Beautiful Avery

Photos of this little strawberry today...

Awww...She makes me melt.

Conrad this week...

Snuggle bear in his air plane attire.

He got a new toy from his Nana for 15$ at a yard sale!

He wore cute jammies to bed

Experienced the pool....

baby does open mouthed kisses...he doesn't get it yet. But I like it anyway.

I don't mind slobbery kisses. Daddy doesn't either.

Lil' blue eyes...He's sooooo Dusitn

He's starting to get the rolling thing down. He's a stud.

Dimples = awesome.

Bath time!

Away we went...

We went and saw "Away We Go" this weekend and it was tremendous.

It was either that or Transformers and although I liked the first Transformers, and Megan Fox is hawt, I think i'll wait til' it goes to DVD.

I LOVED the movie. I kind of hate how Jim does that mumbling thing though in every movie he's in. It's annoying, but whatevs. It was really sweet and made me cry a gazillion times.

I want Dustin to get some cute plasticy frames next time he gets new glasses. He's had the same ones for....wait for it....4 years! Throw em' out already! Ugh!

Nerd it up baby! You're not a "nerd" you're just a nerd...am I right or am I right??

I hope that doesn't get me punched...

Dustin only hits me sometimes. Kidding

and Jim looks just like my little brother in law Tate. Like twinsies.... so twinsies.

enough of my randomness, go see the movie and report back.

Beautiful Allie

Allie has modeled about 8 garments for BJK Couture, (my friend Bobbie's designs) and she looks stunning in ALL of them, I must say.... Last Saturday we were down on Main St. & Charleston at 6:45 AM, before it got super hot to photograph these pieces for Bobbies line. I love that part of town. They have the best breakfast place on the planet (The Coffee Cup, best Goodwill in town, and lots of fun buildings and interesting shops.) Anyway- enough of me, more of Allie...i know i know.

Conrad rolling...to one side

I know, it's incredible right??

That's what I said.

Stroller in a ditch...

Today started out just like all of the other days start out...

Baby gets fed, I drink a sip of coffee, scarf down a granola bar & banana, put on my extra tight sports bra so my jugs don't go flyin' around, and I'm off to run the trail by my house before the sun gets too hot or baby needs his nap.

It's a beautiful day, weathers nice, theres a little gust of wind, it's wonderful. I've got energy and I've got Beyonce blaring on the ipod. I'm really starting to feel the burn in my legs and I'm breaking a sweat, "Go Chels" is what I'm thinking. As I'm running I'm remembering the cheese cake I ate the night before at 3 AM after I fed the baby and needed a snack, or the roast beef sandwich earlier this week again at 3 AM, or the blue berry muffin and extra large glass of milk, and I'm thinking to myself "You go girl, burn those treats right off your ass!" Work it girl!" and I push myself on. (Breast feeding makes you super hungry...)

Then Conrad decides he's had enough of my shenanigans and the heat is too much, so he starts to throw a fit. I don't blame him...So I stop the train, try to comfort him, put a thin blanket around the stroller so the sun isn't in his eyes, I reinsert his pacifier, and we're back on the trail. Then he cries louder and this time he's not messin around. So i quickly stop, grab my baby Bjorn out of the bottom of the stroller, grab Conrad out and start to put him in the Bjorn when I realize my jogging stroller is headed off of the trail full speed ahead and all I can do is watch it roll right off of the steep edge of the trail in slow motion, and into a rocky deserty ditch....

I thought about running after it, but then realized it wasn't going to happen. I watched the back tires go over the front tire and everything fly into the air. My ipod, cell phone, sun glasses, sun screen, everything you can imaging being in the baby bag flew out as well...it was a disaster. So i stopped two kind ladies and asked them if they could hold my screaming baby while I made my way down this steep rocky hill to retrieve my belongings. A man came along and assisted me, thank God, and I tried my darnedest not to lose my mind and fall apart. I looked like a damn retard having a stranger hold my infant while a man helped me collect stray diapers and handed me my bottle of breast milk with dirt all over it....it was awesome. Not.

Then when the stroller was safely back on the trail, all 3 of my helpers kept repeating phrases like, "Thank God the baby wasn't in the stroller...can you imagine! Thank God!" as I'm shaking like a leaf. (My nerves were shot, and I was quite embarrassed to say the least...) I quickly grab my baby, thank them and put him back in his Bjorn...he screamed for the entire 12 minutes of me speed walking back to the car!

What a great work out.

I know, that's what I was thinking too.

So i feel like the worlds biggest idiot-mother who let the stroller roll into a ditch. There you go, if you've let your baby roll off of a piece of furniture, or called poison control because the baby you were watching ate nail polish (I'm raising my hand) don't feel so bad.

I told my cousin this story tonight and I told her that I felt like telling those kind Samaritans "Of course the baby wouldn't have been in the stroller, you morons, He's my main focus, I was so focused on getting him out as soon as possible, that I totally forgot to put the break on my stroller, HENCE THE WHOLE STROLLER IN THE DITCH THING??!!

GUH!

that's my life story!

In other news, Conrad rolled from his belly half way onto his back yesterday. I have a video to prove it. It's riveting.....no seriously, I'm sure it's super boring if you're not a mom but i'm posting it anyway.....The video is like 3 minutes of me waiting for him to roll over half way....what can I say.

Mary doesn't change, unlike us flawed human beings.... lol.

We got tatted up....

My Mom got snakes on her guns...she's so buff.

Conrad got a pirate skull. He's pretty hard core.

Uncle Vinni got a neck tattoo...

Auntie Ally got a skull on her boob...so hawt.

My Dad got a mer-woman with red hair

I got a sword that says "True Love" aww...

Dustin got a tiger. Rawr!

I decided the whole family should get tattoos.... It was epic.

3 Months

Conrad in his Hooters shirt from auntie Julie.

I can't believe it's already been 3 months. It seems like just yesterday that I was jumping up and down reading a positive pregnancy test, laughing and crying knowing that this new life had began renting out a home for himself in my womb, and I would be eternally attached to him. I was barfing up everything I ate & all for you! I hated pregnancy, but the truth is, I'd do it all over again because when my son smiles at me, and snuggles into my chest, I feel like I've won the lottery. No one told me that being a mother was as awesome as it is.

I don't know how I got through the first week. We were just talking about how hard it was as new parents to learn how to function on no sleep, and trying to learn all of Conrad's many cries. It seems like it was just a dream. If people hadn't made us meals, I truly don't think we would have eaten.

To celebrate that you're a quarter of the way through your first year Conrad Franklin, your Dad wrote a message on our chalk board wall to remind us. And it blows my mind. I can't believe you're so big. You big boy you! You slobbering fool! You are loved little dude...my little love, you are cherished deeply. I don't even remember or know what life was like before you entered the picture. I know it's a whole lot better now. You make our life better.

The many faces of Conrad:

Flippin' out

Annoyed

Intrigued

Surprised

Sneezing

I posted this simply because I know it will make my granny smile!

Love you Gran.

Happy Fathers Day!

"I look just like Daddy"

Dustin,

Thanks for being the best team-mate I could ever ask for. You make my life so much easier and enjoyable. When I'm having the hardest of days, you're always there to encourage me. I feel like the worlds best Mom because of you, and when I mess up, I still feel like I rule at this because of your love that pushes me on. So thank you. I've had a lot of fun raising the little turd with you the last 3 months. I know it's hard but you're doing a great job honey, and I appreciate all you do. I honor that you put us ahead of yourself and your desires so often, but today is your day, so sit back and watch golf while I make you champagne mimosas for breakfast and don't feel guilty for eating as much bacon as your heart desires! You deserve it! Don't lift a single finger! I'll wipe Conrad's dirty butt all day while you soak up the sun at the pool and enjoy this day because it's all about you. You've been a fantastic Dad! Conrad says thank you, he told me today when I laid him down for his nap. He said he wants to be just like you when he's all growns up.

Love you babe.

-Wife

He's just asking to have his face eaten off with that goofy little smile....he's asking for it!

Ps: Im SO shaving your chest hair, like asap....It's getting out of control.

Beautiful Erin

Those legs go on forever

I ain't sayin' she a co-sleepa' but she ain't messin wit' baby shedul'

What's up with the grumpy face dude?

I have gone over to the dark side y'all. I'm a co-sleeper.... Something I hate to admit, but it's the truth. I'm not a "real" co-sleeper in that I don't co-sleep for the entire night, Just the wee- hours of the morning and I don't know if only a few hours of snuggling and spooning my baby constitute for actual co-sleeping??

The reason that I'm so anti co-sleeping is that I don't want Conrad interfering with me gettin my swerve on?? You get my drift here folks? Kids/babies who co-sleep don't allow their parents to get it poppin' in the sheets....I'm so hood.

Happy Baby

Since we've now established a schedule (praise God, seriously, I was this close to ending it....He was driving us b-a-n-a-n-a-s!) So the night goes like this....Conrad has his bath, eats, and hits the sack at 6:30-7 every night. Then wakes up like clock work around 1-2 AM, we watch Jimmy Fallon, he goes back to bed in his crib, and then Dustin gets up for the 4 am feeding while I pump, and then before Dustin leaves for work, he brings the baby into bed to snuggle with me, we get up soon after for the 6 AM feeding. It's nap time from 9:00-11:00, then nap time again from 2:00-4:00, then bath and dinner and bed around 7 and so on and so on! The schedule doesn't leave much room for spontaneity, but it gives me sanity and Conrad is a MUCH happier baby. And he sleeps better too.

Dustin might kill me for posting a picture of his 70's porn chest hair....

So hot.

So in conclusion, if you want to "do it" with your spouse, don't co-sleep. But there is nothing wrong with a little snuggle fest every once in a while (because it makes mommy feel so warm inside and I love when my baby falls back asleep and I stay up to smile and listen to his little snores. It makes me very happy!)

Pyper, Mommy & Daddy

Tracy has a beautiful belly

This photo of Jimmy looking at the camera with that devilish

smile was my favorite image of the day.

I love the honesty in this shot. Pyper has already got her mom & dad

wrapped around her little tiny finger.