Lolly the Trolley

Sanjay found out that Lolly the Trolley was having free rides this particular day. There were several festivities through the day. We visited Coventry, Ohio City, and Treemont. Check out the Monster Trucks in the background. Pax was actually scared and Sanjay had to take him to a different section of the park. It was a great day that ended with a picnic in the park.

Green All Purpose Cleaner

From the frist day Pax began crawling, I began thinking about the harsh cleaners I was using on the floors, particularly the kitchen floor. I read the ingredients and began researching their potential harm on children. I opted for a homemade green cleaner with natural ingredients. I found the recipe on Oprah's website. I have been successfully using this cleaner for several months now and wanted to share with anyone who is interested in making their homemade cleaner. In addition to it being a safer choice for my crawling baby, it is better for the environment, it is less inexpensive than purchasing the leading brand cleaner and it works great. Enjoy!

Green All Purpose Cleaner
-2 cups water
-1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
-1 teaspoon pure castile soap
-3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
-20 drops tea tree oil
-20 drops lavender oil

Just mix and pour into a spray bottle. I use on almost all surfaces (except wood).
You can also substitute lemongrass oil for lavender oil for kitchen use.

I hope you someone finds this as useful as we do!

Paxton's First Boat Ride

Pax experienced his first boat ride on Suba's new boat. Jess and I had a little trouble putting on his life jacket and his face got a little smooshed.

The sun was in his eyes so Jess gave him her sunglasses to wear. He actually kept them on for a good ten minutes.

and then he had enough and fell asleep.

Our Baby Turns ONE!

I can't believe our baby is ONE! Over the weekend we invited our friends and family to a local park and celebrated with food, good company, presents and yummy cake our friend Jacquelyn made. We even had a surprise guest from the baby Chick-Fil-A cow. Our niece Rylie danced with him/her? the entire time. I made Pax his own healthy cake which was bread with applesauce on top. He was a trooper and ate some of it, but then I caved in and gave his a little taste of the real stuff. I know the ingredients were the real thing since my friend made it. Everyone was so generous and helpful with cleanup.

Tuesday was Paxton's actual birthday and I was kind of emotional. Sanjay and I reminisced about the details of our pregnancy and the 22 hours of labor. I remember how supportive Sanjay was during labor and how I felt the first time I laid eyes on Pax. I have never experienced anything like it in my 29 years of life. It was by far the most incredible feeling I have ever felt in my entire life. So short, yet so powerful.

Sanjay and I took Pax on a picnic on the beach (the same beach we had our wedding pictures taken). We also got ice cream and let Pax have a little taste. It was a beautiful day, much like September 1, 2008, just a little cooler.

Will post pictures soon!

Owen and a Birthday Cake

Here is a picture of our friends baby Owen! Doesn't he look like he could be my baby? Below is a sneek peek of Paxton's birthday cakes (minature version) that our wonderful friend Jacquelyn is baking for us. She is so wonderful and so talented! By the way, Owen is Jacquelyn's baby. Awwww, now you can see how these pictures relate.

Jacob Leaves For College

My step brother, Jacob is off to college at BW. It was emotional/hectic day for Linda and my dad. Jacob is loving his college experience thus far and I'm so excited to see what the future hold for him!

Great Wolf Lodge

Our family vacation this year was spent at Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark with Kelly, Eric, Rylie, Mom and Suba. Pax loves the water and even went down a little waterslide. Out two year old neice, Rylie was fearless of the waterslides as well and went down some pretty big ones. Sanjay and I and Kelly and Eric rode double down the waterslides and they were awesome. Really, they were very fast and soooo fun! We spent one night there and one night at Put-n-Bay.