Two years today!

Two Years + 8 Months

New favorite movie is Nightmare Before Christmas. He watches it at least once a day. During the movie, he mimics the actions of all the characters. In the 3 pictures above, he was saying "I'm Jack, the pumpkin king." * He's been extremely clingy lately. Doesn't want to be without his mom or dad. * Took his first official trip to the snow. He hated it at first, but then loved walking around the ski resort. * Was sick a majority of the month. We just can't seem to get rid of the runny nose or cough. After we went to the doctor, we found out that it's viral and a new sore around his mouth is impetigo. * He's gotten so much better at eating lately, although still super stubborn to try new foods. *  Loves puzzles. Can sit and do the same one over and over again. * Had a few poop in the bath incidents which is no fun for me. * Is addicted to the phone app - Temple Run. Is good at jumping and turning, but hasn't figured out sliding under things. He dies a lot and says "Oh man" afterwards. * 

All three of us have battled sickness this week. Zander started off the week with a runny nose and a cough so I ended up working from home on Tuesday so I could take care of him.  He watched (and I listened to) the Nightmare Before Christmas three times that day. Oh the madness!  I still can't get the songs out of my head. On Wednesday, I went to work even though I was not feeling well and went through a whole box of tissues in 24 hours. Devin woke up with a fever and stayed home with Zander. The two of them stayed in bed all day and somehow managed to get downstairs for a few pieces of bread to eat. These two would starve without me. It's now Friday and we are all still congested with the sniffles. Here is to hoping that we have a restful weekend and are back to health next week. Only two more weeks until our big trip!

In my first week in business, I've accomplished a lot:

• I sold, made, and shipped 4 cases through my Etsy store.
• Figured out the best and cheapest way to send my orders through the postal service. 
• We went international! I am now accepting and shipping orders to the UK. Osmond fans can delight in joy now.
• Launched the StinkNCute Facebook page and already have 62 followers. There are even a few people that I don't know at all.
• Announced my first giveaway which goes through the weekend. The big winner will be picked on Monday.
• New logo is in the works thanks to my coworkers talented wife.

I've been loving every second of this new journey so far. 

I found this picture in my car today. So young and crazy in love with each other. Maybe a few pounds lighter too. It was taken in May 2006 when we had been dating for 6 months. At this point I knew I wanted to marry Devin.

I've been talking about taking Zander to the zoo for months. He absolutely loves animals and talks about them all the time. Since we constantly hear about scary lions, giraffes, and elephants, I was so excited to see his reaction as we saw these animals close up at the zoo. 

Since we both had the day off with the holiday, we decided to make it a family day. We got there relatively early and there were tons of people there. I guess we all had the same idea. The giraffes were the first thing we saw as we walked in. So big and tall, right in front of us. While Devin and I were watching this marvelous creature, we see Zander staring off in every other direction except the animals. He was more interested in playgrounds and popcorn. 

The two animals he did love was the tiger and lion. He would have stood there for hours if we let him. After that, we saw rhinos, zebras, turtles, elephants, monkeys, and every bird imaginable. With an uninterested child, we were able to walk around the zoo in two hours. I guess we'll have to try this again in a few years.

My StinkNCute Adventure

After a few days of really trying to promote my StinkNCute Etsy Store, I got my first sale! A lady in Ahwatukee sent me a message asking if I would accept a rush order of 3 cases because she had a baby shower at the end of the week. I was so excited to get the initial email and even more excited to hear the "cha-ching" sound from my phone letting me know that I had made my first sale on Etsy. This definitely gives me the boost I need to keep going with my new business venture.

Zander attended his first birthday party with a pinata. I don't think he's ever swung a bat before so it was interesting to watch him go. From the picture above, he looks like a pro.

Good stance. Feet wide apart. Eyes on the Princess.

What you miss is that at one point he held the bat on the wrong end and tried to hit Princess Tiana with the handle. He also held the bat like a baton. It looked like he was going to go all American Gladiator and start jousting it. Zander did hit a few pieces of candy out of the pinata on his turns. I loved his reaction when it was busted open. He sat content with two pieces of candy in his hands as the other kids ran to pick up all the candy off the grass.

Weekly Highlights

As a parent, sometimes you have to laugh at situations or else you’ll go crazy. On Tuesday night, I was trying to finish up a few gifts for Devin’s coworkers and left Zander in the bath. He kept saying poop but I wasn’t paying attention. When I finally went into the bathroom there was a huge one in the bath with him. Gross! I took him out and started cleaning everything up when I hear Devin in the other room. Naked Zander was lying in our bed getting poop on our sheets. Every time I talk about it, it makes me chuckle.

My passport expired in December 2012. My plan was to start my US citizenship paperwork because we weren’t planning on leaving the country this year. With our surprise trip to the Cayman Islands, I knew I’d have to renew my New Zealand passport instead. Within 10 days of sending off my paperwork, I got my new passport in the mail. I was a little worried with the time crunch, but now I can rest easy knowing that I can go on our trip and will be allowed back in the country.

 

This is proof that we need to buy a fake Christmas tree. We finally got our wilted tree out of the house last night, three weeks after Christmas. 

Back when I was pregnant with Zander, I started making cute baby accessories for myself. Hair bows, burp clothes, and diaper wipe cases. I loved them so much that I started making them for my friends who were expecting too. Last year I started an Etsy store hoping to sell them. I really didn’t do anything with the store, but now I’m motivated to get things going again. Check it out at Stinkncute.etsy.com.

 

He managed to stop playing so he could dance.

Devin's work had a family day to celebrate the opening of their new office building. They went all out. Large bounce houses, a DJ, Nathan's hot dogs, and lots and lots of balloons. Zander loved it. This kid has no fear. He was going into the bounce houses filled with kids. He climbed up the ladders, made his way through the obstacle courses, and slid down the large slides.

We took Friday off of work and headed to the farm to visit Mum & Al. Note to self - always check the weather before a trip. I think we have the worst luck with trips and the weather. Disneyland and rain. Florida and a hurricane. Now Showlow and the coldest weekend of the year in Arizona. 

On our first day, we kept warm inside by fire and enjoyed Mum's homemade chicken noodle soup. We went outside for a little bit so Zander could feed the chickens with Grandma and we could check out Al's car project. Zander was so funny to watch. He wanted to hand feed lettuce to the chickens.

On our second day, we headed up to Sunrise Resort. Devin went snowboarding and the rest of us went sledding. It was snowing up on the mountain and we were freezing, but we still had fun. By the end of the day, Zander loved being in the snow and even wanted to ride up the lift. I'm foreseeing ski lessons next year for this little one. 

  On Sunday, we went to church with Mum. It was funny to see that everyone knew who Zander was and were so excited to meet him. When we got home, we got out the shot gun and had some target practice with clay pigeons.

Even though it was cold, we had a great weekend. It's always nice to be with family and unplug from the world for a few days. 

 Devin came home from work with a new IPad Mini. A gift from one of the executives for a great 2012 with the company. Just when I thought his company was the greatest, we received a call from his boss later that night that convinced me that Devin has to work there forever. Devin's coworker had been chosen as the President's Club winner for his department, but could not go on the fabulous winners trip since he just had a baby with his wife. In his place, his boss and executives decided to award the trip to Devin. A free trip plus $400 to use as we please.

In one month, we will be heading to the Cayman Islands. Just the two of us. Sand, sun, and relaxation.