Oh Snow!

 What a week it has been!  If I didn't have to see snow or drive in it for the rest of my life, I think I'd be fine.  People that say they need the 4 seasons...pssssh...I'm over the snow and cold.  Declan and D may disagree though, Declan had an absolute blast playing in the snow a few weeks ago and asked to go out again.  Unfortunately with the extreme temps this week we had to keep him inside for this round.

Really though the weather this week wrecked havoc on our schedule.  We knew we were getting it Sunday into Monday, which was fine.  Declan was off of school for President's Day and my mom and Michael offered to keep him on Monday so he spent the night Sunday night so they all wouldn't have to get up super early on Monday.  I opted to work from home on Monday after a long debate with myself.  There was only a few inches at 7 am (when I leave), but we were expected to have 6 - 8 inches by the time it was all done.  I was nervous about driving home in that mess later that afternoon, so I took advantage of having a laptop and set up shop at home at my new desk. I knew if the rest of my team made it in, I'd probably have to send them home early so I hyper-focused on everything to make sure I could cover it and keep my department running.  At lunchtime, D and I tried to get a head start and went outside to shovel our driveway. By that time we had about 3 or 4 inches and with the two of us, it only took about 20 minutes. It continued to fall and as we headed back inside, it didn't look like we had even touched it.  Knowing how bad the weather was getting, we let the team at work go around 1 pm so they could get home safely.

Around 5 pm, I got a text from Declan's preschool telling me that due to the extreme cold and snow.  I hadn't checked outside since lunch so I decided to take a peak. We had another 3 or so inches covering our driveway again. I called my mom and asked if she wanted to keep Declan for Tuesday and that was a no brainer.  Declan was having so much fun at Nana and Papa's and could care less about coming home. (Warms a mother's heart for sure.) D and I went back outside around 6 pm and tried to shovel again and again, once we were finished, there still was a light coating from the continued snow fall.  Afterwards, with another kid-free night, we decided to work on our puzzle currently occupying our kitchen table. (We are an exciting couple!)

I was supposed to go to the Fertility Clinic on Tuesday for my first OB appointment but with the weather and still treacherous roads, they rescheduled my appointment to Thursday at lunchtime.  On one hand I was happy to not to have to try to drive to the doctor's office and on the other hand, I just wanted to see the progress of my embryo, but I completely understood and knew it was worth the wait.

I did drive to work the rest of the week.  Tuesday I waited until it was light out and it took me about an hour driving D's car.  I wanted to turn around about 5 times during that drive, but by 8:30 am I made it to the office.  Wednesday was a bit better and by Thursday, I was in good shape and glad I had moved my OB appointment to lunchtime that day.

My appointment went well on Thursday.  I had my first transvaginal sonogram where they took measurements of our embryo.  After reviewing my hCG numbers, the doctor wondered if I was having twins, but upon investigation he only saw one sac and yolk so we're having another singleton.  Everything looked good though.  I was told to stay on my regime of Prednisone, Estrogen (pills and gel) and Progesterone oil. I have to go back weekly for checkups until about week 9. And right before I left, my doctor gave me my due date.  As expected, my due date is 10/14/21 -- 3 days after Declan's due date.  I told the doc about how close that is to Declan's birthday and original due date and his response -- well at least it's not Christmas!  So true doc, so true. I go back next Thursday at lunchtime for my second appointment and another update.

With this crazy weather, this past week at work was a bit of an anomaly for me and our entire company. The snow hit nearly our entire service area and caused an interruption of service for most of our trucks. Texas doesn't know how to handle this sort of winter weather at all and a lot of our trucks couldn't move due to the snow and ice and customers were closed so no deliveries could be made. While it was nice to have a bit of a break after what has been pure bedlam since the pandemic started, it was eerie as well being able to get caught up on some things I've just not had a chance to look at in months. I'm hoping to have some sort of happy medium at least for a few weeks before things get crazy again (*wishful thinking*).

This weekend is more of the same for us with staying in.  The snow has left (at least it's not falling - we still have a ton on the ground) and now we're going to see rain on Sunday.  Puzzles, magnets and Declan creating artwork are two of our go to activities right now.  He's also taken up a liking to watching Saved by the Bell and The Pioneer Woman so I'm sure we'll spend time re-watching episodes of both of those as well.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Oh and since I didn't update or post these with our last snow -- here is Declan loving the first snow of the year back in January:

Two Week Wait Results

We made it through the two week wait from my FET and we received some positive news!  

Based upon my levels on Tuesday when I had my first blood test, I am pregnant.  I went back on Thursday to check my levels again and my hCG continue to rise so here we are expecting our second child.  It is still extremely early so we aren't saying anything to anyone just yet but it is exciting none the less.  I have my first checkup with my Fertility doc on Tuesday and this is where he we determine how things are going and set a due date.  Since my transfer was on January 26th, I'm expecting my due date to be set at October 14th.  This is 3 days after Declan's due date since his IVF transfer was 3 days before this one in 2018. 

My only concern if we are successful with this pregnancy, is possibly having kids with the same or super close birthdays.  I know whatever is going to happen will happen, but I'd hate for them to share a birthday.  Since this process isn't an easy one and I'm so very blessed to have one (and now two) miracles, I'd like for their birthdays to be uniquely their own, but really beggars can't be choosers can they?  We will work with whatever life throws at us.

We haven't mentioned anything to Declan yet and probably will wait for a few more weeks because he is at that age where he will tell anything he knows and while we're not ready to tell our families just yet, he may spill the beans for us before we're ready.  I am thinking about cute ways to tell him and then have him tell our families.

Speaking of Declan, he's had a fun week at school preparing for Valentine's day.  We got his treat bags and Valentines ready early in the week along with a box of chocolates for his teacher.  He was so excited to bring his gifts to his class and asked each day if it was time for his party.  He had spirit week and there was a theme for each day which he loved as well.  He's growing and talking by leaps and bounds and I couldn't love this boy more than I already do.  He brings so much joy to me and really he kept me from getting into my head too much over the last few weeks.  Our nighttime cuddles and singing Brown Bear and the ABCs to him before bedtime are two of the little things I cherish right now.  He's growing up so fast!

Here are a few pics of Declan's week:

My smiley boy enjoying "Sports Day" at school

Passing out Valentine's Treats for his friends.

I saved this for the caption. He has the sweetest heart!

So excited to open his Valentine's Box from GG and G-pa Roberts!

Enjoying a cookie pizza for National Pizza Day!

38th Birthday Recap

Yesterday was my 38th birthday.....38 whole years old.  I'm a middle-aged mom and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Unlike last year, I didn't get to take my birthday off from work.  It was month-end and the deadline for getting documents to our auditing firm for our year-end review, so instead I opted to take off Tuesday for my birthday comp day. It actually worked out better since I needed Tuesday off for my FET anyway (sometimes things work out in my favor!).  It was a LONG day at work though with me going in a bunch of different directions trying to get everything done.  Finally at 5:30 after 10 hours in the office, I made my way out the door to enjoy a birthday dinner with my family.

We went to my mom and Michael's for a delicious steak dinner.  We picked up some steaks at Sam's Club last weekend since we knew going out to dinner would not be an option for us this year and mom cooked them up along with baked potatoes, cauliflower casserole, salad.  For dessert, we had a turtle cheesecake dip mix that she turned into a yummy pie.  Declan absolutely loves birthdays, no matter who's it is, and enjoyed helping me open my presents and blow out my candles.

After dinner, we started putting together the puzzle we ordered.  Over the last few weekends, we've really gotten into puzzles with Mom and Michael.  We finished the 2000 piece puzzle of Italy we had been working on and decided to start working on the 1500 piece puzzle of Las Vegas we picked up.  It's definitely been nice to have a hobby that doesn't involve our phones or the TV all the time.  We ended up working on it until 11 pm and got the border completed and by that time, my eyes were tired and I decided that I needed to get home and get to bed.

Overall it was a great day and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way (well, maybe a bit less work would have been nice!).

Here are a few pics from my day --

Declan helping me blow out my candles.

This boy is such a ham and the best kid!

Dustin made me a collage on Facebook and Instagram and chose the most awesome pics!

And just for fun, a picture of our new puzzle.

Transfer Day 2021 - Day 19

Today is Transfer Day! 

Such an emotional day for so many reasons but I'm happy to report that we were able to transfer our one remaining embryo first thing this morning.  Similar to the morning of transfer day in 2018, I got up and did a 30 minute workout.  Rather than hitting the gym, I went downstairs and hopped on the Max Trainer. It was nice to be able to get some sort of activity as I was anxious and I hadn't actually been able to sleep very well.  I showered, D administered my progesterone injection and then we got Declan up for school and went along with our typical morning routine.

My appointment was scheduled for 8 am so we dropped Declan off, came home and gathered my meds and paperwork and headed off to the FP office.  Because of the pandemic and medical facilities being extra precautious, D couldn't go into the office with me but I did want to have him there for moral support so he sat in the hallway throughout the process.  I sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes until they called me back to get changed and prepared for the transfer.  I was the 2nd transfer of the morning so my Fertility Coordinator went over the paperwork and told me to sit tight and continue to drink my water until the 1st transfer was complete.  I was nervous about my water consumption. The last transfer my bladder wasn't full enough by the time it was my turn and then it was too full, but I drank as much as I could and I was feeling really uncomfortable.  I said it the last time and I'll say it again, that is the possibly the worst part of this whole process.  I got used to the injections, transvaginal ultrasounds, and back in 2018 the egg retrieval but the feeling that your bladder is going to explode from so much liquid is insane.  Thankfully, when I got situated onto the table and my Coordinator checked my bladder, it was exactly where it needed to be. Whew, that's exactly the news I wanted to hear!

While she went to get the doctor for the transfer, the embryologist Michelle reviewed my name, birthday and confirmed we had one embryo to transfer.  She informed me that they did assisted hatching with the embryo before the transfer which could help with implantation. She then went to prepare the catheter while the doctor came in to complete his pre-transfer checklist and set the outer catheter for the implantation. And when that was all complete, we were ready for implantation!  I watched on the screen as the doc, set everything in place and implanted my lone embryo.  I sat on the table for another minute or two and the doctor again warmed up his hands, placed them on my abdomen and told me to be positive.  This whole process is such an exciting and emotional experience! I was in the Transfer room for about 0-15 minutes and then I was free to empty my bladder and get dressed. Once dressed my Coordinator told me that the next step is to wait these two weeks and see what happens.  I have two scheduled blood draws on February 9th and February 11th and from those we'll know if our family will be expanding.

I met D out in the hallway and we headed down to the car to spend the rest of the day together, trying to be positive but also realistic.  I had one request for our ride home.  We needed to stop at Chic-Fil-A for chicken biscuits.  It was our after transfer snack in 2018 and I wanted to keep with tradition.  We hardly ever go out and get breakfast and we hadn't had a chicken biscuit from Chic-Fil-A since our transfer in 2018.

Once home, D wanted to go to the gym and since the doctor told me to stay active today, I decided to go and walk on a treadmill for another 30 minutes.  Nothing strenuous but just something to keep myself moving.  This afternoon, we're going to try to tackle a few things around our house.  It's very rare we have a day off at home without having our schedules booked.  I wasn't able to take any time off of work around Christmas and the two days we had at Thanksgiving were filled with holiday preparations so today will be our day to just do some random stuff we've been meaning to do for months.  Ultimately we need to keep our minds going and just hope and pray for the best.

Here are a few pics from the morning:

My Transfer Day Selfie (pandemic style - that's my mask on my neck) --

Our sweet little embryo preparing for transfer --

Our transferred embryo (the dates on the ultrasound are from my patient file, the actual transfer date is 01/26/2021) -- 

Finally, I'm jotting this down here and quite possibly I've mentioned this before but I know some people will question why we decided to do this during the pandemic and I know I don't have to justify our decisions, but I'm going to explain why we decided to do this now rather than wait.  The biggest reason for moving forward now is due to my age.  I'm not getting any younger and if I want for this transfer to at least have some sort of shot with working, I knew it was now or never.  Never was not an option as we knew we would try to use whatever viable leftover embryos we had from 2018 when we completed our transfer in 2018.  After implanting 2 to have Declan, we had one remaining embryo of a decent grade.

Pregnancy is not easy on anyone but being of "advanced maternal age" or having what is considered a "geriatric pregnancy" is a risk in itself.  If I could go back and change the timeline of my life, maybe I wouldn't be pushing 38 and attempting to have a second child, but I tried to be responsible and it took me some time to find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and actually have a family with.  If people ask why didn't I wait to get the vaccine until we started this process and here is my answer for that -- I'm at the bottom of the list for the COVID vaccine, as I should be as I'm fairly healthy and even though I work in an essential industry, I can keep to myself in my office which not many people can say they can do.  Waiting for the vaccine, could have added another 6-9 months to this process for me and with age/time not on my side, we jumped at the chance to get on our Fertility office's calendar.  While I can't say I'm protected against COVID, I've tried to take as many precautions as I could to ensure we could go through this process.  Do I hate that my husband couldn't be at any of my fertility appointments and couldn't watch the transfer today?  Yes, but my hope is that if we do end up pregnant, we can have a somewhat normal labor and delivery in 40 or so weeks.

So there is my explanation and some people will choose to disagree with me but again I'd remind these people that they are not living in our shoes and they probably don't realize we gave this so much thought before even calling the FP office to set up the visit to talk about our options.

Anywho, I'll update again soon!

Declan's Favorite Phrases

 I wanted to jot this down before I forgot because it's just the cutest, so I figured why not create a whole post about Declan's Favorite Phrases right now.

At 27 months, this boy keeps us on our toes.  Somedays he's an absolute love bug and other days, he lives up to the name "terrible two." But one thing is for sure, he's the best little boy and I'm so lucky to be his mama. I haven't been around a whole lot of kids and besides my own son, the last two year old I was really around was Nicole and she's 24 now so it's been a few years and I've lost a few brain cells over the past 22 years, so I don't really remember all of the things a typical two year old knows and does. 

I know I'm partial to my son but he seems to be a smarty pants to me.  He has full on conversations with us and picks up on everything going on around him.  Sometimes I think he's going on 4 or 5 and not two and a half and I have his school and my family to thank for everything they do for him and helping us raise him.

Here is a list of his current phrases that he uses when talking to us and probably the funniest thing is that he uses them appropriately and at the right time in conversation:

- Let's do it!

- I love it! (mimicking the GMC holiday commercial and using it with everything he loves)

- That's right.

- Mommy, can I help you?

- No more treats ma'am! (Talking to Kinny who sits and patiently waits for treats at the pantry all day.)

- No way Jose!

- See you later alligator!

- You're my best friend. (randomly he will say this to me, Michael, my mom, etc.)

- Let's talk freighters (sounds a bit like taters but he loves talking boats and about the Soo Locks with Daddy)

- Can I put a tab in? (one of Declan's chores is putting a dishwasher tab in so we can start the dishwasher, he absolutely loves being a helper)

- I need a quarter for my piggy bank. (after said chores, Declan gets a quarter for his bank and he won't let you forget it.)

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting but these are the ones that either crack me up or melt my heart every time I hear them. He's a charmer and a bit of a class clown and definitely keeps us on our toes!

FET Update - Day 16

 We're 16 days into the FET process right now and this journey is as emotional as I remember it was 3 years ago.  I had my 2nd monitoring appointment on Tuesday morning and the doctor again checked my lining measurement and various hormone levels with a blood draw.  My lining again was where it needed to be given the amount of meds I've been on so they kept my steroid and estrogen dosages the same but added the progesterone injections starting on Wednesday.  Not having to do shots as much as before, I was a bit nervous to start them on Wednesday morning but D and I watched a YouTube video to refresh ourselves on the basics of giving the shots.  I remember when researching everything the last time that many women hated the shots saying they hurt or caused lumps or were hard to inject since the progesterone is in oil but so far, it's gone fairly well.  Even when we did the injections 3 years ago, I just kinda went with them -- they weren't horrible and I knew any discomfort would be worth it.  This time I feel the same way.  And, after giving birth to Declan nearly completely naturally (since my epidural didn't have time to work), these progesterone shots seem like they are a breeze.  At one time I used to be so afraid of needles I wouldn't even get a flu shot but now after IVF, pregnancy, childbirth, and FET, I just turn my head and let the doctor/nurse/phlebotomist/D do their thing.

When I left my appointment on Tuesday, my fertility coordinator told me that she'd text me by the end of the week and give me details on when to come into the office on Tuesday, the 26th for my transfer. I was bit anxious when I drove away because I like having my plan in place but I had faith in the process and went on to start my day at work.  Yesterday mid-day my coordinator sent me a text and told me to be at the office at 8 am on Tuesday morning in my loose clothing with my bottle of water and have a mostly full bladder.  So....transfer day is set!  I'm still not sure if D will be able to be in the room for the transfer and I failed to ask at my appointment but I'm hopeful that he can be there with me.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be going through an FET during a pandemic but with my 38th birthday in just 6 days, it's pretty much now or never for us.

I know I don't know what the future will bring but I'm staying positive and I know that whatever happens happened for a reason and I'm lucky to have the life I do with a family that I love.

Oh and before I end this post, I found this meme online and I had to laugh because it is so true!

A Holiday Update and So Much More

 Oh what a month we've had....we made it through the Christmas and New Years and have been trying to figure out what's in store for 2021.

Let's recap our Christmas first -- we again stayed home for Christmas and celebrated at our house. Christmas Eve we "Zoomed" with Dustin's family and made pizzas.  We opened the gifts we shipped to each other on our Zoom and made the best of our holiday apart.  We set out our cookies and milk for Santa and waited patiently for Christmas morning.  Christmas morning, my mom and Michael got to our house early so that they could see what Santa brought Declan.  We ate casseroles I prepared for breakfast and then opened our family gifts.  Overall it was a day where we just relaxed and played with our new toys.  Santa brought Declan a tent, garbage truck and a Mr. Potato Head.

We celebrated Christmas with my dad's side on the 26th and while we were hesitant to all get together for Thanksgiving, we decided to have a semi-outdoor socially distanced Christmas together in Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve's heated garage.  We hadn't seen everyone since Declan's birthday back in October so it was good to get together. Declan has so much fun playing with Abigail and Henry and showed off just how smart he's gotten lately.

Christmas with my dad's side also allowed me to catch up with my sister-in-law. While Kahla and I don't get much of a chance to talk regularly, I cherish the times we do get the time to talk.  I trust her and know I'm lucky to have her as a confidant. We sat away from the rest of the fam and talked about the last few months, including how she was feeling after a COVID-19 diagnosis, how married life is going for both of us, and our fertility journeys. I also filled Kahla in on something I'd been holding onto for weeks....we went back to our fertility clinic to see about the options for using our remaining frozen embryo. 

Back on October 20th, we set up an appointment with the FP office to talk to the doctor.  The doctor and embryologist reviewed my chart and thought that if I wanted to use the embryo, I probably could.  They could not be sure that it would result in another child but if we wanted to implant it, we were free to do so.  The embryo has a quality of BB and with me being 34 when it was frozen, it may be of better quality that if the decided to retrieve additional eggs at 37. We made the decision to get on the list for the next open FET cycle, which happened to be January.

So we started the protocol in December with more birth control to get my cycle regulated and on January 8th, I started the fertility meds for the FET.  The thing that is different with the FET (frozen embryo transfer) compared to the egg retrieval and fresh transfer I went through back in January 2018 is that I don't have to do the stim shots as I did before. This time, I'm on a steroid (Prednisone) and two Estrogen hormones (pills and gels).  I had my first monitoring appointment this past Tuesday (01/12) and met with my fertility coordinator and the doctor. My ultrasound showed that my lining was where it needed to be and in the words of my doctor, my uterus is excellent.

I go back for a second monitoring this Tuesday (01/19) and start my progesterone oil shots and we're scheduled for the FET on Tuesday, January 26th.

Again, besides talking to Kahla about deciding to pursue the FET, we haven't said anything to anyone.  We're going to wait awhile to see how everything turns out and then tell our families about our journey. Personally, I am fine with whatever happens.  Just like when I went through this journey with Declan, I know everything is in God's plan.  I'm so grateful and lucky for my miracle son.

I'm hoping to be able to update more on the FET process over the next few weeks but it all depends on how much time and energy I actually have to do so. Life with a 2 year old and my full time job can be absolutely insane somedays and by the time I sit down, I'm usually asleep 5 minutes after that.

Here Comes Santa Claus

 We're in full holiday mode here and we're looking forward to Santa's arrival next Friday.  For the first time in our married life, we're staying home and not making the trip north. With that being said, we still don't really know what we're doing here at home. 

For Thanksgiving, we stayed in our bubble and had dinner with my mom and Michael and Declan had so much fun playing with Noel, Patchy and Boo along with all of his toys in his room.  It was a nice, simple day.

Since Thanksgiving, we've decorated our house and put up our Christmas tree, we've shopped online for Christmas gifts, we drove through a Christmas lights display and made Christmas cookies.  With one week left, we still need to wrap our Christmas gifts and make our gingerbread house.  Then we will be ready for Santa's visit!

Declan has really gotten into the holiday.  He talks about Santa, Mr. Grinch and Santa's reindeer constantly. It's so sweet and he melts my heart.  Tomorrow he has his Christmas party at school and similar to his Halloween party, I know he's excited for the snacks and cute games his teacher will come up with for the kids to play.  Speaking of school, he's doing so well in his new class.  He loves hanging out with his friends and his vocabulary is out of this world. I'm amazed at how much he picks up and how he responds to what we're saying and doing.  Right now one of my favorites is "Avocados from Mexico."  

He still loves helping in the kitchen and cooking with us and has gotten into watching The Pioneer Woman lately.  Funny story from last weekend, we were watching Home Alone and it got to the part where the bad guys were in the house and were getting hurt by Kevin's hijinks and Declan got so upset that they were getting hurt that he started crying and asked that we watch The Pioneer Woman instead. I tried to explain it was a Christmas classic and they were bad guys, but he wasn't having it so we turned it off and watched DVR episodes of The Pioneer Woman.  He's such an empathetic little boy. 

Otherwise, we haven't been up to a whole lot.

Here are a few pics of our latest happenings (or really just cuteness overload on behalf of Declan).

Declan is 2!!!

 Never in my wildest dreams think I would have a two year old but here we are one week after his birthday party and my little boy is TWO!!

Declan's actual birthday was on Monday but we celebrated last Saturday with a small party with our families.  Declan requested a tractor themed party with tacos, cupcakes and ice cream and this mama tried to fulfill those wishes.  After taking a few minutes to warm up to everyone, Declan had a blast playing with his cousins and being the center of the day.  Mommy and Daddy surprised him with a bike, Nana and PaPa surprised him with a Jeep and he also got a tractor trike from Steve, Kathy, Nicole and Matt along with a lot of other fun books, clothes, money and toys from everyone else.

He enjoyed his tacos and got he biggest kick out of us singing Happy Birthday to him. This year, unlike last year with his smash cake, he actually dug into it and enjoyed every bite.  We also taught him how to blow out his birthday candle which he thought was the coolest.

One other highlight for Declan's day was that Uncle Paul and Aunt Judy drove down from Chicago to attend the party. Declan talked about "Uncle Paul and Judy" for about a week before his party and was so happy to see them. We showed him a video from Christmas where Uncle Paul pushed him on an ottoman and he got the biggest kick out of it.  In fact, we had to keep watching it over and over again. I think he really wanted to recreate it too but unfortunately we don't own an ottoman.  Overall it was a really fun day and I'm so glad that in spite of all of the craziness in the world, we were able to come together to celebrate our miracle!

On Declan's actual birthday on Monday, we had a fairly normal day. Declan went to school and we went to work. D had a work dinner so once I picked up Declan from school we headed to Nana and PaPa's for dinner and more cake. We had chicken parmesan, spaghetti and cauliflower casserole to celebrate the night.  Luckily D's dinner got over early so he was able to join us for cake and Nana made Declan a special green cake to match his tractors.

Tuesday afternoon I took Declan to his two year checkup at the pediatrician. Going to the doctor is definitely different due to the pandemic. We had to sit in the car until they called us in for the appointment. We had to answer all of our questions via a telephone call with the nurse and then we wore our masks and headed directly back to a room for the checkup. This was only the second time Declan has worn a mask and I was nervous he wouldn't keep it on even though it was required. He got through it like a champ though and even got his flu shot for the year.  When we got home, we spent some extra time outside enjoying the weather and playing in the rocks in the front yard.

This week at school they also started transitioning Declan to the two year old room. He got to spend a few hours each day making new friends and getting to know his new teacher. I know he'll miss some of his friends in the toddler room (he talks about Margot and Leah all the time!) but he's ready to move on  and I'm excited to see him continue to grow and learn.

Speaking of learning and growing, Declan has become a sponge at learning new tricks and is talking up a storm. He has started putting words together to make sentences and let's you know exactly what he wants. He's at such a fun age and each day is a new adventure.  It's so exciting to see what new things he will do and what he will say.  I'm so lucky to be this little guy's mama!

Labor Day 2020

 We're enjoying the last little bit of summer and taking full advantage of our 3 day weekend.  In spite of all of the craziness, we've found time to get out and bring some normalcy to our time together.

Last weekend, our niece and nephew turned 9 and we got to celebrate their birthdays with a socially distanced pool party at my dad's. Declan absolutely loves the water and since swimming lessons were again cancelled, it was great to get him into the pool before the weather changes.  He had a blast playing with his cousins and socializing with other family that attended.  He may of also enjoyed a cupcake or two during our visit.

This weekend, we decided to keep with our tradition of apple picking. We found a cute, little orchard in Augusta, MO last year and decided to visit again this year. Declan had so much fun peach picking on vacation in July and figured he would have as much fun with the apples. We did not disappoint our little guy. He loved picking apples straight off of the tree and taking a big bite out of them. We ended up picking almost 14 pounds of apples and I'm sure he ate about a pound in the orchard.  He learned about an "apple picker" and even got to see a tractor at the farm and orchard.

After apple picking, we went to one of our favorite spots for pizza and took in more time outside when we set up Declan's pool in the backyard.  We have no idea when we're going to be able to get him back into swimming lessons but we're happy we can at least set up his little pool when it's nice out in the meantime.  He seems to love any type of water (bath, little pool, big pool) so his afternoon was made.

Today we're taking it easy at home before restarting the work week tomorrow.  We're having a picnic of smoked pulled pork (thanks D!) at home and spending as much time outside as we can.  We're also starting the party preparations for Declan's 2nd birthday next month.  It's so hard to believe that our miracle is almost two.  He's so excited for his tractor party and this mama isn't going to let him down.

Hope everyone has a relaxing and safe Labor Day!

Summer Fun

We're continuing to enjoy our summer and we've been having fun checking out new spots while staying social distanced.

After our stay-cation, D had to travel out of town for work for a week so Declan and I got some extra special time together.  We stayed close to home but got outside to walk on one of our favorite trails and spent a good amount of time hanging out at Nana and Papa's house.

Last weekend Dustin and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. 5 years -- sometimes its hard to believe it been that long and other times it seems like its been longer.  Originally we were thinking about a weekend away and then the pandemic hit and we decided to scrap that idea. We still wanted to celebrate but we decided to just go out for the day.  We took Declan with us and headed to Charleville Winery and Microbrewery in Ste. Genevieve on Saturday afternoon.  It was the perfect setting for the day -- we sat outside under the porch and enjoyed some snacks and drinks while taking in the rolling hills. Declan loved the owners' dog that moseyed through the yard, seeing a tractor (one of his new favorite things!) on the property and eating.  After a few hours, we headed back home and had a low-key night in, having Taco Bell for dinner and finishing the last of our wedding cake.  Our top layer of cake lasted us 5 years and really it was as good at the 5 year mark as it was year one. (The perk of picking a great wedding cake bakery -- thanks Wedding Wonderland!)

The weekdays are typically filled with a lot of work and not much time for fun once we get home in the evening so we've made it a point to plan a fun weekend day each week.  This weekend we took Declan to Big Joel's Safari Park and Petting Zoo.  He loved going to the Zoo during our stay-cation and still talks about the animals he saw so I thought it would be fun for him to get up close to animals and get a chance to pet them and possibly feed them.  He wasn't afraid and got used to holding the spoon out for the animals to eat from but he wasn't so sure about them eating directly from his hand though!

Probably the highlight of the day for Declan was getting to play on a tractor, truck and train made out of wood.  He had to make two trips to the kids' area and wasn't happy when we had to leave. This kid is obsessed with trucks, tractors and trains -- not sure where he got his love of machinery (guess it runs in the genes) but its so cute watching him and hearing him talk about all 3.

After the safari park, we headed to lunch and sat outside watching the "big trucks" pass by on the interstate and my little dude left as a happy camper.

We plan to spend as many weekends as we can soaking up the sun and enjoying as much time outside as possible before we're stuck back inside.

Staycation 2020

Today is the last day of our summer stay-cation and we've had a fun week in spite of the pandemic still raging on throughout the community. I definitely feel we made the right choice for this summer and we made great memories as a family over the past week. So here's a rundown of our family stay-cation.

Last Saturday was our first official day of vacation but Declan had swimming lessons so we stuck around home for the most part and had a normal Saturday after swimming lessons in the morning.

On Sunday, we drove to St. James, MO and visited Maramec Spring Park.  We've been getting into the outdoors a lot more due to the pandemic and Maramec Spring Park did not disappoint. We circled the spring and talked to the trout and learned more about the history of the area.  The water was so clear and we got a lot of steps in circling the fishing holes. Afterwards we stopped for lunch at Public House Brewing and sat out in The Gardens enjoying a burger and a refreshing drink.

On Monday, we had 9 am reservations at the St. Louis Zoo.  We got up early and picked up my mom and Michael and headed east. I personally hadn't been to the zoo in 20-25 years and was excited to take Declan to see the animals.  We donned our masks and saw as many of the exhibits as we could given the current conditions. The best part of the day for Declan was getting to ride the train around the park a few times.  He also got a chimpanzee stuffed animal named Eco that Nana bought for him at the gift shop and that's his new buddy when he stays at Nana and Papa's house.

On Tuesday, Dustin wanted to take care of some of the chores around home so we laid low most of the morning and played hockey in the basement and then helped D cut grass with the intention of going to Babler State Park in the afternoon but the weather had different plans for us as it stormed all afternoon as soon as Declan woke up from his nap. So instead, we went to GFS and picked up supplies for Ribfest weekend.

On Wednesday, we headed to Grafton to explore Pere Marquette State Park and pick fruit at Eckerts. We stopped at Eckerts first and picked peaches and blackberries out in the orchards. After picking our fruit, we took a drive through Pere Marquette and had a picnic lunch. Declan enjoyed picking the fruit straight from the trees and sampling his choice at Eckerts.

Wednesday evening my mom and step-dad offered to take Declan for the night so that Dustin and I could have a dinner date. It was the first time we've actually gone out to dinner just the two of us in a long time. We drove out to Wentzville and had dinner at Stone Summit Steak and Seafood. It's been a place we've wanted to try for some time and since they had an outdoor patio, it was a great choice for the night. Declan had so much fun spending the night at Nana and Papa's and didn't seem to care that we weren't there.

On Thursday, we picked up Declan and headed to the National Museum of Transportation. Declan has a new obsession with trains and tractors and we thought it would be fun for him to see some big equipment up close.  He again loved riding the miniature train around the complex and even climbed up into an engine and pretended to drive the train.  Another cute thing he picked up after riding the trains at both the Zoo and the NMOT is that he knows what a train conductor says when their ready to roll.  You can ask him, "Declan, what does a train conductor say?" and he proudly belts out "All Aboard...ChooChoo."  It's the best.

On Friday, we decided to stay home again as Dustin was preparing to head to Ribfest on Saturday morning and wanted to get his ribs on the smoker so that he was ready for the competition. It was a pretty quiet day at home and after Declan's afternoon nap, we let him play out in the "pool" in the backyard.  Nana and Papa came over that evening and Declan helped make homemade pizza for dinner.

On Saturday, Dustin headed out super early for Chicago with my step-dad Michael.  Declan and I thought it would be best to stay home this year and allow him to have fun here. We had swimming lessons to attend and this time Mommy got to go in the pool with Decky (Decky is the nickname Declan gave himself and it's the cutest.)  My mom came with us and took pictures and cheered Declan on. He had an absolute blast swimming, splashing and jumping in.

After swimming, we came back home and my mom helped me meal prep for the week ahead. With going back to work, I needed to make sure we're prepared as much as possible for the week ahead. Then we headed back to my mom's to have dinner and see Boo the cat and "NoNo" (Noel the dog). Declan absolutely loves the pets and running around there (or sitting in their beds).  We had dinner with my mom and then came home for bedtime.

Today has been another low-key day. Declan and I have been playing and "cooking" (playing with a saucepan and pretending) and waiting for Daddy and Papa to get back from Ribfest.

Overall we had a good week home and enjoyed some much needed downtime.  Declan is eager to get back to school and see his friends this week but I'm sure glad we got to make some memories together over the past week. I know he won't remember much of it as he gets older but I realize that I definitely will remember this time with him and will treasure it forever.