Last week sometime I was watching a movie and towards the end the main character (Steve Martin) and his wife were going through some stuff. One of which was the finding out she was pregnant with their 4th child when they thought they were done and couldn't really afford another child. Wisely this main character's grandmother a cute ol lady walks into the room and says "You know, when I was 17 your grandpa took me on a roller coaster ride at the fair. It was scary, fun and exciting.... Some people prefer to stay on the merry go round and just go around in circles. Wheres the excitement in that? No I preferred the roller coaster". At the time Steve Martin rolled his eyes but later in the movie it shows him realizing she was talking about life.
It got me thinking about how right she was, life can be like a roller coaster. We can choose to white knuckle the ride, close our eyes and hold our breaths till the end and then jump off and run to the "safer" merry go round. Or we can throw our hands up in the air, open our eyes and scream our lungs out (in fun of course) and enjoy the ride to the end and when its over hop back on and enjoy it again. Our week last week has been one of those roller coaster rides. Its had its highs! And its had its lows that I'll admit at times I was white knuckling it and holding my breath and yes sometimes crying just waiting for it to end. But its life and I wouldn't want to be stuck on a boring merry go round.
Last Tues Willa had her 2mo baby check up. It went for the most part good, she was a big 10.4lbs and 22 1/2in long. She has caught up to her "ideal" weight which is something we have yet to accomplish with Eli. She LOVES to eat. She had some shots as they normally do at this age and of course was pretty fussy most of the evening. But as long as I was holding her nuzzled against my breast she was pretty quite and content. We decided to spend the day with my aunt and her kids after. Eli had a BLAST as did Mommy watching him play with his cousins. Later Casey joined us at their house for dinner and we had some fun. Finally coming home for the evening. Weds was a normal day but I was on a high, I slept good and I felt good. I've always known I need to be around people a lot and I think that 1 day of socializing was a good thing for me. I looked forward to good food and spending time with Casey's family the next day.
Thurs we started down into a low, Casey wasn't feeling well, we suspect him getting food poisoning from under cooked chicken (Hey I tried to make sure that piece was done!) We still went to his mom's house for dinner and had a nice time. Finally leaving a little earlier then normal due to Casey not feeling well. That night Willa didn't sleep through the night, then it really began. For some reason Willa would scream if I put her down, it wasn't just putting her down it was every time I handed her to Casey even. She would scream bloody murder unless I personally was holding her and nursing her. She was attached at the boob nearly all day. Most of the time she would just nuk a little and then fall asleep but as soon as I would move her or put her down she'd wake and scream. It continued most of the night, all day Saturday and Saturday night. By this point I was so exhausted I could hardly even hold her! FINALLY around 2am Sun she fell asleep for a few hours. Sunday we seemed to be coming out of the slump, while we're still waiting to get back up on the high part of the roller coaster I think we're headed back up. At least I hope so, she still wants to be held a lot but is back to sleeping better although still not back through the night. I CAN put her down for a few minutes at least and Casey can once again hold her and get little smiles from her. While this week has been hard I think I would still rather be on a roller coaster then to be on a merry go round where nothing happens. No good, no bad. Just nothing, I've been in that state before and don't care for it. Bring on life's adventures!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
All about Eli!
As the title of this post suggests I'm going to brag about my first born. He's such a wonderful kid who could blame me? He's doing so much lately I don't know where to start!
Eli has really started talking a lot more lately, seems he says a new word every day. He's been having some short conversations with us. Some we can understand perfectly, most we can't. He sometimes gets a little frustrated that we don't always understand him. Some of our recent convocations were:
*Phone rings and I ignore because its a number I don't know* Eli: "Who is it?" Often times when the phone rings he will shout out "Hello!" I love that kid, doesn't matter where we are or what type of ring he'll yell hello.
While Casey was installing new outlets in the kids rooms, Eli: "What are you doing?" Casey "Putting in new outlets" Eli "Oh"
Casey playing with Eli and knocking on a closed door, Eli: "Who is it?"
Eli to Willa while holding out a toy: "Play with this" He's so good at sharing so far!
Eli lately has gotten really good at "helping" me with Willa. One day she was crying and I was ignoring her for just a few more minutes (we're trying to learn to self soothe). Eli ran over to her and stuck her paci in her mouth for her. She still has trouble keeping it in her mouth so of course it fell out shortly after, Eli spent about 5min putting the paci back in her mouth. Was SO cute,
He was so proud of himself for helping!
Shortly after that I hear a loud sucking noise coming from behind me, I turned around and he had 2 of her paci's side by side in his mouth and was sucking on them both at once! Was funny! He hasn't used a paci for sucking on since he was about 3mo old, he just kinda started refusing to take it.
He's such a ham!
We recently brought the swing downstairs from Willa room, she loves sitting in it and we have finally gotten Eli to not try and give her his toys (which sometimes hurt her when he flops them on her) and he for the most part leaves her alone. Sometimes he tries to help with her when she fusses, he'll go over and talk to her or wipe her mouth (he see's me do it when she spits up) sometimes he puts a paci in her mouth (even if she's sound asleep). But generally he's gotten really gentle with her and loves her.
Sunday morning I had given Willa a bath, Eli was in one of those moods where he wanted mommy and was jealous that she was getting attention and of all things a bath! (He loves bath time). Since I use the kitchen sink to bathe her in I generally bring down her clean clothes, diaper and lotion. This is only the second time she's been big enough to bath in the actual infant bath tub that I put in the sink. Before I was bathing her in the bathroom sink and get this she was small enough to lay IN it with her legs bent a little. Anyway after her bath I put her on the couch and put her diaper on. Eli was still pulling at me and crying so I finally told him "Give me your hand and you can help me put lotion on Willa." He held his hand out and I put a little dab of lotion on his hand and showed him to rub it into her leg. He grinned really big, he LOVED it. At first he was a little rough and more pinching then rubbing but he soon got it and was rubbing it nicely. After her legs were rubbed up good we did her arms, tummy and back. He loved it the whole time and got really good at it. It was so cute and she was watching him the whole time too. He's such a big helper!
Yesterday Willa had her 2mo well child check. We take her to the same Dr my aunt takes her newborn who is only 5days younger then Willa so we just go together. After we spent some time with her family, Eli had fun playing with his cousins. Faith who is 4 loved playing with him and mothering him, she was a good helper and Eli followed her easily in the Dr's office. Later while at their house Eli got a cup full of milk off the table and tried drinking it but spilled it all down his front. Since I was going to stay awhile my aunt was kind enough to have her 11yr old run the clothes down to the wash and wash them. Turns out Eli is allergic to the laundry soap they use. Before we left their house his clothes came out of the dryer and we put them on, when we got home he had hives all over his face. He had fallen asleep in the car and had his head on his shoulder which caused the hives to be really bad on that side. His arms and legs also had some hives, he had a onsie on under the hoody and pants he was wearing that didn't get wet when he spilled so it hadn't gotten washed. So all his skin UNDER the onsie didn't have hives on it. We called asked a nurse and they said we could give him a bath with baking soda in it to help with the itching and we washed his skin really well. After his bath Daddy went to get some benadryl that ask a nurse told we could give him. We gave him his dosage and put him to bed, this morning the rash was gone on one cheek but the one that had it the worst was still red and had hives still. However we figure he must have slept on that side the most because about an hour after he got up they were gone.
During the time he had hives he was never grumpy, just could tell he was a little itchy is all.
and finally, I am going to attempt potty training, I know its early so its going to be a casual thing. If he gets it, great! If not I won't push it for awhile. We let him play with his potty chair for a few minutes then we put it in the bathroom. Today when I took him up to change his diaper after I cleaned his booty I said "lets go potty!" and led him to the bathroom. As I needed to potty myself I thought I would lead by example. I sat down and encouraged him to. I cheered as I pee'd (I know I'm crazy!) and then when he started crying I let him up. I flushed and we went to put his diaper on. Later when I changed his diaper again we did it again, this time when I said "lets go potty!" he ran to the bathroom himself. Lifted the lid on his potty and tried to sit on it himself. So he might be ready, maybe starting Monday I can actually start taking him every 30 min or so.
He's such a great kid and we are so blessed to have him!
Eli has really started talking a lot more lately, seems he says a new word every day. He's been having some short conversations with us. Some we can understand perfectly, most we can't. He sometimes gets a little frustrated that we don't always understand him. Some of our recent convocations were:
*Phone rings and I ignore because its a number I don't know* Eli: "Who is it?" Often times when the phone rings he will shout out "Hello!" I love that kid, doesn't matter where we are or what type of ring he'll yell hello.
While Casey was installing new outlets in the kids rooms, Eli: "What are you doing?" Casey "Putting in new outlets" Eli "Oh"
Casey playing with Eli and knocking on a closed door, Eli: "Who is it?"
Eli to Willa while holding out a toy: "Play with this" He's so good at sharing so far!
Eli lately has gotten really good at "helping" me with Willa. One day she was crying and I was ignoring her for just a few more minutes (we're trying to learn to self soothe). Eli ran over to her and stuck her paci in her mouth for her. She still has trouble keeping it in her mouth so of course it fell out shortly after, Eli spent about 5min putting the paci back in her mouth. Was SO cute,
Shortly after that I hear a loud sucking noise coming from behind me, I turned around and he had 2 of her paci's side by side in his mouth and was sucking on them both at once! Was funny! He hasn't used a paci for sucking on since he was about 3mo old, he just kinda started refusing to take it.
We recently brought the swing downstairs from Willa room, she loves sitting in it and we have finally gotten Eli to not try and give her his toys (which sometimes hurt her when he flops them on her) and he for the most part leaves her alone. Sometimes he tries to help with her when she fusses, he'll go over and talk to her or wipe her mouth (he see's me do it when she spits up) sometimes he puts a paci in her mouth (even if she's sound asleep). But generally he's gotten really gentle with her and loves her.
Sunday morning I had given Willa a bath, Eli was in one of those moods where he wanted mommy and was jealous that she was getting attention and of all things a bath! (He loves bath time). Since I use the kitchen sink to bathe her in I generally bring down her clean clothes, diaper and lotion. This is only the second time she's been big enough to bath in the actual infant bath tub that I put in the sink. Before I was bathing her in the bathroom sink and get this she was small enough to lay IN it with her legs bent a little. Anyway after her bath I put her on the couch and put her diaper on. Eli was still pulling at me and crying so I finally told him "Give me your hand and you can help me put lotion on Willa." He held his hand out and I put a little dab of lotion on his hand and showed him to rub it into her leg. He grinned really big, he LOVED it. At first he was a little rough and more pinching then rubbing but he soon got it and was rubbing it nicely. After her legs were rubbed up good we did her arms, tummy and back. He loved it the whole time and got really good at it. It was so cute and she was watching him the whole time too. He's such a big helper!
Yesterday Willa had her 2mo well child check. We take her to the same Dr my aunt takes her newborn who is only 5days younger then Willa so we just go together. After we spent some time with her family, Eli had fun playing with his cousins. Faith who is 4 loved playing with him and mothering him, she was a good helper and Eli followed her easily in the Dr's office. Later while at their house Eli got a cup full of milk off the table and tried drinking it but spilled it all down his front. Since I was going to stay awhile my aunt was kind enough to have her 11yr old run the clothes down to the wash and wash them. Turns out Eli is allergic to the laundry soap they use. Before we left their house his clothes came out of the dryer and we put them on, when we got home he had hives all over his face. He had fallen asleep in the car and had his head on his shoulder which caused the hives to be really bad on that side. His arms and legs also had some hives, he had a onsie on under the hoody and pants he was wearing that didn't get wet when he spilled so it hadn't gotten washed. So all his skin UNDER the onsie didn't have hives on it. We called asked a nurse and they said we could give him a bath with baking soda in it to help with the itching and we washed his skin really well. After his bath Daddy went to get some benadryl that ask a nurse told we could give him. We gave him his dosage and put him to bed, this morning the rash was gone on one cheek but the one that had it the worst was still red and had hives still. However we figure he must have slept on that side the most because about an hour after he got up they were gone.
and finally, I am going to attempt potty training, I know its early so its going to be a casual thing. If he gets it, great! If not I won't push it for awhile. We let him play with his potty chair for a few minutes then we put it in the bathroom. Today when I took him up to change his diaper after I cleaned his booty I said "lets go potty!" and led him to the bathroom. As I needed to potty myself I thought I would lead by example. I sat down and encouraged him to. I cheered as I pee'd (I know I'm crazy!) and then when he started crying I let him up. I flushed and we went to put his diaper on. Later when I changed his diaper again we did it again, this time when I said "lets go potty!" he ran to the bathroom himself. Lifted the lid on his potty and tried to sit on it himself. So he might be ready, maybe starting Monday I can actually start taking him every 30 min or so.
He's such a great kid and we are so blessed to have him!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Things can change in an instant.
The day after my last post which was full of being overwhelmed and overly exhausted Willa decides she's going to sleep through the night. From 11pm-7am! I was praising God! Thank you Jesus! But that was accomplished by doing something that I was discouraged from doing..... Letting her sleep on her belly. She is very gassy and lately its gotten worse when she's on her back. I give her gripe water and gas drops and still she has a little gas. At least its not enough for her to SCREAM like it was before but its still pretty bad and keeps her awake at night. Following the successful full nights sleep the next night I did the same thing. I DO put her down to sleep on her back and she will sleep that way for a short time (although its getting shorter) but she wakes every few minutes and cries due to the gas. She also grunts all night in her sleep, so when she gets to where she's crying more then sleeping is when I roll her to her tummy. Right away she will let out a loud fart and then fall right to sleep. I don't hear a peep out of her all night either except the occasional her repositioning her head (she can lift her head off the mattress all the way). I am careful not to have loose blankets, or stuffed animals in with her. However she has now slept through the night 4 nights in a row! BUT thats only because I'm putting her on her belly. Generally speaking she has been sleeping 11p-6a or so which is great for 2mo old.
So while I've been getting more sleep lately I've been torn, so I called my Dr to ask her advice. She says she still recommends having her sleep on her belly. I ask her what to do cause she won't sleep that way at all and she says to either wrap her tightly in a blanket or put a rolled up blanket behind her to elevate (doesn't work) her head or even behind her to let her sleep on her side. Willa can already mostly roll to her side anyway so I'm thinking if I put her on her side she will end up rolling to her belly anyway. The last few weeks to get her to sleep on her back it would literally take me 4hrs to get her down for a few hours of sleep! I would start at 8 or 9 and would nurse her till she fell asleep and then lay her down. Then would end up getting back up with her right away and nursing her back to sleep. Finally she would fall asleep around midnight but then be back up around 4 or so and then it would take a bit to get her back to sleep. So I'm torn, I was hoping the Dr would say it was ok to let her sleep on her belly because she can lift her head and turn it side to side. But she didn't. So do I keep doing what I know works best and helps her comfort level? I know years ago they used to recommend putting babies to sleep on their belly. Sometimes being a parent isn't as easy as its seems!
On another note, Eli has been such a great big brother! last night he learned how to "kick" a ball and had great fun kicking it down the 7 stairs to our living room where I was waiting at the bottom to toss it back up to him. He would giggle and giggle and squeal and clap his hands. Was a great game and it helped burn some energy! However I did learn that we should give him a little downtime after something like that and not just put him to bed which is what Casey did shortly later. Haha
So while I've been getting more sleep lately I've been torn, so I called my Dr to ask her advice. She says she still recommends having her sleep on her belly. I ask her what to do cause she won't sleep that way at all and she says to either wrap her tightly in a blanket or put a rolled up blanket behind her to elevate (doesn't work) her head or even behind her to let her sleep on her side. Willa can already mostly roll to her side anyway so I'm thinking if I put her on her side she will end up rolling to her belly anyway. The last few weeks to get her to sleep on her back it would literally take me 4hrs to get her down for a few hours of sleep! I would start at 8 or 9 and would nurse her till she fell asleep and then lay her down. Then would end up getting back up with her right away and nursing her back to sleep. Finally she would fall asleep around midnight but then be back up around 4 or so and then it would take a bit to get her back to sleep. So I'm torn, I was hoping the Dr would say it was ok to let her sleep on her belly because she can lift her head and turn it side to side. But she didn't. So do I keep doing what I know works best and helps her comfort level? I know years ago they used to recommend putting babies to sleep on their belly. Sometimes being a parent isn't as easy as its seems!
On another note, Eli has been such a great big brother! last night he learned how to "kick" a ball and had great fun kicking it down the 7 stairs to our living room where I was waiting at the bottom to toss it back up to him. He would giggle and giggle and squeal and clap his hands. Was a great game and it helped burn some energy! However I did learn that we should give him a little downtime after something like that and not just put him to bed which is what Casey did shortly later. Haha
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Confessions of a weary mother
This blog is meant for me to have a way to keep people updated on all things our family. I've also found it helps me to get out some of my feelings which are normally are just happy and how blessed I feel. Don't get me wrong I am VERY happy and I am so Blessed. I'm just tired, I often feel overwhelmed. About once a week I have a break down moment. A just cry and cry moment, normally its due to being exhausted like last nights. I So badly wanted Willa to go to bed BEFORE midnight. Instead she stayed awake till almost 1, I am trying to teach her to self soothe but at night I really can't just let her cry it out for 2 reasons. Casey and Eli, Casey has to get up and go to work in the morning. If Eli is awakened by Willa then I'll have 2 kids to try and take care of in the middle of the night.
I LOVE my kids, I can't imagine life without them, it just gets a little overwhelming at times. At night when I can't get Willa to fall asleep all I do is sit in her room staring at the wall across from me. I'm really starting to hate that carousel horse! (not really). Its also been hard because just like Eli was Willa wants attention ALL the time. She wants to be held and played with, Eli is to young to really help with that although he so badly wants to hold her! She however is way more vocal about it. She will sometimes flat out SCREAM! It doesn't help that for the last week I've had a bad headache that won't go away and I can't take any of my GOOD drugs for it. I've also taken my maximum amount of doses of Tylenol in a week time. My neurologist said when I have a headache like this taking more then 3 doses in a weeks time of Tylenol will actually make it worse because when the Tylenol wears off the headache will rebound and be worse. So with the headache like that I don't WANT a screaming baby. I told Casey last night I feel like such a terrible mother, I can't play with Eli like I used to as much, and I feel bad for feeling tired of holding Willa all the time. Shouldn't a mother WANT to hold her baby all the time? Its not that I mind holding her its just I can't do much of anything when I am. I feel like a bad mother because the house is filthy (Casey says its not). There are so many things I need to do but I'm lucky if I can get 10min of Willa being content not to be held.
Like I said, about 1 day a week I have this feeling completely overwhelmed. Last week I seemed to be doing really good, Tues I had a minor overwhelmed feeling that went away in about 15min then the rest of the week was great! It seemed Willa was getting on some sort of sleeping routine and I was actually getting enough sleep. This week however has just been horrible, I will be glad when its over!
The good news is Casey will stop and get dinner on the way home tonight so I don't have to fix dinner. Then he is going to watch the babies so I can go lay and just get some much needed sleep and alone time. I have a great husband who is so supportive! I can't imagine how single parents do it!
I LOVE my kids, I can't imagine life without them, it just gets a little overwhelming at times. At night when I can't get Willa to fall asleep all I do is sit in her room staring at the wall across from me. I'm really starting to hate that carousel horse! (not really). Its also been hard because just like Eli was Willa wants attention ALL the time. She wants to be held and played with, Eli is to young to really help with that although he so badly wants to hold her! She however is way more vocal about it. She will sometimes flat out SCREAM! It doesn't help that for the last week I've had a bad headache that won't go away and I can't take any of my GOOD drugs for it. I've also taken my maximum amount of doses of Tylenol in a week time. My neurologist said when I have a headache like this taking more then 3 doses in a weeks time of Tylenol will actually make it worse because when the Tylenol wears off the headache will rebound and be worse. So with the headache like that I don't WANT a screaming baby. I told Casey last night I feel like such a terrible mother, I can't play with Eli like I used to as much, and I feel bad for feeling tired of holding Willa all the time. Shouldn't a mother WANT to hold her baby all the time? Its not that I mind holding her its just I can't do much of anything when I am. I feel like a bad mother because the house is filthy (Casey says its not). There are so many things I need to do but I'm lucky if I can get 10min of Willa being content not to be held.
Like I said, about 1 day a week I have this feeling completely overwhelmed. Last week I seemed to be doing really good, Tues I had a minor overwhelmed feeling that went away in about 15min then the rest of the week was great! It seemed Willa was getting on some sort of sleeping routine and I was actually getting enough sleep. This week however has just been horrible, I will be glad when its over!
The good news is Casey will stop and get dinner on the way home tonight so I don't have to fix dinner. Then he is going to watch the babies so I can go lay and just get some much needed sleep and alone time. I have a great husband who is so supportive! I can't imagine how single parents do it!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
What would we do without Eli?
It was with great pride and a lot of apprehension that I watched Eli figure out how to take his t-shirt off a little while ago. Pride that he's growing up and learning so well, and of course the apprehension at having to chase a toddler all over the house to re-dress him from now on! He's already been taking off his pants and sometimes his diapers but normally we keep him in a onesie so the shirts have taken longer to learn. None the less he figured it out quickly when he decided it was time for the shirt to come off! I watched as he pulled and pulled at one sleeve till his arm was out and sticking out the bottom of the shirt. Then watched as he thought his next movement through. First he pushed the shirt on that side up over his shoulder, then he looked at his shirt then pulled the neck hole down a little and looked through it. Then he pushed his shirt up over his head, almost all the way but wasn't far enough, I watch him lower it back down. Look through the whole again and this time start with the bottom of the shirt and slide it all up and off his head. The second arm of course came out easily, suddenly he's standing in front of me with this huge grin and throws his shirt at me. I don't know if I should laugh, cry or cheer his accomplishment. So he gets a good job buddy and he's off and playing.
Some of you may not know but when Eli was an infant he had an umbilical hernia, and a big one at that. His belly button stuck out a lot at that time. So now he has an outtie belly button, while he was taking off his shirt I was feeding Willa. After taking his shirt off he looks down at his chest..... Then back at me..... I knew where this was going I am actually surprised he hasn't tried to "feed" any of his stuffed animals yet. Suddenly he runs upstairs and grabs his pal Scout (little green dog that talks) He stands at the top of the stairs and looks at me again. Then down at his chest, then at me and then suddenly the light comes on and he quickly puts Scout to his..... Belly button! At this point I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling, I had seen him look from one of his tiny nipples to the other he had puffed his chest in and out and I guess they still didn't look enough like the ones I was giving Willa and lets be honest an outtie belly button does look a lot like a good nipple for latching a baby to! Or at least in his mind! So he stands there at the top of the stairs for a bit grinning at me as I'm laughing my head off and then slowly trying to keep Scout to his belly button he comes down the stairs till he reaches the bottom where he sits down for a bit and rocks side to side. At this point Willa spits up all over me (common thing to happen) and I got "Uh oh!" and grab the towel I had sitting next to me to clean up her face and um my boob. Eli jumps up from his spot and drops Scout going (Uh oh!) then he runs over and gets his discarded shirt on the floor and runs over to Scout. Picks him up and wipes his face, then he wraps the shirt around Scouts head. I don't know what that last part was about but regardless he was pretty proud of himself and laughing and clapping. Maybe thats his solution to keep from getting puked on? Wrap a towel around the baby's head to keep it from getting all over?
Finally tired of feeding his Dog he was playing when Casey came in from putting weather plastic on the windows outside. Casey went out the front door and left the wooden one open so Eli could look outside. Eli closed the door, shortly after he wanted it open and I could hear him twisting the knob and trying to pull the door open (yes we're there folks!). He doesn't yet turn the knob far enough to get it open so the door wasn't opening. Finally he stopped and ran to the other side of the door and was messing with the hinges, then he ran back and tried the door knob. Then back to the hinges, this went on several minutes before he finally gave up. I'm pretty impressed that he would think to try messing with the hinges. He's observant thats for sure and seems to be very technically inclined as well. Thats good though because Casey will have fun teaching him all kinds of stuff, from electrical, to building, to car repair etc. About the only thing Casey doesn't know much about is plumbing. Which makes for a great all around husband who can fix just about anything!
So what would we do without Eli? I have no idea! We would be very very bored I am sure of that!
Some of you may not know but when Eli was an infant he had an umbilical hernia, and a big one at that. His belly button stuck out a lot at that time. So now he has an outtie belly button, while he was taking off his shirt I was feeding Willa. After taking his shirt off he looks down at his chest..... Then back at me..... I knew where this was going I am actually surprised he hasn't tried to "feed" any of his stuffed animals yet. Suddenly he runs upstairs and grabs his pal Scout (little green dog that talks) He stands at the top of the stairs and looks at me again. Then down at his chest, then at me and then suddenly the light comes on and he quickly puts Scout to his..... Belly button! At this point I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling, I had seen him look from one of his tiny nipples to the other he had puffed his chest in and out and I guess they still didn't look enough like the ones I was giving Willa and lets be honest an outtie belly button does look a lot like a good nipple for latching a baby to! Or at least in his mind! So he stands there at the top of the stairs for a bit grinning at me as I'm laughing my head off and then slowly trying to keep Scout to his belly button he comes down the stairs till he reaches the bottom where he sits down for a bit and rocks side to side. At this point Willa spits up all over me (common thing to happen) and I got "Uh oh!" and grab the towel I had sitting next to me to clean up her face and um my boob. Eli jumps up from his spot and drops Scout going (Uh oh!) then he runs over and gets his discarded shirt on the floor and runs over to Scout. Picks him up and wipes his face, then he wraps the shirt around Scouts head. I don't know what that last part was about but regardless he was pretty proud of himself and laughing and clapping. Maybe thats his solution to keep from getting puked on? Wrap a towel around the baby's head to keep it from getting all over?
Finally tired of feeding his Dog he was playing when Casey came in from putting weather plastic on the windows outside. Casey went out the front door and left the wooden one open so Eli could look outside. Eli closed the door, shortly after he wanted it open and I could hear him twisting the knob and trying to pull the door open (yes we're there folks!). He doesn't yet turn the knob far enough to get it open so the door wasn't opening. Finally he stopped and ran to the other side of the door and was messing with the hinges, then he ran back and tried the door knob. Then back to the hinges, this went on several minutes before he finally gave up. I'm pretty impressed that he would think to try messing with the hinges. He's observant thats for sure and seems to be very technically inclined as well. Thats good though because Casey will have fun teaching him all kinds of stuff, from electrical, to building, to car repair etc. About the only thing Casey doesn't know much about is plumbing. Which makes for a great all around husband who can fix just about anything!
So what would we do without Eli? I have no idea! We would be very very bored I am sure of that!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Where do you want to be in 5yrs?
If you had asked me that 5yrs ago I might have answered that I would like to be married but at that point I wouldn't have thought it was possible. Let alone having 2 kids! You see it was 4 years ago today that I met Casey. We had e-mailed online for about a week and decided to meet in person. I know kinda fast but I felt like it was safe enough and the way he talked in e-mail made me feel pretty safe about it.
We met at a bowling ally near my apartment for a game of bowling, many of you that know me really well know that I had dated 2 other guys before meeting Casey. The first one lasted almost 3 years kinda as he joined the Navy after we met and was away most of the time. The 2nd one well I knew from the beginning I wouldn't marry him but he was a fun photography buddy. Both relationships let me know what I did and didn't want in a guy. I wanted a guy that had a closer moral (and political) view point to myself like the 1st one I dated. But I wanted someone who wasn't so afraid of relationships and didn't wall himself off which was like the 2nd one. Casey turned out to be the perfect mix of both of the guys and the area's in them that I found attractive. We met in front of the bowling ally and he gave me some flowers. That right there was pretty impressive. Even while dating 2 other guys before that I had only gotten flowers once and that was from the first one after I wrote him a scathing letter because he hadn't sent me flowers for Valentines day. Haha
After introducing ourselves we went inside to bowl and get to know either other. Casey of course was doing a really good job, I on the other hand wasn't. Towards the end of the 2nd game that I was losing badly I mentioned I was never good at it and he suddenly started to do horribly as well. Finally the last frame I knew if he got a gutter ball I would barely win and I knew he knew that. I could see it in his face he was going to throw the game just because he was so sweet. I figured he had started doing poorly on purpose and so I said "Don't you throw the game!" Catching him mid stride he stops and comes back and starts again and then bowls a strike of course.
Here is the bowling ally we met at, we had a couple more dates after this and then he went with me to meet my family the following week. The funny story we always like to share is how I lived in apartments right across the street and behind some other apartments. I told him that I lived in "Yellow" apartments.
We had agreed to have him pick me up at my apartment for dinner the night before we were to go visit my dad and family. I had told him to call me when he was leaving his house and let me know he was on his way and I would give him directions....... He finally called at the time he was supposed to be there and said he was right outside the front of my building (pictured here). I couldn't believe it, what? How'd he find me? Ok so I know its not hard when the apartments are yellow but this is a huge complex so how'd he know MY building? Well his logic was that he just looked for my yellow car that had dolphins hanging from the rear view mirror.
My thinking when he found me like that was "Is he a stalker?" to make the story even greater was when I asked where we were going (supposed to be going to dinner) and he says "Village Inn" Ok so I didn't know there was a restaurant named "Village Inn" so of course I nearly jumped out of his moving truck! Good thing I didn't because when I said "Umm so they have a restaurant IN the Inn?" He laughs and says "No it IS a restaurant". Oh whew! The weekend after that went GREAT!
So to go to my Dad's in Columbia MO I picked him up at his house and got a glimpse of where he lived...
Yes that tiny house was his home his whole life! Can you believe at one time there was 4 people living in there? His grandparents, his Mom and himself. Now it could easily be done except for the fact that his mom and grandma are pack rats! Notice the shed in the back (blue) it is almost as big as their whole house! And yes it was full of JUNK.
For Thanksgiving later that month we went to my Dad's again. While there my mom sent all of us a text message saying not to plan anything for the last week of July through the first week of Aug. I decided to be cheeky and text her back saying "But I'm getting married that weekend!" I of course was joking! We hadn't even known each other a month yet. However I will confess that after our first date when I was telling my Dad how it went I had told him I had a feeling I'd be marring this guy.
Little did I know at the time when I was just being a smarty pants that about 4mo later on March 23 2008 that Casey would propose. Since we wanted to have the motorcycle as part of the wedding and wanted to do it at the church we were going to we had to settle for Aug 2 2008 which ended up being the weekend that my Mom had said not to make plans for back in Nov! It was to funny, but turns out the reason was because my younger siblings were going to be attending acting camp and as it turns out that Saturday was just the end fun talent show they do and as it turns out my siblings ended up not being able to attend camp anyway. So it all worked out.
If you had asked me 5yrs ago where I saw myself I wouldn't have said In Olathe KS, owning my own house with my husband. I wouldn't have said the house would be in a good neighborhood with a fenced yard (something I ALWAYS Wanted) with our 2 dogs. I wouldn't have said that I would be married to someone I didn't yet know, I wouldn't have said that I would have 1 child let alone 2. I wouldn't have said that I would have my photography business (A long time dream of mine) at least somewhat up and going. I wouldn't have been able to predict how much my life was going to change in just a few short years. If you would have told me where I would be I would have probably smiled at the thought but laughed at you for thinking you were crazy. So many of my dreams that I was starting to think would never happen have happened over the last 5 years. They have been WONDERFUL and I am so happy and thankful to a marvelous God who has finally said that I was done waiting and that it was time to say Yes to some things. Don't get me wrong, it took him saying No to several other things, but looking back on it I wouldn't change that for anything. The things I was begging him for 5yrs ago that he said No to I am so glad he did. Because then I wouldn't have what I have today. A life with the most amazing husband and wonderful kids. I really feel blessed so much and often think I don't deserve it all. God has been good to our family and he continues to be so now.
A little side note at the end of this, I started typing this up yesterday (Nov 3) but couldn't finish it till now. Haha
We met at a bowling ally near my apartment for a game of bowling, many of you that know me really well know that I had dated 2 other guys before meeting Casey. The first one lasted almost 3 years kinda as he joined the Navy after we met and was away most of the time. The 2nd one well I knew from the beginning I wouldn't marry him but he was a fun photography buddy. Both relationships let me know what I did and didn't want in a guy. I wanted a guy that had a closer moral (and political) view point to myself like the 1st one I dated. But I wanted someone who wasn't so afraid of relationships and didn't wall himself off which was like the 2nd one. Casey turned out to be the perfect mix of both of the guys and the area's in them that I found attractive. We met in front of the bowling ally and he gave me some flowers. That right there was pretty impressive. Even while dating 2 other guys before that I had only gotten flowers once and that was from the first one after I wrote him a scathing letter because he hadn't sent me flowers for Valentines day. Haha
After introducing ourselves we went inside to bowl and get to know either other. Casey of course was doing a really good job, I on the other hand wasn't. Towards the end of the 2nd game that I was losing badly I mentioned I was never good at it and he suddenly started to do horribly as well. Finally the last frame I knew if he got a gutter ball I would barely win and I knew he knew that. I could see it in his face he was going to throw the game just because he was so sweet. I figured he had started doing poorly on purpose and so I said "Don't you throw the game!" Catching him mid stride he stops and comes back and starts again and then bowls a strike of course.
My thinking when he found me like that was "Is he a stalker?" to make the story even greater was when I asked where we were going (supposed to be going to dinner) and he says "Village Inn" Ok so I didn't know there was a restaurant named "Village Inn" so of course I nearly jumped out of his moving truck! Good thing I didn't because when I said "Umm so they have a restaurant IN the Inn?" He laughs and says "No it IS a restaurant". Oh whew! The weekend after that went GREAT!
So to go to my Dad's in Columbia MO I picked him up at his house and got a glimpse of where he lived...
For Thanksgiving later that month we went to my Dad's again. While there my mom sent all of us a text message saying not to plan anything for the last week of July through the first week of Aug. I decided to be cheeky and text her back saying "But I'm getting married that weekend!" I of course was joking! We hadn't even known each other a month yet. However I will confess that after our first date when I was telling my Dad how it went I had told him I had a feeling I'd be marring this guy.
Little did I know at the time when I was just being a smarty pants that about 4mo later on March 23 2008 that Casey would propose. Since we wanted to have the motorcycle as part of the wedding and wanted to do it at the church we were going to we had to settle for Aug 2 2008 which ended up being the weekend that my Mom had said not to make plans for back in Nov! It was to funny, but turns out the reason was because my younger siblings were going to be attending acting camp and as it turns out that Saturday was just the end fun talent show they do and as it turns out my siblings ended up not being able to attend camp anyway. So it all worked out.
If you had asked me 5yrs ago where I saw myself I wouldn't have said In Olathe KS, owning my own house with my husband. I wouldn't have said the house would be in a good neighborhood with a fenced yard (something I ALWAYS Wanted) with our 2 dogs. I wouldn't have said that I would be married to someone I didn't yet know, I wouldn't have said that I would have 1 child let alone 2. I wouldn't have said that I would have my photography business (A long time dream of mine) at least somewhat up and going. I wouldn't have been able to predict how much my life was going to change in just a few short years. If you would have told me where I would be I would have probably smiled at the thought but laughed at you for thinking you were crazy. So many of my dreams that I was starting to think would never happen have happened over the last 5 years. They have been WONDERFUL and I am so happy and thankful to a marvelous God who has finally said that I was done waiting and that it was time to say Yes to some things. Don't get me wrong, it took him saying No to several other things, but looking back on it I wouldn't change that for anything. The things I was begging him for 5yrs ago that he said No to I am so glad he did. Because then I wouldn't have what I have today. A life with the most amazing husband and wonderful kids. I really feel blessed so much and often think I don't deserve it all. God has been good to our family and he continues to be so now.
A little side note at the end of this, I started typing this up yesterday (Nov 3) but couldn't finish it till now. Haha
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
My Halloween project
Friday afternoon while nursing Willa while Eli was taking a nap I was watching our 1 TV channel we seem to get clearly sometimes (have I mentioned how I hate the digital age?). Anyway there was this show on and they were giving Halloween decorating tips, normally we don't decorate except for FALL stuff but this one thing caught my attention. It was a cute thing they did that would allow you to just set it on the porch and add candy, which appealed to me because we enjoy handing out candy but knew we wouldn't be home this year. So I told Casey about it and we decided to do it ourselves. I will be posting pictures and explaining how we did it later in this post.
After getting the supplies we needed for this project I started trying to think of ways to include a way to minister to the children and or parents. Early Sunday morning while I was nursing Willa (seems I do my best thinking while nursing her) I thought maybe I could print up little bible verses and roll them up into little scrolls and attach to the candy. So after feeding her I googled "bible verses for children" I found the following website. http://ministry-to-children.com/ I found their bible verses and then noticed that several included coloring pages you can print and low and behold one was a halloween coloring page. How cool was that? The verse used was "Do not be afraid, for I am with you". PERFECT, so I downloaded the coloring pages (there is a boys page and a girls page) re-sized them to 3x5 and printed them off to roll up and attach to the treats. The whole project only took a couple of hours, and I was able to complete most of it during the kids nap time. So here is my project with instructions. :)
First start out with a medium sized pumpkin and draw dots.
Next get a Bag of Suckers
Print the coloring pages.....
Cut the pictures out.
Then I cut small pieces of ribbon and had Casey get me a cordless drill with a small bit.
Then I had to fold and then roll each coloring sheet and tie with the ribbon.
I don't have a picture of the next two steps but what I did was tie the little "scrolls" to the suckers and had Casey drill holes in the pumpkin. Finally we set up our little "decorated" pumpkin.
Then I also had the idea of using this to promote my business so I put this little sign up. It also has the bible verse used in the coloring pages on it and if you look on the rail there is a box that has some of my business cards in it.
After getting the supplies we needed for this project I started trying to think of ways to include a way to minister to the children and or parents. Early Sunday morning while I was nursing Willa (seems I do my best thinking while nursing her) I thought maybe I could print up little bible verses and roll them up into little scrolls and attach to the candy. So after feeding her I googled "bible verses for children" I found the following website. http://ministry-to-children.com/ I found their bible verses and then noticed that several included coloring pages you can print and low and behold one was a halloween coloring page. How cool was that? The verse used was "Do not be afraid, for I am with you". PERFECT, so I downloaded the coloring pages (there is a boys page and a girls page) re-sized them to 3x5 and printed them off to roll up and attach to the treats. The whole project only took a couple of hours, and I was able to complete most of it during the kids nap time. So here is my project with instructions. :)
First start out with a medium sized pumpkin and draw dots.
The finished product, the thing is there are a LOT of suckers and unless you have a LOT of kids that come to your door, you might want to opt for a smaller pumpkin with a smaller bag of suckers. There were about 160 here. Overall it was super cute and didn't take that long to create. Granted if you did JUST the suckers it would take about 15min to do. :)
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