Oh the Joys of Teething...

I'm pretty sure Tanner is officially teething now. I have a new respect for mothers of babies who have colic! Tanner hardly ever cries... and these last 4 days it has been non-stop. I just feel so bad for the little guy. I've tried the homeopathic teething tablets- with no result, so I finally decided to give him some Tylenol. I guess you can say the little guy was exhausted because about half an hour after the Tylenol, he was dead asleep. He just gnaws on everything he can get his hands on. His little gums are red, but not swollen- so I'm not sure how long this will last. I really hope its not too much longer, its been so rough on the little man.

In other news, Tanner tried green beans this week and he tried sweet potatoes tonight at dinner. The green beans...well lets just say that it didn't go over well. He just gagged and gagged...it was sorta funny, but mostly just sad.


But tonight at dinner he gobbled up a whole serving of sweet potatoes. I guess he just wanted something more sweet. I think we'll try some carrots next, or maybe squash. I made a ton of baby food last week using my pressure cooker and food processor- so we're pretty set for a while. I just hope eventually he likes green beans because I have a ton in my freezer.

My Aunt Lynnette and Aunt Jan are in town right now too, so we've been spending a lot of time over at my parent's house this weekend. Tanner got so much attention at Church today- he is the most spoiled almost-6-month-old ever!!!
Tanner in his Sunday clothes today.

Silly Tanner


Here are few others of Tanner from the past week that just crack me up. He has such a blast in the tub each night, I really look forward to giving him his bath so I can see him splash around.


For dinner last night we all went out the the "Back Forty" and ate together. Tanner had been pretty fussy and didn't want to eat his green beans I'd packed or his cereal, so he was just playing with some toys and my straw from my drink. Then my food came and there was a pickle on the side and before I could stop Tanner he grabbed and shoved it in his mouth.

I thought he would get one taste of it and throw it on the floor, but he kept on sucking on it. He would make a sour face occasionally, but for the most part gnawing on the pickle was the best part of his night.
What kind of baby likes pickles? He's so weird right?

Tanner has also discovered that he loves his Aunt Laura's watch strap. He will gum that for half an hour before that gets boring.


He also found the animal train in his room this week and we've been having fun watching the train drive around his nursery. It drove past him and he decided he wanted to catch a ride, but instead the back end of the train came unhooked and Tanner was left behind while the front part kept moving. His little face was priceless at that point.

Tanner so confused over why the Train isn't moving with him...

Tanner's teething grin. I love it! And I love his fat little belly.


That's what is going on with us right now. Life is so much better now that Chris' test is over. There might be some big changes up ahead for us, but nothing definite yet. I'll keep you posted!

He Passed!!!!

After all the stress of the last two weeks..it's finally all over. Chris passed his big "Series 7" test. We left for Springfield at 6:30 am yesterday morning. We arrived at his testing center at 8:30 am. He started the first half of his test- 125 questions. 2 1/2 hours later- he called me to pick him up for his lunch break. We ate together, and then he went back for the second half- another 125 questions. Tanner and I waited- somewhat patiently, but mostly just anxiously. At 3:00 Chris called me to come and get him, and he didn't say whether or not he had passed, so I was getting nervous- I thought- "if he'd passed he would have announced it right away..." Well-- he just likes keeping me in suspense- He passed!!!
We celebrated by doing some shopping and gorging ourselves at Red Lobster. Seriously GORGING! It was "Lobster Fest"- need I say more?
So today Chris is taking the day off to continue the celebration! We are so excited!!! We can finally have out lives back.
Congrats to my wonderful, highly-intelligent, amazing husband!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The most romantic day of they year has come once again. Most romantic right??? Well for us, it was kind of crazy, stressful, busy...but yes- it was still romantic. Chris is taking his "series 7" test on Tuesday. This test is pretty much the key to success in the financial investments and advising industry. He has been studying from 8 am to about 10 pm everyday for the last 2 weeks. So you can say we've kind of been on pins and needles lately. But hopefully it will all pay off. Tanner and I trying to find quite ways to have fun while Dad studies. Tanner in his crib playing with his stuffed animals. Despite the tension we're both feeling right now, I think Valentine's day was a big success. It was a two-day event and this year it was Chris' turn to plan our date. We take turns- and even though he has been stressed out, he did a dang good job. Yesterday he made me chocolate chip waffles- one of my favorites- for breakfast. Then he studied all day and I went to my parent's house with Tanner to make Chris' heart shaped cinnamon rolls for the next morning. When I got back from doing that, I started getting my house ready for my sister Laura and her friend to come over and babysit Tanner. I made some cupcakes with "X" and "O"s on them, a heart shaped pizza, and then I laid out every chick flick we own for them to pick from.

There was also a card and box of chocolates from Tanner- thanking his Aunt Laura for being his valentine.
Anyways- after Laura and her friend got to our house, Chris and I left for our dinner reservation. And get ready to be impressed- Chris made this reservation a month in advance- So he really had been thinking about this day for a while. We ate at "Me" on the Square. It was delicious food, with a cozy and romantic atmosphere. It was a little pricey, but once a year we can splurge. That was about a 2 hour dinner...then we went to see a movie. We saw "Valentine's Day" which I wouldn't really recommend...lots of big names, but not much of a plot. Tanner (Dad) gave me a big box of chocolates and Tanner (Me) gave Dad a big candy bouquet and some new ties. Then today we had heart shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast, went to church, ate our leftovers from dinner last night. YUM!
Tanner in his "Valentine's Day" outfit.

Then snuggled up for another sappy movie. "Love Happens" It was good- not really what we expected, but clean and sometimes funny. So I guess you could say.. "so far so good" I love my sweet husband and all he does for me. And I know its pathetic, because you shouldn't need a reason to spoil your husband, but I'm grateful for this day- because it gives me an excuse to be extra sappy and lovey dovey with him.
In other news.. Tanner is still growing up way too fast. He discovered his play bench this past week and we've been having a blast with that.

Here is a video clip of Tanner and Papa playing this week. Its short because I ran out of memory on my camera- but this went on for probably 10 minutes.

I love his little laugh. Also- Tanner is still trying to cut teeth- and I've discovered these little netted teethers are wonderful for holding ice. He gums on this to his heart's content.

I remodeled one of Tanner's onsie this week. It use to just be gray- i added the argyle design to the front of it. Really easy!



And I also made a few more ties for Tanner this week.

My sweet boy

booty-licious!


Well that was our big Valentine's Day event. Next year is my turn- and call me crazy, but I'm already planning our valentine's cards.
I sent a few out this year, if you didn't get one- I apologize- but here is what they looked like.

I didn't make many- but next year I'll do better- I promise.
Love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Fun

We've been busy this week getting ready for Valentine's day. I decided to take advantage of the fact that the hubby was gone and get all my "secret" valentine's projects done. We missed Chris a lot, but I'm thrilled to have my Valentine's day gifts finished. For those of you who know me, know that Valentine's day is kinda a big deal to me. So anyways- if any of you ladies needs a good idea for a gift for your man, I will show you what I'm doing for Chris this year- feel free to copy it.
I've made Chris a candy bouquet and I'm making heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for the morning of. I'm so excited. We take turns planning valentines day- and this year it's Chris' turn. All I know is that he's taking me to this new really fancy, cozy place on the square for Dinner. We've got a sitter and I'm so excited for a romantic night out with him. Here is a picture of the candy bouquet and the heart shaped cinnamon rolls I'm going to make. I'm not doing anything really big, since its not my year- but I have to do something... or a few somethings.



Looks yummy huh? All you do is roll the dough the opposite direction that you usually would and then pinch the end. They're so cute.


Anyways, enough about Chris- This is what Tanner and I have been up to. He is the sweetest little cupid ever. He let me make him cupid wings, a quiver of arrows and bow, and he wore a cloth diaper. We took pictures of him as cupid to make Valentine's day cards with. I love how they turn out.

He was a really good sport- this is towards the end...he was so happy to be playing on his back instead of on his tummy.


I really liked this one...well i really like a lot of them...

This is my favorite and the one I decided to use for the Valentine's day cards

Then to finish the week off- I recovered the high chair at my parent's house. This high chair was given to them- and even though I'm all about free stuff- this one had dog hair all over the cover and I just couldn't handle it. So I decided to make a new cover for it.

This is what I started with....


And this is the finished product. Not perfect, but it will work- and I already had the material so it cost about 3 dollars to buy the bias tape and elastic. SO easy.



Well that's it for us this week. We're supposed to get more snow tonight, which means I'll probably be stuck inside...which is fine because I'm sure I can find more projects to busy myself with. Let me know if you have any good ideas.