Valentine's Day

Yesterday I had a really fun Valentine's Day. Nothing crazy big happened, no giant bouquets of flowers arrived and definitely no restaurant reservations were made. What did happen was Josh surprised us by coming home early, a delicious dinner was made by yours truly, a bottle of wine was opened, an incredible chocolaty dessert was eaten and fantastic conversation went on after the kids went to bed. In my book it was perfect.

Of course I snapped a few pictures of Harper before she went to her first Valentine's Day school party. Funny thing is that she looks so cute and sweet in the pictures only because she has my iPhone and is looking through all my photos. A few seconds after I took these, I took my phone so I could make a call and she had an epic meltdown. I mean epic. I did capture a few pictures of that to send to my parents for a little giggle. Not her finest moment. However, her day at school went great and she even made Josh and I a sweet little Valentine. Pretty sure it was one of the greatest things I have ever received. I just about had a mommy meltdown in the classroom when I saw it.

So I am REALLY looking forward to this upcoming weekend because my mom and stepdad are coming to stay with us YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Saturday just might be the best day I have had in a long time. Let me give you the rundown....

Wake up with my parents here (they arrive Friday night)
Go shopping with my mom (H&M here we come!!!)
Manicures/Pedicures w/mom (yowza I need this)
1 hour massage with Josh (best Valentine's gift EVER)
Possibly more shopping with mom (maybe for the kiddos this time)
Trip to Trader Joes (to buy LOTS AND LOTS of cheap wine)
Go out to dinner (babysitter and no kids....are you kidding me!!!???)

Seriously I could not be more excited! The best part is that they are not leaving until Monday morning so Sunday we get to have a lazy day all together loving on the babes and cooking something warm and yummy. I will do my best to take pictures this weekend but I may be too relaxed from all the pampering, pooped from the shopping or tipsy from dinner to remember =). I'm sure I will take some instagram photos though!

Hope you all have had a really great week, we are battling some serious colds around the Pluid household. Hoping they go away soo because these kids need to be ready for the fuuuuun weekend ahead!

xoxo
B

This guy makes me smile

I am one lucky lady to be married to this handsome guy. He constantly makes me laugh (even when I REALLY don't want to), he makes me feel pretty (even when I REALLY don't look it) and he makes me feel confident and do things I would normally talk myself out of doing.

Yesterday I dropped Harper off at Mother's Day Out and went down to meet Josh for a little lunch date (with Paxton also, but he was sleeping the whole time). It truly felt like an actual date and it was just the perfect thing. We ate at this oh so delicious restaurant named Californos near his work. We were the only 2 in the restaurant for the majority of our meal, which made it even more intimate & date like! Since we now have 2 babies and quite a bit less "us" time this lunch was just the greatest thing. With being tired & busy with keeping Harper's schedule together and trying to get Paxton on a schedule as well, I find that once the kiddos are down for the night I just want to find the nearest pillow and get every minute of sleep I can. This means that J & I really don't get as much together time and I was beginning to really miss him!

After lunch I went to pick up Harper and then her, Paxton and I went to the grocery store and did a little shopping. FYI...grocery shopping with a toddler and a sleeping baby in the carseat means that lots of "mini" trips are being made instead of big grocery shopping. There is literally no room in the basket for more than a few items. You would think the shopping cart creators in the world would think about this because I feel like most people eventually have 2 children..... and this is even with using the gigantic carts that look like "cars" so that your toddler is happy and think's he/she is driving the cart. Anyway back to my afternoon..... we finished shopping and I came home to start making a yummy dinner for Josh and myself. I had everything down pat where we ate dinner, put both kids to bed by 7:30 (yup, I am awesome). Normally I would fall asleep on the couch around 8:30/9:00ish (yup, I am lame) and set my alarm for 10:00pm to get up and feed little guy before I head off to bed but I managed to stay awake until 11:00 hanging out and watching the presidential debate with J. It was great. It was perfect. It made me happy.

On the downside Paxton had a bit of a rough night and I was up much more often than normal but still, I loved the time that was just Josh and myself. I am looking forward to the hopeful near future where Paxton is sleeping through the night (If I am lucky it will be around 7-8 weeks like Harper). Keeping my fingers crossed. I am ready to have more flexibility and quality time with my love. For now, I will embrace the little pockets of time we get, those sometimes seem to be the best anyway.

Top 10

Sleepy boy

Harper giving Paxton kisses xo

Sweet boy

Getting more comfortable with trying to hold him

Top 10 favorite moments/things since P was born:

10. The nurses at the hospital. They were awesome. They brought me pain medicine, took P away to the nursery at night so we could sleep, brought him back to me as soon as I woke up (it was like Christmas!), and they were just so nice. I feel like a few of them became my friends.
9. Being able to justify wearing my pajama pants and comfy tops all day every day. Since I am "healing" from surgery and have a scar I cannot comfortably wear jeans (and lets not kid ourselves that I can fit in my jeans anyway). Therefore, I shall stay in my leggings and cozy pants just a bit longer!
8. Not having to cook anything. We seriously have the absolute sweetest/best neighbors and friends here! Since Paxton was born and I came home from the hospital I have yet to cook a single thing. We have been eating like king's too...our friends sure know how to cook!!
7. No more restless legs at night, waking up to use the restroom 5 times, or the awful back pain! Since the little 9.21 lb. chunker was removed from my stomach the pain of pregnancy vanished. Yes I am waking in the night to feed little man, but it is much less frequent than my bathroom trips.
6. Taking self family photos with J yesterday. We had a lot of fun taking Paxton's newborn pictures and also getting in a few of the whole family. Thank goodness I have a tri-pod and also a super sweet husband who enjoys helping me with photography fun!
5. Watching Paxton sleep. I forgot how sweet it is to have this warm tiny being in your arms or laying on your chest. Watching him breath might be the best thing ever.
4. Laughing hysterically with J. I don't know what it is but certain things he says just give me the giggles. He will randomly say something that I know he finds amusing but doesn't necessarily expect me to find it as funny and it triggers something inside of me that I cannot contain myself. It doesn't get much better than to have a spouse who makes you laugh. I wish he could stay home with us all day every day!
3. Seeing Paxton smile for the first time. Josh has captured a few gems on camera but watching him smile, being it in his sleep or when we are talking to him, melts my heart. It is the sweetest little chubby cheeked gummy smile I've ever seen.
2. Cuddling on the couch with J. With my big ol' belly, the back pain and my restless legs I wasn't able to cuddle up on the couch for quite some time. The other evening we popped some of my favorite popcorn, made hot chocolate with marshmallows, rented a movie and cozied up on the couch while the little ones were sound asleep. It was a perfect night.
1. Watching Harper's love grow for Paxton. She loves to randomly give him kisses. If he is crying or upset she runs to grab his "bobby" (this is what she calls the pacifier). She is starting to want to hold him, she starts talking about him first thing when I get her up in the morning, if he is crying in his room she runs up there and starts knocking on the door to get in, and she helps me pull up his shirt when changing his diaper. Watching their love grow is more than I could have ever imagined. My life is seriously perfect. I could not ask for more.

Gaining 1 pound?!

38 weeks!! Paxton Joshua will be here in 8 days!

First let me start off by saying that I have obviously gained more than one pound...do not let my title of the blog confuse you!! Let's be honest here I have gained one pound plus about 39 more. I wish I could be that girl that claims to only gain 25 pounds during my whole pregnancy and to be eating whatever I want. Well folks that's definitely not my situation. I honestly don't remember how much I gained with Harper but I am pretty sure it about the same amount. I am also quite certain that my boobs alone have gained 25 pounds! However, I was able to get the weight off last time and I shall do so again =). Anyway..... I was chatting with my mom on the phone today as I was shopping through Target for Oreo's and bags of chocolate chips (hmmm maybe that's where the weight has come from?) for some baking I did this afternoon for a cookie exchange tonight. My mom informed me that Joy, from Joy's Fit Club, on the Today Show said that on average most people only gain one pound during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas! I was actually a bit surprised by this but if it was said on the Today Show then it has to be true, I mean it is where I get all my information these days.... well there and on Pinterest!! Josh makes fun of me quite often because so many of my stories begin with "Guess what Ann Curry said today?!" or "I saw this on Pinterest and we should totally do/make it!" Maybe I am lame but hey it makes me happy!! So speaking of Pinterest I found this delicious recipe that I can only justify making because I will be giving away 95% of them at a cookie exchange and I only have 8 more days of indulging myself before I am no longer pregnant and start my journey to looking like a normal, in shape, human being again. But prepare yourself because they are oh so bad for you. It is basically 3 cookies in one! It is called the Inception Cookie and it is 2 chocolate chip cookies covering an OREO! I know, ridiculous right? Ridiculously AWESOME!!

Look how scrumptious these bad boys look! They are giant cookies too so really it is difficult to eat more than one.
Like I said these treats are so yummy but they did take quite a while to make so I probably won't make them very often, which will be a good thing!!! So of course I have to leave you with a super cute picture of Harper. She has been extra sweet and fun lately and will come up and just give me a random kiss....melts my heart! She also came up to me the other day and kissed my belly and said Mah-Men (aka Paxton). I am thinking/hoping she is ready to meet her little brother!

Birthday Bliss

So I had the pleasure of spending the majority of my birthday with this little cutie and she must have known it was a special day because she was on her extra best and happy behavior! I truly did have the absolute best birthday ever! I am pretty sure though I say that each year but the more I think about it I believe that each birthday has been the best ever. I am at a different place in my life each time December 14th rolls around and my family and friends always seem to know just what I need to make me feel so special. Especially Josh! This year I have been a bit preoccupied with all the fun of Christmas ideas I have and with the thought of meeting my little guy so soon that I have really been much less consumed with my birthday as I normally am. The thing that is so fun about my husband is that it takes everything in his will power to keep a present if he gets it more than a day or two before the event/holiday. Therefore, I received one of my gifts early which was my new camera lens (hence all the fun pictures I have been taking lately). I have been wanting a wide angle lens for quite some time but never wanted to spend the money on it. He somehow managed to keep it at his office for over a week but broke down the night my parents came up so I could use it over the weekend (which I was super happy about!) Then yesterday he surprised me with yet another gift, which I really wasn't expecting, and it was such a pretty silver/lacy/glittery (haha where do you think I am going with this.................?) MAKE UP KIT, that looks like a jewelry box! I'll try and remember to take a picture of it because it is so lovely. It has sooooo much fun stuff in it and it was just the thing I needed without me knowing that I really wanted it! How does he do that? Plus he ALWAYS manages to make me cry with his sweet cards and letters he gives me. I am such a lucky gal to have a husband who is so thoughtful and kind!

Birthdays have always been a big deal in my family. My parents always made me feel so special (part of it being because it was so close to Christmas). There were never "joint presents" or anything that tied my birthday in with the upcoming holiday that everyone loves. When I was younger my parents introduced me to the "birthday fairy". I would make a wish at this fountain in our mall and tell the birthday fairy what I wanted. Somehow she always heard me and surprised me with my wanted gift. One year, my parents set up a video recorder in my bedroom and positioned it towards my bed. All of a sudden magically a new bike appeared out of thin air on to my bed?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That was the cooooooooooolest thing that could have ever happened! It was the most amazing thing I had seen in my entire life. I am sure I told the world about it too. Also, my parents would fill the living room or my bedroom with streamers and balloons and decorations so when I woke up my house was all prepared for my special day. I cannot wait to do these things for my kids as they get older =). I really have some awesome parents!

So Harper and I decided that we should go to Target and buy some fun things to finish up our Christmas shopping & prepare for Pax-man's arrival. The little guy will be here in 2 weeks from today and I still needed some essentials and he needed some cool threads to wear when he is born. I have been much less consumed with buying him clothes which was very apparent when I was gathering together things for the hospital and he didn't really have much to wear! Ahhhh! So below are some pics of the cuuuuuute things I picked up at Target so he can look handsome and be warm....

Every little guy needs a skull and crossbone onesie right? And I loooooove the little long sleeved multi colored striped onesie with the little yellow dinosaur on it & we are Okies so he had to have a pair of camo pants =).

The little blue hats were made by my Aunt Vi along with a cute little blue blanket to match. I cannot believe a little tiny head is going to even fit in it!!! Then the rest are some fun PJ's and crazy cute suede & faux fur booties my grandma found for him! Last but not least the amazing aden+anis swaddle blankets we received from our dear friend Savannah at my baby shower for Harper. These are the BEST blankets ever!!!

The last item I picked up at Target was this super cute plastic mini reusable cup to match my giant one. Josh bought me the large cup quite a while ago and I am obsessed with it. I use it every day to drink my water and because of that it is the only thing Harper will drink water out of. After we checked out at Target I went to their Starbucks to purchase a Spiced Apple Cider because it is my new favorite treat & saw these mini reusable cups and could not resist! Now Harper has her own cup so she can be just like her mama! Aaaaaaaand to make the excitement even more exciting it was buy one get one free so she now has TWO! Lucky duck!
I mean seriously, could she be any cooler? Especially in her ensemble of polka dots and stripes? To end the day J came home and we all went out for a family dinner to eat some tasty Mexican food and enjoy each others company and then came home and watched a little X Factor. I received so many kind Facebook messages, text messages, phone calls, Iphone videos and FaceTime's from my friends and family which made me feel oh so special. Thank you everyone for making my 27th birthday the best one ever. It was perfect in every way for where I am in my life at this very moment.

sentiMENtal moments

Harper playing with her Grumpa!

When I found out I was going to have Harper I was unbelievably excited! I knew that this little girl was going to be so loved by all of her family and friends. I never really realized how it would touch me to watch her grow up and endure in the love that is all around her. I also knew that all the women in my family would gush over how adorable she was and all the cute things that she does. However, I never realized that what would really hold a special place in my heart is seeing the men in my family interact with her. She is the first grandchild to be born on my side of the family so it has been an adventure for all of us. As you can see from the photo above my step dad, Mike, is one of Harper's biggest fans. I have said this before but she is definitely a daddy's girl but the same thing goes with her Grumpa (or as she pronounces it Bump-pa). Now don't get me wrong she loves me and her Mimi but what I think she loves about Josh and her Grumpa is that they don't treat her like a little prissy girl. They will rough house with her and she just adores it. She loves to be thrown around on the bed, held upside down, thrown up in the air and to be treated not as delicately as the women tend to treat her. I do not know why but watching her interact with the men in the family sometimes brings tears to my eyes. Harper knows how to break down that manly wall they have and to let their massive amount of love for her shine through. It makes me so thankful to have these men in my life. I know that Paxton will receive the same love but at the same time it will be different. The interaction of a great grandpa, grandpa, dada, uncle, whoever with a little girl is one of the sweetest bonds I have been able to witness. I am so thankful for all the men in her life that will teach her to be strong, independent well rounded girl who can do whatever her heart desires.

Cozy cold weekend

H playing a little victory tune after the Chiefs beat the Bears!

Saturday morning cuddles

This past weekend was filled with lots of warm clothes, good food, football, and cuddling! This was our last weekend together as a Pluid family of three at home just us. So on Friday night J & I got a babysitter and went out for a date night! The big deal about that is that for the first time since Harper has entered our lives I allowed someone other than myself, Josh, or my mom to put my sweet little angel to bed. I know, I know, you probably think I am crazy, but it is one of those things that I just love being the last one to give her a kiss, say our prayers, and lay her to sleep. She typically goes to bed at 7:00, so in the past we would just have a sitter come around that time and then we would go out afterwords. She is a really great night time sleeper so we were never worried about her waking up once we were gone. However, I realized that it just might be time for me to step back from being a control freak and let a baby sitter do their job and have some actual interaction with my child. We had our baby sitter come over around 6:15 and I explained my process of bedtime to her (because of course it is the only correct way to put her to sleep and Harper wouldn't have it any other way......right?) and Josh and I left the house, with our child awake, to go out for a date.

Poor Josh could tell the second he got home that I was a tad (okay maybe a lot more than a tad) nervous about it but I know deep deep deep down in my heart somewhere I do want her to be an independent girl and to not always need her mama (sniff sniff). I did ask the sitter to text me once Harper was down just to give me a little peace of mind that things were going alright.

So, Josh was geared up to go out for a fancy steak/fish dinner and to really treat me to a nice night. But, being 35 weeks pregnant, with not many super cute clothes to wear, I was really wanting to do something more low key and just to really enjoy our time together. We ended up at this pizza restaurant called D'Bronx here in Overland Park and it was OH SO YUMMY!!!!! Giant slices of pizza, a delicious salad, and tea that tasted like the candy Peachy O's. J was unaware of this yummy gummy candy treat I was comparing my beverage to...maybe he will get some in his stocking for Christmas =). Anywho, since dinner did not take super long we decided to go and make a second stop for him to get a beer and myself some dessert so we could continue on our evening of fun. Where we ended up for date night part II was at Jack Stack BBQ and we actually sat up at the bar and just had the best time. There was not any major sporting event on so I truly got the full attention of my love and we shared the most yummy 3 kinds of chocolate brownie with ice cream on top...Oh my was it delicious! After we ended our time out, I took the baby sitter home and turned on the video monitor (a new purchase we have had for only a few weeks & what was I thinking waiting so long to get one?! They are freaking awesome!) so I could see sweet Harper snoozing away, not phased at all that someone else put her to bed and that mama & dada were away for the night. A bitter sweet moment to be honest.

Saturday and Sunday we really took it pretty easy. We watched Bedlam and my OSU Cowboys beat Josh's OU Sooners so that was a tad awesome. Then Sunday morning J made me breakfast (due to his team losing) and helped me with some chores around the house. Then the KC Chiefs won Sunday afternoon which always puts J in an extra good mood!!!! It was a great weekend for footballl. Last but not least we headed over to our friend's, The Lurvey's, house and they made us a crazy delicious dinner consisting of steak, potatoes, corn, salad and sugar cookies!!! We had such a great time just hanging out with them, listening to music and letting the kids run around and play. It was a perfect ending to a truly great weekend. I am one lucky girl =).

OH and in T-minus 4 days my family is coming to KC to stay with us.......... YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Can you tell I am uber excited?!?!