Monday, May 31, 2010

The weekend continues....

Fortunately for us, the weekend got much better than our portrait experience. Gage has still been in a slightly foul mood and hardly napped today or yesterday but we were super busy and under the circumstances it was understandable. Yesterday before it got too hot and before there were tons of people there we took our 1st visit to the neighborhood pool. Gage loved it and it was SO much warmer than the indoor pool...go figure! His favorite part were the little fountains of water. I took him in the big pool with me but I think he liked just sitting in the baby pool splashing around the best.






After the pool we went to cook out at Howard and Sherri's. Most of the big kids were outside so I didn't get very many pictures, but here is Gage hanging with Adelyn, a 10 month old cutie with HUGE blue eyes and 9 teeth!





Today was filled with LOTS of shopping. We spent way too much money, but got some things we defintely were in need of. We wore poor little Gage out in the process. Here are just a few other pictures from the last couple of days that we think are particularly cute. Btw, we're thinking of entering Gage into the Parents magazine contest for their photo contest. We have to have 6 pictures taken within the last month, so we'll definitely submit some of the professional pictures, but we need a few others with his dimples showing, since he REFUSED to show them on Saturday.


Saturday, May 29, 2010

OMG...now I am really annoyed!

A) After having to make decisions on the spot of what pictures we wanted and didn't want and
B) After taking the time to scan all of the pictures
Picture People has now sent us an email with a gallery of ALL of the pictures.

Please note this if you are getting pictures through Picture People, I wish someone had told us. We probably would've made better choices, gotten pictures we wanted AND not spent so much money.

http://www.picturepeople.com/sso/publishconfirm.sso?data=b1H9we2OnDmrqR2q5G5okTmQHZvCxp8co1qFBflIu%2f7ZnWCfn6U%2bBm7XiKHFiLK0
Here's the site if you want to check them out.

Our first experience with Picture People....

....will probably be our last. Although we got some alright pictures, we were very disappointed in our whole visit. I had been warned that Picture People always ran behind, but took good pictures nonetheless. I was pleasantly surprised that we were taken quickly. However, that was the only good part of the experience...

I was then asked to put my baby down on a very DIRTY floor. Now, I'm not one of those Moms who is scared of dirt and germs and I pretty much let my baby put whatever he wants in his mouth (a little dirt never hurt). Anyway, I asked if there was a blanket and the photographer quickly said no, the floor was fine. However, this floor was so dirty that it even showed up in some of the pictures! Later I found a WHITE blanket that would've worked just fine.

Anyway, our photographer kinda sucked and she seemed to be in a rush. In saying all of this, our incredibly happy baby was incredibly serious and just about REFUSED to smile. He smiles ALL the time at home when I sing, when I talk, when Luke makes noises, etc. But today....NOTHING, not one dimple in any picture! Now of course this wasn't the photographers fault; however, just led to the frustration of the session. I think Gage was a little scared, the photographer kept yelling his name and making noises and he didn't know what to make of the whole situation.

So after laying on the dirty floor and getting a few cute pictures sitting up as well, we changed him into another outfit that was the one we REALLY wanted his picture taken in (just in case he puked/pooped the B choice went 1st). So....I explained to the photographer that although he could sit that he sometimes fell over if he reached too far, etc. and again made a comment that it would be nice to have a blanket....a comment that was subesequently ignored. She said not to worry that I could sit in arm's reach because the floor was indeed VERY HARD. Needleas to say, you all know what is coming next. Gage was sitting up facing backwards, because she was trying to get him to look over his shoulder and he looked to0 far and came tumbling backwards. Not sideways to catch himself but flat back to crack his head on the floor. Although I saw the whole thing happening in slow motion, Luke couldn't catch him in time.

Needless to say, the photo shoot was over. I had wanted a few more in the plaid outfit, but now our very SERIOUS baby was now our very UPSET screaming baby. Somehow he avoided a bump and the best thing that came of it was the precious picture in my header which is my favorite picture of the day,taken seconds before he fell.

The photographer quickly left and muttered 'sorry' under her breath and went to edit the pictures. I had never done this before so I wasn't sure how the whole process worked, but she quickly went through all the pictures with us and pressured us to tell her immediately what we wanted. Another reason I was annoyed. She could have easily let us sit and digest them for a mintue but instead stared at us as we tried to make a decision and we ended up regretting getting/not getting certain pictures. At least we had a coupon and saved about $50 overall.

So here they are, what we captured before the fall. We will not be going back to Picture People, I have gotten other good recommedations that we'll check out at the end of the summer. Guess I should have listened sooner. For now, enjoy!

Below is my 2nd favorite picture of the day!


Isn't he sweet?




**side note** the appeared scratch on Gage's cheek on the banner picture as well as some of the others is not on the originals, my scanner must have been dirty:(

Friday, May 28, 2010

Not feeling motivated...

I have been reading more and more blogs this week, some interesting and others not so much. I've decided that blogging could easily turn into an obsession to make your blog look pretty and have different fonts, and make your content more interesting than others, etc. I've been trying to Google certain things trying to impove upon mine, but learning all about it is pretty exhausting. Hopefully this summer I'll have some extra time to play. In any case, I'm not moved to write right now, but let me tell you a little about my week and maybe I'll get motivated.

This week we have all been a little ill again. Another thing which is getting pretty tiring. One of us always seems to have a sore throat, a runny nose, or a cough. They come and go and one day we'll be fine and the next we'll feel crappy again. I'm thinking at this point that it's probably allergies. OR maybe something in the house making us sick...mold, dirty air filters, etc. I'll be looking into that....

Gage has been cranky this week in response to his runny nose and cough. Monday he was a wreck, barely ate anything and fell asleep at 545pm. Wednesday, we had a play date with Sarah and Sawyer but have no pictures because our camera batteries are dead and the charger no longer works. My kid is going to crawl soon so I need to get this problem rectified ASAP! Gage has been between eating TONS this week and eating hardly any solids all day long. Seems to be going through a little bit of a 'stage'. Solid foods had him a little stopped up, but nothing an oz. of prune juice didn't take care of. It has been an exhausting week at work and I'm counting down the last 20 days. The pool opens this weekend so at least I can get Gage back in the water. Weekend plans consist of our 6 month portraits tomorrow (hopefully) and cooking out with Luke's coworkers on Sunday. Speaking of... they won't be Luke's coworkers for long. Luke got a new job yesterday! It is sort of bittersweet, he'll be further away from us (back in DC) and won't get to see Gage very much at night, but at the same time it's a promotion so I guess we can't complain too much.

In addition to those plans, this weekend I need to get back to Babies R Us. It's been quite a while since I've needed anything and had to make a trip out there. However, there are a few specifics I want to get Gage. I can't wait to get him doorway jumper, he's getting more and more active these days and I'm thinking that he'll love it. Of course, having a camera would be beneficial to showing you this. Also, I need to post Gage 'flying', but I need batteries first. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on pictures, cook outs and new toys for Gage. I'm still not especially moved at the moment to write much more.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Holy Smokes....my kid can eat!

We went to the dr. on Thursday and they told Gage he was a bit underweight, or rather that he was in the 30th %ile for weight...well, I guess it gave him a bit of a complex, because tonight he ate 8 oz. of solid food before he nursed. He polished off an entire container of carrots, apples and 3 oz. of cereal! I literally thought he might pop, or vomit anyway. And that is after he ate an entire container of peaches for breakfast! That's 10 oz. of food today! That's my boy!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Pictures canceled:(

Gage didn't seem to feel well this morning and has a runny nose, so we postponed the pictures 'til next Sat. Hopefully he'll be feeling better then! Keep you posted.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Another week....

Another week has flown by since I last posted. Only 32 days 'til I get to spend the 1st summer w/ my little man. On Sunday we had Jamie and Brad over for Jamie's 32nd birthday. Gage and Jake hadn't seen each other in MONTHS so it was pretty fun to watch them interact. Gage kept wanting to touch and pet Jake and Jake was just more interested in cruising around a new place. There's only 15 weeks between them but in baby land it is an amazing difference. Jake has 2 teeth, is crawling, pulling up, cruising, and eating table food while Gage is just now deciding that he might want to try and move when on his belly. I've heard it numerous times but wasn't sure I believed it. Being mobile makes a HUGE difference in chub, check out the difference in Gage and Jake's legs. Pretty funny. Here are a few more pictures from Sunday, although we couldn't get a good one of the boys b/c Jake is constantly on the move.





This week was long and short all at the same time. SOL's have started at school so the schedule was all jacked up and the official end of school is coming quickly. I can't complain though, another week under my belt and that much closer to the summer time. We tried to make it to the pool again this week but didn't have much time.

Yesterday Gage had his 6 month dr's appt. and everything checked out great. Dr. Bauer said he was 'perfect' and of course she is right! He wasn't quite as heavy as we thought (he sure seems like he's gaining weight) but I guess what can you expect having us as parents? His head is still small and he apparently is right on track for height.

Stats:
Weight- 15lbs. 13oz. 30%ile
Height- 26.25" 50%ile
Head circumference- 17" 30%ile

We are now starting 2 meals a day, I can't believe how much he eats these days! He can start to have a larger variety of foods and start on pureed meat....sounds yummy! She says that at 8 months he can start on Cheerios and puffs...OMG, my baby will be eating real FOOD before the summer ends!! Also, she said to give him a sippy cup soon so he can get a feel for it before he actually starts using it around the end of the summer! Everyone says it and it's so cliche, but it's really true....babies grow up soo fast! We cherish every moment with Gage and thank God every day for our perfect little boy! Gage did ok w/ his shots, but seems a bit sore today. He slept alot yesterday and was a little cranky today... hoping for a better day tomorrow, BECAUSE......

Tomorrow Gage has his 1st Picture People appt. scheduled! That's right, hopefully tomorrow evening I will have some super cute new professional pictures to share! We are super excited to see how he does! As for the rest of the rainy weekend, we'll do lunch w/ Howard, Sherri and Evie on Sunday. That's all for now. Keep you updated on tomorrow's pictures!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Pictures: graduation and 6 months...

All dressed up for Mommy's graduation

Yes I know my hair looks awful, but really, it's about him and not me

Mommy in her cap and gown


Enough about me...my little cutie at 6 months.




Watching Daddy play guitar

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Swim class, our very own wind tunnel and graduation!

Gage's swim class was supposed to start on Monday, so I took him up this past week to get a feel for the pool and to see if I could take a peek at a class to see what it was all about. Silly me, I thought the indoor pool at the Freedom center would be super warm as their website promised, but no no, it was freaking cold! At any rate, Gage didn't mind too much and to say the least it was a new experience for him. He was WAY over stimulated though with all of the new touches, smells, sounds, etc. It wasn't a total hit but wasn't a total disaster either. Something I learned was that it is quite hard to change yourself and a baby after swimming. Anyway after all of this, Gage and I decided that right now 530pm is a little late for a swim class when we still have to come home, get a bath, eat dinner and be up by 530AM, so we've postponed our class 'til later in the summer where if we stay up a bit later it won't matter as much. I am still going to try to take Gage up once a week or so until our neighborhood pool opens. He loves the water and I'm sure he'll get used to the coolness of it.

So last night, Gage got to see his 1st demonstration of the crazy wind that seems to come through our end of the townhouses. He was eating dinner and facing the window, so he stared in amazement of the chairs blowing around on the porch and the ping pong size hail bouncing off. I joked we would lose another shutter. See, we have this problem w/ wind and our house. We've only lived here for 2 years now and the 1st year, we had a shutter blow off, our door mat fly away and our trashcan end up on the other end of the street. The 2nd year we lived here our umbrella smashed into our glass patio table and broke it into 1000's of pieces and our flagpole was ripped out of the brick. So needless to say, I should've known we would lose something. However, I wasn't quite prepared....

Our neighbor (a girl I have never met, because she lives so far down the street) came to our door to tell us that our shutter had done damage to her car. 1st, I thought what are the chances that ANOTHER shutter could have really come off our house? AND what kind of damage can a plastic shutter REALLY do to a car? Well when a shutter flies off of your house, flies 2 doors down and curves around a tree, apparently it CAN smash into the side of a car and break into 48 pieces and make it look like someone has beaten the car w/ a baseball bat. Are you kidding me?!?! AND homeowner's insurance does not cover ACTS OF GOD....sweet. Exactly what I wanted to spend my graduation money on!

Finally, today I graduated w/ my Masters!! woohoo! It's been a long 2 years and a long 6 months of being a mommy, teacher and student, but it's done now. Feel like I wasted my Saturday afternoon, but I guess it's something I should've done. Gage looked handsome in his sweater vest and OF COURSE was the BEST baby ever and even took his nap during the ceremony! I'm telling you, the way he acts as a baby, we are in for it when he is a toddler! Pictures to come....

6 months old!

OMG! I can't believe I posted pictures last night and did not even mention that my sweet baby was 6 months old! I was so tired after a long week and I had been thinking about how it was so unbelievable all day and then last night, it slipped my mind.
Thinking about the last 6 months is a little surreal.... and comes with all sorts of reminiscing.
*the clothes he has outgrown
*how we couldn't wait for him to be big enough to play in his Exersaucer or sit up
*the baby bathtub he has already outgrown
*how teeny and fragile he was at first
*the sleepless nights
*the refusal to nap
*eating EVERY 2 hours
The list goes on and right now doesn't seem comprehensive at all. I had so many thoughts to write down and at this point, nothing is coming to me, so I'll move to the stuff fresh in my mind at this point. I'll add more to this post later.

Friday, May 14, 2010

More Nags Head Pics...

Diggin' in the sand...



Flo is pink and so is my sand bucket!


Ahhh....sounds just like my soothy bear.


Daddy and Gage



Gage and Grandma


Footprints


New favorite picture

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

So it has been FOREVER since I have posted it seems. Weeks ago I was planning on putting up a nice Mother's Day background, but I seemed to have missed that, so I settled for a nice blue/green and a new updated banner of course. I'm pleased with results, hope you like them as well!

Let's see....yes, we got back from TX on a Tuesday night and had to be back at work/daycare the next morning. That was only 2 weeks ago, yet seems like months ago since I have been attempting to cram 27 hours of work into each day lately. Following our return from TX on a Tuesday, Friday night we headed south for a weekend at the beach. We had this trip planned for months and wouldn't have normally piled 2 right on top of each other. Anyway, it was a beautiful weekend and Gage enjoyed the sand and water. He felt right at home with the sound of the ocean in the background as he napped for almost 2 hours one day! The water wasn't quite warm enough yet, but in August, he will have a blast splashing around. Mommy and Daddy got to go out to eat while Grandma and Grandiddy babysat. Mulligan's was yummy as always. The weekend would have been perfect, if I hadn't puked my guts out Sunday night and been miserable the entire way home on Monday. I swear, I have been sicker in the last 6 months than I have in the last 6 years. BUT, Gage hasn't been sick at all and not many mamas-to-half-year-old-babies-that-go-to-daycare can say that.

Since we've been home, I have been desperately trying to complete grad school work (which almost officially ended yesterday). This kept me up half the night, while I continued to get sicker and sicker. I slept in Wed. am b/c I felt awful but had missed too many days of school lately, so I had to suck it up and push through. Getting 5 hours of sleep each night didn't help and I was miserable yesterday. This morning I felt even worse and finally went to the doctor and as I had suspected all along they said it was a combo of a viral cold and allergies and there was nothing they could give me. Eh, so much for that. Now that grad school's over, I'll make it.

Other than my being sick, my 1st official Mother's Day was wonderful. Luke made me chocolate chip pancakes and eggs this morning and Gage gave me a gift card for a spa day. As soon as I'm well, I can't wait to use it! We just hung out around the house. If I had been feelin' a little better and the wind hadn't been blowing as much, we would have gone for a walk or something, but spending a relaxing day with my boys was just as good. Tomorrow it is back to the grind. Gage and I are hoping to hit up the pool tom. afternoon to prepare for the start of swim lessons next Monday. We'll keep you posted on what he thinks of it all.

I definitely feel like I missed something. Here are the pics from the beach. OMG, Gage will be 6 months old on Friday! Crazy!

Gage relaxing on the beach blanket


Gage sporting his new swim trunks, after having eaten and rolled in the sand


Gage sitting with Grandma Penny


Daddy and Gage checking out the waves

Finally....I have the time to post

Too bad noone reads this and there wasn't anyone dying for this post; however, maybe a few of you would like to see the promised pictures from our trip to Austin. I'll post those 1st and then give you an update on what's been happening for the last few weeks.

Auntie Annie and big cousin Ianna


Grandma Lenz- the woman of the weekend


Baby Gage showing off his new sunhat


Daddy and Gage


Grandpa It and Gage


Big cousin Ianna (5 1/2 y.o.)


4 Generations of Lenzs/Itnyres

No, my baby is not sunburned- TX was just a little too hot for him to handle

Greetings from Austin!


Grandma Sandi, Ianna and Gage


Ianna and Gage, age 5 1/2 years and 5 1/2 months


Finally, the 3 Itnyres- at least for another year and a half

Excuse the pink lunch box, I'm not so good at the photography!
Enjoy!
 
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