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! :)

Happy Halloween: The Real Story

I'm starting to realize that, now that I have a child, it's harder to be away from home for the holidays. . . and we've only had one holiday!  I hate that Matthew is growing up so far away from family, who can't share in all the joy of a new nephew or grandson.  So, I made a vow that I would pull the "mom" thing and take pictures of MJ in his costume so I could send it in time for Halloween.  That way they can at least have a pretend "trick-or-treat" with him (even though I'm not really taking him trick-or-treating.  He won't have a clue what's going on, and God knows I don't need that candy in my house!)  

So anyway, a few weeks ago, I pulled out MJ's costume and prepared for a photo shoot with him.  IT. TOOK. ALL. DAY.  My normally happy, smiling baby decided he did NOT like his candy corn costume and did NOT want to smile for a picture.  I ended up getting a pretty cute one, but not before all of these. . . 

When I first put it on, he thought it was kind of silly. . . 

After multiple attempts to get a good smile, however, he started to get annoyed.  "Really, Mom?  Really?"

So we took a break, took a little nap, had another bottle, and geared up for round two.  This time, I got really into it.  I took some Halloween fabric I had gotten at Happy Quilt back in Korea and spread it out on the bed.  I was going for a more "professional" look.

MJ decided he looked so tasty he might as well try eating himself.  I have about 20 pictures of this pose, each one accompanied by me saying, "Get your hands out of your mouth.  Get your hands out of your mouth."

Then, of course, Oskar got in on the action and just HAD to know what was going on.  "No, Oskar, he's not a REAL candy corn."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT A REAL CANDY CORN?!"

And, just like last time, a meltdown.

After yet ANOTHER nap and ANOTHER bottle, we tried one last time.  As quick as I could, I zipped up the costume, plopped him down in his vibrating chair, and snapped a picture.  Luckily, it turned out like this:

Good enough!  I yanked off the costume before he could have another break-down and told him that we were D-O-N-E with Halloween for the day.  He couldn't have been happier. :)

Happy Halloween, everyone! :)

Let Me Entertain You

Yesterday was my first day attempting a single parent TDY.  After more than a few tears and a couple of panic attacks, Jonathan headed out the door, leaving me behind with two faces looking at me expectantly:

"So, now what?"

After a couple of minutes of staring at each other blinking, I decided a day out was just what we needed. It was a beautiful day in Las Vegas so we headed to Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, only a short 10 minute drive away.  We had been here once before with Jonathan when it was 110 degrees, but I figured it might be much more pleasant to try it now when it was only in the mid-70's.

There is a gorgeous view of the mountains from the park, made even more magnificent by the recent drop in temperatures---low enough to get some SNOW on their peaks!

The park looks completely out of place in the middle of the desert, as it's GREEN and dotted with several natural ponds.  The area was actually an oasis used by settlers crossing Nevada.  It's the one place I can go in this town and pretend I'm back in Indiana (minus the mountains, of course!)

Oskar didn't know what to do with all this GRASS!  He was in heaven!

The place is CRAWLING with all kinds of birds, especially ducks.  Oskar was extremely well-behaved considering the circumstances, though he did eye them for a loooooong time as if to say, "You guys are LUCKY my mom is here and she won't let me off this leash."

But the ducks kept pushing their luck, getting closer and closer. . . 

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.  This picture was taken completely by accident.  I was trying to take a picture of the mountains when Oskar snapped and took off running after the ducks.  My phone went flying and somehow managed to take this picture of Oskar in action.

After walking around the park for about an hour, we were tired (and a little tired of the crowd--this place is VERY popular with locals. . . especially on the weekend) so we headed home.  It seemed to have been a hit, though, because Oskar slept the rest of the day, and when I asked Matty what he thought of our outing, I got this face:

Now I just have to figure out how to entertain them for the REST of our 4 month TDY. . .  ;)