Our New Office

I thought it was about time I showed you all our new office. First here are a few pictures of what it used to look like.

As you can see it was way overcrowded and just not the best use of space. We both really liked the furniture, but that bedroom is so small it just didn’t hold it well. Plus we didn’t have nearly enough storage (especially since most of my books were living in boxes in the garage).

A few weeks ago we decided we needed to make better use of the space, especially since I am working more from home now. We moved out all the furniture, painted the room (we had bought the paint way back when we bought paint for Aedan’s room) and installed a new desk/shelf system to give Jon and I both a work space with lots of storage.

 

We love it!

Oh and here is a video of my favorite little guy. He is so fun!

-Lauren-

Whirlwind Week

It has been a whirl wind week and weekend. I’m glad that today is Sunday, and I have no where to be. I’m just going to hang out at home in my comfy clothes and play with my favorite little guy.

On Monday I was able to get the house clean and laundry and grocery shopping done for the week. I’m so glad I was able to start the week off with a productive day because the rest of the week was busy!

On Tuesday night after work, I went over to my friend’s house to help out with wedding decorations. One of the girls in my small group got married yesterday and we were all bridesmaids. We had a great evening catching up and putting the finishing touches on the wedding favors.

On Wednesday Aedan and I went to our weekly office meeting. He did so well. He went down for a nap perfectly and when he woke up he played in my colleague's little girl’s jumperoo. He LOVES to jump. Now when we practice standing he tries to jump. :) One Wednesday night Jon and I cleaned out the garage and attic. I cannot believe we have collect so much stuff in the last 3 years! We are finally going to take some pictures and list a bunch of things on Craigslist. Our goal is to be able to fit both cars and Jon’s motorcycle in the garage.

On Thursday I had lunch with a couple of my colleagues to talk about our company. We are going to change some things up and I’m pretty excited. I’m sure I will post more about it once the details have been worked out. After lunch I had a team meeting and then I rushed to pick up Aedan and brought him home just in time to turn around to head to my hairstylist. Actually I tried out a new stylist and I really like her. I had not highlighted my hair in 6 months and I was missing the light blonde. I really like the color now.

Friday morning I woke up early to head out to a school observation at 8am. After my observation I rushed home because I had to write a report about my observation before pre-wedding festivities started that afternoon. I got my report done just in time and got ready for the rehearsal. After the wedding rehearsal my friends and I headed to the rehearsal dinner out at Lake Travis. It was beautiful and we had a great evening of margaritas and catching up.

Yesterday I was up early again to go to Barton Creek Spa for manicures with the bride and bridesmaids. We had a full day; manicures, brunch, hair and makeup, limo rides, pictures, ceremony, pictures, dinner, cake, and dancing. It all went great and the bride and wedding were beautiful! I will have to post pictures once I get some from my friends.

Now since Aedan is down for a nap, I’m going to get comfortable on the couch and start going through all my TiVoed premieres from this week, can’t wait!

-Lauren-

Our Weekend

Friday morning after Aedan went down for his morning nap, I loaded up my car and headed to Plano. It was such a quick drive. It has been awhile since I have made the drive up I35 without being pregnant and having to stop for bathroom breaks every hour or with a newborn than has to eat every 2-3 hours. Since I was alone I grabbed lunch at McDonalds. Jon hates McDonalds. Neither of us is a huge fan of fast food, but every once in awhile I just crave one of those 89 cent kids hamburgers and some fries. Yum. Side note: I can not wait until Aedan wants to eat chicken nuggets or mac and cheese. Sometimes it is fun to eat like a 4 year old. Jon hates this. :)

When I got to Plano I stopped by to visit my great aunt. She is hilarious. She calls Aedan “butterball” and she calls Hiro “chocolate” (in Spanish mind you). She always tells me that Hiro doesn’t ever listen to her when she calls him. I wonder why? :) We had a nice visit and when I was done I headed over to get a pedicure. Nothing says weekend away like getting a pedicure. It was perfect. After my pedicure I went to my parents house to get ready and then headed off to see my sister’s new apartment. It is so cute! We did some shopping and had dinner together. I even bought some skinny jeans. I can’t wait to wear them with boots when it finally gets cooler. I wanted to wear skinny jeans a boots  last fall/winter but I’m a firm believer that no pregnant girl should wear skinny jeans.

Saturday we had a bridal shower for my best friend, Amanda. We have been friends since 8th grade. I’m so excited for her and her fiancé Chris! They are so cute together. She is getting married in 3 short weeks! The shower was fun and everything turned out great. I took lots of pictures but not with my camera. :( I’ll try to post some if I get some sent to me. After the shower, I went over to Amanda’s parent’s house to help with wedding decorations. We had a great time hanging out and catching up.

Sunday morning my Dad made French toast. He uses my great grandmother’s recipe and even though I have the same recipe, mine never come out as good as his. It was delicious!  After breakfast I loaded up my car and headed home.

I had a great weekend away, but I was happy to be back to see this little guy (and of course Jon and Hiro too).

Jon did great with Aedan all weekend. They are best buds now (even more than they already were). Aedan even started to say DaDa over the weekend. Now he says it all.the.time. Jon love it. Apparently Aedan has forgotten that I’m the one who threw up every.single.day. for 4 months straight and pushed for 2.5 hours to have him. Sigh.

-Lauren-

D.O.N.E

As of 11am this morning I completed my 160 question test. It was supposed to be 150 questions, but they threw in an extra 10 questions for future testing purposes. I know, so nice of them right? The test wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I aced it by any means but I just needed to pass, so hopefully I at least did that. I get my scores mid November, which is earlier than I originally thought, but still far away. Oh well. The test is done and that mean no more studying!!

My study partner and I went out to lunch after the exam. We went to Curras and we both enjoyed an avocado margarita (it is sooo good and I hadn’t had one since before I was pregnant). It was nice to celebrate being done.

When I came home I hung out with my favorite little guy. He woke up from all his naps early today and wasn’t as happy as he usually is when he wakes up. I couldn't figure out why, until I let him chew on my finger. Ouch! Looks like this little guy’s first tooth is breaking the surface. I feel like he is so grown up now that he is actually getting teeth!

We have a big weekend ahead. I’m making a quick trip up to Dallas for a good friend’s bridal shower and Jon is staying behind with Aedan and Hiro. I know Aedan will have a great time with his Daddy all weekend, but I know I will miss them both! Maybe I can talk Jon into writing a post about their weekend together. :)

-Lauren-

Random

Today since I had absolutely nothing important to do, you know like studying for my big exam tomorrow, I decided to make baby food, do laundry, and make a new header for my blog. :) I think I have gotten to the point of either I know the information or I don’t and I am d.o.n.e. with studying. So tonight I am going to relax and watch a movie, set my alarm for bright and early tomorrow morning and try not to stress out.

I also cleaned out Aedan’s closet and dresser since he has grown out of so many clothes. I ordered him some super cute fall/winter clothes and I just cannot wait until it starts to get cooler around here. Really I would be happy if it was below 90. This time of year just makes me want to live further north so I can experience an actual fall. It is annoying when Starbucks comes out with all their fall drinks like pumpkin spice lattes and Target isles are decked out with pumpkins and other fall decorations and I am sitting here in shorts and a tank top because we had a heat index of 100 today.

And what is a good post without a picture or a video? Over the weekend Aedan figured out how to jump in his jumper (before he would just stand and play with the toys). My Mom took this video of him playing. Seriously this is his favorite activity right now.

-Lauren-

Six Months!

My little guy is already a half a year old!

(we had a busy weekend/day and I forgot to take a picture in his rocking chair so this picture will have to do until I can replace it)

Aedan, here is what you have been up to this month:

• You weigh 19lbs and 7oz and are 26 inches tall. You are wearing size 3 diapers and size 6-9m and 9m clothes (although we have a few shirts that are 12m and those fit you pretty well too).
• You started solids this month and you love sweet potatoes and apples. You also like acorn and butternut squash peas and pears. You are not a fan of bananas or avocado, but we are going to keep trying.
• You drink four 6oz bottles a day, and one 3-4oz bottle with dinner. You have oatmeal or rice cereal and fruit for breakfast, and fruit and veggies for dinner.
• You wake up around 7:30, take 2 long naps (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), a short catnap in the late afternoon and then go to bed around 7:45/8. Sometime you wake up early in the morning but you just talk to yourself for a few minutes and then go back to sleep.
• You can sit up by all by yourself so playing on your back is so last month. You will sit with your toys and play for a long time, it is too cute. 
• You LOVE Hiro! You look for him as soon as you wake up in the morning or from your naps. You squeal and laugh when he licks you or when he and Daddy are playing.
• You are super happy when you’re not tired, but if it is close to nap time, you do not want anything to do with people other than Mommy or Daddy.
• You just learned how to jump in your door jumper and it is your favorite thing to do (that and sit in your highchair and bang your toys on the tray).
• You can roll over from your tummy-to-back and from your back-to-tummy, but you really only do it when your in your crib.
• You are still very vocal and come up with a new sound to say just about everyday. They crack us up since they usually come with a new facial expression as well.
• You’re almost old enough to ride in the cart when we go shopping but not quite. You do great riding in your carseat or in the carrier (although you are getting a little heavy!).

Aedan, so far I think this is my favorite age! You are so much fun to play with and you are so interactive. We have loved getting to know you even more this month. I can’t believe it has already been half a year! Maybe I should start planning your birthday party tomorrow since I am sure the next 6 months are going to fly by! :)

-Lauren-

Things We Love Part Six

I feel like Aedan has grown up so much just since last month! It was difficult for me to come up with things last month, but this month there are so many new things that we use everyday.

First, we love our space saver highchair. I remember looking at baby stuff as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and when I saw this highchair, I knew it was what I wanted. Our house is small, so having baby things that don’t take up extra space is perfect. This highchair just clips onto one of our kitchen chairs, which is great since our table and chairs are counter height. We use it all the time. Of course we use it at meal time, but Aedan also loved to sit and play bang his toys on the highchair tray.

(this is a horrible picture, it was taken before I got my cool new toy, but I like how it shows Aedan in mid bang)

Aedan started solids this last month. Well I guess he started rice cereal and oatmeal when he was 4 months, but we started fruits and veggies this last month. I also started giving Aedan these rice crackers. He likes them a lot (I think he also likes that I give him something to snack on, while I’m snacking so he no longer has to look at my food longingly). :)

We have been using our boppy pillow ever since we brought Aedan home from the hospital. We sill use it when we give him a bottle, but now that he is sitting up by himself, we have started to use the boppy more than just at meal time. Aedan can sit up pretty well on his own but he when reaches for toys or Hiro he sometimes falls over. The boppy helps him stay up so I don’t have to sit right next him all the time.

I finally got a diaper bag this month. Before I would just throw a few things in a bag or in the car and go. Now that Aedan comes with me to my weekly office meeting and to the sitter’s house once a week, I thought it would be nice to have a designated bag for him. I bought this backpack and I love it. It is small, but still holds everything I need (plus my camera fits perfectly).

 

Earlier this month I decided to buy a video monitor. We had a basic sound monitor and it worked just fine, but I wanted to be able to see Aedan without going into his room. It’s funny because the first night we used it, Aedan flipped over onto his back (he sleeps on his tummy or side) early in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Sometimes he wakes up and “talks” to himself early in the mornings for a few minutes and then goes back to sleep. Normally I don’t even check on him, but thanks to the monitor I could see he was on his back and I knew he wouldn’t go back to sleep until I flipped him over.

Those are just a few things that we have loved this month. Stay tuned for Aedan’s 6 month post next week. I can’t believe my baby is going to be half a year old!!

-Lauren-

A Day of Shopping

Oh my goodness, the week is already half way over!

We had a great and very productive weekend. We decided to completely redo our home office. Since we both are working from home more now, we really needed an office with two work spaces. After online shopping Friday and Saturday, we headed out on Sunday to see everything we liked in person. We trekked all the way to south Dallas Georgetown to IKEA. We spent a good 2 hours wondering around looking at desks and bookshelves. We had some good things picked out but we were not 100% sold on them. So we left empty handed.

After giving Aedan a bottle and stopping for a quick snack for us, we headed to the Container Store (I love the container store, doesn’t it just inspire you to organize everything? I mean from your pantry to your garage, you can put anything and everything on a hook, in a box or on a shelf). They were super helpful and even walked us through making two custom work area’s for our office. We decided to go for it and I am so glad we did. Our office looks great (I will post pictures soon) and has tons more storage than we did before.

Aedan was such a trooper since we were literally gone all day. He took his room temperature bottles like a champ and even though he missed two naps, he took a quick catnap in the car between stores and a second catnap on Daddy at the Container Store.

He also had fun acting like a big boy and sitting in the cart. He is not quite ready to sit in the cart for a long trip like the grocery store or something, but we were just goofing off while waiting for our order to be put together.

The plan for the rest of the week is to study…just 1 more week! eek!

-Lauren-

Bath Time

Aedan has this seahorse bath toy that someone gave me at a shower. It’s made out of wash cloth material so it is like a stuffed animal for the bathtub. It also makes a seahorse horse noises if you squeeze it.

Aedan has fallen in love with this toy.

If you don’t give it to him during his bath, he will just stare at it the whole time.

He is saying “What doesn’t everyone like to put their favorite bath toy in their mouth?”

Such a silly guy.

He would totally love to take the seahorse to bed with him, I just know it!

-Lauren-

Photography (new toy)

We haven’t been up to much this week. I have just been hanging around the house and studying during nap times. Aedan has been eating, playing (sitting up like a big boy, since laying on your back to play is so last month), sleeping and teething like crazy!

I ordered a this accessory for my camera last week and it came in on Monday. Jon got me a Cannon Rebel a few years ago for my birthday. I read a few books, but I learned the most when I took a photography course earlier this year. I have gotten okay at taking pictures in manual mode outside or in good light.

However taking pictures inside is was more of a challenge. Especially since I usually want to take pictures of Aedan and the only time he stops moving is when he is sleeping. I hated to use my flash, but when I didn’t I would get pictures like this…

To make the picture bright enough I would have to set a long shutter speed, which would then make everything that was moving (aka Aedan’s whole body) blurry.

Well now thanks to my new toy, I can use my flash inside (without getting the annoying washed out look) and use a fast shutter speed to get clear pictures.

I love it! I am clearly just a beginner at best when it comes to photography and I still need to play around with my settings when I use the light scoop, but I think I just fell in love with taking pictures all over again.

-Lauren-