My Awesome Week

So My week started off great. On Sunday, after church, we went to our friends house for dinner. The food was great and we really enjoyed the evening with them. Then Monday came. Arden was a wild child. She didn't want to take her naps...eventually she did. She kept pulling my hair and would not let me put her down for a second so of course I could not wait for Derek to come home so I could have a break. (ha!) He came home, but he brought a migraine with him so no break for me. Derek passed out on the couch most of the night, and in between feeding and bathing and feeding Arden again, I started the dishwasher. After her bath, we went downstairs to warm her bottle and I noticed the cats looking a little freaked out staring at the floor. Then I see it. The dishwasher is oozing water and soap and it's all over the floor. So I'm thinking to myself great now we have to buy a new dishwasher and Derek is going to flip if he comes in here and sees this especially the way he's feeling and I can't put Arden down to clean it because she will start screaming and that will wake him up so there would be no chance of me cleaning it before he sees it. So I go ahead and get her bottle ready, feed her and put her to bed. He was still sleeping. I got out two towels to soak up the water and that just wasn't working, so I got the mop out, (which I guess the bright side is that earlier I was thinking that I needed to mop the floor) and finally got all the water up. So the next day, I told Derek to ask a guy from church who is a handyman if/how we could fix it. In the mean time, I was looking online how to fix a dishwasher that won't drain. Well who really knew that if you put regular dish soap in the dishwasher, that the bubbles could clog up the drain?!?! =) See we use those cascade block thingies that have a little Dawn soap in them. Well this particular block thingy looked like it got a hole in it because there was no dawn left in it, so I figured I'd add just a little myself. Now I know why dishwashing detergent and dish soap is different =) Actually I never told Derek that I did that because well.... it can't be my fault =) He still thinks maybe one of those block thingies is too much soap for the dishwasher and over time it built up in the drain. hehe...Tuesday I think was OK. Wednesday the little monkey went to bed at 10PM and that was still a struggle! After going to bed at 10PM, she woke up Thursday at 6:30AM!!
Thursday afternoon, we went to Target, and Arden started getting hungry. I thought, OK, I have a bottle in the car. So we get out to the car and I get the bottle out and shake it up and milk goes flying everywhere. There is no nipple on the bottle. Are you kidding me?! Who makes a bottle and puts the ring and cap on with NO nipple? I do! I do!! Good thing I live 5 minutes away. Thursday night, she doesn't go to bed until 10 AGAIN.
How could I get mad at that awesome little face?
Today, we went to Old Navy to get Clarisa some new school uniforms. The one closest to us was pretty wiped out on the pants/shorts, so we headed over to another Old Navy. I was driving down 485, and looked at my dash and saw a light on. It looked like it was showing the left rear door was open. I told Clarisa to pull the door and try to shut it. Nothing was happening. We get off of our exit and stop at a light. We were beside this really loud truck. Well the light turns green and we go and the truck is getting louder and louder except the truck is now way behind us. Then I really feel it. A flat tire. GREAT. That light on my dash was telling me my left rear tire pressure was low. I pulled onto the first street I came to on my right, which was a neighborhood. The tire was completely flat. I do have roadside assistance that came with my vehicle for the first 5 years, but I assumed it was like AAA and I do know that they can take hours and Arden was going to be hungry soon.
I do know how to change a tire myself, but my spare tire is under the car and I have no clue how to get it out, I only have the flimsy jack that came with the vehicle and Derek made me scared of those and I had nowhere to put Arden. It was too hot to leave her in the car and Clarisa can only hold her so long (she weighs half as much as Clarisa).
Arden also had diaper malfunction and poop all over her clothes.
Across the street, I saw a couple of guys working on a house. We get Arden out and walk over to the house, but the guys were gone. Don't worry, we found them in the backyard. Two Spanish guys are working on a deck and I asked if they could help me change a tire. They look at each other confused and look at me and I'm like oh great they don't speak english but surely they know how to change a tire, Then I spot man #3. The reason Heavenly Father gave me a flat at place he did. This man was awesome. The first two guys actually spoke great english, they just couldn't hear me and were wondering where on earth I came from. So man #3 walks over to my car, uses all kinds of fancy tools, hooks this thing up to his battery and my tire to pump it up, finds the HUGE STAPLE, pulls it out, drills a hole there, lights a rubber plug on fire and plugs my hole!And this little cutie pie went to bed at 8:30 tonight. I hope that's a sign of a good weekend ahead.

New York

A few weeks ago, DROVE to Buffalo to visit Derek's family. To make it easier on Arden, we decided to split the trip up and drive halfway (5-6 hours) and stay in a hotel. I was not too excited about going on this trip with a 6 month old even if we were breaking the trip up, but she was AMAZING well up until it was bedtime and she wanted to be in her bed. She has no problem taking naps in her carseat, but she knows when it's bedtime and wants to be in bed. On the way back, I made it clear that we would be at the hotel before her bedtime. My mom and Clarisa came with us, so of course they were great help in the backseat with Arden. We left Arden with Nonni, Grandpa and Greg and went to Niagara Falls our second day there. It was really nice and the weather was perfect. I have been to Buffalo a lot since I met Derek, but for some reason it's always in the freezing Buffalo winters. I think there has only been one other time I went in the summer, so although I have seen Niagara Falls before, it was sooo cold, I couldn't pay attention to anything other than keeping my scarf wrapped around my face, but still trying to see enough to walk around...and the idea that my feet might have frost bite. Tons of fun. So anyway, on this beautiful summer day, we decided to go on the Maid of the Mist. SOOOO much fun, we were laughing so hard, people around us probably thought we were on drugs.
This was taken when we were on the boat.
After the ride on the observation deck
Clarisa at The Cave of the Winds getting soaked.

The next day, we all went to the zoo. Derek with his parents and Greg in Africa
The Buffalo zoo is pretty small and in the middle of downtown. I kinda feel sorry for some of the animals. Arden got really excited seeing a turtle(?!?) and a little monkey who came right up to the window in front of her. Then he put his hand on his bottom and sniffed his finger. It was crazy. Then he pooped. wow. Moving on...
Here's the beautiful peacock we saw showing off those feathers. I've been told (a couple years ago when there was a peacock stuck in the woods near our old apt complex) that they spread their feathers like that when they feel threatened. That's how they scare people/animals off. Well this guy looked like he was flaunting it prancing back and forth.

Arden's first time on a ferris wheel. She loved it at first and even grabbed the pole like she knew what she was doing, but towards the end, she seemed a little dizzy.
Wiped out at the zoo We got to visit Grandma Ada at her nursing home. I don't think I've seen her in 2 or 3 years and Derek hasn't seen her in 1.5 years so it was great to see her again!
Arden meeting her great grandma Ada for the first time!

The trip home was eventful. We got a little more than halfway, Arden was trying to pull her belt off, we needed gas and we were hungry so we figured it was time to get a hotel. We checked in and brought our stuff to the room. We were going to eat at Shoney's but the guy at the lobby desk recommended The Waffle Hut. He said it was better than The Waffle House and since it wasn't as far as Shoney's (Arden was already freaking out that we had to put her back in the car) we figured we'd give it a shot. Wow. So the waitress brings us our drinks and I notice crumbs sinking to the bottom of my glass. The waitress comes back to our table, and I politely ask for another water because there is food in this one. She did not apologize AND she left that water on the table the whole time. Needless to say, I did not drink anything from that place. Well I ordered a waffle. I figured I was at The Waffle Hut, so a waffle must be a safe bet. I mean how can you go wrong with that? It wasn't the waffle that was wrong (other than the red thing that was in it) but the syrup. I'm pretty sure it was colored water. Clarisa's drink had bugs stuck to the glass. Our waitress was not at all friendly and barely even acknowledged us and at this point I really wanted to complain, so we go to pay and our waitress was also the cashier. We figured she was probably the cook and the owner so what's the use in complaining? We got out of there at went to McDonalds for ice cream. That makes everything better.
We got an early start the next morning and headed home. A couple of hours in, Clarisa tells us she has to go to the bathroom and that Arden needs her diaper changed. Well we kind of forgot about them with the other 'thing' that happened and drove another hour. Slowly =). Then we finally stopped and Arden's diaper was LOADED. I mean it was all over her leg, and went through the car seat cushion, seeped into the base and onto the actual seat. We got her all cleaned up, then got blizzrds at Dairy Queen. Apparently the country lady taking orders doesn't quite understand non-country people. I ordered Derek a tagalong blizzard and I'm not really sure what we ended up with, but I didn't see anything like it on the menu. We made it home around 2PM and Arden was so excited looking for Tom and Kali with Daddy. We had a great time and can't wait to see nonni, grandpa and greg again!rest stop on the way home

6 month photos

These are just a few of my favorite photos taken about 3 weeks ago at Freedom Park by Allison Fowler!

Birthday Boy

(so I started this post ON the 17th, but I got tired....so yes it is 3 days late)
For Derek's birthday, I cooked a yummy dinner of filet mignon with his favorite sides- mashed potatoes and carrots and I threw in some zucchini and squash too. I made a cake too but it was kind of weird =). We had the birthday dinner the day before his birthday....just so it would be a little bit of a surprise for him....and it was. Plus on the 17th, my aunt and uncle came into town and we celebrated at cracker barrel.Arden opening Derek's birthday card.
Daddy, can I pleeeaase have this pony???? PREEEETY PLEEEEEEAAASE???
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Derek!!! We love you!

P.S. A year ago today, I felt Arden kick for the first time...on Derek's birthday...barely. It was about 12:30AM. And today, on Derek's birthday, she crawled for the first time. A real crawl. She always does something exciting on his birthday. Maybe on MY birthday, she'll walk =).

Seven

Oh wow oh woweee...little Miss Arden is SEVEN months old!!!

And what a little cutie pie she is. She is a very happy baby, she talks A LOT most of the time it's this cute little high pitched voice. She loves kids and is very quick to smile at any kid, but when an adult (stranger) tries to get her to smile, it doesn't usually work and she just stares at them like 'what on earth are you makin crazy faces at me for?'
Arden's favorite foods are green beans and peas. We did go through a couple of weeks that she would not eat any fruits. She's back to eating them, but very little at each meal. I think if gave her an endless bowl of green beans or peas, she'd eat all day. Arden is such a good sleeper and I feel so lucky. She sleeps 10-11 hrs at night and takes two 2 hour naps during the day.
Arden just loves that Clarisa is here everyday during the week this summer to keep her entertained. She laughs at anything Clarisa does. She is going to miss her when school is back in.
Arden isn't quite crawling yet(well she did crawl backwards while we were in NY), but she has no problem getting around. She lays down on her tummy, extends her arms and pulls her body forward. She's fast too. She can also sit up from laying down now.
Her favorite things are remote controls and cell phones- real ones not the toys.
She has to hold something (burp cloth/blanket) when she has a bottle or she will pull her hair.
Arden has no teeth yet, but Derek got his first tooth at eight months so it looks like she is following his track.
She doesn't quite get the sippy cup yet, she just bites on it, but she loves to suck on a wet wash cloth.
I have a lot of catching up to do on here (Arden's 6 month photos and our trip) but it's bath time for Arden!!!

Fourth of July

Arden loves this country. Not so much her sunglasses.
This morning, we met Ashley, Mark and Clarisa for the Indian Trail parade. Arden was so happy to see Reagan, but I don't think she was a big fan of the heat. She really isn't a fan of loud noises either, especially sudden noises, so I was really surprised when she didn't cry with all the honking and the fire trucks. I really don't know how she is sleeping through all of the fireworks going off right outside of her window. Seriously.
puppy love

After the parade as we were walking back to our car (which was parked about a mile away!) we stopped at a hotdog stand. The hotdogs were $2.50 each and we only had $4 cash, so we got one hotdog and split it. We continue to the car, and we spot multiple tents and games etc. We go check it out, and they are selling hotdogs for $1 (the official parade stand)!!! So, with our $2 left (the first hotdog stand didn't have any change, so they ended up charging me $2) we got two more hotdogs AND they tasted better! The moral of the story is to shop around before you buy, then maybe you will have money left over for ice cream.

A Year Ago....

(sucking her thumb)

One year ago today, I was 17 weeks pregnant and we found out we were having a girl. Pretty much everyone thought i was having a boy, so I just assumed it was a boy and boy oh boy I was pretty shocked when the lady said 'it's a girl!'
The next day, we took Clarisa to Atlanta for some shopping at IKEA (and of course we hit the Gaffney outlets on the way). Thankfully Charlotte has an Ikea now so we don't have to drive to Atlanta just to go there! (although I do love Atlanta, so I'm sure I can find another reason to visit)
Clarisa and I walking to the MARTA in ATL. That sure did bring me back to my NYC days...and WOW you can't even tell I'm pregnant!