Road Trip!

One of the many things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving season is an amazing group of friends we've made through our time in the Air Force.  A large group of them are currently stationed in Tucson, Arizona, which just happens to be the half-way point between Las Vegas and Alamagordo, New Mexico, where Jonathan is currently training.  With only a few days to spare for the break, we decided the best thing to do to get the maximum amount of time together was to meet at this half-way spot, and our amazing group of friends opened up their hearts and homes to us during our stay.

So you know what that means. . . road trip!  That right:  it was me, an almost 4-month-old, and a wiener dog in a car for 7 hours (9 hours when it was all said and done).  It could have been a disaster, but both my boys were awesome; two stops for gas/feeding/diaper changes/potty, one major slow-down for construction, and two hairy traffic situations, and we all made it safely and--most importantly--sanely in Tucson.

I arrived in Tucson a few days before Jonathan so I could enjoy some time with some of my best girlfriends before he got there.  And while I enjoyed some much-needed girl time, Matty got the rockstar treatment from everyone he met, especially my friend's little girl Skylar.

After Jonathan arrived, we stayed a night in a hotel to enjoy some alone time as a family.  It was MJ's first time in a hotel but--of course--he rocked it.  No fussing, no screaming. . . just quality time with Mom and Dad, including some breakfast and SportsCenter in bed with Daddy in the morning (and yes, he really is watching SportsCenter in this picture).

The day after Thanksgiving we ignored the Black Friday deals and spent the day at Old Tucson with another group of friends of ours.  Jonathan and I had been there together when we were dating 6 years ago; it was strange to be there again, married with a kid.  

MJ didn't care so much about the park, and the Old Western "gunshow" even scared him a bit. . . but snuggles with Daddy were the highlight of his day. :)

He even got to ride the Old Tucson train curled up against Daddy's chest. . . 

The rest of our time in Tucson involved lots of time with family and friends, and even a girls' night out while the daddies watched the kiddos.  It was a much-needed break from the "single mom" life, and I wasn't ready for it to end!  Thank you again to all of our wonderful friends who made us feel so welcome during our stay.  

Oh, and if you're wondering if there was anything special for Oskar on this trip, well. . . he was reunited with his girlfriend Meg after over a year apart.  He was ecstatic at first but eventually gave up and just wanted to play with her toys.  It was as if no time or distance had passed between them at all.  But, then again, true love knows no limits. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011 was a pretty amazing year for the Wright family, and we have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is this miracle right here. . . 

. . . and his little turkey butt. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :)

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good. . . "  -Psalm 100:4

Merry. . . Thanksgiving?

I've always made it a rule not to put up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.  I LOVE Christmas, but I do agree with the "one holiday at a time" rule.  However, since we're spending Thanksgiving away from home this year, including the day after Thanksgiving (the traditional put-up-the-tree day), I decided to decorate early.  I wanted the house to be cozy and Christmas-y when the boys and I returned from Tucson.  It was no easy task considering that all of our decorations were on the top shelf in our garage surrounded by odds and ends that are waiting to find their new home in Illinois (a bar? Yeah, like we have room for THAT in our house).  Anyways, with only a couple of falls, a few dropped boxes, and (luckily) no broken backs, I managed to decorate the inside of the house. . . all while MJ was napping. :)

And, of course, it wouldn't be Christmas unless half our light strands didn't work so, as soon as we return, a trip to Target will be in order to grab some lights for the banister. . . and I'm going to ATTEMPT to put up Christmas lights outside.  THAT should be even more interesting than the acrobatics I performed to get the decorations out of the garage!

Anyways, MJ was mesmerized when he woke up from his nap.  One guess at what he's looking at in this picture. . . 

And he continued to stare at the tree for the rest of the afternoon.  Pretty soon, I gave up trying to play with him and just gave him some tummy time in front of the lights.  Oskar decided to join him. :)

Merry. . . Thanksgiving, everyone?

So I Got Bored Today. . .

It's only taken 4 months of living in Vegas to realize there are only two seasons:  hot and windy and cold and windy.  Now that it's moving into the "cold and windy" phase, I've been worried about MJ getting chilly on our morning walks.  It's not that it's extremely cold, but that wind has a BITE to it and, well, not taking a walk is just not an option with a certain Oskar dog in the house.  So I started looking into car seat covers and was blown away:  we're talking $50 to $100 for a nice, pretty car seat cover!  Ridiculous! It's nothing more than a blanket with some straps on it. . . which got me to thinking. . . I could make one!  I had some beautiful Vera Bradley fabric I had gotten while I was still in Korea (I miss Happy Quilt) and, luckily, some matching fabric.  A quick Google search for directions and a few hours later, I had my car seat cover.  Here's a look at how I did it if you're interested in making one for yourself or someone else (it would make a quick and easy baby shower gift!)

Here is the fabric I chose for my project.  You need about a yard and a half of each.

First cut out two strips of fabric from each pattern measuring 9" X 3".  These will be the straps that hang on your car seat.  Set aside.  Then, cut each fabric into a square yard piece.  Depending on your car seat, you may need to alter the size (perhaps 40" X 34", but a yard squared worked nicely for me).  Lay your large squares WRONG SIDES TOGETHER on your working surface.  Make sure you line them up precisely.  Use a bowl to round the edges of your squares.  I only wanted a slight rounding so used a small cereal bowl.  You could absolutely leave it as a square, but I think the round corners had a nice touch. :)

After that, put your fabric squares RIGHT SIDE together and sew around the edges, leaving a space open to turn your fabric right-side out when finished.

After turning right-side out, iron it so it lays flat then top stitch around, making special care to sew the hole you left open during the original stitching.

Next up, the straps.  You'll sew these exactly like the larger pieces.  Take the pieces of fabric and put them WRONG SIDES together and then sew, again leaving a hole open to turn it right-side out.  Turn it right-side out, iron flat, then top stitch.

Next comes the velcro.  If you're buying specifically for this project, I'd recommend getting the NON-sticky kind; the sticky kind gums up your needle.  However, all I had was the sticky kind so I made due. Take the rough side and sew it to the top of the inside fabric; take the soft side and glue it to the opposite end of the outside fabric.  Sound confusing but it's not.  This picture should help explain:

Next, you'll need to figure out where exactly you want your straps.  I placed my cover on the car seat to make an estimate.  I pinched the area of fabric where I wanted it and stuck a pin in it to mark it.  After measuring, it ended up being about 12.5" from the top of the cover, and each strap was about 10" apart.  

Next, I sewed the straps in place using a rectangular sew and then zig-zagging across the middle for extra strength.  Viola!  A car seat cover!

Such an easy, quick, and cute project.  I started this around 2:00 this afternoon and was done by 6:30. . . and that's with a break for a Matty feeding, a walk with both boys, and dinner for myself.  And tomorrow morning, Oskar and I can enjoy our walk knowing that MJ is warm and snug inside his car seat. :)

Happy 3 Months, MJ!

Wow, little man.  I cannot BELIEVE you are 3-months-old!  Time is just flying!  You are now officially an "infant" and not a "newborn," according to What to Expect:  The First Year.  I'm not really sure what that means, but I do know that you are getting to the stage where you sure are a lot of fun.  Here's a look back at some of our favorite moments from your second month of life.

It won't be too long before you won't let us do stuff like this to you anymore. . . so we're taking advantage of it now. :)

Sometimes I swear you're an old person in a little person's body.  Your facial expressions seem to speak louder than words, and I think a lot of the time you are just baffled by how silly your momma is.  I don't think there's any doubt that in this picture you're thinking, "What ARE you doing?"

You generally have a very happy disposition, and you never very far away from a smile.  

You were my birthday date this year since Daddy was away (again!)  You got decked out in your best onesie and off we went.  I had soup and salad; you had milk. ;)

You're getting pretty good at holding your head up. . . but you're still a bit wobbly!

Although you don't know it yet, you are going to be a St. Louis Cardinals fan.  Period.  And you must be good luck since they won the World Series this year!  You slept through all the games, but I told you about it in the morning and you smiled. . . or just had gas.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP!

Matty, the milk pirate.

You are so close to laughing for the first time.  I can hear it on the tip of your tongue.  Sometimes you'll make this "huh-huh-huh" noise (like you're doing in this picture), but you can't QUITE get that giggle out.  Soon, though!  I just know it!

This picture has given me hours of laughs.  I can't get over how much like an old man you look in this picture.

And, of course, this month we got to celebrate your first REAL holiday (Labor Day and Columbus Day don't really count.)  You didn't care much about Halloween, and you were in bed by 7pm (no trick-or-treating!), but you sure did look cute in your Halloween onesie.

We love you!  Bring on the next month! :)