Flashback Friday: Dominican Republic 2005

Back in high school my parents and I would always go to the Dominican Republic for spring break. I LOVED going there and always vowed to move there after graduation (which obviously never happened). It was my happy place and I never imagined anywhere being as beautiful as there.

I think it was my junior year of high school one of my best friends (D) came with me and 2 other families came who had kids who were my friends (J and N). The four of us caused a lot of havoc that year, but boy did we have a heck of a good time. I can't find too many of my pictures, but these will do.

I really want to go back and take Ryan and Dominick. I hear the resort that we stayed at has been renovated and updated so it would be so fun. I loved going so much, the workers knew us every single year we came and it is honestly a little slice of heaven.

We all went quading and we stopped along the way and these little kids wanted to take their picture with us. How cute are they?!

Quading through the sugar cane fields. We were SO dusty and on the oldest quads ever, but it was SO fun. We couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

One excursion that we went on (and I went on multiple years)was the waterfall trip. You basically walk back through this river until you get to all these waterfalls. They help you climb/pull up about 6 falls. To get down you slide down them or jump. It's seriously the BEST time! It's a little scary since the water isn't clear and the currents are pretty fast, but it's always SO fun!

The four of us in the lobby of the hotel waiting to go on an excursion.  I think we were either going and coming from Playa Grande. It was a little private beach and J and I even took senior pictures there. I can't find those pictures, but just trust me when I say it was the prettiest of all places.

at the airport waiting to go to D.R.

We stopped at this little place and we got to hold snakes and all sorts of different "reptiles. Apparently I was disgusted by this turtle. HA

J, D and I on our last night at dinner. 

The day we went quad riding. Before we turned around to come back to the resort we stopped at a beach. Clearly it was a little windy and I look like a hot mess.

N and I are dinner. 

It rarely ever rains, but one night during one of the shows it started to rain. So what else do you do, we danced! I love this picture.

We really had the best time on this vacation. I wish I could find more pictures, but alas I think they're on another computer or in one of my flash drives. Maybe another time. :)

9 Months

Since Dominick is now almost 10 months (WHOA) I figured I should probably finally post this. I have had this post wrote for a while and the pictures taken right after he turned 9 months just haven't put it all together. I will had the "monthly highlights" pictures at a later time.

Weight

Birth: 7 lbs 13 oz

3 months: 16.4 lbs

6 months:  19.5 lbs (weighed at home)/actual 18.6 (at the doctors)

9 months: 20.12 lbs

 Length

Birth: 22 in

3 months: 24.5 in

6 months: 26.75 in

9 months: 27.5 in

Diapers

Size 4
Clothes

12 months

Eating

You are still exclusively breastfed and eat every 3-4 hours. You take 2 bottles at the baby sitter's (5-6 oz) and you get a snack in the morning, lunch and dinner. 

You eat anything and everything we eat. You still haven't tried strawberries or peanut butter. The only fried foods that you ever really get is a french fry here and there.

Sleep

You still sleep through the night. You go to bed at 8 and don't wake up until around 6:30-6:45. 

 Likes

Swimming
Any toys that play music

Your Jumperoo

Swinging and sliding at the park

Howard - the oversized stuff dog

Crawling

Standing up

Walking with your push toy
Your momma
Playing with your daddy

Calli and Rocky
"Talking" on the phone

Eating

Going for Walks

Bath time

Cords

The vacuum

Cell phones and remotes

Dislikes

Teething
Having your nose suctioned

Getting dressed

Changing your diaper

Getting out of the bath

Being told no or not getting your way

Being tired
Momma walking out of the room

Dominick,

How are you already 9 months? This month seems to have flown by. You are at such a fun age and we are LOVING it. Your personality is really starting to shine and you even have a little opinion of your own.

Your daddy and I were talking one day on the amount of things you've already got to experience in your little life and let's just say it's not a small list. You've been on an airplane 2 times (1 round trip), an MSU football game, the Rose Bowl, San Diego, Las Vegas, all over LA (Santa Monica, Universal City Walk, Riverside and Glendale to name a few), the Hollywood sign, Newport Beach, in 3 different states so far and so much more in just 9 months. Buddy, your adventures are just beginning and even though you will not remember these trips and adventures it'll be great to say that you've been to these places and have experienced them at least once. We hope to take you on many more trips and adventures and can't wait to see where you go and what you do on your own.

You are such a friendly and social little guy. When I drop you off at daycare the kids coming running to you to say hi. Sometimes they even fight over who gets to play with you or they call dibs on whose turn it is to play. I love that you are so well liked and that you are forming friendships...even though you are still so little. This past month Mrs. Katie went to Germany for 2 weeks so you got to stay with Mrs. Lauren, Mason and Tanner. You had such a great time with them too. I'm convinced those boys and you would be lifelong friends if we continued to be stationed by them. I am also convinced people would run for the hills when y'all got older as I could see y'all finding lots of trouble to get into together or going fishing or hunting or just boy things together.

You love to jabber and you say, "ba", "blah", "da-da" and sometimes it even sounds like you say hi. You also learned how to give high fives this month and that's been a fun little trick that we've got to do. You think it's awfully funny. And you even ask for high fives. When we were at our friends for dinner you kept holding your hand up to J. Your daddy told him he thought you were asking for a high five so he gave you one and it made your day. You also learned to wave this month although you wave at the most random times. We do many signs with you and I know that you recognize them. You can sign "more" and sometimes it seems like you sign "all done". Signs that I know you recognize are "milk", "eat", "bath", "change your diaper", "more" and "all done". There might be more, but I can't think of them now. We are starting to incorporate "please" and "thank you".

You are such a good eater and I am so thankful that you aren't terribly picky. If you don't like something you will NOT eat it. This month you got to try a cupcake at Kaiden's birthday and you loved it. You really love chicken, ground beef, carne asada and pretty much any kind of meats. You love vegetables and fruits as well. You also love your puffs, mum-mums and happy yogis.

You love to talk on the phone. Every day when I talk to Grandma you always want to talk and you get a big smile on your face. You will listen and then you will talk back to them. It might be the cutest thing ever. You've also started taking our phones and remotes and putting them up to your ear hoping someone will be on the other side. You think skyping is pretty awesome and will go up to the ipad as close as possible.
You have really started cruising around this month. You also take your push walker and go all throughout the house. You finally learned how to turn it and you will go all over the house with it. You like to chase the doggies with it. You stand up to your table and will walk all around it and you even pull up to your toy bins and take out the toys you want to play with.

You still love remotes, computers, phones and the ipad. Anytime you see those you make a b-line for them. Sometimes if we are trying to get your attention from something else we will show you our phones and you will come after them.

You love, love, love your daddy, but you are a total momma's boy and I am not complaining one bit...because I am totally head over heals for you too. Of course your doggies are your best friends and they're so patient with you. You crawl on them, "pet" them (and are learning gentle touches", pull their hair, chase them and squeal with pure delight anytime they're around. One day I was getting ready in the bathroom and could hear you jabbering (both dogs were outside). When I looked you were standing at the patio doors talking to them and they were on the other side looking in at you and waiting patiently as if to say, "come on, open the door!". I really think y'all will be the best of friends.Every morning Rocky runs to your door and then back to us to let you know when you've woke up (as if we can't hear your cries).

You have a total of 5 teeth now and we didn't even know your 5th was coming in until one day you were crying over something and daddy saw it. You are not a fan of brushing your teeth, but I really believe it's the tooth paste. I haven't tried another kind yet, so it's partially my fault. During this time however you were getting a diaper rash from h#%*, but it's calmed down quite a bit since then. We used corn starch and it's helped a ton. Mrs. Brigette also made us up some spray and whatever it is is FABULOUS! We also started using our cloth diapers during the evenings and night time with you. It seems like it never fails and you always poop in them, so we have to get some flush able liners.

You love to read books and just smile and smile when I read them to you. Sometimes you make it through a whole book and other times we only get through a few pages. We mostly read before bedtime, but sometimes when we go into your room for diaper changes we will end up reading books then too. You love your bookshelf and will always crawl over and pull out books.

You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE bath time. You cry every single time we take you out of the tub. You just play and play and play until you are all wrinkly. You love to bite the water and put your face in it. I think you are definitely going to love swim classes.

You are still such a great sleeper. You are ready for bed around 8 and then don't wake up until anywhere from 6:15-7. You nap twice a day anywhere from an hour-2 hours every day. Whenever I lay you down at night time you always want me to give you you bear and you hold on really tight to him and then roll over and go to sleep. Nap times we do the same thing although you aren't always excited to go to sleep. Most weekends you want to rock or I need to come in a couple times to lay you back down and give you a few more kisses, but you will still nap.

This month you also started really doing stranger danger. You've been doing it for a while, but this month you started turning your back to people. It makes me feel good that you are aware of people you do and do not know. You normally warm up quickly and are never scared of people you do know. I love that.

When you are happy everyone knows it and when you are mad everyone knows that too. You hate being told no and if you don't get your way you will throw a little fit. We mostly let you and when you see you aren't getting the attention you want you will normally stop. One day you were trying to pull out the plug to our computer. I told/signed no to you and so you then you started to hit it, when I told and signed no to you again you took your phone and started touching it with your phone. Again, I told/signed no to you again and you crawled away. If you want something to eat that we are eating and we know you can't have it you will lay on the floor and cry (HA).

This month is a long letter, but it seems like you're doing so much nowadays. You are so special to us and I don't think there will ever be enough words to describe my love for you. You are sweeter than pie and your wet kisses and "big" hugs are my whole world. You make us laugh more than ever before and we talk nonstop about you. You are our entire world and I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I thank God every single day. I hope you always know how much you are loved. You have made our lives complete. I love you to the moon and back times infinity and one.

Love you so much,
Momma

Ryan's Birthday and Father's Day Weekend!

Our weekend was supposed to be one of the best! I had been looking forward to it for many weeks and I think Ryan was even a little excited too. Friday, Ryan ended up staying home with Dominick and they had a pretty good day. Dominick was finally almost back to normal and it made it pretty easy for Ryan. When I got home from work I made dinner and we all had kind of a low key night. It was good.

Saturday was Ryan's birthday. His friend had planned on going a hunter safety course about 2 hours away and since Ryan didn't want to go alone he also signed up. They had to be there at 9 and would be done around 5. Dominick and I stayed home and we baked strawberry yogurt cake and homemade cinnabons. We were having a good day together. Dominick slept more than usual, but I think he was still not 100%. We got around and were going to go meet R in Rancho Cucamunga (doesn't it remind you of the TMNT?) for a family date night for his birthday. Around 3 he text me and Dominick and I had already left the house saying he was feeling less than stellar and he'd rather go out closer to home. So when they got back we all got around and went to dinner with another family. During dinner Ryan started having cold sweats, goosebumps and was NOT feeling well. We ended dinner a little early and when we got home he made a comfy spot on the couch. Dominick loved him so much he thought he would even share his sick germs too.

the only picture I took all weekend!

Sunday of course Ryan barely moved from the couch all day and spent most of the day sleeping. My little man spent much of the day napping as well. We had a rough day on Sunday. Between Ryan being sick and Dominick feeling the need to throw temper tantrums the WHOLE day. As in he screams bloody murder, throws himself on the floor, arches his back and cries...the WHOLE day. It was not fun. During one of his naps I needed a break so I took my lounge chair and laid in the sun (and maybe got a little burnt in the process). After a short nap I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on my 9.5 month old tantrums. After a whole day of those I finally just let him cry and after that he seemed much better. I guess he just needed to have a good cry. Unfortunately Ryan's first Father's Day was not a spectacular one. I think it's safe to say the ones to follow will be MUCH better than his first. Or so we can hope. 

Another Visit To Urgent Care

This past week I received a call from Dominick's daycare saying he was acting a little off and seemed really uncomfortable. She also said that he was putting himself down for a fourth nap. That made me think that he may not be feeling well since he will normally only take 1 good nap in the afternoon and maybe a 15 minute nap in the morning (sometimes only a 15 minute nap all day). When she said that I asked if he was running a temperature. She checked and said it was 103, but checked again 10 minutes later and it was running around 101 and 102 so she thought the 103 was kind of a fluke.

When I picked him up he was really warm, but I gave him some tylenol and he took a nap and we decided to wait it out. The last time we went into urgent care they couldn't find anything wrong with him and he was back to normal the next day. Ryan and I both went into work and he stayed with my neighbor on Wednesday. When we got home he was just not acting right. He started drooling large amounts of saliva and just kind of whimpering and moaning. I could tell he was not feeling well at all. He had been having motrin and tylenol all day long and his fever hadn't gone below 99 and that was early in the morning. When I checked him again it was 102.8. I told Ryan I didn't want to wait for his appointment in the morning and that I thought we should take him into Urgent Care. 

Fast forward...we are in urgent care and they check him. They said it is mostly viral, but they want to take some blood and also give him a bag of fluids. I was dreading it because that meant he would have to get an IV. The first nurse came in and she missed his vein, the second nurse comes in and takes a good 15-20 minutes trying to find a vein only to use the same arm and go for the same vein the first nurse missed. Thankfully she got it because I was not loving that. He looked so pitiful and so sad, but really was sweet as pie. As we were waiting for the fluids to finish so we could get released Dominick kept looking at the door and then back to Ryan and I and then waving. He wanted to leave probably more than R and I. When I looked at the clock it was around his bedtime and he was ready. We got home and he went straight to bed. 

Turns out he had a viral infection and was dehydrated. They took two vials of blood and wanted more labs from our appointment on base the next day. We had his appointment on Thursday and his doctor said she did not want to run anymore tests and that he looked to be on the mend. His fever stayed between 99 and 101 yesterday, but he was drinking so that made me hopeful. Before bed he was cracking us up. He loves to make us laugh so he will do a fake laugh and then look at us for approval. When we laugh again he tries even harder the next time and then he smiles as if he has accomplished a big goal of his. 

Friday morning he woke up a little fussy so I was not sure he was back to normal, but he was playing with his daddy (who stayed home with him). We have no idea how he got it, but I'm glad to have him back to his healthy little self. 

Happy Vow Renewal Anniversary!

Two years ago Ryan and I renewed our vows after only being married 7 months. We got married in October at the court house, survived 8.5 weeks of BMT, 2 months of tech school and a move across the country in those short 7 months. 

This day he wore a tux and I wore my white Cinderella dress. We got to celebrate with our family and friends and it seemed to be more of a celebration of our love. 

We don't really celebrate or do anything extravagant on this day because our "real" anniversary is in October. It's not uncommon for military couples to have two "wedding" annviersaries. I loved this day back in June. I still love looking at pictures.

Two years as come and gone and I cannot wait to look at these pictures in 20 and see how much has changed .I love him more today than I ever imagined possible. Thank you R for sharing your life with me. You're my best friend and I wouldn't pick anyone else to be on this journey with. 

I love you to the moon and back, my handsome husband! 

our first look

all photos were taken by Megan at mnr photography

Last Weekend...

I know that we are entering a new weekend so why not recap last weekend?

+we spent a lot of time in a pool. I bought Dom a little pool that R set up on Sunday and then at the birthday party T got a pool and Dom played with M.

+rode dirt bikes. Friday night I went to our friends' to help with party prep and R and B went out riding in the desert I believe. Saturday we were in their garage and R sat Dominick on it. I snapped this picture. :)

+played in our friend's water table. We got T a water table for his birthday. Let's just say it was a huge hit and we are going to buy Dominick one too. He was SOAKED after only a couple of minutes.

+did a lot of standing by ourselves. Dominick is now getting more and more stable while standing. If he has food in his hands or a remote or anything really he does a really good job. He has even started taking one or two baby steps. As soon as he realizes he falls to the ground. He really is doing great.

+cuddled with our dogs. Poor Calli girl, Dominick just loves her. She is a pretty good pillow however. :)

+went to a birthday party. Obviously we went to a birthday party as I've mentioned it a couple of times. T just turned 1 on Saturday and his older brother turned 2 in February and Dom is turning 1 in September. I'm certain if they got the opportunity to grow up together it would be a scary site. Everyone would see those boys coming and think, "watch out here comes the "T" and Boutwell boys!" I'm confident they would get in lots of trouble and have great memories together.

Four Bullets on Dominick

+Dominick had his first swim lesson this week and it was a HUGE hit. He LOVED it and did so good. I was so proud of him. I will have a full recap after his first 4 weeks of class. We continue to have him do it, even after his first 4 weeks.

+Monday night I was giving Dominick a bath and he is now at the stage where he splashes, kicks his little feet (much more now after swim class) and takes his stacking cups and dumps water out onto the floor. I was getting so frustrated with him because the floor literally had standing water. I don't like allowing him to stand in the tub because I'm fearful of him falling. He does a good job with sitting back down, but he still loves to stand and pour the water from the cups onto the floor. He took his cup full of water and dumped it onto the floor for the 18th time so I took his cup, sat him back down and told him no. He turned away and started splashing his hands and he was just SO happy  He was squealing, giggling, jabbering and SPLASHING. As I watched him he turned and smiled back at me I asked myself why I was actually frustrated over my baby having a genuinely good time. I apologized to him and then began splashing too. We laughed and played for quite a long time that night. I felt horrible that I got onto him when I know he was having a good time. Did I want him to stand in the tub? No. But the splashing and the flood on the floor in the grand scheme of things are no big deal. The water can be wiped up and the bathroom can be cleaned, but making memories and being silly with my precious boy is priceless. Time is going by SO fast and I can honestly say that this stage is by far my favorite. I am loving every minute of it...wet floor and all. From that moment on I've been trying to work on being more patient and making fun memories...not letting little things be what I get "upset" over.

+Dominick eats pretty much whatever we are eating. I make one meal a night and he eats whatever we have. Things that we will not give him are extra spicy foods and obviously high allergy foods. I needed a quick meal and decided on spaghetti and meatballs. Boy, did he LOVE it. At home Dominick HATES his bib. He will always try to take it off and most of the time he just throws a fit about it so I will normally just strip him down to his diaper and let him eat with out one. It's easier on all of us.

+He is learning something new almost every single day. He started signing more and all done (sometimes at random times). It was funny because just days before this I was telling my friend that I didn't think he was getting it. She said that there is sometimes a window of when they pick signs up. The next day he started signing "more" and "all done". Since then we've been signing a lot. He has understood quite a few for some time now, but doesn't sign back.

We've also been trying to teach him to raise his hands above his head when we say, "how big is Dominick?" He hasn't really gotten it, but sometimes he will actually raise them and it's so cute. He also just started waving and waving at the correct times. He would wave at the door before I knocked when I would drop him off at daycare, wave just to wave, but last night he waved to his dad when I went to put him to bed. It was so sweet.

I've also been trying to teach him to clap. He hasn't really done it, but this morning he did something so I said, "Yayyyyy, Dominick!!!" and he took his little hands clasped them together and kind of "shook" them. I didn't know if that was his version of clapping or not so I just thought it was cute. A little while later I praised him and he did the same thing. I think it might possibly be the cutest thing ever!

Memorial Day Weekend

I know I always say how good of a weekend we had, but Memorial Day was one of those weekends where we left feeling like we needed another day (or weeks, whatever). I love spending weekends with my two favorite Boutwell boys. So serious. Anyways, we had been looking forward for Memorial Day weekend for many moons. We didn't have lots of plans or anything excited to look forward to, but we were anxious for a long weekend. Ryan happened to have Friday off (unfortunately NASA didn't give us the day off too).

Initially we had high hopes of going camping near Yosemite this weekend, but since we didn't make those plans until late the campgrounds were obviously all booked up.

Friday night we really did not do much at all. We went to dinner and hung out around the house. Ryan was gone most of the day dealing with his bike (he had to take it in for it's first maintenance check). 

After our camping trip fell through we decided to venture out to Laguna Beach, but decided to stay a little bit closer and just headed to the Universal City Walk and it was a great time. We walked around, had lunch at Wolfgang Puck (delish) and shopped. We went to Glendale and stopped in at Old Navy and Homegoods. Had we had a little bit more time we would have went to the Americana, but unfortunately it was getting late and we wanted to get Dominick home. After Dominick went to bed R watched a movie and I fell asleep on the couch. We live such exciting lives.

at lunch - Wolfgang Puck

With his Daddy, he was so interested in the mist

our family of 3

Sunday I made dinner and we ran some errands in town. We actually went into town 3 days this weekend which is VERY rare for us. We normally go once a week since it is so far, but this weekend we were gone nonstop. We went to Joanns where I picked up some fabric for a quilt I'm going to be making, Home Depot and Trader Joes (our first time ever, can you believe it?). When we got home we played until bed time and then R studied while I designed Dominick's 1st birthday invites. I have high hopes of doing a lot of DIY projects for his party and I know if I don't start now they'll never get done. 

Monday we were thankful for the men and women who have given their lives protecting this great nation. We  had a birthday party to attend in town at a ranch. It was such a great time and it was nice to be outside. Dominick loved the cupcake he devoured. He also ate 4 or 5 "small" helpings of BBQ chicken and brisket, a helping of pasta salad and fruit. He loved watching the horses and being around people. He is such a social little guy and I don't know if I should blame that on our busy lifestyle, day care and play dates or if he is just naturally social. 

He totally loved it!

After the party we made it home just in time for our friends to come over. We grilled and our friends came and it was a great night. Dominick loves being around friends and both families that came over have babies (one is 3 months older and the other is 2 weeks older than D).