SNOW SNOW SNOW!

So.. I think it snowed.. Brian is continuously walking in the room telling me we have snow.. For the record we have about 14+ inches of snow.. and he knows I HATE snow!  I think he is just rubbing it in :)  But on the bright side of things, we are stuck at home for the time being and I have gotten lots done!  Including some cleaning, christmas cookies, relaxation and tv time!  We even had a date night last night!!!  Date night included putting Burke to bed and watching Up, but hey it was nice!

Part of me hopes we are stuck inside for the next two weeks and we can just stay here for the holidays and do absolutely nothing, but then I would totally miss Christmas morning at my parents and be sad!  I am absolutely dreading the trip next week.. Last trip we took, Burke wasn't a bad traveler, but we did a LOT of driving (Richmond, C'ville, back to Richmond and back to Blacksburg).  and don't forget it took about 5.5 hours to get back (when it usually takes about 3).. and it took Burke about 2 weeks to get back on a schedule (which we are still struggling with a month later!), so I am dreading it :)  I do look forward to visiting family, but next year we need to have everyone come here! Having kids makes traveling way too complicated!

I think we are finally done with Christmas shopping, although everytime I say that, I am reminded of one more thing that needs to be done!  We are looking forward to the fun of Burke's first Christmas!  Hope you and your family have a good one!!

Grandma's Birthday and Santa!

My mom's birthday was Decemeber 6th so we sent her a picture from Burke...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

SANTA!

This weekend we were supposed to go have brunch with santa (well, i was going to work and Brian and Burke were going to get pictures, pays to work at the club :)) but it was postponed due to the bad weather, but luckily Santa flew in for an hour, so we took Burke to get a few pictures!  As you can tell, he didn't even notice! I have a better picture, but I can't seem to figure out how to turn it sideways?! But here you have it...

Burke and daddy had some fun hanging out in the office while I helped Santa!

Well, I think we are all ready for Christmas!  Finally finished shopping and wrapping.. Now time to enjoy the season right?!? 

Going Private?

Become a follower now! Even if I don't know you well or we haven't kept in touch..I am considering going private soon and you won't be able to see us for long! So let me know! You can leave a comment..

Burke is 5 months old!

Burke's First Meal!

my 5 month old baby!

At 5 months old Burke is:

 - about 12 lbs, still in size 1 diapers and wears 0-3 months clothes (some things 3-6 months)

- smiles, talks and laughs lots!

 - especially loves laughing at barking dogs and when daddy fake coughs!

- has rolled over from tummy to back twice

- is just being introduced to solid foods and seems to like it (rice cereal!)

- happy most of the time

-not sleeping through the night anymore (uggg..)

- is reaching for and playing with toys

- loves eating his hands but hasn't found his feet

-turns when someone is talking

-enjoys tummy time much more these days!

-during tummy time rests on his elbows (sometimes)

- goes to sleep on his own (no rocking or holding!) in his crib

- possibly going to rehab for his pacifier addiction ;)

BIG NEWS!

We met some major milestones today in our home! 

First we woke up to our first snowfall of the season!  Now if you know me, you know I hate snow, but regardless it was a first..

Burke rolled over for the first time today!  Stomach to back!  We've known it was coming for awhile, but today was the day.  I was cooking dinner and put Burke on his belly on his mat for some tummy time.. next thing I know Brian yells, he just rolled over! I was slightly sad to miss it, but he did it!

Next milestone is cereal!! I finally decided since Burke is five months old (can you believe it?!?) that we should probably start feeding him real food... And to be honest I was going to wait even longer because I am lazy and my nutrition background tells me he doesn't have to have it yet (and he was 5.5 weeks early), but since we are going to Disney in mid-May and I want to take as little baby stuff with us as possible, I decided we needed to get going, so he would have some table foods under his belt by May!! SO.. Today was the day... Burke will be 5 months tomorrow, but we both have to work, so we decided to go with it a day early (so we could both watch!).  Brian put together his highchair this afternoon, which was an early christmas present from Santa!  We fed him rice cereal this evening after his evening nap and it seemed to go great!  The first few bites he wasn't too sure about the flavor and what was going on.. but then he was definitely going back for more.. When he started to get fussy we called it quits and we'll try more tomorrow.  Much better first attempt than we were expecting!

Burke also actually reached for and was playing with toys today!

Exciting day!  I'll try and add photos later of all  the fun!

Thanksgiving Week

So I did not meet my goal last week of a post!  Bummer!  But to my credit, we had a VERY busy week!!  Monday night we went to the office to decorate Hutch's office for his big 3-0!

Tuesday we had a surprise party/dinner for him, then Wednesday we left for Richmond and a long weekend with the family!  And some how I packed my whole house in there too to get to Richmond!  We left Wednesday mid morning for Richmond to spend the Thanksgiving weekend with my family.  We had lots of fun and saw tons of people!  We made it there by about 2:30pm and spent some time with my family.  Everyone is way more excited to see us these days (since Burke was born), not sure why?! :)  Brian made his way over to Tim's to hang out that evening and Burke and I helped mom do some last minute grocery shopping and pre-cooking for Thanksgiving.

Burke's first Thanksgiving was GREAT!  We spent the day with my family, most people we have had for thanksgiving in a LONG time (once again I have a sneaking suspicion it was due to a certain baby)! Burke slept through Thanksgiving lunch and then was passed around after pie :)  We ate way too much and hung out for the rest of the day.  It was great to see everyone! 

Mom and Dad cooking

Friday Morning/Thursday night we spent doing a little christmas shopping.  We made the mistake of going to ToysRus with everyone else in Richmond in the POURING rain and lightning and thunder at midnight! But I did get everything I wanted!! We then made our way to bed and got up around 6:30 and left the house about 7:30 to get the rest of our black friday shopping done.  It was great!  We got a decent amont of sleep and got lots of good deals.  Sleeping in was well worth it and we really didn't miss anything!

Saturday was a BIG day in our house!  We got my dad VT vs UVA football tickets and all went to the game in Charlottesville.  It was lots of fun and the Hokies won! It was Burke's first away game and all of our first VT vs UVA game in C'ville.  We found great parking and beat the traffic which was great!  Generally speaking, the UVA fans were nice and it was a nice family outing!  We'll definitely have to do it again in 2011 (don't worry, we'll be at the game in Blacksburg next year)... Too bad they fired Groh, it might actually be a game next year (okay, i'll admit it we were all nervous at the beginning this year...)?

After a 5.5 hour drive home, we finally made it back Sunday night.. 81 was horrible and there were a million accidents, but we made it safely (and Burke was so good too!).. We were all definitely ready to be home and to get back to a sense of normalcy.. Now I'm playing catch-up and get ready for Christmas!  A couple weeks and we'll be making the same trip back for Christmas! 

Burke's Official Weigh In

Well, Burke had his official 4 month check-up today (two weeks late - but not my fault!  pediatrician had to reschedule).. He is 11 lbs 14 oz and 24.75 inches. He's finally on the charts! 1% for weight and 30% for height! Adjusted (for being early) he is 10% for weight and 75% for height!.. so basically we have a tall, skinny kid (much like his daddy!) he had FIVE vaccines and has not been too happy about it either!  Hopefully he'll be feeling better tomorrow.  But he got a clean bill of health!  No solid foods yet, Doctor and I decided he can wait til closer to 6 months (he's growing better than expected and doesn't seem ready yet - according to the dietitian in me :)).  And when we were talking, the doctor jokingly told Burke he was sorry he had an RD for a mom! boo!  Trust me.. I eat junk all the time! :)

A Day "Off"

Burke and I enjoyed a rare day "off" today.  As many of you know that is unheard of in my life!  But today was rainy and any work I needed to get done could be done from home!  I decided last night that I would go ahead and sleep in and not go into the office today, but instead work on anything from home.. It was so nice!  Of course Burke did not sleep in or sleep particularly well last night, but it was still nice to have a relaxing day.  We enjoy a quiet morning watching the today show and surfing the web, then we met Daddy for lunch at the new Chinese buffet in town (very NICE!).  It was cold and rainy, but nice to get out anyway.  On a side note, the new chinese place is quite nice.  Nothing too special, but much cleaner than other Chinese places around (looks like they completely gutted El Guads) and at $7 per person (including a drink), can't really complain. 

We then picked up Ashley and went to Michael's for a little creative inspiration.. Ashley and I are totally going to have the BEST business ever!!  We made our way back home, did come crafts and made dinner.. Nice quiet day (yes I did some work too, but nothing major!)..

and for those who aren't on facebook.. Burke had his first real laugh Sunday night.. SO CUTE! 

Frugal Hokie

I started the savings thread.. http://www.frugalhokie.blogspot.com/

check it out!

Our First Lynchburg Visit

So we FINALLY made our way to Lunchburg for Burke to meet his Uncle Kevin(who was visiting from Atlanta), his Great-Granny and Great Papa, and visit Brian's Dad, Mom and stepdad too! It was a busy day with lots of visiting around town! (and a BIG Thanks to Ashley who helped us find the radio station so I could at least listen to some of the game! - AND the Hokies won!!)

We first stopped by his Dad's to visit and pick-up Kevin. We then made our way over to Granny and Papa's to visit! We spent some time talking and shooting (Burke and I did not partake in these festivities!).. Before we knew it, we were on our way to have dinner with Brian's Dad, Aunt Teresa and Aunt Barbara. WOW! What a day! We met up with a lot of people and spent a lot of time in the car! But it was nice to see everyone too!

The Up/Monster's Inc Deal

So I've had questions about the UP and Monster's Inc deal I was talking about.. Well, with some help from my Budget Board friends on disboards.. This is how it works


It's even cheaper now! Target lowered their price to $19.99!! so...

I hope this all makes sense!!

Target UP Blu-Ray Combo Pack $19.99 & Monsters Inc Blu-Ray $26.99
Price Match Monster's Inc with the Best Buy weekly ad which is - Blu-Ray $18.99
Total for both=$38.98 -

To price match you have to have the Best Buy ad from Sunday's paper.. if you don't have it, it's still a good deal! I couldn't find Monster's Inc so ended up just getting UP which was still a great deal $13.99 for me (would be 9.99 for you!)

Use the $10/2 Target coupon (scroll down and you will see the coupon )
http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/view.php?pg=coupon_generator

Plus, use the $8/1 Monsters Inc coupon:
http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qkcifxu68061081&bt=wi&o=59722&c=DV&p=kK1pQBX7

And also use the $10/1 UP coupon:
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/couponoffer/


Here are different ways to do it:

#1 - Target
-Pricematch the Best Buy ad price for Monsters Inc (need the ad)
-($19.99 + $18.99 = $38.98)
-Apply the Target coupon and the Monsters Inc/Up coupons
-($38.98 - $10 - $8 -$10)
Total = $10.98 (FOR BOTH!!)

#2 - Best Buy
-Pricematch the bestbuy.com price for Up, pay the BB special price for Monsters Inc (you would need to tell them in bestbuy that best buy.com has it for 19.99)
-($19.99 + $18.99 = $38.95)
-Apply the Monsters Inc/Up coupons
-($38.98 - $8 -$10)
-Total = $20.98

#3 - Best Buy
-Up, pay the BB special price for Monsters Inc
-($23.99 + $18.99 = $42.98)
-Apply the Monsters Inc/Up coupons
-($42.98 - $8 -$10)
-Total = $24.98

#4 - Target
-Pay the regular Target price for both Up and Monsters Inc
-($19.99 + $26.99 = $46.98)
-Apply the Target coupon and the Monsters Inc/Up coupons
-($46.98 - $10 - $8 -$10)
Total = $18.98

#5 - Amazon
-Pay the regular Amazon price for both Up and Monsters Inc
-($19.99 + $22.99 = $42.98)
-The Amazon coupon will automatically be applied
-($42.98 - $10)
Total = $32.98

I MADE MONEY at Target!

So.. As many of you know I am a HUGE Target lover and couponer! Well, today was another GREAT Target shopping day.. I love couponing! Yes, it takes time and can be tedious, but there is some sort of joy I find in getting a good deal?!? I've always been this way, not sure why? I think you are just born with it..

ANYWAY, whenever I shop at Target these days I always call Brian when I leave and say guess how much I saved today!?!? Well, it's not as fun anymore, b/c my savings although good are getting old (yes I can easily save $20-40 per trip and have even been known to save $60+) but today was a NEW DAY! I called Brian and informed him I actually MADE money at Target today!! That's right!! Upon check out the guy says, "I owe you $7.04".. I was dumbfounded!! He owed me money and I gave him NOTHING!!

So here's how it happened:
Target takes 2 types of coupons per item. You can use a manufacture coupon AND a target coupon on any item. This means many times I get items for free (for example.. I hardly ever pay for diaper wipes anymore!) so I always do this if possible..

Well today Megan, Ashley and I were on a mission to get Up and Monsters Inc on blu-ray for a good deal! Target now price matches and Megan brought along the Best Buy ad, which with coupons and price matching we would end up with both movies on blu-ray for under $15! We were super excited! Well, we got to Target and of course they only had one Monsters Inc! So that was a huge bust! But not for me.. I went equipped with my list of things and stack of coupons in hand.. I stocked up on some more wipes (our stockpile was getting low) and while I waited around for my perscription (yes I had a free $10 gift card coupon if I transfered it to Target!) Ashley and I walked around.. I decided to go ahead and pick-up some baby formula b/c I had coupons and could get them for free. Nestle sends me $11 "checks" all the time, but we don't use formula, so have no real use for them. Well with the holidays coming, I decided I could get a bunch of stuff and donate it to the christmas store and women's shelter, so off we went.. The formula wasn't $11 each, but I just figured they would adjust the coupons to make the items free. Well a few items later, and we went to check out..

I didn't know but when you price match at Target, you go through the check out lanes, they suspend it, then you go over to customer service to finish.. Kind of annoying, but this is their control method..

SO, I took all my stuff and coupons over to the customer service, he rings in all my coupons, price matches UP and enters the "checks".. I was only half paying attention as I chatted with Megan and Ashley, and the nice manager says "and I owe you $7.04".. I said huh.. okay? he hands me the money and I'm dumbfounded.. Well, I have NEVER felt better for shopping in my LIFE!! Evidently the formula "coupons" are actually checks and they don't adjust them down b/c they get the full money from the manufacturer?!? WHO KNEW?!?

So that was our exciting trip for today! So what did I buy? I ended up with 4 packages of wipes, 5 containers of formula, UP blu-ray combo pack, 2 santa potato heads and my medicine for -$2.04 (price adjusted for the seperate medicine purchase)!!

My First Attempt at Pictures!

My first attempt at pictures!


Burke's FIRST trip to the park!


Happy Birthday to ME! Burke is 4 months old!


Watching the Hokies play!

Twice in one week!

A miracle, I know! Like I said, we are really trying to keep up with the blogging thing!

We had a pretty low key, work filled weekend..
Brian enjoyed some guy time on friday night playing poker (and he won!!), while Burke and I went to Kindergarten soccer to cheer on Wyatt and then worked at the club..
Saturday I had to go in to work for a little bit, so Burke and daddy spent some time playing video games and watching TV. When I got home we went out shopping for a warm coat/snowsuit for Burke.. It's been getting really cold at night, so when we head out in the morning he needs something! I have the cutest little suit that my great aunt sent us, but it doesn't have any built in mittens, so his fingers get cold, and with one more home football game, we need something warm for him to wear! I decided we should head over to Old Navy as they were having a sale on all "outerwear" 50% and I also had a 20% off coupon.. I was so excited! and then completely disappointed when the snowsuit thing didn't count as outerwear! WHAT?? what is it then? Oh well, we got him a cute little bear outfit to wear anyway (and jeans for brian)! :)

We had our first sleep over Saturday night at the Hill's house. I'm still babysitting lots and Burke always goes with me, so we had a fun night with the girls and got home about noon on Sunday.. Then we spent some time with daddy before he headed to work! Lots of work this weekend for everyone!

Burke seems to be having an off day. He slept decent last night (6.5 hour stretch then 3 hours - pretty normal), but woke up on the wrong side of the bed! He was pretty cranky at work today and very sleepy! Although, when we got home we was a totally different kid! After one off day, I am so happy to have a generally happy baby!!

Unfortunately, no daddy again tonight, so we have played, had bath and played some more!

I have tried blogging over the years, but never seem to do a good job keeping up. Well, now with Burke being 4 months old, I think its time for us to start blogging more regularly so everyone can see Burke grow! Most of our family is scattered around the country, so this is a great way to keep everyone up to date on our little family.

Burke is now officially 4 months old! He is a very happy and calm baby (which makes mommy and daddy very happy and calm parents!). He is smiling and "giggling" all the time now. I can't tell you if he has officially "laughed" yet, but he has the cutest little smile/giggle thing going on. We will go in in about 2 weeks to have his 4 month check-up and get an official weight/height check, but with my most current bathroom scale weight, he weighed in at 12 lbs! That means he is FINALLY on the charts (barely in the 5th percentile, but he's there)! He is holding on to things and loves putting his pacifier, hands and anything else he can get his hands on in his mouth!

Well, the nap was short-lived so more to come later!