Happy Birthday Little Buddy!

This past weekend Jason, Travis and I made the trek out to St. Hedwig to share the day with our little buddy Slade for his 2nd birthday.  Every time I look at him, I just can't get over what a miracle baby he is and am so impressed because he is just growing like a weed.   

Two years ago, Slade decided that he couldn't wait to join this world and he made a very surprise welcome at a mere 28 weeks.  Sarah's water broke at 26 weeks and she immediately went on bed rest for an extra 2 weeks. He was able to grow just a little bit more and strengthen his little lungs while inside his mama.  The months following his birth were full of agonizing worry in the NICU.  It was a very scary time for his parents, as I'm sure you can imagine - Slade had a lot of hurdles to overcome.  Sarah and Michael spent every moment they could with him in the hospital.  Sarah jokes now that she spent so much time at the hospital, and got to know staff so well, that she asked them for a hospital badge to visit her little boy.  I honestly believe the pure will and love of his amazing parents are a major influence in what helped save his life.  

This is what he looked like just 24 months ago.

Isn't that breathtaking?  

Such a little guy, but I tell you what - he fought and fought and this is him today!

He's such a happy big boy! 

I was the annoying paparazzi all day long and was able to catch some fun pictures of Slade on his special day.   

He is now a big brother too... he has a new little buddy in his life named Case, who was 2 weeks old on Sunday. 

Isn't baby Case a cutie?!  

Sarah and Michael did a great job with the party.  It was "bug" themed.  They even gave the cutest party favor: Bug Bags including a Bug Viewer, a Butterfly net catcher and bubbles.  What a thoughtful idea!

We ate hamburgers and hot dogs cooked by the grill master, Wes (Sarah's dad)...

... and we watched all the kiddos play in Wes and Tess' amazing yard.

Here is Miss Henley.  She is learning to walk and her mom and dad, Sylvia and Jake kept her happy and smiling through the whole party.  What a sweet girl. 

There were babies galore for me to take pictures of.  It was too much fun!

Love me some babies :) 

Well, here's to you little buddy.  Know that you are loved and we're so happy we can share these beautiful moments with you. 

xoxo, cyndy

Salt Lick BBQ

Did I ever tell you we live next to one of the most famous BBQ joints in Texas? It's so famous it was even featured recently on Top Chef! 

It's called the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que.  

The Salt Lick has been in business for over 40 years and is settled in Driftwood, just a 20 minute drive from our house.  I'll be honest, of all the bar-b-que in Texas, theirs is not my absolute favorite (Rudy's, I still love you the most!), but I sure do enjoy it when we go!  And, since it's such a tourist spot, and it's so close, we try to bring all our "out of town" guests to visit.  They've grown from a tiny one room building with a pit, to full blown extended restaurant with a wedding venue and vineyard. 

So, last week when Papa came out to visit, it was first on our list of places to take him. 

See how happy that face is?  That's the look of a fella who has had to eat California beef for the past 5+ years and was about to be spoiled rotten with some good 'ole Texas beef. 

I invited Uncle Fino and his girlfriend Nelli to join us to catch up with Dad during his visit and we had a wonderful dinner full of stories, great food and wine. 

It was incredibly busy on Saturday night (who'd of thought!) and we had to wait for over an hour and a half, needless to say we were all super hungry by the time the food arrived.  We ordered brisket, pork ribs, sausage, beef ribs, potato salad, baked beans and coleslaw... it smelled incredible, full of heartburn inducing smoky deliciousness and then we covered it in their great bbq sauce.

If you have the chance to make the trip out to The Salt Lick, I'm sure you'll just love it.

One of the things on Jason and my bucket list is to have a tour-de-Texas-bbq.  I can't wait to compare the Salt Lick the rest of the joints around the state and hopefully it'll still stay on the top of my list as a favorite place to eat!

xoxo, cb.

My Little Capricorn

So, my hairdresser Deborah is WAAAY into astrology and she sent this to me about Travis. She's this amazingly Austin-ish woman that helped developed what is now "SoCo" - she moved out of her prime location downtown to come out to downtown Dripping Springs and she's planning on helping develop DS like she did Austin.  A truly cool lady... and I love how she cuts my hair!  Deborah is well versed in all things starry, and we got to talking about T's sign and she put this together for him.  

It's pretty amazing - 37 pages of astrology! WOWZA... so I thought, it might be fun to share and reference back someday when he gets older!  I wish I had one of these for my birthday! 

Sniffle.

Tomorrow my boy goes to his first day of school.  

I've been sad for the past 3 days and I just can't imagine how much harder this is going to be once he isn't laying in my lap sleeping as I blog.  Doggone kid is just too cute, it breaks my heart.   Sooo, if you're around tomorrow and feeling bored, please come distract me. I really think I'm only going to let him go for a 1/2 day.  We'll see if I can keep it together. 

Wish us luck. 

Have Yourself a Bluebell Country Day...

Today we drove out to Brehnam, Texas to visit the Bluebell Ice Cream factory. It was wooonderful.  Seriously, icecream may be God's greatest invention. 

Travis and Drake really seemed to enjoy themselves!

Before we had dessert we wanted to have lunch - so we stopped in Chappell Hill and ate at their local diner. If we were trying to go for that "Texas Cafe" feel, this place couldn't have been more perfect. 

Coca-Cola signs on the walls, the sweetest sweet tea you've ever had, friendly staff that knew everyones name, truck after truck parked out front and FAN-TASTIC chicken fried steaks.

Okay, lets get back to Bluebell.  Have you ever seen this many flavors in one place?

YUMMY!

Drake even got a shirt that said

"I get cranky when I don't get my Bluebell Icecream!"

You got one free scoop with your tour and I picked an old classic, Mint Chocolate Chip.  Tammy and Drake had Cotton Candy, Dad had Mocha Almond Fudge and Chrissy had a delightful Caramel Kettle Crunch.  I picked up 4 new ice cream bowls - made in the USA by the Bluebell folks themselves and I'm so excited to show them to Jason - I'm sure he's just going to LOVE having 4 more bowls in the cupboards :)

After icecream we headed home and stopped by the park on the way.

Drake, Chris and Grandpa Beez played on the slides...

Dad sported his new fleece...

...and Drake ran alongside the freshly bloomed Bluebonnets.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful day.  Wish you were here with us :)

Have Yourself a Bluebell Country Day!

Grandpa Beez and his boys

We're off to Brenham today to take a tour of the Bluebell Ice Cream factory, 

but here's a little picture from our already sweet morning.

All About Nursing - Part 2

It took us nearly 8 weeks, but we can finally say that we "got it" when it comes to nursing! 

What an accomplished statement!  I'm so proud... I love it, I tell you - it was the hardest, most frustrating thing I've ever done, but now that everything is working like it "should" I am so tickled!

For all the mommies-to-be out there or new-nursing mommies... this list is for you.
I realized I left out some very important products that helped make my breastfeeding adventure successful and I want to share, especially since I am blessed to have so many friends that are about to embark on this overwhelming thing called parenthood.  If you want the first half of the list, you can read all about it here. 

Camelback Water Bottle with Straw
When you're supposed to be drinking 8 glasses of water per day, it is important to have a vessel to get all that liquid in your body.  This water bottle is awesome... it has a straw and drinking water becomes mindless.  Very important when your mind is foggy from lack of sleep.  Go get one.  It is great.  And, just as a word of recommendation, go to the bathroom EVERY SINGLE TIME before you feed your kid.  You'll thank me later.  So will your bladder :)

Medela Freestyle
I price shopped all over for this little fella, and thanks to Bed, Bath & Beyond's 20% off coupon that you can use at Buy Buy Baby, BBB was by far the least expensive option.  You'll note, that I am a super shopper (thanks to the fact that the internet makes it SO easy!) and all the links on here are for the least cost options that I was able to find in a matter of about 10 clicks :)

Onto the freestyle... A friend of mine gave me a Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced, and the first time I tried using it, somehow I managed to get water in the tubes that run into pump.  For anyone that's read about breast pumps and sharing, there is all this scary information about how dangerous it can be because there is a chance that bacteria or viruses can survive in an open system pump like the one I had used.  Naturally, I freaked out, and the hunt began to buy a new one.

I ultimately chose the freestyle because my sister recommended it... and boy am I glad I chose it.  Having access to a hands-free system, that doesn't force you to be plugged into an outlet is MIGHTY FINE.

I've found that it takes me about 20 minutes to put on my makeup and dry my hair when I get out of the shower, and conveniently, that is about the same amount of time it takes to pump.  It's about as good as my multitasking abilities are going to get now that I'm distracted every 2 minutes! 

Lansinoh Ultra Soft Breast Pads 

There are a couple different types of breast pads out there, and for a new mom, all these new things didn't totally make sense to me.  There are lotions and shields and creams and so many different options that it was very overwhelming for me.  THANK GOD my sister faux registered for me and I just pointed and clicked when it came to items like this.

She recommended the regular Lansinoh Breast Pads, and someone got me the ultra soft pads and I really like them... better than the regular Lansinoh as well as the Medela pads.

WHY YOU ASK?
1.  They're bigger.  Big plus - especially when you're sleeping and the girls are moving all over the place.
2.  They also seem to have some kind of super absorbent gel inside them so they've never leaked.  Another big plus.
3.  And, they're shaped differently than the other 2 types; somehow making them fairly inconspicuous.

Good stuff.

Medela Soft Fit Breastshields

These little guys are great... not only are they less rigid than than "standard issue" breast shields (or flanges?) they extract more milk too!  Totally worth the $15 investment.

Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags
I chose these for one reason and one reason only... when you go to freeze your milk, they lay flat - thus, over months of storing milk, you can have an organized, easily accessible milk bank to access.  I've used the Medela bags as well, and they're handy when you don't have a bottle (you can pump directly into them) but they don't lay flat, and that's just a big mess for me.
Wanna know my super fancy storage container for all my milk? Shoe boxes.  Yep, Perfect!

Last but not least, I'd like to give honorable mention to re-usable nursing pads.  

I've used the TL Care Organic Nursing Pads, and I like them well enough, but they're just a little to small for my liking.  They work well, but don't move around much because they slide out of place pretty easily.  For a less busty lady, I'm sure they'd be wonderful, but for me, I wish they were just a weeee bit bigger.  C'est la vie!  I do recommend having at least a few on hand in case you run out of the disposables... and for some reason, I like to wear them at night - they're softer and my brain thinks they breathe better (who knows if this really true).

Good luck ladies on your adventures in breast feeding!
Now, that everything is cooking like it should, a lot of this "stuff" isn't as necessary anymore, but it definitely helped us be successful and I am so happy we're finally doing it right!

xoxo, cb. 

ps. I'm so excited to share that Grandpa Beez is coming to Texas tomorrow!! We're going to be all over the place next week (icecream tours, the zoo, Texas bbq) - I can't wait!  Hopefully we'll have some fun adventures to share when all our travels are done.   

p.p.s. This week was Travis' 2 month birthday!  Can you believe it's already been 2 months?   I can't either!  We went to the pediatrician on Monday and he was such a flirt!  So cute.  Then, he got a round of nasty vaccination shots that sent him  into a fussy tailspin for the rest of the day.  Poor guy.  

Here are his latest stats, just in case you're wondering:

Weight: 12.12 lbs

Length: 23 inches

Here's a funny face to make you giggle :) 

Rodeo Day!

Pigs, Donkeys, Cows, Sheep, Chickens, Turkeys, Horses, Goats GALORE!! 

Yesterday, Jason, Travis, Lauren (my niece) and I went to the Rodeo and had such a fun time!  The day was full of adventure!  We spent the first half of the day going through barn after barn looking at all different types of livestock and then we went to the carnival.  We were little country bumpkins :)

Lauren and her new piggie friends

Lauren was just enamored with all of the pigs and would giggle with excitement when they would come close enough to smell her.  After visiting the pig barns, we went to "Animal Adventures"... a place for kiddos to learn all about animals!

Here is Lauren, looking inside one of the small learning barns.  She was able see all different types of animal feed.  Then, we went to see some baby chicks, chickens and turkeys!

Next, we made a trip to see goats, sheep and cows getting a "haircut" - it was very cool seeing the animals being sheered. 

...and we made some new friends along the way!

After we finished looking through barn after barn, we sat down to watch a Star Trek show.  Lauren sat in my lap and Travis slept through the entire show.  We learned all sorts of things I can't remember and ended up leaving early because it was SO LOUD and I was afraid of hurting Travis' ears!

Next up, we headed to the Carnival!  Lauren was beyond excited about riding the Ferris wheel... she'd never been on a Ferris wheel! 

It was so much fun!

We had the best seat in the house to see the fairgrounds...

 After we finished our Ferris wheel ride, it was time to explore the fun houses!

Sweet Lauren had a tough moment in the first fun house... we were rushing through the mirrors and glass maze and she WHAPPED right into a pane of Plexiglas... all she said was "owwww... that hurt."   It hardly phased her, she bounced right back and went running and laughing along.   If I'd run into the glass that hard, I guarantee you I would have been crying.  She's a trooper!

 

Jason patiently waited for Lauren and I to run all over the carnival, riding the rides and having a bunch of fun.  He is a regular scrooge when it comes to all thing carney, but he was sweet enough to indulge us by fighting the crowds :) Did you know he's afraid of heights? That's right... there will be no Ferris wheel for him!

Overall, the entire day was a HUGE success.  Lauren was on her best behavior, Travis slept nearly the entire day, we played, saw animals and had a grand ole' time. 

We had such a good time that some of us couldn't help but sneak in a cat nap...

Here is Lauren, resting her head on Travis' car seat... you can see his little blur in the mirror on the right.

2012 San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo

xoxo, cb.

Death and Taxes

"'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

 - Benjamin Franklin

That pretty much sums up my week.  

DEATH
Yesterday was an incredibly sad day.  I inadvertently killed 3 of our chickens and I feel terrible about how they died.  


Let me explain...


We have an amazingly sweet neighbor dog named Auggie that loves to play with Blue.  He is a master escape artist.  He climbs fences, digs holes and downright Houdini's out of his yard to come over to ours.  

This is Auggie

Yesterday,  he squeezed under the fence and headed over to our house in the hopes that he could find a way into our backyard so he could play.  He likes to sit in our front yard and wait for one of us to open a door and dash in... and yesterday, that is exactly what he did.  


Travis and I were headed to visit Jason at his office.  As I was packing Travis in the car in the garage, I left the door to the house open. Auggie saw his chance to get one door closer to playing with Blue, so he bolted through the garage and went inside the house.  He went straight to the back door and with a sweet puppy dog face, said to me, "Can I please play with Blue?? Pa-pa-pa, please!"   Usually, I would have taken him back outside and we would do a little tango of "who can run to the door fastest" to either sneak back in or get locked out.  But this time I was in a rush and I decided he'd be safer in our backyard.  I thought: both puppies will be happy, well exercised and I would call Auggie's mom and let her know where he was when got back home.


It did not occur to me that the chickens were also playing outside.


I'm sure you can figure the next part out:
Auggie + chickens = chickens in heaven. 


When I got home I went to the back door to check on the dogs and let Blue inside.  And what did I find? My poor Linus dead as a doornail, belly up, waiting for me at the door.  I screamed, put Travis down, instantly got on the phone with Jason.


Me: "THERE'S A DEAD CHICKEN ON THE PORCH!"
Jason: "Oh, really?  It's okay..."
Me: "SHE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOOOR AND HER EYES ARE OPEN!"
J: "It's okay.  Just don't look at her and I take care of it when I get home.  Is that the only one?"
Me: "I DON'T KNOOOOOW, I HAVEN'T GONE OUTSIDE YET."
J: "Cyndy, it's okay. I'll check when I get there.  It's not your fault."
Me: "YES, IT IS!"
J: "No, it's not."
Me: "YES, IT IS!"

J: "No, it's not."

Me: "YES, IT IS!"

(insert quivering sobbing voice here)   "I LET AUGGIE IN THE BACKYARD!"

(long pause)


J: "Oh... well...  it's okay."


So, we lost 3 girls.  Linus, One and Two are now in chicken heaven.  The honest truth is that dogs will be dogs and it wasn't Auggie's fault.  Jason says there is always a silver lining, and in this case, at least it was only chickens, not a kid, or a house burning down.  

TAXES

I've been spending every last minute (and they only come in minutes these days) working on our taxes this week trying to get it done early.  Good news is, having a kiddo is quite beneficial to getting a big refund... and I am proud to say, that they are done!  WHEW.  What a relief.  I actually am so relieved to have them done way before the April deadline!  I hope I keep up this trend for years to come and avoid the last minute April 15th scramble. 

Go do your taxes.  You'll feel so good :) 

Here's something to make you feel a little better in light of all that heavy-ness.  

Travis on Valentine's day.  

He's a heartbreaker in training.  

Believe it, his nighty says so. 

xoxo, cb.

...Smiley Guy

I'm in love with this guy

Life at the Bagley house is changing these days.  Jason went back to work Monday and if you'd talked to me last weekend you literally would have seen me shaking in my boots.  I was so worried about taking care of Travis all by myself.  Yes, I realize many many people have done it before, and that I was absolutely spoiled by having Jason's help for 5 weeks, but I had never done it and I was really worried.

To my surprise I really enjoyed being a single-mom during the day.  I found out that I wasn't as easily distracted when it was just the 2 of us and I was able to get quite a lot done.  The laundry is clean, the dishes are done and I even found time to clean the carpet!  Travis and I went on 2 lunch dates and a few shopping trips... we were able to slow down and enjoy each others company - it was a lot of fun :)

Jason even went into to work early every day so he could get home early (or at least by 5:30, which is early for him!).  When he got home he was back to being so helpful - making dinner and playing with Travis so I could sneek in little cat naps between feedings.

In more fun news, Travis is turning into quite the smiley guy.  I was able to get him on film today with a couple smiles, and they are here for you to enjoy :)

Here are some pictures I took with my cell phone on his 6 week birthday (sorry for the crappy quality!)

I can't help but wonder what he is thinking...  

YAY MILK!   

YAY CLEAN DIAPERS! 

HEHE... I'M TICKLISH!

Anyhow, I hope you all are doing well this week - we are busily taking our time enjoying life. 

love, cb. 

P.S. Travis is growing like a weed, he just bumped up into 3-6 month clothes! and I am so happy to share that I fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans (they're still ridiculously tight though!)... what a great feeling.