This week... updated with pictures

It's been an interesting week for us.

We went to the zoo on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. Vinny loved looking at the animals, as long as they were up close. He called everything we saw a "mooooo!" and loved to get out and run around. I can't wait to take him back.

Tuesday we went for his 18 month appt. He is 27.8 lbs and 31 3/4 inches. He hasn't grown any, but the Dr said that it is normal, especially when they start walking. Everything else looked great. He said that he is ahead of the game in talking and he looks very healthy.

Tuesday night Vinny spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the 1st time. I was a nervous wreck, but once he was gone, it really wasn't as bad as I had thought. I got a good night's sleep and it sounds like he did too. He played hard all evening and into the next day. He has so much fun over there. I don't think that even cared that we weren't there.
He bonded with the puppies as well as with Uncle Joe and Uncle Tim, and got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. This was our trial run for being away from home, since Tony and I are going to Vegas next month. I think it was very smart to do this, because now I don't feel quite as bad leaving him.

Tonight we are going to dinner with my Dad and Chrisana at Applebees. I can't wait. It is so important to me for Vinny to know his Papa Vinny. We just don't see him enough.

Then Friday night Vinny and I are going to go and babysit Andrew and Ashley. They are one and three. Vinny goes to daycare with them, and their mom and I have become pretty good friends. I am very excited to see how it goes when I am watching someone else while Vinny is there.

Then Saturday we are going to Poulsbo. We sold Tony's old quad and are delivering it to the buyer. We havne't been to Poulsbo, but we are thinking that we might hang out over there for a couple of hours.

First Sleep Over at Grandma's and Grandpa's.

Vinny had his first sleep over and Grandma and Grandpa's on Tuesday night. It went great for both of us. It wasn't nearly as hard as I had thought it would be and it sounds like he had a wonderful time.
Here are some pictures.
Vinny and Abby


Just Chillin' with Grandpa and Abby


Feeding the pups



Giddy up Abby!


Rocking out with my Uncles!


Snack Time!

Wow... it's been over a month already...

I swore when I started this blog that I would keep it up to date... guess I am slacking already. This has been a very busy month for us.
Tim is back home from California, Joe moved to Florida... we don't know if either is permanent. it's been fun having Tim back. It's my personal hope that he stays, but we'll see.
Vinny moved up to the Pre-toddler classroom early. It was rough at first, but I think he is doing ok now. He really misses Eli and Andrew. But, that just means that we have to have more playdates outside of daycare. He is growing so fast. He is climbing up on everything! His newest obsession is his little croc shoes that Grandma Hemrich bought him. He loves them! He is starting to repeat stuff more and although he isn't saying any more words on his own, I think he will anytime now. His 18 week appt is on the 22nd. I can't wait to see how much he has grown.
I had an excellent 29th birthday and 4th of July. We went up to our cabin and had family up for the 3rd and then family and friends up for the 4th. Dawn and family and Alicia and Family stayed the whole weekend. We had a blast!

I have a new obsession myself. Craigslist. We got Vinny this climing slide thing for the yard for free, and now I can't stop looking for good deals!
Tony got so much done on the cabin. It is so cute. I love it! It turned out so much better than I had even hoped for!
Well, I better get back to things... I'll update more soon!

Jaws!!!

I am home today with my son because he bit 4 times.
4 times in one morning, can you believe it?!?!?!?
The problem is that I really don't know how to handle it. I feel like there is nothing I can do. I give him tylenol and orajel for teething. I feed him before daycare. I try to get him to get enough sleep, but we struggle on this too.
Anyway, he doesn't bite at home, and he doesn't bite anyone except for at daycare.
I wish I could get him to stop, but I am not there when he does it, and even if I was, I don't know that I would be able to get him to stop anyway.
I feel like other parents think that I am a bad mom, because I am the mom of "the biter." I know that I am not a bad mom. I am an excellent mother.
Maybe the mother's of the bitees should teach their children to quit taking my child's toys or food and to quit putting their arms near his mouth... Ok... rant over...
I think that I am just to the point where I have to sit back and hope that it is a short phase that he is going through and know that it doesn't reflect on me as a parent at all. And in the mean time, I can't get sick, because I know that I need to save all of my sicktime to deal with my little Jaws!

The beginning....

Well... here is the beginning of my blog. I totally wish that I would have started this 2 years ago when I was still pregnant or even when Vinny was first born... but I didn't, so now you get to read about my 16 month old...
Let's go backwards and give you some info on me.
I am a 28 year old, married, working mother. I have been married to my husband, Tony, since June '04. We started dating in Feb '02. We bought a house in Marysville, WA.
**Side note** Since then we have bought a lot more things... a car... a truck... 3 quads... a trailer... a cabin... tons of diapers... tons of baby wipes, among other things... basically, now that we have Vinny... the purchases, just aren't quite as big or quite as fun.
We do live a good life. We don't have our dream house or have really expensive things, but we are content. We have family nearby, we have good jobs and are actually living like "grown ups" should.
I work as a manager at a local bank. It is a good job. It doesn't pay what I would like to make, but I am happy here. They take care of me, and I will hopefully stay here for a really long time. I have been here for 5 years. I have made some great friends here and enjoy most of my days even though I am working.
In early '06 Tony and I decided that we wanted to get pregnant. It only took 2 months and our bundle of joy was on the way. Vincent "Vinny" Anthony Hemrich was born January 14, 2007.
Life sure has changed! We have gone from living the "DINK" life, to living paycheck to paycheck, perfect work attendence to having to pick up our little guy because he is either sick, or becuase he bit someone's arm off. It has been a whole new world.

But worth it!!! Vinny is the complete joy of my life... He is an amazing child, and although he is currently going through he terrible twos early, I wouldn't trade any of it.

Well... Welcome to my blog. I will try and update it often with stories of the day, or rants and vents... updates on Vinny's life, or on exciting things for our family. I hope you all enjoy it!