Is there something on my face?

I love watching Elem eat and seeing how carefree he is when he is doing it! He enjoys every single bite and works so diligently to keep it on the spoon all the way to his mouth. It is adorable. He usually ends up looking something like the pic above. I love messy faces-even though messy clothes stress me out. :)

What I love most Mondays

I have sooo many things I am contemplating writing about for this Monday! I even had to ask Seth's opinion on which one to choose. So..needless to say throughout the week I will be writing on the other topics that were close in the running to make it for, What I Love Most Mondays!

This Monday I am seriously thankful for getting to dress a little boy! Haha. How many times do you hear me say, "girls clothes are everywhere, and they are all different, and they are all adorable!", "but there are hardly any boy clothes at all! It drives me crazy. However, I secretly LOVE digging through clothes racks (when I have time) and grabbing shirts on sale, and putting them together with a hand me down pair of shorts to make them just the right style. I am so proud to say that Elem totally sports the style that Seth and I love and actually really fits his personality. We are so not character people, as I like to say, and you will not catch me EVER purchasing an article of clothing with an animated figure on it. I just cant do it. Much less a pair of shoes. So, I stay true to our roots-a little bit hippy along with a little bit comfy, with a dash of cool colors! And there you have it, Elem Zane's style.

At the same time of me LOVING going chopping for him, way more than going shopping for me, getting him dressed is a totally other question. So for now, we will just stick to getting picking out his clothes! I love planning out his outfits, picking the shoes, all of it, and I so love when I actually do get his dressed, how freaking cute his outfits are!

Now I know all mothers love dressing their kids, and we all love seeing how cute they are in outfits, but it is even more than that. I truly feel that how Elem is dressed daily is a reflection of me and Seth. I love finding some sweet pin stripe pants, that no toddler would ever wear, because that is totally us. I love finding a cool retro looking t-shirt on sale at Dillards-because that is totally us. I love getting him converse of all colors and styles-because that is most definitly Seth and I, and I love finding the perfect newsboy hat to finish off an outfit, because that is so us! haha! It is just so fun. And even though it is very minute in the grand scheme of things-I really dont spend much money at all! i am a total bargain shopper and I love to see something so cheap looking so good on my kid. :) Snobby? Conceted? Neh, just trying to keep my kid stylish, and hopefully show who he really is from day one.

Here are a few of my favorites at random, starting from a while back:

Tye-dye from the beginning. You can thank me for that one-I HAD to have that outfit.


Boom box jacket, tight jeans, and Vans slip ons-another fave.


I used to LOVE the one piece outfits-they are just to sweet.


Another one piece on the beach-perfect for the sand and sun!


Hurley time: hurley t-shirt, hurley sweater vest, and some Kenneth Cole shoes


Lumber jack hat? who doesnt love a lumber jack hat??


Distinguished urban.


Slightly preppy, with the collar out over the fitted knit sweater.


Chillin with the skinny jeans, converse and another favorite hurley button up.


Newsboy plaid hat, pin stripe pants, and knit sweater perfect for Easter.


hello? How fun is this! i love looking back at these pics and they get me so excited about buying even more clothes for the seasons to come. I am such a nerd, but I LOVE it! Hope this post doesnt sound snobby or bragging like, I just LOVE dressing my kid. It seriously brings me so much joy. Anybody else out there just LOVE dressing your kid??? It seriously brings a smile to my face when I see the outfit come together as a whole, and I cant wait to get him out of the house. No matter if it cost $5.00 or $25.00 showing off your style is fun any time of day and for any event! Any shopping tips? Feel free to send em my way. i am currently on the look out for some new shoes and sweet summer shorts.

Happy Monday!

Thank goodness for Grandparents

Can I get an Amen? What would we working mothers do without grandparents??? Seth and I are sooo lucky to have 2 sets of parents who are willing to help out whenever they can. And we are even luckier to live less than a mile away from one set of grandparents. I was so thankful to Grammy and Poppa for offering to take care of sick baby Elem yesterday when I had t go in to work. I had to speak to a group of about 120 kids so there was no way I could skip out, and no way I could drag a sick little boy along with me-it would have been just miserable. But like I said, Grammy and Poppa offered to keep him all day long, which meant the sick little boy would get spoiled all day-which is actually just what he really needed. I hate taking him back to school a day too early just because I really need to go in, when I know he is still worn out and drained and just wants to be held on and off all day long.

So again-THANK GOODNESS FOR GRANDPARENTS! Thank you Grammy and Poppa for taking such good care of Elem Zane when mommy couldnt. We are so lucky to have you so close by. :)

(Since I dont have my camera to take a picture this week, I decided to take it back a few months-a whole lot of months really-I believe about 22 months to be exact!




Elem is doing much better and will be back at school today. He has been fever free for about 24 hours-so we will call it close enough! One of the many perks of being the director at the child care your kid goes to. Hopefully he can stick it out the whole day, and get some good rest at nap time. Happy Wednesday-the week is almost halfway over!

What I Love Most Mondays

Today was a little tricky at first...I went to bed with a snotty nosed, coughing baby with fever, and woke up to the same little sick baby. :( After a trip to the doctor, the inevitable was stated-a double ear infection. I hate those words-but they seem to be such a re-occurring statement in the life of my short lived little boy. For some reason I thought the length of time I breast fed-10 and 1/2 months to be exact, would somehow assist in the healthiness of my baby, but it seems as if he is just as sick as any other baby around-if not more. He has had terrible ear infections pretty much since the day I stopped breast feeding, and they have just never stopped. I asked about tubes today, but they said ear infections clear up about age 2 and to wait it out one or two more months to see how it goes. Then we will go from there.

So for now, I have spent my day holding a sweet, but whiny 23 month old, 31 pound baby boy! Ever tried carrying around 31 pounds all day long? Well it is no joke. Nothing more a mom wants than to hold their sick little one, but these days it is getting harder and harder since Elem is growing bigger and bigger! But I did my best, and the silver lining in the whole day, what I absolutely love most about this Monday, is after a nice hot bubble bath, after medicine is given, after hair is brushed, after sippy cups are filled, and after a blankey is grabbed with lots of love-even in the saddest of ways, I get cuddle time. Time to just lay on the couch, with Elem right on top of me, cuddled to his blanket and cuddled with me, eyes closed, nose stuffed up, and all worries set aside. It is so amazing. To just look at him and kiss the top of his head, checking him for fever, and rubbing his back, just to let him know I am here, when he is really already pretty much asleep and could probably care less what I am doing. Soothing a sick toddler almost makes you feel like they are a baby again, and they REALLY need you. Like they are totally dependable on you. It is rewarding....rewarding to know that you are still needed and that for that very moment -YOU are the most important part of their world. You are making them feel better. I am making him feel better. SO in a selfish way-that is what I love most about this Monday. Cuddling-and feeling important. :) Happy Monday! What are you Happy About today?

2 points Baun Baun

One of my favorite phrases that Elem has been saying for quite a while is "2 points, Baun Baun!". Wonder where he got that from or what it means? Well he got it from his daddy and it means, 2 points Bron Bron, as in LeBron James. Elem is a basketball freak and not only does he LOVE to play the game-on his mini 3 foot goal that is- but he loves to watch it on TV. And I am beginning to think he ACTUALLY knows when LeBron James is on TV. Its quite weird, but true. Seth taught him to say it in just a few minutes and he has never gone back. He realized that we both got a kick out of it when he said it, and so the story goes from there. He likes to lay down on top of my before he falls asleep-his back on my stomach, cuddling with his blankey, and sipping on his drink of choice, while he watches the games play on TV. Then out of no where you will hear him yell out, 2 points Baun Baun!. ANd he really means it. And it is only when he scores too. When he misses, we often hear him say, "Aw man".

Just a little something to get you all geared up for Playoff Season-NBA playoffs for those non sports fans out there.

Any similarities? haha

Elem


vs. Braun Braun

A boy and his dog

Elem has really started becoming more and more aware and excited about Sage being around. He has always had a slight infatuation with her, but it has only been recently that she has showed any kind of affection back towards him. Sage was my first baby, and my first "child" I ever spoiled. She still has accidents in the house ever now and then, goes outside without a leash, morning and night to roam the streets for a few minutes, and pretty much can whimper for us to jump up and do something for her. However, with Elem, came a little less attention, which was really hard for her! I still can tell she feels neglected sometimes, which is why I am sooo happy they are really starting to like each other a little better. Elem has always been a fan of Sage's, but he was never really steady enough to make her feel comfortable. But about 2 weeks ago, we were getting ready one morning, and Elem and Sage were both on the bed, we were petting Sage, and she started licking his fingers. he LOVEd it and that continued for a few days. After a couple of days of that, I caught Sage licking Elem's face-and was in almost shock! She totally Loves him! i knew it. :) Of course ever since then I have been trying to push him on her every chance I get to get her to show him some affection and to know that it is okay to love on Elem-he is not going to hurt you Sage.

So the love saga continues-

they both want to be in control at all times. Both feeling the need to lead. Not sure why this is, but both feeling the need to get all of the attention, all of the time. And never wanting to "give in" just wanting to stick to their ways. Hmm...wonder where they get that from? That sounds nothing like me. haha!

Yet..they always seem to work it out.

They really do have fun together. And they really do connect on a level I thought would take many more years to reach. Each morning, Elem opens the door for Sage and he wants to let her in from going outside, all by himself. he always wants to include her to get on the bed when we are on our bed in our bedroom just playing around, and he even invites her in the bath, every chance he gets. He keeps her well fed-even though sometimes he doesn't realize he is doing it, and her toy stash has greatly increased since Elem came into the world due to the number of stuffed animals she has taken over, although they really weren't for her. I love to see Elem's love for animals and I am so glad he is not afraid of Sage. She has never bit him, and has only snapped at him about 2 times ever! So we are looking to a long a happy life together-for these two. :)