End of March

Another month down.  Another random post! This year is just flying by already!  It's finally starting to warm up a little which is wonderful!  It's also kind of sad that I'm now saying that 50 degree weather is "warm" :)  I still miss the South, but I'm hoping that as the weather warms up I'll find some fun things to do to make me like this place a little bit more!  I can't wait to take Konnor to the parks in the afternoon and spend most of the days outside!  Now we just have to get rid of all the rain that has come with the warmer weather.  I'll take rain over snow at this point though!
Korey and I started doing the T25 workouts a couple weeks ago!  We love it!  It's wonderful to get my workout done in 25 minutes.  It gives me so much more time to do other things while Konnor is napping.  I'm also looking forward to being able to run outside again now that it is warmer and lighter out longer!  Korey and I also signed up for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in November.  I love this race.  My sister and I have run it twice before and it's my favorite half marathon so far.  I am a night person and the race is at night which is wonderful!  It's fun to run through the Disney parks at night and to have some nice food and wine afterwards :)  I feel like I need to start running right now so I'm prepared.  It will be November before we know it!  Since the race weekend is right around Konnor's birthday, we are going to spend the week in Disney and celebrate his second birthday!  I'm excited!  It's always nice to have trips to look forward to!
I've been reading a lot of books lately.  I've been using the Overdrive app to get library books on my phone which has been wonderful!  I read on my phone at night when Konnor wakes up and I was buying a lot of books for my Nook app so I would have something to read, and then I remembered that our library has a digital library also.  So now I can just get library books on my phone and not have to pay for them!  I love it!  I also still get actual books from the library every time I go there too.  It seems like every time I go I return one book and get two more!  Konnor also enjoys our trips to the library and most of the time it's a struggle to get him to leave!  They have a kids area with cars and trucks and I usually have to bribe him with food to get him to leave the library without having a melt down!  Hopefully some day he doesn't want to leave the library because of the books and not just the trucks :)
Some of the books I've read lately are: The Descendants, Divergent, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Gone Girl, and The First Phone Call from Heaven.  I really enjoyed all of them!  I'm glad I've made more time for reading books.  My list of books I want to read is always growing!
Konnor also enjoys listening to books.  Some of the ones we've been reading lately are: The Very Busy Spider, any of the Good Night Our World series of books, Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh, and My Truck is Stuck.
A couple weekends ago we met up with our friends Tom and Julia in Delaware.  We hadn't seen them for a really long time.  It was great to get together again and catch up!  We went to the Dogfish Head Brewery for a tour and tasting and then walked along the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach.  The kids got to run around outside at the brewery and Konnor had a blast!  Tom and Julia have two wonderful children.  Their son was very well mannered and I hope some day that Konnor is just as well behaved and fun!  Their little girl is right around Konnor's age and she was adorable.  Of course now I want to have a little girl if we have another child :)  Hopefully we can get together with them again soon!

I don't really think we have any big  plans for April.  We are expecting some visitors which is always nice.  We're really excited that Jill is coming to visit us for Easter.  We haven't seen her since we left Charleston and we miss her!!  We might try and go on a day trip to D.C. while she is visiting!  I just hope that the weather is significantly warmer by then!
I think that's all for now.  Nothing too crazy or exciting.  I hope everyone has been staying warm and hopefully Spring and Summer weather will be here soon!

16 Months

It's crazy that it's already March.  I've been terrible at writing anything lately.  I can't write when Konnor is awake because anytime we open up the computer he runs over and wants to tap away at the keys :)  This year is flying by already!  Konnor is now 16 months old!  He still isn't sleeping at night.  He doesn't really stay up for long periods of time anymore, now he just wakes up several times and doesn't seem to sleep more than 3 hours at a time.  I'm not sure if it was worse when he was up for 3 hours, or worse now that he doesn't sleep for long periods of time.  Either way I am barely getting any sleep at all.  The lack of sleep doesn't seem to bother Konnor to much though.  He takes good naps and still has lots of energy during the day.  He is still chatting up a storm.  He's started saying Chloe, bubble, please he added "baa" to his animal noises, and he babbles nonsense to us all the time (although I'm sure he knows exactly what he is trying to say).  He walks and runs all over the place and can climb the stairs super fast!  Yesterday we went for a walk twice around the neighborhood with me just holding his hand.  He loved it!  His favorite toys are probably still his cars.  He likes to push them all over the living room.  He has tons of trucks and cars, but he calls all of them cars!  His newest thing is to wear his sunglasses around the house.  If he finds them he immediately wants to point them on and wear them around.  We are having so much fun watching him grow.  

As far as keeping up with my resolutions, I have not been doing that great of a job!  I am still behind on Konnor's scrapbook because I need to order some pictures to finish up the last few months.  I was waiting for one of the penny print deals and I found one going on right now so I'm going to order pictures today and then hopefully make some time to finish the scrapbook SOON!!!!!!

The weather has been a little warmer so I'm hoping I can get out and run more soon.  I went for a run the other day and it actually felt pretty good, so I'm excited to start running more frequently.  Korey and I signed up for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in November so I'm excited to run more and train for that later this year.  We also signed Konnor up for one of the kids races and I can't wait for him to get to run his little race! :)

I've been slacking on writing posts on here.  Almost a whole month went by between this post and the last one.  Hopefully with the weather getting warmer we will have more going on and more to write about!  The past couple days we took advantage of the nicer weather!  Today though it is back to the low 30's which is sad.

I'm really just ready for warm weather.  I love being out in the sun and I don't mind the heat.  I hope we can get a chance to go to a beach a couple times this summer and I want to take Konnor swimming a lot.  He's really enjoying his swim classes right now.  He doesn't seem to mind being in the water at all.  He does great when we dunk him and they always comment on how relaxed he is in the pool.  The only thing he dislikes is floating on his back! 

 I hope everyone has been staying warm in this crazy weather and hopefully it will feel like Spring soon!

15 months

Hard to believe Konnor is already 15 months old. We just had his 15 month appointment last week. Everything seemed great. He is in the 94th percentile for both height and weight!  He got two shots and only really fussed when they put the band aids on!  

At 15 months Konnor is walking/running everywhere and talking up a storm. He is very chatty and says several words. I think his favorite thing to say right now is "oh no". He also says "uh oh" a lot. Usually after he chucks a toy across the room. He also says star, daddy, mom, hi, "gurt" for yogurt, "nana" for banana, car, ball, he attempts saying Chloe and Bella, and I know there are more I'm forgetting. He also has started to "moo" with us when we ask what a cow says and he will "meow" when we ask what a cat says. 

Teething has always been an issue for Konnor and still is. He is up almost every night for a couple hours. It's tiring and no amount of teething toys, frozen wash cloths, or even Tylenol seems to help. He has been a pretty crappy sleeper ever since he got his first two teeth. It seems like teeth have just been coming non stop. He finally has all his molars (which took several months!!), but now I think he is getting the canine teeth. Hopefully they will come in a little quicker and the little guy can get some more consistent sleep. Until then naps are a necessity. If anyone has any teething tips or remedies let me know!  

We started going to the program at the library again and Konnor really likes it. He struggles with sitting still for too long. He likes to listen to the singing and he loves the bubble blowing part, but most of the time he would rather be running around the room. They have a free play time at the end and Konnor loves running around the room with two of the other little boys and he also likes pushing the trucks around. We usually pick out some library books each week. I remember getting books from the library when I was a kid and I can't wait until Konnor is old enough to pick out books himself. I loved going to the library and I hope he does too!

We also signed him up for some parent and me swim classes finally. They were supposed to start last week but we got a ton of snow on the day of his class so we are going tomorrow to make up that class. I'm excited. He really seemed to like swimming this past summer so I hope he has a lot of fun in this class. Korey and I are going to take turns getting in the water with him for the classes. I think I get to go in for the first class :). 

So even though there is a lot of snow on the ground and we still have dreams of moving back to Charleston ASAP, things are going well here :). Hopefully the weather warms up soon and we can keep finding fun things to do together!

Resolution Update

I can't believe January is over and February is here already!  Part of me is sad the month went so fast, and the other part is happy because it means warmer weather is closer!!  I wanted to post an update about my resolutions at the end of each month, and of course I'm already behind :)

My first resolution was to try more things that I pin on Pinterest.  I think I've done pretty good at achieving this goal.  We have made a couple meals that I've pinned this month, and they all turned out pretty well.  Some of the meals we tried were: Skillet Chili Mac, and Crockpot Italian Chicken.   They both were a success and we will probably make them again!  Now I need to try some of the non food stuff I pinned next month!

Next was trying to read more books.  Thanks to Konnor being awake so much at night, I've actually read several books in January!  While he's awake and I'm trying to get him to go back to sleep I usually read books on my phone.  I've also been reading the library books I get a lot quicker.  So I'm definitely happy with that resolution!

The scrapbook resolution I am not doing so well on.  I don't think I did any pages the whole month of January.  I better get to work in February if I'm going to finish it by the end of this month.

Running is also another resolution I've been slacking on.  It's been so cold and gross outside.  I know that those are just excuses and that I really could find a way to make it happen.  I think I may try and find a 5k in March or April to sign up for so I have some motivation to run again.  I really really want to run again, I just don't want to do it when it's really dark out around here because there aren't many safe places, and I would prefer it to be a little warmer :)

Writing on the blog more was another resolution.  I've been trying to write more, but I don't think I've been very successful at this either.  Hopefully there will be more exciting things going on in February to write about.  Konnor's library classes start tomorrow, and swimming starts next week so that will be exciting!

The last resolution I had listed was to be outside with Konnor all summer.  I definitely haven't done that one yet, but I really hope when the weather gets warmer that Konnor and I can be outside all the time.  We do try and go out in the yard as often as we can when the weather is above freezing :)

So that's the update for January!  So far the year hasn't been too exciting.  I'm hoping as the weather gets warmer and we find more activities for Konnor that things will get a little better.  He's still waking up every night and staying awake for a couple hours most nights which stinks.  I can't tell if the reason he's waking up is still from teething or not.  He still has a couple more teeth to get so it probably is!  Other than that, he's been walking all over and talking up a storm.  He's starting to say more words, and he likes trying to repeat what we say.  He likes to tell the dogs "down" and "sit".  My favorite is when he tries to say "slam dunk" after he makes a basket in his bathtub basketball hoop.  He tries to say "banana" and "yogurt" and he is doing a great job with his sign language for "more" and "please"!

 

All over the place

All over the place is how my thoughts are today (and pretty much every night when I'm trying to fall asleep).  So when that happens I figure it's usually time for a post about a bunch of random things!

First I wanted to say Thank You to anyone who has bought anything from my Chloe + Isabel store.  I've been having fun creating my website and showing off the great jewelry they have.  I decided to sell Chloe + Isabel jewelry because I really liked their pieces and I wanted to find something to do for myself to earn a little extra cash.  It's definitely been fun and I hope anyone who has purchased anything has really liked what they bought!  If you haven't gone to look at their jewelry yet you can go to: https://www.chloeandisabel.com/boutique/kristyw 

Remember Valentine's Day is coming soon ;)

Konnor and I have been busy working together to make some cards.  We have a lot of Thank You cards to send out, and I also want to try and be better at sending Birthday cards this year.  Since it has been so cold out, it isn't always easy finding things to do with Konnor to keep him entertained.  He likes to finger paint though so we have been doing a lot of that, and making cards out of his hand prints!  He's gotten a little better about not always trying to eat the paint too! :)

I've also been trying to work on Konnor's first year scrapbook.  It's coming along, but some days I feel like he will be 3 before I even get the first year book done.  He's been awake so much at night the past several months while he's been getting his molars, and so most days I feel like a zombie and I don't get as much done around the house as I would like to.  I definitely want to have his book done by the end of February though so that I can get started on his book for his second year and not get too far behind on it!  Hopefully I can stick with this goal or even get it done a little sooner!

#100happydays   Someone posted a link on Facebook about this project and it caught my eye.  I went to their website: http://100happydays.com/ and read what it was about.  I love the idea and decided to give it a try.  The plan is to post one picture each day for 100 days showing something that made you happy that day.  The goal is to take the time to appreciate your life and all the things that make you happy!  This came at a good time for me.  I'm not necessarily unhappy right now, but with being stuck inside with Konnor most days due to the freezing weather, the fact that I don't really like snow and cold weather, and that I don't really love where we are living right now, I'd say it's definitely a good time to start looking at the things I am happy about!  There is no deadline of when you have to start this project so if you think it's something you might like to try then go on over to the website and sign up!  You can choose how you want to post your pictures.  I will be posting mine on instagram so if you want to follow my 100 days then you can search for me on instagram! (My username is K474)

Talking about Instagram brings me to my next random thought: Prinstagram.  I had been searching for a place that will print my Instagram pictures and then one day a relative of mine posted a picture of her purchases from Prinstagram and I loved them!  I went to their website and I recently ordered some pictures and they turned out wonderful!  It's not always easy to print your Instagram pictures since they aren't the normal 4x6 size, so I love that you can just go to Prinstagram and order your pictures.  The photos were all good quality and we even bought some to use as our Christmas "cards" this year.  They also have great customer service.  I sent an email to the company letting them know how much we loved the pictures, and I got a nice thank you reply back and a coupon code for $10 off my next order.  I will definitely be ordering more products from them in the future!  The company is social print studio and they also will print any picture you have on your computer or from your Facebook.  So if you have any Instagram or any other pictures you want printed out, then you should definitely check them out. The Prinstagram website is: http://printstagr.am/  or you can go to http://socialprintstudio.com/ and find any of their printing websites from there.  

Good Night Our World Books.  I am in love with these books.  We received Good Night Maine from one of our good friends as a gift for Konnor at one of our baby showers.  We also got Good Night Charleston from another good friend of ours.  Since then we have gotten a bunch of the Good Night Our World books and they are all great.  We have Good Night Maine, Charleston, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ocean, Farm, Baby Jesus, and North Pole.  I'm hoping that we can get the books for all the places we live, and for anywhere we go to visit with Konnor. 

This is probably enough Random stuff for now!  I hope everyone is staying warm!   Soon I will have update everyone on how my resolutions are going so far! 

Resolutions...

Since the New Year I keep seeing and reading about people's resolutions for the year.  I always like trying to come up with some resolutions for myself and hoping that I can stick with them!  This year I figured I'd share a few of mine and maybe that will help me stick with them?!

•  I'd like to try more things that I pin on Pinterest.  I love going on there and seeing what people are pinning, and I am always pinning away.  Unfortunately I rarely actually remember to try any of the things I've pinned.  This year I want to at least try one thing a month that I've pinned on Pinterest.  I'd love to do more than one a month, but I'll stick with trying at least one!

•  I want to read more.  Last year I read a lot less books than I normally do.  I know that I was busy with Konnor, but that's no excuse.  He takes two naps every day so there are plenty of times I can be reading.  I think my biggest problem is watching too many shows on Hulu and Netflix!

•  Keeping up with my yearly scrapbooks for Konnor.  I started a scrapbook of Konnor's first year and I have a goal to try and complete one each year.  So far I am still working on the first one, and his birthday was already 2 months ago.  I want to get the first one completed and catch up on the second one so that I don't always feel like I'm behind.  It's easier to write stuff down for him if I keep them up to date!

• Run again!  I really want/need to start running again.  I took way too much time off from running and then I started again right around the time it got cold and dark out earlier.  Unfortunately I haven't found any good places to run with Konnor in the stroller yet, so I was waiting for Korey to get home from work to go for my runs.  Then it got cold and I got discouraged, and I also wasn't looking forward to running in the dark.   I really miss it though, and I am determined to start again and keep with it.  I would love to sign up for some 5ks this summer.  I only did one last year and that makes me sad.

• Write more blog posts.  I enjoy writing these posts.  Even if nobody ever reads them, I enjoy getting my thoughts out and being able to go back and read through them.  

• Spend all Summer outside with Konnor! I can't wait until Summer.  Now that he is walking around, I hope to be outside with him all the time.  Whether its just playing in our backyard, going swimming, going for walks, going to the playground or whatever!  

I have so many more resolutions for myself but I'll just share those few.  Hopefully I can stick with most of them, and I'll post some updates throughout the year!  If you made some resolutions of your own, I hope you are able to stick with them and have fun doing them!

Christmas....just a little late

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year.   We went home to spend Christmas with our family this year was not at all what we had envisioned!  On Christmas Eve, Konnor was acting a little fussy and he fell asleep while we were only on our second book at bedtime.  He didn't even make it to his bottle.  He then woke up a lot during the night (which isn't really rare for him, especially since he's been working on getting his top molars).  On Christmas morning we went to Korey's parents house to open gifts and Konnor was just not acting like himself at all.  He was cranky, tired, and just wanted me to hold him.  We took his temperature and it was 102 so we decided to take him to the ER and see what was up.  Definitely not at all what we were planning to do on Christmas morning.  We were at the ER for a couple hours.  Poor Konnor had his nose swabbed, a chest x-ray, and a shot.  They decided that he had an ear infection and slight pneumonia.  They put him on an antibiotic and sent us home!  After his shot of medicine, he was acting a little more himself, but he napped quite a bit the rest of the day.  Over the next few days he seemed to be feeling much better, but the antibiotic gave him a terrible diaper rash :( .  The poor guy couldn't catch a break.  We are now done with the antibiotic and he had a follow up visit with his pediatrician who said that his ear infection was gone, and he was healthy!  He still has a slight diaper rash but after lots of research from Grandma Witt and Grandma Kelso (who made sure he had oatmeal baths, rooibus tea, and some great diaper cream) it's looking much better.

We all got a lot of great stuff for Christmas and we are super thankful!  Konnor got TONS of toys and he LOVES them all!  He will have plenty of toys to play with from now until next Christmas :)  He also got lots of clothes so we won't have to worry about buying any for a long time!  I got a bluetooth speaker for my car from Korey and I love using it!  I no longer have to worry about getting pulled over for being on my phone while driving!  Korey's favorite gifts are probably the tools he got, and his new Steelers sweatshirt.  We also loved giving all our family their gifts and watching them open them!  I love picking out gifts for people!

We are happy that we were able to be home for such a long time.  Usually our visits are just a over a long weekend.  It was nice to have some time to relax and to see friends and family.  We were glad we got to visit with some friends we don't always get to see when we are home!  Hopefully over the summer we can go home for a longer period of time again!
It seems like Christmas came and went so fast.  I was not very organized this year either.  We of course were still buying some gifts last minute, our cards didn't go out until after Christmas, and we still have to take our tree and decorations down.  Maybe next year I will be prepared.  Who am I kidding?... I say that every year and I'm always buying stuff last minute and trying to get cards out on time :)  Maybe that's half the fun?
I guess all I really want for Christmas next year is for Konnor to be healthy!