2 is the new 1

Surviving Winter

2012-01-30T08:53:00.003-05:00

A few Saturday's ago we went to the Warren indoor Aquatic Center. Emily wasn't feeling that well but she was a trooper. Rebecca really needed to get out and do something fun, and we hadn't been to this pool in almost exactly a year. The last time I took Rebecca I was very, very pregnant.

Standing back so she didn't get soaked when the big bucket dumped.

She loved Makenna's life jacket!

My teething beauty.

Baby Steps

2012-01-21T09:13:00.001-05:00

The past few days Emily has started pulling herself up on the furniture. This morning she side-stepped along the coffee table to get her sippy cup. Unfortunately the video is pretty dark since the sun hadn't come up yet.

Afterward she had to take a break.

Lots of teeth!

Daddy's Girl

2012-01-15T20:45:00.001-05:00

Eleven Months!

2012-01-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

Making the best of the flu

2012-01-03T21:26:00.001-05:00

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T21:19:00.001-05:00

Emily's current favorite character, Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.

Every tree should have an Alvin.

Emily likes to take the Clone Wars bulb down and play with it.

An owl I got at Bronners a few weeks ago.

Our first Christmas ornament from my parents.

An ornament of Rob's from the year he was born. His Mom gave us all of his childhood ornaments as a wedding gift.

My Mom got this little sprout ornament for me last year when I was pregnant with Emily.

Rebecca picked out a Dora ornament at Bronners.

And a Belle.

Choc-Nuk!

A centerpiece Rebecca and I put together.

Rebecca's Advent Wreath she made at school!

Blackberries

2011-12-07T16:18:00.001-05:00

Go Emily!

2011-11-29T23:30:00.001-05:00

Emily pulled herself up today! I was sitting in the chair in the living room and I hear Rebecca start cheering "Yay Em! You did it! All by yourself!" I looked over and sure enough she was standing up looking all around like she had no idea what just happened. Then she fell over. It went down a lot like this.

9 Month Stats

2011-11-17T16:52:00.001-05:00

Emily had her 9 month well visit today! She is 19 pounds, 1/2 ounce and 29 1/2 inches long. A growth update isn't complete without comparing her to her big sis who was a mere 16 pounds and 27 1/4 inches at this age.

She's crawling all over, babbling and starting to try and clap. It's funny because she just puts her hands together, kind of folded, and then looks at them and starts cracking up. She'll figure it out soon.

Here she is today, I helped her up and then she stood and played at her little table for quite a while before toppling over.

I'm working on some real updates, there's a lot going on and I'm falling behind.

Outtake!

2011-11-04T15:01:00.001-04:00

IMG_8252, a photo by durr.sara on Flickr.

I was going through our Fall photo shoot picking favorites for our Christmas cards and I came across this silly one I had to share!

Three year stats

2011-09-19T16:45:00.001-04:00

Rebecca had her 3 year well visit today. She is fearless at the doctor now that she is getting older and has seen Emily go so many times. She is 33 1/4 pounds and 33 3/4 inches. I tried to prepare her for shots by telling her last night that she was going to see Doctor Spider to make sure she is growing and that she would be getting a poke. Well it turns out that she didn't need any vaccinations today and they did her CBC back in January so they didn't even need to prick her finger. So what does she do but throw a full blown tantrum because she wasn't getting a shot. The nurse and I could not help but laugh. When the nurse asked why she was crying she said because she didn't get a poke so she doesn't get candy for being a good girl! The nurse kindly gave her a sucker anyways.

When we are about ready to go, Dr Snyder came back in and said their flu shot shipment had just arrived and although they weren't giving them out until October if we wanted to stick around for a few minutes the girls could get them today. Rebecca was actually able to get the mist which she hated and Emily took her shot like a champ and shed not a single tear.

Have I mentioned I love our pediatrician? She always seems to really be thinking about her patients. It was much easier for me to just stick around an extra 15 minutes instead of driving all the way back with both girls another day.

Preschool!

2011-09-15T18:45:00.002-04:00

I still remember my first day of preschool. My Dad took me, and I wore my favorite baby blue sweatsuit. I remember when school was over he walked out from behind the mirrored glass. I was so surprised to see him, I couldn't believe he was there all along and I didn't even know. I remember running up to him and my sleeves and pant legs were both pushed all the way up. As I got older I learned he stayed to make sure I kept my clothes on, apparently I was quite the stripper back in the day.

Now I am the parent dropping my daughter off and hoping she will be on her best behavior.

We looked at a few schools last Spring and she has been talking about it ever since. It was such a long time from when we went to when she got to actually start so we associated the timeline with her birthday. We told her she got to start school when it was her birthday, when she was three. Ironically she got to go in on her actual birthday for a little open house and then started the following week. After talking about school and what to expect, we had to set a few things straight; mommy was not going with her, and she didn't get to ride the bus. When we got to the open house she got to playing with all the kids and then stopped to tell me across the room "Mom, you go, then you come back and get me!" I assured her that come Tuesday I would be leaving and she would get to stay with her teachers and all her new friends.

When it came time to go, she was very excited. Rob took the day off so he could be there with me to take her and pick her up. While I was getting her ready she wanted to brush her own hair. I made a sad face and told her she didn't even need me anymore. She said "Mama, I go, then I come back and I need you". So thoughtful of her Mommy's feelings. When we dropped her off she gave us each a kiss and went off to do her thing. The first week they had shortened days so instead of going all the way home after we dropped her off, we just went to breakfast and sat in shock at how grown up our little girl had become.

When we went back to get her she was of course so excited to see us. She gave us each a big hug and even gave Emily a hug and kiss and told her she missed her. We could tell she had a great time just by how happy she was but it was like pulling teeth to get out any details. We get emailed their lesson plans each week so I asked her a few questions based on what I knew she was doing, that seemed to get a little more out of her. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she of course said the snack.

Her first day.

Daddy walking her in.

Breakfast on day two.

Crashed after her 2 hour day. I can't wait to see what the full 3 hours does to her next week!

Arrgggh Matey!

2011-09-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

Rebecca has been really into pirates lately so it was a no-brainer to throw her a Pirate Princess third birthday extravaganza. As soon as boxes started arriving with pirates and parrots it was all she talked about. One day last week I could hear her talking in the monitor when she woke up from her nap so I turned up the volume and hear; "I so excited for my pirate party. I having a pirate party. Arrrrgh matey!" We have a video monitor so along with the "Arrrgh Matey" I can see her doing the squinty pirate wink. It was priceless.

Possibly my favorite part was the treasure map invitations made by Kari Stroschein. I casually gave her a few ideas and she ran with it. The only thing that could have been better is if they had come with the edges already burned. I spent all of nap time for 3 days burning them and each day I would go back inside with the God-awful stench of campfire ash. This was the last one left that I didn't mail because I accidentally burned off the t in "at" and I refuse to burn another one just to scan.

Greeting her first guest in the driveway and telling me "My party's getting started!"

All the kids had to walk to plank to earn their pirate loot.

Goody bags with pirate hats, patches, telescopes and swords. Yes, we had 20 kids running around our yard with foam swords. Mommy was against the idea and lost but there were no incidents of violence (that I am aware of).

Auntie Erin throwing Rebecca off the plank.

Reece and his new pet.

Pirates!

A princess!

The cake!

I lost an hour of my life to rolled silverware.

The pirate ship!

The shark made it onto the deck.

Lots and lots of pirates!

Rob had a few Saturday's off in August so he made good use of his time constructing this 12 foot pirate ship for all the kids to play on.

We got very luck with the weather. I stressed and stressed over the forecast for all of two weeks prior. After the monsoon that came through during her party last year I was certain we couldn't have that horrible luck 2 years in row. It rained for 4 days straight leading up to this years party. It even rained, hard, all morning they day-of. But, around noon the clouds broke and the Sun came out.

She still has to get down how old she is...

Camp Geega 2011

2011-08-27T10:22:00.003-04:00

I had every intention of doing a slideshow to music like last year, but after I got started and lost 1/2 my work I became very frustrated and gave up. The pictures are small to fit within the margins but you can always click on them to view them larger. If you want to see all of the pictures I took you can click here to view them on my Flickr photostream.

The best picture I could get of all of them on the dock. It was very bright!

Walking to the beach.

Toes in the sand!

Mayhem at the beach. Yes, that is a floating wagon.

Duck, duck, GOOSE!

Ready to drive the boat!

Lily wouldn't look at me.

Papa helping Rebecca drive.

Lucas brought out an old portable DVD player to double as the GPS system. Classic Lucas.

What do you say you give me one of those?

More relaxing.

Alvin. And Theodore.

Papa getting ready to fish for chipmunks.

Alvin not sure if he wants peanuts or coffee.

Making his getaway.

Back for more.

WATERMELON!

Chelsea did a craft with the kids each day. Having a structured activity for them each morning was probably the best thing we added/changed this year.

Scavenger Hunt.

They needed a snail.

Geega and Emily helping on the hunt.

Visors.

Auntie Erin getting some love.

Heading back to camp after a hike in the woods.

Only because they can't take turns:

Emily's first time in the swing!

We walked A LOT!

One of Rebecca's favorite parts of camping was the little sink in the bathroom she could reach all by herself.

Everyone from Camp Geega 2011 minus Erin.

Ice Cream right before the monsoon.

Lily dropped her cone.

Papa reading while Emily takes a little cat nap during the rain.

How Emily spent the majority of the week:

I strapped Rebecca in the car to leave and went back to grab the diaper bag. She was out cold within 30 seconds. Still parked on the camp site.

I don't know what was harder; going to Camp Geega last year pregnant, or this year with an infant. Looking forward to neither for next year!!!

Emily 6 Month Stats

2011-08-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

Miss Emily had her 6 month check up today. She weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds, 5 ounces and is 27.5 inches long. She is 1 pound, 10 ounces heavier and 2 full inches longer than her sister was at 6 months.

WTF?

2011-08-05T08:01:00.000-04:00

We had our babies at the same time. Why don't I look like this?

Let's eat!

2011-07-20T22:05:00.000-04:00

I gave Emily some oatmeal the other day because I was bored and she was constipated.

The first bite.

She liked it!

Now she's not so sure...

All cleaned up.

She'd rather have her toe...

Or some mama's milk.

We'll try again in a few weeks.

98 degrees

2011-07-20T21:50:00.000-04:00

No not the band. That is how hot it was here today. So we went to the aquatic center, twice. When we got home for her nap she walked in the door, plopped in her chair and sighed... "I need to go to bed!" She napped for 3 hours, we had dinner and then left Emily with Daddy and went back for more!

It's supposed to be over 100 tomorrow. We plan to stay inside in the a/c and start getting things set aside for Camp Geega!

Happy Birthday to me.

2011-07-19T10:24:00.001-04:00

I am officially "1 year from 30" as Rob used to count it down. I got yummy gourmet cupcakes, grilled steaks, the new Brad Paisley CD, a new wallet, sandals, a magic bullet and 700 thread count sateen sheets (since sleep is my new favorite thing). I know, they spoiled me! I gave him ideas in a wide array of price ranges and he surprised me with all of it. Such a good husband :)

The sweetest thing

2011-07-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

Emily is 5 months old today. We are in the process of weaning and of course it is not easy on mommy. Breastfeeding was the thing I looked most forward to once I learned I was expecting another baby. Something about capturing it has made letting go easier.

Go Tigers!

2011-07-05T09:06:00.010-04:00

For Rob's birthday I was able to get 4 tickets to the July 1st Tiger's game from a friend. I told him he had to take me, then he could pick the 2 other people. I was secretly hoping he didn't pick the kids and I could get a little break but he really wanted to take Rebecca. So ticket #3 went to Rebecca and #4 was his good friend Mike.

We have been lucky we haven't really had to hire babysitters since my sister Corinne is relatively close. But with it being a holiday weekend she was going to be out of town so Emily got her first non-family babysitter. Plus, now that Corinne is expecting her first in February we may need a babysitter more often so it was a good excuse to find someone.

I told Rebecca we were going to the baseball game but I didn't tell her all it would entail. All I told her was there would be hot dogs. I pictured a clingy, exhausted 2 year old. And tantrums. I never imagined she would love it as much as she did.

Daddy's Girl.

So happy.

Go Tigers!

Rebecca took this picture of the Tiger on the scoreboard.

Dinner.

Telling the people behind us she has a hot dog.

We rode the carousel. Twice.

Paws came by and she shared her popcorn with him.

Running circles around us. Literally.

She loved all the music!

By the 8th inning she was turning into a monkey.

Watching along side paws.

Snuggling Uncle Mike for the post-game fireworks.

Butterfly Garden

2011-06-27T14:16:00.008-04:00

Bribery was my #1 method in potty training Rebecca. Her big present for starting to go on the real toilet vs her potty chair was a live butterfly garden. I didn't think it out very well because she earned the reward in April, but it has to be above 55 degrees to release the butterflies. She was very patient and we ordered the larvae when we returned from our trip to PA.

The larvae and food arrived in the mail.

The ate and ate and ate. And got really fat.

The day after I noticed they had gotten pretty fat, they started turning into chrysalids.

I had misread the instructions and left them in the food container too long. Sunday when I got out of the shower one butterfly had emerged while still inside the container. Rob quickly did the dirty work and transferred them all into the tent. Almost immediately 2 of the chrysalids started shaking uncontrollably. I though for sure 2 more butterflies were about to emerge so I quick go the video camera. I recorded them shaking for about 5 minutes (I can't get the video to upload probably because it's so long) before they just stopped and no real progress was made. I feared they had not made it but then today, they too emerged. There are still 2 chrysalids whose fate are yet to be determined.

A few days after they all turned into butterflies we released them in the front yard.

Daddy's Day(s)

2011-06-24T09:01:00.002-04:00

This week was all about Daddy. Lucky Rob gets Father's Day and his birthday all wrapped up into one so it's turned into a week long celebration.

The girls were angels on Father's Day. They both slept in a little, took great naps and were overall in great moods. We made a big breakfast then spent the 70+ degree day in the back yard relaxing and watching Rebecca play.

Rebecca and I worked for the better part of two weeks prior putting together a scrapbook for his gift. It should have taken nowhere near that long but scrapbooking with a 2 year old is twice the mess, twice the time and half the progress. She loved doing it though and I think he really enjoyed it. Emily's gift to him was a big ole belly laugh. She had been smiling and giggling but on Father's Day she started the full on laugh.

Rob didn't ask for anything for his birthday. Well I should say he didn't ask for anything reasonable. His current must-have item is a $700 remote control monster truck that is so powerful it can be seen on YouTube jumping a full size garage. He didn't get it (yet - he did get a significant amount toward it from my parents).

What he did get were tickets to a Tigers game, a new lunch box, and a little surprise party. It's a dead give a way who picked out the decorations.

Behind the scenes

2011-06-20T12:49:00.003-04:00

We're supplementing, and it makes me sad. Emily is still really interested in nursing but my supply just isn't keeping up. She started getting 1 bottle a day when we went to PA, which of course hasn't helped the situation. When we went to see the pediatrician for her 4 month check up, she said because of her downward slide on the growth chart I should start supplementing more vs starting her on solids. I love our doctor, she always puts things in a perspective that helps me breathe a little easier. She said to me "there are 2 things you can give your baby, breast milk - and everything else. And of the everything else, the best thing is formula". So I've continued to put her to the breast first and then supplement when she shows signs she is still hungry (which has typically been 2-3 times a day). Night time feedings I have plenty so I am trying to really savor that time with her.

I am starting Reglan today and am hoping that can get us a little further. I don't have a goal in my head of how long I want to nurse, I just know right now I want to keep going.

On a lighter note....

Emily's 4 month stats

2011-06-14T11:51:00.000-04:00

Miss Emily weighed in today at 12 lbs, 15 ounces and 25 1/2 inches long. She has fallen from the 50th percentile in weight to just below the 25th but is still in the 75th for length.

Of course I have to compare her to her big sister who was 12 lbs, 8 ounces and 24 1/4 inches long at the same age.

Chocolate World!

2011-06-13T21:15:00.003-04:00

Daddy finally took some time off work and we headed South for Memorial Day weekend. The plan was leave Friday morning and come back Tuesday but that all changed when the out-building that holds the transformer at Rob's work was struck by lightening in a huge storm on Wednesday. Since he wasn't going to be able to work Thursday anyway, we decided at the last minute to leave a day early. A quick phone call to tweak our hotel reservations and we were on our way.

Rob was more nervous about traveling with the kids than I was. I've already done the trip to BR (3 hours) alone-with both girls, twice. So traveling any amount of time with another adult was certain to be easier. We had to stop every 2-3 hours to feed Emily but tending to her in the car was a breeze.

First stop: Pittsburgh. We got into town around 3pm and drove straight to the children's museum. The highlights were the Mr Rogers exhibit and an area where Rebecca could paint.

Dinner that night at Primanti Bros. was the real reason we went to Pittsburgh.

Rebecca and the one and only pink cookie monster.

The highlight of Rebecca's trip was Chocolate World. We went the first day we got to Hershey and then every day after that. The free part to lure you in is a cute little ride that takes you through an animated version of a production line. I took some stills but even better, I found video of it on YouTube. So if you want the full experience, click HERE.

When you got off the ride you were of course in the middle of the gift shop...

Rebecca working the assembly line.

My favorite part was the Creation Station upstairs at Chocolate World.

Even Emily had a little taste...

Relaxing in Gettysburg.

The only picture of Daddy.

So Close!

2011-06-13T08:13:00.000-04:00

Flip Flop

2011-06-09T08:41:00.000-04:00

I stopped swaddling Emily a few days ago. I knew it would only be a matter of time before her new found freedom gave her the strength to roll over. But I didn't think it would happen quite this fast... today she rolled over; both ways! So far I've only witnessed it in the monitor but as soon I can I will catch some video.

Emily (almost) 4 months

2011-06-06T09:55:00.000-04:00

I am working on a post about our trip to Hershey, PA but in the meantime here are some pictures I took this morning.

Fun in the bouncy

2011-05-17T09:43:00.000-04:00

I am trying desperately to be better about taking pictures and video. Here is Emily this morning playing in her bouncy seat. She has just in the past week started batting her hands at the toys and talking while she plays.

Emily's Birth Announcement

2011-05-11T08:31:00.000-04:00

Since I am using the blog as our baby book, here is a digital copy of Emily's birth announcement!

Geega's house (and Papa's too...)

2011-05-10T15:39:00.002-04:00

Last week we spent a few days in Big Rapids. Rebecca was conditioned nicely to tolerate the 3 hour car ride so most of the time I could make the trip without stopping. Those days are long gone. Now I have to plan at least one stop to feed Emily. Naturally, I've been using the opportunity to hit the outlets in Howell. It works out nice, we do a little shopping, hit the restrooms and Rebecca gets to go on all the ride on toys.

When we arrived, Lily was very excited to see her baby cousin. When anyone asked if they could have a turn to hold Emily she would say "No!" and shake her head.

The girls had lots of fun playing on the swing set.

Rebecca taught Lily that shredded cheese is good on anything. Even on top of pineapple angel food cake with cool whip.

Lucas and Jackson showing Emily some love.

The ~~Christmas~~ camping tree.

Resting on the sun porch.

Binky bandit.

Playscape with the cousins.

Who's who?

2011-04-28T20:55:00.001-04:00

This post is inspired by Auntie Corinne who mixed the girls up today in her own game of who's who. I pulled these pictures tonight. Even Rob guessed wrong!!!

Leave your guess of who's who in the comments and I'll reveal in a few days.

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T08:44:00.003-04:00

"Painting" eggs with Daddy.

Rob had a long weekend, he was off Friday through Monday so we headed up to Bad Axe for a few days. Grandma Dee had just gotten back from Florida and Emily needed to do her first tour of Huron County. Of course I forgot my camera but we had some very nice visits and our first night at Grandma Dee's as a family of four couldn't have gone any better. She has two guest rooms but there is a double bed in just one of them. We took our air mattress to put in the second guest room for Rebecca and packed the co-sleeper for Emily. I was very excited that Rebecca slept wonderfully on the air mattress and didn't get into anything that Dee had stored in the room. This was a nice practice round for our trip to Hershey, PA over Memorial Day.

We got home around bedtime on Saturday evening and Rebecca was really excited for the Easter bunny to come in the morning. She found her basket within a few moments of waking up and loved all the little goodies inside. I was horrible about pictures. I didn't even get my camera out Easter morning so I didn't get a picture of them or their baskets. I had this cute little bunny outfit laid out for Emily and I forgot to even put it on her! I did recreate the moment though and she wore it the next day...

After they did their baskets it was a beautiful day so we decided to take advantage and hit the zoo. We didn't stay too long but we were able to see all of the apes playing outside and one of the polar bears was swimming, both are rare sights to see.

I will be making a conscious effort to better document the holidays and other big things to come.

Let the games begin!

2011-04-20T21:01:00.002-04:00

Rebecca has been in her big girl room for just over 5 months. There has not been one night that she hasn't stayed in her bed and either went right to sleep or played in bed until she fell asleep. When she wakes up in the morning, she calls for me and waits in bed for me to come get her. Tonight, we tucked her in and a few minutes later we can see her in the video monitor climbing onto her night stand and turning her lamp on and off. I am sure before long she will realize she isn't actually trapped in there.

Two month stats

2011-04-11T08:38:00.007-04:00

I can't believe I'm already posting 2 months stats, but here they go:

Emily weighed in at 10 pounds, 11 ounces and was 23.25 inches long.

She is 1.5 inches longer and 1 pound, 8.5 ounces heaver than Rebecca was at 2 months. I can't help but compare them because I think Emily is a little clone of Rebecca.

Emily 2 months

Rebecca 2 months

Whatever works

2011-03-30T21:39:00.002-04:00

Today's story of chaos (and it's only 9am):

2011-03-29T09:45:00.002-04:00

After Rebecca successfully peed and pooped on the potty, Emily was sleeping so I got in the shower. Rebecca came in at least 3 times insisting to get on the toilet. So I kept getting in and out of the shower to put her on/take her off, causing the floor to be a huge puddle of water. Right as I get ready to rinse the conditioner out of my hair, she comes running back into the bathroom screaming, I look out and the floor is covered in diarrhea. Diluted of course by all the water that ran off of me as I got in and out of the shower. So I put her on the toilet, rinse my hair, then put her in the tub while I sop up the mess on the floor and dry my hair. I am doing this all naked of course because I just got out of the shower myself. I get half way through drying my hair and she is crying, I turn around and she is bathing in a tub of diarrhea. And of course as soon as I turned my hair dryer off, Emily was screaming at the top of her lungs. I will be bleaching the entire bathroom when she goes down for her nap.

Just for fun a picture of her on her potty.

2.5 year and 1 month stats

2011-03-15T15:29:00.002-04:00

Let me start out with our morning...

Rebecca was up talking for a few minutes around 5:30 but thankfully went back down. Emily woke up to eat at 6. I brought her back in bed with me and the next thing I know it's 8:30 and we're all still in bed. We had to be out the door by 9 to make our appointment. I spent the next 30 minutes running around getting myself and the girls dressed, nursing Emily, throwing breakfast for Rebecca in the diaper bag, grabbing my coffee and then running out the door. We made it on time, barely. Thankfully, I had packed the diaper bag and laid out Rebecca's clothes last night.

Rebecca's 2.5 year stats: 27 lbs, 12 oz and 33.5 inches

Emily's 1 month stats: 9 lbs, 8 oz and 22.25 inches

Rebecca has gained 3 lbs, 10 oz since her 2 year visit and miss Emily has gained 1 lb, 5 oz in the past two weeks! When we got home, Emily was so tired out from getting a shot that she passed out in her crib for two hours.

Rebecca being, well, Rebecca.

3 Weeks

2011-03-05T08:53:00.000-05:00

Emily slept in her crib. This is huge! Until last night she would wake up every time I put her down in the crib or bassinet. She would only sleep in the swing, on the boppy or in my arms. I nursed her around 8:15pm, then put her to bed at 9 (I also went to bed at 9) and we slept until 1:45 and then until 5:30. At 5:30 I brought her to bed with me and nursed her for a few minutes, then she slept for another hour.

Sleeping in her favorite spot.

It felt so good to sleep in my bed without her in my arms! In fact, last night we were at dinner and I told Rob that at some point this weekend I wanted to take a nap in my bed, by myself! The quality of sleep just isn't the same when you have a teeny-tiny one in your arms.

A couple of pictures I took this week...

Daddy's unsuccessful attempt to play computer games while I cleaned up after dinner.

Sister Snuggles

Play date

2011-03-03T08:54:00.000-05:00

All bundled up to walk over to Makenna's house!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Doctor Spider

2011-03-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

Rebecca has graduated from calling the doctors by their specialty (Dr. Back, Dr. Baby, Dr. Eyes, Dr. Teeth etc.) to trying to pronounce their names. So now in an attempt to say her pediatrician's name-Doctor Snyder, she is referring to her as "Doctor Spider". Doctor Spider thinks this is pretty funny.

We took Emily in yesterday for a weight check and she is plumping up nicely. She is up to 8 lbs, 3 ounces from her birth weight of 7 lbs, 13 ounces. She had fallen to 7 lbs, 1 ounce before my milk came in. We don't have to go back for any more weight checks. Our next appointment is in 2 weeks and both girls will be seeing Doctor Spider. Emily will be having her 1 month well visit, and Rebecca will be having her 2.5 year visit. I am only brave enough to do them on the same day because Rebecca won't need any shots.

February 11, 2011 and the days that followed

2011-02-28T13:50:00.006-05:00

Emily is here! Early labor started on the afternoon of Thursday, February 10th. I was having contractions about every 6-8 minutes starting around 2pm. They weren't too strong but were pretty regular throughout the afternoon and evening. We had company that night, so I was distracted and not really timing them. Once our friends left around 8:30pm I started to realize how regular they were. I put Rebecca down for the night, watched some T.V. while I rocked on the birthing ball and then decided to take a hot bath to see if that would slow things down so I could try and sleep. As soon as I got out of the tub, Rebecca was up crying. I went in to check on her and she was super congested and miserable. I tried to lay down with her for a little while and the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't lay still. I got back up and woke Rob up to lay with her. I felt bad waking him up in the middle of a work night, but I told him I didn't think he'd be going to work in the morning anyways because we were probably having a baby. While he was in with her, I decided to call the doctors office and see what they thought. Doctor Schiller advised me to head in and get checked. So around 2:15am I called our neighbor Michele and she came over to stay with Rebecca until morning when my Mom could get there.

We arrived at the hospital around 3am. I got checked into labor and delivery and I was dilated 4cm so they admitted me. I don't know why, but I still didn't realize that she was coming. The contractions really weren't that hard and I was still 9 days from my due date. When my doctor arrived she broke my water to get things rolling, now there was no turning back. That really seemed to step things up a notch, the contractions went to every 3 minutes and were getting a lot more intense. After laboring another few hours I decided I was ready for my epidural.

It seemed like it took forever for anesthesia to get there. It was definitely much faster with Rebecca. I got my epidural just as the contractions were getting really intense, but it didn't work. I felt no relief from the initial dose. After waiting as they suggested and still not having any relief, they put a different medication into the epidural. This worked, but only on the left side of my body. Now they had my lay on my side hoping the medicine would start working on both sides, but it never did. They put a 3rd dose of medicine into the epidural and it still did not bring relief to the right side of my body. Finally, they sent in another anesthesiologist who had to do an entirely new epidural. The second one worked immediately. Finally, I could breathe easy (for a while anyways). By this time it was probably around 9am so Rob headed down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast while I enjoyed my drugs.

Everything was progressing well, I was dilating about 1cm per hour and was hoping to have the baby by noon. Then all of the sudden things slowed down. I got to 9cm and the epidural was wearing off. I was ready for more drugs but they were afraid if they gave them to me so late, I wouldn't be able to feel the contractions to push. The longer I stayed stuck at 9, the more uncomfortable I got. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the doctor agreed to give me another dose of pain medication along with some Pitocin to get the contractions going again. Once they got the Pitocin going, baby Emily arrived within just a few minutes.

Almost immediately following her delivery, I started to get a terrible headache. Initially I didn't think anything of it. I remember mentioning out loud that my head was pounding and I think they may have given me a Motrin or something while I was still in the delivery room. When they got ready to move me, they started wheeling me out in a wheelchair. I was holding Emily and the pain became so intense I handed her to the nurse and started vomiting. Thankfully, they got me a bowl before it went everywhere but it was still humiliating to be puking in the middle of the hallway. I got up to my room and into bed and my nurse came right in. I think this is when she first said the term Spinal Headache. I really had no idea what it was. All I knew is that if I was laying down, I felt fine. But as soon as I tried to get up, or even sit upright, the pain was more than I could bear.

I took it easy the rest of that afternoon/evening and only got up to use the restroom or sit up in bed to feed Emily. The only way I could sit up long enough to nurse her was to put ice packs on my forehead and the back of my neck. I continued that until morning until the anesthesiologist came to check on me. She explained to me exactly what a Spinal Headache was. When she said it could last 4-8 days, I didn't know what to think. I was so miserable I couldn't imagine feeling that much pain for that long. They were giving me Motrin and Tylenol but it was giving me no relief. They tried to give me Vicodin and it made me vomit. The anesthesiologist suggested we do a procedure called a blood patch. Basically they took blood from my arm and injected it back into the place where they inserted the epidural. The blood would work to clot where the spinal cord was punctured and stop spinal fluid from leaking. If it worked, I would have relief immediately. I agreed to try the procedure. It didn't work. I felt relief from the pain in the back of my neck, but no relief of the pounding headache. By that night, I was so miserable, they gave me Dilaudid in my IV and an Ambien just so I could get a few hours of sleep.

The next morning, they offered to do a second blood patch. They said the chances of a second one working were 20-30%. That didn't seem like good odds to me, and the needle is HUGE. I initially declined the 2nd procedure. Then the doctor came back and basically told me this was the only option. Try this again, or deal with the pain until the headache subsides on its own. Well when he put it that way I decided I had nothing to lose. This time they wheeled me down to surgery. They performed the procedure in the pre-op area vs just doing it in my room. In addition to injecting the blood into the epidural, they also put in some sort of drug to treat the headache. This time, it actually worked! They still had the needle in and I could already feel the relief. They had me lay flat on my back in the pre-op room for 15 minutes after the procedure then they wheeled me back up to my room where they had me continue to lie flat for another 2 hours to let the clot set. I spent the next few hours sitting in the chair and just seeing how I felt. Had I not had the headache, I would have already been discharged, and I was getting really anxious to get home to rest where I could be more comfortable.

It seemed to have really worked, I was feeling much better so I told them I was ready to go home. My Mom was still in town and she was planning on staying until the next morning. I took it easy the rest of the evening, but when I woke up the next morning the headache was back. I spent the next two days laying on the couch. The pain was no better or no worse than it was it had been in the hospital but it was beginning to wear me down. I didn't have it in me anymore to sit up and bare the pain to nurse her so for those two days I pumped and my Mom and Rob bottle fed her. Since I couldn't really do anything, my Mom agreed to stay until I started feeling better.

I remembered that the anesthesiologists who had done the initial blood patch said they were going to send me home with two prescriptions to treat the headache. When I was discharged, I didn't get those prescriptions. So I called the hospital and a nice receptionist tracked down the doctor and had him call in the medications for me. I took them Tuesday night and by the grace of God, they worked!!! I still had a mild headache for another few days but I was back in action.

It was hard emotionally being laid up for those few days. I could really see that Emily was bonding with my Mom, which isn't a bad thing. But it meant she wasn't bonding with me. I felt like I was missing those first moments with her, and in reality I was.

In addition to feeling like I was missing out on bonding with her, I was really worried about bottle feeding her and if it was going to cause nipple confusion when I was able to start nursing her again. Rebecca always struggled with latching so I think that made me over paranoid that Emily would struggle as well. All the worrying was for nothing, she went back to the breast that day with no problems and has been nursing like a champ ever since.

We are moving forward and falling back into our routine. Emily is a really good baby although she doesn't like to sleep in her crib or bassinet. She only likes to sleep in the swing or on the boppy or in my arms.

Rebecca is loving being a big sister! She loves to help any way that she can, mostly putting the binky in Emily's mouth any time she lets out the littlest cry.

2011-02-22T07:45:00.001-05:00

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38 Weeks, 3 Days

2011-02-09T13:08:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how much my belly is growing every day! I never made it to this humongous stage with Rebecca so it's a little shocking to me!

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38 Weeks

2011-02-07T13:22:00.000-05:00

I had my weekly appointment today and I am now dilated 3cm. Oh, and Rebecca keeps singing "Happy Birthday" so maybe it's a sign.
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And. She. Dropped. OUCH!!!

2011-02-05T11:53:00.001-05:00

Will be looking forward to Monday's appointment to hopefully have progressed. In the meantime, I will reside on my birthing ball or in the recliner.

37 Weeks

2011-01-31T19:33:00.001-05:00

I had my weekly OB visit today. It started out depressing. I gained 4 pounds in 1 week. Oops. I say it was really probably only 3 though because I wore jeans today and I always wear yoga pants. The PA checked my cervix and she said the baby's head is "right there" and I am dilated 2 cm. I am glad to hear I am a little dilated because I have been having a lot of cramping and contractions, especially at night. Last night the cramps were pretty bad and I didn't get a very good nights sleep. We'll see what the next few days bring. I am hoping not to go into labor before Friday. We are supposed to be getting a huge snow storm starting tomorrow night so it will be hard for my parents to get here. Plus, I am supposed to host a play date at my house on Wednesday, go to Gymboree class with Rebecca on Thursday and the girls from my Beaumont Parenting Group are having a little shower for me Thursday night. So anytime after Friday works for me.

Okay, I'm ready.

2011-01-25T20:59:00.001-05:00

When I first found out I was pregnant and saw the doctor, they dated the pregnancy by my last cycle, putting my due date at February 20th. But, from the first ultrasound and still now, the baby has measured a few days ahead, for a due date of February 16th. They don't change your due date for a discrepancy that small, but they say to be prepared to go early. According to the February 16th date, I will be 37 weeks (full term) TOMORROW!

So, today I figured I'd do a few last minute things. I put the car seat base in my car and ordered the double stroller.

I feel really good lately. I am trying not to wish the pregnancy over and to enjoy the end of the pregnancy and my last few days/weeks with just Rebecca and I. I've been trying to do as much with her as I can like gymnastics, a Gymboree class and just as many things one on one as I possible can. I am not sure if that will make it any easier or harder on her when the baby comes but I am trying to make the time extra special.

36 Weeks

2011-01-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

Weekly appointments mean weekly updates:

Nothing exciting to report though, unfortunately. My Group B Strep test from last week was negative, which means I will not require IV antibiotics during labor. My weight stayed the same from last week, which shocked me because my hands started to swell and I had to take off my wedding rings :( I thought for sure I would have put on a few pounds of water weight.

I have been having a lot of contractions and cramping. At times it even wakes me up at night from a sound sleep. The baby still hasn't "dropped", which I thought meant that labor wasn't close. But the doctor informed me today that since it's not my first pregnancy, the baby might not drop until I go into labor. Yikes! So now I am paying close attention to everything else that is going on so I can be ready.

Being able to take it easy last week while Rebecca was gone really seems to have helped with the pubic pain. It is still painful to do certain things like roll over in bed, get in and out of the car and stand up after I've been sitting for an extended period of time, but it feels much more manageable than it did a few weeks ago.

Next appointment is next Monday and they will start checking my cervix since I will be officially 37 weeks. Hopefully all these contractions haven't been for nothing!

Mental Picture

2011-01-20T15:22:00.001-05:00

Rebecca has been gone for 4 full days now. All of which I have spent cleaning and organizing everything from the new baby's closet to the shelves in my pantry. Words can not describe the feeling of being able to move forward from one project to the next without having to back track to pick up toys, sippy cups etc. When Rebecca comes home tomorrow, my goal is to attempt to maintain some sort of order for the next 4 weeks. So I am sitting now looking around, taking a mental picture. Because I don't think my house will ever look like this again. Ever.

35 Weeks

2011-01-17T14:34:00.002-05:00

I went today for my 35 week check up. Everything went well, the baby's heartbeat was in the 130's, and my blood pressure is still good. I gained 1 pound since my last appointment two weeks ago, still keeping me at about 6 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. That's what morning sickness and being pregnant with a toddler do for you.

I have been having a lot of pelvic pain and saw a Physical Medicine specialist for it two weeks ago. I couldn't get in until end of January with the doctor I was referred to, so I saw her partner. He gave me a prescription for Tylenol #3 and told me there wasn't much else he could do this late in my pregnancy. Well, apparently I am highly allergic to Codeine. I am going back this Wednesday to see the woman I was originally referred to, so hopefully she has some tips for managing the pain as she primarily deals with this condition (Pubic Symphysitis) in pregnant woman. It's hard to believe but I start seeing the doctor every week now! I never got to the point of having scheduled appointments this frequently with Rebecca because she came early.

Speaking of Rebecca.... She is in Big Rapids for the week, yes, THE WEEK! She is staying with her Geega and Papa and having lots of fun with her cousins while I start getting things ready for the baby (and maybe get a little extra rest too). She's only been gone for 24 hours and it is already really weird to have her gone. About 10 minutes after we got home from dropping her with my parents, Rob and I looked at each other and both said "Okay, I'm bored." It is strange to get a taste of what our life was like before having her. We are going to make the most of it though. We have a long list of little things we want to do around the house, I am going to get things ready for baby and who knows, we might even go on a date!

Nesting-Phase One

2011-01-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

This afternoon Rob put the closet organizer in Rebecca's new room and I got all her clothes moved over from the closet in her old room. Now that all her stuff is out of the nursery, it is becoming more real that another baby is coming.

Tonight we are going to put all the Christmas stuff back up in the attic and bring all the baby stuff down while we are up there. I am going to try to wait 2 more weeks (when I will be 36 weeks along) before I go crazy washing and organizing stuff but I don't know if I'll make it. I have been starting to get the urge to get stuff around.

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Christmas Vacation

2011-01-05T15:44:00.001-05:00

Rob was off work for almost two weeks over the holidays so we took the opportunity to have our last little getaway as a family of three. We went to Cincinnati and took Rebecca to the Duke Energy Children's Museum and the Newport Aquarium. I didn't realize until two days before we left that there was a dinosaur exhibit at the museum. Rebecca has been really into dinosaurs and monsters lately so once I told her we were going to see dinosaurs, it was all she talked about.

"Look Mom!"

Patiently waiting her turn (for once).

Getting ready to make a big splash!

Climbing through a spider web.

Shopping.

After 4.5 hours at the Children's Museum, Rob and I were done! Rebecca on the other hand, cried the entire way to the car. She would have stayed all night and day.

The stay in the hotel went really smooth. I feel like traveling with her is just getting to be easy and now we'll be throwing another infant into the mix. Our room had a king size bed and a sleeper sofa. The first night she slept with us and it was fine but the second night, my back was hurting and I just wanted to lay in a sea of pillows. We made up the sleeper sofa for her and she slept over there all night without a fuss.

I did a little research online and found a local pizza place called Dewey's. I later found out it is a small local chain but it was delicious and we can't get it in Michigan. We usually try to eat somewhere we can't eat at home whenever possible. The pizza was really good and there was a huge window into the kitchen so while we were waiting for our table, Rebecca got to watch the guys throwing the pizza dough. She loves to help in the kitchen so she though that was pretty cool. Hopefully she isn't disappointed the next time I make Jiffy pizza.

Swimming at the hotel.

Our trip went great, that is until the ride home. It is about a 4.5 hour drive. And about 2 hours into it, Rebecca started vomiting EVERYWHERE! We were driving home the afternoon of new years eve, so needless to say when we got home, we spent the night and next few days tending to a very sick little girl.

33 Weeks

2011-01-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

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Santa 2010

2011-01-02T19:46:00.000-05:00

I took Rebecca to see Santa the day before Thanksgiving. I was holding off to post the pictures because I used them for our Christmas cards. She would NOT sit on his lap or even knowingly get close to him. She sat on a train in front of him and once she was distracted, he had to sneak up behind her. You can't tell how funny it really was until you see the photos in sequence.

The finished toy room!

2010-12-27T22:56:00.000-05:00

Gingerbread Fun

2010-12-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

One of us was decorating, and the other was un-decorating.

The damage to side one while I frosted side two.

Sucking the frosting out of the package.

The finished product.

Just for fun a shot of her rolling out sugar cookie dough.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-09T13:07:00.000-05:00

Geega and Auntie Erin made reindeer cupcakes with the kids.

I think every one of the vanilla wafers went into Rebecca's mouth before they went on the cupcakes.

Lucas and Geega made the antlers.

Auntie Erin made the ears.

What they were supposed to look like vs what they actually looked like.

The mess.

Here is a little taste of what the world is like when you get Rebecca and Lucas together...

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors!!!

2010-12-08T13:38:00.004-05:00

We have had a busy few weeks. After working in a doctors office, I vowed to never be one of "those people" rushing to fit in all of my family's annual exams in December before our insurance resets the first of the year. This should really not be an issue since Rob's benefits now reset March 1st, but with the baby due in February I want to get everything taken care of before the new year.

So, Rebecca has been to the dentist and the optometrist this week not to mention she tags along to all my OB visits and now to the chiropractor three times a week.

"Dr. Teeth"

I knew the dentist was going to be rough. She probably didn't need to go for another year, but she had some light grey stains on her bottom front teeth that the dentist said is likely just from the iron in her vitamins. I thought ahead and had her come with me to my cleaning last month. Rob came with her and she just sat in the chair watching and helped with the little suction thing when I needed it. She thought it was pretty cool.

When it came time to schedule her appointment, I decided to go with a Children's Dentist vs. my regular dentist. I wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make but in the end I was glad we went there. We talked about it all day the day before we went, I told her she was going to go to the doctor and the doctor was going to brush her teeth. I didn't really know how else to explain it to her so I just said that over and over and told her she would get special surprise after if she was a good girl. After I explained it to her, she started calling the dentist "Dr. Teeth".

When we got there, the dentist came out in the waiting room to talk to Rebecca and played with her for a few minutes while I filled out the paperwork. Then we took her back and she blew up a rubber glove for her, tied it off with floss and drew a funny face on it. Rebecca thought all that was pretty fun. After about 5 minutes in the exam room, we got down to business. Of course, she would not get in the chair of her own free will. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing but I have no problem pinning her down when necessary to get things done. So down she went and the dentist worked quickly to get her all polished up. Rebecca screamed the entire time, although after about 2 or 3 minutes I no longer had to hold her down she just laid there screaming. The dentist had a good point, the screaming is actually good if they are protesting the cleaning because at least they keep their mouth open.

When the cleaning was over, the dentist started cheering and Rebecca perked right up and got all proud of herself that she made it through. The stains came out and we got lots of great tips to keep her teeth healthy.

In the end, I am really glad that we went this year vs. waiting another year so we can be certain we are off to a good start with her oral hygiene habits.

"Dr. Eyes"
After our experience at the dentist, I was really nervous about the optometrist. I didn't think we would get much accomplished but I was trying to be hopeful since the optometrist never really has to touch you. I took her to my optometrist, Dr. Kirk. It is a little bit of a hike for us (a 25-30 minute drive) but he came very highly recommended to me by my old optometrist, Dr. Pole at the Michigan College of Optometry. I have terrible eyes. I have abnormal astigmatism in both eyes and my prescription is nearly -7. I have worn glasses since my first eye exam which I believe was in second grade and when I wanted to switch to contacts, I had to wear hard lenses for 10 years until I met Dr. Kirk and he got me comfortably back into a soft lens.

Last week she went with me to pick up my new glasses so she was familiar with the waiting room at least. She was totally obsessed with all the kids glasses, so today I let her try a pair on. She loved them and did NOT want to put them back. I thought it was kind of funny that she was going to be disappointed when she didn't get to get to leave with any glasses.

Rebecca's visit with "Dr. Eyes" could not have gone any better. She was a little hesitant to look into the machines but when I told her she could see a house when she looked, she got very curious. She sat on my lap and looked into the machine like it was no big deal. Then we told her the next machine was going to take pictures of her eyes, and she got so excited, she put her chin right up there, looked into the machine and kept saying "cheese"!

We went into the next room and the only thing she would not do was identify the animals in the pictures. She was too distracted by all the equipment to sit still and look at the tiny pictures way across the room. The rest was a breeze. She made me sit in the exam chair, and she sat in the regular chair but she let Dr. Kirk come right over and do all of his tests on her. I cradled her for them to put the dilation drops in and she did great, she didn't scream or cry. We played in the room for about 30 minutes while we waited for the drops to work. While we were playing I told her that the doctor was going to come back in and turn the lights off and I showed her the head piece he would put on to look at her eyes again. He came back and she made me get back in the exam chair. She sat back in the regular chair and let him check her all out again. I was so proud of her. He said she was by far the best 2 year old patient he has ever had. I was proud of him too, he did really good with her. It pays to do a little research, and drive a little further to see someone who has a lot of experience.

She did sit in the chair once just to see what it was all about.

Wonderful, since she got her eyes dilated, she got to leave with glasses!

In the car, awake and wondering what the heck is going on with her head.

Watch your mouth

2010-12-05T22:57:00.001-05:00

Today Rob told me that he didn't remember me being "this big" with Rebecca. Did he mean this big at all, or this big at this point in the pregnancy? He's in the dog house either way!

Here I am at 29 weeks with Rebecca....

And here I am today at 29 weeks with baby girl #2...

Finishing Touches

2010-12-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

The new toy room is coming right along. Rob got the new television up and today I went and got Rebecca her own cable box so she can watch Nick Jr in there. I still have to figure out a shelf to put the cable box and Blu-Ray player on, and paint the closet door. This afternoon we moved some things around and got her bookshelf out from her old room.

In the pictures you can see the chaise section of the living room furniture is in the toy room.... where it has been since July, when the cats decided to urinate on it (this is why we no longer have cats). I've had it professionally cleaned twice, and it still has the funk. The next step is to call and get a price on a replacement cushion. But at this point, I have already spent so much to have it cleaned I could have bought a new section altogether. So depressing.

The goal for the toy room is to make it multi-functional for when the baby arrives. So far Rebecca is already spending a lot more time in here. Before, she would drag everything out into the living room to play with it so she was closer to me and whatever I was doing. I have a feeling Santa has a few things up his sleeve that will make the toy room even better!

28 Weeks, 3 Days

2010-12-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

Well I am officially in the third trimester. With this milestone has come back pain (mainly at night) and most recently the feeling of baby in the ribs. I saw the doctor today and I gained a whopping two pounds in the last four weeks. This is my first recorded gain so I am still technically down quite a few pounds. I was pretty surprised, I thought I would have gained more with Thanksgiving and all. I also had my glucose test today, I think it went fine but I should know in a few days. My appointments are now every two weeks.

Tony's Hot Fudge Sundae

2010-11-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

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Moving Day!!!

2010-11-14T14:37:00.003-05:00

Rebecca spent her first night in her new room last night! She did great, it was like nothing was even different. We still need to find valances and put in her closet system but she is sleeping in there now. She was SO excited when Rob started getting her furniture together. As soon as he had one night stand in she was already carrying books in from the bookcase in her old room.

Shopping for her room has turned her into a little interior decorator. I had purchased some very basic white lamps at Target and then we had to go back to get her sheets. That is when she saw the lamps. She started throwing a fit and nearly jumped out of the moving cart to check out the pink dangly ones. I pulled over so she could look closer and she proceeded to put them in the cart! They have a little too much bling for my taste, but they do go with the colors in her room and aren't Disney Princess so I allowed it.

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26 weeks

2010-11-13T09:30:00.001-05:00

Julie, just for you this picture includes a sneak peek at the color of Rebecca's big girl room!

And Kari, just for you I made sure not to pick up a thing so the background is a total mess :)

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25 Weeks

2010-11-04T15:21:00.001-04:00

I had a prenatal appointment today. Rebecca came along because her baby had a boo-boo and she needed to see the doctor. Thankfully, the doctor thought it was cute and took a quick look. Heart beat looked good in the 150's. I ate a granola bar on the way and she was kicking like crazy by the time it was time to listen to the heartbeat. Rebecca loved hearing the heartbeat and all the noises from the movement. It was cute to see her get all excited. I am holding steady and haven't gained a pound :) We go back in 4 weeks for the dreaded glucose test then we start going in every 2 weeks. Yikes!

Progress Report

2010-11-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

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Under Construction

2010-10-30T10:20:00.003-04:00

Big things are happening. We are working on revamping the toy room. Rob tore the bar out several months ago and we have been going back and forth about what we were going to do with the space. I won the battle and he is currently working on framing it in to make a nice roomy storage closet. Rebecca has been a good little helper and sweeping/vacuuming to help do her part. She keeps pointing at the construction and saying "It's a mess!" The goal for this weekend is to get the framing done and the drywall and door up.

We have the toy room half way painted the new neutral "skinny latte" that I picked out. It was still kind of wet in this picture, it dried a little darker. Words cannot express how thrilled I am to be getting rid of the Smurf blue it was before.

My parents are going to come down next weekend to help finish it and hopefully we will also be able to paint Rebecca's big girl room while they are here. So this week I will be working on sorting through the stuff we have stored in the guest room and moving it into the new closet!

I still need to pick the color for her room, but I did get her bedding for a steal at Pottery Barn Kids.

Rebecca is kind of making out like a bandit. The baby is pretty much getting all her stuff, and she is getting all new. I did however have to buy the baby something of her very own.

I was on Amazon placing a diaper order and for some reason Wubba Nubs came up as a suggested purchase. I find it a little strange since I haven't purchased a pacifier from them in well over a year. But, it was so cute, I couldn't resist.

I will update with more pictures of the toy room as it progresses!

23.5 Weeks

2010-10-26T16:00:00.001-04:00

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Lord, help me. I'M NOT READY!

2010-10-24T19:31:00.000-04:00

I just got home from running a few errands and was greeted with some disturbing news. While I was gone, Rob said that Rebecca pulled her diaper down saying "Poop, poop..." and lured him into the bathroom where she proceeded to sit on her potty. He said he smelled poop, and once he assessed the situation, he realized she had already pooped in her diaper before she sat on the potty. When I got home she was cleaned up and in a new diaper but it is becoming harder and harder for me to ignore the signs she's ready. I was really hoping we wouldn't be potty training until after the baby came but we might not make it.

Loving Fall in Michigan!

2010-10-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

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Something's happened... (19.5 Weeks)

2010-09-30T19:06:00.000-04:00

It's a GIRL!

2010-09-28T19:33:00.006-04:00

(Click on the images for full size)

This clip is super short, but you can see the heart beating at the end :)

Rebecca's 2nd Birthday Party!

2010-09-27T16:15:00.001-04:00

We had Rebecca's party at our house. The plan was to have it outdoors, but it rained, hard, the entire time! Luckily, Rob did a great job of making some space in the garage, and our neighbor-friends let us a borrow a tent. There is no way everyone would have fit in the house. Everyone was great about it and still had a great time celebrating.

Blowing out the candles!

Jumping. We contemplated renting a full size moon walk and decide on purchasing her a smaller bouncer for her present. I am SO glad we got the smaller one otherwise we wouldn't have had anywhere to put it in the rain! Plus now she can use it again and again...

Geega and Rebecca

After about an hour the kids could have cared less that it was raining.

Sugar high?

Louisville

2010-09-19T14:28:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend we took a little road trip to Louisville. We stayed right downtown and did a few fun things like go to the Zoo, Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum.

The trip got off to a good start. We left first thing Saturday morning and got there right around 4pm to check in. I had booked a Nickelodeon "Nick Your Stay" package which was to include children's activity kits, and free breakfast. Upon checking in, they inform me they have no activity kits. Which in reality isn't that big of a deal, but it was $20 more to get the kits vs. just getting the room with breakfast. So the desk clerk, manager and I all agreed on an upgrade from a standard king room, to a larger room that would now have a jacuzzi tub, microwave and fridge. Great, I'm happy, we go up to the room. Happy that is until morning comes around and I realize they never gave me my vouchers for breakfast. So I call down to the front desk, the girl checks our reservation and tries to tell me that our room does not include breakfast. I am 95% sure that it does. I was 100% sure I originally booked it with breakfast but I had called a few days before we left because the rate was lower online. I begin doubting myself a little bit on whether or not my reservation did in fact include breakfast. Then she proceeds to say something along the lines of "We already gave you a free upgrade." Okay lady, you did not give me a free upgrade. You gave me a slightly nicer room because you didn't have the activity kits that I PAID FOR! After talking with her I get more irritated that the person who changed my rate online may have done so without confirming with me that it was not the same package. Finally she says she is going to give me breakfast even though our room didn't include it.

So we eat, and leave for the day to go to Churchill downs. When we get in the car, I call the 800 number on my Marriott Silver Elite Rewards membership card. I spoke with a very helpful representative who helped me understand exactly what went wrong with my reservation. She said that looking at my account, it was clear that when I checked in, and they did not have the activity kits, they took us out of the "Nick Your Stay" package completely and just put us into a standard room. Nice. I filed a complaint. And I got a call yesterday (9/18/10) from the hotel manager to confirm my mailing address because he is shipping me my two activity kits.

So excited to be at the Zoo!

Hard to see, but she is face to face with an Orangutan.

Giraffe's up close.

Churchill Downs

Riding a fake horse.

Racing her Momma.

The Grandstand.

The finish line.

This is not a fit. She is trying to go to sleep. She was sleeping before we got out of the parking lot.

Riding through the gate.

Jockey weigh in.

Louisville Slugger Museum.

The t-ball batting cage at Louisville Slugger.

Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take pictures on the Louisville Slugger factory tour, but we did get a chance to see them running production.

Just for fun

2010-09-18T14:15:00.001-04:00

I cleaned out my side of the closet today making room for some new things I purchased and packing up some non-maternity pants and tank tops. Just for kicks I thought I'd try on some of my non-maternity jeans before I packed them up. I did this when I was pregnant with Rebecca too, you can see the picture (taken at 15 weeks) here. Well today, to my surprise, my jeans actually fit fine. They in fact are more loose through the hips and thighs than before I was pregnant. I guess that's what happens when you are down 23 lbs at 18 weeks.

Two year stats

2010-09-13T11:29:00.000-04:00

Rebecca had her 2 year well visit this morning. She weighed in at 24 lbs, 2 oz and is 33 1/4 inches tall.

This visit was the polar opposite of all of her visits in the past. She absolutely despises going to the doctor. She usually screams as soon as Dr. Snyder comes in the room and does not stop until she leaves. She also usually starts waiving to her and saying "Bye Bye" about 15 seconds into the exam. Today she did protest and whine but she sat still and allowed the doctor to look in her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. She also did not get hysterical when the doctor listened to hear heart and lungs. She really loves books these days and the doctor always gives her a new book at each well visit. So it started out great when she had a little present for her at the beginning.

Last night she also got her car seat turned around so she is forward facing like a big girl. So far, so good!

16 weeks, 5 days

2010-09-10T13:25:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I went in for my monthly prenatal appointment and everything went well. Baby's heartbeat was 140 and I scheduled my ultrasound for September 27th! We can't wait to get another peek at the baby and hopefully find out if it is a boy or a girl!

Small World

2010-08-31T13:35:00.003-04:00

Today was Rebecca's first day of Mom and Tot gymnastics. We went to open gym a few times last Winter but this was her first real class. She loved it! I couldn't even get any pictures of her on my phone because I was chasing her around non stop for 45 minutes. Right after her class in the preschool gym, they had open gym in the big gym. We had told her little friend Makenna about it so she was meeting us there after class to do open gym.

We get into the big gym and they actually had their girls team practicing at the same time. So we kind of got pushed over into the foam pit. Rebecca loves the pit and likes to go down the slide into the foam and roll around and climb out. And I like her to do this because it tires her out. While we were on the slide, there was another little girl and her Mom over there. We got chit chatting and realized that our girls were born on the same day-in the same hospital. The woman says to me "So you were there when the sirens were going off?" I am thinking in my head, "Sirens? Hmmm...what sirens?" Then I started to vaguely remember something about an alarm going off for a long time, but it was all a blur. It became crystal clear to me when she went on to say "The woman in the room next to me..." That is all she had to say. I stopped her to tell her that woman was me. We both started crying and hugging.

When I was in the hospital with Rebecca, our second night in the middle of the night I was nursing her. I noticed she stopped sucking and went to lift her off to switch sides. She was lifeless and not breathing. I held her up to my face to see for sure if she was breathing, and she wasn't. I jumped up from my chair (which was so loud banging back against the wall that it woke Rob up immediately and he ran out of the room following me). I started to panic. I stood in the hallway screaming for help and trying desperately to get my not even 2 day old baby to take a breath. There were no doctors or nurses near us. I was screaming and screaming and nobody was coming. After several seconds went by, the woman in the room next to me and her husband came out. This woman took Rebecca from my hands and started performing rescue breathing on her. Her husband pulled the emergency alarm and proceeded to run all the way to the other side of the mother baby ward to find the nurses and doctors. It's hard to tell how much time really passed by while this all happened. I would say it was probably close to 2 minutes from when I noticed she was not breathing until the nurses and doctors got to us.

When the doctors got there they took her back into my room and immediately started working on her. I remember feel so helpless. I felt like having Rebecca was too good to be true and I was losing her. Not long after they said she was okay and she started breathing but they were taking her straight up to the NICU. The next 2 days are a blur. They ran a lot of tests on her and monitored her and it never happened again. The pediatrician and the neonatologist both believed that she had choked on breast milk. And because she was nearly a month early, she did not have the reflexes to clear her throat-which caused her to stop breathing.

I cannot say how many times over the past 2 years that I have thought about the woman in the room next to me. Wishing I had the chance to see her and thank her. It was truly a blessing to see her again today and be able to show her my healthy daughter.

Camp Geega (Including lost footage)

2010-08-30T22:52:00.007-04:00

How Camp Geega came about (my version):

Several months ago Julie and Jason started getting serious about going on a big trip for their 5 year anniversary. Naturally their biggest concern was who would watch their three kids. I offered to go to their house for the week and stay with the kids-assuming my parents would be around to help out as well. Somehow as the trip got closer and closer, my Mom morphed this plan into one that included her and I camping with all 4 kids. Not for a few days, but for the entire week. It sounded crazy before I found out I was pregnant. Once I started factoring morning sickness and fatigue into the mix I began trying to talk my Mom out of it. Which did not work. She was Hell bent that we were camping. I admit, I was really really beginning to regret this commitment. But, I there was no way I could back out because I had promised Julie before she even booked the trip. About 3 days before I was supposed to leave for Big Rapids, I started mentally preparing myself.

We had 2 days at my parent's house, then 5 days at the lake. The first few days at the house were fine. Let's not forget that 2 hours into me being there, Lily and Jackson both were running fevers. Lily's was because of teething, Jackson's we never did figure out. We drugged them both and they were fine the next day.

Once we got to the lake the first 2 days were a little rough. We had to kind of get into a routine. Getting 4 kids bathed and settled and then getting showers in at night for ourselves took some strategy. I guess what I am saying is that in the end, I am glad we were there more than 2 or 3 days because it did get easier and we were able to really enjoy days 3-5.

The lost footage:

Lucas on the boat from Sara Durr on Vimeo.

Getting ready to head out to the Lake for Day 1.

Ready to go fishing with Papa!

Miss Piggy

2010-08-27T22:09:00.002-04:00

Rebecca got on the bathroom scale today and she is a whopping 23 pounds! Official stats to come in a few weeks after her 2 year check up.

Nuts

2010-08-25T15:21:00.002-04:00

Rob and I spent over an hour cleaning up the back yard on Sunday. Over an hour just cleaning up the walnuts. It has been 3 days. If I don't pick up the walnuts every single day, this is what happens...

A squirrel hard at work...

Apparently I forgot to move the water table... I will be scrubbing that down tonight.

Even the siding on the garage is stained.

Try not to break your ankle on the grass.

The driveway. Which Rob cleaned up with the blower 3 days ago.

14 weeks, 1 day

2010-08-23T11:56:00.000-04:00

So this is what a normal pregnancy feels like! Whatever normal is anyways. All I know is that the past week and a half I have felt so much better. I haven't really felt nauseous at all. I am still tired but this is such a change from the sickness I had all day every day with Rebecca. And my appetite is back. I lost about 20 lbs so I am sure it will start creeping back on.

Two years ago today...

2010-08-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

Rebecca and I were in the car accident that put me into preterm labor. And made me miss my baby shower because I was in the hospital. I also have not worked since this day.

12 weeks, 3 days

2010-08-11T16:53:00.003-04:00

Today was my first prenatal appointment. I had gone in last week for an ultrasound because I was having a little spotting but everything looked fine. The placenta is low and over my cervix, but they are going to hold off on diagnosing me with Placenta Previa for now in hopes that the placenta moves up on its own as my uterus grows.

Here is the ultrasound picture from last week (11 weeks, 1 day).

I have been skimming back over some of my books from my pregnancy with Rebecca. Just to kind of see where the development is and refresh my memory. In the ultrasound picture above, the baby measured 2 inches from crown to rump. At the time I thought it was a little bit on the bigger side but I didn't really think much of it since the ultrasound tech didn't seem concerned. Well today when the doctor reviewed the measurements she said that she thinks I might actually be a week further along than we originally thought. She also said that they can be off up to 1 week, 2 days so she did not change my due date for now and she said we will see where it measures at the next ultrasound in 8 weeks. Other than that, everything was great. Fetal heartbeat was 153 and I go back on September 9th.

2010-08-09T16:13:00.001-04:00

We went up to Bad Axe this weekend for a friends wedding. I knew it was going to be a long weekend since Rob was standing up. I did my best to make arrangements to make sure Rebecca got enough rest and would be able to come to the reception for a bit. We took her with us to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday night and she did great. There were so many kids in the bride's family that she had a blast running around with all of them. They were all running to the back of the property picking apples from the apple tree, then running back to offer them to us...

During the ceremony, I took Rebecca to Tamie's house. She did great, took a good nap and I picked her up to take her to the reception. Since she had taken such a good nap, I told Tamie that I might not bring her back. I had initially planned on taking her back to Tamie's around 9 and going back to the reception. But if Rebecca was going to last until 10 or so I would just leave when she started to get tired. She did good through dinner. I brought her Dora backpack and had it loaded with stickers and things to keep her busy at her seat. She loved the stickers, but she loved the candy table more. She ate a really good dinner and then was ready to dance, dance, dance.... Lucky for her the DJ played Alvin and the Chipmunks for a solid 30 mintues between dinner and the start of the first dance.

After all the dancing, she was ready go to bed at like 7:30! I held her off until a little after 8 and then took her back to Tamie's. When I got there at 11 to pick her up this is how I found her...

Ann Arbor Hands On Museum

2010-08-03T20:15:00.002-04:00

5 weeks, 4 days

2010-08-03T08:21:00.001-04:00

Thursday, June 24, 2010

The morning sickness is starting. No actual vomiting yet but just nauseous all day. That on top of extreme fatigue is making chasing a 21 month old around pretty challenging. I tried cutting out the caffeine cold turkey and I was a complete and utter slug. So for now I am having 1-2 servings a day.

We see the doctor on July 12th. It was going to be too hard to keep it from my family until then. The way our busy Summer schedule was working, we were going to see them every weekend, four weekends in a row from the time I found out I was pregnant until I saw the doctor. We called my parents on Skype and told them the news. They of course were very excited! My sister Julie I just blurted it in a Gmail chat session, Erin I emailed a picture of the pregnancy test while chatting with her online and Corinne I tried to Skype but her computer crashed so she ended up getting told over the phone. My sisters are all very excited to be aunties again.

This weekend we are going up to Bad Axe for a wedding shower and we will see Rob's Mom and Grandma. The plan is to hold off on telling them until after we see the doctor, but we'll see how it goes...

Rebecca is going to be a big sister!!!

2010-08-02T13:33:00.001-04:00

Friday, June 12, 2010

After getting a super faint line on a pregnancy test yesterday, I retested today and sure enough the line was darker. I of course didn't believe it so at 7:15AM I threw Rebecca in the car and went to the 24 hour Kmart up the street. Just to be sure, I got an early result test and a digital. I also might have stopped to get what was going to be my last coffee for a long time. When I got home I took one of each test. The early response showed two pink lines right away. The digital took a little longer but the results were unanimous. There's a bun in the oven!

I hadn't told Rob the day before that I saw a faint line because I didn't want to get his hopes up. Now that it was really happening, I had no idea how I was going to tell him. With Rebecca I was so surprised, I just blurted it. With her it only took 1 month, but we have been trying for another baby for 6 months and in all that time, I never thought of a cute way to share the news with him. It is only a week before Father's Day so I thought about waiting to tell him but there is NO way I could have kept it to myself that long. I had a hard enough time making it until that afternoon when he got home from work.

I scrounged the house for a small box to wrap it in and then I thought of this jewelry case we had laying around in a drawer so I pulled that out and wrapped the test in it.

Then of course Rebecca colored on the paper...

He was excited. Now we are just trying to let it sink in.

Dear Rebecca,

2010-08-02T07:48:00.000-04:00

If you would just eat the stinkin' pop tart, my life would be so much easier.

Love, Mommy

P.S. Can we take a nap yet?

Crazy busy

2010-07-25T21:26:00.003-04:00

The past 4 weeks have been absolute insanity. The last week in June, Rob accepted a position at Comau. He had been working there under contract with his former employer since January, they interviewed him way back in April and finally made him an offer! We are thrilled for this opportunity, and relieved as they are a huge company, owned by Chrysler and jam packed with work! It seems like it's been so long since we haven't had to worry about whether or not he was going to have work when his current project ended. There is definitely a new found sense of security with him working for a larger company.

Over the Fourth of July we went camping at Merill Lake with the whole family. Rob only worked a half day that Friday and he had Monday off so we were able to take a nice long weekend. I can't say it was relaxing, but it was fun and Rebecca had a blast hanging out with all her cousins.

The kids played under this hammock peacefully for over an hour.

Someone told Lily "No".

Rebecca with layers of dirt and s'mores on her face.

We got back from camping and spent the next few days recuperating. Laundry, rest, laundry....

That next weekend was my birthday! Rob asked what I wanted and I told him what I really wanted was a night away, just the two of us. We got my sister, Corinne, to come down and spend the night with Rebecca. We got a room at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. We went down Saturday afternoon when Rob got out of work. We didn't do anything too exciting, just went out for a nice dinner and then over to Greektown Casino to play a few slots and do some people-watching. When we finished dinner, we got a call from Corinne, Rebecca was sick with a fever over 104. Of course this would be my luck on my very first ever night away from her. Since we were only about 20 minutes from home, we decided to stay and enjoy our night. We figured if she got really bad we weren't far away.

We got home and she really was pretty sick. That Monday I took her to the pediatricians office and she of course had some whacked out virus. I wound up having to take her in 3 days in a row for them to watch her labs. By Wednesday she was back to normal.

All the while the sickness is going on, I was having some major issues with the cats. When we got home from camping, one or both of them had urinated in the living room. This has never happened before. Hairballs and dingle berries, yes. Urine, no. I had the couch cleaned, got some special enzyme deodorizer. Things were looking up, then they did it again. I was pretty much at my wits end. I have been to this point with them for quite some time. I wanted to get rid of them around the time Rebecca was born. Then there have been a few instances where I have really been ready to just throw them out the front door.

Well last Thursday morning, Rob woke up for work and one of them had pooped in the living room. Finally, we were on the same page. He woke me up and told me they could go. This was the last he saw them. We ended up having a family emergency so we were going to Big Rapids that day. I called my best friend in the whole world, Ruth (a 3rd year vet student, her Dad is also a vet) and asked her if she could take them for me. I had called her a few times in the past year and discussed this with her so she wasn't too surprised to be hearing from me. I am sure she was a little shocked that I actually brought them this time since I had backed out a few times before. Like I said, I had been ready to get rid of them for quite some time but Rob would never agree.

So I packed up Rebecca and I, and both the kitties and off we went back to Big Rapids. We went straight to Riversbend Animal Hospital and dropped them off with Ruth. They did some testing on Freddie and observed him overnight, but he did have to be put down the following day. Liberace is still doing well and Ruth hopes to take him home to live with her and her other two cats, one of which is Liberace's brother (from the same litter).

Here is Freddie...

We got home from Big Rapids Sunday evening. Then Monday morning, Rob's cousin Ann came to visit. We have been so busy doing lots of stuff with her! We went to the zoo, the Tiger's game, the splash park in Frankenmuth... not to mention all the little stuff like lunch with the MOMS Club, the park, shopping...

Tomorrow we take Ann home and we also have Rob's family reunion. I am looking forward to at least a few days of relaxation in the weeks to come.

Dear thecutestblogontheblock.com,

2010-07-24T08:51:00.003-04:00

You are mean for deleting my background from your site.

The video... how could I forget to post the video!?!

2010-06-24T16:30:00.000-04:00

Lucas and Jackson's makeshift water slide.... TURN UP THE VOLUME!!!

And we're back!

2010-06-23T21:54:00.002-04:00

We left for Big Rapids on Wednesday. We were going for my Grandma's surprise 75th birthday party which was Sunday, and to spend some time with my family. Rob had to work so it was just Rebecca and me. Of course 24 hours after we get there she gets sick. Her main symptom was just a really high fever, and she wouldn't eat or drink anything. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around I wanted to take her in just to be sure it wasn't anything more. (These were all the same symptoms she had back at Thanksgiving when she wound up hospitalized). I called the pediatricians office in town where my sister Julie takes her kids, and where we all went as kids. They were so amazing, they let us come right in. The doctor saw sores in the back of her throat and said it looked like hand, foot and mouth disease. Which would make sense because she also had a weird rash on her foot but I thought it was a reaction from her feet overheating in her new shoes because she usually puts them on herself without socks. So, I kept up with the Motrin and Tylenol and after about 24 hours her fever broke but she was still pretty fussy and not eating the rest of the trip.

Here is Lily eating some three cheese tortellini's.

Hunter, Nate and Hannah after chasing down the ice cream truck.

Lucas blowing bubbles for Rebecca.

Lily stole Rebecca's baby, and she loves it!

Dancing with a rusty pole at Grandma's party.

The result of the rusty pole...

Grandma's cake.

Grandma visiting with all her surprise guests!

Rebecca rolling around on the ground half asleep, her signal she was ready to go.

And we're off...

2010-06-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

Rebecca and I are heading to Big Rapids tomorrow to have lots and lots of family time. Rob is stuck home working (again). Sigh.... But we'll be home Sunday so next week we will have lots to write about!

Freebie

2010-06-07T15:48:00.001-04:00

It pays to be a member! We decided to go on a little one night get a way this weekend. We have saved up a few nights to use through our Marriott Rewards, one which expires in September. We have been toying around with the ideas of zoo's in Toledo, Columbus or Cincinnati for trips this Summer. Since Rob has been working a lot and we only wanted to do one night, we decided on Toledo since it's a mere 90 minute drive. Not only did we have the free room, but with our Detroit Zoo membership, we get into most other zoo's and aquariums for half price (plus Rebecca is free)!

When I walked in our room, I vowed to never stay in anything but a Marriott Residence Inn again. Or at least some sort of extended stay hotel. Anyone who has traveled with kids will understand. It was so nice to have a kitchen in the room.

Once we got all checked in it was raining so we stayed around the hotel for a while and went swimming. It was nice because Rob hasn't seen Rebecca swim since our trip to Niagara Falls in early Spring 2009. So she got to show him everything she does in swimming lessons and when I take her swimming (while he is at work).

She also took her baby to walk the halls. This is a very short clip of what went on, and on, and on....

After we went to dinner, she got in her pj's and snacked on an apple while Daddy played on the computer.

She ran circles through this closet banging the doors so many times, I finally thought to use hand towels as bumpers because I could not get her to stop! Too bad it took me a good hour in the room to figure it out.

Of course she had to play a little "peek-a-boo"!

Here she is at the zoo checking out some skulls.

Now you know we had a good time if I got a picture of Rob smiling!

Rebecca pointing out all the animals on the train ride.

Telling Daddy all about something...

Petting the ape like he is her kitty cat.

But they were HUGE!

The zoo had a nice aquarium.

Rob and I have probably been to 8 aquariums all over the country and never seen an exhibit quite like this...

Passed out in the gift shop...

How to be a good neighbor

2010-06-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

Taking up my trash cans is not helpful to me if you move them from the curb to the middle of my front yard.
Edging my sidewalk is not helpful to me if you leave all the clumps of grass on the sidewalk. Especially when I just mowed yesterday and considered myself done with yard work for the week.
Also not cool when the day after I mow and blow the side walk you decide to mow and leave all your grass all over my clean driveway.
Letting your pet rabbits run wild is not cool. If you don't like them digging in your yard, what makes you think I like them digging in mine.
If I wanted to clean up dog shit out of my yard, I would have a dog.
When I go out to mow my lawn, this is not a signal for you to come talk to me. I only have a short period of time to get this done while Rebecca is napping.
I am not a lawn service. When I am mowing my lawn, it is not cool for you to tell me "If you are mowing, and my lawn looks like it needs it, just go ahead and do it."
One should not have pet rats. If you must, it would be great if you kept them in a cage in your home, yard, garage, I don't care where...just a cage.

The Park ^3

2010-05-24T09:40:00.000-04:00

Last month we got a little taste of Summer when the temperatures reached nearly 80 degrees for several days in a row. Now, hopefully it is really here. Thursday was absolutely beautiful! We had our Beaumont Moms group at a local park at 10. And we also had our Moms Club membership drive picnic at another park just up the street. Rebecca could have gone home and crashed after our first park, but we had to at least make an appearance at the Moms Club picnic. I think it is very important for any prospective members to meet as many of the current members when they join. When I joined in February of 2009, it was winter, and the members weren't so active. So it took us a long time to meet let alone feel like we really go to know the members.

The MOMS Club

Ready for a nap, and some A/C

After two parks and a nap. She bolted for the back door (shoes in hand) and started crying to "Go, go..." She knew it was beautiful outside and she wanted to be out in the Sun. Thankfully, there is a park two blocks away, we walked down there for a bit and then came home to cool off.

Popping Bubbles

Toddler Toes

Splashing around

Thank goodness it was gloomy the next day, because after 3 parks in one day I needed a day to recuperate.

Shoes

2010-05-21T15:41:00.003-04:00

Last weekend I started to notice Rebecca was walking kind of funny in her shoes. I assessed the situation and realized her poor little piggies were all scrunched.

Just like before any major purchase (and I consider dropping $50 on toddler shoes a major purchase) I did a little looking online before I hit the store. I buy her dress shoes, sandals and things at Payless or Target, but I like her to have one good pair of sneakers. We went with Stride Rite for her first pair and were very happy with them. My favorite thing about their shoes is that most of their styles are machine washable. And with a toddler, that is very important! Flash back to when I bought her first pair and within 5 minutes of wearing them she had stepped in the cats water dish. Anyhow, I found a few cute styles online so I figured it was worth the special trip to the mall with a Stride Rite store.

So we get there and of course have her measured. Last time we were in, she was a 3.5, I bought a 4 in hopes she could wear them a little longer. This day, she measured a 5. Poor little thing was wearing shoes a whole size too small! I felt kind of bad but I really think she must have just had a growth spurt because one day she was fine in them, and the next she wasn't.

She helped pick out her new pair, and together we decided on these...

She is absolutely obsessed with them and has been wearing them every waking hour. She practices taking them on and off and after about two days, seemed to have it down which shoe goes on which foot. If she doesn't get the velcro loose enough to get her foot in, she goes in to a full blown tantrum. When I take them off to put her down for a nap, she cries. When she wakes up, she has to put them back on before she gets out of her crib.