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.

Oh, the things I've learned

I love to watch Kaylee learn and discover new things. I sometimes am amazed at what such a tiny little thing can learn and do. Here is a (*partial*) list of the recent, and some not so recent things she can do. (not all of them are favorites of mine for her to do, but she seems to enjoy them)
1. Hug
2. Kiss
3. Blow a kiss
4. Say mamma, daddy, eyes, shoes, nana (this is either her favorite blanket or the dogs....not sure yet), cracker, and maybe socks
These first four are some of my most favorite!
5. Ride benny (my old horse on wheels)
6. climb the heater to look out of the window
7. Climb anything she can get a foothold on
8. Turn off the computer (when I am using it!)
9. Let the dogs through the gate
10. Push buttons on the computer, TV, DVD player...well, anything with a button
11. Attempt to use the paper shredder (thank goodness for locking switches!)
12. Pick up playing cards with her toes and throw them (just saw that one for the first time just now)
13. Point out her eyes, nose, ears and belly (sometimes hair)
14. Find everyone's shoes and try to put them on
15. Blow her nose by herself (or at least a good attempt)
16. Get a clean diaper out of the closet and bring it to me when I ask...and sometimes when I don't!
17. open plastic bags
18. Feed the dogs their bones (and many other things)
19. DANCE!!!
20. the list goes on....

Lip Lickin Good

Today Kaylee had her first real strawberry picking experience. We took her to the patch a little after 7am and were lucky to even get a row to pick...I guess everyone thought that today would be a good day to pick. Kaylee ran up and down the row, picking off the vine as well as out of the box of already picked berries. We caught her with fully green berries as well as eating the whole berry - topper and all! It was a fun morning to show Kaylee yet another part of the world she lives in.

Birthday Treat #1

So today's my birthday and I was served breakfast in bed with huggs and kisses (and eggs, bacon, juice and coffee) from two of the most special people in the world to me! Presents are nice, but I honestly, honestly am so happy with my dream come true of the most amazing husband and cutest little girl!

A Day at the Park

The other day I took Kaylee to a local park. She had so much fun playing in the rocks, swinging, going down the "slicky slide" and making a few new friends. After we got frozen yogurt and went to see daddy at work. This was one of the sweet days that makes me feel so incredibly blessed to be a mom. It wasn't extraordinary, just a fun time with my girl.

Takin' Our Monkey To the Zoo

I love to take Kaylee places - show her new things and watch her reaction. On her first vacation (which she was about 5 months old) I was very excited about taking her to the aquarium. She slept the whole time. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but well...what can you really expect from a 5 month old at nap time? Several weeks ago I did get a great reaction. We went to a small zoo to see how she would do. No use overwhelming her if she was afraid or not interested. No fear! She loved it! Ran around to the different animals, fed the elephant and had a great time! I on the other hand almost got attacked by killer llamas - Adam laughed so hard he could barely run to my aid and help his pregnant wife...I mean grab the video camera and capture the scene! :) We all had a great time and are looking forward to going to the big zoo in Cleveland in a few weeks!