January 31, 2016

Two moms and a Camera (Valentine's Pictures)

Katie often makes fun of me because I go to so much effort for the perfect picture. From getting props, building or crafting them, finding the perfect outfit, finding locations and dragging my supplies there, and not to forget, the patience it takes to have my little model sit still long enough to capture his perfect smile. 

One of the reasons I love my friend Kristy is, that she is just as crazy as I am. Leave it to her to build a "Kissing Booth" for Valentine's Day, having the perfect professional photography backdrop for every holiday there is and she's my Idol when it comes to Christmas Cards, she always goes all out and just gets me. 

Jake and Fox are six weeks apart and we've done a few photo shoots in the past...which just reminds me, that I still haven't posted the Christmas Pics we took of the boys! We both have no idea what we are doing with the camera, but that doesn't stop us from trying. 
This shoot left us moms exhausted and drenched it sweat. Our boys must have made a pack to not give us a single smile, no matter how silly we acted in the middle of a golf course. (Disclaimer: It was after hours, so no flying golf balls were hitting our babies!)
Kristy lives right by the golf course and it was just gorgeous there. I wish I had such beautiful grass at my fingertips for pictures each and every day. 

See what I mean? No smiles. But he's cute nonetheless. 



A sweet lady who works for the golf course kept driving by in her Golf cart to watch us struggle and offered to take a group picture!

The boys had a blast running up and down the hills of the golf course, we brought some golf clubs and balls for them and Fox thought it was the best thing ever!


There's that smile! 

And here is said Kissing Booth. I still can't believe she built that! You might remember it from our Valentine's pictures last year! 
None of the pictures turned out, so this is the best we got. 



I kind of love this picture, because of the boo boo lip. He was upset, because Jake accidentally fell on him and his feelings were hurt. My sensitive boy!
While we didn't get a picture perfect shot, we had a fun afternoon. Time to plan St. Parick's Day Pics! Just kidding...okay, kind of. ;)
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January 30, 2016

Zoo Visit

A few weekends ago, we invited Fox's grandparents to join us at the Zoo. Our new au pair Hannah came along as well and was really excited since she had never seen a Giraffe...can you believe it?


We hadn't been to the Zoo since last Spring (besides going to Zoolights during Christmas Time), because it was just so hot and in the Winter they close early, so it just never worked out with Fox's nap, but on this day, Mr. Fox was on nap strike, so we took the opportunity and ran with it! 


Always having a blast with Grandpa!


Hannah has been with us for about three weeks now and Fox loves her already!



It was a great day and I'm looking forward to many more afternoons at the Zoo this spring! It's so crazy how much Fox has changed since our last Zoo visit and how he is enjoying this so much more now! I love watching him explore and see the world through his eyes...there is nothing better! 
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January 29, 2016

Fox, Katie & Nadine in 2016: Week 3

Day 15
Show Week continued...Fox's other set of grandparents watched him for the day and these are the kind of pictures they send us! Fox's favorite...Ice Cream! I'm not really surprised he didn't take a nap that day! ;)

Day 16
All aboard! Fox loves riding the train in the mall!

Day 17
This is the only picture I got from that day...ha! That's me in a Ski Jacket (it was freezing) on top of a motor home shooting pictures of one of our features at the Show! I'm glad I didn't break my neck, because it had rained the night before and it was super slippery up there!

Day 18
I love these two boys! Grayson is Fox's best friend, he asks for him all the time and his mom Lindsi happens to be my best friend! We had so much fun playing together that afternoon!

Day 19
I took Fox to Gymboree after work to get some energy out! 

Day 20
Fox hasn't been taking naps lately, which results in him being overtired at night and having really bad night terrors, where he just screams and screams, but is still deep asleep. I took this picture after he finally calmed down. My poor boy!

Day 21
We spent the afternoon with our friends Kristy and Jake, taking the boys' Valentine's pictures! Let's just say both moms were drenched in sweat afterwards and I don't think we got a single smile! (I still have to look through them)
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January 27, 2016

Fox, Katie & Nadine in 2016: Week 2

Day 8
Picking up our new Au Pair Hannah from the airport!

Day 9
We celebrated London's second birthday! Fox doesn't get cupcakes very often, but he dove right in!

Day 10
Fox was on nap strike that day, but eventually passed out in the car on our way back from the Zoo. I enjoyed some extra snuggles before we had to wake him up. These moments are rare, so I soaked in every second of this!

Day 11
Fox's friend Grayson came over to try out Fox's new jump house. These boys had so much fun and jumped and giggled their little hearts out! 

Day 12
An Afternoon at the Aquarium with Mama, Aunt Ash and Hannah. 

Day 13
Hannah took Fox to the Zoo, while we were at work. It was chilly that morning! 

Day 14
We had Show Week, so we had to call in extra reinforcements and Grandma and Grandpa took Fox for the day. Nothing makes me happier than getting pictures of my boy having fun during the day, while I'm at work! Show Weeks are hard with long hours and no time off, but it makes it so much easier to know that Fox is taken care of! 

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January 26, 2016

Fox | 20 Month Update







Health:
Besides a runny nose here and there, he has been great!

Nicknames:
Bubba, Turkey, Schatzi, Bubbles, Mr. Fox, Foxy, Pumpkin, Poodle 

Eating:
No improvement this month. He still has his favorites and hardly tastes anything new. Luckily he loves fruit, but no vegetables (besides the ones we hide in a smoothie). He definitely got his picky eating habits from me.

Teething: 
No new teeth this month, he has 16 now. 

Sleeping:
His sleep has been somewhat of a nightmare this month, especially naps. He is having the hardest time falling asleep and sometimes takes 90 minutes to finally pass out. Mostly he is just playing in his crib, jumping, talking, but sometimes he whines and cries as well. When we go in to check on him, he asks for his Decke (blanket), but the minute we cover him, he gets up and the cycle continues. He is too young to not nap anymore, right? Someone please tell me yes!
It’s been very frustrating and I have no idea how to fix it. He doesn’t even act sleepy, even when he doesn’t take a nap that day.
He had a lot of changes this month, with caretaker changes and sleeping arrangements, so I’m hoping that this is it. I was thinking about getting black out curtains as well to help him with naps, although this never has been an issue in the past.
He still sleeps through the night, but also takes a long time to fall asleep. He asks for his two giant Mickey/Minnie Mouse Stuffed Animals in his crib, along with three blankets and a pillow. It’s quite ridiculous. I always take all of them out before I go to bed each night, leaving him with his blanket, because it still freaks me out when he has too many things in his crib.

Diapers:
Size 4

Clothing:
18-24 months, Size 6 Shoe  
Social:
He’s still very sensitive and does not like to be mistreated (well, who does?) and starts crying when another child cries. In the past, he would just start crying when another child took something away from him, but now he gets mad and yells no and protects his toy. He is good at sharing toys when asked, but also developed a little bit of an attitude this month, trying to test our boundaries. He screeches when he doesn’t want to do something and we are trying to teach him to use his words instead.
He loves older kids but doesn’t care too much about same age or younger children.

Language:
His language has really taken off this month. He can now speak three word sentences, but still can’t say Mommy (or doesn’t want to, so he calls us both Mama). I’m always amazed by the words he knows and can say. My favorite phrase right now is when he says “No way!”
He understands most everything in German, but only speaks a few words in German, he mainly speaks English. I hope this will improve now that we have a German nanny who also speaks German to him!

Likes:
Music and dancing, being outside, bigger kids, sleeping on his stomach, Cosie, showering, having his mommies attention, watching videos of himself, playing hide and seek, playing soccer and basketball, being independent, reading books, balls, riding those mechanical cars in the mall, climbing, playing Mini Golf and Hockey, playing Cars, Shrek the Halls (Katie’s dream come true to watch this with him!), Carousels, drinking out of a big cup with a straw, Tackling us, the Zoo, Gymboree, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Barney, Soccer Class, reading books in Mama’s bed, his bounce house, his Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed animals, his blanket, Bubbles, Stickers
Dislikes:
Putting lotion on after his bath, when we don’t allow him to do something, when we go inside after playing outside, trying new foods, when someone he loves gets hurt, diaper changes, long car rides, washing his hair

Fun things we did:
We celebrated Fox’s second Christmas, which was so fun! We also welcomed our new au pair a few weeks ago and Fox loves her already.
We went to the zoo, trampoline park, had lots of playdates with friends and spent a lot of time with Fox’s grandparents.

Milestones:
Three word sentences and being able to communicate better with us. He also had his first time out this month, after repeatedly not listening to Mommy and it’s fair to say, he wasn’t a fan!
And, for the very first time, he pooped in the toilet! He has been telling us when he needs to go or sometimes tells us when he already went, but we were able to put him in the toilet just in time! We are not potty training yet, but are putting him on his little potty every now and then to get him used to it. He doesn’t love it, but he was very proud of himself that one time he went and loved how we cheered for him.
I don’t know if this is a “Milestone”, but I wanted to write it down, so I’ll remember! He now understands the concept of the number 2, i.e. he picks up two items and says “2”.

What we’re looking forward to:
Fox’s first trip to Sea World!  
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January 25, 2016

Fox, Katie & Nadine in 2016: Week 1

Day 1
Dinner with Aunt Ash and Uncle Brad

Day 2
Fox's first time bowling!

Day 3
Brunch!

Day 4
Fox's BFF Grayson came over to play!

Day 5
A boy and his dog!

Day 6
We came home from work and had a huge box by the front door! Our sweet co-worker sent Fox a belated Christmas present, after he saw him having so much fun on the jump house at his house. Needless to say, Fox loved it!

Day 7
We love Arizona sunsets and our beautiful neighborhood! 
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