Sunday Snapshot - Instant

Ok so the above picture is a preview of Stella's Halloween costume. I just couldn't resist. I was going to save a picture of her in it for next week's post or a Halloween post, but come on, can you blame me?

Anywho. Things have been busy around here, especially on the weekends. Sports will do that to a family I guess. Thus I've not been as diligent about Sunday Snapshot posts as I'd like to be. But that doesn't mean I'm not taking pictures, not by any means. It just means that actual, planned photo shoots are few and far between. But, thanks to my iPhone and its awesome camera, I'm always ready to snap something.





As you know, in addition to taking pictures, I love me some social media. Hobby/addiction, it's a fine line really. Throw pictures into the mix and you've got Instagram. Not only can I share pictures, but I can crop, add filters and effects. Combine it with other iPhone photo editing apps and the possibilities are endless.





One little Instagram/photography hobby I have is the Photo-A-Day fun from Chantelle over at fatmumslim.com. I'm kind of addicted to it, but not crazy or anything. It's fun. Sometimes I try to be all serious about a prompt, other times I just take a picture of something. I may miss a day here and there, but I try to get it all in each month. But not all of my Instagram shots are part of the challenge, not by any means.





Basically my Instagram pictures fall into 4 categories really: Amy and the Kids, Food, Random, and Artsy. About half are for the challenge and half are just because. Right now I have 620 photos, and yes I checked. Because why not right? It's a fun and easy way to enjoy photography and document life. Maybe one day the kids will look back in wonder at it all, in awe of my photo skills. That or they'll just marvel at what a nut job their Dad is. Either way they'll have something to enjoy right?





So, given the lack of photoshoots recently and my love of taking pictures, I thought I'd share some of my recent Instagram favorites and sing my praises of this fun social network. I'd link up to my account here if I weren't on the iPad and/or I had the energy to figure it out. Plus, I think it might be on the sidebar somewhere? Search me if you want to and follow along for the fun! I could post many more pictures here, 615 actually, and go on but I'll spare you. I think I've gotten my point across. Plus it's late, I'm craving Halloween candy, and I few I've begun to ramble! 😁

Oh and yes, the first picture is Stella in her Halloween costume. I was going to save it for next Sunday's post or a Halloween post but I couldn't resist. I mean, how cute is she?

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Up & Catch Up

So, it's 12:32 am and I'm up.  And I've been up for about an hour.  Don't get me wrong, I like to stay up late and all, but today was a long day.  I turned in early, long ago.  However, Stella decided a midnight snack was called for.  Huh?  I know right, I've mentioned before that she is, and has been, sleeping through the night.  Not tonight I guess.  She woke up and I tried to move her to her beloved swing.  No dice.  Fever (gasp!)?  Nope.  Needs a new diaper?  Not at all.  Amy was up with me by now and suggested the bottle.  I was trying to avoid it since she hasn't had/needed on in weeks.  But oh well, there's a random time for everything right?

So I get one ready, as she decided to lose her mind.  And I mean lose it!  I had a flash-forward to some crazy toddler tantrum y'all, and it wasn't pretty!  Luckily as soon as the bottle found its way to her she was fine, I told you the girl loves her some food.  6 quick ounces later and she's passed out.  Hopefully she will stay that way until morning and tonight will have been a fluke.

So, I know you're wondering why today was a long day.  Well, I was just getting to that.  Plus I'm up and all.  Anywho.  Today was the boys' soccer pictures.  So we headed out early for Braeden's.  I'll mention here that our long-awaited cold front came in Friday night so this morning was quite chilly.  After Braeden's pictures I took him and Stella to his game while Amy stayed with Jackson for his pictures.  She then met me at the soccer fields and we decided to have her bring Stella home due to the crazy wind and cold weather.  I mean, who needs a sick baby?  Not me!  So the boys and I braved the cold and enjoyed the two games, which were luckily scheduled back-to-back.  Then it was home just in time to send Amy off to a meeting with her coworkers.  By the time she came home it was time for dinner.

Whew!  I'm tired just remembering it all.  Or maybe it's because I'm up in the middle of the night?  Anywho.  So, it wasn't crazy busy, just go, go, go.  But that was busy enough.  Plus it came on the tails of a busy week last week.  It was Red Ribbon Week for me which means fun dress-up days.  Fun dress-up days mean sillier than usual kids in the classroom.  Pajama Day, College T-Shirt Day, and the ever-popular Wacky Day (which lived up to its name!)!  Throw in a Field Day for good measure and a No School for 1st Quarter Conferences Friday and I was one worn out teacher.  But worn out in a good way, it was a great week but wow!  Oh and Friday night was Trinity's Trunks & Treats so that was another fun thing to add on.

Amy also had her first set of conferences last week and I am so proud of her!  They went well, as I knew the would.  She is doing an awesome job and it shows with the kids and their parents.  I may be slightly biased, but I know I'm right!  :)

So, I think that catches us up dear readers.  Now comes the hard decision I have to make.  Do I move Stella back to her crib and go to bed, or do I leave her in the swing and sleep/watch TV downstairs.  I mean I'm already awake and have Netflix and Hulu at my disposal.  Hmmm?  Decisions decisions.

All is well, up and caught up, in Drosche Land.  

Milestones

So today was another big day for Stella. As you'll recall from a few posts back, she's eating solid food now! Well, we started her with dinner since that's the easiest and it means she sleep through the night.

I'll take a quick aside here to state just how great it is that she sleeps through the night! Amazing really. I mean Braeden was over a year old when he consistently slept through the night. If memory serves me right it was around Jack's birth. I mean with a new baby coming, he had to sleep through the night sooner or later right? I thought he'd never do it. Jack was slightly easier but nothing compared to the experience we've had with Stella. Anywho, back on track.

So she was eating dinner and loving it. The girl loves her some food! However, we thought a daily meal of solid food would replace a bottle. Well, we were partially right. While we were able to get rid of a bottle and get her to sleep through the night, she just made up for the lost bottle by upping her intake on the other bottles. She's up to nearly 30-35 oz of formula a day now. That's almost a Sam's-sized container a week folks! We're talking some crazy consumption going on here readers! So we decided to have her eat breakfast at school. Maybe an additional meal would help bring down the liquids? We wanted to wait until closer to December but hey, no time like the present right?

So today was her first breakfast at school and her first time with blueberries. Suffice it to say that both went over like gangbusters! I told you, the girl loves her food! So we will see how this new development plays out and what it means for her bottle situation. Regardless though, Amy and I are so happy to have a healthy eater. We attribute the fact that she has really not ever been sick (save for the ambulance/hospital incident) to her love of food. A well-fed, chunky baby is a healthy baby!

So now you're thinking to yourself, "Awwww, how sweet. Stella's eating food. I'm so happy Dusty and Amy are getting sleep again, the deserve it. Dusty's pretty awesome too!" Ok, so maybe not that last part (or maybe so?). You might also have out your grammar skills to work noticing that the title of this post is plural. Well, today was another milestone for HRH (our affectionate nickname for Stella (Her Royal Highness)). Turns out she has discovered how to roll over. At school nonetheless. Luckily her teacher was sweet enough to capture it on video nod text it to Amy and I. We have yet to see it at home but you know I'll be looking for it all weekend long. She seems pretty surprised by the fact that it happened but I'm sure it won't be long until it is a regular thing. Crazy. Just another example of how quickly she is growing and changing! Next thing we know she'll be crawling! Yikes! Below you can see her enjoying her blueberries! I can't upload the video from my iPad for some reason, argh! So I'll have to try it later!




All is well, rollin' rollin' rollin', in Drosche Land.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Fair Castle Dr,Cypress,United States

Sunday Snapshot - GOOOAAALLL!

Well, as promised, here are some of the best shots I've gotten so far this soccer season.  I chose Jack for the main picture above since it is his first time to play.  He is so excited about it too!

Braeden is also enjoying his second soccer season quite a bit.  It never ceases to amaze me that he seems to have some uncanny, natural athletic ability.  It's like he has some innate understanding of the game and possesses a wide variety of skills.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, he didn't come to this by me!

Another thing that amazes me about having the boys in soccer is that they never seem to get tired.  Sure, the slow down (very slightly), but they keep going.  Especially Jack (obviously) who runs around and plays while Braeden's game is going on (as of right now all of Braeden's games have been first).  You'd think that by the time his actual game started he'd be done, but no, he gets right in there and goes for it!

So, every Saturday until early December is spoken for.  To be filled with more sporting fun.  The boys live for their practices and games right now.  As soon as one is finished, they're asking when the next one is.  I hope their love of the game continues as they grow older.  There are so many positives to being involved in sports.  Plus, who knows?  Maybe we have the next David Beckham here?  Bend it like Drosche?  Ok, so it doesn't sound as good, but you get the picture!

Oh, and not to be left out, here's Stella.  Lounging and watching her brothers play!  So far she's enjoyed it quite a bit and has been pretty easy-going!  Let's hope that stays the same!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

  

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaalllllll!

Wow, I need to get back into regularly blogging rather than this weekend stuff! Anywho.

It's fall, finally, and even though the weather hasn't caught up quite yet Amy and I had to make good on a standing promise we'd made to the boys long ago. You may remember that last fall Braeden played T-Ball and the spring before that he played soccer. Well, with Amy pregnant last fall and spring we decided to take a break from sports. Thank goodness we did! Last spring was so crazy, I don't know how we would have survived had we made that commitment. But we'd made the deal with the boys that once fall came around, they could start sports again. Braeden loves it and Jack would finally be old enough to join in on the action. We decided on soccer and made the plans.

Flash forward to September. It's now time or register them and they couldn't be happier. We get the paperwork in and the supplies purchased no before we know it, we're a sporting family again.

Braeden picked up right where he'd left off. It was as if he hadn't missed a beat. Having some experience under his belt meant that he could take a step up in FFPS (we opted to go that route again after our success last time) and be on a team with others who had played before. Turns out 6 year-olds are more coordinated and easier to wrangle on the field. His team is the Octonauts, check out the Disney channel cartoon if you're unfamiliar, an interesting name but the team loves it! As always he gets in the game and has at it. I swear he must get his sporting abilities from Amy because I know it doesn't come from me! 😄 He's loving it once again and has only had one mishap. The very first game last weekend he twisted his ankle and fell hard, sidelining him for the remainder of the game. Ay and I were a little worried we'd make it to the ER for 3 straight months but he ended up being fine after giving it a rest overnight.

Jackson took to the game right away also. He has some experience from a program he participated in last year at school so it's not totally a foreign idea for him. The best part is that he gets to run around. Trust me, he needs to run off some of his extra extra energy. It seems as though since he turned 5 he's constantly wound up! He still has some work to be done, both technically and team-wise but he's getting there. Some might call him a ball-hog, I call him committed! I think this season will be good for him and if nothing else, he's having a blast! His team is the Ninjas and he's a bit bummed it's not an animals name. He had his heart set on the Tigers. But I think Ninjas has a nice ring!

Stella has joined us for most of the practices and all of the games so far. She's at the age where she is a bit easier to maintain while out and about so having her tag along is no problem. As long as it doesn't get too hot she's a happy camper. Hopefully that fall weather will come and stay so even that be an issue.

I'm, of course, taking tons of pictures. I'm hoping to get some up for tomorrow's Sunday Snapshot post but we will see what happens. Until then. I'll include some that I took on my iPhone, thanks Photostream! All in all though we are enjoying the soccer season. It will take us into the beginning of December so our Saturdays are game days for a while. After this season we will see about what spring has in store for us. For now though it's just all fun and games!










All is well, soccer balls included, in Drosche Land.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sunday Snapshot - 4 Months

4 months!  Stella is 4 months old.  Hard to believe, but it's true.  She's now fully at the age where she is no longer a "blob".  She's actually a littler person and does more than just lay there.  The boys are fascinated by all of her new found actions and have regained an interest in their little sister.

So much has changed in the past month.  She is really working on sitting up on her own, but just doesn't quite have the core strength yet.  But that doesn't stop her from wanting to constantly be in the upright position.  After all, she can see everything better that way!  She is now always interested in everything that is going on around her.  One of her new favorite pastimes is to watch the dogs, she loves it when they're near her.

Quite possibly her favorite thing right now, as you can tell from the pictures, is to suck her hand and her fingers.  All the time.  Neither of the boys were ever that into sucking their fingers and thumbs, but Stella, she's all about it!  She is also eating food now, every night for dinner.  Her favorite food?  Apples by far.  Once she tastes them she goes crazy, waving her hands around and kicking her feet.  And you'd better keep those spoonfuls coming or else!

Tummy time is not something she enjoys that much, but is a necessary evil if we're going to build that strength and get to crawling anytime soon!  Apparently though she handles it better at school so I guess she's still getting her workout in!  Lastly, she "talks".  All the time.  Cooing, laughing, giggling, gurgling, screeching, random weird noises, grunts, and snorts.  She has quite the variety of vocal sounds and she loves to converse with anyone around her.

So, 4 months gone by.  We're 1/3 of the way to her first birthday and I'm not sure I'm ready for that.  I keep marveling, though, at how much she changes from day to day.  Life is an amazing miracle He has created.  Oh, and quite possibly the best thing she's done lately, in Amy's and my opinion that is, is the fact that she is sleeping through the night now!  Thank you solid food!  Uninterrupted sleep, how we've missed you!  

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

  

  

Yum!

October? Really? I feel like I was just saying that about September! Time just seems to be flying by. But I digress.

So Stella is within spitting (up) distance of being 4 months old. Again, time is just seeming to fly by. She's recently reached another milestone in life, eating food! So Amy and I tried a few weeks ago, around 3 months, to get her to eat food. We started off easy with a rice cereal. But she wasn't into it really and couldn't figure out how to eat. She was all, "What's this tongue thing for?" So we gave it a rest. What's the rush anyway.

Well, we tried again this past weekend and were amazed at how quickly things can change. See, Amy's decided to make all of our own baby food this time around so she's been scouring the Internet for recipes and tips/tricks. Not only is it healthier, but, like our cloth diapers, it can save tremendous amount of money! Plus it's super easy. So last Wednesday was Johnny Appleseed's birthday (totally not a random fact it does relate to the story). With apples on both of our brains as we prepared apple-themed activities for our classrooms, Amy decided to make some apple baby food for Stella and try it out (see I told you it was related). Well, suffice it to say Stella was a fan of the apples. She chowed down and suddenly seemed to have an epiphany on how to eat and use her mouth and tongue. Carrots, although not as popular as the apples, also seemed to please her.

Not only has Stella been enjoying her newfound food items, but Amy and I have also reaped the benefits to feeding her solid food - the sleeping! She eats food for dinner and then after a little while follows that with a bottle. Then she sleeps, nearly all night long! She's alternating between sleeping through the night and waking for just one feeding. Needless to say, we are excited about this!

But, as with many things, it's bittersweet. Another reminder of how fast she is growing up, yet it's also a reminder to slow down and enjoy this. Enjoy the messy grins at feeding times. Enjoy the funny looks as she tries a new food. Enjoy the wide-eyed look of excitement as she waves her arms around in eager anticipation of the food (that happens a lot)! So we are, and its a lot of fun!












All is well, hungry, in Drosche Land.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad