C and D

C and D

Friday, January 28, 2011

A few eating pics

This was little piggy at the mall tonight :) We are leaving tomorrow morning to go East and see Paul (yayyyy finally!!!) and our realtor is having an open house while we're gone so I cleaned this house in and out - which means Declan is not allowed anywhere near it ;) Especially while eating.......so we headed to the mall after work/daycare and had a nice little Friday night along with the entire tween population of Broomfield, Colorado. Nothing like a Friday night at the mall.............

Next pics - every now and again Declan gets testy with me when I'm feeding him. He desperately wants to feed himself but is not coordinated enough to do the bowl/spoon/mouth thing. THIS, however, is what he does when I give him his food and spoon:

not your bottle, dude

hmmmm how can we make this work......

going the wrong way, bud. it was on the floor about 5 seconds after this pic was taken. thus, why we were at the mall earlier tonight eating :)

The Chasee

NOT the chaser. Sorry future 15 year old girls...........you're gonna have to go after him if you want him :)


I'm not sure I've said this on here before ;) buuuut this child's laugh and smile are two of the closest things to heaven I may have ever come in contact with. Oy vay, I could just eat little butt up - he is so stinking cute. 

Blankey

I've been trying to get video of Declan with his blankey............mainly because the noise he makes is the noise of true love :) And its hilarious. One of his little friend's at daycare, Lily, is a super sweet 3 yr old and every time I drop him off she says "Decky!!! Decky says "ooooooooooooooooooooo", referring to his "noise of love". Apparently now all the daycare kids are doing it when Tammy gives them their blankets for naptime. What a trendsetter we have on our hands.....


This isn't the best example of it but just a start. I'll attempt more, don't you worry. And I know you were worried. 

Davis James Hunt Jr


This picture kills me. Davis loves chocolate allllllllllmost as much as I do. So here's little buddy - with his chocolate sauce, in a Carolina hat - just like his Uncle Davis :) Thought you would like this one, D.

My little engineer

Like I said in a previous post, Declan likes anything electrical, anything where you have to take it out only to put it back in. He has, from probably the first week of life on, been a very serious, concentrated little boy when he zones in on something and this newfound love of all things technical is no different.

I went upstairs to get something this past weekend and when I came back down I couldn't find little buddy - usually if I call his name he comes trotting out of whatever spot he probably shouldn't have been in in the first place with a big smile on his face but this time he didn't - my heart started to pound I won't lie, but a couple minutes later I found this little stinker in the closet (how he opened the door I have no idea) entranced with the computer mouse. He spent 20 minutes with it. I took it away and he started balling like I  told him daddy was going to be gone for 2 months.........wait, maybe that was me.............................but seriously. He was nooooot happy with his mommy :)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

To my love:

We miss you so very much. People say you don't know what you've got until its gone, but that's not true. I know what I have. And I miss you terribly. And I know how unbelievably lucky both Declan and I are to have you as a daddy and a husband. And I can't wait to see you.

And I love you so very much :)

And I love Skype.




Goodnight sweet man. I'll see you in my dreams.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Today.........

...........................I'm really hoping its over but we shall see.

It started last night around 10:30pm, when Tracy and I were relaxing, watching "Eat Pray Love" and all of a sudden comes a verrrrry unhappy boy screaming. Every once in awhile he will cry out in the middle of the night and 9 times out of 10 he will just go right back to sleep. I never go in, he just settles himself back down and I figured it would be the same here. SIKE. He's had a cold on and off now for about two weeks, this last week being the worst. I thought he was much better yesterday but last night the cough reared it's terribly ugly head and kept waking him up so around 11:30 I went in just to give him cuddles - he was still babbling around midnight but wasn't upset anymore so I tried to get some sleep - which once I'm worried about Declan and by myself, is impossible so I tossed and turned all night. Next morning, enter an exhausted mommy and a baby with a rash all over his body...............awesome!

While not sleeping last night, I was reading up to see if there was anything more I could do for a cold  and of course started freaking myself out and reading about all these viruses etc that can look like the common cold but aren't. One of these, "roseola", I read about and guess what, turns out Deco has it! It's a viral infection that basically looks like a cold but when the fever breaks/cold starts to go away the person breaks out in a rash and that's when at least (good news) you know its getting better.

After talking with my mom on the phone about it all, decided not to go to the doctor and let Declan get a good nap in before we had to be out for showings on our house. Oh noooooooo. Piss pot didn't want to sleep, threw a major fit so I brought him down and just fussed for the next 3 hours. Nothing was gonna make this kid happy which is extremely stressful on its own but I was trying to keep our house spick and span for the person coming to see it and he was throwing things everywhereeeeeeee. We had to be out by 1:30 but at 12:45 I stuck him in his car seat, gave him his blankey and started driving. Thank heavens he passed out, I drove to Boulder, found an empty parking lot and read trashy magazines while he slept for a few hours. On our way back home I got a text saying another realtor wanted to show their client our house at 4:30 sooooo off we went to Aunt Tracy's house instead of going home! I love Tracy and I certainly love her dog, Chaco, but Declan's allergic to dogs (or their saliva at least) so every time we go somewhere with a dog I always get really anxious. In any case, just hanging out, Chaco and Deco were being nice to each other and THEN the door opens, Chaco leaps up completely barrolling over Declan, stepping on his head, knocking him into the table which of course hurt like hell so now we're back to Mr fussy pants. To try to distract little buddy I gave him some treats..............what does he do - he tries to feed Chaco, who bites the sh*t out of his hand - more fussy pants!

Now I decide its clearly time to go home, I don't care if people are there or not, Declan's about to lose it and so am I...........come home, eat dinner, bathe him and:


Poop. All over. He is such a friggin animal.

Maybe he's got a rash not from this roseola business, but all the Clorox I am constantly using to clean up his poops everywhere!!!

Lordy pete - I'm exhausted and I really hope tomorrow is a little better. To top it off, got emails back from both the realtors that showed our house today. A) House showed well, my client really needs 3 bedrooms on one level though. B) Thanks for allowing me to show your house - showed great, however client decided she needs a basement.

Ay carumba!!! Tomorrow is another day :) Let's hope it brings a happy healthy baby and a buyer! Phew.......I'm going to bed.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Our little linebacker

Look at this kid. :) Solid 24 pounds of muscle right there! Don't kid yourself people........................try putting on a diaper or changing his clothes when he isn't in the mood. Its a full on fight and I'm sweaty afterwards just trying to wrangle his cute little butt

DADA!

Listen closely..............................we love and miss you Paul - Declan especially!!!! He says "dada" allllll. dayyyy. looonnng.

Just a cute pic




Having fun with GiGi at the grocery store :) Flexible little fella!

How do you say thank you.......

To your parents? For everything.

Paul's parents originally booked their flight to come visit us over Christmas and I'm sure envisioned a nice relaxing vacay, spending time with their favorite grandson and just enjoying a week with the Colorado Hogans. Instead, from the minute they arrived, we put them to work :) From packing up probably half of our house (no joke), to painting our kitchen, to taking care of Declan because his daycare lady was off that week, I mean there was no break. Not one second. They cooked meals, they talked us off the ledge a number of times (mainly me), they scrounged up every free box you could think to scrounge up, they are currently giving Paul their time share to stay in in Myrtle Beach while he looks for a rental for us, they are letting us store the 16 foot truck full of boxes in their garage, they've already driven 6 hours up to the beach to see Paul, check in on him, stock his fridge and just bring him some odds and ends to help him start this crazy journey............I mean the list could go on and on. Every time we spend time together, I learn something else about this awesome family I married into, and this go-round showed me just HOW HARD of workers they are. I couldn't believe all that they got done in such a short amount of time. They do do do. And I am thankful thankful thankful. They love us so much and it is clear they will do anything to help us on this next leg of our journey - they certainly gave us a MASSIVE jump on moving and we 100% could not have done any of this, in such a stinkin' short amount of time without their help. WE LOVE YOU NANA AND POP!!!!!!!

So let's see - the Hogan's left on Monday morning, Paul and I spent Tuesday packing up his truck, he left Wednesday morning and then my mom came Thursday - THANK THE GOOD LORD!!!! Our realtor had emailed in that Mon-Wed time and said she wanted to put our house up the next Wednesday - whaaaaaaaaaaat??????? Enter, Ginny the amazing get-er-done mother :) Thursday night we got to work - started with the downstairs closet, and it just kind of went from there. My mom has before and after pics and when I get those I'll post but holy moly!!! She called my brother the night she got here and told him that she was coming home ;) Either way, we got it done and that is ALL due to my mom. She's a master organizer, she has a great eye for decorating and she was able to transform our house from a disaster to a great looking potential home for someone looking to buy! She did everything from rearranging our living room to getting on her hands and knees to clean the absolutely disgusting corners of our kitchen floor. Gross, but she did it all. AND in the meantime she made some killer meals for me to come home to after work :) There is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have been able to get our house up for sale without my mom. Again, she has come to the rescue and while it was a full-on whirlwind of a 10 day trip, there's no one else that could have done what she did for me so thank you mama!!!!

AND to top it off, my baby brother flew out on Thursday and we got to spend the weekend together, touring CU and just enjoying Boulder. It was BEAUTIFUL weather so we walked around a lot, ate good food and were finallllllly able to relax because our house was up - nothing more we could do. Graham has turned into such mature, smart, interesting and adventurous young man and I am so very proud of him for even thinking about coming out here to CU. It will be unbelievably ironic if he does in fact end up out here just as we're leaving, but if he does, you can bet your @$$ I will be out visiting every month ;) So, Boo, CU?! Yes please!!!!! :) Truly though, I'm so proud to be your big sister.

Alrighty so back to to the real topic - thank you Nana, thank you Pop, and thank you mom for helping us for those crraaaazy 3 or 4 weeks that we had there. I know the feeling when I look at Declan, the feeling that you would do anything in the world when it comes to your kids, and it just makes both Paul and I appreciate you even more because we can finally understand the love and sacrifice that you have for us. You guys are nothing short of amazing. Thank you. Certainly not enough, but thank you.

Going down the stairs!

Where are we now....

So just thought I'd give a little update on little buddy! What is he doing now? Ohhhh what is he NOT doing?

-He is walking EVERYWHERE - no crawling for this guy!
-He learned how to go down the stairs which is awesome and makes me feel a little (very little) bit better about not having the stairs blocked off all the time. Still would much prefer to go up and then throw himself  down headfirst.....we're working on it.
-I think he's gonna be a basketball player. He LOVES LOVES LOVES any ball and tonight he was literally bouncing his big ball up and down. No kidding. He watches me do it and he always moves his hand in that motion but this time he added the ball!
-He is as strong as an ox. I don't know how else to put it. He's a monster and a little almost 30 inch ball of muscle.
-Likes to test me - he 100% understands what the word "no" means and before he does something he knows he shouldn't he looks back at me and as Paul terms it, gives me a "shit eating grin" - unbelievable. I have video..... Yesterday he was NOT supposed to be touching our Scentsy and he would just put his finger out, look back at me and point at it and go "oh" everytime I said "no" - which was a solid 10 minutes. Stinker. Smart stinker, but stinker.
-Getting better at feeding himself and drinking from a sippy cup. We might be a little behind on this, I still make most of his food and he will eat anything mashed up, but give it to him in big boy form, he just throws it on the ground. Weirdo - he's very much a texture guy.
            -Definitely, his favorite food and he would eat it every day if I gave it to him, is a mix of                 edamame, peas and apples (yuck Declan!). That, and Nutra-grain bars!
-Says "mama" "dada" "baba" and "oooooooo"- the "baba" is a very versatile 11 month old word - bottle, banana, ball, etc etc etc
-Speaking of "oooooo" - I will get video and post it later but ohhhh myyyy goodness!!!! The kid and his blankey - he is absolutely obsessed and will not go anywhere without it. You try to take it away and you are gonna get it! The minute he sees it, the noise of pure love, "oooooooo", comes out and he buries his face in it. Hilarious - again, I'll get video!
-Last week we went to get his flu booster and had him weighed - 24 lbs, 12 oz. HOLY SMOKES.
-Loves reading and especially interactive books. Favorite is "Where is baby's pumpkin" - Thanks, Aunt Marie!!!
-LOVES other kids. Very social child. Over Christmas break our daycare lady took some time off so he was with Paul, Nana, Pop and myself - no kiddos. We went to dinner one night and across the room was a 2 year old that Declan couldn't keep his eyes off of and when we finally let him get down and walk he walked right over and started tugging on the 2 year old to get down and play with him. Declan was all smiles looking up at the kid who was looking back at him like he was crazy. Hilarious. But so typical.
-No clue if most kids are like this but he is very into taking things apart and putting them back together. He will take all the shapes out of his little box and then one by one put them back. He removes the silverware holder from the dishwasher and will sit there for 20 mins trying to figure out how to put it back in. Instead of eating his bagel this morning, he took each individual piece and put it in the hole where his sippy cup goes on his tray. He takes each article of clothing out of the laundry basket.......then puts them back one by one. Little engineer in the making????? Perhaps.
-Still loves the water. Also loves to poop in the tub which is awesome for me to clean up. Fave.
-Very cuddly, especially at night and first thing in the am when he wakes up. Also totally indulges me, holds my hand when we're in the car (maybe I shouldn't admit this) but I will reach my hand back and he will just hold it, look out the window and babble. Its like he is so content, holding mommy's hand and riding along...........so sweet. Melts my heart.
------------I'll have much more I'm sure in a month or so after his 1 YEAR APPT!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAA :( My baby is almost a year old? What?????

Monday, January 17, 2011

Cute recent videos

Big boy sippy cup and a little burrito!

Walking on Pearl St in Boulder! Such a big boy!!!

Buddy loves his ball!

Silly little boogar

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Buddy wants to drive to see his daddy!

Because I need to write it out...........

I know there will be moments in every day where I doubt if I can do this out here on my own, so I wanted to write it down so I can look back and remind myself of these truths:

-At the end of the day, this upcoming move is by far the best for our family. In less than 2 months we will all be together, maybe ALL OF US meeting at the beach for Easter break :) Take a little dip in the ocean. Why not.
-I will miss TERRIBLY all that Colorado has to offer so instead of wishing I was elsewhere, I need to enjoy this moment right here and take in every little last bit Boulder and Broomfield have to offer.
-I am strong enough to do this. Again, cheeseball, but there's a song that says "even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger" - this is all SO good for me and I need to remember that when I'm feeling down, sad, lonely, pick your word.
-Because we are also in the midst of trying to sell our house, there's a certain amount of cleanliness, organization etc that is required..........all of which I do not have but this will definitely FORCE me to become more clean, organized, better time manager etc and that can only be a positive! Paul will be so pleased with my improved self ;)
-I have done "this" before and gotten thru it so I know I can do it again. Taking my mom and brother to the airport this morning I had that nauseous feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach, knowing what was ahead and that it was just going to be me and buddy out here for the next few months and I remember feeling that same pit almost 11 months ago, taking my mom to the airport a week after Declan was born thinking, "how in the hell am I possibly going to do this" - I did, we got thru it, and I know we will get thru this as well.
-I have the absolute sweetest boy in the world who lights up my life in a way I never knew, and NO MATTER WHAT, I mean absolutely NO MATTER WHAT, he makes me smile so if nothing else, I have him to come home to at the end of the day and I know, he will make me smile.
-Skype is my new best friend. Well, Skype and the Magic Eraser but that's a different topic altogether. We've been able to skype with Paul over breakfast, dinner, playtime, whatever. It has been so nice to see his beautiful smile and hear Declan say "dadadadada" when he sees his daddy :)
-Like my mom says, "I'm only a phone call away" - and along with Skype, this is going to be my next bff as I know at any point, my mom and dad, Carol, Nancy, my brothers and some close friends will be there on the other end to talk me thru whatever funk I'm in :)
-Without getting too deep and freaking people out, I do believe whole-heartedly in the Lord above and when Paul was going thru this whole interviewing process I had an awesome peace about what was taking place. I trusted that God had and has a perfect plan and whatever was going to happen this go-round, it was what was meant to happen and I know for whatever reason, God has me out here with our son, away from Paul and our family to make us stronger and in the end, that is what will happen. I just need to trust........................easier said than done but I know God, and I know He will pull us thru this. I will not question THE MAN! He knows muuuuch more and can see muuuuuch farther ahead into the future than I can so I will trust this is what is right for now.

Phew - think that's it. I just know I'm going to have to remind myself of these things so I wanted to write them down while they were fresh in my mind so in those weak moments, I can be reminded of these truths and not get weighed down with the BS! Let's go, Alli - time to rally ;) Sack up, as Paul would say..............

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Nothing like a friend you've known your whole life...............


One of my very oldest and greatest friends, Whitney Sikes, got stuck in Denver last week which was a TOTAL treat for me and my mom, maybe not so much for her but at least she got to hang with little buddy for awhile! Whit, her dad Mike and her sister Robin had gone out to AZ for the national championship football game (HUUUUUGE Auburn fans) and because the East Coast got so slammed with snow, they couldn't fly into Charlotte and got stuck in Denver for two days! Wednesday night they came up here and I cannot say enough how wonderful it was to see them. I hadn't seen Robin in literally YEARS, Mr. Sikes since our wedding and Whit came to my baby shower in Charlotte last fall but we missed her this last trip home because it was so flippin crazy!
We were texting last night and I said it then but I'll say it again, there's just nothing like someone you have known your whole entire life. Whit and I started playing soccer together when we were 8 or 9 and played until we went to college. Every single weekend since we were 8 we spent together, whether it was traveling to God knows where for games or having our parents drive us each halfway to each other's house, meeting at Crystal burger and then spending the weekend together. My whole entire childhood and memories involve my sweet friend Whitney and I have no doubt, no matter where we are in our lives, be it Colorado, NC or now SC, we will always find a way to meet up, catch up, and remind each other of how dear a friend we have in the other. I love you Whit and thanks so much for getting stuck in D-town!!!!!!!

Mets?!?!

Its pretty funny but Paul loves the Yankees, his dad loves the Mets. Paul is a Giants guy, his dad a Jets man. What can you do - Pop has been very good up until now in letting Declan wear all his 94032 Yankee shirts and jerseys but this Christmas he finally broke down and got him a little Mets shirt :) The battle begins!

Look at those thighs! I don't know why I'm always amazed at those things but shoo!!!



mommy's hair tie - so interesting

our little linebacker



pushing sleds already


this makes me think of him at the beach carrying around his little sand pail! Can't wait!!!!!

First bloody!




He busted his face on the vacuum and literally 2 minutes later went right back to it.....wanted to play with Pop I guess! He's still got a little battle scar - my rough and tumble boy!!!!! Gotta love him :)

Sweet Carolina, take me home...........

....................and off we go!!!!! So many of you probably have heard one or another by now but my stud muffin of a husband is the new Head Women's Soccer Coach at Coastal Carolina University!!!!! YEA BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am absolutely over the moon for Paul. Perhaps I'm slightly biased, but I really do believe he is a phenomenal coach and all he has needed is an opportunity - and the opportunity has arrived. Tactically, Paul can coach with the best of them but I think what really makes him amazing is his ability to relate to the girls, motivate and inspire them. Paul genuinely cares about people.........not just me or Declan, or his family, or his friends - he cares and is interested in EVERYONE and people are able to feel that and respond to it. I know the girls at CU are really going to miss him but the cCu girls are getting one helluva guy to lead their program. I have always felt that if you are able to relay to the girls how much you love them, they will fight equally, if not harder for you as their coach. Girls need that - there is no way around it - and Paul has it. He's going to be amazing............ahhhhh I just cannot say how happy I am for him. It has certainly been a long time coming, my love, and I am beyond proud of you.

This will certainly be an interesting time for our family as Paul has been in SC for about a week and half which leaves Declan and I to sell our house in Colorado. At the end of the day this is what is best for our family and we will all be together again soon enough. Paul will be plenty busy trying to right a program that has gone a little wrong in the past year so he won't need any distractions. Our plan is to be out there by March 1st, house sold or not. If you're the praying type of person, please pray that there is someone out there looking for a house in the Broomfield area and they actually DO want to make that big purchase right after Christmas :) We could sure use it.

In any case, thank you to everyone who has sent well wishes and offers to help us all during this time. I know Paul will love to hear from you and Declan and I would love company every once in awhile so don't be strangers! We love ya!!!!!!!!

Off to enjoy the next two months in Colorado.......

http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3937&SPID=259&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205072891&DB_OEM_ID=600
----this one brought me to tears. Bill is not only Paul's boss but his best friend, he was the best man at our wedding, he came to the hospital and brought us both Big Mac's the night Declan was born ;)........the list could go on forever. Bill, it is so unbelievably rare what you and Paul have and we will miss you terribly. Thanks for being his mentor, best friend, and brother. WE LOVE YOU!

http://www.goccusports.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/010611aad.html
----here's the release from Coastal!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Helping mommy do the laundry!

Such a good little helper he is :)

Drummer boy

Buddy is loving him some boxes these days! Take a peak.

Walking fiend!

The day after Christmas, Declan decided to get off his butt and start trucking it around the house. And he hasn't stopped since..............must say, everyone tells you that "its over" when they start walking but he was such a fast little crawler that it has made absolutely no difference. We're used to this by now. It is, however, heart warming when I'm in the kitchen and I hear a little pat pat pat and here comes my little buddy, waddling on over with a big smile on his face. Nothing cuter. In the whole world :)






CHRISTMAS VIDEOS!!!!!!!!!

I promise to post more about Christmas and the new year (its been a crazyyyyy last few weeks just trust me :) I'll update ya soon) but in the meantime here are a couple videos we were able to grab in between trying to keep Deco from going headfirst down the stairs and completely annihilating the tree!

Video #1

Video #2

An apple a day................





Ya know. The kid is able to do a lot with only one tooth!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Best toy ever.


THE CUPBOARD. We've had to clear it out a little bit in order to let the boy do his thing (ie this morning he came out of his spot, proudly showing me the blade for the food processor! YIKES!!) but he is more than happy to hang out in the cupboard with the cereal, then head to the laundry room and put clothes into the dryer, lastly hitting up the dishwasher to put some silverware away. Too funny. Glad we keep buying all these toys for him.....................












And that's what happens when you pull the coffee grinder down on top of ya!

Bummer bud.

And 5 seconds later we are fine :)



aaaand there go the Raisin Bran


Might as well sample a raisin while they're out! ;)

My favorite ornament :)


Tammy gave Declan some really cute Christmas gifts and she made us some really cute little keepsakes - this being my favorite. Completely captures the essence of Declan Brady - a little crazy man :) I'm going to change the title of our blog to that, come the think of it. He's such a mess and she got a great picture of him laughing/yelling/growling, whatever noise he wanted to make at the time. I know this face all too well and Paul and I couldn't love anything more :)


Hard to take a pic, the flash was killing me! These are the best...........

CRAZY HAIR!

Buddy's actually got enough hair these days to have bed head :) He's got some super cute little curlies in the back. While Paul wants to take a razor immediately to cut it off and give him a good ole boy "high and tight" 'do, I refuse! He is way too cute with his baby hair and he had NO hair for way too long to cut it as soon as he grows some. Here's to not cutting his hair until he's two years old..................HA!