Sweet Tators and Baseball- WELCOME TO THE SOUTH!

I know I have kept y'all on the edge of your seats with my talk of Chatham eating solids, me making him sweet potatoes and avocado....AND the ultimate family night extravaganza- WELL.... I finally got off my lazy butt (haha) and upload the pictures.

Here is my process for making the sweet potatoes. I am sure I already told you but I cubed, peeled and boiled the tators, then I mashed them slightly with a fork before putting them in a blender:

I pureed it with 3 1/2 formula (adding them an ounce at a time)

Then I scooped them into an ice cube tray and popped it in the freezer over night. Easy clean up and Chatham LOVES them!

*Notice the homemade bread in the backgroud- that NEVER happens at my house, so I love this picture as it makes me look like a MAJORLY good house wife (let's not tell anyone my hubby actually made the bread, not me) hehe

Also on Tuesday a LARGE group of us got together for the first of many Family Outings!! I am SO excited about this. I am not a great planner and was so afraid NO ONE would show, but we ended up with 11 families; that's 20 adults, 7 babies under 10 months, and 7 kids over the age of 2. Aside from a few scattered showers and a final BIG thunderstorm it went well. We were able to sit together for the most part and the kids ran around, played in the play area, enjoyed $1 dogs (that's HOTdogs) and the adults got to meet new friends!

Nicholas and Chatham were VERY excited to see the Hickory Crawdad's play & The Barry's, Cook's, and Jackson's were some of the first to arrive-

then the fun begin and the camera fell to the bottom of the diaper bag.
Next on the books is a LARGE family picnic at the end of August- let me know if you're in the area and want to join in the fun.

Show Us your life...

Here I go again, bragging about Kelly's Korner, today she is touring our lives at our weddings. Looking at flowers, bridesmaids dresses, and other fun accessories from the big day.
So now you go to her page and add yourself to the list, I would love to see your big day!!!

Well my mom's BEST FRIEND and my "uncle" is a florist- so my flowers were AMAZING!!! and I still LOVE my "maids" dresses!

That's my sister-in-law, Amber, she wore a tea length dress similar to the "maids" and sang two songs during our wedding- "Your song" by Elton John and "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson- It was Phenomenal!!!

It Won't Be Like This For Long

He didnt have to wake up
He'd been up all nite
Lay'n there in bed listen'n
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It gonna be OK

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laugh'n
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It wont be like this for long

These are the first two verses of Darius Rucker's (Hootie's) song "It Won't Be Like This for Long"
When I was breastfeeding Chatham still I would sing this to myself as I would start to get frustrated in the wee hours of the morning- and this morning I find myself missing that bonding time.
Just thought I'd share.

wholesomebabyfood.com

So i visited this website SEVERAL times before settling on avocado and sweet potato as my first attempts are homemade baby food. I got out my pot and my blender and my veggies and went to work. The avocado was SO simply- cut, scoop, mash, feed- unfortunately Chatham wasn't a fan, so easy isn't the best way to go in the Donley household. I then boiled two sweet potatoes (cut into chunks) for about 15-20 minutes (until they slid off the fork when "stuck") then I popped them in the blender with 3 1/2 oz. of formula, I added one ounce at a time until the desired consistency. Chatham LOVED the sweet potatoes- even better than the store bought kind. They were a little thicker so it didn't drip out the sides of his mouth as much.
We still have lots of canned baby food to introduce different foods to him- tomorrow is carrots! and Saturday will be bananas- I'll keep you posted.

I'd love to hear comments on recipes and tips from other homemade baby food mama's. What's easy, what's nutritionally best, what did your little one like best......

Chatham's Shout outs for today are:
Welcome to the world Conner!! Conner was born on Friday July 24th!!
also
Congrats to Jen, Amanda G, Katie, Amanda B, Buffy, Amber, and Ashley who are all expecting- due in Jan., Feb., and March!!!!!

Bad day! (Short Post)

So I was going to post these really cute pictures of the home made baby food I made this weekend- with pictures of Chatham meeting his Grandma JoJo (Devin's Stepmom) for the first time- and of course him eating said food I made. I also was going to brag about Chatham sleeping through the night and turning 4 months old today!
BUT....
Our cars got broken into last night and I am just so made I could Spit (that's southern for I'm PISSED!)
So while I fuel my hatred for lazy, unemployed theives- who invaded my space and now must DIE! I won't be posting today- I don't want to bring down everyone's mood and will post about my wonderful weekend tomorrow!!!

Happy Monday!!

SHOW US YOUR....

If you read Kelly's Korner blog then you know that every Friday you get to show off an aspect of your life- this week is WEDDING DRESSES!!!

Devin and I got married Sept 15th, 2009 at Mount Olive Lutheran-

And the reception was at Mosteller Mansion- I LOVED our cake it was made my Mrs. Shannon Hayes at Sugar Plum Fairies.

The dress I got was on a frame facing backward at the back door of a local bridal boutique it was "last season" and they were going to throw it out- I got it for $75 (sticker price $450)!!!! I LOVED my dress!!!

I say "loved" because the cleaner that I took it too shipped it off and never got it back- shipped it UNINSURED!!! So my lovely MAJOR SALE bridal gown is gone forever!!! At least I have about 50,000 pictures to remember it by- and I'm only out $75.

Wordless Wednesday

Playdate at the Cook's!

Dinner with my godparents (Ali and Curtis)

Mr. Donley Goes To Washington

Chatham, VA

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY!

I took three pregnancy tests to find out that I was pregnant!!!

I remember it all. Driving home from Baltimore from a weekend at Katie's the whole ride home (all 7 1/2 hours) I was thinking I was, I wanted to stop and test and JUST KNOW- but Devin was wanting to be there for that moment, so I waited- and waited- and waited.

FINALLY at 3:18 pm I got home.... we tested, the line was so faint I decided it meant I wasn't and we went on about our day. Around 7 pm I went to the bathroom and just so happen to look into the trash can and low and behold- the line was BRIGHT pink- was it something in the can, is that what happens over time....WAS I PREGNANT???

I called my friend Ashley (who is a mom) and asked what she thought- she had a digital test at her house leftover from when she found out she was pregnant with Quentin- so we were off to Ashley's got the test came home- it was now 7:58 pm (are you starting to notice the consistant EIGHT in all of this) We read the directions on the way home so here we go again- and two minutes later the screen says....

ERROR! what, ERROR, I didn't see that in the directions- I reread and realized I was too eager and "over saturated" so now we are BACK IN THE CAR (remember that I drove 7 1/2 hours already!!!) we went to Food Lion right near our house and you know what-

they were OUT of pregnancy tests- every brand, every style- NONE! So when in doubt- go to WAL*MART! We did and bought another digital test. (It was now 8:18Pm- and the car themometer read 88 degrees)

I decided to use the directions that tell you to pee in a cup and hold the stick at 180 degrees- I did just that- and before I even pulled the stick out of the cup it said...in all CAPS.....

PREGNANT!

Well, if you know me AT ALL, you know that when I know something I want to tell the world!

SO I DID- by 10 Pm we had gone to my parents, Devin's parents, called Amanda to have her schedule my appt the following day, called my sister, Marsha, and Ashley!

It feels like Chatham has been in my life FOREVER, but at the same time, I remember July 21st, 2008 SO vividly, it seems like it could have been just last week.

What a whirlwind of a year it has been!!! I couldn't ask for anything more- and I am SO excited to see what the following year holds for my little family!!

Chatham got the Travel Bug

So Chatham made his first trip out of state this past weekend. We went to Northern Virginia and stayed with my cousin, Alice, and her husband, Curtis (they're Chatham's god parents) and we had a BALL! I am working on getting pictures, but as always they'll come later.
It was a great trip, six hours in the car seat and chatham was just wonderful the whole way
UNTIL....
We got tried to put him back in it to go to dinner- he was NOT having that. He screamed ALL the way to babies r us, then ALL the way to dinner, then ALL the home- although every time we got some where and took him out of the seat he was as happy as a clam.
Saturday Devin and Curtis did the DC tour (Devin had never been there) and they saw it ALL- monuments, museums, buildings, if it is IN DC they did it- walked almost 13 miles!!! GEEZ!
In the mean time- Alice and I shopped with Chatham and vistied with Curtis' parents (they were wonderful)~ Mrs. Curtis' mom made a FABULOUS taco salad for lunch and got Chatham some ADOREABLE outfits for this summer! Chatham was an angel and just coo'd and giggled with Mr. and Mrs. the whole time. Then we got his baptism outfit (he's getting baptised in August) we had to wait in hopes that the reflux would get better (or at least managable) as to not ruin the carpet in the sanctuary. So now we have everything set. Of course that's not all we bought, but I don't want to incriminate myself, the credit card bill hasn't come yet, and I'm not sure my husband noticed ALLLL the bags.
Chatham did great on the drive home too, we stopped twice for some baby yoga to make sure he was cozy and I think that did the trick. Now he is addicted to traveling and is looking forward to more road trips in the future!
Oh I almost forgot--
on the way there we went through CHATHAM, VA!!! Of course I LOVED it, Chatham slept through the event- but I was able to capture one picture as we cruised on through. It was such a cute town and EVERYTHING had his name on it (which you all know I LOVE) in BRIGHT letters it had CHATHAM POST OFFICE, and CHATHAM HARDWARE...there was even a CHATHAM ICE CREAM PARLOR/ PUTT PUTT. I really wanted a picture of the HUGE white antiqued sign that said Historic Chatham and stated the population, but Devin wasn't as interested as I was so we kept on trucking.
I can't wait to post pictures, and I STILL need to add the cute ones from our date with the Cook's last week.

As you can tell you have much to look forward too, so come back soon.

Foto Friday...

This is my take on Wordless Wednesday- I just couldn't wait that long!!1

Chatham wishes everyone a wonderful weekend and has been screaming all day "Virginia here I Come!!!"

getting ready

I remember having to pack for the beach trip in May, Chatham was only 4 weeks old and I had an ENTIRE suitcase of stuff backed for our four day trip. Now, he is 3 1/2 months old and I have a suitcase JUST AS BIG for a two night trip to Virginia to see his godparents. I suppose we do need more than the average baby due to the reflux- we have recieving blankets as burp clothes and an extra outfits for when the reieving blanket just doesn't seem to catch it all.

I can't wait to get to post pictures from this weekend- I LOVE pictures of Ali and Curtis with Chatham- they are awesome with him.

I am a little nervous about the 6 hour drive to their house- it took 5 hours to get to the beach in May and that was rough- we ended up having to stop every 2 hours so it took up close to 8 1/2 hours to get there... now that he is older and able to eat with little to no spit up and doesn't have to get out of the carseat to be fed- (No, I don't do that often! only on long car rides- like Raleigh and Charlotte)

Also, we are planning a family night at the Crawdad's for our friends and their kids- if you're interested let me know. We are looking at dates and will probably go on the 28th or 29th of this month. Tickets are only 5 dollars for adults; 4 for kids 3-12; and free for kids 2 and under. The more the merrier, so let me know and I'll order our tickets ahead of time to get the group rate.

Not Me, Monday

So EVERY week I read my fellow bloggers posts (mycharmingkids) about what the DID NOT do they previous week and weekend- and everytime I think of several clever things I didn't do....so I am giving in and HOPE I can do this correctly...

*This weekend I did not let my son hang out on a large blanket with no clothes on as to reduce the amount of laundry I had to do on Sunday.

*I did not change my ringtone on my phone to a lullaby as to not wake up my sleeping boy when he's napping. And I did NOT have to do this because 9 out of 10 times I lose my phone it is IN Chatham's crib.

And MOST importantly....

*I did not start to discipline my dog for rolling in the grass and getting dirty, then relizing the crap in her fur was in fact spit up!! (Sorry Allie!!)

So maybe this week wasn't on of the REALLY clever, witty days I have had in the past- but I have cute new pictures of Chatham (& Carysn) to make up for it.

Not as Savvy as I thought.... or am I...

I am trying to learn how to post videos- I have several; but don't know which is which just yet, so bare with us....

Happy birthday Max!!

I know this isn't my child- but I LOVE my nephew just as much! And I HAD to post these pictures!

Included in our fourth of July celebrations was a birthday party for Max (Aunt ma'ams golden) and a YAY for Ben party (my brother in law passed a MAJOR test for engineers!!! GO BEN!!)

So Chatham and I had left before the cake was cut, but I LOVE this picture of Thomas getting festive for his Daddy's big party!!!!

More 4th pictures to come!

Much to post....little to see

Sadly there will be no pictures in this post because our computer crashed this weekend-
along with two shelves in the fridge, and the bouncey seat- at one point we had so many this taken apart in our home we were concerned that the computer would be too cool, the fridge would sing and vibrate and the bouncy seat would end up with a screen!! **Everything but the computer is now back in working order (thanks for asking)
Carrie was off 1/2 a day Thursday and we both were off on Friday. Thursday we just hung out and cleaned house and went to the pool for a bit. Friday we went to the lake with Ashlee and Carsyn (it was Ashlee's brothers place) The babies swam- of course Chatham slept, and then we took a boat ride. There aren't any pictures of it though because Mama had the death grip on Chatham and was unable to document this event. But I'm sure we'll go again and I'll take some pictures then.
Saturday was the annual 4th of July party in Winston at Aunt Ma'ams- Thomas was there and the boys swam and napped and played in the shade. We didn't stay for fireworks, but after 7 hours of food and sun- Carrie was burnt, Devin was full, and Chatham was ready for bed. He slept 12 hours that night, a 4 hour nap on Sunday and 8 1/2 hours of sleep Sunday night- WOW!!!
Sunday Chatham went with Mama to deliver some clothes to some other babies and got to meet Chloe and Jackson- Chloe (4) was SO sweet and even held Chatham. Jackson (18 mos) popped Chatham on the head; bless his heart. Jackson is SO spunky though, he is my kind of kid! He kept pulling clothes out of the bag and then putting them all back in- PRECIOUS!
Other than lots of cooking, cleaning, bottles, bathes, and spit-ups I think you're pretty much up to date.
There are two shout outs for this blog!
**Welcome to the World Eva Renee who was born 7/2/09!!!**
and
**Yay for Carsyn who is sprouting her first tooth!!!**

Broken Hearted

I went to pick up Chatham yesterday after work and he was happy as a clam getting his diaper changed. As I turned the corner into the room he looked at me and started crying! A cry I've never heard before- it broke my heart. My mom said it was time for him to eat, so I chalked it up to a different "hungry cry". I feed him and we headed home. We had to go to WalMart so I picked up Devin and we were off- Devin decided to sit in the backseat to talk to Chatham- as soon as Devin shut the door Chatham took one look at him and started wailing!! The same cry I recieved at mom's- HMMMM, my heart broke again- is he starting to like Gram better than Mama and Daddy!! Well it didn't last long, by the time we were at the store Chatham was as happy and giddy to see us as ever. He laughed and babbled the whole time we were in WalMart.

So Devin and I have decided he was crying because he had missed us SOOO much and was SOOO happy to see us!

On another note- Chatham's Baptism invitations came today!! I LOVE THEM!! I am sending them to family members, so when I can I will scan it in for everyone else to know that they are more than welcome to come to the service OR the drop in at our home. I am so excited to have him baptised. I got baptised two years ago this month- AND Devin and I got married in this Church. I love our church and can't wait for Chatham to join us in worship there.

I took Chatham's 3 months pictures this weekend, but we've had a busy few days and I will try to get pictures scanned tonight and posted tomorrow!