The Secret is OUT!

If you've noticed the relative radio silence on the blog the past few weeks, I promise there has been a reason.  It is SO HARD for me to write in this space when I can't share the one thing that is occupying my thoughts 98% of the time.  What's been eating up all my brain space, you ask?  Well...

Yep! You read that right!  This sweet little nugget boy is going to be a BIG BROTHER!  How? What? When?!  Trust me, all of these questions {okay, except for the how part because...c'mon} and more have been running through our heads since we found out in July!  We are SO EXCITED!  We were a little surprised, but not having to even think about getting pregnant this time around is such a blessing.  You remember how I felt last time and we only had to try for 6 months!  Anyway, baby #2 will be arriving sometime in April so she this nugget will be 18 months apart from Duke!  Cue the 2 under 2 chaos.  For those curious, here's my answers to a few common questions I've received!

How far along are you and how are you feeling? 12.5 weeks!  We don't know what we are having yet, but I have been so sick and so miserable this time around that I keep referring to the baby as a "she" because it's quite a bit different than my pregnancy with Duke. I was still incredibly nauseous with him and got sick a few times, but this time around I actually had to get a prescription to help out and I spent multiple days completely down for the count and hardly able to get out of bed.  It's obviously different when I'm chasing Duke all over the place and have very little spare time where my mind isn't racing a million miles an hour, but I've been praying for some relief that will hopefully come in the form of the 2nd trimester any day now. 

How did you find out?  Dennis had a feeling before I did because I kept complaining about feeling like I could not get full! I am still holding on to some lbs from my pregnancy with Duke so I was starting to get really frustrated that I couldn't seem to satisfy my appetite.  Once I realized what might be happening, I briefly ran home from work one morning and took a test.  Dennis hadn't left for work yet so he, Duke, and I were all together when Dennis read the results. 

Me: "What's it say? It's negative right? Totally negative, I'm sure I'm just a few days late."

D: blank stare, slight grin, turns test around

Me: INSTANT tears, excitement, panic, holy shit

Will you find out the gender?  Heck yes we will! I literally don't have a clue how people can not find out.  I would never make it!  This appointment will likely be around 21 weeks so we've got a ways to go. For the record, all my money is on GIRL.

Do you have a name? If it's a girl, yes! We will likely keep it a secret like we did with Duke, but we'll see what happens. If it's a boy, we're screwed ;)

Anyway,  I am SO HAPPY I can share this news freely now and hope you all will share in our excitement!

-T-

Duke Anthony Felecos: 11 months old!

I need to go back and check but I think it's safe to say we've spent as many of Duke's monthly birthdays traveling as we have at home.  This means I forget the monthly stickers 99% of the time and apparently this time I forget to take a. single. picture.  Sigh.  We were in Colorado this weekend and it was a whirlwind trip complete with staying at 3 different places 3 nights in a row and the customary 18 20 hours in a car over the span of 4 days.  We rolled in around 1 a.m. last night and I am exhausted. But it was a wonderful weekend full of family time and celebrating my father in law's 60th birthday! OH and meeting the sweetest little nephew on the planet...Baby Noah.  To remind myself in 17  years when I'm sending my boy off to college, I'm going to make note of a few things making life with Duke at 11 months old my favorite. And then I'm going to start freaking out and planning his 1st birthday!

one fake laughing

Duke has started to fake and/or socially laugh when he sees everyone around him laughing.  It is so hysterical and only causes everyone around him to laugh harder because of the sheer cuteness.

two new car seat

We got Duke a fancy new convertible car seat this week! He will still be rear facing, but is totally riding in style now with this cushy seat and I think it's safe to say he likes it! And I like not having to lug around the carrier every time I pick him up from daycare.  #winwin

three pointing and "ooh ooh ooh"

Duke loves to point at everything this days.  He does this adorable little "ooh ooh" sound and points at something until I start asking him about it.  "Is that your closet?  Those are your sweatshirts!  Yep, that's your laundry hamper.  That's mama's nose.  Please don't smack me in the face."  He smiles and cracks up the more we interact and loves the attention his pointing can bring.  I love his adorable little chubby hand and the concentration he uses to point out all of his new discoveries.  He's a fast and furious learner these days!

four  clapping and waiving

In other "new skill" news, Duke is a master clapper and loves to waive {on his own terms though- don't expect it when for hi/bye ;)}  He gets especially excited and proud when he gets to clap and his enthusiasm is infectious.  I could literally burst, this kid makes me so happy!

five all the food

We are thankfully beyond the stage of Duke spitting out anything that goes into his mouth in a semi-solid form.  Kid loves him some food! I love being able to just give him nibbles of whatever we are eating.  Lasagna and meatballs were a HUGE hit this weekend which made my Italian in-laws very happy!

six the evening hustle: life with an 11 month old!

Before I became a parent, I heard a lot about the chaos that usually ensues between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. or so.  Now that I'm currently living it, I totally get it.  And on the nights Dennis doesn't get home until somewhere between 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. {every night he works}, I have to put on my game face to tackle those few hours until I can clean up the house melt into a blob on the couch.  Lately our routine looks a lot like this:

5 p.m.- daycare pickup

5:10 p.m.- home- Duke gets a 4 ounce bottle and we either cuddle on the couch or he drinks it in his high chair while I rush around the kitchen and cook dinner while usually loading/unloading the dishwasher and doing the occasional silly face/dance to keep my boy happy.  Some nights, he's totally content with this, others he is a HOT MESS and can only be held. 

6 p.m. ish- Duke and I usually attempt to eat some sort of dinner together.  He usually just gets bites of whatever I'm eating and when Dennis isn't going to make it home for dinner, that looks a lot like leftovers or scrambled eggs and toast.  I love breakfast for dinner when I'm solo.  Duke loves pretty much anything right now: meat, pasta, fruit, steamed veggies, bread, rice, etc. and depending on his level of hunger, he will either sit in my lap or his high chair and beg for bites or crawl around and play/take the occasional bite.

6:30-7 p.m.- If it's bath night {no, he doesn't get a bath every night.  Sue me.} we head upstairs to do bath time, otherwise he is playing during this time if he's happy or screaming at me if he's not.  I get him all ready for the night with a fresh diaper and jammies and he takes a 6 oz bottle and some snuggles. He lays down perfectly most nights and I rub his little back under his fuzzy blanket and he giggles and he buries his head into it before crashing hard.

7:30 p.m.- 10 p.m. If I'm not a total exhausted mess at this point, I rush around the house and try to clean/pick up.  On the occasional night where I didn't eat before, I take this time to make dinner and then settle in for the night to read or watch TV now that most of our favorite shows are back on.  To be totally honest, I'm usually so wiped by this point in the day that I am laying on the couch having half-conversations with Dennis before retiring to bed and/or falling asleep on the couch!  #glamorous

Shout out below if you can relate to the evening hustle!  Now go out and kick some work week butt! Cheers :)

-T-

Weekend Rewind

Happy Monday Friends!! We had SUCH a fun weekend- just what the doctor ordered for our little family, and I was thrilled to collapse in bed on the couch and pass out at 9 p.m. last night. 

On Friday night, I rushed home from work and changed quickly so we could all walk downtown to the annual Ribs, Rods, Rock n Roll block party downtown.  A few streets had been blocked off and there were giant RV's, food trucks, grills, and booths everywhere.  Plus bouncy castles and a stage for the bands that performed.  We wandered around and checked out a few of the booths before settling on a BBQ food truck called Snortz for dinner.  I got a crazy giant and delicious beef and cheddar sandwich that was piled high with tender beef and melty cheese.  It was so good.   Dennis chowed down on some pulled pork nachos and Duke ate his weight in baked beans and any other nibbles he could get from our plates. He was smiling and checking out all the sites...he never disappoints in the entertainment department and always keeps us smiling and laughing. 

PS How stinking cute is he in his little gray sweater?!

We found these at one of the booths and I absolutely loved them but we walked away empty handed.  Definite inspiration for Duke's room someday!

We headed home after a couple hours and brief chat with my parents when they arrived so Duke could get plenty of rest before Saturday.  Dennis and I rented the movie Mother's Day and snuggled in for a low key Friday evening.

Saturday started off with playtime followed by a 2 hour nap for Duke and Dennis and I geared up for a day full of tailgating and football!  We arrived at the tailgate around 12 and Duke quickly took a liking to my dad's beer bottle.  Teaching him young apparently. 

The game was a nail biter and we spent most of it in the Football Club of our new facility attached to the famous Dakota Dome so the kids could run around while we watched the game through giant glass windows overlooking the field.  We were down 21 points going into the 4th and made an epic comeback to win the game in double overtime.  It was a blast!

We all headed back downtown for Day 2 of Ribs, Rods, Rock n Roll and enjoyed the beautiful weather before chowing down on BBQ, sweet corn, and kettle corn.  We were all pretty exhausted, especially Duke who totally skipped his afternoon nap, so we walked home around 8 to get him to bed.

My selfie game was pretty strong Saturday.

My dad and his very best friend.

"Mom, I'm so tired."

Can't leave out a selfie with this sweet one!

We ended the night with kettle corn on the couch! Successful Saturday.

On Sunday, I whipped up some pancakes and bacon for breakfast and took off to my aunts house for my sweet cousins Pampered Chef party. We made two awesome dishes and chatted the afternoon away, circling way too many items in her catalog!  Duke napped for 4.5 hours and we all headed out to do some grocery shopping after he finally woke up.  He got to enjoy a Pumba ride for being a trooper during the trip and it was the best 50 cents we've spent...maybe ever.

Sunday night involved stuffed peppers for dinner, snuggles with my sweet baby boy, and mooore football!  Fall is here folks and I am LOVING IT.  Hope you all are having an AWESOME Monday :)

-T-

Football, ear infections, more football...Happy Friday!

Friday hasn't looked this sweet in awhile my friends. I am so excited for a weekend full of BBQ, Football, and maybe a nap or 2.  Until then, let's dive into a few of my favorite things happening this week.

We had Duke decked out in his Broncos gear yesterday to celebrate the start of football season! I hate preseason and don't think it counts for anything, so yesterday was my true kickoff into the awesomeness that is the NFL.  Unfortunately we spent 2 hours at the clinic hoping for a negative strep test {which he got} but found out he has a double ear infection and super sore throat.  Poor nugget cannot catch a break now that he's in daycare!  I keep reminding myself it will make his little immune system so much stronger in the future.

He got really good at practicing the "open wide" but wasn't thrilled with the strep swab.

Since Duke is at daycare, his bedtime has moved up to 7/7:30 and that means Capone gets lots more attention and way more snuggles in the evenings that he was the previous 9 months. 

Stairs are Duke's newest obsession and he will literally get to them and wait until I see him so he can laugh and take off as fast as possible.  These were taken at my sisters house the other day as he made it up one flight and rounded for the second. He had to stop halfway up for some yoga poses, because, duh.

Other than that our week was just the usual case of nutty.  Dennis is working later some nights when he has to close and I don't love the solo evenings of wrestling a very sleepy baby and trying to tackle dinner, bath, and bedtime.  I'm thankful for anytime with my little man, but definitely prefer the 3 of us together!  Cheers to Dennis having the weekend off, the first USD football home game, and a little rib fest downtown! Happy Weekend!

-T-