15 Months

 Happy 15 months to the sweetest boy I know!  Nicholas you have grown into quite a fun, sweet, lovable little man and I can't imagine my life without you!  Friday I picked you up from school during naptime (which, may I ad is the cutest thing ever! There are 12 babies all on mats asleep in the floor! Precious!) and we went to see Dr. Spraggins for your 15 month appointment.  You are still a BIG boy!  You weighed 23 pounds, 11 ounces (20th percentile) and 33 inches long (95th percentile!)!  Your head is in the 90th percentile too!  I think that is because you are so smart! :-)  You got three shots and you did so good!  Hopefully you won't get the flu this year since you've had your vaccine so early.

When we left the dr, I went through the drive-thru at Chattanooga Cupcakes and got Nicholas a yellow cupcake with chocolate icing and sprinkles.  I think he enjoyed it! Hahaha!

So, Nicholas, what have you been up to these past three months since I did a monthly update?

You have developed quite the funny personality!  You make people laugh everywhere we go!  I love how outgoing, friendly, and sweet you are.  I've even had people stop me in a store to tell me how happy and sweet you are!  In the past week or so you've become quite the dancer.  I'll post a video soon, it is HILARIOUS!

You still LOVE to eat and will eat just about anything.  I've only found 2 things you don't seem to like, fish sticks and Gerber ravioli.  You eat a snack with milk in the morning before going to school then you have breakfast with your friends.  You eat lunch around 11, a snack around 3, and dinner at 6:00.  I think your favorite meals are Italian food, especially spaghetti!  You also like chicken tenders, Chick Fil A, and beef stroganoff.

 Two weeks ago you had to have your first big boy haircut.  You had a major mullet going on and as cute as the long, Tom Brady-like hair was, it was time to shape it up.  You look like such a big boy now.  *tear* (notice these pics are a little blurry, N is a very busy boy and wouldn't stand still!)

You started walking on July 8 while at school.  you had been walking a little here and there, but took off that day and haven't looked back since.  You are now RUNNING everywhere!

You have said 8 words, but only 4 are said often.  You still say Mama, Daddy, hi, and bye, but you will say book, dog, Gigi, and ball on occasion.  

You have FINALLY begun to nap during the day.  Being in the Snails class has made a HUGE difference.  You don't get the chance to "cat nap" all day, so you take one good nap from 12-2ish every day, even on the weekends!

Your favorite activity seems to be Little Gym.  You LOVE going every Saturday morning and your favorite thing to do there seems to be hanging from the bars.  You also like to tumble and you have started randomly doing front rolls! Haha!

Your favorite toys are still the classics: phones of any kind, remotes, and your slide.  You have also started playing with trucks and cars, balls, and you love to give Spencer his toys.  You like to play tug-of-war with his fox and rope toys.  You also like to read.  Every night you bring me a book and we read before bed.

You just started giving hugs and kisses within the past couple of weeks.  They are the best hugs and kisses I've ever had!  :-)

I can't believe you are already 1/4 of the way through your second year.  Time is flying by and I'm trying to enjoy every possible second I can with you.  I miss you so much during the day and I try to not have to leave you at night or on the weekends unless you are already in bed.  I hate that I miss so much during the day during the week that I want to spend every possible second with you on the weekends.  I know I say this often, but you were so worth every tear, every sad day, and every single step along the road to get to you.  We love you, Nicholas!

Fun Fall Day

One of my new favorite Fall things to do is to hit up Burt's Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville, Ga.  We went for the first time last October and it was so fun, but I knew this year would be even more fun with Nicholas being able to run around and see everything himself.  We invited The Miller family to go with us and Nicholas loved having his friend Tate along!  We didn't want to haul strollers around, so I brought the wagon and it was fabulous!  How cute are these two?!

 Nicholas LOVED running around the pumpkins and checking them all out.  It was hard to get a good picture of him, especially with the sun shining right on him, but here are my favorites.

My favorite little man and I 

 My boys

 Our family

 Amy, Tate, Madison, Jensen, Nicholas, and I went on a hayride while the Daddies continued the search for the perfect pumpkin.  I enjoyed seeing all of the pumpkins in the field.

 When we got back to the pumpkin patch, the Daddies had found just the right ones!  We each left with our very own Great Pumpkin of 2011...

You might be wondering, but how do you fit a wagon, toddler, and all of the other things we needed for the day in the car along with a massive pumpkin...you strap it into the back seat! Ha!

I also bought a loaf of pumpkin bread and OMW, we will be having some for breakfast tomorrow! Tasty! On the way back we also stopped at Hillcrest Apple Orchard.  I bought 6 red and delicious apples and 6 granny smith apples, apple fritters, and apple butter.  I made some homemade applesauce tonight for Nicholas to eat with his dinner and it was actually pretty good!  I put our pumpkins out and had a little help from my little helper.  Hopefully next weekend I can get some mums and finish up.

Just for fun to compare, here are my favorite two pictures from this year...

 and exactly one year ago on October 3, 2010...

We had a fabulous Fall Weekend and hope you did too!

Weekend of Birthdays!

Last weekend was a busy weekend for us.  It was full of birthday parties!  On Saturday we had Michael's dad's birthday dinner with the Ledford Family.  It was a lot of fun.  We went to dinner at Aubrey's in Cleveland...which has become one of my new favorites.  Hello, half off bottles of wine and awesome steak...what more could a girl ask for?!  We got to Cleveland a little early to see Michael's new business (more on that in a later post), so when we got to the restaurant, we had to wait a little while for everyone else.  So, how exactly do you entertain a 14 month old...by letting him play in the back of the SUV! Ha!

Shock I know, but we have not had a cake by the fabulous Becky since Nicholas' birthday, so we were excited to get one!  I thought it turned out really cute, don't you?!

 Nicholas spent a lot of time entertaining everyone after cake.  He found a phone to play with and even danced for everyone! Ha!

 Three generations of Ledford boys

 Sunday was another fun day!  Nicholas has only been to two birthday parties for his friends and both of those were before he was 5 months old, so it was fun to go to his first one since he has been able to play and have fun.  Our friends Chad and Nicole's daughter, Baylee had her 1st birthday on Sunday at Camp Jordan and we all had fun!

 Sweet Baylee wasn't quite as excited over her cake as our little monkey was his in June, but she did have a few bites.  As a matter of fact, Nicholas wanted to eat her smash cake! Ha!  Here is a picture of her main cake.  It was such a cute pink and zebra party!

 Someone had a very large time and was COVERED in chocolate cake when we left!  He decided birthday parties are a lot of fun, which is a good thing because he has a lot more to attend soon!

Update To Going Private

Just a quick post to let everyone that left me a comment know that I am completely blown away and even a little overwhelmed at the number of people that still follow us!  I feel so bad because in an ideal, perfect world I would be able to allow everyone access.  Sadly, we live in a world where people don't always read blogs for the right reasons and I just can't take chances with my family's safety.  I just wanted to let everyone know that I am very thankful for all of the support you all have given me over my decision to go private and that I am actually embarrassed that so many people would want to read about our boring life! Haha!  One last time, let me ask that you please understand why I am doing this and I hope that one day I can go public again and see you all again.

The Time Has Come, Going Private

It has been almost four years since I first started blogging over on my mac blog and I've found a lot of support during the lowest point in my life through blogging.  I was able to meet most of my blog/Twitter friends last year and I've met several others since.  During the past fifteen months since I became a mom, I've started to feel vulnerable on my blog.  I started to feel like maybe it was time to not be such an open book, especially when I have between 800-1200 hits a day, even when I don't have a new post (I'm sure that doesn't sound like much to a lot of you, but to us it is).  Truthfully, that scares us a little thinking about who could be reading about our family and seeing pictures of Nicholas.  Sometime in life you have to realize what is most important.  It isn't having a popular blog, the most friends on Facebook or Twitter, but protecting your family.  

Michael and I have debated taking the blog private for a long time and the time has come.  There hasn't been anything specific or anything that has happened to lead to this decision, it is just something we feel we should do. Please understand if I have unfollowed you on Twitter, Facebook, and now taking the blog private.  It has not been a personal thing against anyone, but I've said all along that I only accept people I've met IRL on FB and the time has come to put that policy into effect on Twitter and on here.  I never set out to be a "big blog".  It was simply just an outlet for me to journal and vent about our journey to have a baby.  I'm hoping one day I might can go public again, but now isn't the time. 

Thank you all for joining us on the journey to becoming a family, for reading about our boring lives, and for understand why I am doing this.  As of this Sunday, Life With The Ledfords will become private, let me know if you want to keep reading by commenting on this post with your email.

Meal Planning Monday

I didn't do any freezer meals or really plan ahead last week and it was big mistake.  It lead to a lot of stress during a crazy week.  I did freezer/plan ahead meals yesterday and I already feel more organized and on top of things.
Monday - Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Tuesday - Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday - Salad and Twice Baked Potatoes (Nicholas will have chicken tenders)
Thursday - Beef Enchiladas
Friday - Pizza night
Saturday - UT/FL party, so we will probably just snack on tailgate foods.
Sunday - Grilled Chicken and veggies

All of these recipes have come from Pinterest.  If you aren't on there, let me know and I'll send you an invitation, just leave me a comment with your email!

Little Acrobats, Good Friends, and Cricuts

We had a fun weekend full of friends.  First, I just had to show you our big boy's latest skill, using a spoon!  He has been working on it at school and I let him feed himself yogurt Friday night! He did pretty well!

We've been going to The Little Gym for about 2 months and Nicholas LOVES it!  He loves being able to run and play and use his energy constructively! Ha!  Saturday morning Michael had to work, so Gigi went with us and I was able to get a few pictures since she was there to help chase our little gymnast!

 He LOVES hanging from the bars! His teacher is always surprised how well he does hanging for his age!  He has a lot of upper body strength and does really well.

 Nicholas' friend Tate joined us for the first time yesterday!  We were excited to have a few friends there.  His friend, Jake, also came for the first time!

 Look at the excitement on his cute little face as he hung from the high bars for the fist time! Haha!

 He also enjoys playing with the balls at the end of class.  He loves to bounce them and throw them at me.

Last night Michael went to Atlanta for a bachelor party, so I invited Nicole and Amy over to use the Cricut to make banners for the 1st birthday parties coming up soon!  They brought wine and I got everything out and we just laid it all on the rug and got to work.

Since Baylee's birthday is in less than two weeks now, we focused on her banner.  It isn't my banner to show you, and I don't want to give it all way, but I'll show you a sample of the cuteness of her party!  I don't know about Nicole, but I am still covered in glitter even after a shower! Haha!

We also started working on zoo animals for Tate's zoo party in a few weeks.  Obviously, the girl zebra is for Baylee's party, but I LOVE my 1st cartridge, Create a Critter.  We were able to make some absolutely adorable diecuts!

PTL Michael and his friends made it home from Atlanta in one piece, no one got arrested, lost a tooth, or got any crazy tatoos (if you've seen the Hangover, you get that).  I spent the day making our meals for the week, but more on that tomorrow for Meal Planning Monday!

September 11, 2011

In some ways, September 11, 2001 seems like it was just the other day, in others it seems like it was a lifetime ago.  On that day, we all lost a piece of security and innocence that we cannot ever get back.  It was a day we remember every year and on this anniversary, I'm not going to do a "where were you" post, I did that last year.  This year I want to focus on remembering how we felt, how it must have felt for those directly involved, and being thankful for those that have given everything to defend our great country.  I have spent the morning and most of the afternoon today watching the coverage and it is still as heartbreaking and chilling as it was that day.  When they show the pictures of the firefighters climbing the stairwell and looking straight into the camera, you can feel the fear they felt, but yet continued the climb to help others.  Today as you remember how YOU felt, try to instead remember how they must have felt.  Try to remember the pride we all had in our country, the week where no one was a Republican or a Democrat, but instead we were just Americans.  It is sad that it took such a tragedy for our country to be united and that it couldn't last longer than a couple of weeks.   Take the rest of today to remember what sacrifices have been made to allow us to have the freedoms we have and to live in such an amazing country.

Labor Day Weekend

We have had a busy, but good weekend, as always.  Saturday morning I got up early to get in line to shop the consignor presale at Jack and Jill consignment sale before football came on at noon.  I had never consigned or shopped this sale, but after the ease of drop off and seeing how many good deals I got shopping, I'm convinced to consign/shop it again!  My friend Amy and I got in line around 9:30 for the 10:00 sale and it was fun to spend some time catching up before the doors opened.  I was on a mission for a new diaper genie since mine has never really worked right and I found one, with a refill for $10!  It looks brand new!  I also found Nicholas a Halloween costume for his school parade and carnival for $4 that was brand new in the bag! SCORE!

Yesterday Michael was moving his business to a new location so my mom and I went shopping for some Fall clothes for Nicholas.  I found some really cute things at Carter's.  I am beyond excited that we FINALLY got a Carter's store in Chattanooga.  I also got my Christmas present a little early because JoAnn's was having a good sale.  I am now the proud owner of a Cricut Expression.  If you have one, what are your favorite cartridges?

Last night we went to Marc and Annie's house for Will's 8th birthday.  I know I say this all the time, but we are so thankful for awesome neighbors that we are friends with.  It was good to see them all for a little while before Nicholas' bedtime.  Sadly, I forgot my camera, but let me just say that Nicholas LOVED the cake and we both wore quite a bit of it! Haha!

Today has been a cold, rainy day.  Chattanooga hasn't seen any rain in over a month, so our ground was so dry, it couldn't absorb all of the rain fast enough, so we have some major flooding going on.  We had received almost 9 inches just today!

Nicholas' water table was empty this morning, but here it is now, overflowing!

We are making gumbo, playing with my new Cricut, and getting caught up on laundry. Nicholas and I have ate a lot today (for some reason rainy days just make me hungry)! Haha! 

Here is a look at my 1st Cricut project. We are having a UT party in a couple of weeks, so I made a banner to hang on the mantle. 

Hope everyone is having a good Labor Day and staying safe and dry!

Football Time In Tennessee...Well, Technically In Georgia

Today Kelly's post was titled "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". Can I get an AMEN on that?!  Many of you know, but I grew up in a household that FOOTBALL was the 4th most important thing behind, God, Family, and School.  My dad is a high school football coach and I have actually found myself on many occasions explaining the game and rules to my husband and his friends! Ha!  With that being said, I LOVE me some FOOTBALL and yesterday was the 1st day of college football!!!

Friday was wear your team colors day at school, so Nicholas and I both sported our UT wear!  How cute is my little UT fan?

 Yesterday I knew he would get dirty before the game at 6pm, so I dressed him for football in general.  He was so busy, I never got a good picture, but as you can tell, we have quite an active little man on our hands!

 He played so hard outside we had to have a bath and wardrobe change before the game started! Ha!  I found this adorable UT onesie at the Jack and Jill sale yesterday morning.  It was so cute and perfect for the 1st game!  Since he wears his UT shirts to school on Fridays, I try to find them at the consignment sales rather than good, expensive ones.  We save those for Saturdays or when we are having a UT party.

Michael's dad was at our house for the weekend and to watch the game.  We always subscribe to the college football package on DirectTV, so not only do we get to see all of the UT games (even those not broadcast in GA), but also some of my alma mater games!  UT-Chattanooga is a small school, so they are rarely on TV in GA!  We decided to have a day of snacking and watching games.  I made my refried bean dip and Michael made wings.

Refried Bean Dip

2 cans refried beans (I use the no fat beans)

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 8oz sour cream

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 tomato, chopped

1 can sliced black olives

Mix the beans and taco seasoning and pour into serving bowl.  Layer with sour cream, cheese, and toppings.  I have also added guac, salsa, and lettuce before, but this is all I had handy this time.  It takes about 10 mins to make and is always a hit!

Michael's famous wings

3 pounds of frozen chicken wings

garlic salt

chili powder

fresh ground salt and pepper

olive oil

Before placing on the grill, soak the wings in water for about 30 mins-1 hr.  Place on a platter and cover in olive oil.  Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients over the wings and cook on the grill or smoker until cooked throughout.  They are really good!

What do you mean I can't eat wings???

Sadly there was a rain/lightning delay at the game, so it didn't start until 7:40, so Nicholas had to go to bed before game time, but he is already looking forward to cheering them on next week!!!