Yappy 7th Birthday, Brody!!!

Yesterday, September 27th, our little fur child turned 7 years old!  That's 49 in human years :)  

It seems like yesterday we brought him home.

(First day as a Kinard)

(Still sits like this)

Brian got him for me as a Christmas present our first year of marriage.  I remember researching on which dog I wanted and came across the miniature schnauzer.  Suppose to be great with children (which he isn't with toddlers), very excited to see you even if you step away for a second (he does act like he hasn't seen you all day long) and very loyal to their owners.  

Brody was formally known as Sweet Bear from his breeder.  I still have his picture that I fell in love with online.  He was a tiny little thing sitting next to a pumpkin.  He was the last one out of the bunch to find him a home.   I don't know why?  How could you not love this little face!

After making the arrangements, Grace put him on a plane from Dallas, Texas and he arrived to us in Savannah, Georgia.  I've always wondered what he was thinking riding on an airplane.  You know he was down below with the luggage in a crate.  Still breaks my heart thinking about it.  I would never do that to him now.  He has been the BEST Christmas present thus far!

(The start of the costumes.  He still HATES them!)

HaPpY BiRtHdAy, Mr. Brody!!

(Cake from Coastal K9 Bakery)

3 Months Old

I can't believe my sweet angel is already 3 months old.  My, where has the time gone?  Our days mostly consist of taking a stroll in the neighborhood, playing on her activity mat, a small cat nap here and there, swinging in the backyard, eat, pee/poop, smiling and trying to giggle.  

She is one happy baby.  Loves to smile.  She is the happiest in the morning...that's my favorite time of day.  She greets you with the biggest smile when you get her out of her crib.  She is so happy to see us because it had been 12 hrs since she last saw us.  Yes, my child sleeps 11-12 hrs straight through the night.  We are truly blessed with a good sleeper.  I think a lot has to do with our nightly routine.  At 6:30 pm we take a 30-40 minute stroll, take a 15-20 minute bath, get lotioned up and into our jammies and swaddled, eat and she's down around 8 pm and sleeps until around 7:30 am.  Some mornings longer.  I think that is the key to having a child to sleep through the night.  You also have to be consistent.  Yes, we have to go to dinner around 5 pm to get back home, but that's okay.  We have turned into total home bodies.

Vivian's Likes:

• I think baths will always be on the favorite list
• Strolls
• Being outside.  Whether its sitting with mommy or daddy in a chair or in her swing.
• Watching TV.  She's mesmerized by it.  During the day we usually have it on Nick Jr or Sprout.
• Playing on her activity mat.  She loves the singing flower.  
• Smiling.  Happy happy little girl.
• She likes rolling onto her tummy, but once she's on the tummy she isn't too happy.  As soon as you put her back onto her back she's back on her stomach.  She's a silly girl.
• Being bounced and held.
• Her peacock Polly and her baby doll Lucy.  That's what we named them :)

 Vivian's Dislikes:

• Sitting in her car seat for too long.  I try and take her out and about, but it usually turns into an unsuccessful trip.  She gets so fussy when out in public.  We've only had one good day of going out.  We went to Target, Old Navy and World Market.  If I plan to take her anywhere it has to be as soon as she's done eating.  That way we can go to at least one store together.
• Waiting on her bottle.  She is very impatient when it comes to eating.  As you can tell by those chubby cheeks.  
• Sitting for too long.  You can't just sit on the couch with her or leave her too long in her bouncer chair.  She again gets fussy and you have to stand up and walk around with her.

I have to say we have the best little girl in the world.  I count our blessing everyday.  God has truly blessed us with this amazing little girl!

Happy 3 months sweet heart!!!!

 

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

Am I the only one itching for fall??  I don't know what it is about this year, maybe because we have a little one, but I am so ready.  Yes, tomorrow is officially fall, but weather wise it doesn't feel like it.  Come on summer weather, move on out so the weather will be in the 60's.  Grant it, we have a had a few days that felt like fall which was wonderful.  I would take Vivy out in her swing and we would stay outside for over an hour. We have her swing in the corner of the backyard and I'm planning on setting up a little area for us to sit by a fire once the weather becomes cooler.  I found this fire pit that I'm going to get and hoping World Market still has chairs similar to this.  Maybe put some string lights in the trees.  I think it would make a nice little oasis.

I've already stopped by Starbucks and got me a Carmel Apple Spice.

Fall in your mouth people!  Plus, its non-caffeinated if you don't drink caffeinated beverages.

Anyway, I was on Pinterest this morning and came across a recipe for Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup that sounded delicious.  I knew I had to go to the grocery store while little bit was napping I thought I would pick up the ingredients.  Well, I detoured to Home Goods first to check out their fall decor and came across an already prepared pumpkin spice waffle/pancake mix.  Score!  I like to make this as simple as possible now.  I knew I wanted to make the apple cider syrup which was a wise decision.  The BEST SYRUP EVER!!!  Seriously.  It screams fall!

Pumpkin Waffles/Pancakes (If you want to make mixture yourself)

Makes 6 servings.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 cups milk
• 4 eggs, separated

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
  
  

  Apple Cider Syrup:

  
  

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons butter

  Directions

  1. Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin, milk, and egg yolks. Whip the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form.
  3. Stir the flour mixture and 1/4 cup melted butter to the pumpkin mixture, stirring just to combine. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, stirring gently until incorporated. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Cook waffles according to manufacturer's instructions.
  4. To make the syrup, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir in the apple cider and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; boil until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter until melted. Serve warm.
  I
  I adjusted the serving size to 2 since I was the only one eating the waffle.  I seriously could have eatin' two of those suckers.  I had some left over batter that I think I may try out pancakes in the morning.   Although,  I'm the worst pancake maker ever!  I'm thankful we have a Belgium waffle maker :)

  
  

  Happy Fall Y'all!!!!

  
  
  

The day in the life of Vivian

Just relaxing in my bobby

 

Silly girl sticking out her tongue

Dinner with daddy

Watching her 1st MS State game.

Sometimes we wear boy jammies

Napping with mommy and Brody

Happy, Happy!!

Swing her for a few minutes then she's out.  We will sit outside for an hour or so swinging while she naps :)

Sporting my Halloween jammies.

Loves playing on her activity mat

Loves sleeping upright.

I don't know how I'm going to get through 2 days a week without seeing this little girl when I return to work.  It will definitely be hard!!  At least she will be home with daddy those 2 days and they can have father daughter time :)   

2 months old

Little chunky monkey had her 2 month well check on Monday, Aug 26th which means she got her first round of vaccinations.  Boy, that was very hard on the both of us.  We first got weighed and measured.  Child has put on some weight!  3 weeks ago she weighed 9 lbs even, well she's up to 10.4 lbs!  I couldn't believe it.  I thought she was around 9.5 lbs.  Child loves her milk!!  She measured 21.5 inches long and she's in the 25th percentile.  Little bit is definitely growing!  I mean, come on, how can you not love little baby fat rolls!!  Oh, I could kiss them all day long.

As for the vaccinations, that was a hard one for the both of us.  The nurse first gave her Rotateq which is a liquid grape medicine given to her orally.  She liked that!  Then came her 3 shots...DTaP, Prevnar and Hep B.  They laid her down on the table and had me to face her holding her tiny little arms beside her head.  HATED having to hold my child down like that.  Boy, I haven't heard her cry like that since the day she was born.  Poor thing.  She just cried, cried and cried.  Thankfully, the shots were quick.  I couldn't imagine being the one doing that.  

Vivian slept on the way home, but didn't sleep after getting there.  Poor little girl was fussy the most of the day.  Luckily, she didn't run a fever.  By 4 pm she finally fell asleep in my arms.  We got on the couch and curled up...Vivy in my left arm and Brody on my right side (he had is head resting on her feet.  so sweet!) and we took a two hour nap.  She slept a little longer and when we woke her for her bath around 7:30 pm, she was not happy.  They are right, DO NOT WAKE A SLEEPING BABY! 

After all the crying, we finally got her to bed.  Poor thing cried during her changing, she cried during her bath, she fought us on her feeding.  She just didn't feel well and she was disturbed from her sleep.  

Yesterday she was still a little fussy.  She didn't even want to eat much.  Only thing she wanted was to be held.  Heck, times holding her she was fussy.  Hoping for a better day today!

Things that she likes:

• Eating, obviously. Before bedtime she can put away 6 oz of milk.  Her pediatrician couldn't believe it.  He said as long as she wasn't spitting it up, then that was fine.  That's what she wants.
• Being bounced.  LOVES IT!  If she's fussy, just start bouncing her and she will calm right down.  A lot of times she will fall asleep.  She does like sleeping straight up.
• Cooing and smiling.  Its so fun talking to her.  She'll stare at you and we'll making howling noises and she'll talk right back.  We'll do it then stop, then she'll start.  Then she will start smiling and try and laugh.  She's done a couple of giggles.   SO CUTE!!  She will also try and mimic me when I stick my tongue out.  It takes her a little while, but she gets it. Melts my heart.   I really need to video her.
• Being outside.  Another way to calm her.  I don't know if its the heat or the sounds, but she can sit outside for the longest time and be content.  
• Being held.  I think that's a favorite for all little ones, but she just really enjoys it.  Doesn't take her long to fall asleep either.
• Her hands and feet.  Well, her hands mostly.  She loves sucking on them and making lots of noises with them.  She has loved her hands since she was in my womb.  Every ultrasound I had, her hands were in and around her mouth.  She just recently discovered her feet.  She'll sit in her chair or in the stroller and watches them while she kicks.  She's trying to figure them out.
• Bath time.  Child loves a bath!  Definitely calms her and she likes her daddy spraying water into her mouth.  She'll stick her little tongue out and try and lap it up.  It's so funny.
• Blake Shelton.  If she's fussy, I'll turn on You Tube and she will sit there and watch his video and listen to the music.  I don't know if she recognizes it because I listened to him a lot in the car while I was pregnant.  
• Licking her bib or outfit.  I guess she enjoys the texture of the material.  I have a feeling she will be putting anything and everything in her mouth! 

Things she dislikes:

•  Being strapped in her car seat for a long period of time.  Boy does that girl get fussy.
• Going to restaurants.  She'll start crying and I always have to get her out of her seat.  I don't want to be the parent that has a crying child in public.  You know people always stare out you and thinking, "Can you just make your child be quite!" Although, we went to Brixx Pizza Friday night and she was content.  Didn't whine or wanted to be out of her seat.  She was happy.  Maybe we are making progress.
• Not getting what she wants right then.  Which means she wants to eat ASAP.  She will start crying like crazy, then you stick the bottle in her mouth and she's happy. 
• Wiping her face in the morning with a bath cloth.  She doesn't mind it in the evening, but does not care for it in the morning.  Strange.

Overall, she's a GREAT little girl.  Can't complain too much.  I just love watching her grow and change almost daily.  She is so much fun...and times exhausting :)  She's the BEST!!!

Vivian's First Trip to Mississippi

 

Vivian went on her first vacation to Mississippi on Friday, June 9th for a week.  Before leaving, I convinced BK into renting a minivan.  I knew driving 13 hours with a 7 week old and a dog would be absolutely miserable in my car.  Being cramped in a small car...which it seems now...and all the stuff that you have to bring now that we have a child would have been tough.  Brian wasn't sure about it, but I knew it would make our trip a little more pleasurable.  

We spent the night in Florence on Thursday night to knock out 2 hours of our drive.  We thought we would leave after she ate Friday morning around 5:30 am since she usually wakes up around that time for her  second feeding during the night.  She usually wakes up around 1:30 am for her first feeding.  Well, little miss decided to sleep until 3 am to eat.  We just decided we would feed her and go ahead and hit the road.  We left Florence between 4:30-5:00 am.  I drove the first leg to let Brian sleep.  Vivian slept until we arrived in Augusta which is a little over 4 hours from Florence.  Brian got into the driver seat and drove to Atlanta.  B was so tired so I decided to drive so he could get more sleep.  Well, Vivian decided she wanted to cry from Atlanta to Birmingham which didn't help Brian to catching any sleep.  We swapped and he drove until I got her to sleep which didn't take long.  So, we stopped and switched again and guess what...child starts crying bloody murder.  I guess she just wanted her Mommy in the back seat with her.  So, Brian drove all the way to my parents.  We arrived around 4 pm.  Needless to say, it was a long day.

My parents were so happy to see her.  We hardly held her while we were there.  Mom took full advantage of having her sweet granddaughter.  On Saturday, we just hung out.  Chris, Suzanne and Audrey got to my parents Friday night.  So glad we got to spend the weekend with them.  Brian fished everyday that we were there.  

On Sunday, Mom hosted a 'Sip and See' shower so my family and friends could meet Vivian.  Everybody loved her.  She did really well.  Didn't mind everyone holding her and being passed around.  

Vivian was wiped out from all the festivities.  She even slept on Papa for a bit.  He was eating it up!!!

During the rest of the week Brian and I made a trip to Starkville, Ackerman and Winona.  We were going to eat lunch at Pap's Place in Ackerman for lunch on Monday, but they only serve catfish on Tuesdays and Fridays.  We were planning on going to Starkville anyway for the afternoon so we decided to eat lunch there.  We went to Central Station Grill, but it wasn't like The Grill when we went to school.  We decided to go to Rosey Baby but they didn't open until 4 pm.  Okay.  So, we made our way to Mugshots.  I swear, I think they have the best burgers.  I think the sourdough bun makes it so delicious.

Yes, I ate all of it.  Can we say, "Oink, Oink!!!"

After lunch we made our way to The Lodge.  I wanted to pick up Vivy a couple of MSU outfits for football season.  Want to get it into her blood of being a 'Dawg.'  This was our first time being away from little bit.  Grant it, it was less than 5 hours, but it was weird not having her with us.  When we got back we had play time.

On Tuesday we made our way to Ackerman to Pap's Place for some catfish.  I don't know I managed to never eating here.  It was really good.  Definitely some of the best catfish I had ever eatin'.  Can't go wrong with true southern cuisine.  

Again, I ate all of it.  I swear I think I have a tape worm, ha!  I even went back for dessert :)

 

 

After lunch, we went back to my parents and hung out.  Mom kept Vivy while we went to lunch and when we went to Starkville.  She was in hog heaven!  It was nice for us to be off baby duty for a bit.  Brian did more fishing and I was being lazy on the couch.  As soon as I got to my parents, I finally realized how exhausted I was.  You don't realize it when you are constant 'go' all the time. 

Tuesday night we took Vivy to Winona to see Leigh's new house they are building and had dinner with her, Brantley, Braden, Bert and Lisa.  Bert and Lisa wanted to meet miss golden child.  They were in awe.  As soon as Bert held her, she went to sleep.  It was so great seeing them.  They were my second family growing up.  Heck, they will always be my second family.  I just love the Mitchell's!!  

Wednesday I caught up on my sleep.  Vivian got lots of hugs and kisses from her Memom and Papa.  Memom even took full advantage of giving her her bottle.

We had a wonderful time as always.  I can't wait when Vivian is older and she can go fishing and run and play in the country.  I know she's going to love it!  Memom and Papa hated saying, "Goodbye" to their baby girl.  We all know its not forever.  Good thing we have Skype!

The drive back to NC turned out great.  Vivian slept the entire way.  She only woke up to eat.  That was such a blessing!!

We got home and had playtime before her bath and dinner.  I just love my little family!  
 Its the BEST!!!