Park Picnic

A few weeks ago we got together with some family and friends for a picnic and playing in the park. Kaylee loves to play at the park, and was very happy to be with some of her favorite people. Even her Mimi and Pops got in on some of the playground action! :)

Belly!

I have been promising (for many weeks now) to get a belly shot on here. This week marks the end of 28 weeks! Hard to believe. September will be here before we know it, and we'll be back into the habit (if you can call it a habit, more like a zombie state of being) of waking up every three or so hours to feed and change. Or should I say that I will be getting up every three hours as my wonderful husband sleeps through it all. Now...to clarify...I have actually encouraged him to sleep through the night feedings as he is really not able to do too much. Then...during the day, when I am falling over, he can do stuff while I sleep...not too bad of a deal! But with all of the changes of schedule and lack of sleep, comes an amazing new being...someone with a new personality and a new smile...I can't wait!

School Again!?!

When I completed college I probably thought it would be some of the last official schooling that I would take. Then I decided to take an advanced EMT class, then a CPR instructor class...done, right? But once I resigned from the rescue squad (who knows if permanently or just until the kids are a little older) I figured that the CPR instructor would be all I would keep up, and maybe the EMT certification...but no...it was not to be. I currently watch some kids at home in order to make enough money to be able to stay home with Kaylee and soon, Logan. The plan was to watch kids only until our kids were in school, and then go back to work outside of the house. The more I thought about working outside of the house again, the more I disliked the thought. For some people it's the only way- by choice or necessity. I respect that. But for me, I wanted to find another way. So I decide to explore a medical transcription program, decided to take it, and am now almost done with it. I'm praying now that I will be able to find a good work-from-home job at the right time. If anyone knows of any...please let me know, if not, please pray with us that this will work out well.

A Moment of Wow

I just finished watching a small video on someone else's blog that stopped me in my tracks, made me cry and then sit and think. The gist of what happened was a girl was playing softball (collegiate level) and hit a home run...her first ever...and her last. As she rounded first base something happened and she missed touching the base; in turning back she tore a ligament and collapsed. As they tried to figure out what they could do, they learned that if any of her team mates were to help by either a substitute runner or carrying her it wouldn't count as a home run. (sometime after the game this ruling was found to be wrong - they could have sent in a substitute)) So up steps a girl from the opposite team - can we carry her? What? Can we carry her? Less than a minute before these are the girls doing anything they can to avoid letting the other team score... But why? Why would they carry her? Their simple answer...because she deserved it. And I started to think. Would I do something like that for someone who is "opposite" me? And then I though...isn't that what being Christ to someone is? Humbling.

Vacation (part 5)

Cherry Girl!

Kaylee decided that she was not going to be a good eater for most of vacation. But she did make an exception for the fresh cherries that we got at the market. She loved them...probably ate at least half a pound. Although I would have liked for her to eat better, at least what she did eat was good for her. And cute to watch. :)

Vacation (part 4)

West Side Market...One morning we decided to go to the West Side Market. It was kind of like one of the open-air markets you see on TV, but it was in two buildings. The first one we went into was all produce...tons of stuff lining either side of a jam packed aisle. (of course, Kaylee was trying to say hi to EVERYONE who passed by) All of the vendors were competing to have you buy their melons or grapes or vegetables by giving out samples and offering combinations of items for even cheaper. The prices were already great - like 1.99 for a pound of cherries or 1.50 for a honeydew! (I wish we had one of these around here) We ended up getting some cherries, grapes and melons which were wonderful.

The second building we went into was full of meats, cheeses, breads, desserts and even a coffee shop. We got some coffee, special desserts (canolli and some kind of layered chocolate mousse thing - there were several pregnant women getting things from this counter :) ), jerkey and part of a huge loaf of bread. The bread (pictured) was a special bread that is kind of like a rye, but not really...it was hard and crusty (in a good, almost toasted kind of way) on the outside and soft on the inside.

The whole market was a neat experience, and although probably routine for those who live nearby, was something fun and different for us.

Vacation (part 3)

For those who don't know...I love candy...I always have. And evidentially my daughter is the same. While on vacation we went to two candy stores. One had anything you could think of, from novelty candy to jelly bellies that had tastes I wouldn't even want to smell (like puke and diaper wipes); the other was a smaller chocolate store that during parts of the year gives tours of its factory. We were hoping to take a tour, but learned that they didn't start until after Labor Day, so we decided not to stay for that. hehe

In the first candy store they had little shopping carts which Kaylee drove around like a maniac, sometimes slamming into the racks because she does not yet know how to turn well while going fast. (the cart kept her from trying to eat any fallen candy off the floor - gross!)

The second store had a few samples that the lady brought for us to try once she learned that we were from out of state...notice the residue from the sprinkles...I should invent sprinkles for kids that don't do that...I could make millions.

Although we really didn't buy a lot of candy, we enjoyed our sweet stops on vacation.

Vacation (part 2)

I'm starting to think that capturing our vacation week is going to take a while...but I am determined to do it as scrapbooking isn't so much of an option right now and I've heard you can print these things. (will learn how later) Last year when we went to Tennessee, Kaylee didn't really have as much fun on vacation - but this year she seemed to enjoy herself. Even though she won't remember this vacation, I want to capture memories to share with her later. So I won't forget...
~Our first night she had a hard time falling asleep. We put her in her pack 'n play and she cried...and cried...and cried....finally we thought that she was asleep. Someone on the TV clapped and she bounced up and yelled "yeah" and started clapping - then laid back down and went to sleep for the rest of the night.
~Our second night she had a little easier time falling asleep. Again, we thought that she was good and asleep and then up pops her little head and she pointed at Adam and started hysterically laughing, and laughing, and laughing...then laid back down and went to sleep. Of course, we didn't laugh at all... :)
~The last night she didn't cry, didn't laugh, just sat herself down in the corner and watched cooking with us until she literally fell over and fell asleep.
~One evening when we got back to the hotel I changed from jeans to sleep pants. My jeans were sitting on top of my bag and Kaylee brought them to me. I folded them and asked her to take them back to my bag. She took them, as if understanding exactly what I asked, went to the trash can, fixed the bag, threw my pants away, stepped back, nodded and walked off. Was she trying to tell me something?
...more stories and memories to come....

Vacation! (part 1)

This past week we spent the week in Ohio on vacation. It seems like a rather strange place to go, but we figured that a week at the beach might be a little hard with Kaylee. So, Adam, being the amazing husband that he is, suggested that we plan our family vacation to Ohio where my best friend lives. I haven't seen her since my wedding, and he knew that I was really missing her. We spent the first of the week in Cleveland and the last part of the week with my friend. The first full day that we were there we went to the Science Museum and to the Hard Rock Cafe. The museum had all kinds of hands on things that Kaylee enjoyed - especially after being restrained in the car for 7 hours the day before!
The second day was rainy and we went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (hey, we HAD to do at least one manly fun thing for dad!). They had a lot of fake football players displaying various uniforms throughout football history, and Kaylee enjoyed saying hi to all of them. In fact, everywhere we went she was an official greeter. It was so cute to hear her little soft voice saying "hi" to just about everyone we saw. It made her so happy when people recognized her and said "hi" back. From this I have learned the importance of saying hi to every little kid who says hi to me. It means so much to them to be seen and recognized and it started to break my heart a little when people would look at her saying hi and then ignore her. Granted, she's so stinking cute that we get attention everywhere we go, so it doesn't happen often, but when someone wouldn't say hi she would look at us as if to say, "why aren't they paying attention to me?" Fortunately she gets over it quickly and goes right on.