So when did Caleb turn out to be such a horrible sleeper? As I am typing this, we put Caleb to bed 30 minutes ago and he has already come out of his room 2 times! I would say most nights he comes out at least once within the first 10 minutes of putting him down. He wants absolutely nothing...just to make me walk up the stairs again! For a while, he was getting up in the middle of the night a lot, but recently he has gotten better. Although, last night we had some pretty big storms come through about 2:30am and he ended up waking up on the 2nd thunder, which landed him on our bed (for the first time ever) for the rest of the night. Hopefully he doesn't expect that everytime...
I am so mesmerized and more in love with Kailyn everyday. But when I stop to watch her, I get all sentimental because I feel like she did not stay a baby long enough. Seriously, once she started sitting up on her own, she was not an "infant" anymore. And since then, she has followed in her big brother's footsteps without looking back a bit. They are playing together so well now, it is adorable! Kailyn is doing more and more everyday...she can now open all the doors in the house by herself if they are unlocked. She goes upstairs all by herself, and is so so smart! She knows when we are getting ready to go and will wait by the garage door to leave. She loves to have shoes on and will say, "Shos, shooos." and sit in the floor for you to put them on. And since spring has arrived, she gets mad if the back door is locked and she can't go outside, it is kind of adorable. And those big blue eyes and that smile that will melt your heart in .2 seconds...
I am finally getting back on the coupon train!!! I completely fell off after having Kailyn last year, just having a baby and adjusting to life with 2 kids and all. I had dabbled in it here and there some but never did great. Well I stuck to it and got back on a roll. I have had an amazing week! Just today I spent $43 at Publix and saved $53. And yesterday at Target I got FOUR Digorno pizzas and a box of Nestle ice cream cones for $10 with sales and coupons...such a great deal. And you know what? I have been pinching those pennies when eating out this week too. Last night we had a buy one get one free entree at TGIFridays and our bill was only like $15! And tonight we were running errands late so we ran through BK for only $8 for all four of us with coupons- Love! It does take some effort, but it is SO worth it.
Spring cleaning has arrived at the Gilmore's! I have been getting a little ocd about cleaning in the past week or two. Orgainizing cabinets and closets, throwing junk away, cleaning baseboards and blinds. I still have a TON that needs to be done...like organize the garage and sell the stuff we got back from consignment. I have seriously learned that the only way to keep up with laundry around here is to do (at least) one load of laundry per day no matter what. And if there is ever a day where there is not a "normal" load to go in, I was bathroom rugs, decorative towels hanging up, etc. And this past week I started doing something that I really hope I can keep doing. Every afternoon after the kids go down for nap, I spend a little time wiping down the kitchen, picking up toys and random clutter, etc. I attempt to make it seem like someone is coming over. And then do the same type things after the kids go to bed at night. There is nothing like waking up to a clean house and coming downstairs in the mornings to a clean kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I have always kept it pretty clean, but just letting the random clutter accumulate here and there on a counter or desk...I am trying hard to get really organized and keep it that way. It just makes me feel better.
Caleb is still loving school and I am a little sad that he only has a few short weeks left before he is out for the summer. I am a little overwhelmed thinking about not having any "breaks" in the summer weeks, but somehow we always seem to stay pretty busy anyways. I am just sad that he will miss his friends and just getting out of the house twice a week. It just offers him a good break from me and vice versa. He has learned SO much this year and is really growing up way too fast. He can count, ABC's, cut with sicsors, color, stamp, write his name, and sometimes remembers his Spanish words...and much more, I'm sure. But I am definitely looking forward to more playdates with friends this summer and just getting a lot of fun, quality time with the kids. Caleb will be in Kindergarden before we know it, and I know I will miss these days with him so much. I love that he comes in my room every morning and wakes me up with snuggles. He has A LOT of energy and is 100% boy, but he has a heart of gold. Ha! Just recently he started saying, "Mommy I love you...Can I..." Hmm, already starting to play mind games!
It has been a few days since I have tortured the kiddos with a photo shoot!! So no cute pictures in a post, seriously? Wow...sorry!
April 19-20, 2013
Jeremy and I have wanted to take Caleb to an Alabama football game but just did not want to pay a ton of money for him to go and sit for 20 minutes then make the rest of the game miserable. So, duh! A-Day was the perfect opportunity for us to take him (and his sister) on a trial run. *For those of you who aren’t Alabama fans: A-Day is the football team’s practice scrimmage game in the spring where they open up the stadium and let fans in to watch. It is so much fun because the band and cheerleaders are there, just like a regular game.
Jeremy’s Aunt and Uncle who we adore were so gracious to host our crew for the weekend. Not only do we love being able to go back to Tuscaloosa for football, but it gives us lots of time to catch up with them too! This trip, the whoooole crew came!! Jeremy’s parents, Josh, Jessica, and Addison, and his Grandmother. Almost everyone fit in their house, but Jeremy’s parents had to get a hotel room for the night. We all headed out to eat Jalapenos for dinner Friday night and it was delicious. Jalapenos and El Rincon were our two favorite Mexican restaurants from college, so it brings back memories! They absolutely have the best chimichanga I have ever had, hands down. Seriously. Anyways…once we got back to the house, the kids were SO wound up, we had some play time before finally getting them all down for late bedtimes.
We were so excited to get to be there to celebrate Drew’s 2nd Birthday with everyone. He had a wonderful party! The weather was perfect for lots of outside play time. Cynthia did such a great job with the decor and food. Most of all...she was SO calm hosting a million people for the weekend plus throwing a party. Whew! Poor Kailyn napped through most of the party since it was during her morning nap time…usually we would have let her skip, but since we were taking her to campus later for the game, she had to have that morning nap!! ~*Happy Birthday, sweet Drew!!*~
As the party was winding down, Kailyn woke up from her nap…she must have smelled the yummy cupcakes and ice cream! We got her up and dressed, bags packed, and kids sunscreened up then headed to campus. Luckily we were able to park at a friend’s house (which we are SO thankful for!!) so that wasn’t a hassle. We decided to go straight to the game since it was almost 2pm at this point. Little did we know, it would take at least 30 minutes to enter the stadium! First, we had to take the stroller to a designated stroller parking area. Then they wouldn’t let me in with Kailyn’s diaper bag, which was a major necessity. After calming down for a second, I figured out a good solution of smooshing her empty bag into my camera case, wearing the camera, and carrying alllllll of the stuff in her bag in my hands. It worked! And we were in. Then we could not find an open spot in the lower section where we could all sit together. So around, and around, and around, and around we went all the way up to the upper section. Unfortunately, we ended up in the shade where it was a little cool, but it was okay. We had the chair back seats, which was super nice! But the kids quickly got antsy. Enter all of the snacks I carried by hand into the stadium. Then Kailyn started to show signs of being past due for her afternoon nap and Caleb was cold. So we decided that we came, got our pictures, so we were ok to go. We headed to the Quad to take a few pictures and let the kids run around and burn off what little energy they had left while we relaxed on the blanket. It was such a nice day in the sunshine!
Suprisingly, after such a long day and no naps, the kids had tons of energy once we got back to the house! Kailyn got maybe a 5 minute nap on the way back, courtesy of her big brother waking her up. We decided to have our “grown up” dinner after the kids went to bed since they were going to be going down early-ish. The kids enjoyed playing outside some more, including jumping in the jumper. Then we got them some yummy pizza and they topped that off with more cupcakes. I would say it was an awesome way to wrap up such a wonderful day!
More to come of our wonderful family day on campus Sunday…..
