Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Layla's First Christmas!






Well, we made it thru Layla's first Christmas! On Saturday, she got to meet her Great Grandma Jean! Grandpa and Grandma Sherman and Great Grandma Jean met us for lunch and we all got to hang out and watch the Packer's lose at the Milwaukee Grill in Janesville (thanks for the recommendation, Gobbz). Layla loved Grandma Jean and says THANK YOU for all the WONDERFUL gifts.
Christmas Eve was spent at Nonni's house in Sun Prairie. The pictures here are of Layla with Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Ray. I think Ray tried kidnapping Layla Bean several times. ;)
The last pic you see here is of Layla in her exersaucer from Santa. She loves it... It's supposed to be for a 9 month old, so she gets a bit overwhelmed by it after about 10 minutes or so, but she gets more and more used to it each time we plop her big butt into it.
Of course we can't forget about 'ol Iron Guts, Shovely Joe, Bloody Gums, Scruffy Paws (each of the nicknames comes from a classic Hudson story). As you'll see, his good friend Rocky gave him a bag of tennis balls for Christmas. He decided he likes carrying the entire bag around, rather than taking one ball out at a time. Of course.
Oh, and Layla started eating cereal this weekend too. More pics to come (no seriously, I'll post the pics, I've given up on Mr. Mom sticking with this blog thing...oh, I'm going to get it for saying that) of messy face and her first cereal experience.
Merry Christmas to all!!! And Happy New Year!!!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007



Okay.. I know... I couldn't be more annoying with all these pictures. But I'm a PROUD mama and am SO excited to be sharing these. We get our full disk of photos this week in the mail... can you imagine how many emails and blog posts I'll be doing then??

Hope you're enjoying these. If not, well, stop looking at our blog then.

;)

Monday, December 10, 2007

Our Little Santa




HO! HO! HO!

Cherry Mristmas From Layla and Papa

Bean's first photo shoot









Here's a preview of some of the photos taken of our little glamour girl yesterday. We had her 3 month photos taken yesterday with a professional photogrpaher. It was so much fun. Jake and I laughed almost the entire time. She was so interested in the lights and flashes and couldn't quite figure out what the heck was going on the entire time. Of course, we couldn't get her to smile to save our lives. As soon as we got in the car to leave however, she was smiling from EAR TO EAR. Little shyster. ;)

There'll be plenty more photos sent to us on a disk by our photographer soon. We'll of course share them with you as we get them!!!

Oh, and dad was VERY annoyed with me dressing him up on a PACKER Sunday and dragging him to a family photo shoot during the game. Yes, that was MY BAD. But you gotta do what you gotta do as a mama who wants pretty pics of her family, right???

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Christmas Hunter Bean









Just a typical Saturday here at Bean's house. Dad was up early to go drive some deer... he came home solo, with no deer in hand. Boo. Bean and I stayed back and did the normal Sat routine: tank up on formula (Bean, not me), sing, dance, clean, watch "Run's House", and grocery shopped. Once dad got home, he decided it was time to let Bean try on his favorite blaze orange hunting hat. Fits nice, hugh?

We put our tree up last week and will be decorating it tonight. Layla could give two hoots if the tree has ornaments on it or not. She loves it just the way it is - with lights and that's it. She stares at it all the time.

Fatty pants went back to sleeping thru the night again on Wednesday. Whew. She doesn't nap all that much during the day, so she's wiped at night and sleeps like a rock. Knock on wood.

Time to finish the Xmas shopping. I think I'll manage to get all the gifts this year without leaving the house. Thank God for the Internet.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Another Day in the Life




Well another day has come and gone. It is snowing pretty hard right now and I am super pumped to be seeing more and more of the white stuff. Time to cut the Polaris' loose for another season.

Layla has decided that she does not want to sleep through the night anymore; which is fine because even when she was Hudson was not. I will use the night before last for my time line description....

8 pm Put Layla to bed

9:30 pm Jake and April and Hudson go to bed ( I know that is lame, but we were tired need sleepy)

11 pm Wake up to April yelling at Hudson who was sitting on her head asking to go outside to puke because Old Iron Guts has not learned his lesson and is still eating things that he shouldn't

12:47 am Wake up to a blood curdling scream from April who is having a night terror

1:30 am Finally fall back to sleep after my heart rate returns to normal

1:45 am Wake to to April telling me that it is my turn to let the dog out to puke. (When I open the door to a frigid blast of North wind Hudson decides he isn't going out in that and tries to retreat back into the house, only to be thrown by the scruff of his neck out the door. Just seconds after he lands he throws up chunks of an old tennis ball)

3:15 am Aprils turn again with Hudson

4 am Layla decides that she wants in on the action. She is hungry and wants a little schneck right this second or she is going to shit a kitten.

5 am Alarm Let's Get This Day Rollin'

Cherry Mistmas to All and To All a Good Night

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Would you watch our reality t.v. show?

I told Theresa yesterday that Jake and I have decided to start playing the lottery as our instant "get rich quick" scheme. Becoming a parent is like being bitch slapped into the reality of financial hardship and Jake and I are budgeting like crazy... when I say budgeting, I don't mean saving either. I mean STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT. I'm the "strict" one in the house when it comes to the finances and am monitoring everything that comes in and goes out like a hawk. Poor Jake. So yesterday as the morning news was talking about some random $100 million dollar power ball winner in some ho dunk town, I thought "Seriously, look at the people who play the lottery. It's all the people that are basically up against a wall wishing in one and and you know whating in the other." So why aren't we playing!? When I told Theresa this her recommendation was for us to have our own reality t.v. show that we could make money off of just for letting a camera crew chase us around. Jake, Layla, Hudson and I. I guess I'd watch the show... dog who eats rat poison, locks the family out of the truck only to have the local police rally to save the day, stay at home army dad, working mom who's trying to figure out how to speak to adults again after talking baby for 3 months strait, broke down vehicles, unexpected bills, over the top spastic mom who most likely has a combination of A.D.D., O.C.D., post partum (how do you spell that), anxiety and just plain control issues (all combined with humor of course) and a hilarious baby that just keeps getting fatter.


What would we call it?? "The Shermans go crazy"???

Or, I could just start signing up for every game show and HGTV reality show out there in hopes we win a million on "Deal or No Deal" or win a complete home makeover or clean sweep from one of the thousands of t.v. shows there are out there that somehow find these families that wish they could redecorate their home but only have $21 left of their biweekly allowance.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Super Lock Out Dog

Well, Mr. Mom, Huddie duds and Layla went on a little adventure this morning to the Hartford Kwik Trip... Dad needed to get gas and Layla Bean was fussy so she told dad to take her for a drive so she could relax and get some sleep. So, dad thought it'd be a good idea to head to the other end of town and give Layla what she wanted. They got their gas and paid ... Dad got bean all strapped in and cozy, closed the door and what do you think happened next? Hudson got over excited about dad coming back in the truck (imagine that) and started jumping around... then he hit the lock button and locked himself and bean in the truck and dad OUT. So, Jake just had to call the police, tell them he had a dog and baby locked in his truck and they came right over. Good 'ol Hartford police. Good thing the crime rate in our town is pretty low. They had nothing else to do so jetted right over. I think it took them 5 minutes to get there and about 30 seconds to get the truck open. What I'm not sure about is whether the cops rolled in at full speed with their sirens blaring and lights flashing...wouldn't that be a sight???

Hudson. Old Iron Guts. Super lock out dog. Never a dull moment in the Sherman family.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Trigger and the Hunt Team '07


Iron Guts



Hudson Feeling Sick and Getting Some Sympathy from Dad

T Meyer and Layla






Layla being Layla with a little Help From T Meyer in her AWESOME new Home

More Pics





Hudson Prior to His Little Incident Playing with his Buddy Rocky

Pictures For All to See




Hudson the Babysitter

Layla and Her Favorite Thing to Do

I'm In

Not to disappoint I am in and posting my 2 cents for the last week or so.

Starting with opening weekend of the gun deer season. Weather was less than desirable on Saturday with limited to no action...minus Peter (Trigger) Best downing a doe at the crack of 7 Sat. morning, and the classic marksmanship of Trigger again on Sunday afternoon knocking down a 4 pointer. Pictures to follow.

Back to Hartford for the start of the week and then off to Osceola to visit B and T Meyer for the Turkey Day festivities. We left Wednesday night in a white out and arrived in O Town around 11. Family members making the trip this year were April, Layla, Jake and Hudson.

Brian and I hunted most of the time with some deer sightings, but no shooting.

Theresa's family hosted a delicious Thanksgiving Feast so with a break in the hunting action we settled in to watch the Packer game and enjoy a great meal. Thank You Again.

Saturday morning we were set to depart O'Town when Hudson decided that it would be a good idea to down a helping of Rat Poison before we got on the road. What a nightmare. To everyone reading if this ever happens to you this is what you do. First you call Poison control then you feed your animal 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide (this will require 2 men in our case B Meyer to hold Hudson's jaws apart and me to shoot the peroxide down his throat with a turkey baster) this will induce vomiting within about 10-15 minutes with light activity. Then a call to the vet for a prescription of vitamin K1 for the dog. Vitamin K1 is the antidote to rat poison in the animal world.

Back to Hartford with the family. Sunday I hung outdoor Christmas lights. Hudson normally my number one helper during such an event was not able to work to his full potential. Hudson was very sick on Sunday. Even though Hudson was not able to help as much as he would have liked we finished the lights just after dark. An aside to this is that we live in a neighborhood that models their holiday displays after the likes of a famous man we all know and love Clark W Griswald Jr. I have never seen anything like it. No exaggeration thousands and thousands of lights plus inflatable snow globes, inflatable reindeer, inflatable Santa's wooden cut outs, and music.

Monday Layla and I took Hudson to the vet. He got some medicines and is back to about 65% today. He is going to make a full recovery I am guessing by the end of the week.

For now that is all. Happy ThanksGiving and a Merry Christmas to all. Tis the Season!

Jake April Layla and Hudson a.k.a Old Iron Guts

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Start Harassing Dad

Okay... it's time for you all to start chiming in and giving dad a few nudges to get movin' w/our family blog. He's had his hands full, but is definitely into the swing of things now w/Layla Bean at home. He says he's having fun w/her and I know Layla loves daddy and the fun things they do. I unfortunately don't know how to post videos to our blog (and don't have the patients to learn) so need Jake to do that part. I've got a few videos saved that he could post...hopefully soon. But, we need your help. Shoot him an email, leave him a threatening message, whatever you have to do.. but start demanding more pics/videos, if you'd like to see them.

Tomorrow will be Layla's first LONG trip. We're driving 5+ hours to Osceola to see Auntie Theresa and Uncle Brian. Layla hasn't met them yet, so it should be fun. And we finally get to see the new Meyer house... what a treat.

Happy Turkey Day to everyone!!!!

Saturday, November 17, 2007





These pictures make me laugh... First off, check out bean in her cute little pink outfit w/new jeans. She got this outfit from Auntie Rachel. It's a 6-9 month outfit!!! Notice how her jeans are unbuttoned!! That's not because I forgot! It's because she's so FAT! She looks like she just ate a turkey dinner and passed out. The other pics are of her having fun watching hunting videos w/dad (seriously, she was into it). Then her giggling on dad's lap about who knows what.

Our fat little bean. Just over 10 weeks old now!!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

My babies




Well, as a "back to work mama" I've just now realized that I haven't posted any pictures of Layla or the fam in a while. After searching for a picture or two to post, I see that I've taken far more videos than I have pictures. Mental note: take more pictures and have Jake show me how to upload videos so I can do it when he's not home. He and Layla bean are on their way home from Grandpa and Grandma Sherman's. I cannot wait to see them. Last night was my first night away from the bean. Boy did I cry when her and dad left! But I made it through my night with shining colors. I'm just happy they're on their way home now. And I'm happy that Grandma and Grandpa Sherman got to spend a full day with Layla! How fun.

Here are some pictures of my babies - Layla bean, who's getting SO big, Hudson, who as you will see in this picture with dad, truly thinks that he is still the NUMBER ONE baby in this house and of course, Jake... okay, so he's not such a baby, but he sure is cute.

Keep your eyes peeled for more pics and videos of little fatty. ;)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Workin' Mom, Stay at Home Dad

Well, today is my 1st day back at work, and, I'm starting a new job. It was HARD to leave Layla Bean this a.m... I cried right away when I woke up and went and cuddled her for a bit, then curled up on Jake's lap in the fetal position for a good cry. Then, Jake and Layla drove me to work and when I was saying good bye to her I started crying again. There's nothing worse than crying your eyes out when you know you have to stop and pull yourself together for a day. But I shook it off and am ready to face the world as a workin' mama. Jake is at home with Bean today as his first day as Mr. Mom. He's doing great and I couldn't be more proud of him.

We're in a slight transition with computers and such... but we'll try to get more pictures posted very soon!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Hudson babysits


Here's Hudson and his lil' sister. Chillin' like bro and sis. He was taking care of her while I sent some emails. Yep, and he babysits for free! And yes, I had the bottle propped... but only for like a minute. Okay??? ;)

Monday, November 5, 2007

Layla's First Shots :(


Today Layla had her 2 month doctor appointment. She got a clean bill of health from our doctor, which is great news. She now weighs 13.5 lbs and is 24 inches long. She's measuring in the 90th percentile for height and weight and 55th percentile for head measurements (which is surprising considering how huge her mom and dad's domes are). She also got three shots. Mom sure was nervous but I didn't cry. Layla screamed and cried until I had her dressed and in her car seat, which is where she feels most comfortable. Now, she's sleeping like an angel. So, we made it thru the first shots appointment with flying colors. Whew! Next time though, daddy has to take her. I don't always want to be the one to see my baby girl get poked with needles! Boo!!

P.S. NO, she's not ALWAYS in her car seat. It just seems that way because I have a lot of pics of her in it. That's just when I seem to remember to grab the camera.

P.S.S. I go back to work one week from today, at which point Jake puts on his Mr. Mom shoes. So, be sure you're all staying on him to keep up with the blog! That's part of the Mr. Mom duties, I just don't think he knows that yet (in fact, I think he's in for a huge surprise...hehehe). Really though, he's going to be GREAT. He's an AWESOME dad.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Layla Makes a Stinky

Growing Bean - 2 Months Old







Look at how big our baby girl is getting!!! Can you believe it? She's two months old now and growing like a tank. Still not sleeping thru the night, but she's definitely made some progress. We've got the happy little baby we'd been hoping for, for so long. She cries when she's tired, has wet/poopy diapers, or needs some grub. Otherwise, she's very very curious, likes to explore, chatter, smile and laugh. Her latest thing is laughing just as she's falling asleep. No idea what it is that she's laughing at, but it sure is cute.

Latest pics are mainly of bean just hangin' out. There's one here of her and Uncle Gobbz. Awe, aren't they cute? Uncle Gobbz impressed me. He held bean and rocked her to sleep, and he even knew what "object permanence" was. Strange.

:)

Monday, October 29, 2007

Layla's first Halloween






Layla Bean's first Halloween... she dressed as a little devil. Perfect! Dad was VERY excited to hand out candy and show off our little devil. Fun times.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I have TWO kids!!!

SERIOUSLY, having a 2yr old german shorthair and a baby IS like having TWO kids. Hudson is like a frickin' toddler. Constantly demanding attention and pulling funny stunts. On Sun a.m., dad slept in after pulling the night shift w/Layla. I was up feeding Layla, which meant Hudson was being ignored. I got up to look outside and saw Hudson sitting in the yard, along with BOTH of Jake's slippers, right next to each other, my jeans, and two of my shirts. The only thing missing was our underwear. Then the neighbors really would've thought Jake and I had a successful date night on Saturday! But that was his way of getting us outside. It worked, so props to him. Today, he REFUSES to come in the house.

Last night, Layla had a good night, so of course, HUDSON had to have a bad one. He woke me up by SITTING ON ME, literally. That means, "mom, move your ass, I have to poop or puke immediately." I couldn't do it. I'd just laid down after fighting w/ Layla for an hour and a half and told Jake to take him out. He did and back came Hudson. Not long later, he was up and making that barf noise that dogs make... I got up and let him out. Of course, I COMPLETELY forgot that it happened until just now as I was putting laundry away... there it was, staring me in the face. I pile of Hudson's barf w/ some doll parts in it (I gave him his own baby doll and he took his aggression for Layla out on it, apparently). Great. I bet this stain will come right up, since it's been there for about 9 hours now.

I've been organizing all a.m. and am ready to attempt taking a nap since Layla is out cold and Hudson keeps coming in and out, in and out, pretty much head butting me to come with him. Poor dog. I've already walked him and had one round of ball fetching, but that's not nearly enough. If only I could get him to work on the house cleaning.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Thank You's







Layla has lots of thank you's to send out this week!! First, thank you to Kelly, Matt and Teagan for babysitting for me for the very first time I've ever been left without mommy and daddy!! Mommy and daddy were able to get out of the house and now realize that Layla will not explode without them! I had a great time and am glad Teagan could come too!

Also, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Sherman! They came to stay with me on Saturday night so mom and dad could hit the Best's Badger party in Madison. It was good to see the Best family and even get out of Washington county for a bit!

Finally, thank you to Auntie Theresa and Uncle Brian for the cute outfit (I'm wearing it in one of the pics you see posted here). I love it, and of course, so does dad... since there's a deer on it! Thank you for sending mama her next, "What to Expect" book too! She plans on using it as her baby raising bible. :)