So much has happened!

OK first thing...

Since our last post, we took our rental car (a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan) on our drive to MA and NH to attend Grandma's 90th birthday party. It was a surprise and she was shocked to see us all there. Donovan did well with everyone and while a little cranky, and a slight fever, he did well. It was fun to see everyone and it was a nice day.

        

You would never tell from these photos but Donovan was quite ill. When we left the party, he started coughing and then wheezing badly. His fever went up again and when we couldn't get it back down, we took him to the local emergency room in NH. After a LONG night they figured he had croup and an ear infection and admitted him. He stayed for 3 days until the wheezing was more under control. ON top of that, he also got bronchiolitis. Poor little guy!! We had to give him nebulizer treatments for about a week and he hated it but in the end, he tolerated them better... even played a bit. We are so glad he is better now though!!

  

Anyway, as I said earlier, on our trip we had a rental because of my car accident. We drove a minivan (nicknamed the monstermobile) and... sad to admit I LOVED it so...we got our own! Had my car back from the shop for ONE day before we traded it in for this:

 

A 2011 Toyota Sienna Sport Edition. I love it even more than the Dodge. It drives great, is sporty looking (well as sporty as a minivan can look) and I LOVE it. It has a backup camera, XM, all the doors are power... 

yeah it rocks.

We've been kind of laying low since we've been back from our trip. Donovan had MANY doctor visits after the ordeal and we have just been letting him get better. We'll be taking a trip the end of the month to North Carolina and my business has been picking up so I have some photo shoots in the near future which is great!  We're looking forward to summer and being outdoors with Donovan as much as possible! We even got him a little kiddie pool for the backyard and are looking at getting him a little swingset  for his birthday :)

Here are some more photos from the past few weeks:

            

Cell phones and driving do NOT mix!!!

Donovan and I were in a car accident today. WE ARE BOTH OK. I was very shaken for a few hours after though.

I was driving down the road and a car (guy on his cell) swerved into my lane. I reacted without looking and slammed the side of my car into one of those yellow concrete parking lot poles (WHAT is the purpose of those dumbass things?!?!!?)

The front passengers side door needs to be replaced (it can't even open) and the back passenger door will need to be banged out and repainted. I am hoping they don't tell us we can't use Donovan's car seat anymore although, luckily, it's the infant carrier which is about to be retired for him.

One nice thing is that we have awesome insurance. I am taking the car to a Progressive Conseirge Service Center on Monday. I'll drive my car in, they'll assess the damage, repair it and my rental will even be waiting for me! They'll be giving me a rental that is the same car I already drive - which is awesome. When the car is done they'll call and tell me to come get it and I leave the rental there with them. Hooray! I am all about the one stop shopping, repair, etc as that is SO MUCH EASIER with Donovan in tow. 

My poor car :-(

   

Playdate with the "Girlfriend"

Yesterday, Donovan had a playdate with Remy, his little girlfriend. He met Remy through Gymboree and she is about a month older than he is. They squeal when they see each other and hold hands, play and steal binkies from each other. We had a lot of fun... Melissa and I went out to lunch first and then we took the kiddos to the park (well, we had to find a park but the one we found was pretty awesome!)

Once there I took a lot of photos of them. Not only for us to have but to work on promoting my new photography business (http://www.wix.com/aoportraits/AnneeOlden). Thanks to them and for my great gift idea:

I already have FOUR booking for my services!! I am so excited and really feel like this business venture could actually take off and grow into something. Mom and Dad... happy I am using that photography degree you paid for??? :-)

Here are some of the photos from the playdate, look in our Picasa album to see them all!

          

Sippy Cups and Such

OK so... we've been trying to master the sippy cup. It's not working as well as we'd like. Donovan prefers to chew on it and has not yet figured out he needs to suck on it. So he looks like this while he tries to drink:

 

At least he looks happy! We'll keep trying but who knows what will happen and how long it'll take. We've tried every trainer sippy we could find so far! I figure it's a skill he'll just pick up at some point. That's how he figured out how to mash food with his gums... I mean, I didn't show him how to do that... one day he just did it! Now he is a gerber puffy and biscuit fool. As soon as he sees the containers for those things his little legs start going crazy and he gets all excited. Since he has figured out the mashing, I have also given him some small banana pieces to try as well... he loves that too! I am nervous about choking though and wonder how small I should make the pieces... pea sized right? Here he is after enjoying some puffs and a biscuit:

Clean up these days is tons of fun... I think we'll be needing more frequent baths!! He'll love that as he LOVES bathtime. Especially now that he figured out he can splash Mommy and Daddy in the process! :)

As for Stephen and I... we're doing well. Stephen lets me sleep in every weekend which is awesome and  I have been trying to get the house clean and get dinner made as many nights as possible. Things are starting to get easier now that Donovan has a routine and I feel more rested. We've been talking about another baby and perhaps we'll start trying again soon - who knows :)

Brooke is good - she'll be 2 in July and has apparently entered her annoying phase of puppydom. is she even still a puppy? She's gotten more needy and more of an attention hog but that may be due to the increased attention paid to Donovan as he is doing so much more these days. she's jealous. However... she LOVES to play with Donovan and he loves her to pieces. He laughs and laughs when they play. Here are some pictures of them playing:

   

Not too much going on here. I have started a Mommy Video Blog so feel free to check that out here: http://themommyvideos.blogspot.com/  Not sure why... just seemed like fun.
I also started a photography business and you can see that here: http://www.wix.com/aoportraits/AnneeOlden I am hoping to build up a good local business with this and already have a few bookings for my services!

The last photo I'll leave you with tonight is on Donovan in his new big boy pajamas... he is just too cute in them!