Big Boy Bed!

Just wanted to make a quick post about Xavier's sleeping habits! As you know the move to Tallahassee was a rough transition for Beanie. He was dealing with both night terrors and the anxiety of sleeping in a new room across the house from Dustin and I. We tried for several weeks to get him to sleep in his crib but it just wasn't happening and NO ONE was getting any sleep. We finally relented and allowed for him to sleep with us. Over the course of 6 months, we had a plethora of sleeping arrangements including all three of us in the master bed, Beanie on our floor on his baby mattress, a blow up mattress in the family room, the family room furniture and even a full mattress on our bedroom floor. We made it through those months and did what we had to do to get some rest. We decided to use this move as an opportunity to start new habits and get Beanie back in his bed. So far it's been great! We have been in the house for two weeks and he has slept in his bed for the entire night all but twice. The two nights that he didn't make it the whole night, he came in our room around 5 AM which isn't bad! We are so excited to have some positive bed time procedures in place :)

First night in big boy bed

He loves his new room!

We converted his crib to a full and he LOVES it!

New Train Room!

We can't wait to decorate his new big boy room!!!

MOVING!!!!! :):):):)

After moving to Tallahassee in January, we quickly realized that we were not happy with our location. We signed the lease on our house before I was hired at Hawks Rise Elementary and before we really knew anything about Tallahassee. My commute was 30 minutes each morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. While this was better than the at least hour long commute in Tampa, it still wasn't ideal. In May, we looked at a home in a really cute subdivision and feel in love. It is a 15 minute drive for Dustin to work and about a 10 minute drive for me. Xavier's new daycare is also in the area and is going to be a great fit for him. We are praying that this is the last time we change schools for him until he starts kindergarten!

We started the moving process as soon as Deneen and Clayton left for home. We were able to complete the move with no help over the course of a week. While we aren't completely done unpacking and we are no where near completing the decorating of our new home but we are already in love! It is dated more so than our previous address but it boasts a large yard, a huge two-tiered deck, a two car garage, an open floor plan, three large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a homey neighborhood. We are in the safest of locations and live just across the street from some really good friends. We can't wait for family to come see our new home :)

Panoramic View of our old place before while preparing for the move!

Here we go!

Moving furniture while watching a toddler is difficult...

Beans first night in his new room...

 

Back yard!

New House!!!

He is in LOVE

View from the back yard

Looking down at Midnight

Panoramic View of the backyard

Peek A Boo!

Crazy Bean

Taking advantage of the yard :)

Beanie's walk-in-closet/ Reading Nook :)

Bye Old Home!

Beanie's Second Home

Jim Lee Road

Master Bedroom

Dust's Fishtank in the Dining Room

Family Room

View from Kitchen

Big Boy Bed!

Playing with Daddy!

Getting There :)

We feel so blessed to have room for our baby to grow and the opportunity to live in such a nice neighborhood! I will post more pics as we complete more projects :)

Happy 28th Birthday Daddy!

Tuesday was Dust's Birthday (and, as he reminded me, the 6th anniversary of our engagement). It was definitely low key this year, as we are in the middle of moving. Still, Xavier and I found time to cook him a nice dinner and even put together a cute present for our favorite guy!

Happy Birthday Dustin Ryan! We love you to the moon and back :)

Waiting on Daddy!

Happy Birthday dada!

showing daddy where he signed! 

dinner!

homemade gift :)

Not A Day Goes By

"The amount of time on earth matters very little: a man can live in greed and pride 90 years and never find God, know Him or accomplish His Plan. A stillborn baby on the other hand, teaches people to love, brings people to the Lord, teaches us the tenuous nature of life and teaches us a faith that those who have not suffered loss can never know. A child not even breathing for an hour, can have an impact greater than a famous preacher. The purpose of a life is not ours to decide nor in our hands: it is brought about by God"
-- Unknown

Missing you always baby girl.

Pray for us. It has been a really rough couple of days. A couple that we've known since middle school lost their 3 month old baby boy. Not only do we mourn their loss, but ours as well.

Two Year Old Updates

I can't believe my baby is two. I just can't believe it. Where has time gone? It's unreal to think that we have been blessed with him for more than two whole years already.

Anyway, it has been a while since I have done an "update" post so I thought I would share some "Beanisms" with you all.

Talking
Xavier is talking more and more everyday. Within the last month he started copying us or repeating us when we asked him to say something. I am convinced that he is a perfectionist (wonder who he gets that from...*cough cough* Dustin...) and this is why he is slightly delayed in speech. I have noticed that he won't attempt a word if he doesn't think he can say it. I am praising him every day for each and every word he says. Hopefully he becomes more confident in his speech. He speaks to Dustin and I constantly but doesn't speak to many other people. In fact, Clay had been here for two whole days and all he had heard X say was "mama" and "dada." I think that when the confidence comes, he will be a little more vocal around everyone else. He is probably up to 50 words and uses one, two and three words phrases.

Weight/Stats
Within the last couple months, Xavier's favorite pastime of eating has gone to the wayside. He's just not that into it anymore. While we are at home during the day he nibbles here and there but never really eats until dinner time. As a result of this, he has gone from weighing 42 pounds in March to weighing 37 pounds now. He has lost five pounds in four months. Also, as I mentioned in the Disney post, he grew well over an entire inch from March to June. He is 36 Inches tall now. Again, I will remind you that the average 3 year old is 33 lbs and 33 inches tall...He is still a really big dude:)

Personality
This little boy of ours is a thrill seeker. He loves being thrown around, rough housing, running around like a crazy person, stunting, jumping off of things, flipping off of things, hiding in dark places...the kid is a daredevil! This is a relatively new development as he was terrified of even the slightest "toss" as a one year old. His personality is coming out more and more and he is hilarious. He has the craziest facial expressions and says the cutest little phrases. He is also VERY polite. He says please, thank you and bless you on a regular basis! He is so full of joy!

Beanie's favorite things as of now are:
Greek yogurt                                              Juice (any kind)
Winnie the Pooh movie                               Nick Jr.
Wearing shoes                                            Disney Jr.
Midnight                                                     Watching fish movies on Youtube with Daddy
Going to the park                                        Going for walks in the stroller
Sleeping in mama and dada's room              Crafting with mama
Acting like a baby puppy                             Making animal sounds
Going to Publix with daddy                          Putting up his artwork

Potty Training Update

SO...here is the deal with potty training. Xavier was PERFECT with no accidents for 2 weeks. For some reason he slipped while we had company and started having accidents left and right. In the week since they've left, we are getting back on track. He is down to maybe two accidents a day (only pee accidents...he always poos in the potty), is wearing a pullup and using public restrooms when we are out, briefs or naked during the day at home, and diapers during nap and night times. My goal is to have him COMPLETELY accident free by August 11th, when he goes back to daycare. I have been super ambitious with this as most little boys aren't potty trained until they are 3 but we have worked so hard, we can't give up now!

Hopefully in August I am reporting that we are trained and ready to go...in the meantime I HAVE to be proud of his progress! He is doing great, especially for his age. We have cut our diaper costs dramatically and can't wait to be diaper free :)

In the meantime, here are some of the cutest undie/bottom/potty pics you've ever seen!!! :)

Visitors :)

Last week, we had some very special visitors! Clayton and Deneen came to stay with us for a few days :)
They arrived on Wednesday afternoon after driving all night long. They were EXHAUSTED! Upon arriving, they played with Beanie and got settled in. Dustin didn't arrive home from work until 7:00 so in the meantime, we just sat and visited and watched baby play!

Playing with Uncle Clay

Showing Clay his playroom!

That night, Dust brought home pizza for dinner and we called it a night fairly early so that Deneen and Clay could get some sleep.

Helping Uncle Clayton with Homework!

The next morning (Thursday) Dust headed off to work so we hung around the house until after Bean finished his nap at around 2. We watched cartoons and played and relaxed!

Once he woke up, we headed to Toys'R'Us to go birthday shopping! Deneen wanted to take Beanie to pick out his presents in person. We had a lot of fun! I know she really enjoyed this because she NEVER gets to do this. We were at the store for a good hour. We ended up getting Bean a "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" ship with the GC Grandma Lucy sent (Thanks Gram B!) and then Deneen got Beanie a lawn chair, sand toys and a turtle sandbox! Unfortunately they were out of sandboxes so off we went to Target!

Target and Walmart didn't have them either so we ended up ordering one online. We can't wait to play with it!

After shopping, I took Clay and Deneen to our new home! We still had another week before moving in but I was able to show them the backyard (best part) and they peaked through the windows, too.

Next, we headed to Dust's work.  They took my car back to our house and Dust took me on a date. It was wonderful :) While they ate spaghetti and played with the new toys at home...

Clay sent us this...The lawn chair Nene bought him!

... we went to dinner, a movie, ice cream and Walmart- just the two of us! We hadn't been on a date for 7 months so it was WONDERFUL :)

Mommy and Daddy Time :)

 The next day was Friday, July 4th, so Dust was off work! We spent the morning eating eggs and bacon and then the boys went to see a movie together. Meanwhile, Deneen and Beanie took a nap and I got some blogging done!

When Xavier woke up, he and I completed a holiday craft together. He LOVES crafting! (Excuse the naked baby- we are knee high in potty training!!!)

:)

**TA-DA**

By the time the boys got home, it was time to cook out for the 4th!

Watching Daddy BBQ

Showing grandma his craft!

Family dinner! Not enough room around our table :)

Playing after dinner!

Grandma "brushing" his hair with a rake haha

On Saturday, the boys went to lift and then we went to the park and out for some dessert!

He loved the mist machine!

Bros :)

Weeee

We were ready for a cold treat after the hot park!

After our treat, we spent the rest of the evening at home eating Deneen's meatloaf for dinner and playing!

On Sunday, the boys went to lift again so it was a quiet afternoon at the house. When they returned we had a really early dinner (because I was whiny and starving) at Sonny's! It was yummy and we had a good time!

BBQ!

M-I-L Selfie in the backseat!

When we got home, we lounged until I got hungry again...and the boys went to get some dessert for us :)

Snugglin' with uncle clay

:)

Hiding!

Before we knew it the night was over and it was time for them to pack :(

Beanie getting in the suitcase!

We said our goodbyes before they headed to bed because they were heading back to Indiana at 4AM.

It was great having company. We miss our families always  so time together like this is priceless <3