Melissa – Page 48 – Our Family Adventure

Krogering

I remember this commercial when I was a kid… not the whole thing, but the jingle at the end, something about- “let’s go Krogering!” (Kroger is a grocery store). So anyways, I went Krogering today and wanted to share the deal I got.

I purchased –

4 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

2 Gallons of Milk

8 boxes of Crayola crayons (24 pack)

In total $16.00. However, after coupons and sales, I paid $9.45 out of pocket and got back $8. So for all that above, $1.45. One gallon of milk alone cost $1.99 (on sale, normally $2.49). So Kroger paid me to take all that stuff off its hands. Life is tough. lol.

Saturday

Today was a pretty quiet Saturday. Ajax has been doing much better in a world without pacifiers and goes to sleep quite well without one. As a matter of fact we are all sleeping much better in a house without pacifiers. We did one trip to Home Depot and then went to a surprise birthday party for my aunt Terri. The party was very nice and Ajax had a blast playing with his cousins. There was a pool at the house and Ajax got to dip his feet in (I forgot his bathing suit and little swimmers). He didn’t eat a ton at the party because he was just too distracted, but no biggie. His cousin, Eliza, was following Ajax everywhere. It was too cute. Everywhere Ajax went Eliza was right on his heels.

DSCN6300 — Dave and I at the party. I'm so short.

DSCN6295 — Ajax and Eliza going for a ride on Grandpa Gordy's bike!

DSCN6297 — Getting their feet wet in the pool!

DSCN6303 — Hanging out with Grandpa Gordy.

DSCN6302 — Posing with my little sister.

The DQ

Tonight I made an awesome dinner- baked chicken, garlic angel hair pasta, and fresh green beans from the garden. Ajax, however, only played with the chicken and ate some of the pasta. It seems like sometimes he’ll eat a ton and then other times, not so much. Oh well. To make up for the small bit he ate for dinner we of course walked up to the Diary Queen.

Ajax got his own vanilla ice cream cone (his first) and let me tell you- he was thrilled. At first I held it for him and then he was like, Oh I got this mom. He ate a good portion of it and started nibbling on the cone before he dropped it in the dirt. When I picked it up, I told him it was- all done, and threw it away, and he didn’t really care (probably because he was already hyped up on the sugar). He did several circles around the yard before Dave wrangled him into the house and into the bath.

DSCN6288 — Apparently he likes ice cream.

DSCN6265 — I picked up these clippers at Target so that we can give the nino a good cut!

First Haircut

For a while now Dave has been pushing for a haircut for the nino. I, however, have steadfastly refused. Tonight during dinner though I realized that the nino’s hair was in fact out of control. It was like I was seeing his wild mop for the first time, the wispy blond hair curling over his ears…. yes the boy needed a haircut.

After dinner Dave plopped Ajax into the tub and turned on the beard trimmer (it was the only thing we had). Ajax thought it tickled and did very well with it! His hair, however, was just too long and the trimmer wasn’t cutting it. After bath time, I sat him on the counter in the bathroom and while he played with his toothbrush I took some scissors and trimmed it up! I think it turned out… ok, luckily he’s too little to be embarrassed by a “mom cut” because honestly cutting hair is not my specialty. I think I’ll invest in buzzers and he’ll get a buzz cut till he’s old enough to care.

Updates

Would just like to take a moment to give a few updates regarding the Nino.

1) Paci update. Life without a paci is starting to get a little easier. Ajax, however, is definitely still testing the boundaries when he goes down for a nap or bedtime, but he’s doing much better about sleeping through the night. Last night he only got up once. I would have let him cry, but Dave snapped out of bed and was downstairs before I knew what was going on.

2) Repeat. Ajax is repeating everything. I mean everything. And he’s good, he’ll pick up the tone and everything. His latest word, from Dave, begins with a “t” and ends with an “urd”. Charming, no? Dave could not stop laughing. What a lovely dinner conversation. I wish I could honestly say that that has been the worst his has uttered, but that would be a lie.

DSCN6212 — All about feeding the wildlife.

DSCN6213 — The fish population at Williams lake, a little nuts.

The Lake

What an exciting day for the little man! We officially did away with the paci today, cold turkey. Ajax was starting to wake up in the night and would only go back to bed if Dave or I went downstairs, searched around in the dark for another paci and gave it to him. After a few weeks of interrupted sleep, we were both done with it. It’s only been one day and it’s been a bit tough, but I think in the long run we will all be happier.

Today we also headed out to the lake for a small get together with close family friends to celebrate a graduation. We had a great time and ate a ton. Ajax ate the entire time we were there (growth spurt?). He ate so much that I began getting concerned that he was just eating way too much (he had a hotdog and some hamburger, strawberries, chips, party mix, cheerios, and of course ketchup). He never stopped, he was a machine. Ajax also went swimming and then took his first boat ride. He loved it.

DSCN6209 — Getting ready for a ride! We couldn't get him off the boat.

DSCN6230 — Grandma Mary, Ajax, Darcy, and Mary W.

DSCN6241 — This was Ajax's post for most of the boat ride.

DSCN6235 — The lake was very calm as it had just gotten done raining. There was mist rising up off it and it was pretty cool.

DSCN6215 — This was the first time Ajax got to wear his life vest, I think he thought it was pretty cool.

Books

Lately Ajax has been all about reading. He’ll bring you a book, sit on the floor and then listen to you read while turning pages. It is so darn cute. His favorite right now is still “Hippos go Berserk” and “Goodnight Moon.” Dave can’t seem to read “Goodnight Moon” without doing a Christopher Watkins voice (like that SNL skit), however, the humor is completely lost on Ajax. I think it’s funny though. I’m hoping Ajax likes to read as much as we do!

Target

Tonight after Ajax went to bed I noticed that my savings blogs were gloating over their prizes from Target. Apparently Target was having a toy mega sale (75% off). Well, I couldn’t let that such a thing pass me by, so I headed out to the store.

I ended up snagging quite a few toys – specifically, $180 worth of toys for only $44! So I saved roughly 75%. I picked up a few Christmas and birthday gifts, yea!

Strollers

I received this picture today from Kristy who was watching Ajax. Apparently Ali (Kristy’s oldest) loves to push Ajax around in this baby doll stroller. Although he looks a little squished, he absolutely loves it and adores Ali! I think I need to start paying her for her babysitting assistance, lol.

Tuesday

Today I was home with the nino. Since it was a Tuesday I was able to take him to his baby class which was of course a ton of fun. My cousin Wendy and her two kids were also there as they are in from England. Ajax’s favorite part of class is music time. All the kids and adults sit in a circle and sing nursery rhymes and Ajax sings right along, what a cutie.

After class I had friends over who are currently visiting from California. Although I’ve known them for … goodness, I guess I’ve known them for about ten years now, this was their first time back to Michigan since Ajax was born. Ajax actually took to them right away and was excited to show them his toys.

Overall, a very nice day at home. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures because I completely neglected my camera (I’ve been kind of bad about that lately). So here’s some pics from the “archive.”