C and D

C and D

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Because this is a memoir for our child........


I think it is my duty to embarrass him as much as possible. Declan dear, I just want you to remember, when you are this cool 16 year old boy trying to pick up chics, you used to shower with your mommy and you LOVED IT. And I secretly not so secretly anymore love it too :)


Don't think I won't break these pictures out later in your life........


PS - I have a towel on too, they are both just white so looks a lot worse than it is ;) PROMISE!

HOT HOT HOT

Don't let anyone tell you it isn't hot in South Carolina..................


 or that "ohhhh it isn't so bad"

 look at this sweaty mess......it is bad :)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

He might kill me

But how cute is our chubby chubberson in these pj's?!?!?!?!!? I had found these basically in the bottom of his drawer - somehow they had been buried and I thought they were cute, plus they were perfect for the hot beach to sleep in so I figured what the hey..........


SPANDIES!!! These would be loose on most children.....but not this kid and NOT those thighs :)



I think these 24 month pajamas are a little too small - what do you think?!?!?!?! hahaha oh buddy, you are a handful.......

Monday, June 20, 2011

A stripper's early years.....

Might look something like this.


YouTube Video


Then again the kid likes to see how many ways he can switch up the "where is Declan" game. :) I pray he doesn't learn how to take his pants or diaper off anytime soon.....

- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Bald Head take two!

So we got to go back to bald head this past week but for much shorter of a time than we were hoping :( just way too much going on in our lives right now for a Vacay. Honestly as we were driving down Paul and I were contemplating a) just turning around or b) only stayin a day and a half because we really needed to be in Conway figuring out our housing situation. We figured we would do b but thank the good Lord above - we wrote a letter begging and pleading and offering to pay more if the landlord would extend our lease just 6 months and they did!!!! Halleluja! We basically layed out the situation and begged and they understood finallyyyyyyyyy and made a deal with us. Phew.

We still came back on Friday - Paul went to georgia for his godsons christening and decky and I are back on the house hunt as well as getting all the info needed to get preapproved for a loan. It's certainly a good time to buy a home price wise but the process to borrow money now because of the massive fallout is a little intense. Oh well it is what it is and I really hope we can reallyyyy start looking for serious here as soon as Paul gets back. With his season coming up in a month it will be back to the madness and I am sure as hell not choosing this home on my own!

In any case - some phone pics!
Another awesome trip - cannot say enough how much the little man loves it down there (and so do we!!)



My brother had made these before so we tried them one night - insane - chocolate chip wrapped around an oreo topped with ice cream. Please.












YouTube Video


- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

Well that is new!

We haven't done any sort of sign language with decky but since he doesn't say a whole lot yet we figured it might be time to give it a shot. It's been pretty amazing how much he has picked up and how quickly.......... I'm guessing there's a reason so many daycares are putting it in their curriculum - there is certainly something to it. My favorite is when he says "please" - rubs his belly like the chubby kid that he is :) and he has has has to lift his shirt everytime.


YouTube Video

The other new thing is how good he has gotten at feeding himself! I was able to just give him this bowl of cantelope and walk away! Good lord stop growing so fast please......


YouTube Video
- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

Enough already





Lots to update on but the long and short of it is that our house in Colorado got about 50 showings and not one offer up until 3 weeks ago. In two days we had an offer and were then under contract set to close on 6/22.

On the flip side we had just assumed the house we were renting in Conway would let us go month to month just for a month or two until we found a place. Not the case - will write about that later so decky and I drove about 200 miles last weekend looking at houses because at that point we were going to have to set a world record on closing in co/finding a house in SC/closing on that in about 30 days...

And this is what Declan thought about that. I don't know how many grapes and bananas I fed him last weekend to keep him from going crazy but he earned t sitting in his seat for so long just driving and getting lost with mommy.


- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Currently I'm diggin........

Our "garden" - we don't have an area that I can really plant herbs and vegetables but luckily Bill made us these awesome planters last year that made the trip so I planted a few things and they're really starting to take off.

Jalapenos!

I just cut all the cilantro and used it in quac, salsa and a couple mexican dishes so that's coming back right now but use your imagination! It was DELICIOUS!

Basil! I went to the grocery store today and looked everywhere for pine nuts (I want to make pesto for goodness sakes!) and couldn't find, finally asked someone there and they said "paaaaan nuts???? whut are tha-ose???" so yea, not sure what I'm gonna do with all this basil because clearly I couldn't find a key ingredient....

Tomatoes!

Little babies! I am trying out some heirloom plants this time so we'll see how they come out.

My baby and his curls......no, Paul, you are NOT cutting!

My new necklace! I am not someone who wears a ton of jewelry. I've worn the same necklace for almost 10 years now - every. single. day. my mom gave it to me the day she dropped me off at Wake for preseason my freshman year. It's a guardian angel and she has the same necklace - she told me that if I always wear mine, she always wears hers, we will never be apart...........and we have never been apart :)

For Mother's Day/our anniversary, Paul wanted to get me a necklace but he wanted me to pick it out and I saw these and thought they were very unique, very special, and something I could wear every day. It's a calendar necklace from Dalla Nonna, and its Paul and I's anniversary. The best day of my life to date, and now I get to wear it close to my heart every single day. 

And of course this kid :) He's got on his monster PJ's, which really......are perfect for him.

Little cheese monster :) Love him. More than life.

This face:


Makes me forget.

There is a whole lot of pregnancy/labor/parenthood propaganda out there. Not that they make it sound easy, but they make it sound all rosy and beautiful and like this little wonderland so if you don't feel like at all times, there is clearly something wrong with you. False. The truth is, its extremely hard, its not rosy, its a whole heckuva lot of insecure times, its physically dirty (and gross) and there are times that you just want to ball up, cry, and somehow enter a time machine that will take you back to when you had absolutely no one to worry about except for yourself.

Everyone also always says "oh once you hold that baby in your arms you'll forget EVERYTHING" - again - false. For me at least. I will never forget the 0 to 60 my body went thru in terms of contractions thanks to a little gel induction. I will never forget vomitting, pooping and having a horrible contraction all at once on the toilet while my husband holds the trash can for me to throw up in. Vulgar, sorry, but true and no one ever talks about THAT part of it! I don't think (although Paul begs to differ) I ever even let out a fart in front of my husband up until that point but there I am rocking all three at once - it can really only go up from there right? I'll never forget the terrible pain I felt when Declan was crowning and my epidural had worn off and I will certainly never forget feeling everything tear - yes - because of his monster head. And then the stitching up part...I mean come on. Holding Declan and looking at him after all that time was amazing......but not amazing enough to make me forget those last 8 hours. Sorry.



Those baby blues however make me forget about the first few weeks when we were up all night. It makes me forget the first 2 weeks trying to figure out why he was up all day every day screaming and not sleeping like every other newborn I had seen (oh - you aren't getting any food?! you're starving?!?! ok then mommy is so sorry!!!! let's fix that asap!). It makes me forget the stress about his skin issues and subsequent allergies. It makes me forget about how the fits he throws when I say "NO" to something he really really wants. It makes me forget the really bad days and I can honestly say when I look back on these last 16 months, I truly only remember the good times. It is crazy and I'm a cheesy person yes but I do try to be honest about life so when things are bad I'll say they're bad - but I really don't remember the bad times. They're washed from my memory. I only remember his first smile, his first laugh, when he first rolled over, watching his intense blue collar self teach himself to crawl, his incredibly social, charming and flirty personality etc etc etc. I could go on, as any mom could I'm sure. 

I'm reading "the girl with the dragoon tattoo" right now and the other night it was A) late but B) in a really suspenseful/kind of scary spot (thus why i was up late reading) and I was like ok i really need to put this down and go to bed but I was far too scared to relax and fall asleep. so i took out my phone, looked at these pictures of declan that i had taken that day and i swear they just made me smile and take a breath. 

He really does make everything better. And makes me forget all the bad...........

Monday, June 6, 2011

Bald Head!

AH!
  We had such a great long Memorial Day weekend down there - can't wait to go back next week for the real thing! And this time Paul is coming! For some reason blogger isn't letting me upload photos so I'll attach our mobile me gallery at the end of the post for all the pics but it was just such a nice few days down at the beach with my fam. Graham, my dad, and my mom were all down there and we just enjoyed time together. Doing nothing :)
  Their house is right on the beach so it makes life easy - you wake up, eat breakfast, and walk 100 yards to the beach. That about 4 other people are on. I'm telling you, you want to relax and really really really get away, Bald Head is the place to be.
  After Declan's "nap" (he didn't sleep well the first few days................I tried very hard not to freak out), my dad and I took him down to the one of the pools and he loved that too. The kid is a definite water baby. Otherwise, Declan and Graham (Uncle Boo Boo) are total besties - it truly truly warms my heart. Graham had just graduated HS on that Friday and it had been a pretty busy/stressful Spring for him so I know he was wanting to relax but not with this kid around!!!! If there was ever a second that Graham was sitting or laying down (including at night when he was sleeping), Declan was all up in his business, either poking at his eyes to wake up, or pulling his hand to take him somewhere he wanted to go. It was really cute and I love how much Declan loves my brothers - he loves all of them but he sees Graham the most! (Another reason we have to get out to CU asap :) )
  So all in all, it was a great long weekend, awesome time at the beach and pool, good food, good family time and can't wait to get back! Thanks, mom and dad, for dealing with my crazy demands of "please be quiet Declan is sleeping" and moving things around to accomodate us! We will see you soon :)


Pics!
http://gallery.me.com/hoganpaul1#100554

This kid:




is not Declan :) Although it very much so looks like him......It's my little baby brother Graham............and he is now a high school graduate and heading to CU!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


I could not be more proud of Graham. He put himself in a really great position - he got into every school he applied to, got tons of scholarships for being smart (something I know nothing about :) ), all of which had huge ups and a few downs. Colorado included. Ultimately, CU fits his lifestyle the best and provides so many opportunities - school included (dad) - for him to push himself and get outside his comfort zone while being the super outdoorsy, health conscious young man that he is. My heart seriously drops every time I think about the fact that we just moved from there, BUT, it is what it is and I'm beyond excited because it gives Paul, Declan and I the best reason ever to go back and visit - multiple times a year. Make room in your dorm room, Boo - your favorite sister is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Truly though - Graham has always been, and remains, a super laid back, go with the flow kind of person (again, something I know nothing about) so I was certain he would stay close to home and go to Wake or Carolina.....even though I knew how much he loved Colorado. It just seemed like a little big of a jump, too much of a chance etc etc etc but he took it like a MAN and he's going for it. So proud. Beyond proud. My baby brother is so grown up.....................I really cannot believe it.

 Declan please slow down because I can't handle another of my "babies" growing up as quickly as Graham has.

Love you, Boo! I can't wait to watch you on this next journey............you are going to be absolutely amazing, I know it!

And you always have this kid to come back to........... :) Best buddies. 












Sunday, June 5, 2011

Someone needs to teach this kid how to eat!




What was once a yummy bowl of stir-fry.....





YouTube Video

He is foul - truly. I had some cleaning to do but he was gonna lose his mind he was so hungry so I sat him down with some carrots and hummus and THIS happens. Thank God we are renting right now.........this kid makes such a mess on an hourly basis.

Ga-Ross. But it is our life. Thank heavens Paul has loosened up on how clean he thinks our house should be at all times cause that ain't never gonna happen with this kid!!

- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Beach baby

Wish anklet..........decky wouldn't tell me what he wished for but I might have an idea....




........................A BANANA ;)


Holy tan line!



- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!

DBH's first recruiting video feedback:

---I sent the video of Decky with his soccer ball and this is what Paul did with it :) I almost peed myself laughing! Kyle is hilarious and a good friend of Paul's - he's the asst coach for the men's team so clearly this is all in good fun in case you were wondering. We aren't THOSE PARENTS............................




yet.


-----Original Message-----
From: Kyle Russell
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:21 PM
To: Paul Hogan
Cc: Shaun Docking
Subject: RE: Future little messi

Mr. Hogan,

Thank you for the video on your son and your interest in Coastal Carolina University.  We have a very good program here.  Unfortunately, it is vital for us to see potential recruits to your son play in person before we can make any decisions on roster spots and or scholarships.  We would love to extend the opportunity for your son to train and be exposed to the D1 level at our up-coming Summer Academy Camp.  Please visit our website www.ccusoccer.com
From the video alone, I can tell your son may have a bright future here at Coastal Carolina University!  Thanks


Kyle Russell
Assistant Men's Soccer Coach
Coastal Carolina University
2010 Big South Conference Champs
Cell # 843-333-1235
Office # 843-349-2910
Fax # 843-349-2240
http://www.goccusports.com/sports/m-soccer/coas-m-soccer-body.html
________________________________________
From: Paul Hogan
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:12 PM
To: Kyle Russell
Subject: FW: Future little messi

Declan has been practicing. On what you see on this video is he worthy of a scholarship?



Go Chants!

Paul Hogan
Head Women's Soccer Coach
Coastal Carolina University
843-796-0028 (C)
843-349-2859 (O)
843-349-2240 (F)
www.GoCCUSports.com

Declan "Messi" Hogan


YouTube Video

My favorite player in the world is Lionel Messi - argentinian little buddy who plays for Barcelona. He is nasty...........like insane, if you love soccer as much as Paul and I do, watching him just makes you happy.

In any case, he is tiny - prob 5'5 or so but will trick your socks off and seeing as decky is currently in the 10th percentile for his height - we might have a little Messi on our hands :) go on with your bad self, Declan!

- Posted on the run using BlogPress from my iPhone - because chasing a toddler all day does not leave time to sit on a computer and blog!