Maldoff Family

Christmas in a Nutshell

2011-12-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

Is there any possible way I can squeeze the entire Christmas of 2011 into one blog post? I am going to try!

Work went ahead and decided kick my arse with 3 huge meetings in the month of December. Only the busiest month of the year. Thanks work. I'm not bitter. I haven't even written about Thanksgiving yet. Always getting the shaft, that Thanksgiving.

Hence, I have not updated the blog with all the fabulous activities we have done to celebrate the holiday season with Henry. I cannot even explain to you how much more incredible Christmas is having a little one around. Last year, it was all about the wrapping paper and that's it. This year, OMG, it was like I was living my childhood Christmas' through him and I was a kid again!

"You mean Santa gave me an orange and a banana in my stocking mom? And some old toys that I forgot about? What?! How did he know that's what I wanted?! Amazing!"

(There were some new things in there too. No need for concern. I know this is probably the last Christmas I can get away with this.)

If you are reading this as an endorsement to have children, you are absolutely correct. Please. Have one. For Christmas' sake alone. You will be have a ridiculous goofy smile on your face all December long.

You will love it so much, you will happy cry as you listen to the same Amy Grant Christmas CD you've listened to for 20 years.

And then ugly sad cry and tell your husband you are not ready for it to be over yet.

And then you will realize you are an emotional mess and you need to get a hold of yourself.

A praline will help. And maybe a mexican wedding cookie. Top it off with a piece of peanut brittle and all is well again. Thank you sugar.

In all seriousness, we did have an amazing Christmas this year. We tried to pare down a little with the gifts and not buy things just to buy things. No lists this year. We went on pure instinct. I liked it! Required more imagination (thank you to Etsy for your imagination), but I love when the gifts have meaning. It makes it so much more exciting when they're opening your present!

My favorite gift to give this year was Henry's silhouette that I bought from Etsy for my mom. I loved it so much, I had to get one for me too.

I loved all my presents I got! I always do, I'm so easy. Henry's favorite presents were all his Bruder trucks. He got a Bruder garbage truck for his birthday and he is OBSESSED with it. Being apart from it for 6 days for Christmas break was a struggle for him. I could just tell.

See what I mean? He was so unhappy.

Bonding with the tow truck from Aunt Ashie. Gram got him a cement mixer too. I think I can go ahead and pack away all his other toys now.

A rare moment of not trying to tackle his second cousin, Noah, at Gram's house for Christmas. Aww, look at the look of concern! "Are you sure your arm is not broken Noah? I didn't mean to crush it with my body weight that is equal to yours. Me being 2 and you being 5."

We visited Dad's office for some old-fashioned Christmas fun. Extreme drawing!

Visiting Santa. This is the best picture we got. He neither hated nor particularly enjoyed Santa. He was much more excited about the dum dum sucker we gave his afterwards.

Sucker!!! Posing by the fake fireplace after watching The Grinch.

We hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday!!!

Best wishes & Happy New Year!

Love,

Lyndsey

Junk in the Trunk

2011-11-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Look at that booty!

I dare you not to smile looking at this photo.

Somewhere, Kim Kardashian is seething with jealousy.

Song lyrics are inspired by butts like this. Apple Bottom Jeans, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, Baby Got Back, Shake Your Booty, Rump Shaker...the list goes on.

I know there is a diaper in there, but there is something behind it, let me tell ya.

And he did not get it from me. I have been trying to get a butt my entire life. My legs just flow right into my torso with no stopping point.

I know I talk about my child's size frequently. How me, being the delicate flower I am, birthed this beast of a man-child, I will never know. C'mon. Y'all know I am delicate. I am. Really.

I would have it no other way. The hugs and snuggles are so much sweeter with more to love on.

Today, I am thankful for this juicy little rump roast.

And many other larger things, like the food on our plates, the roof over our heads, and our health. And our family and friends. And our jobs and financial stability in this tough economy.

But today, I am thinking about the little things that make me smile and shoot a prayer of thanksgving to the man upstairs.

Yep, today it's the booty and the sweet hunk of love it belongs to.

Love,

Lyndsey

Twi-or-Treat!

2011-11-07T18:16:00.000-08:00

I realize Halloween was two weeks ago and I am just now posting. I have been so absorbed in The Hunger Games book series, I have put everything else in my life on hold. The house is a disaster. We may or may not have gotten take out or eaten out three times this week. My fridge is barren. No fruit people. We have been drinking orange juice to fight off the scurvy. I can delay the grocery store no longer. But, I have also just finished the series so life will go back to normal.

I loved the books. I do not remember loving a book series this much in a long time. The writing is so much better than Twilight. You cannot even compare them. I am very sad the books are over, as the piles of laundry are taunting me from the corner of the closet. You win laundry. You win.

And back to Halloween! "Twi-o-Tweat" is how Henry says "Trick or Treat". And he would not say it during actual trick or treating time. Marc and I would say "Trick or Treat!" after we knocked on the door and Henry would scream "No!" and shake his head vigorously at the person giving out candy. But then he would take the candy and give a sly smile and perhaps utter a "Tank too". Not bad for his first time I guess.

He ate more candy in two hours than he has his entire life. The quantity of the candy in his bucket was too much to take in. "Bite? Bite???" after a Dum-Dum and a mini Snickers. This was followed by insanely fast running & pushing of the Cozy Coupe through the entire cul-de-sac while we handed out candy in the driveway. He almost ran over a gorilla.

Which led me to bust out in out of control laughter. How many times in your life will you see a random gorilla standing in the middle of the road? Gotta love Halloween.

Then Marc chimes in, "You know, the gorilla was my favorite Halloween costume ever. I was a gorilla for 3 years. Like from 11 to 13."

"You were a gorilla for 3 years?? In a row? You never changed your costume? That's really weird."

"I just liked being a gorilla."

I learn something new about my spouse everyday.

I will say, Halloween was so much more fun this year than it ever has been before.

Mickey & Minnie!

He thought the pumpkin seeds were slimy! We actually roasted the pumpkin seeds afterward for a chance. Umm yeah, delicious. Why have we never done this before?

Ignore my Quasimodo hunchback in this picture. I'm telling myself it's a bad angle and my posture is not forever ruined by hunching over a computer all day.

We had a fun photo session with Lisa for some fall family pics.

Am I the only one that absolutely turns into a nervous wreck when it comes to getting pictures taken? I stress about the outfits. I HAD to make a last minute shopping trick to Banana & Ann Taylor Loft since I had tried on everything in my closet and nothing seemed quite right. I worry about getting Henry to smile. I feel like I need to have multiple glasses of wine to just relax.

After we get them taken, I always have the biggest feeling of relief ever. And our photographer is the best about being super low-key and normal, while I'm over here sweating and singing "Wheels on the Bus" at the top of my lungs like some deranged lunatic.

All for the sake of this face. It's worth it.

Love,

Lyndsey

Birthday Festivities

2011-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Henry had such a great 2nd birthday week! Yes, in this family we celebrate the whole week.

The birthday fairy dropped off an excavator near the park for him.

When daddy's out of town, we go all out Aggies!

He helped me rake some leaves in the front yard.

And doze up some in the backyard.

Dozer videos!!

I put up a post on Facebook about it, but Henry got sick the day Marc left for his Lowe's charity golf tournament. Marc left on a Saturday and got back on Wednesday. Henry starting feeling better late Monday. I got sick on Monday and finally got some drugs on Friday.

What I'm getting at is, Henry's birthday festivities were conducted under a specialized drug cocktail of antiobiotic, steroid, cough syrup, and airborne. Add exhaustion to that. I am surprised how well it went actually. I did go a day with a vest worn inside out (bless you woman in the checkout line for letting me know), but other than that the embarrasment was kept to a minimum.

I wanted him to wake up on his birthday to his room filled with balloons. Plan thwarted when he decided he needed to sleep in mom and daddy's bed that night. This is as close as we got. The balloons delighted him for exactly 5 seconds. This picture cracks me up.

I made him birthday pancakes with sprinkles.

We decided to have the party at the park this year to cut down on some of the work (having the house clean for company). Best decision ever! It was a gorgeous fall day.

View of the lake from the park

Every construction party needs to start with an oreo.

Dump truck dirt cake. This was so easy to make and the kids loved it!

Slide time!

He actually went down by himself. What a mature 2 year old he is

Birthday song. The lighter wouldn't work in the wind, so we just pretended.

Sugar time!

Before....

.....and after!

Yum!

Present time.

Garbage trucks are the new obsession.

"Let me tell you something else. Back when I was one, I had to walk to daycare uphill both ways in the snow. And I liked it!"

Henry and his buddy Jack.

Garbage truck from Nana and Gramps!

What a great party! Thanks to all the kiddos and parents for coming. Kids playing on the playground so the adults could actually have adult conversations- LOVE.

Love,

Lyndsey

Fall Fun

2011-10-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

My favorite time of the year is here! I have worn boots officially three times, my granny sweater is back in the rotation, and I have eaten a Pumpkin Muffie at Panera. What is a Pumpkin Muffie you ask? It is actually a muffin top. I could not believe it at first and thought I was in one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. Just enough if you ask me. You only need the top.

I am not mentioning my muffin top (see granny sweater above). I need this and other various vests and sweaters to hide the traditional fall layer that naturally happens to the bod. Come October every year the jeans get a wee bit tighter in the ol' waistband. Like clockwork. Every year. No matter what I eat or how much I exercise. I have come to terms.

GeeMa and Grandpa came up for a visit this past week to see the boy before his big 2nd birthday. Nana and Gramps will be here next weekend for his official party. This boy is so loved!

Grandpa teaching Henry all about fishing.

GeeMa and Grandpa offered to keep Henry so Marc and I could celebrate our 5th anniversary in style. I was so excited! I never get to dress up so I planned my outfit out to the last detail.

I chose the black strapless ruffle dress I got at Ann Taylor for $10 on sale last December (yes, $10) and a faux fur vest that I had splurged on at Marshall's that day. And by splurge, I mean $29.98. I was concerned it might start shedding or molting or whatever cheap faux fur does out in the elements, but it actually still looks "real". To top it off, I wore my vintage statement necklace I bought at Freshley's, black tights, and black booties.

"Everyday I'm shufflin"

We started the night at LaVecchia's for steak and seafood. I had the sea bass and Marc had the filet. Everything was amazing! Since it was our anniversary, the dessert was on the house and we chose...drumroll please....FRIED CHEESECAKE.

It sounds horrible. Like something you would get at the county fair. But by "fried" they meant wrapped in crispy phyllo dough, which was surprisingly light and fluffly. I will never forget it and I am more of a salty girl. It was that good.

Marc could not wait to give me my gift. The man gets nervous with jewelry. He handed me the box as I am pulling up my pants in the bathroom. I am not exaggerating.

After I stopped laughing, I opened the box to a beautiful aquaramine ring in a white gold setting with diamond accents to wear on my right hand. The boy did good! Did I make the right choice or what? :)

I got to show off my new bling at a total of three after dinner hot spots if you will- Dandelion Market, Howl at the Moon, and Suite. I kept waiting for the paparazzi to show, but no dice. We stayed at the Marriott in uptown. Had a blast! No responsibilities, no kid, no alarm clock in the morning, breakfast buffet with unlimited bacon- awesome.

Henry got his first birthday present- his own riding John Deere tractor! He's not interested in riding it yet though, only climbing it and putting dirt in the truck bed. He'll get there.

Grandpa made a dirt pile construction site in the backyard. Hours of entertainment.

We took our annual trip to Hodges farm to visit the pumpkin patch.

"That boy sure is a running fool."

More tractors!

A trailer full of pumpkins. More excited about the trailer.

We took a day trip to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway up through Boone and Blowing Rock. Driving up, everything looked rather green so I wasn't sure how pretty it would be. I shouldn't have doubted! Once we got up to Blowing Rock, the colors turned breathtaking. It never gets old. I was pregnant with Henry the last time we came up and forgot how amazing it is. This was Marc's first time riding the Parkway and he was blown away. One of the most beautiful scenes from nature you will ever see.

When Nana and Gramps come up next weekend, the colors should be peak where we live so we'll get a double dose of the foliage to see with all the grandparents!

My dad has finally conquered his fear of bears. He has held one on a mountain.

We heart leaves.

What a great weekend! Life is good.

Love,

Lynds

Almost 2!

2011-09-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe my little man is almost two! Where does the time go?

This age is so unbelievably fun. I am definitely a toddler mama. He cracks me up everyday with his expressions and his new sayings.

There are phases in motherhood. Tough phases where you are just barely hanging in through the tantrums & teething & sleepless nights, where that glass of wine and bath is calling your name at the end of the day. And then there are absolutely joyful phases, where you lay in bed at night just smiling, thinking about the beautiful and happy boy sleeping in the next room. Wondering just what you did to deserve such a blessing from above and treasuring each and every moment you share with them.

We are in a joyful phase.

He is very into his buddies right now.

Watching mowers and male bonding.

Being silly and singing songs!

This past month, he has really gotten into singing. He loves to sing the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Hickory Dickory Dock....really any kind of nursery rhyme. And then he claps afterward and says "Yay!". Sometimes he gets embarassed and kind of rolls his eyes and gives me this little shy smile. Especially if I have a camera pointed at him.

Oh man, is he into trucks. The dump trucks keep increasing in size. He can identify and name almost any truck or vehicle you show him.

We found these construction videos on You Tube that he is completely obsessed with. First thing in the morning when he wakes up usually, he looks at me and says "Dozers?" I always say that it's dark and the dozers are sleeping. We can only take so much of the dozer videos. Plus, they are a little creepy. The bulldozer song sounds like an auto-tuned Tpain song. The excavator song sounds like Josh Groban. The front end loader song....who am I kidding? They are extremely catchy. These and Fresh Beat Band songs are what is in my head all day. And the surprising thing is, I sort of like it.

He is usually good in the grocery store, as long as we get a cookie first thing from the Harris Teeter dinosaur. And plenty of samples. I can't tell you how much deli meat and cheese and bread I've bought because I've felt guilty my child has eaten so many samples. All the checkers are familiar with him because he is so loud! Not crying, just humming and singing and naming and so excited to be at the store. And if I can get a cart where he can drive, well I can be there for hours practically and he's happy as can be.

I am leaving out the time he threw a hysterical fit at the register and threw my car keys at the checker. Those are not the norm, thank goodness. I am lucky, I know.

He still loves books. We've started going to the library and have increased our trips to Barnes & Noble lately. Not only do they have books, but a train table and a stage to run around on. Huge.

In case you can't tell by his size, he likes to eat. Big fan of carbs. Noodles, OMG, they are the best thing in the world. Followed by cheese puffs and peanut butter & jelly, in that order.

He's off his old fave, scrambled eggs, but he will still put away some broccoli and cauliflower, so I cannot complain.

Favorite place- The Cul-de-sac (mine and his). I can actually sit and read a magazine or talk on the phone while he runs off all his energy.

Dad is already grooming him to love sports. He calls everything "bee ball" and likes to play throwing games. Yes, there is a football game on the laptop and the tv. We need a man cave in a bad way.

He's a big helper. The driveway did look like it needed a drink.

The pushing obsession continues.

He's really serious about it.

Boy's best friend.

Love my angel. It just gets better & better.

Love,

Lynds

The Renaissance Man

2011-08-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've discovered a new artist on the rise in the under two year old set.

A true renaissance man, his interests run the gamut.

As far as his art goes, he works in paints of a shaving cream base in the four primary colors.

His paintings are of an abstract nature.

He works best in the bathtub while nude.

A cut up egg carton is his easel.

He's reaching new heights in the art world.

But do not disturb him while he is working! He can be mercurial.

Occasionally, he will branch into his mother's lipsticks to add a new element to the mix. The mailtruck looks so much better in rose pink, don't you think?

The artist enjoys aquatic pursuits as well. Blowing bubbles is his latest passion.

You can occasionally find him seeking out new inspirations in the mud puddles after a good rain. He's not afraid to get dirty.

He's not afraid to learn from his older peers. His latest mentors influenced him to run through the Birkdale fountains for the first time.

Invigorating!

Outside is where is he most happy. He always wants to be there. ALWAYS.

He is serious about his machines.

I am privileged to be a part of his creative process.

Can't wait to see what he does next!

Love,

Lynds

House Obsession

2011-08-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

I am obsessed AGAIN.

It first hit me after we got married and started looking for our first house. Dreams of granite countertops and large spa bath tubs danced in my head. Oh, the books I would read in that tub and the meals I would plan out but never cook....ahhhhh.

It's back, with a vengeance.

Our Friday nights used to involve wine, take-out japanese, and a movie.

Replace "movie" with "House Hunters" and actually not much has changed. You know it's a good night when it's International.

The trick is to limit the wine to about a glass and a half. Otherwise, the House Hunters raving begins. Or at least it did for me last weekend.

You know the yelling involved when you watch a scary movie? Actually, I don't watch scary movies since it will frighten me for years afterward, but you know what I mean.

"Don't go in there!"
"He's got a knife. Run!"

House Hunters raving is the same, but relates to serious life decisions and such.

"Don't pick the dilapidated farmhouse in Italy! Idiot! The construction will take years!"
"One bathrooom? Are you kidding me?! What are you thinking?"
"You moved to Urugauy not knowing anybody and not speaking Spanish? Are you crazy?"

Marc picks up the remote & the wine. "I think you've had enough."

Hey, we can't control our passions, right?

I realize this is boring for some. So much so, that you could fall asleep with potato chips in your hands.

That's my boy.

And with the passion to move into a new place, comes the realization that we need to fix this joint up before we can even think about selling.

We finally took down the 80's white vertical blinds that plagued the back screen door. I wish I had a Before pic. They were BAD. Up goes the Lowe's Allen & Roth curtain rod and some old Pottery Barn outlet curtains that were sitting in the closet collecting dust. Pretty right?! Worth $17 fo' sho.

Aprons have a perfect hanging spot in the hallway. Thank you Heather Hucks for letting me copy you. They were sitting in a drawer doing nothing.

Lesson from all of this- I have a lot of stuff. Use it.

Question for you- What is the empty space that home builders put along the staircase? What are the purpose of these spaces? I struggle with this area. It's not finished. Marc said it looks like what you would discover if you found an old pirate ship. Not the look I was going for! I do love my map. I got it at a local store called Bebe Gallini's in Cornelius. It's a $3 sheet of wrapping paper that I cut down to fit one of my old frames. Looks like the real deal!

The guest room is finally suitable for guests and not just exercise bikes and old tv's. Come on over!

I found an old shelf at this adorable shop in Davidson called The Tuscan House. I go there every couple weeks and always end up finding a treasure. Perfect for family pics! But, first rule of house staging is to remove all the family pictures, right? That's the best part!

If I listened to this guy, the house would be decorated with strategically placed diaper piles.

He looks like he's done this before..

But, how can we ever leave this prized real estate view overlooking the cul-de-sac?! Betsy will never forgive us.

Love,

Lynds

Summer Hiatus

2011-07-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am such a blogging slacker!

My summer malaise has set in. I have heard myself say that it is too hot to go the pool. The mosquitos have taken over the backyard and made it their home. Watering the plants everyday is a drag. I bought a tomato plant at the Farmer's Market for $1.00 but found myself too lazy to plant it.

I blame the heat, but taking care of an almost 2 year old will wear you out too!

You will find me every night after I put Henry to bed in my prone position laying on the couch watching the telly. True Blood and Curb Your Enthusiasm have started again, so that makes me very happy. I have also just recently discovered Friday Night Lights, like five years later than everybody else. This show is Texas personified! It reminds me of home so much. So You Think You Can Dance is heating up. Project Runway is back. HGTV is on rotation since we're back on the house hunting band wagon.

The words you are looking for are pathetic and sad. I have an actual real life that doesn't involve a flat screen, I promise.

We got back from a quickie beach trip down to Destin, TX to visit the Schroeder clan. MUCH too short, but we had a great time as usual. 3 and a half days, no way. Not enough.

I took a grand total of three pictures (see summer malaise above) but they highlight some of my favorite moments of the trip. Excluding me boogy boarding all the way to shore on some awesome waves covered in seaweed in the mannner of Swamp Thing. I just had to put it out of my mind or I would have never gotten in the water. My mental toughness reigns supreme.

Sunset on the dunes. Henry was not crazy about the beach..or the pool...or the sand. He tolerated it. As soon as we would step into the parking garage of the condo though, watch out! The eyes would light up and the talking would pour out. What can I say? He's easy to please. We could have just vacationed in our local Target parking lot.

"Big truck!"

"Mo-cycle!"
"Keekee!"- (There were stray cats in the parking garage. I didn't know cats hung around the beach that much, but ok.)

Reading time with Jojo. He LOVES his family! Anytime anybody left the condo, Henry would start look sad and start looking around for who was missing. He can say everybody's names ("Maw", "Paw", "Ash", and "Jojo") and definitely likes to have an audience.

View of the beach from Seaside. Seaside is this gorgeous beachfront community north of Destin. Mom, Ash, and I ventured out for a little bit of girl time to explore. If money and time were no object and I lived in a dream world, I would live here. No question.

Here's some more pics from the past couple of weeks around these parts.

The pushing obsession continues at Discovery Place.

He paused to amuse me and play with the sprinkler for 2 minutes. Our neighbor was fixing his car and this proved too hard to resist.

I am so smart!

Coming out of his secret hiding place in the backyard between the bushes.

Pickles! So good they'll rot 'yo teef! Looks like he's missing some! He is really not going to like me one day when he sees these.

Love,

Lynds

Summertime & the Livin's Easy

2011-06-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Or crazy depending on who you talk to! Hence, the neglect of the blog.

In the past month and a half, we've had:

- Maldoff Family mountain vacation to Helen, GA
- My girl's trip to Myrtle Beach
- Marc's golf trip to Pinehurst
- Trip to Texas for Joey's graduation

When we travel, we do it up right! We've had a lot of fun so far this summer and we're not even to July 4th yet.

Henry is growing like crazy. At his 18 month appointment, he weighed 30lbs (90th percentile) and measured 33.25 inches (75th percentile). Large & in charge and consistent with what he's always been. He is now wearing 24month & 2T clothes, as the 18-24 month are a little snug around the middle. On June 20th, he will be 20 months old. Insane. Wasn't I just planning his one year old party?

His favorite hobbies include throwing his diapers in the trash can, wiping down dirty surfaces, and sweeping. At this rate, he's on his way to becoming a janitor.

He likes to wear sunglasses now, but don't expect him to smile when they are on. Way too cool for that. Although the look here is more Ray Charles.

Bird poop incident of 2011. I'm sure there will be more, as I have been pooped on three times in my life. I think it runs in the family.

Betsy the bestie. I think she would rather be an acquaintance, but she tolerates him trying to ride her like a pony.

But, he's still a baby! This picture proves it, see?

The fountains at Birkdale are a favorite activity now.

Capri Suns are the best! He can suck one down in 30 seconds flat.

Hi mama!

Push, push, push the Cozy Coupe.......he will do this all day long.

Wouldn't we all rather place our cell phone calls wearing no pants?

We had a relaxing trip to the Georgia mountains with the Maldoff's this year.

Henry went to a petting zoo with Nana and Aunt Catherine one of the days, while I got to spend some time reading my Kindle in the golf cart while the boys golfed. So nice! We took a day trip to Amicalola Falls one day and spent another afternoon in Helen (do not recommend it unless you are into tattoos, fake saloon photos, or airbrushed t-shirts). Extremely touristy. They did have a fun little area with a winery and a pizza joint where we spent some time. I bought some pancake & muffin mixes at this old Granary mill that has been in business since the 1850's. They get all their power from a stream that runs behind the place. Oh, and I also bought jams. You have to buy jams when you are on a vacation in the country. I felt very much like Suzy Homemaker and left with dreams of making my own bread & canning. This did not last of course. Ah...delusions of grandeur.

I had the most fun just hanging out at the cabin with the family. We cooked together every night and played pool in the basement game room. Henry gave lots of good cuddles to everybody and spent a lot of time mowing the balcony.

Quote of the trip:

Marc turns to me on the couch all of a sudden and asks like we've just met or something, "Do you play pool?" I didn't say anything for a second and all of a sudden he adds, "You know, billiards?"

It was just the way he said it....like he was a formal British chap just meeting a girl and challenging her to a game of billiards over a round of scotch. I guess you had to be there, but I busted out laughing for like an hour after that. Or maybe it was the rum and cokes and the fear of bears outside talking. Little did he know, I'm a pool shark in disguise. Took a couple nights for the old college pool skills to make their appearance, but when they did....I don't have to tell you what happened. I killed it.

His buddy, Gramps!

Day trip to Amicalola Falls.

Family portrait

I also was so lucky to get to go on a Girl's Trip to Myrtle with some mommy friends.

It was just what we all needed. We got to do some shopping, some good eating & drinking, some lounging, some singing & dancing, some good talks & games...what else do you need really?!

The Sunday we were there was my 30th birthday so Saturday night we went out on the town. Mind you, it was biker week there. Very good people watching. Got a lot of good tattoo ideas. And a hankering for a pair of my own leather pants.

Cheers to 30!

Me & Erin. What am I doing?!

Ready for our night out! Cristine, Kellye, Christina, Michelle, Erin, and me.

The girls made it extra special and made sure I had a drink in my hand all night. We went to Margaritaville for dinner & drinks and a piano bar after. We had such a great time! The interpretive dance skills made their appearance and these girls are still talking to me, so I'm guessing they weren't too embarassing.

Capri Suns for adults do exist and they are delightful. This is what girl's weekend is all about. Relaxing by the pool!

So thankful to Kellye for planning & Cristene for letting us shack up in her condo. It was a very memorable trip!

I will update the blog again soon with pics from our Texas trip for Joey's graduation. Good times with the fam!

Love,

Lyndsey

Hoppy Easter!

2011-05-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hoppy Easter from my little bunny!

We had a wonderful Easter with the family in Texas this year! Henry got a Tonka truck Easter basket (I did not even know these existed) from the Easter bunny filled with toys and treats.

You mean these eggs are filled with Goldfish crackers? I got robbed!

On second thought, I like this idea.

Getting ready for a wheelbarrow ride with Noah.

A view of the basket and Grandpa taking a picture.

Power to the people with Paul!

The hunt is on! Henry's giving Noah some eggs.

Taking a ride! Note- Henry weighs 3 lbs less than his 5 year old cousin.

Porch sittin'.

Lots of fun in the sandbox.

He looks so big here! So sweet!

Cars!! My favorite.

He likes to give tires a little pat when he sees one he likes.

Wait up Gee-maw!

Walking with purpose!

Time for a haircut!

Hmmmm....I'm not so sure about this!

Fun at Bass Pro with Grandpa & Jo-Jo.

Jo-Jo is so funny!
Telling secrets...

A fun time was had by all! Henry cried maybe one time the entire time we were there. By the end of the trip, if you called out somebody's name, he would point to them. He understands so much more than I even realize. As evidenced by me yelling that something was total "BS" the other day and him yelling "Beeeeeeee!" right after. I guess I need to cut the cussing to a minimum! Give me some credit, at least I shortened it to "BS".

Love,

Lyndsey

Birds of a Feather

2011-04-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

We kicked it family style this past Saturday and took a trip to the Carolina Raptor Center. Considering the zoo is almost an hour and a half away and the Raptor Center is ten minutes, we chose the Raptor Center. It was either that or the Loch Norman Scottish Highland Games. I have wanted to go for years, but I got out voted. Men in kilts? Celtic music? Sheep herding? What's not to love?

The Raptor Center was actually quite fun. We saw some of the cutest little owls you would ever see. They had a big bald eagle exhibit with baby bald eagles. I'm not really a bird person (or animal person really, don't tell Betsy) but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.

This was right after he bit the dust breaking into a full sprint on the gravel path. I used my sweet, non-existent photo editing skills to try and remove the red spot from his forehead. Hence the skills, some pictures have the red spot and some don't.

And who is this guy with the kind eyes blocked by the attractive metal fencing?

I knew I liked this bird for a reason.

Gotcha!

This is his thinking stance.

"The thinker, or the stinker?"- Name that SNL skit. Ding, ding! Will Ferrell skit where he's the nude model with hygiene issues.

I fell in love with this bird. I don't remember what kind she was. I was too busy looking at her beautiful feathers. She's just so stately.

Everyday after work, we spend at least an hour in the backyard playing and chatting. Henry was in a particularly rambunctious mood this day. This was after a trip to the grocery store where I turned around to grab a can of spaghetti sauce and turned back and he had taken off his shoe and thrown it at a lady shopping. "Who throws a shoe, honestly?"

He likes dirt. 'Nuf said.

Thinking stance part deux.

He sees something he likes. A mower, a squirrel, neighbor kids....it could be anything. The wheels are turning. If I cry, maybe Mom will open the gate and let me out?? Commence tantrum in 3-2-1...

And go! It's not all fun my friends.

Off to Texas in 2 days for Easter weekend! Can't wait to see the fam!

Love,

Lyndsey

2011-04-10T18:08:00.001-07:00

For the Love of Chick-fil-A

2011-04-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Marc could eat Chick-fil-A every day of the week. No joke. He puts Chick-fil-A gift cards on his Christmas list. He needs an intervention. I took Henry for lunch last Friday and he's just like his daddy. He loved it! We sat at a table in front of the drive-thru lane so he could watch all the cars driving past. Sure enough, he's waving and yelling "Bye!" as they drove by. I spread out his little placemat so he could enjoy his chicken nuggets and fries. I'm eating my chicken sandwich and look up and he is grinning from ear to ear and waving like a maniac. I look outside and it's his friend Olivia's mom. I couldn't believe he recognized her from that far! Or maybe it's because she was waving like a maniac too!

We ventured into the playland area so he could get out and run around before the drive home. I suppressed the urge to wipe my whole body with a mini Purell wipe that Chick-fil-A so graciously provides. These need to be everywhere.

Henry was driving the Chick-fil-A airplane when 2 little brothers walked in. They were probably 8 and 6. They were both really sweet and starting talking to him and showing him how to drive the airplane. Meanwhile, Henry just stares at them and tries to tackle them (as usual, his form of love).

Little Brother asks me, "He's really quiet. Why?"

Me- "He's a baby. He doesn't really know how to talk."

Older Brother- "He's not responding!" This kid has been watching too much Grey's Anatomy.

Henry proceeds to continue hugging and trying to put his patented wrestling move on the older brother. This particular move involves straddling the poor victim's body while shoving his diaper covered butt in their face. I've been violated by this move many times. He'll come at you at a full speed run, knock you down, and then have you pinned down before you even realize what's happening. It's actually quite impressive. Considering this is the first time the move has been performed outside the house and on a stranger, I decide to leave my Ice Dream and intervene.

Older Brother- "Baby, I'm not a jungle gym."

I died laughing. This kid is awesome!

I'm writing this on a Friday night. Marc is playing Glow-ball, Henry is sleeping, and I just finished watching a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon and eating a Reeses Pieces Easter carrot that I bought for Marc a week ago. I think Kate Gosselin is legitimately insane after watching her "Kate Plus 8" commercials where she's hugging a koala and balling. It's so bizarre. I'm excited about waking up early tomorrow and going to a local neighborhood's garage sale. I had a card game set up with the girl's tonight but they weren't able to make it.

It's official. I'm almost 30. Or 80, give or take.

Love,

Lyndsey

Mr. Chatterbox

2011-03-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

It's official. I no longer live with a chubby little caveman. It used to be all grunts all the time at our house. "Ugh" and pointing was the norm.

Not now!

While Henry was playing in the sandbox the other day at Discovery Place, Marc and I just started counting all the words he's saying. We got up to 20! Mind you, most of these words are gibberish that only Marc and I probably understand, but they still count!

List of some of Henry's new words:

- Juice

- Cheese

- Book

- Truck

- Go

- Whoa

- Thank you (tan too)

- Bath

- Coffee (cof) Yes...I drink a lot of coffee!

- Hot

- Fish

- Animal sounds- Moo, Meow, Bock Bock (Chicken sound)

- Tractor (tr tor)

- Cracker

- Ball

- Cookie

- Balloon

Henry loves the sandbox! He simply cannot be bothered while he is in there. There is too much work that needs to be done.

This is the sweet face I see when I turn around at stoplights. I think my heart just exploded. He wanted to look cool on our trip to Target and wear his tattoo sleeves.

The weather was beautiful here this weekend. Marc had to work Sunday afternoon, but we decided to head to Birkdale to catch some rays and do a little shopping. He loved running around the middle courtyard. And when I say running, I mean running. He was sprinting!

Running around the circle!

Henry has been such a sweet boy lately. He is so smiley and you can can just see his mind working as he starts understanding more and more. I love him so much!!

Love,

Lyndsey

Extreme Hair Makeover

2011-03-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Before Shot

3 Things I Hate About This Haircut

Disclaimer**** I don't blame my hairdresser for this. I blame myself for not having a clear picture in my head of what I wanted. It can happen to anyone. Proceed at your own risk.

1. You know what they say about dogs and their owners looking alike? I resemble Betsy a little too much here. I look ready for my turn in Westminster.

2. Either that or ready to walk like an Egyptian.

3. Me and Patricia Heaton from "The Middle" could be twins. Not a good thing.

Goo!

And girls, we all know when our hair ain't right, we don't feel right!

So, I went back and decided to chop it all off! I have loved this haircut for years now and decided to just go with it!

On the way home from the salon!

A week after. Trying to perfect my Blue Steel, but looking pissed off instead.

I have never had my hair this short and I absolutely love it! I feel so much spunkier and younger than before. It takes absolutely no time to style. This gives me more time for important things like spending time with my new boyfriend, Mr. Kindle.

I sing to him. It's sad.
"Mr. Kindle"- by Lyndsey, sung to the tune of "Mr. Wendal" by Arrested Development.
Uhh yeah eh yeah eh yeah.........

I bought him from my bosses wife for $50. He's covered with a super sassy purple cover and already is loaded with 45 books. I spent a lot of time with him this weekend. I hope Marc's not too jealous.

We've been spending a ton of time outside these past two weekends. As soon as Henry wakes up in the morning, he walks to the back door and says "Ossa". He would be out there all day every day if I let him. I'm so thankful we have a big backyard so he can run around as much as he wants. I cannot get enough of this wonderful weather!

I think my great mood also has to do with the fact that Henry is now officially FERBERIZED. Don't be scared. This is the new yuppie parent term for basically letting them cry themself to sleep. We started it two weeks ago because after all the time of being sick, Henry was getting used to waking up in the middle of the night and coming in our bed. This got old real fast. None of us slept well.

The first night we gave him a bath, read him a story, and set him in his bed with his glow-worm and blankie. He cried for 5 minutes. I went to check on him and patted his back and told him it was night night time. He cried for about 7 minutes after that and fell asleep.

The second night we did the same routine. He cried for about 3 minutes.

The third night.....no crying!

The fourth night as I'm rocking him after we're done with his story, he points to his bed. Like, "Mom, I know the routine already, let's just get this over with."

This has been life-changing. I don't know why we waited so long to do it. We have more time at night to ourselves and he's not waking up at night at all. Or if he does, he's able to soothe himself back to sleep.

Here's some pics from this past weekend. We had family pics taken this Saturday. Can't wait to see how those turn out.

Cheese!

Wee!!

My 2 boys

Smiling at the parents on the park benches.

Drink break!

Watching the big kids

Love,

Lyndsey

Riding solo

2011-03-04T07:52:00.001-08:00

I've been kicking it single mom style this past week while Marc's been in Vegas at the Lowe's Sales Meeting. Alas, he did not bring me back any gambling winnings like I asked him to, but at least he broke even. He likes to play blackjack and poker over in old town Vegas. I can't help but think of Vegas Vacation. Just call him Nick Papagiorgio.

Henry is feeling all better! Thanks to everybody sending prayers and good thoughts our way.
He's feeling so good, he decided to go completely pants-free in the backyard. He tried to push the limit and go diaper-free too. Gotta love him. I think we would all like to run around with no pants on in the warm weather if society allowed it. Alright, maybe that's just me and my indecent exposure tendencies.

Eating some Lance peanut butter crackers in the driveway before him and his daddy head to his favorite place- Harris Teeter! He is very vocal while he shops and likes to talk with the guys at the deli counter so he can get free samples.

I thought I was on my game while Marc was gone, but some things are bound to slip.

I ran the dishwasher and opened it up and saw this mysterious dark blue liquid everywhere. What in the world?! Did a pen somehow bust open in there? Is it squid ink? Food coloring?

I investigate a little further. Henry is obsessed with wallets, so I had given him Marc's old wallet with some old business cards in it to play with. Lo and behold, look what had found a home in the top rack. So if you come to my house and your glass of water has a hint of leather flavor, this is why!

We had such a fun day on Saturday! I was feeling creative, so I made Henry some edible finger paints to play with. Really messy, but he really enjoyed it! After that, I had a "me" afternoon with a relaxing massage and some retail therapy. Perfect day :)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,

Lyndsey

Hell Week

2011-02-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

WARNING: MAJOR VENTING AHEAD. DEBBIE-DOWNER MATERIAL. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.

Thanks to all my friends and family who have been supportive of us through this past week. It was the worst week ever. This is the last time Hell Week will be spoken of.

Sunday- Actually a good day. Hell Week had not yet begun.

Monday- Marc found out a close colleague of his has brain cancer. He is 39 years old. Odds of recovery are good, but he requires major brain surgery to remove the tumor.

Tuesday- Henry wakes up with a low-grade fever after a whopping 4 days of being well from his prior ear infection. I assume it's his molars coming in. Marc and I alternate taking care of him while handling work meetings between us.
As the day progresses, he still has fever but I'm controlling it with Tylenol (or think I am). Nighttime strikes and I give him his last dose of Tylenol at midnight (his sleep schedule is always off when he's not feeling well). I am sleeping in the guest room and Marc is sleeping with Henry in our bed. At 2am Marc comes running in the room saying Henry is having a seizure. Obviously, we are both freaking out and have no clue what's going on. I call 911 and the operator tells us to lay him down on his side so he doesn't choke on his saliva and just stay close to him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. His seizure lasts 2 minutes, but feels like an eternity. My heart is pumping so hard I feel like it's going to burst out of my chest. The paramedics arrive and check all his vitals to make sure he's stable. Evil bitch paramedic woman endures the wrath of an enraged mama bear when she says, with attitude mind you, "Well......what do you want us to do?"

"Hmmmm...let's see lady, how bout you give me some advice on what the hell is going on?! Last time I checked, I'm not a paramedic and I have no formal training on why a 16 month old baby would have a seizure in the middle of the night."

EMT Bitch- "I cannot legally advise you what to do."

Me- "Um, then why are you here? Your bedside manner is just swell."

Thank goodness there was a sweet EMT guy there, probably a daddy himself, who explained to me that Henry had just had a seizure brought on by a high rise in temperature. He advised us that it would be best to get him to the hospital to have him checked out just in case. I would later learn at the ER that they are called Febrile Seizures and happen in 1 out of every 25 children. They are harmless and cause no permanent damage, but he has a 30% percent chance of having another in the future. He will outgrow them by age 6. The ER doc thinks that he probably still has a little bit of an ear infection and he prescribes an antibiotic. We still don't really know if that's what caused the fever. We're at the ER from 2:30am to 5am. I haven't cried yet.

Wednesday- I stay home with Henry. He still has fever and is now developing a red rash on his cheeks. He's walking like a drunken sailor. I take him to the doctor and they diagnose him with Roseola. Not to be confused with the actress Rosario Dawson. I told people for two days that Henry had Rosario. Roseola is a form of the herpes virus and is very common in children. Symptoms are a high fever for 1 to 3 days, followed by a red rash and general irrability and lethargy for 2-3 days. Sounds about right. The doctor said the seizure can mess with the nerves and muscles and his walking could be altered for a couple days.

Thursday- Henry's in a good mood in the morning and his fever is gone, so I decide to take him to the sitter for the afternoon so I can get some work done. I think things might be looking up and I keep my hair appointment for the evening. I don't know if the week's events have had an effect on me yet, but I make the rash decision of getting a lot of hair chopped off. But it feels good! Less hair, less stress. Although I do feel like I have a little Cleopatra thing going on with my bangs and bob.
Marc picks up Henry and poor thing did not do well at the sitter's. Kid can't catch a break.

Friday- Henry is still not feeling well and I hold him almost the whole day. I have finally lost all control on my emotions and the flood gates have opened. I start crying at 7am and don't stop till I pick up the wine glass at 2pm. The drinking helps....oh the mama juice, how you work miracles. My mind has traveled to the land of "What If's". This is dangerous territory.

- What if I can't get this baby well? January and February has been filled with Ringworm, Croup, Eczema, 2nd ear infection, and now Roseola. What if something else is wrong with him?

- My line review project for work is due on March 7th. I've lost almost a whole week of work. Marc leaves on Sunday for the Lowe's Sales Meeting in Vegas. If this baby's not well by Monday, what am I going to do? I have so much work to do....

I also find out a very good friend has had a miscarriage after a year of trying. This is devastating news.

Saturday- I find out one of my friend's from home that I've known since 7th grade has ovarian cancer. They found it at her routine ob-gyn visit. She had to have an emergency hysterectomy and starts chemo in 3 weeks. She is 30 years old.

Sunday- God bless you Sunday. I drop off Marc at the airport after a tough morning with Henry. I am praying for a miracle at this point. After some time shopping and spending time outside, his mood miraculously turns at around 1pm. My brave, beautiful boy is sitting in my lap, looks up at me with a big smile and plants a sloppy open-mouthed kiss on me.
And I knew everything was going to be ok.

Love,

Lyndsey

My Funny Valentine

2011-02-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

Kenny Powers

Krusty the Clown

Henry's hair

Time for a haircut! We had snapped a little bit of it off after Christmas, but decided to chop a bit more off this time. Daddy manned the scissors. I was too scared!

Check him out! Looking even more like a big boy now. Stylin' and profilin'....

This picture is not the best, but he was so happy to open up his Valentines care package from Gee-maw and Grandpa! A new recordable story book, animal crackers, goldfish, and Reeses peanut butter hearts (those were for me). He got some special money to put in his piggy bank from Nana and Gramps and a card that he carries around with him everywhere. You see, it has a picture of a bulldozer AND a dump truck on it, so it's pretty much the best thing ever.

Here's his Valentine's gift from Mommy and Daddy. A bicycle to practice on!

Cheesing it up at his 15 month old appointment. This is his picture taking smile.

I figure he's old enough now to start contributing. I've started putting him to work in the yard.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Saying No

2011-02-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Lately, I feel like I have been saying "No" a lot.

"No, don't throw your food."
"No, get out of Betsy's water bowl."
"No, don't touch the cable box."
"No, eating the tube of Cortaid you have become so fascinated with".

"No" gets old real fast. I think you are a true mom in those moments where, sometimes....you are just too tired to care. And you just have to laugh.

Taking all my folded laundry out of the laundry basket, why not? Rubbing my toothbrush on the bathroom floor, sure. Throwing all the plastic plates out of the dishwasher, couldn't hurt? Using blueberry yogurt as hair gel, go on ahead.

I'm trying to keep taking pictures, but he moves so fast. The picture is usually just a blurry blob running past me.

Here's some from this past week:

He's got a real dog, but instead likes to hug the puppy on the dog food bag.

Banging cups together while we play music in the kitchen.

Finally got some new tunes on my ipod! Bought me some Sia, Cee Lo, and Ray LaMontagne. Sia is so good! I can't believe she's not on the radio yet. She has a new video on VH1, but it's the only slow song on her latest CD. All the others are fast, poppy songs. There's even a remake of Madonna's "Oh Father" on there, so you know I like it! I will take an obvious Madonna cover, but I'm not feeling Lady Gaga's copycat look and sound lately. "Alejandro"= "La Isla Bonita". "Born This Way"= "Express Yourself". And her look at the Grammy's was pure Blonde Ambition tour, circa 1990. Palm tree ponytail and all. Losing faith in you Gaga.

Am I a gay man inside of a woman's body or what?!

Saturday morning chaos

Hey, first facial expression of somewhat happiness on the swings. I'll take it!

Does a bear shit in the woods? The answer is yes. Look at that face!

I love to mow. Please hire me to take care of your lawn. I will accept payment in goldfish and animal crackers.

Have a great week!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

A Laugh a Minute

2011-02-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, I can officially say that 15 months is my favorite age! You can take that to the bank.

Marc and I laugh everyday with all the new things this boy is doing. He never fails to crack us up with his antics.

This boy cannot get enough of his books! I'll tell him to go bring me a book and he will go to his toy box and bring me one of his favorites. Lately, it's this book he got for Christmas called Trucks, Tractors, Diggers, and Dumpers. I have it memorized. He just grins from ear to ear after I turn every page. What is it about boys and construction vehicles?

We've had a few warmer days around here lately. By warmer, I mean 50 degrees. We've been taking advantage of it and running around the backyard.

Kisses! I just got my first kissy ever today. I know it's strange, but before that he only liked to kiss his Dad's shoe when he got home from work. He would do it like 3 times in a row like he was a royal servant or something.

Posing for the ladies. "You ladies come here often?"

Running around Mom's office. He is always moving these days!

Discovery Place for Kids at the water table. I think he's saying "Wow" here. One of his favorite words!

He's also saying:

- Dada

- Mama

- Go

- No

- Hi and Bye

- Si, short for Betsy

"Yo Gabba Gabba! Yo Gabba Gabba!" He loves the theme song to that show and starts dancing when it comes on. His dancing skills are off the chart lately. Any time a song comes on, he is moving. He is especially partial to the Ipad song and Jennifer Hudson's Weight Watchers anthem "Feelin' Good". He's got soul!

Getting ready for nite-nite with Dad!

Henry likes to fall asleep with things in his hands. This night was pretzels. Sometimes it's toothbrushes, pieces of fake food, or Ritz crackers. Do not try to hand him a stuffed animal or a blankie. He will throw it. He wants random objects.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Bahama Mamas (& Papas)

2011-02-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful vacation! After all the sickness we've had in our household, I couldn't wait to just get away and rest. And sure enough, right after we got there we both took a two hour nap. Much needed!

Soaking up the sun

View from our bed and breakfast's patio

Beach all to ourselves!

Jellyfish at the Atlantis aquarium.

Sunset from Paradise Island

Private beach we visited during the Segway tour

Segway tour! Total touristy thing to do, but it was so fun!

Sunset from the B&B's patio

Beautiful sunsets every night

Pier at a nearby resort. It was freezing! So glad I brought my sweater. I wore it almost every day.

Yay!

Dinner at Traveler's- Best restaurant in Nassau! Try the guava cake. And our clothes match the sunset.

Our room! So cozy. I felt like I was staying in an old Southern plantation...in a Pottery Barn kind of way.

I spent most of my time in this tub reading.

Beach combing

And while we had an AMAZING time, we missed Henry something fierce. This was our first time away just the two of us and I have to say, it took about a day to get out of a parent high alert mode. But what a great chance to re-connect and just hang out with each other with no worries in the world....well, maybe just where we were going to eat that night and what drink I was going to order.

Thanks to Geemaw and Grandpa for taking such good care of my boy! He loves y'all so much!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

The Magic of Christmas

2011-01-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Christmas. The lights, the music, the shopping, the traditions...all of it. When it's over, I'm always sad as all the glitter and light disappear from my living room. It went by so fast this year. I could've used an extra two weeks of Christmas this year. And that's what I'm realizing about life with a little one, especially at this time of year. It FLIES.

Christmas was so much more fun with the little guy running around. He's not old enough yet to understand any of it, but to see Christmas through a child's eye...that's the magic.

As I get older, Christmas is still a magical time, but has become a little bittersweet. Spending Christmas at home in the house I grew up in, so many memories flood in of Christmases past. Can it really be that long ago that I was sitting under the tree opening up my gifts from Santa? And now I'm no longer the child, I'm the mother. But, I still feel like that little girl inside. How can it be that I'm the MOM and almost 30 years old?? Is that right? You mean Santa isn't real...huh?! :)

Pardon me, I think I'm just having a quarter-life crisis. Thank you John Mayer for giving a name to my special kind of craziness.

And I missed my Papa this year. More than I have in a long time. I missed the smell of the log cabin and the pipe tobacco. I missed his hugs and his voice. And I think that's another part of Christmas that changes as we get older. We miss all the people that we've spent it with in the past. And I wish he could have met Henry. They would've been best buddies.

Sniff...sniff....alright I'll get back on track, I promise.

We were blessed to be able to spend a whole week at home. Usually, Henry and I will go down for a week, and Marc is only able to come for a couple days, but this year he got to spend the whole week.

Instead of the 12 days of Christmas, I'll call it the 7 days of Queso. I believe we injested that beloved blend of Rotel and Velveeta at least once a day for 7 days straight. Awesome.

Besides gorging on Mexican food, we spent a lot of time just relaxing and playing with Henry. His walking improved like crazy over the trip. When we first got there, he was still a little shaky on his feet but by the end he was practically running. Running like a drunk, but running still.

He LOVED his Uncle Jojo. Now, he rarely meets a stranger but he walked right up to Joey and nestled up against his chest like he was his best friend. Um, he's never done that to me!

We watched the movie, The Other Guys, twice. If you are into quotable Will Ferrell comedies, you must check it out. We were dying laughing! I even got a present from one of the characters. It got a little out of hand. Why I got scratch off lottery tickets from "Dirty Mike and the Boys" (aka Marc), I will never know. It doesn't even make sense. And why I received scratch off tickets from my husband...that's also strange.

We tried to go see Santa on our yearly trip to Bass Pro Shops, but there was a two hour wait! Seriously? It was just like that part in The Christmas Story where Ralphie and his brother get in what they think is the line, only to have that mean old man tell him the line starts back THERE! That was us...I thought it looked pretty short. Dur.

The closest we got.

We rode the carousel instead. Henry tolerated it. I think he's inherited his mom's hatred of rides that go round and round.

This is blurry, but you can see the joy on his face. Ha!

By the time it was time to leave, I really just wanted to stay and have Christmas at Bass Pro in that front lounging room with all the deer heads and the roaring fire. So cozy. I think this longing to spend the night at Bass Pro goes back to one of my favorite memories from childhood. When I was in Girl Scouts, we got to have an overnight campout in the MALL! Best idea ever. I love the idea of camping, but not so much the outdoors. Why not camp indoors in one of my favorite places to go as a 7 year old? Genius.

I think Henry's favorite present was his 4 pack of Chuck trucks. It's a fire truck, a blue pick-up truck, an ambulance, and a dump truck. He kept saying, "Whoa" as I was unwrapping them for him. Although, it seems his favorite toy lately is not a present he received at all, but my very own red CVS card. If we're out shopping around and he's fussy, the CVS card works everytime. He's actually really studying me when I swipe my credit card in the machine. Give him a couple more days, and I think he'll actually be able to do this. He's pretty smart.

"Mom, why are you always talking smack?"

This will go down as the Christmas Marc fell in love with his Droid. And the love affair continues....I might need him to leave the Droid at home when we go on our Bahamas trip. It's getting pretty hot and heavy.

So excited for our Bahamas trip! Here's the place we're staying, A Stone's Throw B&B in Nassau. I have been working out and watching my diet like a mad woman to try and get ready to get into a bikini. Normally, those areas don't see the light of day till at least June so there's some work to be done. I won't be able to wear my pajama jeans on the beach. Just kidding, I do not have a pair of pajama jeans, although they are tempting. Hey, at least I didn't buy the Shake Weight to get my arms in shape!

Happy New Year to you all!! Here's to a wonderful 2011!

Cheers!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Fall Escapades

2010-11-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

This post is so late due to a crazy work life as of late, but better late than never!

Is the word "escapade" ever used besides that lovely 90's gem of a song "Escapade" by Janet Jackson? I remember I used to think she was saying "...let me take you on an ice capades". I always wanted to go to the Ice Capades, so the song appealed to me. If I don't know the words to a song, I usually just make up my own. That's what all the cool kids do.

We have truly had some memorable fall escapades this year with Henry. I've visited more pumpkin patches in the past three months than I have in my entire life. Each one had something memorable to offer.

One had the best kettle corn I've ever had. Actually, I only got 2 bites. This guy got the rest.

One that looked just like "Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin" except not animated.

One where I saw two donkeys, um how should I put this....having a fun time together?

You thought I was going to post a pictures of the donkeys, didn't you? You have such a dirty mind.

A young family with 2 kids was also there to witness it.

Overheard conversation:

"Mama, what are those horsies doing?"- Little Boy

"They look like they are having fun!"- Little Girl

"Ah nuthin. They ain't horses at all. Nah, they ain't horses at all!"- Deep Southern accented Grandma. Horses she knew would never do such a thing. For shame.

Henry and his best girlfriend Maddie having a Ritz Cracker snack in the patch.

This look exemplified his mood that day. Even after the cracker snack, something was just not right. I'm calling this shot "Before Ice Cream".

Hmmm...let's give it a try. Chocolate in a waffle cone. Delightful.

"After Ice Cream". Pure joy.

We also took a trip up to Blowing Rock to see all the foliage. Blowing Rock is such a cute little town, but not the place to bring a baby. Strollers are not allowed in any of the shops. And it was freezing!! We had a lunch at a fancy cafe while we were there. It was very quiet inside, so I was a little worried about how it would go with Henry. He was so good! Maybe because he looked the part. His sweater vest and collared shirt fit right in with the sophisticated atmosphere. Ron Burgundy would've liked this place. It smelled of rich mahogany.

"Can I get some service up in here?! Waitress!!"

Poor baby was teething during Halloween and barely tolerated having to wear his tiger outfit. We went trick or treating around the cul-de-sac and then hung out in the driveway to hand out candy to all the kids. It didn't really cross my mind that it would actually be me and Marc holding out the candy bucket, so it was actually us grown ups trick or treating. Awkward. He looked very cute in his costume. I'm glad we went the tiger route. I considered dressing him up as a hamburger.....oh, who are we kidding. That would've been adorable too.

Henry continues to amaze me at the big boy he is becoming.

A couple things he's started to do.....

- He can now walk 5 or 6 steps without falling.

- Loves climbing up the stairs.

- I can tell (mother's intuition) he is starting to understand a ton of words. His newest word is "Go". He likes to say that we're playing fetch with Betsy. He likes to head butt Betsy and burrow his head in her fur.

- He's starting to dance when music comes on. His favorite song is "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" by Usher. He likes it when I sing Miranda Lambert's "House That Built Me" and "The Airstream Song". Or maybe I just like to sing those.

- Still loves peek-a-boo and can now play by himself. He'll go around the corner or pull a shirt over his head by himself to "hide".

- He's starting to like eating with a spoon by himself.

- Pots, pans, and spoons are his favorite "toys". His favorite toys that are actually toys are his school bus and dump truck.

- This kid loves books!! It's getting to be where if I'm reading and I stop, he lets it be known that he wants me to keep going! He's obsessed with anything with a truck or car on it. I caught him reading the back of the newspaper with pictures of cars for sale on it the other day. I feel like I'm raising Joe Dirt. I better get me some issues of Auto Trader.....

- Speaking of Joe Dirt, he's grown quite a mullet. But it's little baby ringlets, so I just can't cut it yet!

- He now has 8 teeth. 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top.

That's all for now! Lots of fun times coming up with Christmas almost here. Can't wait!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Little Gym Drama

2010-10-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to take Henry to Little Gym after work on his real birthday. They have a free introductory class, so why not? We went to the 5:45 class. He had just had a big bottle of milk and some snacks, so I thought we were all set and just threw in some goldfish just in case.

He acted like he had never seen people before. He was so clingy and would not let me put his down. Still acting like he was hungry, we went in the waiting room and had a few more goldfish. He would come alive for a minute, but then back to the clinginess. It was so NOT his personality...just strange.

The girl running it came up to me and said, "For the shy babies, they usually get excited when the balls and the bubble time starts."

Um yeah honey, this baby ain't shy. He's just having an off day! Enough with the 3rd degree!

So, we got home, both of us plum worn out. I'm still wondering what was going on with him.

I look down and my fly is undone.

OMG- how long has it been this way?! I was sitting indian style during little gym letting it all hang out! No wonder I thought the parents were giving me dirty looks.

"Hey, let's welcome the weird child predator lady!"

Henry was trying to tell me to get the heck out of there and save us all the embarrassment.

We can never go back there.

.....flashback to traumatic childhood memory.........

I am 14 years old. I weigh maybe 80lbs soaking wet, but I think my new perky 32A's are quite niiice. I buy a bathing suit at the sexy bathing suit place known as The Gap. It is a beige bikini with flowers on it. In denial over my pale skin from an early age, I decide that once I get a tan it will look really good. Right now, it frankly resembles my skin tone just a wee bit.

Fast forward to a hot summer day when I decide to try it out by laying out in the backyard. I go out to get the mail to see if my new Seventeen magazine has arrived. We live across the street from a park. I strut my stuff out to the mailbox and hear these boys yelling, "Whoa, look at that girl!"

I am so excited. I must be looking hot to get catcalls from across the street.

Two days later, we receive a call from the local police department.

Apparently, an indecent exposure claim was filed stating that I walked out of my house in the nude.

Commence tears & much humiliation. The ordeal was solved when a private investigator and my whole family walked across the street and forced me to walk outside the house in my bikini again to make sure we were telling the truth.

My dad decided I would never wear that bathing suit ever again.

The sad thing is, these moments do not stop at age 14.

A guy from The Little Gym called on Saturday to try and re-schedule our visit.

For a minute, I thought it might be the cops.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

How Bout Them Apples

2010-10-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

I tried to get Henry attached to a paci. He picked his thumb.

I tried to get Henry attached to the special teething giraffe that all the magazines talk about. He picked a wet rag.

I tried to get Henry attached to a stuffed animal or a blankie. He picked apple cores.

He is obsessed with chewing on apple cores. This occupies him for an hour at a time, no joke. He will carry the apple core with him around the house. We gave him one last night and I thought we would have to put him to bed with it. He cried real tears when we took it away.

Thanks to mom and Marie for the great tip. It is a miracle worker.

This picture cracks me up. For some reason, I just picture him saying "Would you like to try my apple core?" in a Forrest Gump voice. "They's my magic apples. Mama said they'd take me anywhere!"

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Don't Be Tardy for the Party

2010-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Henry had a wonderful time at his 1st birthday party!

We did a farm theme complete with his new Fisher Price Farm and pig, cow, and chick cupcakes. My mom and I stayed up till midnight making these. And I have to tell you, cake decorating is not my bag. I think it's because I have serious man hands. Or at least I felt like I did putting tiny mini m&m's and jellybeans into the frosting. My hands were just too big to perform this delicate task. Dang German genes! Big shoulders and man hands.

All of Henry's dear little friends came to the party. He had so much fun playing with them.

David playing with the ball pit. What a hit that was with the kids!

Little Madeleine in her leopard print skirt. She is so fancy.

Caroline falling in the balls! She's about to have a new baby brother any day now.

Cute little Aubrey! Thanks to Aubrey's mom, Amber, for taking all these great pictures.

Presents!!! Henry got so many gifts. What a lucky boy! A puzzle, lots of books, clothes, a dump truck and a tractor, a Cozy Coupe, and a Tickle Me Elmo that rolls all over the ground like a possessed creature. I'm just waiting for him to go off one night when I go downstairs to get a drink or something and scare the crap out of me.

Daddy reading him his fun Elmo card, while Henry pops open a cold one.

What a personality! He was a tad cranky before his guests arrived, so we didn't know how the party was going to go down. But as soon as the first guest got here, Mr. Social was ready to deliver the charm! He didn't know quite what to think about his 1st cake experience. He kept feeling it in between his fingers, tasting a little bit, and then dropping it on the floor for Betsy. Too bad dogs can't eat chocolate!

His real birthday is in 3 days, so it hasn't quite hit me yet.

What an incredible experience this first year has been! Love my little man to the moon & back!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Soaking up the local color

2010-09-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Every year there are so many fun things to do once fall rolls around. Mind you, it's a little more challenging when it's still 95 degrees out, but we make it work.

A couple Saturdays ago, we decided to head up to Latta Plantation to walk around and check out the farm animals. We pull up and here this loud "boom" as soon as we get out of the car. Little did we know, it's the day of the Revolutionary War re-enactment! We had got there right as the British and American's had finished their battle.

So, Marc, being the epitome of cool (heehee) decided that he felt a little bit dorky, but me, being the complete opposite of cool, was pumped! I changed my major to History for a semester in college, so I consider myself somewhat of a history buff. History buff meaning I enjoy watching the History Channel occasionally when there is nothing on Food Network, Bravo, or HGTV.

Everybody was dressed up in period costume and acting the part. There was a blacksmith, knitters, soldiers, cooks, ax throwers (I didn't understand this one), slaves, farmers...the whole bit. I walked into the little kitchen building where the cook was watching over his fire. I felt like I was walking back in time, until I noticed the Harris Teeter brand jar of relish sitting at his table. C'mon man, you blew it!

Taking a picture by the Conestoga wagon. He wasn't really having it.
Whatever happened to the Oregon Trail game by the way? Loved the game, even though I always died of dysentery.

The next weekend, we decided to give the Cabarrus County Fair a try. It was actually a lot of fun! They had a huge petting zoo inside one of the warehouse buildings.

Inside animals=no bugs=awesome. Henry's still a little young to care about any of the animals. He just likes people the best. He liked flirting with all the little girls hanging around.

Lots of old school John Deere's hanging around.

The carousel went a little faster and the horse went a little higher than I thought.

Whoa! I'm such a wimp with rides.

Thank God we didn't get the scary carnie in the picture.

You know, the constant yelling and antagonizing as I walk by your booth isn't going to make me want to spend $30 on a huge, over-stuffed Scooby Doo. Lay off carnie. Keep your small hands where I can see them.

I entered Henry in a diaper derby. This is basically a race on a mat where they crawl from one end to the next. He started out strong, got in his crawling stance....and stayed there. My hopes were dashed. His first attempt at sports, ruined. Until the lady came up to me and said since there were a total of 3 babies in the race and he was the only baby in his age group, he won. Yay!
I knew it was time to go when I saw a shirtless man eating a corn dog. Can anything top that?

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Travelin' Man

2010-09-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

How old was I when I had first flown on a plane, you ask? I believe I was 12.

How old was Henry? 2 months

How old was I when I had flown on a plane 5 times? Hmm...probably around 23.

How old was Henry? 11 months

The boy was born a globetrotter.

The past month has been busy with all kinds of travel and activities.

Marc and I participated in Lowe's annual Swing for Charity golf tournament in Orlando, which meant a trip to Nana & Gramps in Tampa for Henry. He was such a good boy! I just hated to leave him...especially to play golf & shmooze with Lowe's people. Can I at least get a spa trip in there people? Get with the times. My golf skills were few and far between this trip. I thought dressing the part in my new black skort like they wear on Big Break Hawaii and black & white plaid golf shoes might up my game. Oh, and a Titliest visor! Epic fail.

I got to at least partake in the delicious Ritz Carlton food while playing. Shrimp kabob in one hand, Corona in the other, golf club in the......ah, ran out of hands. Mostly hung out in the golf cart and got a tan on my legs. I can deal with that!

And then the week after, it was time for my fall NYC market trip. The weather was absolutely perfect and all my meetings went well. I was so sad to be leaving my baby....again...but once up there, I had a really fabulous time. It was the end of Fashion Week so all these fashionistas and model chicks were walking around. Those girls better watch out. Walking the streets in my jeggings and gladiator sandals, black frame glasses on due to itchy ragweed allergy affected eyes, carrying my stuff in a Dunkin' Donuts plastic bag because I forgot my purse; if that's not fierce, I don't know what is.

We ate at this really trendy place in the Meatpacking District called The Standard Grill.

I had the best burger ever! I was ready to spot some celebrities kanoodling, but alas, I never get the celeb spotting love. One of my colleagues just happened to run into Nick Lachey while eating in a restaurant, but me, nada. Hey, I wouldn't mind running into a c-list former boy bander!

In the whirlwind of all this travel, Henry has transformed into a little whirlwind himself! He is EVERYWHERE. Where he used to only crawl when there was a remote that he needed to get to, now he is doing laps around the living room & kitchen. He's fast too. I turn away for 5 seconds and all of a sudden he's at Betsy's food bowl about to partake in the deliciousness that is Iam's dog food. At least it's not Ol' Roy.

Case in point. I had picked up the bowl just in time.

He's also become a master escape artist during diaper changes.

Exhibit A, B, and C.

Thoughtful conversations are also a hobby as of lately. It doesn't really matter if I don't understand what the heck he's talking about, it is VERY important! He enjoys giving rousing speeches standing in his crib to his audience of his stuffed giraffe and ceiling fan. He's started to point at both of them while he's talking. "Listen to me, people!"

Here he goes again, spouting another one of his theories at the mall playground.

Seriously, his talking skills have improved so much. I can now understand "mama", "dada", "ossa" for "outside", and "baba" for "baby" or "bottle". He claps now too, but only while he's eating. He enjoys it that much! I've noticed lately that any time I turn the ipod player on, he's not dancing, but he's wiggling his feet and hands and sometimes clapping. Much like his daddy, he seems hesistant to bust a move.

I can't believe he's almost a year old. What a big hunk of love this boy is! Now that travel is done for a while, I'm having fun starting to plan his birthday party and getting ready for fall and decorating the house. Can't wait for cool temperatures!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Baby mug shot

2010-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this baby?

He was last seen not smiling and wanting to take a nap at Picture People.

He weighs 23lbs and measures 29 inches high at his last 9 month appointment.

He was last seen with his mother who was making a serious fool out of herself trying to get him to smile.

This was the result.

Adventures in picture taking:

"Mom, why do you have to document every friggin' moment of my life?! Waaahhhhh!"

This picture reminded me of this famous baby photo, well minus the spaghetti:

Staring off into the distance.....

Laughing at Betsy.

Porch swinging.

Not too much going on in the Maldoff household. I'm enjoying my first ever weekend alone without Marc & Henry. Of course, I will miss them both but I am going to take advantage of my alone time!

Henry is getting more and more mobile these days. His favorite thing is to pull himself up to standing position at his learning table. He can now stand alone with just one arm holding on to the table. He still has his standard army crawl, aka The Wounded Veteran/Lieutenant Dan, pulling his legs behind him. I think he's going to be one of those babies who walks before he really crawls because unless it's a remote, Betsy, or one of those wonderful baby friendly plastic bags (don't they just love anything that is NOT a toy?!), he ain't going nowhere!

He loves to eat finger food! No longer will he eat baby food at dinner table, only real food will do. Cut up bananas, green beans, watermelon, chicken, tomatoes, corn, noodles...anything & everything works. I'm not sure how long this will last, but it is so nice just to cut up little pieces of what we're eating and call it a day. One day, he won't want to eat his veggies, I'm sure.

As far as his little personality, he is becoming a total ham. Everyday when I pick him up from Miss Mary's house, he just laughs and laughs. Sometime I will catch him laughing at nothing at all...well, that I can tell anyway. Marc just told me on the flight down to Tampa, he was charming all the flight attendants and cracking up at the safety presentation. I'm surprised he wasn't smoking cigars and buying rounds of drinks. Life of the party!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Visit with Geemaw & Grandpa

2010-07-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from our visit with Geemaw and Grandpa! We had so much fun!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Mommy brain

2010-07-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

So, Henry is now 5 years old and just starting kindergarten! See, he's thinking really hard about it!

Nah, that's just about how long it's been since I've updated this thing.

Between Fripp Island vacation, my sister's wedding in Texas, and 2 insane presentations at work...the past 2 months have been jam-packed! And they have taken their toll.

Here are events from the past week that have led me to believe Henry has stolen my brain for good.

- I lose my car keys at least a couple times a week. I used to get mad at my Dad for always losing his keys, but my behavior seems to be following a genetic family pattern.

- I throw away mail that according to Marc, is "important". These include bills, urgent notices, and the like. I have absolutely no memory of doing this. I just know that I don't like paper laying around.

- I left the lights on in my car and the battery went dead.

- I made one of my favorite pies, a banana and white chocolate pudding pie made with the jello mix. This pie consists of only 5 ingredients- banana, the jello mix, graham cracker crust, whipped cream, and milk. Somehow in my intense cooking session of mixing together these many ingredients, I somehow decided that water would be a good substitute for milk. Needless to say, it was a low-fat delicious treat (it was actually not bad, kind of runny though). Water pie, what a delight!!

- I've locked myself out of the house a couple times. We've got to be real good friends with our neighbors.

My question is this- will my brain ever come back? Is mommy brain a condition for life? Most of the time I feel like Elaine in that Seinfeld episode where she is clapping like an idiot at the tire going round and round. Hey, I might not be smart anymore, but at least I'm happy!

Henry is almost 9 months already! He looks like such a big boy now, especially when he's wearing his mesh shorts and tshirts like his daddy. His 9 month appointment is coming up so I don't know his exact stats yet, but he's fitting into 12 month size clothes and 18 month in some tshirts. He is just such a happy boy. He has never met a stranger and loves to charm everybody with his shiny two teeth grin when we're out in public.

Some funny things I always want to remember about this time....

- He loves to sit on the floor and rub his ankles together at a furious pace. He looks like he's starting a fire!

- He's not crawling yet, but he is starting to scoot. He likes to get to the hardwood floor and bang his rings on the floor and just bang on the floor with his hands.

- Betsy is constant entertainment for him. Seeing Betsy eat a treat usually makes him bust out laughing.

- Remote controls have become an obsession. We've even given him an old remote to play with, but he is not interested. Everytime he's in control of it, we either end up on Telemundo or the Adult Movies on Demand channel. I'm not going to start worrying yet.

- He is saying "Dada", "Mama", and "Neenee", but I'm not sure he knows what they mean. I also don't know who "Neenee" is. Maybe he's talking in the 3rd person and saying "Henry"? He's also learned how to scream and growl. Super talkative, this kid.

- If a toy or a person goes out of his viewpoint, he will peek around and try to find them. This is just so adorable to watch.

- He still enjoys "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", but has graduated to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and loves the Sound of Music song- especially the "Fa- a long, long way to run" part. Don't ask me why. As far as popular songs, he still enjoys a little Rihanna "So Hard" and all Black-Eyed Peas songs.

- Bathtime is so fun for him now. He loves playing with all his toys and cups, especially his blowfish.

All the latest pics have been uploaded to FB. Hope to have some more soon. Did I mention I lost the camera battery charger?

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Little moments

2010-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sleeping.....

Playing.....

Swinging.....

Smiles.......

Puppies......

Sitting......

Getting dirty.......
I'm trying to cherish every single little moment of this scrumptious babe. It doesn't get any better than this.

Love,

Lynds, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Texas trip!

2010-04-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Fabulous trip to Tejas, as usual!

So happy to see his Daddy on Friday! As soon as Marc got in the car, he just started laughing. He was about to fall asleep when I was sitting next to him before we got there! What gives?!

Stop and smell the flowers, dontcha think? Thanks to Noah for letting us borrow his Exersaucer.

Kisses from Grandpa! He LOVES being outside.

4 Generations! We met up halfway between Lewisville and Waco at this cute little gas station. Only in Texas can you get a Sonic, BBQ, hundreds of variety of beef jerky, wine, and tons of Texas souveniers all in one place. We had a good visit with the Cracker.

The guys played in a charity golf tournament for Joey's high school on Saturday. They really lucked out with the weather. It started pouring down rain right when they were done. They finished in 2nd place and got some pretty fancy trophies actually. Marc won a $250 certificate to Cutter & Buck. Some serious polo shirt action for Marc and maybe some sweet pleated khaki shorts for me (yeah right!). Joey, Paul, and Dad each won a round of golf. Ash was there as our photo journalist to chronicle the day's events :)

Don't they look intimidating? The Reservoir Dogs of golf.

"Fore! I shoulda yelled two!"And Paul's favorite, "How about a fresca?"

If you don't know these quotes from Caddyshack, you live under a rock.
Baseball cap twins!

2nd place winners

I was able to make Jessica's baby shower while I was in town. She is having a baby girl named Hayden Grace and she got a ton of adorable stuff! She looks absolutely glowing!

Henry behaved pretty well. I think he felt a little out of place considering he was the only dude there. He doesn't like all that girly stuff.

Don't mind Henry trying to eat my scarf.

Henry is now 6 months old! Still sitting in the 95th percentile for weight at 20lbs and 75th for height and 95th for head size. Gotta give it to him, the boy is consistent.

- He's eating solid foods twice a day now. His faves so far are peas and sweet potatoes. Hates prunes, despite the fact that he really needs those (you know what I'm talking about).

- He can sit with assistance now and by himself for a couple minutes before he gets tired.

- Favorite games are patty-cake, big ride/airplane, peek-a-boo, and when I make a sound "Doy, doy, doy!". Don't ask me how I found out he liked that sound, but he smiles everytime.

- Favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Yes, he already has a favorite song. He's my child, after all :)

- Loves being outside, going for walks, and touching all the flowers outside.

- Anytime Marc and I eat, he makes this certain sound, which means, "I want some of that". Anytime I drink out of a cup, he wants to try drinking out of a cup too. It's just getting so fun because he is so curious about everything.

- He's sleeping from 8:30 to 6:30 every morning. He wakes up, drinks his bottle, and usually goes back to sleep for another 30 minutes to an hour. So awesome.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Springtime shenanigans!

2010-04-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

Spring has officially begun! More sunlight, flowers in bloom, grilling out on the patio, margaritas, getting my blonde highlights back, Betsy really tired after only a 5min walk.....many of the reasons I love this time of year.

Henry couldn't wait to see the Easter bunny this year!

The more I look at this Easter bunny pic with Henry, the more that bunny freaks me out. I went with a group of mom friends & babies to see the bunny and get pics taken. It was seriously 95 degrees out that day and Henry had about 2 things that he could wear that weren't long sleeves. I decided on a sporty little romper not really realizing that he would be woefully underdressed as all the other little children had on their Janie & Jack finery. We're talking little baby blue blazers and sweater vests and such. Um yeah, I like my baby to sport his guns (fat rolls) in sleeveless tees and go barefoot. That's just my style.

He matched the green background in his romper and smiled like a champ, so it all worked out. This really doesn't matter at all, but for a moment I felt like I didn't get the memo. I'm sure more of those mommy moments are sure to come.
Oh, why didn't I plant tulip bulbs in the fall? Maybe my yard would look like this.

Now, here's my dressed up little boy! I think he looks like the little boy caddy in "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Or a little british newspaper boy. "Why, 'ello govna!"- this is what I think a british newspaper boy would say if I ran into one.

Since babies cannot eat Reeses chocolate peanut butter eggs or Starburst jellybeans, the Easter bunny filled Henry's up with some bubbles, his first sand shovel and bucket for the beach, a bathtub book, various toys, and one of those baby floaties for the pool.
He's all set for summertime!

Playing with all his loot.

He loves getting presents, I can already tell.

Henry and I leave Wednesday for a little springtime fun in Texas. Can't wait to see the bluebonnets! It's probably been five years since I've been home at this time of year. And I know Grandpa Joe and Gee-ma are craving some baby squeezes!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

5 months old!

2010-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? I packed away all of Henry's clothes he's too big for and filled up a huge plastic bag. I actually got one of those cool bags where you vacuum up the air and it makes the bag really shrunken looking. It's the little things, right? But, I got a little emotional going through all those little clothes. I can't believe he was ever that small!

Oh, who are we kidding, this boy is on his way to being a linebacker. At his four month check up, he weighed 17 lbs (97th percentile) and measured 25.5 inches tall (75th percentile) and his head is still in the 90th percentile.

This is how he feels about turning 5 months old today, yay! We went by the lake and had a little picnic and played airplane.

He really likes playing with his feet now and can almost get them in his mouth. Delish. He loves "This Little Piggy" and laughs louder and louder as you go from the big toe to the pinky toe. But he doesn't like the "all the way home" part. He always looks really serious like he doesn't want the piggies to go home.

His smiles are getting easier to capture on film, although you still have to hide the camera.

Poor baby, me talking about how chubby he is yet I'm always dressing him in horizontal stripes! Gotta love all those rolls :)

We're just now getting into the solid food thing. He doesn't really know what to do with his tongue yet, but he's getting there. He loves to watch us eat though. I think he would rather skip all the rice cereal and oatmeal and go right to the good stuff. I don't blame him!

Henry's almost gotten too big for his swing, but he really likes his activity bar with all his toys. He'll grab his rings and just bang away. You think he might be hurting himself he's slamming it down so hard, but he's happy as can be.

"Mom, enough with the pictures already."

The first Saturday we actually had nice weather, we went up the driving range and I had to dress Henry up in all his golf clothes. That includes his plaid golf hat and Master's bib. He liked watching Daddy hit the ball.

Sitting up on the couch is one of his favorite things to do. He likes to pretend that he's a big boy.

Bath time! He splashes like a crazy man in the tub, arms and legs. And then he wants to drink the water and chew on the rag. So, he's pretty much all over the place. I think the easter bunny is going to get him a raft for the pool this summer. He's going to be a little water baby.

We had such a great visit with Gee-ma earlier this month. She couldn't get enough of him!

Here's a pic from the day he turned 4 months. You can see how much he's changed from even then!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Cabin fever!

2010-02-19T12:22:00.000-08:00

We are all having serious cases of cabin fever at the Maldoff house. I seriously have never seen a winter like this one. Henry has already seen snow three times in his short little life. I think I was fifteen before that happened for me. The sun came out this weekend and it got up to the mid 60's. I thought we had died and gone to heaven! We went to the park, worked in the yard, it was wonderful. Henry was looking around like, "so this is what outside is like!". It felt like it had been so long since we had been out.
This is a picture of the first big snow. We got about 6 inches. That's me, looking like I'm taking it back to the 90's, raising the roof.
So pretty!
We re-used Henry's reindeer outfit from Christmas. And how I look goofier in my Eddie from Christmas Vacation hat than my son that's dressed up as a reindeer, I'll never know. Hey, I'm just dressing for warmth. Plus, I was late for my Iditarod race.

While the winter has been harsh, the little baby that is growing up before our eyes is anything but! He has the sweetest, happiest personality of any baby I've ever met. I'm not biased or anything though:)
We spent one of our "snowed in" days taking these pictures in his winter fleece outfit. And yes, he has an outfit for every occasion. The snow was so bright outside that it brought in really nice light through the windows. He's about three months in these photos.

This is his mischevious smile!
I think he looks like an angel baby here. Just give him some wings and he's a little cherub!

He's starting to discover his feet and wants to eat them.
Mom, you're so silly!These face shots are my favorite.

With his blankie with his name on it.

As of Feb. 20th, my little boy is 4 months old! I'll know his stats later in the week at his doctor's appt. but this kid is a beast! He's already in 6 month clothes and is almost too big for his bouncy chair and swing.

Here he is in his new Jumperoo. He loves it!

We think he's been starting to teeth because of the tremendous amount of drool this kid produces. A bib is a must-have at all times.

This pictures sums it up. "Mom, seriously, don't mess with me. I'm pretty busy teething right now". It looks like a faucet was turned on in his mouth!

We had a nice visit from Nana and Gramps last weekend, just in time for the second big snow and the start of the Winter Olympics. I'm over the Olympics, but am married to a man that finds curling interesting enough to watch. I think he's already feeling football deprivation, so any sport will do. Nana and Gramps had not seen Henry since November, so I don't think they could believe what a different little boy he is. They change so much in just a few months!

Henry in his new baseball cap from Nana and Gramps. I really think yellow is his color! He got that from his daddy. Momma cannot wear yellow to save her life.

I never thought I could have so much love in my heart. I just can't get enough of my little man! When I get home from work, we have crib time in his room where we just talk about our day. Sometimes we read a story or sing songs, but usually we just chat. I think he's going to be a chatterbox like his mom!

He's sleeping like a champ in his crib from 8:30 to 5:30. While it is SO for a former night owl like me, that's when he's the happiest, so that makes it just so worthwhile. He is a morning baby.

Henry still loves bath time. He's just discovered splashing and it's so cute to watch. Even when he's doing tummy time, he's got his legs kicking like he wants to swim or something. It's the funniest thing! He finds fart noises, "pop" mouth noises, and neck kisses belly laugh worthy.

Gee-ma is coming in three days and we just can't wait. I have a feeling that springtime is right around the corner!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Getting big!

2010-01-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Rolling all over the place in the crib

Still a little too small for my Bumbo chair, but still fun! I look like I'm concentrating really hard!

Right after I rolled over for the first time!

I'm starting to like tummy time!

Blurry smile

Memorable moments

2010-01-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mesmerized by the big wheel on the Price Is Right.

Like father, like son.

Nobody puts baby in the corner.

King Henry on his throne!

My loves watching the big game.

Blogging hiatus

2010-01-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

So, between the holidays, a wicked bout of mastitis (you moms know what this is), a cold, and taking care of little Henry, I decided to take a blogging break. It's hard to keep up with all this technology I tell ya! It's enough to just put on a shirt that doesn't have a spit up stain on it.

Our little boy is already almost 3 months old! Here is his 2 month pic in his crib....really more like 2 and a half months by the time I took it.

At his 2 month appt. he weighed 13lbs, 4 oz and was 23 inches tall. That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height. And as Barney would say on "How I Met Your Mother"...."wait for it"...........95th percentile for head size! I knew he would have a gigantor Schroeder head! For those of you who don't know, us Schroeders all have huge heads. I allow Marc one crack about my head size a month and if he goes over that, it's on. These usually involve how my head is too big to fit in most hats. He really needs to get some new material.

So, Christmas was of course, fabulous! We spent some good quality time at home and Henry was a champ on both of the plane rides. He got so many presents from Santa and his elves (aka Gee-Maw, Grandpa, Nana, and Gramps). A Bumbo chair, a Rainforest jumper, an Exersaucer, tons of adorable Baby Gap clothes...the list goes on! Over Christmas, he really discovered his hands and started to turn on his side. He also started smiling and cooing a lot more. My favorite memories of our first Christmas together are us dancing and singing in the kitchen to Christmas songs. We had such a good time at home together bonding during the Christmas break.

We spent New Years over at our buddy Jim's house with all of our Skybrook peeps. Henry and Ian had a blast hanging out together as you can see. Ehh.....give em a few more months and maybe they'll both be awake at the same time. Marc and I barely hung in there till midnight. This was the week we transitioned Henry from sleeping in the infant car seat to his crib. Um yeah, there were some sleep-deprivation induced crying jags.....from Marc. Aw, I'm just joshing.

My hair looks really awesome in this picture.

Henry is getting more and more fun each day. We got his first belly laugh this past week from fart noises no less. Typical boy. He rolled over this past week too. Who knew he was so close? He hadn't even been going on his side as much and all of a sudden he worked up some crazy momentum and flopped right on over. Of course, he was very tired after this and promptly needed an hour nap. I'll post more pics in my next update!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

So much to be thankful for!

2009-12-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thankgiving week with Nana and Gramps Maldoff! He started to smile this past week, so that was great timing with them here.

All the decorations are up and we're getting in the Christmas spirit around here. I just put together my "Christmas 09" itunes playlist to get even more in the festive mood. Everything I'm reading about baby development says that right at 6 weeks is a really important time for them listening to music, so Henry lucked out that it's Christmas season.....because I tend to sing Christmas songs all the time!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

One month old!

2009-11-20T06:45:00.001-08:00

Can't believe it's already been a month!

Here's a glimpse into his little personality:

- Quite the big man! 10lbs and 4 oz and 22inches long at 1 month. 75th percentile across the board.

- Henry is obsessed with ceiling fans & lights. When he's crying and nothing will calm him down, we just lay him on his changing table where he has full view of the black ceiling fan in his nursery. He just lays there and coos and sighs and is happy as can be.

- Bath time is another big fave. Just like his mom, he loves his baths!

- Little H is quite the sleeper too. We still have our nights, but he's been sleeping 4-5 hour stretches. Just like his dad, he loves his sleep!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Chilling on the couch

2009-11-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

More pictures!

2009-11-01T16:33:00.001-08:00

Here's some more pics from the past week including some of Baby's 1st Halloween! It mostly involved nursing while Dad was handing out candy and trying to keep Betsy away from the trick or treaters. So, overall Henry thought it was pretty awesome.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Henry is here!

2009-10-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Our little baby boy has arrived and is already a week old! I know all new moms say this but it's so true, time really does fly by.

Henry has quite the little personality already. He is a very sweet and chill baby, but when he does cry, he does not hold back! His cry is similar to the velicoraptor in Jurassic Park. Ear-splitting! He has the most extreme neck strength of any baby I've ever seen. When we burp him, he raises his head up like crazy up off our shoulders. I can always tell when he is hungry because he will bang his head up and down on my chest like a rooster! He does not like laying on his back to sleep. He would rather be at an incline- thank goodness for the miracle that is the vibrating bouncy seat. He loves to eat. I'll take the sleep deprivation over this adjustment to breastfeeding any day of the week- talk about a labor of love! This boy has a voracious appetite and it's taking "the girls" a little while to get in the swing of things.

Here's the story of how he arrived.....

Henry arrived on 10/20/09 at 8:24am weighing 8lbs 2oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. I started having contractions on Monday at about 5:00 while I was taking a nap. We had scheduled the induction earlier that day for Thursday, but this baby had other plans! The contractions started out about 15 minutes apart and pretty mild. I kept feeling them throughout the evening and they gradually started getting closer. I tried to stay calm- we took a walk, I took a shower, and finished packing my bag. As we started getting ready for bed, they started getting quite a bit more painful but we both thought labor was still a long way away. I tried to sleep but OMG- talk about the most pain I have ever felt in my life. I don't know why I was worried about knowing what a contraction would feel like, you definitely know!

By 2:30am, I woke Marc up and told him it was time to go (ah, just like the movies)- they were about 6 minutes apart and hurting like a motha. When we got to the hospital, I was already dilated 4cm which made me very, very happy because that meant I could get my epidural. After 3 tries (ugghh), the anethesiologist finally got the epidural going. Once that got cranking, we all just rested and tried to sleep. The nurse kept a close eye on us because mine and the baby's blood pressure was pretty low. I had to wear an oxygen mask to keep our pressures up. But....I started feeling a little scared with how closely they were monitoring us.

By 7:30am, the doctor came in and checked me and said I was 9.5cm! I couldn't believe how fast it was progressing, especially after so three weeks straight of doctor's visits with no change in dilation. They felt the baby's head and said he was face up instead of the preferred face down, so for the next 45 minutes they had me switch positions and try to get him to move. By 8:15am, the doctor came in, checked me again, looked me straight in the eyes, and said it was time to push and we needed to get this baby out quickly. All of a sudden, there are like 10 nurses in the room and my mom's holding one hand and Marc is holding the other and it's time to push! I pushed about 15 times and then he was out, but there was no crying. Henry had the cord wrapped around his neck and shoulders and was blue. The look on Marc's face scared me most of all since I couldn't see the baby from where I was. He was crying and I heard my mom crying behind me. But, thank GOD, the doctor worked quickly and cut that cord off and we heard him cry! They took him away to check him out and I just rememer feeling sort of in shock and numb with how fast everything happened and how truly frightening it had gotten. After they made sure he was A-ok (9 on the Apgar, thank you very much), they brought me my precious baby boy and I cried. I love him so much :)

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Are we there yet??

2009-10-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

In about two hours from now, it will be my D-day. So close.......yet, so don't know when this baby is going to want to make his appearance. I'm trying to be patient and think about other things but at this point, it's getting pretty impossible to do that. Mom and Ash are helping me to keep a good attitude and stay upbeat and focused on the prize. Well, all the cooking they've been doing isn't hurting either! Oh, banana bread how I love you. And my necessary hour long siestas everyday. Better take advantage of that while I can!

We had an ultrasound today just to make sure everything looks ok and all is progressing just fine. He looks to be about 7lbs 12oz and is in the 56th percentile at this point. The pics were a little hard to make out at this point since everything is so scrunched up. We had fun playing "guess the body part" on the ultrasound screen. Oh, wait that looks like his hands (no, that's his liver). Oh, look at his spine (no, that's his ribs).

Since I'm not high risk and everything looks healthy, they are not willing to induce till at least this coming Sunday or Monday. We are praying that I will go into labor naturally and soon!

Mom and I took a little day trip up to Blowing Rock on Friday. It was so pretty with the fall foliage just starting to peek out.

For our 3rd anniversary, Marc got us a sweet Flip video camera. It is so easy even I can use it :) Can't wait to take some home movies. Just not in the delivery room, seriously.

We'll keep everybody updated on any news. Next time I post should be THE DAY!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, baby, and Betsy

Happy Fall Y'all

2009-09-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Cooler temps hitting tomorrow! Got me in the fall mood.

Banner inspiration from Fabulous K. Great idea!

http://fabulous-k.blogspot.com/2009/09/simple-burlap-bunting-tutorial.html

Trip to Childress Vineyards

2009-09-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Taking advantage of one of the last weekends where we can take a spur of the moment trip, we took off Sunday morning to Childress Vineyards in Lexington for brunch. What a great day trip! It's only an hour away and the brunch & wine is to-die for! I indulged in half a glass of wine- glorious :) We indeed felt quite sophisticated as we dined on the outdoor terrace listening to the sweet sounds of the band, "Sophisticated Jazz". Although their tune selection was a step above Muzak and we were the only people under 70 years old around (what is it with the elderly & wineries?), it was a refreshing change of pace.

Speaking of food/drink, I tried a sweet potato muffin this weekend and about fell head over heels in love. I didn't realize I could fall in love with a piece of food, but this was about the most delectable morsel I have ever tasted. I will have to make a batch when I'm allowed to eat more carbs again.
Who woulda thunk this place is right off the highway?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,
Lyndsey, Marc, baby & Betsy

Nesting mania

2009-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

I've been hit with the nesting urge. Not necessarily the urge to clean per se. As Marc puts it, it's more of an urge to buy "tchotchkes" for the house. Which, frankly, I take offense to. They are not tchotchkes. These are items and projects that help make a house a home. The baby cannot feel at ease living here with us unless I have a proper seasonal wreath at the door. Ladies, am I right or am I right? I never said it was logical people. This is primal, instinctual stuff.

Initial wreath- $10 to make. Beat that Martha.

Centerpiece with acorns found outside. Sorry, that candle has seen better days. If you have never gathered acorns, you should. Once you start, you can't stop. We were quite the sight with our bulging pockets. Looked like we had robbed somebody of something...circular and lumpy looking.

Finished painted stairway- Sherwin Williams Whole Wheat. Love how it turned out!

Finally, the bed is finished! Found the perfect Pottery Barn euro shams on ebay. Fluffy dog not included.

Fun little wall above our desk in the bedroom. When the baby is here, I want to get a real silhouette of him made instead of one of some other kid I printed off the computer.

Baby shower that Abby and I gave for Angela and baby boy Ian Matthew!Me, Angela, and Abby. Preggos unite! Sorry Abby!
I was 37 weeks complete yesterday, so I've got about 3 weeks left. He is full term now, so if he was born today, he would be perfectly healthy and fully developed. It could really be anyday now! Marc and I made a list last night of last minute things to do because I don't feel quite ready yet :) Honestly though, there is not really much of anything left to do and I doubt you ever get to that point where you feel completely ready.
The biggest weight off my back is that we've finally found a good in-home childcare provider. I'm not making a final decision for a little while longer and will still keep my options open, but it's such a relief for me to find an in-home person versus the traditional day care setting. So happy!
Love,
Lyndsey, Marc, baby, & Betsy

Chubby cheeks!

2009-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Can't wait to squeeze those juicy cheeks! Look at those pouty lips too! He's sleeping in these pictures. He was awake at the beginning of the ultrasound, but just could not stay awake for his big photo shoot.
He is weighing right at 6lbs 5oz and is measuring a little bit ahead, with a 10/10 due date instead of 10/13 now. He's in the 59th percentile for weight at this stage, so he will not be a huge 13lb gestational diabetes baby.....I'm breathing a sigh of relief at that!
If he continues gaining about a 1/2 a pound a week like they say, he'll probably be about 8 to 8 and a 1/2lbs. A little chub, love it!

Love,
Lyndsey, Marc, baby, & Betsy

34 Weeks!

2009-09-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest & greatest bump pic at 34 weeks! Not much longer now. We had our latest doctor's appt. this past Monday and all looks well. The baby has turned and is no longer in the breech position, yay! Hopefully, he'll stay that way. His heartbeat is perfect and he is moving and hiccupping constantly. We have finished almost all of our classes and really just need to pack the hospital bag, buy some diapers & wipes, put in the carseat, and that's it! I'm so glad the nursery is done. I'm starting to get pretty tired now so my motivation is pretty much shot. And with everyday comes a new & fascinating symptom (Braxton Hicks, I'm talking to you)...so needless to say, it's starting to get interesting. And while I will take the childbirth teacher's suggestion of deep breathing, soothing music, dim lighting..etc during labor, let's just say an epidural is the plan of action!

Our last ultrasound is scheduled for next Friday, so after that we'll really have a better idea of his size and if the due date will still remain at Oct. 13th. Can't wait to see some new pictures of him in 3-D!

Have a great rest of the week!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, baby, & Betsy

Nursery pics

2009-09-01T17:28:00.001-07:00

For those who couldn't see the little video...here are a few photos of the nursery. We can't wait for the baby to arrive!

Love,

Lyndsey and Marc

Nursery video

2009-08-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

After a lot of blood, sweat, and "F" bombs, our nursery is finally close to completion. Time to relax!
Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, baby, and Betsy

GD, I got the GD!!

2009-07-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Gestational diabetes that is.

This past week has been an adjustment getting used to pricking my finger and testing my blood 4 times a day, but the hardest thing has been the diet by far. It's a modified Atkins/South Beach type diet, really high protein and very low in carbs. Chips, bread, fruit, and cereal are the way to this girls heart. Cutting them out has been a little tough but I'm getting used to it. It will probably be better in the long run and maybe I'll drop the weight faster too if I'm already watching what I'm eating. This is what I tell myself anyway as the cravings for brownies and cinnamon rolls turn me into a raving lunatic! Hey, you always want what you can't have right?
But if this is the worst thing that happens throughout this pregnancy, I will be counting my lucky stars. I've had such a smooth ride that I really can't complain. I actually felt pretty hip when I saw on a commercial that I'm using the same glucose monitor as Nick Jonas. I'm so on the pulse.

Here's the latest 29 week pic. Getting closer! How much bigger can I get really? I know...quite a bit more.

Sharon and Bubbie threw me a shower in Texas a couple weekends ago. Thanks to them for being so sweet and putting so much time and effort into making it so special. Everything was so adorable and I loved opening all my goodies!

Here's my fave pic me, Ash, and mom:

Progress on the nursery has been going well. The crib is all set up with the mattress, sheets, and mobile and we're going to do a little paint re-touching this weekend and then put up the tree decal. That's right, Marco Maldoffo, while the accomplished photographer, decided that drawing & painting were not really his strong suit.

Here's the decal we're doing w/out the butterflies and maybe the birds:

Baby boy Maldoff is kicking all the time now and it's pretty amazing to feel (& watch!). According to all my books, they say this is the most active time and I can definitely tell a difference even from a couple weeks ago. My next doctor's appt. is this Friday and then after that I'll be going every 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks as we get closer to the due date. I can't believe it's getting so close!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, baby, and Betsy

Can it get any cuter than a lifesize giraffe?

2009-07-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

A special delivery came on Saturday from a very good family friend, Sharon. The first animal to grace our baby boy's safari nursery- a huge stuffed giraffe! It's so cute, I really can't stand it. Besty doesn't really know what to think about it. Thanks Sharon!

Here's the Baby Mod Walmart crib put together. It was a rough go but I think it turned out really nice.

Ikea dresser.

We've decided to keep the wall color the same instead of painting. I think this color will actually go really well with all of our stuff, plus we just really don't want to paint again! We're are going to do a tree mural in one of the corners of the room to spruce it up.

The nursery is slowly coming along. Once we get back from Texas, we'll get the desk & all the office stuff out of there and it will really start coming together.

Later!

Lynds, Marc, baby, & Besty

Florida Vacation

2009-07-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time on our trip down to see the Maldoff's this past week! We stayed in Tampa for two days and then headed down to St. Pete the rest of the time. It was our last vacation before the baby comes, so we really made an effort to do a lot of NOTHING!

4th of July BBQ at the Maldoff house

Udo's famous ribs!
Squirrels chilling upside down on the lanai. We were glued to the Roddick-Federer match. I so wanted Andy to win!

Tampa Bay Rays game!

The balcony where we spent most of our time

Storm rolling in

The beach!
These maternity photo session pics were taken by the famous international photographer, Marco Maldoffo :)

Looking forward to heading to Texas this coming weekend for my shower and Tanner Family Fun Day!

We put the crib together today, uugghhh. I was really missing a glass of wine about halfway through. More pics to come soon!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Baby, & Betsy

24 week update!

2009-06-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm already at the 6 month mark! It has flown by!

Here's the latest pic at 24 weeks:

This is right before a big work meeting at Lowes Corporate where there is a strict dress code (closed toe shoes, no capris, no blue jean anything) and I was struggling. I went to my trusty Express work pants, thinking I could still unbutton them and use my belly band. Um...yeah...no. Let's just say it wasn't so much the belly that was the issue. Everything has um...I think "spread" is as good a word as any. Luckily, I had this stretchy old dress from H&M in the closet and I just wore it with a little cardigan over it. Be needing to hit Gap Maternity for some pants this weekend.

On the baby front, everything is looking good. Baby Boy Maldoff is kicking me all the time now and is really active. His favorite times are after my 1 cup of half caf coffee in the morning (figures), after lunch, and right before bedtime. We did our hospital tour this past weekend and will start signing up for some classes shortly. It's getting closer and closer! I just can't wait to meet him :)

Love,
Lynds, Marc, & baby (& Betsy, I think she feels left out)

Baby loot

2009-06-19T13:36:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody!

The baby stuff is starting to pile up at Casa de Maldoff. These are a few of my favorite things......go ahead, sing along, you know you want to.

The coozie I take to the pool. Those HOA witches in my neighborhood know they better not mess with me.

The onesies I bought the day we found out we were having a boy.

Gifts from mom & dad- baby Aggie and Gator booties

Baby sling gift from Marc

Fun lion rug I found at Target for $13! This will go great in the nursery.

Betsy doesn't know what to think about all this stuff (Ikea dresser behind her in the box)

My Texas shower invite. Yay! Thanks Bubbie & Misti for picking out such cute invites.

This weekend, we really need to get going on the nursery. While Marc is putting together the dresser (being from Ikea, it could take a while), I'm going to start cleaning out the closet and getting all the pictures off the walls. When not working on the nursery, I plan on hanging out by the pool and in my new backyard oasis. Check it out! Got all my flowers planted and cushions cleaned up. Having a party next weekend to break it in! Looks really pretty at night with the tiki torches lit up and the lightning bugs out.

Have a great weekend! New bump pic coming soon!

Love,

Lynds, Marc, & baby

Welcome to the big show

2009-06-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ah....the much anticipated bump pic. So, let me preface this pic by stating it was taken at the end of the day which is by far my largest time of day. Also, I had also just finished eating a frosty from Wendy's. AND....I am out of excuses.

If you'll scroll down and look at the 17 week pic, this is quite a difference! Mama's gettin' big! I was a little freaked out when I saw the difference, I'm not gonna lie. As my old college roommate used to say, "Goodnight nurse!"

Ok, here I am at 21 weeks. A little over halfway there.

Speaking of frosties from Wendy's, the baby must like them because we felt the first kick last night! Either that or he likes random women true crime shows on the E Channel, one of the two.
I haven't really felt anything and then all of a sudden, 2 kicks just like that. Marc was able to put his head up against my belly and felt them too. I'm sure he'll start busting a move pretty soon, if he's anything like his mama :)

I forgot to post this last time, but here's a fun pic at the doctor's right after we found out we were having a healthy baby boy! With the pics to prove it.

I'm beginning to be in nesting overload. We've made some good progress on making decisions on the nursery, but I've all of a sudden decided it's time to do a little overhaul in the master bath. I've actually been wanting to do this for a while but haven't had the energy or motivation till now. So far, I've made some window mis-treatments (check out the Nesting Place blog button on the side of my blog if you haven't already). I totally got this idea from her and I love not spending a ton of money on curtains. No sewing involved. A little glue gun, some safety pins, and a little time to play around with the fabric and that's it.

Here's the curtains I just made over the tub. They're kinda uneven but I'm still messing with them. Debating adding two bows with brown velvet ribbon to attach to the bottom. What do you think? Doesn't this just make you want to relax in the tub?? Now, I just need a chandelier...that's the cue for my husband who buys lighting fixtures for a living.

Here's the curtains I made for our bedroom. Very happy with how they turned out!

I'm leaving to come home to Texas on Thursday for 4 days. Can't wait to see the fam! Hope everybody has a great week!

Love, Lynds, Marc, & baby

Nursery stuff

2009-05-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation, we have finally made some decisions on nursery stuff!

Our crib from Baby Mod at Walmart.com. It's called Cadence and we're really liking the white.

Baby Safari bedding from Baby Gap. Love it!

Yellow Hemnes dresser from Ikea.

Hoping for a fun and bright room for our little boy! This is getting fun :)

Love,

Lynds, Marc, & baby

It's a boy!

2009-05-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Baby Boy Maldoff's 1st photos, including some amazing/kinda creepy 4-D images. Am I really supposed to be seeing so much detail this early?? The doctor told us not to be alarmed that our baby looks like a starving African child.

The 2nd pic down is the shot where we knew it was a boy. I think you'll see it right there in the middle between the legs!

We are absolutely thrilled that we know we're having a boy and that all the tests came back that the baby is normal and healthy. What a relief!

So, as to be expected with my crazy planning personality, I have jumped into nursery planning mode full-force. Here is my favorite nursery so far, so I think the theme will be a "modern safari".

All fun stuff!
Switching gears, we had such a great time with Ash & Paul in Boston. The best walking city I've ever visited and boy, did we walk! I think all of our dogs were barking by the end of the trip.

This pic sums up the end of our 1st day walking the Freedom Trail:

Goofballs.....

Red Sox game!

Bump update to come soon!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, & baby!

17 week update!

2009-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lag in blogging! It's been pretty busy around these parts.

Latest 17wk bump pic. There's no hiding it now!

Not much time to blog right now, but here are some pics from the past couple weeks.

Masters tournament- they wouldn't allow cameras in on Sunday. Boo! This is from the parking lot.

Veggie garden- my first one ever. We'll see :)

Our annual summer Dave Matthews concert

Springtime in the backyard

We're off to Boston tomorrow with Ash & Paul! More pics when we get back.
We find out the sex of the baby on May 15th. Mark your calendars!

Love, Lyndsey & Marc

1st trimester- check!

2009-04-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm almost done with the first trimester! I'll be 13wks this Wednesday, so I'm in the home stretch. It's gone by really fast!

I had my 12wk doctor's appointment last week and everything is looking good. The doctor checked the heartbeat and said it sounds "strong & fast", which are very good signs. I just love hearing that heartbeat! My next appointment is at 16wks, when I'll take the quad screen blood test. This checks your blood for enhanced levels of certain hormones to check the likelihood of Down's Syndrome or any other types of chromosonal abnormalities. And at 18wks.....drumroll please....we get to find out the sex! It's going to be here before we know it :)

Here's the latest 12 week bump pic:

There is absolutely no difference btwn this & the 10 week pic. I actually look bigger in the 10 week pic. That goes to show you how much of this is strictly bloat! I've gained 6lbs which is in the normal 4-7lb range you should gain during the 1st trimester. No morning sickness/food aversions= eating like a crazy person.

We had a fabulous time this past weekend. It was actually in the mid 70's and sunny for both Sat. & Sun. It has not been like that since I can't remember how long- glorious!

We went to our friend's Amy & Brian's wedding on Saturday and had a great time. Everything was beautiful- the dresses, the flowers (peonies), the church, the country club reception & it was just a perfect day to get married.

Our small group with the new Mr. & Mrs. Schroeder!
Isn't that crazy, I met another Schroeder up here?! I'm so happy I have a new "Schroeder sister"! Sunset at the country club

Just cuz I'm preggers doesn't mean I can't still get down! Might have to tone down some of the more risque moves in the repertoire, but I'm still getting out there!

Happy Easter everybody!

Love,

Lyndsey & Marc

Tea & Crumpets

2009-03-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Holly's birthday, we decided to try out the Tea House in Davidson. We had both driven by and thought it was so adorable, but had never stopped in. Well, let me tell you, we had such a fun, girly afternoon! And although we did not have any crumpets (what is a crumpet anyway?) we had our share of scones, baby crustless tea sandwiches, and delectable desserts.

Birthday girl & her fancy teapot

Me & the tray of goodies

Slowly working our way up the tray

Mini cucumber sandwich- so cute

Presents!

There were 3 rooms inside the house- a pink, "ladies who lunch" room where we ate, a little girl party room, and a very british/manly room. Here's a pic of the little girl room. I was getting some serious nursery inspiration here. But I digress..........

I can't say enough about this place. Perfect for a bridal/baby shower, a little girl's party, or just a fun afternoon. A good time was had by all!

As far as baby news goes, we've got our 12 week doctor's appt. coming up this Thursday. I'm feeling pretty good, a lot of the crazy fatigue has gone away. Looking forward to getting all my energy back, watch out! I'll send an update after the appt.

Love,
Lyndsey & Marc

Big News!

2009-03-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

I think pretty much everybody knows this now bc I'm a big blabbermouth, but we are going to be parents! Everything is going great- I'm at 10 weeks along right now. We had a doctor's appointment last week and got to hear the heartbeat, which was AMAZING! We felt really lucky bc the doctor told us there was only a 10% chance that we would be able to hear something this early, but right after he said that we heard, "guh guh, guh guh" (why did I just think of that scene in "Dirty Dancing" with Patrick Swayze putting his hand on his heart trying to teach Baby how to dance.....these random things are just popping into the head these days).

This week, the baby is about 1 and 1/4 inches long and about the size of a kumquat. Our due date is 10/13/09. We're very excited and can't wait to meet Baby Maldoff!

Here's our first baby bump pic at 10 weeks:

This early, it's really more of just a bloated belly, a "food baby" you could say. We took this when my parents visited, so our foods of choice consisted of pizza, burgers, chili dogs, ice cream, and pretty much any other unhealthy thing we scarf down.

More updates to come soon!

Love,
Lyndsey & Marc

It's been a while

2009-02-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

So......"crickets"....it's been a while since I've posted.

Winter weather has been in full effect up here in NC (except for this week, it has been wonderful!). We even had a couple snow days recently. Not quite enough for a respectable snow man but enough to run around and yell, "It's snowing! It's snowing!"

A couple weekends ago, we went up on a ski trip to Boone with about 12 people and rented a cabin. Good times all around. The highlight must have been when I over-estimated my skills and decided to go along with the group up to a Blue slope that I had never attempted. Let me tell ya, I got off the lift and I realized that this was a huge mistake. I tried to zig-zag my way down for a little ways but after running into some frozen tumbleweed-looking things on the side of the mountain, I realized the jig was up. I ended up popping off the skis and walking down a good ways. The fun doesn't end there folks. Somehow I ended up dropping both of my skis and they go flying. I yell, "Myyyyyy skkkiiiiiii's!" in slow-motion, and luckily Marc was down there waiting for me and was able to somehow stop my skis with his snowboard. If that's not skills, I don't know what is. Here's us at the beginning of the day while we were still fresh. I think I easily win the hat contest here.

Some of my faves lately.....

Blog
http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/
A lady at our church runs this blog and she really has some amazing design ideas. Very inexpensive ways to spruce up your home and make it cozy.

Food

Garden Fresh Gourmet salsa

Has anybody tried this stuff yet?! I got it on sale last week at Harris Teeter and it is the BEST SALSA I have ever tried (excluding my grandma's). Seriously, it's life-changing. I feel like my North Carolina Mexican Food Tragedy is slowly turning around with this discovery. The best flavor in my opinion, is the Jack's Special- Medium. I tried the Artichoke Garlic flavor above and while extra tasty, it is a breath-killer. I tried mints, brushing my teeth twice, mouthwash, everything and it would not die.
Well, it's going back up to $4.99 full price this week but I simply must have it.

Listening to

That's it for now!
Stay tuned for more news coming soon :)

Love, Lyndsey

30 Years!

2009-01-07T18:47:00.001-08:00

On a cold and stormy day 30 years ago, my parents were married in a small church in Riesel, TX. The bride wore puffy sleeves and the groom sported a sweet Burt Reynolds-esque handlebar mustache :)

Thanks for being such a great example of what a marriage should be. Cheers!

Happy Anniversary!

Christmas is over....ALREADY???

2009-01-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

I don't know about everybody else, but taking down my Christmas tree this year was extra depressing. Seriously. I feel like I just put it up! After you take it all down, it looks so empty and so not sparkly. Where did December go? In tribute.....

I was so lucky to be able to spend a full week in Texas with the family this year. Good times all around. Lots of eatin', drinkin', loungin'....many activities ending with "in". Of course, I have lots of pics on Snapfish but being the blogging newbie that I am, I have no idea how to put them on here! Ah, maybe next Christmas I'll be able to put up pics from last Christmas. A girl can dream...

New Years Eve was an absolute blast this year! Usually, we're not the biggest New Years Eve people. We're happy relaxing in our sweatpants watching the ball drop. But this year we went to this amazing house party with our friends Ryan and Jenni. Full bar, a DJ, a disco ball, a light show, a dance floor in the living room.....the hosts went all out & it was fantastic! What a great way to ring in 09!

Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday season & Happy New Year!

Love, Lyndsey & Marc

To all you late 80's/early 90's kids.....

2008-12-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

You know you remember these! In honor of Christmas and with the help of the sista, we have located the best Christmas specials of all time.

Garfield Christmas Special- you gotta love the grandma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AleGmgVXaf4&feature=related

Claymation Christmas Special
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD7BeutpkS4

Pee Wee's Christmas Special
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GniAjezD84

I think we watched a TAD too much tv, don't ya think? Oh well, I don't care- these are the best.

Enjoy!

Funny stuff

2008-12-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

If you're into Will Ferrell comedies, check out Step Brothers. It's pretty friggin' hilarious. I was disappointed with Semi Pro and didn't really have high hopes for this one, but it's quite good. This pic cracks me up. Didn't we all have photos like this growing up? Going to Olan Mills in matching outfits.....ah, memories.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog! I thought this would be a great way to keep everybody updated on what's going on with us.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Udo & Laurie at our house this year. This was the first year hosting at our house, so I was really excited to get the house all spiffied up. Between the Christmas tree, the Hannukah mantle, and the Thanksgiving table- we were representing all holidays! The weather was pretty yucky & cold most of the time, so the bulk of our activities consisted of pigging out, drinking, and playing some mean games of Scrabble & Trivial Pursuit.

We did venture out to do some shopping, but I don't know if it was just me but I just wasn't really that impressed with any of the deals this year. Friday afternoon was actually nice weather, so we took the chance to take Betsy to the dog park. It was Udo's first visit and let me tell you, this boxer named Klondike was not having it! He did not like him at all and was standing in front of him growling. We teased Udo that he had some mutton in his pockets (Seinfeld reference) because Betsy reacted to him the same way first time he met her and he was wearing that same jacket. Ahhh....good times. Sorry for the blurry pic, but here's Klondike.

We were lucky to get to have two Thanksgiving meals. We had a pre-Thanksgiving meal with our community group from church the week before Thanksgiving. I can't believe we have been meeting together for almost 2 years! It was great to get together and just relax and have a great meal before the busyness of the holidays set in. Very thankful for family & friends!

Now it's back to work but can't wait for this weekend. My mom is coming up to visit so we can do some shopping and go see the Biltmore and Marc is headed down to the SEC Championship game. Christmas is going to be here before we know it! If you haven't listened to Sarah Mclachlan's "Wintersongs", you have to get it. I've pretty much got it on constant rotation in the car already. Between that and Oprah's favorite Christmas songs, Amy Grant, my Starbucks holiday mixes.....I might have a problem :)

Hope everybody has an exciting next couple of weeks, looking forward to the holidays. Stay warm!