Insta-Friday be Back

Over the weekend we attended an event that was honoring a dear family friend of ours. Gwen joined us. She was apparently high on crack that night as she ran nonstop for 3 hours straight only to stop and take a break on this chair to clap with everyone else. You can see the crazy in her eyes that resembles the crazy that her parents smoked earlier thinking that taking an 18 month old to an event with dinner and speakers past her bedtime was a good idea.

 

[caption id="attachment_5311" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="And then the kid didn't fall asleep for the hour long car ride that started 2 hours past bedtime! Contrary to what this picture might look like, she's not asleep in my arms. She's wide awake, 3 hours past her bedtime, interacting with stories. It was nuts. She had the nerve to wakeup only an hour past her usual wakeup time the next morning too."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The garden is coming along nicely. There's a pumpkin plant my MIL gave me and this thing is taking over. The leaves have doubled in size since I took this picture."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Our very first sign of something other than greenery! It's the beginnings of a pumpkin. On that note, I'm sad to report that gardening has, if anything, shown us how little knowledge we have in regards to how vegetables grow. It's a little unnerving when we're asking eachother how vegetables grow and having to google it to find out."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="This was my after lunch snack the other day. Apparently when I'm in the realworld I can't control myself in regards to soda. I think I've had one almost everyday since I've started working. Damn you soda!"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="This is Gwyneth patiently waiting for her breakfast, saying "chezzzz." It is my attempt at taking more pictures of her as there has been a huge decrease lately. This could be attributed to me working, of course, but snapping a pic results in a screaming fit because she wants to get her grimey hands on my phone or camera. So I suppose if you combine the two, you've got yourself a recipe for less-pictures of the cutie-patootie."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Watching Daddy mow the lawn. Allow me to tell you the story of our grass this year and how I downright tried to kill it because I thought my husband didn't know what he was doing. Turns out he had quite the elaborate sprinkler timing system that had been researched and tested. I went in and screwed it all up with all my "womanly know-it-all power" and damn near killed the grass. He"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="I was working with my co-workers and stopped to get a snack. They went and grabbed their respective yogurts while I busted out an entire egg sandwich. Full detailed blog post on how you can cook an egg in a coffee cup in the microwave coming soon."][/caption]

Elmo the Photo Bomber

While feelings for Elmo may not be as strong as monkey, he can still be found photo bombing photos of Gwyneth most days.







 

Insta-Friday {Booster Seat Cuteness Edition}

Las week we finally got Gwyneth a long overdue booster seat. Throughout the week I found myself oohing and ahhing at her as she ate with me at the table. She's becoming such a little girl and it's fun to see. Since my husband's phone was flooded with pictures of her in her booster seat I figured I'd make a mashup of them for Insta-Friday. They're not the best, but isn't that what Insta-Friday is all about? Grainy, blurry pictures of your toddler in a booster seat? I do declare.







And it should be known that these were all taken during breakfast. She does eat more than just cereal, ha.

[caption id="attachment_4814" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="This is her shoving it in her face mode, which is basically how she eats. Utensils are thrown to the side and hands are used in the most barbaric fashion."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_4844" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="I used to think sitting down and eating with her was cute and fun but now it's gotten exponentially more like having lunch with a little friend. She talks (gibberish of course) and eats real food and sits at the table. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4845" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="This one kills me."][/caption]

 

Insta-Friday {30th Edition}

This week was full of excitement and a four day freaking weekend. And that weather?! That glorious weather.  Take it away Insta-Friday!

[caption id="attachment_4679" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Every change of the season I get excited for the next one. As in, it's Summer, or at least it seems like it, and I can't wait for Fall. So when that temperature dropped and those storm clouds rolled in I couldn't help but pretend it was fall. My hot cup of tea intake may have increased trifold."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4678" align="aligncenter" width="312" caption="Gwyneth is finally instigating peek a boo and this week she moved her hands from just below her eyes to covering her actual eyes. It was a big accomplishment for us all. Except that we weren't really sure what she was doing and thought she was tired until she took her hands off of eyes with such excitement we realized what she was doing."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4676" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="We went to church on Sunday. For the past two weeks we have been late and rush into worship five minutes after dropping Gwen off at the nursery. Gwen cries the minute she sees that nursery. Luckily the workers are patient and can calm her down eventually. I just read that children need to get to know who they're being left with before you ditch them. Church nurseries often baffle me. We are typically badgered into not lingering, have had to often fight to say goodbye to her and you can't drop you child off more than 10 minutes before the service. It's no wonder all the kids are slightly traumatized at first. That being said, we adore the sweet teenagers and the mother who volunteer their time to give us a break on Sundays. I just don't know how to get around the Gwen being traumatized situation. Anybody have any tips?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4675" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="This is Gwen's "I'm in the backyard and you should pay attention to me but I like my independence and don't want to come in" face. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4672" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I whipped up a batch of the husband's favorite dinner. Enchiladas. The guy and his family are mexican food fiends. I have to constantly battle to not have mexican food every night of our lives."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4673" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The husband's birthday dinner, enchiladas. I may have hit a wall at 4 pm and tried to trick him into ordering pizza for his bday dinner. He did not want pizza he wanted mexican food. We weren't about to go to a mexican restaurant."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4674" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="This child loves to drink out of our giant water cups. She's managed a couple of times to take a drink and put it back with minimal spilling. It's funny to see such a little toddler man handle such a grown up cup like that."][/caption]

How was your week?

The Many Faces of Gwyneth Denise

By golly I love that kid.

Insta-Friday {28th Edition}

This week is a true mash-up of ridiculous and random iphone photos and my very first video. We're off to Tahoe for a weekend with the family, a motorcycle date and maybe some hiking. What are you up to this weekend?

[caption id="attachment_4578" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="My husband likes to steam mass amounts of veggies and take them in his lunch to work. He always leaves some extra for us and any parent, given the opportunity, likes to brag about their child eating their veggies. So, here you go. Gwyneth eating her veggies. "][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4576" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="With the hot weather comes afternoon smoothies, mama and baby size. Gwyneth cracks me up because she always gives me her cup when there's a blockage and she can't suck through the straw. I get rid of it and give it back to her and she goes on happily drinking her smoothie. Lately when she finishes her smoothie she gets all angry and hands me her cup, as if saying "fix it mama!" I then have to explain the fact that she drank it all. It's a complex situation and I think I might just make more smoothie in the future. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4575" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="I have no clue. I think I was just taking pics to send the husband. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4574" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Do you ever look at yourself and think, what the hell are you wearing? Yea, me neither, clearly. It actually doesn't look that bad in this picture. Oh Instagram, you're so cool you make even my worse dressed days look pseudo-alright."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4573" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="I took my time chopping our veggies for sloppy joes one night. I just love having prepped ingredients before cooking. It makes you feel like you're on a cooking show."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4572" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Swinging, picking her nose AND eating bread. Is that dangerous?"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4571" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Oh, you $1.45 mocha freeze from Costco. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4570" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="I fixed a slat in the gate to keep that furry little devil from running down the side yard. I told my husband twenty times that I fixed it. I also called my Dad to tell him too. It's just that I'm proud of getting out the drill and screwing the fence back together. A big moment for me. "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4569" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="I made the mistake of letting Gwen play in our car while we were doing stuff in the garage. It's a little Subaru that barely fits her car seat, so we never take her in it. But she insisted on playing in the car when we were leaving to go grocery shopping. So I got out her infant car seat and strapped her in for the mile drive to Costco. Don't worry, she's still totally in the weight limit for it. She pooped while sitting in it and got quite upset by the time we arrived at Costco. I'm hoping she learned her lesson, the Subaru is not a toy. Even though her mother originally showed her otherwise."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4568" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Sunny afternoons at the Sunderland household. With the warmer weather I've found myself not even bothering to dress the baby. From 12:30 on, she's typically in a diaper. "][/caption]

And behold! A Reno-Sparks Mom premiere! Our very first video!



Song by Architecture in Helsinki.

Insta-Friday {26th Edition}

How is it Friday already? This week zoomed right past and I'm not going to complain about that. Due to the zooming, I didn't really have time to make a fancy formatted Insta-Friday this week so it's all about wordpress formatting with (gasp!) captions.

[caption id="attachment_4363" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Ever since getting rid of the pacifiers Gwen finally grew attached to a stuffed animal. We're extremely grateful it's Elmo, since he won't be hard to find come the inevitable day we lose him. Anyone watch Modern Family this week? Yea, that will not be us, thank goodness."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4354" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="While I'd like to say this is Gwen waiting for Daddy to come home from work, because that'd be the cutest caption here, it would be a lie. She's begging to go out back. But gosh, this wind! It's been atrocious this week. And nothing is worse than being cooped up when it's seemingly beautiful outside."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4362" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="We went to San Rafael to hang out with some other moms this week. Unfortunately for us we couldn't find the other moms. So we went and almost got blown away at the playground and played at the little pond. That is such a nice park."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4361" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="I had a job interview this week and put on the ol' pantyhose. Gwen was intrigued and followed me around, picking them off my legs. It was cute/annoying and terrifying that she was going to rip a hole in them. She did not, but I did rub up against our tire in the garage and got grease on them. Yay!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4358" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Our morning routine consists of breakfast while watching the Daily Show in the background followed by my morning cup of tea. I relax and enjoy it while watching an episode of Friends. This particular am we decided to sit down at the dining room table and play. It was chaotic and Gwen may have tumbled off the chair."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4356" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="I wonder how many times this exact image has been posted on my blog. It's my go-to feel good movie that I can watch and re-watch until the day I die. "][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4355" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="On our way home from errands I was going to stop by McDonald's due to an insatiable hunger. Then I remembered the fruit salad I made for the husband's lunch. I came home and made myself a fruit salad and it was the best thing I've ever eaten. Like, seriously a bowl full of candy. I had another one the next day and the orange was all gross and it wasn't the same. I think I was being rewarded on that particular day for not going to McDonalds."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4360" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Our neighbor has the most amazing yard ever. He spends an incredible amount of time making it beautiful and lucky for us, his lilacs bloom right up against our kitchen window. It's seriously like a Yankee Candle but real life."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4359" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Just can't not take pictures of pretty flowers."][/caption]