Fall Checklist!

This being our first Fall with Remy means that our to-do list has become more baby oriented than years prior, and I cannot wait!! Everything is going to be so much sweeter with a little to celebrate with!! It's so hard to think about this time last year - we didn't know if the little in my belly was Remington or Morgan, but we knew we loved him/her so so much! Life can change so so much in a year's time!! 

Here's our Fall Checklist Visit a pumpkin patch Make chili/soup once a week Spend time outside playing in the leaves Have Fall Christmas Card pictures taken Dress Little Man up for Halloween Go to Gatlinburg (still playing taking Remy by ear) Take two Mommy Daddy only dates (we are still mastering this) Make leaf crafts

My First Mother's Day

This year was my first Mother's Day, and it was perfection. It started on Thursday when I went to visit my Nana.  Remington got his shots Tuesday, and was still fussy, so the visit was less than ideal.  Afterward, I went by the cemetery; it was the first time I had been there since Dad's memorial service, but I figured it was as good a time as any to take Remington by. 

Friday morning, after having an epic meltdown Thursday night about going back to work in three weeks, Jackson surprised me with the sweetest gift.  

Later that day, my mama sent me flowers. :) These are my favorite ones that ProFlowers does; they're  purple irises and red tulips. :) She sent me the sweetest card with them that said "Remington told me these are your favorites! Have the Best Mother's Day - Grams"

Friday afternoon, Byron came over to hang out with Remington and we went to eat Mexican for dinner! It was Remington's first restaurant experience, and he was a champ.  Saturday, we had planned to interview a new nanny, but she didn't show up. Nothing grinds my gears more than someone wasting my time for me. We decided to go to the farmers market, but didn't realize there was a graduation downtown, so there was zero parking. We attempted to go to Centennial Park, but there was a music fest that also left us with no parking. We also forgot Remington's sunscreen, so having him outside was a no go. So we decided to go to Opry Mills. Lots of walking, no sun. We stopped in NY&co and I got three pairs of pants for when I go back to work, Sun and Ski where Jackson got a new pair of chacos, fossil for him to get a new wallet, and Carter's for me to replace the Fathers day onesie that will be way too small when it rolls around. Remington slept so well that he was a nightmare Saturday night at bedtime. I'm talking screams for two hours kind of nightmare. 

Sunday was it's own kind of special because I was so so exhausted from Saturday night. We went to church, had lunch at his parents house, went to see my mama, and came home. My only request was that we have Taco Bell for dinner, watch Star Wars, and that Jackson take care of Remington long enough for me to get some cleaning done. I was gifted the most beautiful necklace, and a Qalo ring to wear while we camp so my rings don't get messed up. 

It was the best First Mother's Day I could have asked for. I am so thankful for the sweet boy that made me a mama. 

January's Read: A Dog's Purpose

This year, one of my goals is to read one book per month. 

(via)

For January, I read A Dog's Purpose.  It was a book my dad ordered a few years ago and read not long after we adopted Boomer, so I knew the book existed, but it wasn't until after seeing that they have made it into a movie that I knew I had to read it. Let's be real - this home girl does not miss a Dennis Quaid movie.  I could have really done without the first four chapters, but I guess it helps set up the underlying theme in the story, which is that a dog doesn't die, it just comes back as another dog. No spoilers, right? You get that from the preview.  I am so happy with where Toby/Bailey/Ellie/Buddy's story ended.  If you love dogs, it is a great read.  It made me look at dogs differently for sure, especially my sweet Boomer bear.  He was there when I left for college, when I moved back home, when I got married, and has been there for every Friday visit since. He used to sleep in my bed when I lived at home, so Bailey's life with Ethan really hit home. Boomer is an old boy now, and is looking so rough, so I'm finding myself looking at him as if I'm trying to read his mind now.  *Spoiler alert* Boomer and Buddy shared an event this year - they comforted their boys as they took their last breath. I've never thought about Boomer in that way. I've watched him adjust, but I never thought about how he felt as he comforted Dad. 
I enjoyed it. Who else has read it? What were your thoughts?

Rest of Winter Checklist

Here's how we did on our Christmas checklist:

Get all of our Christmas Shopping done under budget

Make my way to the cemetery to put some poinsettias on Dad's marker

Have our 2nd annual Gingerbread House night

Make an ornament for 2016

(2014)(2015)

Mail out Christmas Cards

Buy stockings

I still can't quite manage to make myself get out to the cemetery, so no flowers were placed.  We were so busy, that Gingerbread house didn't happen, either. I also cheated a little in making our ornament for this year. I made it on Shutterfly instead of making a cute globe one like years past; it says "Joy! It's a Boy!" and has his name on the back of it:

It's so easy for us to forget about the rest of Winter after Christmas, but we have much to be done before Remington gets here!! 

Finish the nursery

Start purging clothes we don't wear or don't fit

Hang a bird feeder

Throw/attend a superbowl party

Make plans for a super fun (non-traveling) 3rd anniversary

Get all Thank You notes done no more than 2 weeks following each baby shower!

Spend lots of time snuggling

New Year's Resolutions 2017

2016 was a roller coaster of a year for us. I started a new job in January, lost my dad in May, found out we were pregnant in July, found out we're having a Boy in November, and got a promotion later in November. Now we're here, at the end of the roller coaster, and I just want off. haha. 
Here's the skeleton I laid out for our year, and here's how we did:
Work through our Love Languages Bible - we didn't even open it this year. We did our own reading, by ourselves, but I'm hoping to work through it this year. 
Build up our savings; pay off our debts - We paid off over $12,000 in debt this year, built a savings that will give me my full leave time off with Remington without worries.  This one, we killed.
Spend one day per month with my Nana - This was impossible with my new job.  I moved from getting off at 4 to getting off at 5 and driving across town in rush hour traffic.  Grief also has changed my Nana into someone completely different, and that's a story for another day.  But it didn't make visits anything other than unbearable. 
Visit someplace we've never been - for our anniversary, we went to Evansville to go to Tropicana. We had a blast
  Find a job that makes me happy - Funny story, it wasn't my first step into the company, it was my promotion that checked this one off. I was miserable in my first position with the company, but this has always been my dream company, and I knew that if I treated it like a stepping stone, I would be fine. I'm now managing leaves of absence and having so much fun.  I enjoy going to work everyday.  
Here's our 2017 skeleton. Well, my skeleton.