sut-ton walking!"

He has three top teeth and two bottom ones.
He is now in the "bucket" class at church. Those babies are so cute sitting in those buckets around the table.
Sutton eats 100% table food. No more baby food unless I get lazy and don't cook a nutritious meal, then I give him some baby food to push in nutrients. I loathe giving my kids baby food. He is a huge eater. Everyday my boys eat the same thing for breakfast. This is because Cohen always wants "yogurt and oatmeal" and so I feed Henner the same thing. And then they both get a fresh fruit. Usually berries of some sort. Sutton literally eats the same amount of food that Co does. And Cohen is a big eater!

He still carries his lovie around. He cannot sleep without it. Literally! If he wakes up screaming at night, it is almost always because he dropped it from his crib. As soon as I give it to him, he wraps it in his left hand, and sucks his right thumb then falls right to sleep.

He moved to a big boy carseat yesterday. I took out their carseats to clean my car then decided I would go ahead and put the big boy carseat in for Sutton. He's still rear-facing of course, but loves sitting up at a better angle. He and Cohen were holding hands in the car yesterday:)

Still nursing...and hoping to continue.
He's such a happy, laid-back boy!  I am ready for another baby....Chad is not. So it will be awhile.

Nana brought Co a kangaroo and a shirt from Australia. He tried to put the shirt on while in the car..then fell asleep:)



Cohen at our neighborhood "Redneck Olympics"




Sutton's first Sunday in the bucket class




Swinging at the park. Our favorite thing to do on a beautiful day!

 Loving the life God gave me!

Counting down the days.

We are counting down the days until we move out of our house into Nana and Pop's house for a few months while our house is being built.
This is so bittersweet. This townhome is full of so many precious memories. Chad and I bought this house a few months before we married and moved into it 6 months after we married. Cohen and Sutton began their precious lives here, and we have made 5 1/2 years of memories here.
We have ah-mazing neighbors that we will miss dearly. But we will be sure to stay in touch and invite them all over to our neighborhood pool next summer!

Remembering what actually makes a home....

Kelly 

Worthy of note...Letters to my boys

Sweet, Sutton Henry,

You are an absolute joy to parent! You are 10 months this week and are such a happy boy. You are always smiling with that big, dimpled smile.  You have 2 bottom teeth, 1 top tooth, and you are getting two more top teeth right now.  That means you have had a slight fever and been waking up at night for a week now.  Even though I am exhausted the next day, I LOVE those middle of the night feedings to soothe you.  I secretly hope you nurse for a few more months. 
You are crawling everywhere, and taking 3-5 steps a few times per day.  I don't want you to walk.  It seems that you are growing so much faster than your brother did. 
You are still very much your Mommy's boy in so many ways. You look like me and always want to be with me.  It is so sweet. You have started to stare at your brother and just watch him with amazement.  You play great by yourself if Cohen isn't around. You eat everything. A typical breakfast for you at 10 months is: a banana, oatmeal, and a yogurt!  You also still nurse 4-5 times per day.
I am traveling a lot with this new job which means I am a warrior pumper:)  I take my pump with me on the road and on the plane.  I am so in love with you. You say "Da-da, Ma-ma, bye-bye." You also fake cough when we cough, and mock any sound that Cohen does. You are such a silly baby.  You make me heart smile all the time with your sweet personality and that wonderful smile.  You can't be without your bear. You have the bear in your teeth or in your hand whenever I go to get you out of your crib. If you wake up crying, I go to get you and you have your bear in  your hand. You hold it all the time. I love it. I made sure we have 4 of them so you will never be without one. You still suck your thumb when you are bored or tired. I always know when you are either of the above because you put your right thumb in your mouth. If I am feeding you and taking too long between bites, you put your thumb in your mouth then move it when the spoon gets to your lips.
I look forward to seeing your personality grow and bloom as you get older.
I pray daily for you. I pray for your health and for you to love God with all your heart.
I love you to the heavens and back!!
Mommy

Worthy of note... letters to my boys.

Dear Precious Cohen Michael, You are an unbelievable joy! I love your infectious laughter, the way you always wake up happy, the way you always say, "Yay, Cone!" when you do something you're proud of. You are growing so big and strong. I am amazed at you everyday. You are two and a half this month, and getting smarter by the minute. You know how to count to ten, all your colors and shapes, and can recognize most letters. You are so loving and sweet most of the time. You do have your meltdowns, but what two year old doesn't? You say, "go away, Mommy!" It breaks my heart, yet makes me laugh at the same time. I have no idea where you learned that. Sometimes you tell Sutton, "you go take a nap!" when you don't want to share your Mommy anymore. You are using the potty all the time for Lola, but only half the time at home. I made you a cape to wear. It is red on one side, green on the other, and ties with a yellow ribbon. It had a "C" on it, but you tore it off. You put your cape on "the red side" and run around the living room with it on. Daddy and I say it makes you run super fast! Tonight, you and Mommy ran circles around the living room and laughed and laughed. You always ran faster than me because you were wearing your cape! I started letting you sleep in our bed sometimes at night because I know it won't last forever. One day, when you are 12 and too cool for me, I will want to hold you and rock you to sleep but you won't let me. So I do it as often as Daddy will let me. So now, almost every night you say, "I take a nap with Mommy" and run to our bed. We put you to sleep in your bed, but I sometimes go get you after your asleep and put you in bed with me. We cuddle and hold hands. I started a new job last month which makes me travel overnight 2-3 days a week. I miss you three SO much while I am gone. You ask Lola about me all the time. Daddy said you had a bad dream last week and asked for your Mommy. I won't be traveling for too much longer, hopefully. I pray daily for you. My main prayer is for you and Sutton to be men of God. If you love God with all your heart then everything else will fall into place. I love you to the heavens and back!