So much to catch up on

Well, welcome back to the blog!

I am sorry I have not written in this blog in a long time because lets be honest life gets away from us and it does it really fast. Since my last post I have been pregnant and had our most recent baby be born. She is so pretty and full of life. Harley was born July 7, 2016 at 12:47am she came quick and painfully well more painful then Remy was. She is a great addition to our family and we just love her so much. Remy has really stepped it up as a big brother and helps in every way he can. He is our trash man and throws away all of the trash that we need thrown away, he helps Harley with her needs such as putting her pacifier in her mouth when she is sad, gives her hugs when she needs them, and sometimes pulls on her hand/arm when she really doesn't want to be touched. I really couldn't ask for a better big brother for Harley then Remy. I can already tell that they will be one powerful team and also one crazy couple of kids.

Harley was born like I said July 7th,2016, 2 days after her due date. She was due July 5th and decided to become breach in my belly and then I went back to the doctor the next day to check and see what our options were because it was so late in the game. We talked about a C-section which I would have done if it was the best option for the baby but I got lucky and the doctor checked Harley again and she flipped right back around. So the doctor set me up for labor and delivery that day. Dan and I went back home and took a nap ( my mom was in town and was prepared to take care of Remy which was such a blessing) then we woke up around 3 and headed to the hospital as told. We got to the hospital checked in and waited for about another hour to two hours for a room. Then we got all of our check in information (medical history etc) which took another hour and a half! The night just went on and on and then finally they got the ball rolling around 8pm. My contractions started and I had no idea they were happening until around 10pm and I then really started feeling them hard. I asked for the epidural which I had to wait for due to the hospital being busy with other women. The doctor got there they gave me the epidural and I told them my water broke they did not believe me until they turned me back onto the table and within 10 min Harley was born 7Lbs 5oz! She was beautiful!!! She came with hard labor, quick, and was ready to welcome the world. The doctor wasnt even in the room yet nor was the bed fully broken down when she was born thats how fast she was ready to meet us.

Remy showed up with my mom the next day and was so happy and sweet to her for about 10 minutes then he didn't care but what 2 year old is ready to meet a baby? But like I have stated before they are really becoming quite the duo. Remy is now 2 years old and just recently potty trained and he is doing better and better on holding his potty each day. He really surprises me everyday on how much he is learning and talking. He learns new words I swear on a daily basis. Remy also is in love with his Mama (grandma) he always wants to know what she is doing and where she is from sun up to sun down. Another thing that is really surprising to me but not at the same time is how much he wants to really be a big boy and do everything himself for ex:opening the door to come in from outside or from inside to outside. Remy still needs a daily nap but refuses half the time so he spends an hour alone so that he can decompress for the rest of the day which never really seems to bother him until about 6pm when the tantrums get worse and worse like if you tell him to put his undies back on from using the potty he will scream at your face and run around the house naked! so cover your eyes

Dan and I have relocated back to NC while he finds a job, we really miss St Louis I think I do more then he does most days but we are happy to be back in the good ole south. We really missed the southern food and southern hospitality. But if there is one thing i miss the most about St louis is all the friends we have made and all the memories that we left behind. We left behind the place where Remy took his first steps, said his first words, and made his first friends. It is sad to see him every Sunday not having his play pals Benny and George ( we sure do miss them). But we do what the lord tells us and has in store for us and as we are faithful and have faith Dan will find a job and he did!!!! He had been looking for over a year and found one an hour and a half away from were I am from which is a blessing in itself so that we do not have to move so far across the US to a new location. We have already found a place to live and are ready for our next adventure to begin. I really have enjoyed having Dan home to help with Remy and Harley, and I know he is excited to go back to work but I know it will be rough on Remy especially but it was worth the wait for Dan to find the perfect job!!!


Well hopefully I will update it again soon!!!
The Buzzy B's

Falling for Fall

Well it has been a good while since the last time i posted a blog and i figured with the new season and holidays coming and coming fast upon us it is time for an update!

I love fall and everything about it, I love the smell of fall and the look of fall I really just love all things fall in general. If you would have told me when I was younger that I would love fall more then summer I would have laughed at you so much that I might just have peed my pants. Growing up I loved the summer because school was out, I got to spend time with my grandparents and do pretty much whatever I wanted to an extent that is. But as I get older and summer gets hotter and hotter for me with running around with a 16 month old little boy I sure end up loving fall for its cooler weather and pretty colors that come with it. This past week we had Halloween and it was really fun this year because Remy was old enough to go trick or treating but not old enough to understand that the candy is for him (but really it is all for us). He collected mostly any red wrapped candy that was in bowls because we have figured out that it is his favorite color and a lot of lolly pops because well Dan gave him his first lolly pop so now all he wants is lolly pops (which never ever happens like really once in a life time). As a family we usually try to coordinate our Halloween costumes as a family. At the end of last year I was convinced I wanted to do the family theme as UP but quickly changed my mind as Halloween got closer because I figured Remy would not want to carry around a walker with him the whole time. So this year we went as the Willy Wonka gang. Dan was Willy Wonka, I was a Wonka Bar and Remy was an Oompa Loompa, I found that our costumes this year were a sure success!! We attended a church Trunk or Treat where we had a photo booth, pumpkin carving contest, chili contest, and even a costume contest which I am proud to say our family won the best family costume!!!


Remy is really becoming a walking machine lately all he wants to do is walk all day everyday which is great but also a bad thing. Sometimes if Remy and I are alone and I need to run some errands it ends up being like a triathlon or like one of those insane tv shows America Ninja Warrior. I have to run into the store and carry him around the entire store while pushing a grocery cart with one hand because he refuse to set in the grocery cart, but if I put him down on the ground he will go no where that I need to go in the store. The plus side is that lately I have found that if I just put him the baby carrier and put him on the back he will do okay for about 30-40 min so I still rush through the store but it is better then running through the store with a screaming child in the grocery cart. I hope one day I will get a handle on this but by then I will be 200lbs and my hair will be all gone from the craziness that is a toddler. Remy is more of a player then he is a talker, he would rather run around and be a boy then learn how to speak any words. He now can say; Hi, Bye-bye, Dadda, Mama, baby, Puppy (rarely) and thats it but we are working on it. His favorite activity right now is to point to things and say da da da which I translate to that, that, that to where I proceed to get what he is pointing at and tell him what it is. He also really enjoys playing with the light switch while I say on, off. Another activity that Remy enjoys is looking at the picture frames on the wall and having me tell him who is who on the wall. Remy also enjoys bath time and he loves to read all sorts of books. Sometimes he will just be playing just fine then see a book and bring it to me to which I proceed to read that book about 5-10 times before I can stop or convince to read another book. It is crazy to see Remy learn so much and grow so much so quickly it makes me sad that he is growing so fast....STOP IT!!! This past month we took Remy to Union Station where they were hosting the Great Pumpkin Patch Charlie Brown!!! I was sooo excited, they took you on a 30 min train ride and read you the Charlie Brown story. After the ride was over you got to meet Snoopy and Lucy, not sure why they didn't do Charlie Brown. They let them decorate a pumpkin, gave them free apple cider, a free cookie, they colored and even had paddle boats to ride! It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed taking Remy to something so special.


Dan and I are doing well we are both working hard and doing the best we can. Dan has been applying and interviewing for different fellowships which have been a roller coaster in itself. Dan is so close to finsihing his masters degree we can see the end. Just last night he told me " did I tell you I just registered for my last semester!!" I couldn't believe it. The time went by so fast and I dont know if we will stay here in STL or go some where else. I worry that I haven't done all that I have wanted to do yet if we leave. There is so much to do and so much to love about being here in STL. Dan and I along with Remy and Lexy took a day trip to Chicago about a week ago and it sure was fun! We walked a lot and used the Metro Train for everything which was awesome. We had Chicago style pizza, Pot Belly Sandwich, we went to a candy store, saw Trump Tower, went up the Sears Tower, and even went to Wriggly Field! (Poor Cubs) We did so much in such little time that we both agreed that we would go back again some day. I don't know what it is about Chicago but I really feel in love with that place. Dan and myself love all the adventures we are taking as a family and can not wait for all the adventures that lie ahead for us. We are always loving life as a family all of them no matter the ups and downs.


Lexy is doing okay she isn't that old but I would say for her dog life she is in the middle of her life. She is going blind and it is so sad to watch. Some days she is better then others. For example there are many times where she is in the other room and you just hear a bang! All of a sudden you look over and see that Lexy has run straight into the kitchen table head first. It is so sad to see her get so old. This week we have been watching a friends dog (this is her second time a male dog friend has been over) and she isn't such a good sport as she should be. It is always interesting to watch her interact with other dogs because she either A) hates them B) puts up with them or C) she shows her dominance and they leave her alone. In the end Lexy is always well loved and I love her and always will. A lot of times I do not know why but I worry about her when she passes and how I will take it. But one day Dan found an article talking about dogs in the after life that they will be there and it def has helped but with all the blindness she has it makes me sad. Sorry I really am a big dog lover!



Jesse

Our First Family Vacation

Well it has been a while since I have posted on here but not only that we have a lot to catch up on.

The biggest thing that our family has done is that we took our very first family vacation to Florida. It was full of fun, heat, sun tan and swimming. We flew out on Thursday and came home on a Thursday, each day we were gone we did something every day. The first day we flew in was busy busy busy, right after we got off the airplane we grabbed our rent-a-car and headed to Nanny's house (dan's grandma) where Remy met his great-nanny for the first time. We last saw his Nanny at our wedding about 3 years ago and since then we had Remy and moved 2x. Well by the time we got to Nanny's house Remy was passed out! We ended up heading out to dinner anyway with sleepy Remy in tow, we went to Cracker Barrel one of Dan and I's favorite places to eat. We talked laughed, discussed and headed home to Nanny's house were we spent the night. The next morning Nanny told us more stories of her and Pop-pop (dan's grandpa). She told us all about how they have traveled all over the place and visited so many different places. They sure have done a lot. Nanny has a pool in the back patio so before we headed out for the day we took a dip in the pool as a family. We splashed around and laughed a lot too. We then got ready for the day and we accompanied Nanny on all the errands she needed to get done which took us about 4 hours long. Remy got super restless in the car, because well he is 14 months old and cant stay in a car for that long with out getting ants in his diaper. So we stopped by Chick-flia and had lunch as well as let Remy get some of his wiggles out. We ended the day by saying bye to Nanny and making our way back to Orlando to start off our first family vacation together as a family just the 3 of us.

Orlando was full of fun, sun, and laughs/smiles. Everyday we did something different which made the trip more exciting. The first day we got in we just hung out and relaxed for the rest of the day sense most of the day was spent driving around. We woke up bright and early and headed to my favorite grocery store that you can only find in the east coast called Publix. We got food for the week and of course we got white mountain bread which is the best bread since well sliced bread! It is just really good there is no way to really describe this bread except that when you eat it, it is like you are in a whole different world. After we got back from the store and unpacked we and hung out at the resort while Remy took a nap. Once Remy woke up we were a little stir crazy so we went to the closet mall we could find on the app called yelp. I should have read into the mall a little more because it was lets just say not our kind of mall. We were the only people there who spoke English so it was different and not something I had ever seen before. The did have a Ross to where we ended up buying Dan a hat because he forgot his at home and I was worried that his forehead and head was going to burn from the hot sun. After having an interesting experience there we went to dinner at Joe's Crab shack so that Dan could live in the life for a day of having fresh seafood. Remy loved their mac n cheese and their fish tacos weren't that bad either. We ended the night with grease stained shorts and ice cream for dessert.

Oh the beach! Every time we go home to NC Dan's number 1 request is that we go to the beach which 9x out of 10 does not happen. So for this vacation he made sure it would happen. We did go to the beach we went to a beach his Uncle had recommended and it was a nice beach. It wasn't to busy and the sand was perfect! The sand did not burn your feet when you walked on it (which is what I worried about the most with Remy) and it wasn't so soft that Remy could eat it by the handfuls. We spent the morning there and headed home around lunch time. Remy really enjoyed the beach and loved to just walk around and play in the water. I would say his favorite part of the beach was walking all over the beach and being held while the waves came crashing into us every time.

Legoland!!!!! Who doesn't love legos?? Well I know no one loves legos when they step on them but lets be honest at least one time in your life you loved to play with Legos?! Dan was super excited to go to Legoland because he had always wanted to go as a kid but never went. One thing that we really enjoyed about Legoland was that around the entire theme park they had play areas every where! So if one kid was on the ride others could play with legos or on a playground. They really thought the park through. Remy was only able to go on a couple of rides but he liked it when he did. Remy also got to meet Emmett and Wild Style from the Lego Movie (he didnt seem to care for them that much).

Disney!!!! Disney World was amazing!!!!!!! We loved all of it, the fast passes, the baby swap feature, the rides, the everything. We went as soon as the park opened we figured if we went early enough we could hop on the rides that they the longest waits first so that we dont have to worry about them later. NOT! Little did we know ( i never remembered the ferry when i was a kid) that after you got to the parking lot you had to take a ferry or a monorail to the actual park entrance you don't just show up and you walk from your car to the front entrance. So by the time we got to the park it was already open for about 40 minutes and those hot ticket rides were already up to a 40 min wait time. So we headed to our first secluded fast pass which was Peter Pan, (side note Remy went on every ride with us except one), by the time we got there the regular line was a 30 min wait. So Dan and Remy went first and they both came out happy which means Remy really enjoyed it. I loved taking Remy on all the rides with us. We then went on the "its a small world" ride, followed by hunted Manson, then back to peter pan, by this time it was around noon/lunch time for Remy which is always followed by a hard crash into nap time. So we booked it out of there as fast as our legs and the ferry would go and got back to the resort so that Remy could take a nap. Once Remy woke up we were back out to Disney and we rode some more rides and had some more fun. Before we left I was determined to get a photo of Remy with a character but no one was out!!! So we headed to the Winnie a Pooh ride and find Winnie and Tigger outside taking photos!!!! So we had to stop because we knew it was going to be our last ride. It was an hour wait to meet Winnie the Pooh and we really wanted a photo so we waited, and waited, and waited!!! Till finally it was our turn (side note: remy has never seen or watched the show/movie) and Remy, Dan and myself took a photo with the both of them and then just Remy took a photo. Dan and I were ready to leave and let someone else have a turn but Remy would not let go of Pooh it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. I mean this kid was soooo tired and so cranky the entire wait to meet them that he was screaming, throwing fits left and right! But once he meet Winnie the Pooh all was right in the world. We ended up stopping by the gift shop right next to the ride and getting him his very own Winnie the Pooh which made him soo happy the rest of the night and it is now his night time best friend.

In the end the trip was well worth it and def one I wont forget! I loved our time in Florida and I am so glad we got to go before Dan his last year of school here in St. Louis. We are soo excited to see what the next chapter in our lives are going to be next year and where we will be.

Till next time

Buzzy B's Out