Loving Life

Bad Mom Day

2012-02-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

Today was a rough day. Nothing major happened, my kids are healthy, I have a great husband, I have a roof over my head, and I have a bunch of food to eat, but I just had a lonnnnnnggggg hard day. From the beginning my children were crabby and testing my patience. Sophia was in on of those moods where she did not want to be put down at all. And Zander was not listening at all, and moving very slow. The kids went to bed late last night (my hubby got them in bed late, I was at work). We had swim lessons this morning, and was late to swim lessons. Zander did not want to participate very much at swim lessons. And he screamed when I had to take the duck away from him in the "go fish" game we were playing. It was time do something else in the swim lesson. I needed a little time to think, and I was not motivated to work out at the YMCA, so I put Zander in the kids zone area with Sophia, and then I sat at a table and made a grocery list. I felt guilty that I didn't exercise. Maybe that would have helped me with my patience and stress level today. Then I decided to take the kids to Burger King for lunch, and I checked my calender on my email and it just so happened that the Mom's Club I recently joined was meeting up at Burger King. The Burger King in my town has a indoor play area, and Zander had a great time playing with the other kids. And it was funny because my nieces were at Burger King too. About 30 minutes after we were at Burger King I see my nieces with their Grandma. My sister-in-law was working today and her mom was watching her girls. It was fun to see them up there unexpectedly. Zander was excited to see his cousin. Zander and Jaylyn have such a good time when they are together. We had a good time at Burger King. It was nice to get to know some of the ladies in the Mom's group. But when it was time to leave, that's when the trouble started. Zander decided to throw a tantrum, because he did not want to leave. I ended up carrying Zander and Sophia out to the car in my arms along with my purse and a small diaper bag. The kids decided they were not going to nap, they were only in their rooms for about 30 minutes before Zander came out of his room, and then woke up Sophia. We went grocery shopping in the afternoon, but Zander wasn't listening very well in the store either. At one point as we were leaving, Zander was climbing all over the cart. I used a grocery cart that has a little car in the front where the kids sat in. While in line, Zander decided he was going to climb up and sit on the top of the car. Now looking back, I should of gotten a picture of it. He usually isn't that daring. But at the time, I was so embarresed because Zander was not listening to me. And I was disciplining him all day long. It was rough. And I felt bad because I lost my patience a few times with him, and yelled at him. I don't want to be a yelling mom, but I was so frustrated with him today. I need to keep praying that God helps me to be the best mom I can be for my children. I want to point them toward God. I am trying to raise children who will love God with all their hearts. Some days it is ROUGH and TOUGH. To top it off my husband had a long day at work, and didn't get home from work until 8:30 p.m. The kids didn't see him all day today. He left around 6 a.m. this morning for work, and when he got home the kids were in bed already, because their bedtime is 7:30 p.m. I am glad this day is over, but I am sad I have to work tomorrow. At least I have a three day weekend. We have a busy weekend planned, but it should be fun!

Even though today was a ROUGH day, I love these children with all my heart. And am so thankful God blessed us with them. I am so glad God lent them to us. Because they are ultimately God's children, and He has lent them to us. I love them with all my heart. And I truly miss them when I am not with them.

Daddy's Girl

2012-01-31T21:52:00.003-08:00

These pictures were taken on April 9, 2011, Sophia was 5 1/2 months old.

She loves her Daddy!

Walking Backward, But not Looking Back

2012-01-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

We had a nice day. Well, except for some disheartening news. Both kids slept in until 8 a.m., so we only had about an hour and 15 minutes to get ready before swim lessons. We headed to swim lessons, and I was on my game today as a mom. I remembered the swim bag and the diaper bag. And we made it to the YMCA 15 minutes early. Sophia was dropped off at the Kids Zone, and she did pretty well. She didn't fuss, and actually wanted to go play. She did turn back to me, and started walking toward me, but the employees helped me by picking her up so she wouldn't cry and I could go with Zander to swim lessons. Zander is doing so well at swim lessons. He used the floating device that goes on his back, and was holding the noodle to try to help him swim. It was cute, while in swim lessons, the last thing we did was play with the ball in the pool. We are all in a circle and the kids push the ball through the water to the next person in the circle. Almost every time the little girl pushed the ball to Zander, Zander said thank you. It was very cute. My little polite boy. Then as we were walking out of the YMCA, Zander decided he was going to walk backwards. It was very cute! He did it all on his own. I don't think he has ever seen anyone walk backwards, so I am not sure where he learned to do that. Another memory I want to remember is how friendly and sociably Zander is. Zander says hi to everyone, and then he asks them "What are you doing?" And everyone seems to answer that question. It is very cute. Sophia was a very happy baby today. Okay, let me rephrase that. Sophia was a happy baby/toddler this afternoon. I just realized that she is really not a baby anymore. SO, I guess I have to start calling her a toddler instead of a baby. Sad. This morning Sophia was fussy and clingy. She wanted me to hold her all the time. It was hard getting dressed, and getting ready because every time I put her down she would cry and fuss and the come over to me and try to sit in my lap or climb all over me. I put both of them down for naps around 12:30 or 12:45 p.m.. Sophia only slept for about an hour. When she did wake up, she was a very happy girl. I think she enjoyed getting mommy all to herself. And I am sure she enjoyed not having her big brother pushing her or grabbing all the toys out of her hand, as he tends to do lately. She was walking all over the playroom/basement just smiling and giggling. I had the T.V. on at one point as background noise and she started dancing when some music came on the T.V. She was getting a little sassy with her dancing and just moving her shoulders up and down. That was the first time I saw her do that. It was so cute! I wish I got it on video, and I tried to have her do it again, but it didn't happen again. I love that girl. She is full of joy and love. And she loves to smile.

Sadly, I have not been talking a lot of pictures lately. Today I took videos of Sophia, but no photos. I need to start taking more pictures. I am so disappointed with myself.

The disheartening news is that we had to pay $1600 to repair a friend's car. My husband hit my friend's car while it was parked in our driveway. It happened about 1 1/2 to 2 months ago while we were car pooling to work because I was orientating her. We knew we would be paying for the repairs of the car, but we just didn't realize it would be so much money. But, I know it was just an accident. And accidents happen. I know God will provide for us. We just have to be really good with our money and budget really well for the next few months or longer.

And since I have a hard time posting a blog without a picture, I thought I would post a few pictures, not of today, but some from this past week.

These first 3 pictures were taken on Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sophia is a walking machine. It is so fun to see her walking all over the place.

And this picture was taken on January 17, 2012

Home from Work

2012-01-24T23:05:00.001-08:00

Zander driving our car on September 25, 2011

This is Sophia on March 11, 2011

While I was at work tonight I called my husband to talk to him about his day. He was getting ready to put Zander to bed, and asked if I wanted to talk to Zander. Of course I said yes! Zander got on the phone, and got a little whiny and wanted me to come home. It broke my heart. I wish I could have come. My poor boy didn't understand why I couldn't come home. Thankfully he didn't get too upset, and I told him I loved him and said I would see him in the morning. I love my little boy. I love both of my children. And I am so blessed that God gave them to us!

Snowy fun, birthday party fun, and small group fun

2012-01-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

We had a fun day today! The kids got up in enough time this morning to play outside in the snow before church. We had fun making snow angels with Zander. And Zander and I had fun sledding down our little hill in the back yard. Zander was disappointed because he couldn't build a snowman. The snow was too powdery.

Zander has his hand up because he does not want his picture taken.

Some of these pictures are grainy because they are from my cell phone.

After playing in the snow we went back into the house. Brian gave the kids baths and we got ready for church. Church was great. I love our new church. It was a great sermon ending the series on listening to God.

After church we headed to Fuddrucker's for a birthday party. It was Ava's birthday party. Ava is almost 2 months older than Zander and she is my friend Amanda's daughter.

Here is Ava with her cake

And her is Zander staring down that cake!

Ava and Zander

I thought this picture was cute, Ava talking to Sophia

While we were waiting for our food, Sophia was getting fussy. Ava came over and gave Sophia her stuffed animal. It was soooo cute! What a sweet girl! Happy 3rd Birthday Ava!

After church, we headed to my parents house for about 30 minutes because we had a short period of time before small group. At 4:30 p.m. we headed to our friends Paul and Jen for small group. In our small group we are reading and study a book called "Radical" by David Platt. We are going through a chapter each time we meet. We meet every other Sunday evening. The first chapter was already deep and challenging, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book. I think this book will really help me to grow in my faith. But I will admit, I am a little scared of what God may be asking of me. But I will trust in God.

Mac and Cheese

2012-01-20T05:57:00.000-08:00

This was Zander when he was exactly 11 months old on February 24, 2010. It was his first time eating Macaroni and Cheese. My how he has grown.

Photo Work Day

2012-01-17T22:46:00.001-08:00

This picture of Zander cracks me up. It was taken on May 6, 2010. Zander was 13 1/2 months in this picture. He is almost Sophia's age now.

Fun experiment on days I work

2012-01-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

On days that I work I don't have time to blog. I decided on the days I work I am going to pick a random album in my picture files, and pick one picture from that album to post on my blog. It will be totally random, and even if I don't think any of the pictures in that album are very good, or blog worthy, I will post one anyways. SO here is today's photo. It was taken on August 27, 2011, a picture of my sweet girl Sophia.

Our Morning

2012-01-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is how I found my husband and my daughter spending some of their morning. My husband loves his kids. And Sophia is such a daddy's girl!

So, Brian shared some of his cereal with Sophia

And then he decided this was how he was going to brush his teeth this morning. I walked into our master bathroom to find this...

Swimming and Shelving

2012-01-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

Sophia had her first swim lesson today. And Zander came with for the lesson too, because he had to make up for the lesson we missed on Wednesday.

Sophia did really well. She loved it. Zander is still a little clingy. He always had one arm around someone's neck. The kids are in a parent-child swim class, so Brian and I both got in the water today with Zander and Sophia. Zander did warm up after a while and was smiling and laughing when they did the throw the fishy game. The child throws a fish or duck and then swims to get it.

After swim lessons, we stopped and picked some KFC and brought it home where we had lunch with my parents. My parents came to visit us today because they bought shelves for us. After lunch we began the task of putting all of the shelving units together. My parents were great because they stuck around for many hours putting together the shelving units. The shelves are for all of the kids toys in our basement. And it looks amazing. I will have to put pictures of it on here later. After all the shelves were up and the toys were organized, I snuck away to do a little shopping. I had to go to the Disney Store to get a gift for my niece for her birthday tomorrow. And then I stopped at Kohl's to return something.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep up with my blog more. I am going to try and post every day I am off work. And the days I am working I am going to try to post 1 picture. I really love blogging, and do it as a way to remember the day to day of my life with my family. I think it is a great way to record the memories and milestones of my children. And to remember what they have said, or how they are growing. They grow up so fast, and I want to remember it all. I have decided my blog may not be perfect and I am definitely not a good writer, but I am still going to do it. Even if what I write may not make sense always.

labor day

2011-09-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

Today is Labor Day, and I am definetely Labored. I had to work! When I was trying to say goodbye to Zander and go to work, Zander ran out into the garage and tried to get into my car. He was so upset to see that he couldn't come with me. Trying to explain that I have to go to work, and he has to stay home with daddy is hard. He was very upset, and just cried and cried. My poor baby. I love that boy. He is such a mamma's boy! Brian was going to take the kids to the labor day parade that our town puts on, but he mixed up the times. He thought the parade started at noon, but it started at 10 a.m., so he missed it. Maybe next year. This parade must be very exciting, because people set up chairs along the parade route for days in advance.

On another note, I need to blog more about what Sophia is up to. Especially when it comes to new things she is doing or saying. Sophia now says "mamamamamam." I am not sure if she said it today for the first time, but I do know she is now saying it as of today. I love that girl. God has truly blessed us with 2 amazing kids!
I forgot to blog the other day, so here is something that happened on Saturday, September 2, 2011.

Sophia had her first wagon ride

And her brother pulled her in it!

Even though at times he couldn't see

Zander loved pulling her. He is concentrating here!

And she loved it!

Productivity

2011-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

1 load of laundry

plus

all the laundry sorted

plus

1 tray of blueberry baby food made

plus

1 tray of banana baby food made

plus

1 tray of sweet potato baby food made

plus

2 children fed breakfast

plus

1 bottle given

plus

5 diaper changes, 3 of them poopy

plus

2 children dressed for the day

plus

1 child down for her morning nap

all before noon equals

1 busy but productive morning

He is Risen

2011-04-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

Jesus has Risen! And I am so thankful for that!!!

I worked yesterday, but I did get to enjoy some family time before I started work at 11 a.m. We had a treasure hunt with Zander yesterday morning. And then we tag teamed and got the kids ready for church with baths and everything. Then we took a few family photos, before I changed into my scrubs and then raced off to work.

Sophia right after her bath

Brian took the kids to church and then over to his parents to celebrate Easter with his brothers and their families. They had a little Easter Egg hunt for the kids over there. Brian even brought a plate full of food to the hospital for me because I couldn't celebrate with everyone else. That was very nice of him.

Fun at Bellaboo's

2011-04-08T00:13:00.001-07:00

I went to Bellaboo's today with my kiddos, my 2 nieces, my nephew, and my mom. Bellaboo's is a children's museum/play adventure place. The kids had a blast. It was fun to watch them having so much fun. After arriving back at my mom's house, my niece Julia asked my mom "can we go back tomorrow."

Here are some pictures from our day.

My nieces and nephew, Julia, Tyler, and Alyssa

Alyssa jumping in the ball pit!

Julia

The Firetruck cookies they made.

Instead of picking up the cookie to eat it, Zander decides to leave it on the counter and bite from there.

Tyler

My sweet little giraffe, Sophia!

The picture above looks really weird, and makes Sophia look fatter than she is. She has the seat belt from the stroller on underneath her dress. She is such a skinny thing, but it doesn't matter to her or us either way. I just wanted to bring clarity to this picture.

Not how I planned my day!

2011-04-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

Do you ever plan your day out in your mind, but in actuality it goes nothing like you planned? That is exactly how my day went. I am not complaining, I had a wonderful day, but it was nothing like I wanted it to go. I am a planner and a list maker. I love 'to do lists'. And yesterday I made a very long and detailed 'to do list'. And only a few things were checked off my 'to do list.' I was woken up around 6:45 a.m. this morning by Sophia, my daughter, and as I was feeding her I heard a knock on the door. As I walked out of my room wondering who would possibly be at my door this early in the morning, I glanced in the direction of my kitchen window, and my little sister was peering in my window. She scared me half to death. She came over because she was already bored. She is a teacher and is on Spring Break. It is beyond my understanding why she does not sleep in and enjoy this time, but instead she had been up for 2 hours and decided to come hang out at my house. I love having her so close, she only lives 5 minutes away. While we were hanging out my niece Alyssa called me and asked if I could come with the kids to visit her and her siblings. My nieces and nephew are also on Spring break and are staying with my parents for the week. I agreed to go hang out there for the morning. So I got the kids going and loaded in the car with everything, and headed with my sister to my parent's house. We hung out with my nieces and nephews for the morning and around 12:45 p.m. we headed back home. Zander is loving that his cousins are in visiting from Fort Wayne, because he is having so much fun with them. My mom and I are taking all the kids to Bellaboos on Friday, a children's museum in our area, and I am looking forward to that. Zander loves that place, and he is going to have fun playing at Bellaboos with his cousins.
Zander fell asleep in the car as usual, and I laid him down for a short nap when we got home. Then we found out we had to pick up my husband from work, and then get the car from the mechanics. Our brakes are finally fixed on the Thunderbird. Last minute we invited our friends Racheal and Jason and their 3 girls over for dinner. We grilled chicken and then made some potatoes, rice, and corn to with it. SO, that was my day. None of that was on my 'to do list'. And I think I only got 2 things crossed off my 'to do list', 1 load of laundry and one phone call done. Well, I guess there is always tomorrow for the 'to do list'.

Sophia got some new bows from Racheal

And in the picture below, Sophia was not too happy by the time I snapped a few pictures, but look at those skinny legs

Zander also got some Thomas the Train sandals from Racheal, I just forgot to get him wearing them. Of course he had to wear them right away with his socks on. I wish I got a picture of that because socks with sandles is so in, and they were Christmas socks none the less. Hey, they were the most available socks at the time.

I started off writing this post wanting to talk about how I always try to plan my life out a certain way, and God has other plans. You think I would stop planning things. I know God's way is always the best way, and I trust that He knows what is best for me. His plan for my life is the BEST plan. He has my life all mapped out, and I know no matter what, He is in control, and He will always be there for me. I serve an awesome and loving God.

Shop Til We Drop!

2011-02-24T21:35:00.001-08:00

And ~~boy~~ girl did we ever shop today. Zander, Sophia, and I all went to the mall today to shop. Gymboree was having a great sale, and I didn't want to miss it. I hate to shop, but couldn't pass up on this sale. I planned on meeting 2 girlfriends and their kids at the mall, but one ended up being sick, and the other friend's husband was sick. So I ventured to the mall by myself. I am pretty sure this was the first time at the mall by myself with 2 kids. And it was a sucess. We had a lot of fun. I am surprised I had fun shopping, but that is because we only went to 1 store. We shopped at Gymboree for quite a while. Zander stayed in the stroller the whole time. At Gymboree they have a little TV with cartoons on for the kids. I wheeled the stroller near that and let Zander watch a little TV, so I could shop. He also had his Thomas the Train book to read (which is becoming his new favorite book) and some matchbox cars to play with. After a while, a little girl around 4 years old came over and sat in one of the chairs by the TV. She was trying to convince Zander that he wanted to come out of the stroller. It was quite amusing. She was very sweet with Zander. After I decided what to get, which was a process in itself, I paid and then headed to the food court so the kids could eat. Poor Zander, I only bought him 2 items of clothing, and all the rest was for Sophia. I wasn't impressed with the clothing selection for Zander's size, it wasn't that cute. Zander had pizza, while at the food court and ate really well while I gave Sophia a bottle. Zander did not try to out of his chair once. I was really impressed with Zander the whole time we were at the mall, he was so well behaved. He did throw his cars and his book on the floor a few times while we were in Gymboree, but thankfully no one was in the store at the time but us. And in his defense we were in Gymboree a long time. Once the little girl sat down next to him, he was an angel, and just interacted with her. (I am not one to call my children angels, because believe me, they misbehave at times, as all kids do, but I was so impressed with how he acted.) After we ate, we headed to the play area in the mall. They have an area just for young kids to play at. It is really a nice clean area where kids can run around, climb on things, and slide down the slide. Zander had a blast.

Zander only went down the slide backwards. I am not sure why.

This was how I found Zander when we got home. And he couldn't let go of his Thomas the Train book.

Wow

2011-02-11T04:55:00.001-08:00

I am soooooooo excited. I got to meet someone whom I just love. (okay this is a sidenote, but in the last sentence, is it supposed to be who or whom? I am too tired to figure that one out) I have been reading her blog for almost 2 years now. Right after Zander was born I started reading her blog, and I just love her. I have read her book and I love it. I want to go home and read it again now. I know she doesn't read my blog, but meeting her is almost like how she felt meeting Beth Moore. I should have told her that, but I forgot. Instead we talked about my little girl Sophia and her daughter Charlotte, and how I wanted to name my daughter Charlotte at the last minute, but my husband wouldn't let me switch her name from Sophia to Charlotte. She is just as sweet in person as she is in her blog.

It was so nice to meet you Angie Smith. And I can't wait to hear you talk at the Women of Faith Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am having a blast at the Woman of Faith, All Access Conference, and I can't wait to share with you more about my trip. I will post more pictures and update more on my blog really soon. But for now I better get some sleep, because I am really typing this at 4:22 a.m. on Saturday morning. I don't want to leave these wonderful people I have met. And I sure as heck don't want to leave this gorgeous hotel. I actually said today (technically yesterday) that I am moving in here. But really, I can't wait to get back to Indiana to see my 2 cutie pie kids and my wonderful husband. I have missed all 3 of them soooooooo much, it is unbelievable. SO until I post again, or add to this post, bye, for now.

I am trying...

2011-01-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

...to be a better blogger, but because I have a full time job and am a mom to 2, I am having a hard time. I thought I would post some pictures while I have a few minutes.

Da Bears

2011-01-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

The BIG GAME was on today. The Green Bay Packers vs THE CHICAGO BEARS! If you can't already tell, we are Bears Fans. And unfortunately they lost today. To say I was disappointed would be the understatement of the year. We had a party at our house. And even though I am a Bears Fan, I have to admit I visited with friends more than I watched the game. But the little I watched was dissapointing. I don't think I would be as upset, but we lost to the Packers. Our biggest rivals. I am not a Packers Fan, and dislike Packers Fans. I think they are over the top. I am trying to get over this loss, but it may take a while!

Chicago Bears, I still love and will always love you. But I wish you would have won!

And as they say, There is always next year!

GO BEARS!!!!

I will post more pictures later of the party!

Pictures

2011-01-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

I decided to post some pictures before I get ready for my first photo shoot. I am photographing my little sister's friend and her family. I am so excited, my first official photo shoot.

Zander's sweater was a little big on him, and while on my bed, it somehow ended up like this. And he did not mind at all. He acted like it was supposed to be like that. The new style!!!!

I'm Finally Blogging Again

2011-01-22T04:59:00.000-08:00

Last year I wanted to be better at blogging, ,so I made it one of my resolutions. I was keeping up somewhat for a period of time, but then I had my precious little girl and it made blogging so hard to do. This year I decided not to make resolutions. Since having 2 children I have been in a tailspin. Some days I feel I barely have time to breathe. Working full time and being a mom to two makes for a busy life, but one I would not trade for the world. Except if I could I would probably be a stay at home mom, or at least cut back on my hours. One day I hope to at least work less hours. But until then I will try and enjoy every minute I have with my kids, even in the busyness. I will try and cherish every hug, every kiss, every laugh, every tear, and everything else. I love my kids with all my heart. And if I have to have a busy life to have them, well then that is okay with me. I don't remember much of life without my children. SO, in this post I am going to try to play catch up (or as I like to say Ketchup) with some of my blogging so I don't forget these precious moments. Danielle, this post is for you. Thank you for reminding me to post more, and if you see me slacking remind me again please. I want to blog to be able to remember these times in my life and my kids life and I want to blog to keep family and friends updated on my family. SO Danielle, even though I really want you to move back here, I will try and keep you posted more. I have found that I love to blog, but I tend to spend hours on one post trying to make it perfect. I am deciding now, that I will try less to make my posts "perfect," but instead post more often. Or at least post many short posts when I can. If you see more spelling errors, punctuation errors, run on sentences, or other imperfections in my posts, I apologize. Here are some random pictures of Zander and Sophia.

Sophia after getting a bath

Zander on the way to church for Sophia's baby dedication

And this picture is for my sister Abby

She made the cake for Sophia's dedication. She did an amazing job!! She made Zander's cake for his dedication too! I will have to put those pictures side by side on a post on of these days. When I get less busy!

I've decided that I have spent wayyyyyy to long on this post, so I am going to end it here. But here is to hoping I post more often, even if it is just pictures or a short post. Here is to imperfect posts!

Look who...

2010-12-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

Look who is smiling!

These are some of the first photographs of her smile that I captured. She was smiling a lot for my brother Ryan on December 26th, and that was actually the first time I actually captured it in a picture. I love her smile. And I love her sooooo much!

On another note, today I have been stressed out. Words cannot even describe how stressed out and overwhelmed I am. I explained how I was feeling to my husband tonight, and he stepped up to the plate and helped me with things tonight. I have learned that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I have been handed a lot of lemons lately. So, I have been busy making lemonade. Some crazy things unfolded on December 23, 2010 that I may back post about. I am trusting and relying on God. I know he has the ultimate plan in all of this. I also know He will make good out of a bad situation. My God is an awesome God.

To make matters worse, Zander decided he did not want to sleep much tonight. He went to bed around 9:30 p.m., and had no nap today. Then just as Sophia was falling asleep around 12 :30 a.m. early Thursday morning, Zander woke up. He fussed, cried, and eventually started screaming. Nothing seemed to console him for very long. I tried everything. Brian decided to sleep on the couch downstairs to get a few hours of sleep since he drives for his job, and he did not want to fall asleep at the wheel. I was left to be up with Zander and figure out how to get him back to sleep. We brought Zander into our bed with us, which we never do unless he is sick. Sophia is still sleeping in our room in a bassinet, and surprising she did not wake up. After I tried all my tricks to get him back to sleep, out of desperation, I decided to ask him if he wanted to watch Sesame Street. He immediately stopped fussing and nodded his head yes. Well from then on he only wanted to watch Sesame Street. I was able to doze off for short periods of time while he sat in our bed and watched episode after episode of Sesame Street. When one hour episode was over he would fuss and I would turn another one on from our DVR. I have never done this before and hope I never have to again. It was probably not a smart move, but I did not know what else to do. I am not sure why he would not sleep. I was hoping watching Sesame Street would get him tired and he would fall asleep in our bed. But instead he got all kinds of energy and in the wee hours of the morning he started to jump on me. By 4:30 a.m. when our alarm went off, he was still awake. While we were getting ready for work, we got Zander ready to go to his Grandparents house. My in laws were watching them for the day since Jill and Jaylyn were sick. After getting dressed Zander insisted on having pancakes for breakfast. We got him all set up with pancakes in his high chair and Brian and I finished getting ready for work. After a few short minutes Zander seemed awfully quiet. And this is what I found.

The nice thing was Brian did not have to start work until 7 a.m. so he took the kids to his parents house and was able to help me get them ready. This is not usually the case.

Just remember, I am busy making lemonade if I don't post often.

One Month

2010-11-28T13:50:00.001-08:00

My baby girl is one month old today, I can hardly believe it. Time is going by so fast. Sophia, what have you been up to in your first month of life?

-You wear some newborn clothes still, but are mostly wearing 0 to 3 month clothes.
-You are in newborn size diapers, size 1 diapers are still too big.
-You weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. on November 22, 2010, 6 days before you were one month old. You only gained 1 oz. since birth.
-You lift your head up really well.
-You sleep pretty well throughout the night and sleep from 6 to 9 hours a night in a row. It is usually around 6 hours now that you are getting older.
-You have more wakeful times during the day.
-You eat every 3 to 4 hours, and sometimes I still have to wake you up to feed you during the day, which is quite a feat at times.
-Your big brother loves you very much and helps to take care of you. He gives you a pacifier when you cry. He covers you with blankets, even his, and he swings you when are in your swing. He also loves to give you kisses or pat your head. He also loves to sit next to you.
-You are not crazy about baths yet. You cry most of bath time.
-Your mommy and daddy love you very much.
-You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and we hosted it at our house this year.
-You also had your first road trip, to Fort Wayne the day after Thanksgiving, and you slept most of the way. So far you travel well in the car.
-You are a healthy baby.

We thank God for you every day. God has blessed us so much.

Thankful

2010-11-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for this little girl.

I am thankful that she is healthy. We had a little scare and thought she was having seizures. But the EEG showed no seizures. Thank you Lord for answered prayers and for a healthy baby girl.

I am also thankful for this little boy.

And I thankful for a wonderful husband. I am also thankful for great family and friends. God has blessed me so much. I am most thankful for God. He is such an awesome God.

I am also thankful that our power went back on. I woke up this morning at 6:15 a.m. The turkey went in the oven at 6:47 a.m. At around 7:05 a.m we lost power to our house. Any other year I would have been fine with the power going out, but this year we are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time for 22 people. I called my sister-in-law who lives 5 minutes away and asked her if Brian could come over with the turkey. Thankfully the power was only off for 30 minutes. Shortly after my husband dropped of the turkey, the power went back on, so Brian turned back around to get the turkey and put it back in our oven. I am sooooooo thankful the power came back on. We had a great Thanksgiving. Everything went really well, except that I burnt the stuffing that my mom made.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

This post was intended to be posted on Thursday, November 25, 2010

This...

2010-11-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

...was how Sophia and I spent our day while Zander was at his grandparent's house!

We slept, relaxed, snuggled, blogged, and watched TV. We stayed in our pajamas all day and pretty much stayed in bed all day too. I even had pizza hut pasta ordered in for lunch. Thank you to Brian's parents for watching Zander so I could have a relaxing day with Sophia.

Lunch with in laws

2010-11-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

This post is for Sunday, November 14, 2010. I initially had it posted for then, but I messed up.

The day started with baths for both kids. Brian gave Zander a bath, and I gave Sophia a bath. It was Sophia's first bath, before this she just had sponge baths because the umbilical cord had not fallen off yet.

Then we got ready for church. After church, Brian headed to his parent's house with both kids while I headed to Brian's brother's house. I had promised them that I would take family pictures for their Christmas cards. It was fun to take pictures for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their 2 adorable girls. I would show you what I took, but it is for their Christmas cards, so I will have to post them later. It wasn't any fancy pictures, but they wanted to keep it simple. After I took their pictures, I headed to my in-laws house to join the rest of my family for lunch. We had a very nice visit and lunch with my in-laws. While we were there my father-in-law suggested that Zander sleep over and spend the day tomorrow with him. They wanted to give me a break, and they love spending time with their grandson. I thought about it, and even though I would miss Zander, it would be nice to just have Sophia for the day. So around 4 p.m., we headed home and Zander stayed with his Grandma and Grandpa.

We took these pictures of our sweet girl tonight while all 3 of us were cuddling in bed before bedtime.

I love relaxing days with the family. I sooooo needed a day like today. And I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. A whole day to spend with my little girl!

Lincoln Park Zoo

2010-11-12T19:17:00.001-08:00

This morning my sister-in-law Jill had a Shutterfly Party at her house. Now I will get a free Shutterfly photo book. I can't wait to make the book. Now to find the time to make the book. The party was at 9:30 a.m. and she had yummy brunch for us.

After the party, I headed to my friend Racheal's house, and we all caravaned to Lincoln Park Zoo. Racheal and Jason took their minivan and drove 2 of Racheal's girls, Serenity and Harmony, as well as 4 of Jen's kids, Mallory, Katie, Sam, and Zac. Then I took my car and drove my kids, Zander and Sophia, as well as Jen and Jen's son Anthony. We had so much fun at the zoo. It was such a beautiful day. I think this is the last warm weather day for a while. I am glad we enjoyed it outside.

Zander and Anthony watching the Beavers swimming

Zander playing with Racheal

Zac and Serenity

4 of the 5 Wagner kids, Katie, Mallory, Sam, and Anthony

Racheal, Jason, and Serenity

Zac and Serenity on the Carousel

Harmony on the Carousel

While at the zoo, I had a photo shoot with the Wagner kids and Jen (Jen's husband had to stay at home in Pennsylvania) Here is a sneak peak at the pictures.

When Jen joined the kids Zac decided he didn't want to smile at all.

So the family decided to make the "Zac face"

Zander decided he wanted in on some of the action

After the zoo we all went back to Jason and Racheal's house where Brian met us there, and we had dinner. What a fun day!

2 weeks old

2010-11-11T05:18:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it, Sophia is 2 weeks old today. These last 2 weeks have gone by so fast. It didn't help that we have been back in the hospital 2 other times since she has been born. I am happy to say Sophia is happy and healthy. The EEG has shown no seizure activity. We are so thankful for that. God has truly blessed us. He has given us a healthy baby girl. But we know she is only on loan. She is truly God's and He is just letting us borrow her. We are so thankful for that. We love you Sophia Gwendolyn.

SO, I realize Sophia that you are only 2 weeks old, but what has happened in the last 2 weeks? What have you been up to?

You went to Ingalls ER on the Monday (November 1, 2010) after you were born. We were at Rick Nye's wake and 2 newborn nurses who held you were very concerned that you might be having seizures. You also went to Children's Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 (your due date) and were admitted because we still thought you might be having seizures, and Ingalls did not do anything for you. You have had a CT scan of the head and neck. You had an MRI of the ventricles, and you were hooked up to an EEG monitor with video for about 18 hours. You were stuck numerous times for labs, because your blood kept hemolyzing. They wanted to make sure your potassium was not high. The blood sample that was hemolyzed showed a very high potassium level, but that was not accurate. Thankfully after about the fourth or fifth attempt (your mom lost count) they finally got a good blood sample and it showed your potassium level was normal. You had an EKG done, and you had 2 IVs put in while at Children's Memorial Hospital. You still wear size newborn diapers; size one diapers are huge on you. You were mostly newborn clothes, but wear some 0 to 3 month clothes, but they are big on you. You are sleeping really well at night and during the day. You sleep anywhere between 5 to 9 hours a night without waking up. There has only been a few nights where you have slept 5 hours, mostly it is between 7 to 9 hours of sleep. You sleep a lot during the day, but you are starting to wake up more during the day. I would often have to wake you up to feed you, but you are waking up on your own now. You have lost weight since you were born. Yesterday you had a doctor's appointment with your pediatrician and you weighed 7 lbs. and 8 oz. We have to go back in 2 weeks to see if you gained weight. Your big brother Zander loves you very much. He gives you lots of kisses. He pats your head, and even kisses your toes sometimes. Every morning after he wakes up, he goes in mommy and daddy's room to check on you. Zander does not like when we go downstairs and leave you upstairs in your bassinet, even if it is just for a minute. Your mommy and daddy love you very much. And we are so thankful that you are healthy. God has blessed us. We love being a family of 4. You are sleeping in a bassinet next to mommy and daddy's bed. We are starting to work on your nursery. Your brother is still sleeping in the crib that will be yours, but he will be getting a race car bed soon. You have had many visitors. Many people have been praying for you and your health, and so many people love you.

As you can see from the photos above, my friend Racheal and I had a mini phoot shoot with Sophia today, and we had so much fun.

Zander joined in on the fun too! But he wasn't very amused!

Today is the Day-Meet...

2010-10-28T05:48:00.001-07:00

...Sophia Gwendolyn

Born on October 28, 2010 at 7:43 p.m.

Weighing 8 pounds

And 19. 5 inches long

Story to come soon. But such a sweet girl! We are enjoying her!!!

And her big brother Zander loves her.

Update

2010-10-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

I thought I would update my blog because it has been a while since I actually finished a blog post. (I always start them and save them, but never seem to finish them.) Here goes. I am 38 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I was put on bed rest almost 2 weeks ago and forced to stop working because of preeclampsia. I was not happy about the bed rest but understood that it was needed. I am starting to miss work, which is kind of crazy, and I definitely do not like bed rest. I am so bored on bed rest. You think I would be able to catch up with my blog while on bed rest, but I have had a lot of appointments and they are all about 1 hour away, and I haven't always been feeling the best. Plus my 18 month old is keeping me busy too. I am not supposed to drive, so my mom comes and picks me up. My poor mom, she has been driving like crazy this past week. I have had 3 appointments this past week on 3 different days. On Tuesday we learned that the baby is breech. So if the baby does not turn around, I am scheduled for a cesarean section on Friday, October 29th. I am hoping and praying I do not have to have a c-section. I have an appointment with my doctor on Monday, and on Tuesday I have another ultrasound/biophysical profile to determine if the baby is still breech. Please pray that the baby turns around. I don't think I have mentioned this on my blog yet, but at the beginning of September they found an abnormality on the ultrasound. I really haven't mentioned it on here because the doctors do think that the baby will be born healthy. The cisterna magna is enlarged. The cisterna magna is part of the fetuses' brain between the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata. When a fetus has an elnlarged cisterna magna it could mean that the baby will be born with Down Syndrome or Trisomy. The doctors think that our baby will not be born with either of these because they see no other abnormalities on the ultrasound. Of course they are not 100% sure about this, so there is a chance our baby could be born with Down Syndrome or Trisomy. We are trusting in God for all of this. We know God is an awesome and mighty God, and no matter what happens we will praise Him. We were sent to University of Chicago to get a level 2 ultrasound. This ultrasound was more detailed and higher tech. It was amazing what you could see with this ultrasound, and they had a big screen TV for you to view the ultrasound on. This ultrasound confirmed that yes, the cisterna magna is still enlarged, but no other abnormalities were seen on this ultrasound. Please be in prayer for our baby. We are praying that the baby does not have Down Syndrome or Trisomy. But no matter what we will love this baby and take care of this baby. And no matter what happens, we will praise God.
I have had help from family and friends. As I said, my mom pretty much drives me everywhere I need to go, and she lives about 45 minutes from my house. My friend Racheal came over to help organize and clean my house, and she did an amazing job. The ladies from our church have been providing my family with meals this week, and that has been such a blessing. And some of the ladies from my MOPS group are going to provide meals for my family after the baby is born. I would like to thank everyone for all the prayers, support, and help in this time. It is very much appreciated. We are so blessed, and we know that God is taking care of this little one that is still growing inside of me. We can't wait to meet him or her.

I can't believe this little boy is going to be a big brother in a week or less!

I think he will make a great Big Brother!

He is pretty excited to be a Big Brother!

Okay, so he doesn't really understand that he is going to be a Big Brother really soon. But he sure is a happy boy in this picture. And he loves to kiss the baby in mommies' belly. I just love this little boy. And I thank God everyday that He blessed us with him.

More of the Girls Getaway!

2010-10-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I was up early yet again today. I think God is getting me ready for the new baby, 4 1/2 more weeks. I woke up many times to use the bathroom, but I was up at 4:30 a.m. because I couldn't sleep. I miss my bed, but I'm having so much fun with the girls. Luckily I was only up for an hour and then I was able to go to sleep for 2 more hours. When we were all up we got ready and went Denny's for breakfast. I'm not a big fun of Denny's, but it was close. After Denny's the girls wanted to shop at a thrift store. After that we decided to go to the Carousel District of Mansfield. It is a cute little part of the city where there are shops and stuff. We went into an antique store and looked around.

We saw this cute Carousel Place.

Racheal and Jen at the second thrift store, the one in the Carousel District

Then we went to a cute ice cream parlor for some ice cream, and I tried a new flavor, Superman. It was really good.

After ice cream we walked around some more. My friends, minus me, all wanted to get a tattoo, but unfortunately the tattoo parlor had no openings until Tuesday. I was hoping they could get a tattoo because I wanted to get pictures of them while they were getting the tattoos. Oh well. After we hit the town it was back to the hotel for some hot tub and pool time. Of course I just sat near the hot tub. My friends were disappointed because the hot tub was not very hot.

After the hot tub time, we had a fun and delicious steak dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. And the dinner was free for us. The hot tub was falling apart. My friends found 2 parts of a light cover and a screw at the bottom of the hot tub, and then they noticed a hole in the side of the hot tub where the light cover was supposed to be. One of my friends complained to the hotel staff and told them it was unsafe. Because of that they offered us a free dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Racheal, me, and Jen at dinner

Jen and I

Now we are relaxing and talking in our hotel room. We have had some deep conversations this weekend. Tomorrow we head back home in the afternoon. I am having a great time, but I do miss my husband and my baby boy Zander. I can't wait to see them tomorrow afternoon.

Travel Day for Girls Getaway

2010-10-01T05:22:00.001-07:00

Today I headed to Ohio for one last getaway before the baby comes. It is a girl's getaway. Racheal and Jen are 2 of my best friends, and Mimi is one of Jen's friends from high school that we have all gotten to know. We all decided to meet in Mansfield, Ohio for a weekend of fun! I think we all needed this time to get away and relax. I drove by myself to Mansfield. Originally Racheal and Mimi were going to drive with me because we live near each other. Jen moved to Pennsylvania in August, so she was going to drive from Pennsylvania. We chose Mansfield, Ohio because it was half way for all of us. At the last minute Jen wasn't able to drive because her and her husband are down to one car. Racheal and Mimi decided to leave on Wednesday afternoon to pick up Jen. They stayed with Jen and her family until this morning and then they headed to Ohio. I am not a big fan of driving. Usually my husband drives. I am also not a big fan of road trips by myself. I listened to a lot of praise music, and I really enjoyed that. I had to stop every hour to walk around since I am 35 weeks pregnant. I wanted to make sure I didn't get any blood clots. It took about 4 hours and 45 minutes to get there. But it is great to be around some of my best friends, and to tonight we had dinner at Cheddars. No pictures though because my camera battery needed to be charged. I felt bad, my husband had to work late and my mom and dad watched Zander. It was a very long day for my mom and dad, because I dropped Zander off at their house at 9:30 a.m. and Brian didn't pick him up until 11:30 p.m. I felt soooo bad, Brian has never worked that late.

When Mommy was at work today...

2010-09-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

...this is what Zander was doing with Daddy.

Our Photo Shoot pictures

2010-09-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

This morning Zander and I met up with Jennifer at Dunkin Donuts. My family had a photo shoot on Sunday with Jennifer at Deep River Park, the place where we got married. We took Zander's 18 month pictures, family pictures, and a few maternity pictures. So today we met with Jennifer Thill to order our pictures. Jennifer did an amazing job. If you need a photographer and live in the Northwestern Indiana area, check out Jennifer. She does amazing work. We love the photos she took. Here are just some of what she took. Just click on Jennifer's name and it will take you to her website.

What a day

2010-09-18T18:38:00.001-07:00

This is what our day looked like.

A 2 1/2 hour trip with a crying and screaming 1 year old.

Watching my nephew, Tyler, play in his flag football game.

Watching him pass the ball.

Watching him run with the ball.

Going to the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne, with my family and with my brother Ryan, his wife Cindy, and my wonderful nieces and nephew

Watching Zander with his daddy, he loved being on his daddy's shoulders

Hoping my husband could navigate through the festival with Zander covering his eyes.

Watching Zander play with his cousins

And loving the slide

And having Zander's daddy catch him at the bottom of the slide

Meeting my cousin's baby boy, Luke Robert for the first time

Holding the precious little boy and thinking in 6 1/2 weeks or less I will be holding one of my own precious little infant

Andy, my cousin's husband, with his new baby boy Luke

Luke Robert Oberlin was born on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 1:40 p.m. to Marci and Andy Oberlin and has a big brother, Michael. Luke weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. What a cutie. Congratulations Marci and Andy!

And then I spent another 2 1/2 hours in a car with a screaming and crying 1 year old. For some reason, Zander hated the drive to and from Fort Wayne. He usually does well in cars, even long drives, and falls asleep, but not today. After 1 1/2 hours, I decided to sit in the back seat of the car with Zander and see if that helped. It did not. After a while, I started rubbing Zander's leg, and that seemed to calm him down. He finally fell asleep for the last 20 minutes of our trip to Fort Wayne. On our way home he did not fall asleep at all. He loved when I rubbed his leg, and when I would stop he would take my hand and put it back on his leg so I would continue. I just love my little boy, even when he cries and screams.

Beach Day, Our Labor Day

2010-09-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

We left Indianapolis today and headed home. On the way home we stopped at the beach. Zander has never been to the beach before, and I was really excited to take him to the beach. It turned out to be a cloudy and semi chilly day. It was supposed to be 81 degrees outside, but it sure didn't feel like it. It was windy. Zander still enjoyed the beach. He loves water and he loves playing in sandboxes, so I knew he would love the beach.

Zander taking his first steps into Lake Michigan!

After the beach we met my parents, my Auntie Ree and Uncle Den, and my cousin Den and his wife Danielle at Aurelio's Pizza for dinner. Den and Danielle are in town from Virginia and we had a short but nice visit.

Indianapolis Children's Musuem

2010-09-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Zander and I tagged along to Indianapolis with my husband, Brian, this weekend. For his birthday he wanted to go to the drag races, so we made a weekend out of it. Brian attended drag racing all day today so Zander and I went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Zander had a blast. It was fun watching him have such a great time.

Focused on riding the motorcycle. He has his racing shirt on in honor of where his dad was today.

And this will be the closest he gets to a motorcycle for many, many years.

Enjoying the water part.

They had a play house with dolls, furniture, a kitchen, and other stuff. Zander went in there for one second, grabbed a doll, and headed out of the house with the doll.

He even gave the doll kisses.

He carried that doll around for quite a while.

He even rode the Carousel for the first time ever.

Zander had cheetos for lunch, and would sign please when he wanted another one, so he had cheetos all over the top of his shirt. I am very happy he is signing again. So far it is just more and please, but I am going to work on other signs.

By the end of the day we were both exhausted. We picked up Brian at the races and then stopped at Fazoli's for dinner. I love Fazoli's and I wish they were in our area. They used to be, but closed down. Brian had a good time watching drag racing. He can't wait to go back tomorrow. Today he went by himself, but tomorrow he is going with one of his bosses from his work.

Already

2010-08-29T18:33:00.001-07:00

I was walking out of work tonight and noticed a tree across the street from the hospital. Its leaves have already begun to change colors. They are changing to a pretty red color. I think it will be a gorgeous tree. But, I can't believe that it is not even September yet and the leaves are already changing colors. I love fall, but I am not ready for summer to be over. I feel that this summer was spent too often indoors. Zander was sick with Mono for a while, then we moved so I was busy packing and unpacking. And I am still unpacking. Well, I guess fall is creeping up on me.

Today my husband took Zander to the splash park. My sister, Abby, and brother-in-law Andy wanted to go too. Zander of course loved it. Brian didn't take any pictures, but I am hoping to steal some from my sister. Wish I could have been there, but I am glad they all had fun.

End of Summer Picnic

2010-08-14T11:19:00.001-07:00

Today we headed to our friends' house, Tanya and Bob, for an end of summer picnic. I worked for 4 hours from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then we headed to the picnic a couple hours after I got off work. The picnic is usually the last weekend in August, but it was pushed up to this year. Tanya and Bob decided to try a different weekend to have the picnic because they say it rains every year on the last Saturday of the month of August. Well, it rained today, but only in the morning and it was beautiful weather the rest of the day. Zander had a blast. They had 3 little pools set up for the kids as well as a sprinkler, so that is where my son spent most of his time. He loves water, and he loves playing with other kids. He loved the water and the toy lawnmower. We had a great time, and can't wait for the party next year.

Zander loved this ball, and he kept throwing it in the pools as well as other balls.

Tanya and her son Christopher

The adults had fun playing volleyball.

Playdate with Ava and Meeting Someone New

2010-08-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Zander had a playdate with his friend Ava this morning. My friend Amanda came over with her 2 daughters, Ava and Audrey. Ava is 2 months older than Zander. And Audrey is only 6 weeks old. This is the first time I met Audrey. The playdate was a little rough. Ava and Zander fought over a couple of toys. Zander has some push toys that he got from my mom that absolutely loves. Well, Ava loves them too. First, Ava wanted both of them, and every time Zander would try to take one of them Ava would cry. Ava wanted both of them even if they were just by her side and she wasn't using them. Kids at this age don't really understand sharing yet. We were able to distract them, but then they fought over a puppy dog. I had a solution for that. Zander has 2 of these toys that are similar, a puppy dog by Fisher Price and then "Scout" by Leap Frog. Apparently that did not completely take away the crying. Oh well. It was so nice to meet Audrey. After an hour or 2 we went and got some lunch and then ate at the park. It is soooooo hot and humid today. We only lasted about 45 minutes at the park, and we all were drenched in sweat by the end of our park time. I didn't get many pictures of Zander and Ava because most of the playdate at our house either one or both of the kids were crying.

Little Audrey Emily

Both Zander and Ava wanted the puppy dog

And in the left of this picture are the other 2 toys they fought over earlier.

Zander gave up on the puppy dog, but Ava has tears in her eyes.

Oh, I forgot, they fought over the sprinkler too. After a while all Amanda and I could do was laugh.

I hope next time they get along better. We did have fun at the park.

Road Trip for a Bridal Shower

2010-08-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

My mom, my sister Aubrey, and I all took a day trip to Fort Wayne to attend my cousin Mandy's Bridal Shower. She is getting married October 23rd, 11 days before my due date. I am hoping I will be able to attend. We had so much fun at the shower, and on the car ride there and back.

The Bride and Groom to be, Michael and Mandy

My adorable nieces, Julia and Alyssa

The three pregos, my cousins Melissa, Marci, and Me

Jessica, my cousin, with her new baby boy, Caleb

The cousins picture, Jessica, Melissa, Marci, Mandy, Allie, and Aubrey

Caleb, what a cutie!

Photography and Some Fun in the Sun

2010-08-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

I love photography. I love taking pictures, I love editing them, and I love looking at them. Okay, I am not crazy about the editing process. It just takes too long, but I love the finished product. I have a lot to learn when it comes to editing. I hope to do photography on the side. So, I have recruited some of my friends kids to practice on. Jen came over and brought her 3 adorable children for me to photograph. It was a scorcher today, but they were troopers. Here is a preview of some of the photographs I took.

After the photo shoot, Zander and I headed over to my friend Racheal's house. Racheal has 3 girls, and they are all so helpful and loving toward Zander. They want to do everything for Zander including changing his diaper. We had lunch over at Racheal's house and then went swimming in their pool with them. Then it was back home for a nap for Zander. Zander only slept one hour today, and only took one nap. Now he is up, and I have one unhappy camper.

Surprise

2010-07-10T04:19:00.001-07:00

We had our first party at our new house today. One of my best friends, Jen, turned forty today, and we threw her a surprise party. It was so much fun, and she was really surprised.

Jen and I

Closing Time

2010-06-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

We closed on our house and I am sooooo excited. My husband and our friend Sam moved some of our stuff over to the new house. Tomorrow my dad and one of my brother's are going to be helping me move some more of our things over. It has been a very busy day, but such a fun day. I am sooooo excited about this house. And it is finally ours. And I owe it all to God. Thank you Lord for this wonderful house.

Spending time with my nieces and nephew

2010-06-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today Zander and I spent all day with my nieces and nephew over at my parent's house. It was such a nice relaxing day. We spent time out in the sun. We also took a walk to the park. Later in the day while it was raining, we watched some baby chicks hatch online. They were soooo cute. And my nieces and nephew loved watching them.

I learned today that Zander not only knows how to unscrew tops of bottles, but he also knows how to unscrew the tops of baby proof medicine bottles. I was right there when he opened it. I just couldn't believe he did it. He won't be holding another medicine bottle, even for a minute, for a long time.

For dinner we went to Beggar's Pizza, a must when the kids are in town. On Tuesdays and Fridays a guy plays the pipe organ.

This picture is blurry. I did not take it. But I just love Zander's smile in it. I wish it was not blurry.

Back to the Doctor we go

2010-06-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Zander woke up with a rash all over his chest and abdomen. He is currently on an antibiotic for an infection to one of his fingers. He has been taking Bactrim since Friday, so I really don't think it is an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. Being a nurse, I try to diagnose it. I have a couple of ideas of what it may be. My aunt from Florida, Auntie Trish, is also a nurse, and she is in town visiting. She is staying at my mom's house, so I brought Zander to my mom's house this morning to have her look at the rash. She has a few possible diagnoses as well. My nieces and nephew are also visiting and staying with my parents. So Zander and I headed back home so we would not expose them to whatever Zander may have. The doctor's office is not open until 11 a.m., and I hope they can squeeze Zander in today. My poor baby. He is sleeping now. I hope he gets better soon, and I hope it is not what I think it is.
Update: It was not what I thought it was, and I am so thankful for that. Zander just has Roseola, and he is out of the contagious stage. Here are some pictures of Zander in the doctor's office while we waited for the doctor. Zander was getting into everything, but he had fun exploring the doctor's office. Some of the pictures are blurry because I used my small camera.

So tomorrow we get to go out again. Yeah. Tonight we went and watched my dad and little sister's softball game. It is nice to not be stuck in the house. Zander had fun at the park before the game.

Tyler was watching some of the game from my mom's sun roof.

Tyler, my nephew, who is 6 years old, and Zander, playing with Grandma's phone

My niece, Julia, who is 7 years old

We watched a beautiful sunset right after the game.

Lunch at the In-Laws and Dinner with a best friend

2010-06-13T21:16:00.001-07:00

We had lunch at the my in-laws today to celebrate Father's Day along with one of his brothers, Dustin, and his family. My in-laws will be leaving on Thursday for a 2 week cruise in Alaska, so they won't be around for Father's Day. It worked out good because I work on Father's Day. I am bummed that I have to work on Father's Day, but I told my husband we will celebrate another day. We had a nice time. After lunch we visited Brian's Grandma Meeter at the Nursing Home. Of course, I left my camera in the car when we visited Grandma Meeter.

My niece, Jaylyn

Zander and Jaylyn playing

Jaylyn wanted in the Huggies box

And she found many ways to get in the box.

Then she decided to just wear it on her head.

This is Jaylyn saying Uh OOOOhhh!

I took a lot of pictures of Jaylyn and hardly any of Zander or any one else. Well, I do take a lot of Zander most days.

For dinner I went out with one of my best friends, Racheal. We went to House of Kobe. I had never been there before. It is one of those restaurants that they cook the meal in front of you. It was delicious, and I loved the time I spent with Racheal.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of Racheal and I. I need to stop slacking and remember to take more pictures.

Party

2010-06-13T07:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my parent's had a party. It was a thank you party to all the people who helped them and prayed for them as they went through all they did with the house fire. Tomorrow, one year ago, we were woken up to a terrible phone call. My dad called and told us the home we grew up in, my parent's house, was on fire. Yesterday was all about celebrating. Celebrating all that God has blessed them with and all God has done for them. We had so much fun. It was so great to see so many different people, some of which I have not seen in years.
God has blessed my family soooo much. And he is always taking care of us. God kept my family safe in the fire. My younger sister and my mom were home when the house started on fire. God made sure that they both got out safely. God provided a great rental place for my parent's to stay and it was only 1/2 block from our house. Unfortunately my parent's house had to be tore down because the fire destroyed so much of the house, but God gave them an affordable and nice new house. It was a foreclosure house and needed a lot of work. One of my brothers stepped up and helped my parent's tremendously. He did almost all of the work, and he did an amazing job. God helped my parent's in so many ways. I am so thankful for everything that God has done for our family. God is so awesome and he amazes me each and every day. Thank you Lord for everything you have done, and for just being an awesome God.

Jane, one of my best friends, and my older sister, Abby

My Auntie Trish and Uncle Pat

Marlone, the cutest little boy

Flora Jean and Tom

Zander got to spend some quality time with his Uncle Andy

Zander taught himself how to get down a step

And he did it the safe way

He is a careful boy at times. He was walking up my parent's driveway yesterday and there was about an inch difference in 2 parts of the concrete. SO, my careful boy was walking, and when he got to the change in the concrete, he got down on his knees to carefully go over that part. He is so funny.

A little bummed...but I'm taking care of my baby

2010-06-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

Zander woke up sick this morning. We had plans to go to the Museum of Science and Industry with some friends, but unfortunately we couldn't go. Zander has a bad cough and a runny nose. His nose has been running all day like a faucet. He took an hour and a half nap this morning at my mom's house. We did visit my mom at her house today because my little sister was over and wanted to see us. Then we came home around 11 a.m. Zander didn't eat much today. Then he went down for a nap at 1 p.m. and has been sleeping ever since. I am bored at home. I should be packing, but I sooooo do not feel like doing that. We will see how Zander feels after his nap.

Doctor's Visit for Zander and MOPS BBQ

2010-06-02T13:43:00.001-07:00

Zander had a doctor's appointment. It was his second one year appointment. After he turned one we had an appointment, but he had a low grade fever at the appointment, and they couldn't give him one of his shots. He only had a fever because he was teething. Today, Zander weighed 24 lbs. and 2.5 oz. I was a little surprised at his weight. My baby boy is getting so big. He had 2 shots today, MMR and Hepatitis A. He took them like a champ. While we were waiting for the doctor to come in Zander had fun exploring the room. They had some small mirrors on the wall with some beads to play with. He loved it. I wish I got a picture of it. I addressed some things with his pediatrician. She thinks he gets a red face and red ear from allergies, probably hay fever or maybe an allergy to dogs or cats. She just told me to give him Benadryl for the itching or puffy eyes.

In the evening I had a MOPS BBQ to go to. I will be a table leader for next years MOPS group, so the leadership all got together. I had a lot of fun. And the house we went to was gorgeous. They even had a home theater in a basement with a full kitchen and a popcorn machine. It was so cute. We had a meeting for MOPS too, mostly to get some dates down for future meetings. I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment this afternoon for the baby, but it had to be cancelled because she had to deliver another baby.

Pizza Time Yesterday

2010-06-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

I had to work yesterday after having 5 days off in a row. I enjoyed the time off. And I jumped back into work with a busy work day. But now I have 3 days off in a row. I love that I only work 3 days a week. And this week is a shortened 2 day work week. After work I met my family at Aurelio's Pizza. My cousin Den and his wife Danielle are in town visiting from North Carolina, so we got together to visit with them. It was only a small gathering for my family. It was my Uncle Den, Auntie Ree, Den, Danielle, my mom, my dad, my sister Abby and her husband Andy that got together. And I was late because I had to work. Brian was supposed to be there with Zander, but he didn't get out of work until 7:30 p.m.

We did meet up at my parent's house after dinner, and Brian and Zander were able to be there for that. Zander was the entertainment for the night. We were all sitting around in the living room visiting, and Zander just ran around greeting and smiling at everyone. And he would ~~yell~~ squeal at times because he was having so much fun. Lately Zander has been very clingy to me. He doesn't go up to someone that he doesn't know very well. Zander does not know my cousin Den well because he lives so far away. But last night, he LOVED Den. He went right up to him and put his hands out showing Den he wanted to be picked up. And he couldn't stop smiling. He loved Den. I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately Zander and I could not visit long because Zander was so tired, and it was way past his bedtime. We miss you Den and Danielle and wish you didn't live so far away. We can't wait to see you again.

A super close up of Zander. Look at those gorgeous blue eyes.

Letter to Zander

2010-05-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Zander,

I am awake at 12:00 a.m., early Wednesday morning, May 26th, 2010. I tried going to sleep once and couldn't. So I just got done peeking in on you. You were all curled up in your crib, sleeping so soundly. I touched your forehead twice, I was giving you kisses, and each time you reached up with your cute little hand. I hope you weren't rubbing those kisses off. I want you to know that I love you very much. You are growing up so fast. Even though you are only 14 months old, I feel like it is already going way too fast. In some ways, I want you to stay little forever. But, I do look forward to watching you grow up. I hope I will cherish every day God gives me with you, even the hard ones. I hope that you will always know how much your dad and I love you. I love you more than I can ever tell you. Even though you are only 14 months old, I worry so much about you. I think I am most worried about the teenage years, but I have all the faith that God will get us through those years. Zander, I am so blessed to have you as my son. I am so thankful that God gave us you. Your dad and I pray with you every night. And I pray for you often throughout the day. God is most important in my life. And I pray that one day God will be most important in your life. Your dad and I pray every night that He (GOD) will become your Lord and Savior. I pray God brings you happiness and love. I pray that you love God and you love life. I know there will be hard times in your life. I know you will have struggles. I know you will make mistakes and I know you will fail at times. But I pray through all of these times, you will always seek God. I promise to teach you about God. And I promise to read the bible to you and with you. I promise to pray with you and pray for you. Zander I love you. I hope you will always know that, even when I discipline you. I will discipline you because I love you.

Zander, I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be. (a quote taken from the Children's Book "Love you, Forever" by Robert Munsch)

Zander, I love you so much.

Love always,

Mom

Play date at the Park

2010-05-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

My day started early. Zander woke up around 6 a.m., which he never wakes up this early. I guess he wanted to see his dad before he went to work. I fed him a bottle and then decided to try to see if he would go back to sleep. He did very easily and slept until 9:30 a.m. I couldn't believe it. I was unable to go back to sleep. I didn't even try because once I am up I am rarely able to go back to sleep. It was nice to have a few hours to myself this morning. It was eerily quite, but I was able to shower, do my devotions, and just relax by myself before Zander woke up.

After he woke up I fed him and then we got ready for his play date today. My friend Amanda and her daughter Ava came over today. We haven't seen them since Zander was 3 months old.

Amanda with Ava. Amanda is pregnant with her second child and due at the beginning of July.

We had so much fun together. We went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings, then we headed to the park to play. Zander and Ava loved the see saw and did not want to get off of it.

They also loved playing in the sand box.

Zander ate a little sand while playing. And he loves to get dirty. He is definitely a boy.

After a while, we went back to our house to play a little more inside. Ava was getting too much sun.

Zander had fun pushing Ava.

They played so well together.

Until they got tired.

We had so much fun. Thanks Ava for playing with us. Zander hopes you can come over and play again really soon.

Firehouse

2010-05-06T19:06:00.001-07:00

I am going to try to catch up on my blog a little. We will see how that goes. You see we are moving at the end of May, and I have been busy packing.

Today I had to observe 8 hours with paramedics at a firehouse. I am taking a 2 day class to get my ECRN certification. Basically this certification is so that I can answer the radio calls that come in to the E.R. that I work at. Every EMS or paramedic must radio in about the patient they are bringing in to the hospital. I decided to do my ride time with the South Holland Fire Department. It was a fun filled day, and I got a couple of perks for riding along today. South Holland Fire Department had a training session this morning at Dolton's Fire Department. They are getting a new ladder truck, and Dolton has one that is similar to the one they are getting. The ladder on the truck extends 100 feet into the air and has a bucket on the end of the ladder. I was invited to ride up in the bucket. Of course, they extended it the full 100 feet. It was so cool. From that height we were able to see the City of Chicago. At that height we were higher than the water tower that was next to us. The ladder turns in each direction, so while 100 feet in the air we made a 360 degree turn. I loved it. I went on a total of 3 calls, they did not have a very busy day. But, the other perk was a towing company was having a luncheon and invited the firefighters, and I was able to tag along. It was a delicious lunch. It was a very nice day. I wouldn't mind being a paramedic with the fire department, except for the heavy lifting part. I don't think I could handle being a firefighter. I don't think I could stand the heat. Thank you to the men and women of South Holland Fire Department. You all were very kind to me.

I dressed Zander up for the part today since his mommy was going to a firehouse.

And being at the firehouse today reminded me of all the hard work that the firefighters of many towns, including South Holland, did to try and save my parents house. I salute all the firefighter of the world. They put their life on the line every day for others. Thank You.

A dear friend, Jen, watched Zander while I was away and Brian was working. Shortly after I got home, Zander woke up from his nap. We played together until his dad got home. We even had some fun outside, until the wind made it a little too brisk to be outside.

He loved to play with what I call "helicopters."

And sticks too.

My reasons for being gone

2010-04-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

I have not been consistent at blogging for a while now, which makes me so sad. I've been so tired lately. And there is a reason behind that. I AM PREGNANT. I am 10 weeks pregnant. I have been very nauseated and tired. I think I am more tired with this pregnancy than when I was pregnant with Zander. I was going to announce my pregnancy on my blog on April Fool's Day, but that didn't happen. I am still going to back post, so I probably will do that too. Last night I got really sick. I think I have the flu. I have been so weak and exhausted yesterday and today. Here are some pictures of my sweet son, since I haven't posted so in a while. I am hoping in the next few days I can catch up with my blog. So I will be posting a bunch of back posts. If you care to read, go back a few days or weeks and see what else we have been up to. And enjoy these pictures of my sweet boy.

Zander's Birthday Party

2010-03-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is almost one. We celebrated his birthday yesterday, March 20, 2010. We had so much fun! We had his birthday party at our church.

These are just some of the decorations. I took his month crib pictures and put them on card stock and displayed them on a wall. We haven't done his 12 month crib picture yet because he won't turn one until Wednesday, so I used his Easter bunny picture for that one. I forgot to do the crib picture when he turned one month old, so we just used a close up picture for that one.

I made Zander's cake. It didn't turn like I wanted it to. If you can't tell, it is a turtle.

The many faces of Zander Ryan

Zander with his daddy when he was just one week old.

Instead of bringing a gift for Zander, we had everyone bring something to donate to the Ronald McDonald house. Here is the table with the donated items for the RMH.

The food table

My family

Some people did get Zander presents.

Helping Zander open his presents. Where is Zander?

Zander loved opening presents

And he loved all the gifts. He even got his own lap top.

Zander's smash cake

Cake time

He did not taste or eat any of the cake, but he sure did make a mess!

He likes to share with his mommy!

And his cousin, Jaylyn

Some of the guests

My sister-in-law, Jill, and my niece Jaylyn

Auntie Abby wanted a picture with Zander, and this is how he posed

That's better. My sister, Abby with Zander

One of my best friends, Tracy, and her boyfriend Kevin

Harmony, my friend Racheal's daughter

My gorgeous niece, Jaylyn

The happy Birthday Boy. Happy 1st Birthday Zander. We love you.

While I was working...

2010-03-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

This adorable little boy was having fun with his Daddy and the Easter Bunny.

I was sad I couldn't take him to see the Easter Bunny. I just might have to take him again. My husband and Zander went to Albanese Candy Factory to see the Easter Bunny. Zander loved it. He even waved bye bye to the Easter Bunny. We thought he might cry when he saw the Easter Bunny, but we were wrong.

Mellow Day

2010-03-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

We had a mellow day today. I had a pulmonologist appointment today, just to keep my asthma under control. My mom watched Zander while I was at the doctor's office. He fell asleep on her bed while I was gone. Well, when I got to her house I was on the phone and woke him up. He didn't even sleep for an hour. We stayed and played at my parent's house for a couple more hours, but someone was fussy. Zander needed more sleep. At 2 p.m. Zander and I headed home. Zander went down for a 2 hour nap. After his nap he was still fussy. I think he is teething again. His fingers have been in his mouth a lot today. I gave him some Motrin and he seemed to be less fussy after that. Tonight I was so excited to cook on the grill. Soon after the hubby got home, it started hailing. Well, he was not willing to grill while it was hailing, so we had Applebees for dinner. Now Brian is out with the guys for game night. He hasn't been out with the guys in a long time since he has been working afternoons. I hope he is having fun with the guys. I am enjoying the peace and quiet. Oh, one more thing, I am still working on getting Zander to eat real food instead of baby food. And it was a no go today. I tried cheese, he spit it right out and wouldn't try any more. He does love Ritz crackers though. My son cannot live off of crackers and baby food forever. I hope he starts liking real food again.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T22:41:00.001-08:00

Zander loves his cousin Jaylyn

And he learned how to hug from his second cousin Madeleine

Zander says, Okay, Okay, I'll back off.

Zander says, maybe not, I just love you so much.

Jaylyn says, aaaaaahhhhhhhh a break. Now this is a good distance apart Zander.

Zander says, if I can't hug you, I will eat you.

And he is back to hugging.

He sure does show persistence.

Zander just loves his cousin, Jaylyn so much. Thanks Madeleine for all those hugs when I was younger.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Jealous

2010-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Some bloggers are on their way to Kenya with Compassion International, and I am jealous. I hate that I am jealous, but I want to be honest with you guys, and I am jealous. I was so blessed that God allowed me to go to Kenya in 2007. I love Africa, and I cannot wait until I can go back. My heart aches for Africa. I love the people I met while I was there. I particularly love these 2 girls, Caroline and Roselene, that I met while helping to build a retaining wall at their Compassion Project, KE 370. (The 2 in the middle are Roselene and Caroline)

Me and Caroline

Roselene and Linda (my roomie in Kenya)

I love all three of these girls. And I miss them so much.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Caroline and Roselene. As you can probably tell, I am crying in the above picture. I hope I will see them again one day. But, if I don't see them on this earth, I will see them in heaven, and I cannot wait for that day. I miss you girls. If I could, I would hop on a plane and come see you girls right now. I am praying for both of you. I pray you grow in God and know him more and more every day.

Follow the bloggers that are about to embark on a journey of a lifetime that they will never forget. And please be in prayer for them. Just click on the button below to follow them on their trip to an amazing country, Kenya. Kenya will always have a big piece of my heart.

Coupons and Cousins

2010-03-01T08:54:00.001-08:00

Today my friend Aimee showed me how to get great deals at Jewel through their catalina deals. Aimee, her sister Melanie, some of their kids and Zander all went shopping. I learned so much and I am so glad she showed me how to do this. Thanks Aimee.

After shopping a Jewel, Zander and I headed to Lowell to visit Zander's cousin, Jaylyn and my sister-in-law Jill. Jaylyn is only 2 1/2 months older than Zander, and Zander loves her so much. He loves playing with her. We had so much fun over there, and Jill made a yummy dinner.

11 months old

2010-02-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Zander, you are now 11 months old. I can hardly believe it. These last 11 months went by so fast. I am both happy and sad. I am happy that God blessed us with the most precious and beautiful baby boy in the world. And I am sad you are almost one. Zander, you are growing up way too fast.

Here is what you have been up to in the last month:

You took your first 4 steps last week, and have tried a few more since then.
You hate to wear shoes, and aren't that crazy about socks either.
You wear mostly 12 month and 18 month clothes. 18 month pants are way too big on you, and never stay on. You still fit in come 9 month clothes and the outfit you had on today is 9 months.
You still wear size 3 diapers, but you wear size 4 overnight diapers when you sleep.
You haven't said anymore words since your first word, but you do growl well.
You are eating more and more regular food, and I am determined not to buy anymore baby food. This is what you eat: peas, pears, peaches, mandarin oranges, meat ravioli, macaroni and cheese, saltine crackers, animal crackers, graham crackers, and applesauce. You do not like green beans yet, but I am working on that. You also do not like Cheerios and puffs.
You love to smile and laugh and you do that often. You laugh at almost everything.
You crawl really well.
You pull up on things really well.
You like going in the kitchen cabinets.
You still take 2 naps almost every day.
Your bedtime is usually around 7 p.m.
We ordered your first kid's meal at a restaurant today, macaroni and cheese with applesauce.
You give kisses and they are wet and slobbery. But your mom and dad love them.
You still have only 6 teeth.

Zander, your mom and dad love you very much. We love watching you grow up.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

Editing Photographs

2010-02-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

I have been editing photos tonight when I should be sleeping. I have a lot to learn, and man editing is a lot of work. I mean A LOT of WORK. Here is some of what I did.

This is the BEFORE picture, untouched.

This is one of the AFTER ones. I think I messed up his skin tone.

And her is another AFTER picture.

Which one is better? Let me know what you think!

Now I must get some sleep because I have to work in the morning.

Kisses

2010-02-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

Zander now gives kisses, and they are big wet, slobbery kisses. As most young children do, Zander gives open mouth kisses. Today all three of us, Zander, his daddy, and I, were snuggling in bed. Zander kept going back and forth between me and his daddy giving both of us kisses. He was kissing my whole face, and when he was done kissing me my whole face was wet. I just love his kisses, even if they are big, wet, slobbery kisses.

In the last couple of days, Zander has been making this face (the kiss face) all the time, but not when he kisses you.

A New Bible Study and Spending Time with the Family

2010-02-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today my husband and I went in two different directions. My parent's needed more help with their new house. They are moving out of their rental house at the end of February and work needs to still be done at their new house. We found a babysitter for Zander the last 2 Saturdays so we could help them. Last Saturday I worked, and Jen and Sam watched Zander for us so my husband could help at my parent's new house. We decided that only Brian would help today, and I would take care of Zander. My brother, his wife, and my nieces and nephew came in from Fort Wayne last night to help as well. Zander and I hung out with my mom, and my nieces and nephew, Alyssa, Julia, and Tyler. Zander and I went over to my parent's rental house to have breakfast with them. After breakfast Zander, Alyssa, and Tyler went to my older sister, Abby's house for a bible study. We picked up my friend Jen, before heading to Abby's house. Alyssa and Tyler came along to watch Zander while we had our bible study. Julia stayed behind with Grandma (my mom) to do some shopping. Julia's birthday is in 8 days and they went shopping to get the rest of her birthday present. At the bible study we are going through a book called "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul" by John and Stasi Elderedge. I have read this book and it is a very good book. I am looking forward to the bible study with these women.

After bible study, we met my mom and Julia at Tyler's Tender for lunch. Zander rode the train for the first time.

Zander looks like he is having fun!

We had a late lunch, and by the time we got back, it was time for my brother and his family to head back to Fort Wayne. Brian came home shortly after that, and we hung out together at home the rest of the night. We decided to watch the movie, The Couple's Retreat after Zander went to bed. I fell asleep shortly after the movie started, as I usually do. I guess I'll watch the rest of it tomorrow.

Living the boring life

2010-02-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

Zander and I didn't do much today, we just hung around the house for the most of the day. I played with Zander and I cleaned. We had dinner at my parent's house. My mom wanted to see Zander today, and since our small group got cancelled she invited us over for dinner. Every Thursday my mom and dad have dinner with 2 of their friends, Carl and Kathy, and then play cards. Each week someone else cooks. My mom invited us over. Kathy cooked today, and boy was it yummy. She made so much food that I felt like it was Thanksgiving, but we had chicken instead of turkey. She made chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, artichoke dip, and homemade rolls. She even made blueberry pie, cherry pie, and chocolate eclair cake.

This morning Zander woke up with a black eye. He has black and blue marks on his left eyelid. I can only notice it when he closes his eyes or looks down. My poor baby. Yesterday while we were at my parent's house he fell and hit his face on a chair. I didn't think he would get this.

His first black and blue eye, but I'm sure it won't be his last. Boys will be boys.

Busy Day in Africa

2010-02-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, we started this day earlier, as most days in Kenya started for us. After breakfast we headed to another compassion project. As we pulled up to the project, we were met by many children all singing the Kenya welcome song to us. It was really amazing. At the project the kids did some drama and singing for us, and then we spent the rest of the morning playing with them. We jumped rope with them, blew bubbles, painted their faces, hula hooped, and just had a lot of fun running around and playing with them. As I walked into the church at the compassion project, I met this little girl named Vivian. She became really attached to me and did not leave my side the whole time we were at the project.

Here is a picture of Vivian and I.

The Deliverance Church we visited at the Compassion Project

The gates opening to the project, and the kids singing for us.

After we left the Compassion project, and I said goodbye to Vivian, we headed to lunch at this wonderful outdoor restaurant.

Under those umbrellas is where we ate.

The Compassion Staff from Kenya and Colorado

After lunch, we headed to the airport and boarded small plane to another part of Africa to go on a 2 1/2 day safari.

Okay, not that small of a plane, there was 40 in our group!

This was our plane

Me and one of the Kenyan Compassion Staff Members before boarding the plane

Boarding the plane to our Safari

The airport at the Safari place, we literally landed in a field

My roommate after we landed

Entering our Safari Camp

They gave us a yummy drink when we entered the camp. We were finding out our roommates for our stay at the Safari camp.

This is the tent we stayed in. These tents were really nice tents. They had beds, showers, and bathrooms in them.

Linda and I stayed roomies

Esther was our other roommate for the Safari. Esther was one of the Compassion Staff members in Kenya.

After we put our bags down in our room, we went on a few hours of the safari. We saw so many animals on the first time out, and we stayed out until the sunset.

This was one of the first animals we saw.

The people in our jeep.

Our jeep driver the first night of the Safari. We loved him.

Another First

2010-02-17T21:31:00.001-08:00

I am so excited. Zander and I went to MOPS today. For the first time ever, in any nursery setting, Zander was fussy. Even the nursery workers said that he is usually not fussy, but today he was. I think he was tired. After MOPS we came home, Zander ate, and then he went down for a nap. After Zander's nap, we went over to my parent's house and visited with my mom and my older sister, Abby. While we were there, Zander walked for the first time. Zander took 3 steps today. I am so excited about this. It is funny, because I was just talking about the fact that I don't think he will walk for a while because he loves to crawl. He proved me wrong. Here is a video of his first steps.

Sorry about all of the screaming, I was just very excited. Thank goodness we baby proofed our house!

No more cold

2010-02-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today was a mellow laid back day for Zander and I. My husband on the other hand has been working like crazy today. He started at 7 a.m. this morning, and is still not home. He is not sure when he will be home, he says it may not be until 10 or 11 p.m. tonight. I was looking forward to having him home tonight. He didn't know he would be working this late; he is training the new guy. But the good news is that since his company hired someone else, he will get days. Yeah, I am so excited about that. He has been working mostly afternoons since September. I will be very happy when he goes to days. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful that my husband has a job. I wouldn't mind if he worked evenings, or even nights. I am just thankful he is working. My husband was out of work for 10 months, and I am grateful every day he works.

Zander and I just played around the house today, and he was so good. The last week or two he has been fussy at times. I think he was sick and teething. He was perfect today. He didn't fuss at all today. He was so happy and smiley; I wish I had gotten some pictures of his smiley face today. He laughed and laughed today over pretty much nothing. He laughed at me a lot. He would be playing with his toys, and then would turn to me and burst out laughing. It was adorable! I love that kid so much. He ate really well too. He didn't eat a lot of table/finger food today, but he ate peas and green bean baby food. Usually he doesn't eat peas and green beans very well. Zander has been eating more "real" food lately. He has eaten meat ravioli, apples, peas, dried fruit, plums, a little banana, french fries, saltine crackers, and of course graham crackers. Zander must be over his teething and his cold. I didn't hear him cough at all today.

And since I didn't take any pictures of Zander today, I thought I would post a couple pictures of my husband on our date this past Friday night.

No, he is not playing peak a boo with Zander, or me. And he is not crying.

He is hiding from the blinding flash of my camera. (or that is what he says at least)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T18:42:00.001-08:00

I had a fun Valentine's Day! Well as much fun as working 12 hours can be. But Zander and my hubby visited me at work and brought me lunch. It was so nice to see both of them while at work. I miss my boy very much when I am working, well I miss both of my boys! Then I came home from work and spent some time with my boys before my little boy, Zander, went to bed. Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy and Zander in our Valentine outfits

Daddy and Zander

The heart toast I made for Zander

Zander got mail in his mail box!

A Valentine from mom and dad

I love you Zander!

Flying to Kenya

2010-02-10T20:42:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'm not flying to Kenya today, but I sure wish I were, with my family of course. But 3 years ago today, around this time, I was in the air to Kenya, Africa. I was very excited, but tired. The night before I had flown from Chicago to London, an 8 hour flight, and had not gotten much sleep on the flight. I had about a 6 hour lay over in London. And this is when I first met Linda, my roommate in Kenya. During our lay over in London, Linda, Claude (the photographer of our trip), and I roamed around London.

Linda, my roommate in Kenya, and I waiting for a train while in London

Claude, the photographer of our trip

We even had lunch at this cute little cafe in London.

Right before our flight to Nairobi, Kenya, we met the other team members of the Compassion trip and the 2 team leaders. We flew through the night, like I had on my flight from Chicago to London. Linda and I tried to sit by each other on the plane to Nairobi, but the people next to us would not switch. I had a rough 8 hour flight to Nairobi, Kenya, it was worse than the flight to London. I sat in the middle seat of the 5 seat row. On one side of me I had a 15 year old girl who liked to watch cartoons all night and laughed loudly at them. On the other side of me I had a little boy who was very excited to be going on a Safari with his family, and every time I was almost asleep he would jab my seat in excitement. Even though I didn't get much sleep those 2 nights, and I was jet lagged, I was very excited to see what the next 12 days had in store for me. I had no idea how awesome this trip would be. I met some of the greatest people ever on my trip to Kenya, Africa.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Snow

2010-02-09T21:54:00.001-08:00

It snowed all day, and we will be getting more throughout the night and into tomorrow morning. It was no fun driving in the snow today. I thought it would be slow in the Emergency Room today, because it snowed all day long. Boy was I wrong. We were very busy.

I read Zander this book tonight, I thought it was fitting.

Compassion Kenya, Africa

2010-02-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

On this day 3 years ago, I was on a plane to London, England, where I met an AMAZING group of people, and then we all hopped on a plane on 2/10/07 and flew to Nairobi, Kenya Africa (I still have 2 voice mails from that day, one from my best friend, Tracy, and the other from my husband). I was on a trip with Compassion International. This trip was a trip I will never forget. I had been married for only 6 months when I went to Africa. Being apart from my husband for 12 days was hard, but the trip was worth it. Those 12 days were so emotional for me. The poverty over there IS overwhelming. I have so much to say about my trip. I journaled some while I was there, but not as much as I wanted to. SO, now that I have this blog, I am going to use these days to tell about my amazing Africa trip. You can catch a glimpse of my trip and the continent and country I love in the pictures below. And I will be sharing more of my story and my heart for this continent in the days, to come. And compassion is taking some bloggers to Kenya in March. I wonder if they will be going to some of the same places I went to. If you would like to sponsor a child through Compassion International, just go Here and see what God has in store for you. I never thought in a million years that I would meet the little boy that I sponsored. I thought I would have to be rich to do that. (and I am not even close to being rich) But I did, I met Mugambi, and it was life changing.

Mugambi and me, meeting for the first time!

I will share more in upcoming posts, I really need to get some sleep because I have to work in the morning!

Random post about nothing much

2010-02-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

I had a very productive day today! We are hoping to put our house up for sale on March 1st, so we are packing up some stuff in our house to declutter. We live in a small house, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, and we are out growing it, bursting at the seams. Today, I got a bunch of boxes packed. I also did dishes and laundry and cleaned up around the house. I have been so tired lately, but today I had a lot of energy. I am loving it. And I am so excited I got so much done. We are expecting a snowstorm starting tonight and lasting until Wednesday. I am not looking forward to the snow because I have to drive back and forth to work for the next 2 days, and get Zander after work. I wish I was off the next 2 days.

I finally took some pictures of Zander today. It had been a few days since taking some of Zander.

Zander was chilling in his high chair. Whenever he would smile big and giggle he would raise his leg up. I don't really get that, but it was cute!

On another note, my mom and Auntie Ree stopped by today. And my mom got a Valentine's gift for Zander. She got him a cute frog hat, scarf and mittens.

I love the mittens!

And since were talking about frog stuff, I had to share this picture of Zander after his bath this evening.