Monday, December 31, 2007
Wow, that's about all I can say...wow.
Five posts in one sitting. Holy moly. This makes it six!!! But it's 11:45PM and I should be sleeping. I won't be so happy about six posts at six in the morning.
Tornados in Colorado
One named Lily that hit during the day...
One named Momma/Poppa that hit after bedtime...
It is beyond amazing how quickly the house can be destroyed by a two year old. Sure some of it isn't her fault, like Harrison's swing or the kitchen counter mess. But this little girl can create mess after mess after mess. We try to pick up one toy before getting another out to play but today that didn't happen. After the hard work to clean up I won't let it get that messy for a long time. Plus the in-laws are coming to visit so a clean house is a must!
One named Momma/Poppa that hit after bedtime...
It is beyond amazing how quickly the house can be destroyed by a two year old. Sure some of it isn't her fault, like Harrison's swing or the kitchen counter mess. But this little girl can create mess after mess after mess. We try to pick up one toy before getting another out to play but today that didn't happen. After the hard work to clean up I won't let it get that messy for a long time. Plus the in-laws are coming to visit so a clean house is a must!
Random pictures
Harrison enjoying his bumbo chair (on the floor of course!!)
Here is Lily getting ready for gymnastics. My friend, Amie, made the leg warmers. Lily received a lot of comments that day in class.
I decided to do cloth diapers and couldn't be happier. We use bum genius 2.0, a pocket diaper. It's really easy to use, just like a disposable diaper. Besides washing I have an extra step to put the liner inside the diaper but it's not too much work. Harrison likes them...
Our beautiful boy.
Lily playing dress up.
Here is Lily getting ready for gymnastics. My friend, Amie, made the leg warmers. Lily received a lot of comments that day in class.
I decided to do cloth diapers and couldn't be happier. We use bum genius 2.0, a pocket diaper. It's really easy to use, just like a disposable diaper. Besides washing I have an extra step to put the liner inside the diaper but it's not too much work. Harrison likes them...
Our beautiful boy.
Lily playing dress up.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas 2007
Santa came to our house...
Santa brought Lily a microphone to encourage one of her favorite activities--singing!
Harrison slept through gift opening but was all smiles afterwards.
Santa brought Lily a microphone to encourage one of her favorite activities--singing!
Harrison slept through gift opening but was all smiles afterwards.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Harrison
Our big boy is 4 months!!! Harrison is a laughing (see below!), rolling 4 month old. He is 16lbs, 9 oz. and 25 inches long. He is our snuggle, cuddle bug.
Pics!!!!
Hanging out
Bathing in Grandma's sink with cousin Connor
Family on Thanksgiving
Harrison and Lily on Thanksgiving
Snugglebug and his momma
Big sis teaching Harrison all about the hippo toy
Bathing in Grandma's sink with cousin Connor
Family on Thanksgiving
Harrison and Lily on Thanksgiving
Snugglebug and his momma
Big sis teaching Harrison all about the hippo toy
Friday, December 14, 2007
We are blessed
with a new niece...
Camren Rae was born this morning at 8:12AM (central)
6 lbs., 6 oz.
18.5 inches long
Little sister to Connor
She entered the world screaming and crying which the whole family was waiting for. I haven't met you yet but I love you very much.
Camren Rae was born this morning at 8:12AM (central)
6 lbs., 6 oz.
18.5 inches long
Little sister to Connor
She entered the world screaming and crying which the whole family was waiting for. I haven't met you yet but I love you very much.
Monday, December 10, 2007
A little bit of everything
We had a fantastic weekend.
Saturday morning Lily had her 2nd gymnastics class. Randy participated with her this time. I was quite impressed with her ability to walk side by side on the balance beam. The class is very laid back in terms of actual gymnastics moves. Most of the time the kids go from station to station, doing differnt activities like the trampoline, climbing a little ladder, going through tunnels, etc. Lily always avoids the tunnels. The last few minutes is free time. Lily spends it playing with plastic balls and a hula hoop. Harrison and I watched from the stands. All the action and sounds kept him content the entire time.
During the class it hit me and I had to laugh. Randy playing with our daughter, doing gymnastics, early on a Saturday morning. We've come a long way from 3 story beer bongs, quarter you call it Wednesday nights at the Airliner, and 3 floor parties that were advertised in chalk around campus. Yes, the 3 floor beer bong went from Randy's apartment down to his buddies on the bottom floor. Lots of stories, laughs, and puking. :) Not by me of course.
I used to imagine what our family would be. I would day dream about how many kids we would have. Would we have boys/girls/mix of both. What their names would be, etc. Now it's happening. Our family is here and I love it. I'm living what I always dreamt about. I couldn't be happier with our family. Randy is the man of my dreams and we created 2 beautiful kids together. I am very lucky. And thankful.
Back to our weekend...
After gymnastics we hosted a play date with my co workers. There were 8 females and 8 babies and one male...Randy. Poor guy. He was such a help I don't know what I would have done without him. He waited on everyone getting them drinks and pizza. He played with the kids and took pictures. Lily did well sharing her toys, although I removed the ones I felt she might have the most issue with sharing. Lily and a 5 year old boy made Christmas ornaments while the babies crawled around or just sat there (4 are currently immobile). We all had a great time.
Saturday night the rock band got together. Rock band includes our friends, Ted, Kristy and Money (i.e. Eric). We warmed up with a couple board games and then got down to business. Someone plays drums, someone sings, someone plays guitar and another plays bass. We jammed hard, that's about all I can say.
Sunday morning Lily treated us to 45 extra minutes of sleep. After a big breakfast Joy and Payton babysat while Randy and I went holiday shopping. For the 2nd year in a row Randy and I are not buying for each other but we "adopted" a foster child. We also picked 2 names off a Christmas tree so Lily and Harrison could buy gifts for other kids. Our Christmas shopping is done with the exception of one gift certificate and one present we have to order. That feels good! I wish I could say my Christmas cards were finished.
Sunday evening we returned the favor to Joy and Bobby and watched their kids. They are old enough to be alone but they enjoy our company and we enjoy theirs. The evening was filled with more rock band, homework and Lily and Harrison baths. After Joy and Bobby picked up the kids Randy and I played rock band together. :)
Bath time is now fun. Before it was hard to find the energy to bath Lily and later bath Harrison. Now we bath them together and they both love it. Lily helps by pouring water on Harrison (thankfully not in his face) and will also help soap him up. Harrison has the so cold-so cold-so cold look on his face when he first touches the water but when he sees Lily he lights up. He smiles the whole time they are in the bath. I love it because it's quick and relatively easy.
The dairy issue...
Lily was re-tested for her milk allergy. Quick recap--developed hive on lip, twice, after having cheese. Diagnosed at one year old for having a milk allergy. Doc said give soy milk but occasionally try something with dairy baked in it. We tried, twice, but Lily threw up both times. We avoided dairy completely for almost a whole year. A year later her blood test was negative for a milk allergy. Yay!!! But...her skin still reacted to milk so we are planning a milk challenge test. The allergist feels she has a 10-20% chance of reacting so we will see how much dairy she can handle before reacting and what kind of reaction it might be. The appointment, unfortunately, isn't until Feb. so we remain dairy free until then. Still very exciting!!!!
Just in time for Lily to become allergy free (fingers crossed) Harrison might be reacting to my dairy intake. When I asked a couple posts ago for suggestions about Harrison's stuffy nose, Emily, a friend of Staci's, had the same issue with her son. She stopped drinking dairy and soy and her son's stuffiness cleared up. I have to admit I was a little bummed to think my dairy intake was affecting Harrison. Especially because I breast fed Lily for 13 months and she never reacted to my dairy intake. I have reduced my dairy intake over the past 4 days and his stuffiness is improved. Still there but not as bad. It's not hard to limit dairy because our house is filled with Lactaid and soy products but I never had to watch every little thing I ate before. If it's to blame for Harrison's stuffiness than it's worth it.
Well this post was long and filled with random things. But at least I posted.
Saturday morning Lily had her 2nd gymnastics class. Randy participated with her this time. I was quite impressed with her ability to walk side by side on the balance beam. The class is very laid back in terms of actual gymnastics moves. Most of the time the kids go from station to station, doing differnt activities like the trampoline, climbing a little ladder, going through tunnels, etc. Lily always avoids the tunnels. The last few minutes is free time. Lily spends it playing with plastic balls and a hula hoop. Harrison and I watched from the stands. All the action and sounds kept him content the entire time.
During the class it hit me and I had to laugh. Randy playing with our daughter, doing gymnastics, early on a Saturday morning. We've come a long way from 3 story beer bongs, quarter you call it Wednesday nights at the Airliner, and 3 floor parties that were advertised in chalk around campus. Yes, the 3 floor beer bong went from Randy's apartment down to his buddies on the bottom floor. Lots of stories, laughs, and puking. :) Not by me of course.
I used to imagine what our family would be. I would day dream about how many kids we would have. Would we have boys/girls/mix of both. What their names would be, etc. Now it's happening. Our family is here and I love it. I'm living what I always dreamt about. I couldn't be happier with our family. Randy is the man of my dreams and we created 2 beautiful kids together. I am very lucky. And thankful.
Back to our weekend...
After gymnastics we hosted a play date with my co workers. There were 8 females and 8 babies and one male...Randy. Poor guy. He was such a help I don't know what I would have done without him. He waited on everyone getting them drinks and pizza. He played with the kids and took pictures. Lily did well sharing her toys, although I removed the ones I felt she might have the most issue with sharing. Lily and a 5 year old boy made Christmas ornaments while the babies crawled around or just sat there (4 are currently immobile). We all had a great time.
Saturday night the rock band got together. Rock band includes our friends, Ted, Kristy and Money (i.e. Eric). We warmed up with a couple board games and then got down to business. Someone plays drums, someone sings, someone plays guitar and another plays bass. We jammed hard, that's about all I can say.
Sunday morning Lily treated us to 45 extra minutes of sleep. After a big breakfast Joy and Payton babysat while Randy and I went holiday shopping. For the 2nd year in a row Randy and I are not buying for each other but we "adopted" a foster child. We also picked 2 names off a Christmas tree so Lily and Harrison could buy gifts for other kids. Our Christmas shopping is done with the exception of one gift certificate and one present we have to order. That feels good! I wish I could say my Christmas cards were finished.
Sunday evening we returned the favor to Joy and Bobby and watched their kids. They are old enough to be alone but they enjoy our company and we enjoy theirs. The evening was filled with more rock band, homework and Lily and Harrison baths. After Joy and Bobby picked up the kids Randy and I played rock band together. :)
Bath time is now fun. Before it was hard to find the energy to bath Lily and later bath Harrison. Now we bath them together and they both love it. Lily helps by pouring water on Harrison (thankfully not in his face) and will also help soap him up. Harrison has the so cold-so cold-so cold look on his face when he first touches the water but when he sees Lily he lights up. He smiles the whole time they are in the bath. I love it because it's quick and relatively easy.
The dairy issue...
Lily was re-tested for her milk allergy. Quick recap--developed hive on lip, twice, after having cheese. Diagnosed at one year old for having a milk allergy. Doc said give soy milk but occasionally try something with dairy baked in it. We tried, twice, but Lily threw up both times. We avoided dairy completely for almost a whole year. A year later her blood test was negative for a milk allergy. Yay!!! But...her skin still reacted to milk so we are planning a milk challenge test. The allergist feels she has a 10-20% chance of reacting so we will see how much dairy she can handle before reacting and what kind of reaction it might be. The appointment, unfortunately, isn't until Feb. so we remain dairy free until then. Still very exciting!!!!
Just in time for Lily to become allergy free (fingers crossed) Harrison might be reacting to my dairy intake. When I asked a couple posts ago for suggestions about Harrison's stuffy nose, Emily, a friend of Staci's, had the same issue with her son. She stopped drinking dairy and soy and her son's stuffiness cleared up. I have to admit I was a little bummed to think my dairy intake was affecting Harrison. Especially because I breast fed Lily for 13 months and she never reacted to my dairy intake. I have reduced my dairy intake over the past 4 days and his stuffiness is improved. Still there but not as bad. It's not hard to limit dairy because our house is filled with Lactaid and soy products but I never had to watch every little thing I ate before. If it's to blame for Harrison's stuffiness than it's worth it.
Well this post was long and filled with random things. But at least I posted.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Ahhhh...two years old.
Last night while preparing supper Lily wanted to get into the refrigerator. When she is allowed to stand in front of the open refrigerator she will say "I want cheese" or "I want milk" or "I want this." Of course she wants it immediately (we're working on patience, it's NOT easy). In order for me to finish supper I asked her to shut the fridge door and when she wouldn't I shut it. This led to a huge crying fit while she stood staring at the fridge door. I decided to let her be for a few minutes and when she realized staring at the fridge door while fake crying didn't get a response from me she followed me around the kitchen still fake crying. Finally I took her to the couch and sat her down. I asked her if she knew why she was crying. She thought about it for a few seconds and really sadly said "No."
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Stuffy nose suggestions????
I don't usually elicit advice but I'm all ears. I need suggestions for a baby with a stuffy nose. We have a warm mist humidifer, saline drops, nose sucker, and we elevate his bed.
Harrison will start off the night just fine but come 3AM he gets stuffy and sometimes so stuffy he wakes up from it. He can't take a pacifier and eating is difficult because he can't breathe. I typically put a few drops in his nose before bed and then at 3AM I use more drops and try to suck out as much snot as possible. Most babies hate it but Harrison smiles afterwards, happy to breathe again.
This has been going on 2-3 weeks now and poor baby needs some relief.
Harrison will start off the night just fine but come 3AM he gets stuffy and sometimes so stuffy he wakes up from it. He can't take a pacifier and eating is difficult because he can't breathe. I typically put a few drops in his nose before bed and then at 3AM I use more drops and try to suck out as much snot as possible. Most babies hate it but Harrison smiles afterwards, happy to breathe again.
This has been going on 2-3 weeks now and poor baby needs some relief.
Monday, December 03, 2007
A Griswald Christmas
I complained to Randy that our usual Christmas tree purchase is b-o-r-i-n-g. Not like Nathaniel and Staci's tree buying ritual they are starting this year that includes hot cocoa (Randy and Lily can't drink anyway), hot dogs, bonfires and a family photo. How fun! Buying a Christmas tree at our local grocery store has never been exciting and now that I know fun tree farms exist I was even more annoyed when we pulled up to the grocery store. But...it wasn't a dull experience after all.
Our front room has high ceilings and we have always wanted a tall tree. But we have never bought one due to the cost. Our max budget was $50 and that doesn't buy much any place other than the grocery store. I waited in the van with 2 sleeping kids while Randy evaluated the trees. He found some tall ones and they were only $43! Score. He went inside to pay but returned to the van to ask if I had $20 in cash. I hardly ever have cash on hand and he didn't explain why he needed it. I didn't think much of it other than it was a strange question. After Randy tied the tree down and we drove off he told me the grocery store clerk, who was working outside with the Christmas trees, offered Randy a chance to save a few bucks by slipping this guy $20 instead of paying the full price. Not only were we getting a tall Christmas tree but we would only pay $20! Score. But we didn't have $20 in cash. :( Randy thought it was better since we weren't ripping anyone off. I didn't feel the same way since I wasn't looking for the deal, it approached us. Anyhow we paid full price and brought our tall tree home.
Randy got the tree into our house and it barely fit into the tree stand. He proceeded to cut the twine and pulled down on the branches a little. That is when we discovered our "tall" tree was ginormous! Not only is it tall, probably 10 ft tall, but it's rather wide, taking up a great part of our front room.
Our Griswald tree also included free critters. Randy first noticed tiny bugs crawling around and I've discovered a stink bug and a lady bug. Of course we were happy to have a lady bug as a guest but a stink bug, no thanks. We're waiting for the squirrel to jump out but so far it hasn't happened.
Randy pointed out that we finally have a fun Christmas tree buying story and I have to agree.
Our front room has high ceilings and we have always wanted a tall tree. But we have never bought one due to the cost. Our max budget was $50 and that doesn't buy much any place other than the grocery store. I waited in the van with 2 sleeping kids while Randy evaluated the trees. He found some tall ones and they were only $43! Score. He went inside to pay but returned to the van to ask if I had $20 in cash. I hardly ever have cash on hand and he didn't explain why he needed it. I didn't think much of it other than it was a strange question. After Randy tied the tree down and we drove off he told me the grocery store clerk, who was working outside with the Christmas trees, offered Randy a chance to save a few bucks by slipping this guy $20 instead of paying the full price. Not only were we getting a tall Christmas tree but we would only pay $20! Score. But we didn't have $20 in cash. :( Randy thought it was better since we weren't ripping anyone off. I didn't feel the same way since I wasn't looking for the deal, it approached us. Anyhow we paid full price and brought our tall tree home.
Randy got the tree into our house and it barely fit into the tree stand. He proceeded to cut the twine and pulled down on the branches a little. That is when we discovered our "tall" tree was ginormous! Not only is it tall, probably 10 ft tall, but it's rather wide, taking up a great part of our front room.
Our Griswald tree also included free critters. Randy first noticed tiny bugs crawling around and I've discovered a stink bug and a lady bug. Of course we were happy to have a lady bug as a guest but a stink bug, no thanks. We're waiting for the squirrel to jump out but so far it hasn't happened.
Randy pointed out that we finally have a fun Christmas tree buying story and I have to agree.
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