SO WHAT! Wednesday!

This week I’m saying SO WHAT! If:

• I almost didn’t write this post….hence it’s lateness….I passed out last night and didn’t feel like doing anything.
• I’ve been sick all week, went home early from work Monday, and didn’t do a damn thing last night.
•  I’ve been sucking it up, but last night, I just couldn’t…..I was lazy and didn’t do anything. Hubs took Chloe for a bike ride, made her dinner, gave her a bath and put her to bed. I was so grateful for that.
•  I’m going to the NKOTB, 98 degrees and Boyz to Men concert Saturday….nuff said.
• After we do Chloe’s room, we’re done painting for awhile. That shit is expensive, and it’s starting to rack up….
• It’s taking us as far as taking toys away from Chloe to get her to poo on the potty….and she still has accidents most of the time. But when we remind her, she does go. We just have to keep on her….
• Chloe has a mind of her own, and I know we’ve had an angel up to this point, but I’m really not looking forward to her turning 3. I’m pretty sure it’s all going downhill at that point. Terrible 2’s did not grace us, but I think the Terrible 3’s will….Lord help us!
• Chloe had her first dentist appt on Monday….and I’m thanking the teeth God’s that she won’t be needing braces!!! The dentist said her teeth look perfect and her spaces are right where they need to be! YAY!!!!
• I did Zumba last Saturday and I was pretty much dead on Sunday. COULD NOT MOVE!

Head on over to Life After I “Dew” and tell us what you are saying SO WHAT! To this week!

Best things about being a Mommy

It was December 4th 2009 when our world turned upside down. In a good way. That was the day we found out that we were pregnant. We had been trying for 3 months, and at that point I thought it would never happen for us. I know that 3 months isn't a long time AT ALL, and I know that a lot of people never get that and sometimes it could take year. But, 3 months seemed like an eternity for us. So, on that faithful day, when I finally got those 2 pink lines, I was sooooooo happy! It was the best day of my life. And then August 20th 2009 we welcomed our little bundle of joy into this world. It was seriously the best, most memorable day of our life. She immediately became the love of our life and we couldn't imagine life without her.
Being a Mom is the most rewarding jobs anybody could ever have. It's not a job that you have to interview for, it isn't a job that you can prepare yourself for. It just happens, and you just do it. You learn as you go, you learn from your mistakes and you grow from them. When we got pregnant, we had no idea what to expect. And then the Dr's told us that we could take this little human home with us?! What were they thinking?! Did they know what they were doing? Did WE know what we were doing?! Well...I guess we did something right, because now, almost 2.5 years later, here we are! We have the best girl anybody could ask for! She's so smart and so sassy and she is a girl who knows JUST what she wants. She's independent, but at the same time, she is such a Daddy's girl.
Some of the things that I love best about being a mom:

• When I wake her up in the morning and pick her up out of bed, she wraps her arms around my neck and just holds me and snuggles her head right under my chin....just precious!
• When she wants you to pick her up she stands right under my feet, puts her hands up and said "I hold you!"
• When you ask her what she wants to eat, no matter what meal it is, she wants pancakes.....
• For breakfast during the week, she always wants "cereal, WITH milk!"
• Every night, we do bath and jammies, and go downstairs for some milk and 1 episode of "bickey" (MMCH) and when they start the hot dog dance, she turns to me and said "utstairs, Mama" she knows it's time for bed, and she's ready!
• She is so independent, and she has to pick her shoes every morning! And she puts them on by herself, most of the time! She loves it!
• She loves our cat. Her and Shadow have becomes pretty good buddies. She likes her to sit on her lap and pet her.
• She's so stinkin smart, I just can't take it. She can count to 20, she knows her ABC's pretty well and she just blows my mind every single day.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to add another baby to our life, some day. But, not right now. We are so content with Chloe. We love watching her grow and learn and become a little lady! She's just amazing in every single way, and we couldn't be more in love with her.

Chloe and her Big Girl Bed

We got the mattress delivered on Thursday and we weren't sure as to when we wanted to get the whole thing set up. We weren't sure if we were just going to put the mattress on the ground so that she could get up and down on her own, because we knew that it would be way too high for her. So, yesterday, we just went with it and set it up. Bed frame and all!

She was so excited to get her new bed. She kept running and jumping around saying "So Excited!" "Big Bed!" She loved helping Daddy take her old bed down. 

Once we had it all set up with the sheets on it, she didn't waste any time jumping in and laying down telling us to leave and close the door. She wanted to go nuh nite!

So, here is the view looking in from the hallway.

View from the corner with all the stuffed animals.

I'm absolutely in love with her new room set up, and I know she is too! Looking forward to getting it painted so everything matches.

Dream Lite

Yes, this thing has been our God Send! I told you all before that since Halloween, Chloe hasn't fallen asleep in her bed at all. She refused to lay down. So I just took it as it was and would let her watch TV on the couch and fall asleep in my arms and then would carry her upstairs. Well....Husband and I were both to the point where we were just done with that. She needed to get back in her bed. So, Memaw bought her this Unicorn thing for Christmas. I had been looking at different options for different lights and things that she could sleep with, but hadn't actually bought anything yet. So, when she opened this thing up this past weekend, I thought, well....it will either work, or it won't. So let's try it!

Saturday night we put her in her Jammies at Memaws house before we left to go home. It's about a 5-10 minute drive home and she almost fell asleep by the time we pulled in the driveway. So I took her inside, took her coat off and we took her upstairs to her room, Dream Lite in tow.

We put her in bed, and at first she sat right up and started fussing a little bit. I turned on the Dream Lite and showed her the starts and lights on the ceiling and told her to lay down and count the stars. So, she did that, and literally fell asleep instantly! I blamed in on the fact that she was super tired. It was after 8pm and she didn't nap that day (or any day that she's home with us).

Onto Sunday. Again, no nap....so around 7:30-8-ish, we put Mickey on the TV and gave her some milk so she could relax a little bit after her bath. Half way through Mickey her eyes were starting to get heavy. So we grabbed Lovey and took her upstairs. Again, put her in bed and she sat up and didn't want anything to do with bed. So we did exactly what we did the night before. Showed her the stars on the ceiling and she instantly laid down and snuggled up to her Lovey and pressed the button on the Dream Lite a few times until I said, "Ok, time to close your eyes" Tucked her hand in her blanket and she fell right to sleep! I couldn't believe it. Was it really this easy?! Has this really been the answer we've been looking for? It's been almost 2 months since we've been able to put her in bed awake and this is all it took?! Omg, I was dumbfounded and happy and excited all at the same time! FINALLY!!!!!

So, Monday night rolled around....we did bath, Jammies, Milk and Mickey, just the same as we always do. Monday is usually a late night because she actually naps at day care, so we got through an entire episode of Mickey, and then we told her it was nuh night time and she grabbed Lovey and we went upstairs. Laid her down, and she really didn't even fight this time. Took a little coaxing, but for the most part, she laid right down, pressed the button on the Dream Lite a few times until I tucked her arms in, and within 10 minutes, she was OUT! Andy and I snuck out, closed her door and BOOM! DONE! This Mamma is one happy camper!!!!!!!

I know it'll probably be a little while before I will be able to leave her still awake, but I'm ok with that. We will take baby steps. This is better then it's been in almost 2 months, so I'll take it!

Thank you Dream Lite! Best $30 ever spent!!!

A Love Letter of Sorts

I'm not sure that I've ever done a letter to my daughter on this here blog before....but I think it's about time. I just wanted to reflect on how absolutely amazing she is in every single way possible.

Chloe, My sweet, sweet girl! You are the best thing that could have ever happened to your Daddy and I! I remember the moment that I saw those 2 pink lines. I didn't think twice about it. No matter what you were, a boy or a girl, I would love you unconditionally. I had always hoped for a little girl. I wanted that little baby that I could dress up like a little doll, the little baby that I could put bows in her hair, and then as you got older could help you with your clothes, makeup, boys....etc. And When we found out you were a girl, I seriously cried a bucket of tears....of joy of course! I was certain that we were going to have a boy. CERTAIN! Only because I had been praying so hard for a girl. But the Lord heard my prayers, and gave us you! And I'm so grateful that he did. You have been the best little girl ever. You're a complete Daddy's girl, but you love your Mama too! You listen, sometimes. And when you don't, and we ask you if you'd like to go into time out, you simply smile and say "Yes, please!" Good Lord child! You're only 2 and you are already a smarty pants! You sure know how to press our buttons....and you know how to give Mama a heart attack! Like when we go up stairs to take a bath and you run down the hall and stand right in front of the stair case and do a dance....GAH! I don't think I've ever ran so fast in my life before you almost fell down the stairs face first! Scared the living day lights out of me, and I would have been devastated if anything had happened. So, now when we are upstairs, no matter what, I put the baby gate up in front of the stair case. You are NOT tumbling down those stairs, if I have ANYTHING to do with it.
As far as eating, you are picky....you like what you like, and you usually don't stray away from that. You like Chicken Nuggets, Fish Sticks, Ramen Noodles, Chicken and Wild Rice Progresso Soup (but you don't eat the chicken), Pancakes, Sausage, Waffles, Yogurt (only the gerber toddler kind...weird, I know. But you won't eat regular cold yogurt) Mandarin Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Applesauce, Animal Crackers, regular crackers of any kind, Cheese, Hot dogs, Mac and Cheese, eggs, hashbrowns and most any kind of veggie.....and I'm at a loss....I don't think there is anything else. You're not a big fan of meat....(chicken or beef). You like to eat Mama's eggs with toast and Laughing Cow cheese in the morning, leaving me with like, half or less....Thanks, chick! As for drinks...you are a Milk and Water kind of girl. Never been a juice fan. And that's ok with me!!
You love going to day care! You love your teachers, and you love your friends! You even have a little boyfriend that you talk about all the time! (His name is Sam) and every time I pick you up (Monday's and Tuesdays) you have to give Sam a hug before we leave. It's the cutest thing ever! You are learning soooo many things at school too! It's unbelievable! You know your ABC's (for the most part...you skip letters sometimes) and you can count to 10 all by yourself. You try to count higher, but I think after 11 they all sound the same and then you very proudly jump and say 20!!!!!! You just love it, and you are so proud when you do it. You love to dance and sing. It's seriously the cutest thing ever! You are a gabber! You love to talk....we understand what you are saying most of the time, but when you REALLY REALLY get into conversation, you start to just ramble off stuff and we just get lost. But it's really cute that you are trying so hard. I swear you come home every day talking about new stuff and saying new things. It's just amazing!
You are wearing mostly 3T shirts, and 2T pants. And 3T jammies, but the pants are too big unless they are the fitted kind. But the 2T jammie shirts are too small on you, so that's why I just buy all 3T. Just easier that way. And I know you will fit into them for a long time. You're butt is so small and your legs are so short, it's tough to fit you into any pants. So for the most part we just get the 2T and roll the pant legs up. It works. You're such a ham, and are a perfect little picture taker now! You love to pose and say Cheese to get your picture taken. Which I love now! Just need to get you to stay still for longer then 2.5 seconds. We will get there. LOL! Maybe in 10 years.
Chloe, Daddy and I love you so very much, and we want you to know that you are the light of our lives. You bring such joy to us every single day and can't wait to see you grown and learn every single day. And I hope that one day we can look back on this and you can read it.
Love you so much Baby!
Mama & Daddy

Meet my Husband

You all know and love the man that I refer to as Husband...he's my rock. My world, My everything. He's helped me through some pretty tough times in my life, and without him by my side, I'm not sure I would have made it through some of the obstacles I've overcome. I met him in July of 2004. We started officially dating in September of 2004. Married in July 2007 and welcomed our baby girl into the world in August 2010. It's been a crazy 8 years, but I wouldn't change a minute of it if I had the chance to. But, as you all know, I refer to him as Husband on this here blog....so I thought that it was time you all got to know him as I do. His name is Andrew. I call him Andy. Always have, always will....He's the man of my dreams, the man that I always knew that I would find someday. And I was so lucky to have found him when I did. He came to me at the perfect time in my life. And I think we were meant for each other. And he was meant to be this little Lady's Daddy! can you tell?! They are in love!!!

So, with all that being said, and seen.....I hand the ropes over to you. Do you have any questions for Andy? Something you have been dying to know? Go ahead and ask! You can either leave it in a comment on this post, or you can email me directly @ crystal.seed7{at}gmail{dot}com

My Sunday Morning Scene

I know I haven't done one of these in awhile, but I need to do a test post to make sure something that my wonderful Tiffany fixed! So, I thought what a better post to do then something with pictures and stuff!!

This is a regular thing in the morning for my fur baby! She just always wants to play!

Daddy is sitting at the computer with Chloe playing with an alphabet game! She's loving it!

On todays agenda....we're going to the lake! I'm super excited!!!! Have a great Sunday, Ya'll! Oh, and I'm not sure if you have noticed, or can even see....but today is my 300th post!!! I can't believe that! Wow....Just amazing! In 1 week I've reached so many milestones with this blog, it's just been a wonderful week! 100+ followers and 300 posts!! Thank you!!!!