Thursday, December 30, 2010

Ugh...

Every time I feel like blogging, I am not at my computer.  I think of all sorts of good things I want to say but the minute I sit down to say them I just don't feel like it or I can't remember what I was going to say!   So I am sitting at the Audi dealer right now and have some free time, and I'm a bit grumpy that I'm here in the first place, so what better place to release my frustrations than on my blog right!? 

I had a list of things to do today since I took the day off, but when Ryan came in and told me I had a completely flat tire I knew it was going to be one of those days.  We tried to change the tire (which I have done on all of my other cars by the way) but we couldn't get any of the nuts loosened.  I got new tires a few months ago and apparently they tightened the heck out of them because we put all of our weight into trying to loosen these things but they wouldn't budge.  So I had to call Audi roadside assistance to have it towed to the dealer.  This is so darn frustrating!  Oh well, I suppose it could always be worse right?

What else....?? Christmas was wonderful!  I hung out at my parents for 5 days which was really nice.  Lola really seemed to enjoy herself and really didn't want to leave 'Ga Ga' (Grandad) and 'Gora' (Grandma).  Since her birthday is in January, she hadn't opened any presents for almost a year, and since then she has gotten really good at it.  I got to hang out with April and Mary for a bit.  It was nice to catch up with them.  Ryan's store didn't get broken into while he was out of town, which seems to be a reoccurring theme around holidays, so that was nice he didn't have to scramble back to Kansas City to clean up a mess!   :)

I think I have mentioned Lola's stuffed toy, Kunffle Bunny before.  We have a 'Little Kunffle' and a 'Big Knuffle'.  We bought big Knuffle a while ago hoping to alleviate all the wear and tear on little Knuffle, but that didn't really work.  She really gravitates towards 'Little'.  In the past 6 months, he is literally attached to her hip.  She always has to have him around.  He looks disgusting by the way, even though I have washed him.  So I had a bright idea to get another little Knuffle, same size, exact same animal, and I was going to switch them out so they wear evenly.  And I wanted a back-up because she throws a major, major fit when I wash him.  She doesn't want him out of her sight at all.  She takes him to school with her, and Ryan makes her put him in her bag.  So she says "Bubble Night-Night" (when she says Kunffle, it sounds like "bubble"), and is okay with that, I think because there is so much to do at school she actually forgets about him for a while.  The second I pick her up, she immediately runs to her bag and gets him out.  Every time.  When she is upset, throwing a hissy fit, or especially when she gets hurt, she goes straight for Little and snuggles him to her face.  It almost always calms her down.   Back to my story about getting another Little Knuffle...  Uncle Lee sent another 'little' in the mail.  I put original little Knuffle on the island when she wasn't looking, and substituted the new little Knuffle.  She picked it up, and right away she made a horrible face and started screaming "nooooo" while looking at him like he was a completely foreign object!  Ryan and I were flabbergasted!  She knew immediately that he was an impostor.  She threw him down and started screaming for Bubble.  I gave her original Knuffle and she was fine.  So... now she tolerates the new Knuffle but totally knows the difference between the two, and carries them BOTH around now.  That was not the solution I was looking for.   ;)

That's all for now, my fingers are getting tired.... 

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Happy Holidays and 24 weeks!

Happy 24 weeks! My belly is starting to look pointed, it never did this with Lola. I also think I am carrying lower than I did with Lola. All signs point to a boy, but we will have to wait and see! I still feel good right now but am starting to feel ‘fat’. I am still trying to embrace pregnancy, but I still have the mindset in my head of gaining weight is bad…even if I am pregnant. I think I’m up about 12lbs so far, and I can feel every pound.

We are heading down to Mom and Dad’s for Christmas tomorrow. I’m excited to spend time with Matt and Sara. They are bringing their dog, and I hope Lola behaves and is gentle. She isn’t always gentle when she is around Frani or Tawny.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24 weeks!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

December!

Wow, it's December already!  I'm 22 weeks right now and feeling good.  I had a doctors appointment today and I made my next doctors appointment today for next month...January!  (I need to start thinking about Lola's 2nd birthday).  My doctors appointment was good, I'm up 10lbs which I'm fairly happy with.   I just hope I can keep things under control more with this pregnancy and not gain as much as last time.  I like this point where I actually look pregnant, but I'm not huge or uncomfortable yet.  Unfortunately, since this is not my first pregnancy, I know what's coming in the end -  not being able to put on my socks, shoes, paint my toenails, shave my legs, get in and out of the car, etc... And now I have to do all of that with a toddler.  It makes me appreciate my first pregnancy so much more, even though I didn't at the time.  I'm really trying to appreciate being pregnant more this time because it will probably be the last baby we have.  I have realized that even though I feel fat (gross, puffy, insert any other word here), most people think I look amazing.  I didn't come to this realization until after I had Lola.  At that point when I saw a pregnant girl, I thought she looked beautiful.  I never noticed anything but her gorgeous belly and glowing skin.  I didn't notice puffy ankles, thunder thighs, or shelf butt.  So I am trying to be appreciative of the relatively easy pregnancies that I have.  I have still been keeping a pregnancy journal and taking weekly photos.  I don't want to not do something with this baby that I did when I was pregnant with Lola.  I'm trying to keep it even!   :)

This baby seems to move around a lot more, and kick a lot harder than Lola did at 22 weeks.  So does this mean I'm having a boy, or a feisty girl!!?? 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Turkey Day

I'm ready for Thanksgiving!  We are heading down to mom and dad's this afternoon, can't wait!  Kate, Brian, and Liam will be there too.  Lola and Liam should have fun playing. 

I'm 20 weeks now, halfway there (hopefully)!  The tummy is starting to grow....I've been taking belly shots since 12 weeks.  I wasn't as consistent last time but hope to continue to take weekly shots this time. 

Friday, November 12, 2010

single moms

I now have a whole new appreciation for single moms.  Ryan has been in France for over a week now and I am so ready for him to get home.  I usually pick Lola up from school, come home and make dinner, so I am used to that... What I'm not used to is getting her up, dressed, and off to school in the mornings.  Ryan always does that!  I had to get up 30 minutes early each day this week so I could try to get ready before she woke up.  It worked all but one day - that day I had to get ready with her running around the bedroom which took much longer.  Just getting out the door with what feels like 8 bags is a huge pain.  I forgot something each day but at least I made it.  He goes to South Africa the end of Feb/beginning of March.  I will be 35 weeks pregnant at that time, so I imagine it will be a whole lot worse than this time!  But at least I know what to expect.    :)

Friday, November 5, 2010

anxiety

Ryan finally left the country to finish taping the Winemakers tv show.  It's on PBS so I know nobody has heard of it.   :)   They have been telling us that they were going to continue taping for over a year now, so I had pretty much lost all confidence in the fact that it would actually happen!  But it did happen - Ryan left for France yesterday.  I was very sad to see him go, sadder than I have ever been before.  I know he had a hard time leaving us so I think that contributed to it.  So it's just Lola and me until next weekend!

We got our new 2011 medical plan information from work yesterday.  I am completely freaking out because it looks like it's going to cost me a small fortune to have a baby in 2011.  The baby factor is what I think is contributing to my anxiety, since I know this event will take place in 2011 I can roughly run the numbers.  If I have to have another c-section (which I hope I don't), it will cost me roughly $4,000 out of my pocket.  Good grief!  I even have Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, which is supposedly good insurance, but our deductible is increasing from $500 to $1500 next year!  From what I understand, the insurance companies are freaking out about the Obama health care initiative and are raising rates just in case (similar to when gas spikes around the time of war).  Ugh. 

And my car seems to be falling apart.  A long trim piece blew off in the wind a few weeks ago, and it will cost me $140 to replace.  Seriously?  First of all, the fact that my car falls apart during a windy day is a problem in itself.  There are other things that keep going wrong too, some are covered by the warranty, some not.  Unfortunately, my warranty expires in January 2011. 

I think that's all the complaining I am going to do right now.   :)   I will at least post a happy picture.   I asked her to pose and she did!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

workin'

There are advantages and disadvantages of working for a large company (as is the same with a small company).  I have worked for both, and I have to say that maternity benefits seem to be better at a large company.  I sat down with our HR gal today to go through what has changed since I had Lola.  Believe it or not, several things have changed since January 2009!  I left the meeting feeling much better than I thought I would.  Some benefits have gotten better, some not so much, but generally speaking I will get paid for almost all 12 weeks if I choose to take that much time off.  I only took off 6 weeks last time and it was not enough and I think I am going to take at least 8 or 9 this time, and possibly all 12.  Of course, benefits in the USA are so much worse than pretty much every other country around the world.  Most countries in Europe give a year off (mostly paid), and Canada typically gives 6 month paid.  So the fact that US companies don't even have to pay anything during maternity leave is pretty sad.  I'm lucky I get paid!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Whew!

Finally, I can talk about being pregnant!  I've posted several times about it, but saved them as drafts, so I can post them now.  Due date is April 12th.  We are excited, but nervous as I'm sure most people are anticipating the arrival of their 2nd.  Will I love the 2nd child as much, will I have enough time, money, etc...  I hear that you have enough love, I guess I just have to wait and see!  :)

I've gotten over morning (and afternoon, and evening) sickness as well.  I felt pretty crappy for a couple of months and it's nice to feel better now.   I'm not showing a lot (actually, most people would have no idea I'm pregnant), but my waist has thickened so my pants aren't really fitting very well right now.  I guess I have to switch to maternity pants, but I only have a few smaller tops, so I will be wearing the same thing to work quite often.  Ah, the sacrifices...  

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

WOW, almost October!?

On Sunday, I asked Ryan what the date was.  He told me the 26th.  I said no way!  I honestly was floored that it was almost October.  I have completely lost track of time.  How does this happen?    :)

Saturday, September 18, 2010

cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

So what to do when you have the whole afternoon/evening to yourself?  Clean of course!  Lola's teacher, Elaine, took her to the zoo and she won't be back until 7 or so.  What I really wanted to do all day = take a nap.  But, the basement needed cleaned out!  We had more water in it a few months ago (not as much as the big flood) and it's still messy from that.  I think I have fixed the problem of the city's stormwater backing up through our floor drain, but just in case.....I decided I needed to get everything off of the floor, and what remains on the floor has to be able to tolerate water (plastic buckets, pots, coolers, etc...).   Everything on the bottom row of shelving needs to be in plastic tubs, and everything above that can be boxes.  No boxes within 18 inches of the floor!  I learned that the hard way last time.  I bought some shelving and assembled it and there is now EMPTY shelving in the basement.  This means I can actually put more stuff down there, not on the floor, but up, up, and away.  Productive Saturday!!!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Wedding weekend

I think I’m still recovering from Matt’s wedding last weekend. The wedding itself was wonderful, beautiful, couldn’t ask for a better evening! We were supposed to arrive on Friday around 11:45am, just in time to get to the hotel and put Lola down for a nap, and to also have enough time to shower and get ready before the rehearsal at 4pm. Well… as we are sitting in the terminal they announce the flight is delayed from a 10:30am takeoff to a 12:55pm takeoff! What? Apparently the plane had mechanical problems and was being fixed in Oklahoma City. 12:55 turned into 2pm, which eventually turned into 3pm. Those were the longest 5 hours of my life, seriously. Lola did not want to sit down for even a second, she wanted to run around the entire time. Ryan and I took turns. We were exhausted. I was upset when I realized we were going to miss the wedding rehearsal at 4pm, but I got teary when I realized we were going to miss family pictures. Matt and Sara hired the photographer to come to the hotel to take professional pictures for anyone that wanted them. We were going to get Whiteside and Bloomfield family pictures, and Ryan and I were going to get a family picture with Lola. Sadly, the only opportunities we get for these types of pictures are weddings and funerals. That made me really sad because I don’t know when we will get that opportunity again to get all the family together. We finally got on the flight, got to Midway, got our bag, and got on the train. Keep in mind that Lola still has not taken a nap! And yes, she screamed on the plane. We arrive out of breath at the hotel lobby at 5:45…just as everyone was gathering to leave for the Rehearsal Dinner (which started at 6). So everyone got to see us get off the elevator looking our very best – no shower, no makeup, sweatpants, and grumpy. It was pretty funny actually because we literally walked out of the elevator right into 50 or so of our family/close friends. They all cheered!

The rehearsal dinner was great, the food was wonderful. Lola did fairly well considering she hadn’t napped. My dad made a great speech/toast. Unfortunately we left around 9pm because we needed to get Lola to bed. I wish we could have stayed longer. Everyone was still having a good ol’ time when we left, and I heard later they stayed well past 10pm.

The wedding day was busy. While I got my hair and makeup done, Ryan and Lola wheeled around Michigan Avenue doing some shopping. She was a little antsy during pictures, even rolling around in some flowers outside (while wearing her white dress and white tights). Good thing I brought an extra pair of tights - the begonias stained them hot pink. She performed beautifully during the actual wedding, walking with Ryan down the isle while holding his hand. Thank goodness! We took her back to the hotel after the wedding to a babysitter so we could enjoy the reception. We stayed until midnight and then went back to the hotel and crashed. She didn’t even go to bed for the babysitter until 10:30 so we knew she would be overtired and wake up early on Sunday. Oh well, the joys of travelling with a child!









 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is by far the best family picture we have ever gotten!  It has taken us 19 months to get a good picture of the 3 of us.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Me and my little brother!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This picture was taken before Lola rolled around in the hot pink begonias...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My cousins Kate and Andrea.  Kate is pregnant and due Feb 25th!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ryan and Grandma dancing the night away

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

My brother is getting married this weekend!

I can't believe my brother is getting married this weekend!  I am really looking forward to it, although I think I would be much more excited if we were going by ourselves and not taking Lola.  I really want to be able to enjoy time with my family and it's hard with a toddler who likes to scream and run around like a chicken with her head cut off!   We got a babysitter for Saturday night of the wedding, but we are taking her to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. 

The wedding is going to be outside (in Chicago) and the weather is looking to be absolutely perfect!  High of 72 and low of 59.   In the month of September, Matt will get married, graduate from graduate school, and turn 30!  That is quite a month. 

I will post pictures when we get back. 

Saturday, August 14, 2010

clothes

Lola and I went shopping at Gap this morning for some jeans (for her).  We are doing a photo shoot for a local magazine on Wednesday and we are supposed to wear jeans and a neutral top.  Her jeans were too small and short, so off we went.  Nothing like buying jeans when it is 100 degrees outside.   I really don't like shopping, which I don't think is totally normal for a girl.  When I do go I am usually in and out in a matter of minutes.  I hate browsing sale racks for hours, it's something my friend Tracy does well, but I just don't have the patience for.  I picked out some jeans for Lola and off we went to the dressing room.  This was a new experience for me.  I have never had Lola try any clothes on before in a store.  I actually left the dressing room door open so the stroller could hang out - it was a bit tight in there.  It was pretty fun.

As we were browsing around, I noticed a pregnant girl and her mom picking out some maternity clothes (maternity is temporarily in the middle of the infants/toddlers department while they remodel).  This gal was a little pregnant, I could see the beginnings of a belly, she is probably due in January or Feb at the latest.  Her mom is picking stuff out for her and she is commenting on how big everything is and that she can't possibly wear that because it was so big.  I snickered to myself, remembering when i actually bought a few XS maternity tops and outgrew them in a matter of weeks.  Now I wonder why they even make XS maternity anything!?  Pants maybe, for the teeny gals, but no matter your size, an XS top will not fit you very long.  They bought quite a few things, all in XS, and went on their merry way.  I remember the point at the very end, 36 weeks and on, when even the size larges seemed to be getting too short.  That is when I realized why they make the larger maternity clothes so long -  they have to be otherwise your huge belly will hang out of the bottom!  I'm not a big person, but I had a few XL tops at the very end and I was thankful for those.  Not sure I will even pull out the XS tops next time around!   :)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Vacations!

I've been on 2 trips in the past 2 weeks!  Ryan and I went to Sonoma at the end of July for a little wine tasting and relaxing.  He wanted to visit some wineries that are very small and up-and-coming.  A couple of them already distribute their wines in Missouri, but a couple of them don't, and he is hoping that changes.  Our wine tasting trips are not exactly like other people's wine tasting trips, he actually 'works'.  We don't swallow very much wine, we spit most of it (unlike the girls we saw during lunch one day who were hammered from tasting wines all day).  We ate at some wonderful restaurants - one in San Francisco called Dosa, which is a Southern Indian Restaurant.  Different than a normal Indian Restaurant in that the cuisine is somewhat based around a Southern Indian tradition of Dosa's, which are puffy bread like things.  It was wonderful.  We also ate at a couple of great restaurants in downtown Healdsberg (Sonoma county).  We couldn't have asked for better weather either. 
My parents watched Lola for a whole week while we were gone!  It was nice to have some alone time.  When my parents picked her up from our house and took her to Fort Scott, this is the picture they sent us of the car ride home.  Isn't my child amazing!?  Look at the tricks she can do with her toes!  Gross....   :)





















Anyone want a cracker? 



















We stayed at Forth Winery in their guest house.  This is one of their vineyards.  They are a very small production winery. 



















Jann and Gerry Forth have sheep roaming their vineyards, and these are the dogs that watch over the sheep!  Rather large eh?



So moving on to my 2nd trip, my future sister-in-law, Sara's, bachelorette party in Steamboat Springs, Co.  It was a great time, although one more day there would have been nice.  I had met Sara's sister Blake before, but not her older sister Becky or any of her friends.  I knew her friends would be cool since she is, and I was right!  It was great getting to meet everyone - there were 12 of us total.  It will make the wedding so much more fun now that I know all of the bridesmaids and her close friends.

















The whole gang - we went on a hike, it was beautiful!
























I was going too fast for Becky to take my picture...



















Sara (center) with her older sister Becky (left) and younger sister Blake (right)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Bad day

I’m already annoyed with a lot of things today…


1. My husband, who is being a complete ass right now. I make all kinds of accommodations for his crazy work schedule, and I’m always okay with it. But the one week I ask him to help me out with my schedule since I am going to be gone this coming Friday thru Sunday, he is super grumpy because I’m messing up his workout/running schedule. Seriously!? We got into a huge fight last night.

2. This heat and humidity – 84 degrees at 7:30am and with the heat index it felt like 90. Why do I live here again?

3. The carseat in my car. It’s pink with flowers (Britax, very expensive, given to us secondhand by a friend who only used it gently for 2 years). I hate having a pink carseat in my car. Every time I see it I hate it, but it was free, and if I would have bought it outright it would have cost me $300. So I deal with it, but today it is bothering me more than usual. It’s not even a pretty pink, it’s a mauve-ish color. Gross and cheesy.

4. The gas station on Grand street. You have 8 pumps, and 7 of them are not working! Really? Yes, I know you are a crappy gas station that has a bad rap because there have been some shootings there (they don’t call it murder-mart for no reason), but if you are going to let all of your pumps fall apart why don’t you just get rid of them? That way I won’t drive through, my car running on fumes, and have to go somewhere else that isn’t exactly close.

5. Family Pictures. We got them taken 3 weeks ago and guess what? It was almost 90 degrees that day by 8am. I sweat through my shirt within the first 5 minutes. Lola was not cooperating at all. The whole point of taking them was to get some good 18 month shots of her, and to get at least one good family picture. Well, we failed with the second part. All the family pictures were horrible. My hair frizzed up immediately and my bangs looked like one big sweaty chunk. Ryan wore flip flops which looked really bad, he has very ugly feet and they just didn’t look good.

I think that’s all for now. I know this is a very negative post, but I feel so much better for getting this off of my chest. ;)

Monday, July 26, 2010

bird bath

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade right?  Riiiiiiiight....sometimes easier said than done, and I often tell people to think positive when so often I don't think positive myself.  When one of our beautiful pine trees died last year I was not happy.  Not only was it going to cost me a lot of money to have it removed, it was going to make our row of 8 pine trees in a row look weird, since this tree was in the middle.  I think it was my dad who suggested I have them leave the stump fairly high so I could turn it into a birdbath or something like that, but I think I might have thought about it before he mentioned it.  Anyway, the stump had been an eyesore until this past Saturday when dad and I found the perfect birdbath top to sit on it!  The colors match exactly, and it looks like it has always been there.  I've found myself staring at it over the past few days, don't know why, it just looks so inviting! 

vacation!

My parents took Lola back to Fort Scott yesterday for a whole week!  Dad gave Lola a bath last night, and he took off her diaper while she was standing next to the tub...guess what was in it!?  Poop of course, which proceeded to plop all over the floor.  He yelled for my mom to come help him.  Ha ha, that's what he gets for not checking before he takes it off!  We did that once and always check now.  

We leave tomorrow for a 4 day trip to Sonoma, Ca.  Wine country here we come!  We are staying in a guest cottage at Forth winery, which is supposed to be quiet and peaceful.  I'm so excited!  Will post pictures when we get back. 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Training

I need to start my training next week for the KC ½ Marathon in October. I have been running but not nearly as much as I should be…it is just too hot and humid. Yes, I can get up early but I have been having a difficult time doing that, and even then it’s still 78 degrees with the heat index in the 80’s already. Ryan is going to run the full marathon and started his training program a while ago. I don’t love running, but it is a challenge to me and I feel good after I’m finished. I ran the KC ½ back in 2007 and my goal this time is to beat my previous time which was 2 hours, 1 minute, and some change. Ryan ran it with me and he really pushed me. If it weren’t for him I probably would have finished around 2:15 or 2:20. Ryan then ran the full marathon in 2008 while I was pregnant. He just mentioned the other day that it seemed much easier to train for that marathon than it is for this one…duh, really? You think it was easier before we had a baby!? Of course, he had much more free time back then! ;)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Time away!

I keep seeing people post on Facebook that they are leaving their kid(s) for the first time either ever or for a certain amount of time. One girl has 4 kids, and I think the oldest is at least 10, and she has never left her kids for more than 5 days. I feel like I should feel bad because in Lola’s almost 18 months of life, by the end of this month I will have been away from her for probably 2.5 weeks since she was born! But…I don’t feel bad! I feel like it’s healthy to get away sometimes. I also still enjoy my girl trips and even my work trips (sometimes).

Monday, July 12, 2010

home sick

Home with a sick kiddo today.  She was sick yesterday too and oh so cuddly.  Ryan was eating it up!  She cuddled and layed on his chest most of the day.  He has been waiting for a day like that for a while.   :)    I don't exactly like being home with a sick child because we can't go anywhere and are stuck inside. 

Thursday, July 1, 2010

I’m going to try and get better about keeping this blog updated. Hmmm, let’s see, what’s new? Our basement dried out after the flooding incident a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we are still at the mercy of the City’s stormwater system unless we spend a small fortune to have our basement floor ripped up and some pipes re-worked with special valves. We can’t afford that right now! So until then, we hope for nice light rain showers that don’t last more than an hour and only happen every 4 or so days. Yeah right! Actually it has now been over a week since it last rained so things are really drying out.

Our back yard finally looks somewhat like a yard now. The grass has grown and I’m still watering it daily to keep it from frying in the 95 degree heat. There are patches that don’t have grass, but there is enough to call it a ‘yard’ and to actually walk around on it. I will do some more seeding in the fall when it gets cooler. Mom and dad are coming up this Friday to help me complete a few finishing touches that will make it look a whole lot better.

We hung out in Fort Scott this past weekend for the FS High School All-School reunion. It was technically my 14 year reunion but our class decided to just go ahead and participate instead of doing something next year. We didn’t have a great turnout but it was still fun. We even ran in a 5k and both did fairly well – Ryan came in 6th and I came in 9th (I think). We got to hang out with my cousin Kate and her little boy Liam. I cannot believe the difference between a 2 year old and a 17 month old. It makes me look forward to the next 6-7 months. You can actually hold conversations; they can put together small sentences, and just generally communicate better.






Lola and Liam playing in the water


Ryan and Matt Foster running in the Fort Scott Tiger Trot 5K




Me running in the Tiger Trot

Friday, June 18, 2010

ARGGGGG

I'm so frustrated right now...our basement flooded because of stormwater back-up from the city's stormwater/sewer system.  Why should I have to pay my stupid insurance deductible to get everything fixed because their system is 70 years old and way overloaded!?  Apparently our taxes don't pay for anything.  The schools are horrible, the roads are horrible, and apparently the storm/sewer system is horrible too. 

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

It's not daycare, it's school!

I love where we take Lola to 'daycare'.  We really didn't know what we were looking for when we first started looking back in July of 2008.  I mean really, how does a 12 week pregnant first time mom and first time dad know what to look for in a childcare provider?  I hadn't ever changed a newborns diaper at that point in my life!  We really just went with our gut and chose the place that just felt right to us.   We chose wisely! 

We started taking Lola to school when she was 6.5 weeks old.  It was a bit weird leaving a teeny newborn with people we didn't even know.  Several people told us that all the kids in rooms 5 and 6 get very attached to Elaine.  (Just for reference, Room 5 is the infant room, ages newborn to 1 year, and room 6 is the toddler room, ages 1-2-ish.  They are attached to each other by a room with the changing tables, sinks, and refrigerator).  Elaine is one of the lead teachers in rooms 5 and 6, along with Jana.  There are several other 'floaters' who go between the two rooms.  Lola loves going to school in the mornings.  If Elaine is there when she gets dropped off, she can't wait to get out of Ryan's arms and into Elaine's.  Elaine also has taken a special liking to Lola, she treats her different than the other kids (shhh, don't say anything!).  Just last Saturday, Elaine took Lola for almost the entire day, just because she wanted to.  She had mentioned to me a few weeks earlier that she wanted to kidnap Lola on a Saturday.  I told here there was no reason to kidnap her, she was more than welcome to take her!  She then mentioned it to Ryan a few times, and we finally set a date.  By the way, she has babysat Lola for us a couple of times before.  So on Saturday, she took her to the park, the market, out to lunch, to a friends to play in the swimming pools all afternoon, and then fed her dinner.  When she brought her back to our house, Lola didn't want her to leave.  She wants to take her again in a few weeks.  This is how much Elaine love kids!  She has also worked at Lola's school for 28 years! 

So in addition to us loving the teachers, the school has an extremely structured learning program.  The infant room is the least structured, obviously, but still has a lot of consistency.  Lola started bringing home art projects when she was around 6-7 months old, and now we have an entire 3" notebook filled with things she has made.  She's only 16 months old!   :)   They do a lot of finger painting and painting with sponges.  I'm constantly amazed at things she will do or say at home that she has learned at school. 

Lola is also extremely social and not shy at all.  I really think that starting school so early and being around other kids and adults has made her this way.  When we go to the grocery store she waves and says hi to everybody.  She interacts well with other kids, and is fascinated by babies since she sees infants in room 5.  (If both rooms 5 and 6 aren't full towards the end of the day, they will move all the kids to one room to consolidate teachers).   She will move to one of the pre-preschool rooms when she turns 2 and I will be so sad not to have Elaine as her teacher anymore.  But I suppose when we have another child Elaine will get to take care of him or her!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Say Cheese!

















Just because Lola will now give a big cheesy smile at the camera when I tell her to "Say Cheese" doesn't mean I should keep asking her to do it at inappropriate times....like when she has a mouthful of food!!  But it's so cute...

Tuesday, June 1, 2010
















The grass is finally growing!  Hopefully we can mow in the next few weeks and finally have a back yard we can use. 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I haven’t written a lot on here lately! I usually blog during lunch at work, but they started blocking blog sites a few weeks ago so I haven’t had access at work and by the time I get home there is so much going on that I never get around to it.

Lola and I had a stomach virus a few weeks ago. Not fun! She caught it first and then I got it from her. I missed 3 days of work and I questioned whether I should have even gone back on the 4th day because at that point all I had eaten were 3 pieces of dry toast and some plain rice. Needless to say, I brought my own lunch to work that day because I was scared of what normal food would do to my stomach. More plain rice and a plain chicken breast seemed to settle okay, and after that I was back to normal food.

We finally started on our new patio/back yard. Our house is on a corner lot, so our ‘back’ yard is actually on the side and it is teeny. It was ¾ concrete and ¼ grass and the old concrete had been topped with an epoxy coating and mini rocks approximately 15-20 years ago. We ultimately had 3 goals for our back (side) yard:
1. Fence the yard in so we can let the dog out without watching her the whole time. I have probably spent 20 hours in the past 2 years just watching her out the door to make sure she doesn’t run down the side of the house into the street (which she has done several times). She likes to hang out in the back yard but since it isn’t fenced we can’t leave her out there without watching her.

2. Get rid of the annoying little rocks that we track everywhere. They scratch the heck out of our hardwood floors and they are ugly and annoying. The epoxy was also starting to crack and crumble. Lola also liked to pick up the rocks and eat them. I’m sure they were very high in fiber!

3. Increase the amount of grassy area so it actually seems like a yard.
They came in and demoed the concrete with a jackhammer. It shook the entire house, but somehow Lola slept through it all. Probably because that was the day she threw up 3 times and she felt horrible. When they removed the concrete they left some ruts in the yard, which we expected.

My parents came up and helped me haul 3.5 cubic yards of dirt into our new back yard. Basically I had to fill in the area that used to be concrete. It wasn’t very deep, but it still needed a lot of dirt. We then re-graded the back yard and filled in the ruts made by the bobcat. Topped with some grass seed with straw, and voila! We finished in between rain showers, which ended up being perfect because we didn’t have to water the seed in. I’m very anxious for the grass to sprout because right now all we have is a huge area of dirt covered by straw. It’s not usable space yet, but hopefully will be in a few weeks. I’m so impatient; I want the grass to grow now!


 
 
 
This was the scene after they jackhammered the concrete, before they hauled it out. I about had a heart attack because it was such a mess!





Concrete cleared out, forms up for the concrete. The area in the middle is where there will now be grass. Concrete patio on the right for the table/chairs, concrete on the left so we have an area to step on and a paved area in front of the shed.





 
 
 
The new fence/gate! The gate is located on the south side of our house, and this is where Tawny used to wander. Once she got there, she was usually in the street in 10 seconds flat. Not anymore!




This is what we look at from our back door right now...straw. Grass seed, please sprout soon!!

Monday, April 26, 2010

I need a vacation from our vacation....

We just got back from Phoenix for my cousin Andrea's wedding.  I am mentally and physically exhausted.  I can honestly say that there is very little of the trip that I enjoyed.  I hate to be so negative, but travelling with a 15 month old who hates to sit still is a lot of work.  The plane ride to Phoenix was a nightmare...Lola screamed and cried almost the whole time, she just wouldn't fall asleep even though she was so tired.  The wedding was on Friday night.  Ryan had to take her away from the ceremony because she didn't want to sit on our laps and instead screamed to get down.  We weren't able to enjoy the reception because we had to watch her.  Then we went to my aunt and uncle's house on Saturday, and all Lola wanted to do was run towards the pool and towards the plants with thorns.  It was non-stop chasing her.  I was trying to catch up with my cousins but every time we would start to have a converstaion, I would have to get up and grab her.   I really wanted to have drinks with my parents and my brother and his fiancee on Saturday night, but Lola had to go to bed and once we put her down in the hotel room we had to stay in there.  So that was our 'vacation'... Thursday through Sunday of non-stop child chasing and sitting in our hotel bed waiting for her to wake up from a nap so we could leave the room.  At least she slept on the plane ride home!  :)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Hissy Fits

I think we have entered into the "terrible two's", even though Lola isn't even 15 months old. I have heard it's a myth that the terrible twos don't start until age 2, and that they usually start around 18 months. The hissy fits started a few weeks ago. They begin with us telling her no. Then this happens:





















Followed by this:


She will throw herself so hard on the ground that she usually ends up hitting her head which makes her even more mad.  It is really difficult not to laugh when this happens....although I won't be laughing if it continues!  

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Too nice

Since Lola was born, I have been working 4 days/week. I take off the day during the week that I don't have any meetings scheduled, which usually ends up being a Friday or a Monday. Ryan usually takes off Wednesday's, so Lola goes to daycare 3 days/week. This works fine most of the time, but lately I seem to have people schedule meetings on my day off. I am supposed to be off tomorrow, but of course I am coming into the office. Sometimes I feel like I am too accomodating, but really, in this economy who can afford to not be!? I know Ryan doesn't go into work until 11am, so I told the guy who scheduled the meeting I could work until 10:30. Ugh.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Flash back 14 months ago....

Last night, I was telling the story about when I gave birth to Lola and I realized that some details were starting to get fuzzy. I want to write them down so I don't forget and I can go back and read it later! And I also hope that things go differently next time, however, I understand I'm not completely in control and I'm okay with that.

I planned to work right up to the day I gave birth. I did decide to not really schedule any meetings after 38 weeks, just in case I had to leave the office suddenly. So you can imagine how bored I was at work between weeks 38 and 40! In all honestly, I had plenty to do, I just didn't feel like doing it. So on Friday, January 23rd (39 weeks, 4 days), I was sitting at my desk and I didn't feel all that great. I wanted to go home and lay down, but I had a dentist appointment at 3pm that day and I didn't want to miss it...so I waited. Before I left, my administrative assistant, Becky, took one look at me and said I was going to have my baby that weekend. I told her she was crazy. Ha! So I went to the dentist at 3pm and I was having some contractions at that point. Not horrible, but uncomforatable. I went home and laid down to see if the contractions stopped, but they didn't. They weren't too close together though and they weren't too intense.

At around 3am, I woke up suddenly because I thought I wet the bed. It was a weird feeling of losing control. I went to the bathroom and actually had a full bladder, so it was then that I thought maybe my water broke! I woke Ryan up (took me 4 tries) and told him I think my water broke. We turned on the lights and there was a huge wet spot in the bed. We just sat there trying to figure out if it was urine or fluid...it was pretty funny. Gross, but we had to smell it. It didn't smell like urine so we assumed it was fluid. I wasn't having contractions though, so I knew we didn't have to go in right away. I had the bright idea of suggesting we try and go back to sleep for a little bit. Ryan fell right asleep, but I was wide awake (and also laying halfway in a wet spot). Finally I got up around 4:30 and took a shower. Ryan got up and did the same, and then I called the doctor. I think we left for the hospital around 6am. I didn't want to call my parents just in case they sent me home.

We got to the hospital, and after what seemed like forever, they determined my water did break and I was admitted. I was still barely 1cm dilated though (which I had been for 3+ weeks), and I wasn't having bad contractions. They got me to a room and I called my parents. I told them to take their time, as it looked like i would labor all day and possibly into the next day. The midwife told me it would probably be a long day. They decided to give me pitocin to get my contractions going stronger and more consistent. I remember laying there when she started the pitocin drip. I looked at the clock and it was 9:10am, then the pitocin entered my system I had a HUGE contraction. I looked over at Ryan and said, 'great, this is going to be a long painful day'. He looked at me like 'great, can't wait!'. Then all the sudden, people were running in the room. They were telling me to roll to one side, and then the other. More people ran in. The nurses called for the midwife, she came in, looked at the machines, and told them to call the doctor for a possible C-Section. Ryan and I were totally confused. They told me my baby's heart rate had plummited to around 50 beats/minute. They had me roll on my hands and knees, trying to get the baby to move, to hopefully get the heartrate back up. More people came in, and someone yelled to prep the OR. They told me they needed to get the baby out right away. I'm not sure how to explain how I felt while all of this was going on. I felt oddly calm, like I knew everything was going to be fine. I somehow knew I needed to stay calm and quiet, because I needed to listen to what they were asking me to do (roll over right, roll over left, roll to your hands and knees). I was totally focused on what they were saying to me. Before I rolled onto my hands and knees, they checked me again and i was 3cm. I went from 1cm to 3cm in one contraction!

They wheeled me into the OR while I was still on my hands and knees. That was weird, I was afraid my butt was hanging out for all to see! While they were wheeling me down the hall, they told me that if they could get the heartrate up to around 90, they would take the extra minute to give me a spinal. If not, they would have to tube me and knock me out to take the baby out. That freaked me out a bit because I wanted to be awake. Ryan managed to call my parents around that time and told them to hurry now because they were going to do a C-Section. I think my poor mom probably had a heart attack. The heartrate got back up to just 90 by the time we got in the OR and they sat me up and gave me a spinal instead of knocking me out. No sooner had I laid back down, the doctor walked in and cut me open. It literally happend that fast! They gave me the pitocin at 9:10am, and Lola was born at 9:25am on Saturday, January 24th, 2 days before her due date.

I found out a few weeks later what they thought happened, after they had a meeting to discuss. When they gave me the pitocin and I had that hard contraction, I went from 1cm to 3cm and they think Lola dropped down in my pelvis. When they took her out of me, the cord was around her neck and over her head. So when she dropped, she compressed the cord with the top of her head. Even me moving around couldn't get the cord uncompressed enough to get her heartrate back up.

I had a hard time with how everything happened. That was not how I envisioned giving birth. I thought the recovery process was bad, I didn't enjoy being cut open. I couldn't work out for 6 weeks, and it took me until around 6 months postpartum to feel normal again (like where I could do situps without hurting). I immediately started doing research on what my options were next time. I will not schedule a C-Section again unless it's absolutely necessary! I ended up switching doctors and my new doctor is very supportive of what's called a VBAC (vaginal birth after cecerian). I know I can't control everything, but I really and truly hope that next time I can see my child being born and hold him or her on my lap right after delivery, instead of looking at a sheet in front of my face in an operating room!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

When is the right time?

When is the right time to have another baby? That is the million dollar question right!? If you ask 10 peole, you will get 10 different answers/opinions. We had talked about it before but not seriously, but it came up again the other day. I used to think I wanted to wait until Lola was 3 or so before we had another but recently have been thinking I want them to be closer in age. I think it would be nice to have another when she is around 2-1/2, which would be early next summer. Ryan, on the other hand, still thinks that waiting until Lola is 3 is the way to go.

Part of our conversation the other night: But you want to run the 1/2 marathon in October (him). Yes, I do, but I could still probably run it even if I was a few months pregnant (me). But are you ready to be pregnant again (him)? Will I ever be (me)? But are you ready to lose the abs you have worked so hard to get back (him)? Will I ever be ready to lose them (me)? But that would mean you would be pregnant towards the end of this summer (him)! Duh (me).

I think what he was really trying to say is that he is not ready for me to be fat again! Ha. Actually, what he is most worried about is Lola not being an only child and wondering if he will love a 2nd child as much as he loves his 1st. I don't have the answer to that, but I hear from people with 2 or more kids that they do indeed love them all equally. So we never actually came to an agreement on a timeline... I guess we will just have to wait and see!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Go Hawks! Walking down memory lane...

We just got tickets to the KU game tomorrow, 2nd round at the Sprint Center. I'm super excited. It brings back such good memories of 2008 when we won the National Championship (see my main picture at the top of this blog). Ryan and I had just gotten married and had only been back from our honeymoon for a few weeks. We went to Lawrence to watch the game, in a private room in a Restaurant on Massachusetts Street (our Friend Steve owns the restaurant). We thought they were going to lose the game, and then... it happened. OVERTIME! My throat hurt from screaming. After we won, it was chaos on Mass Street. I have never seen so many happy people in one place, the atmosphere was like nothing I can describe. My face hurt from smiling. People were just walking around giving each other high fives. What I wouldn't give for a repeat this year!


On Mass Street, after the win



A shot from the roof of the building we were in



Street level. It was so difficult to get a good picture that describes how many people were on the street. It was unreal.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Nice weather finally!

We finally got to go on a long walk today! It was so beautiful outside, one of the truly nice days we get around here...not too hot, not too humid. We met Elizabeth and Julia at the park, and then played on the swings and slide for a little bit.



They fit so much better in these swings than they did last year!



Where are my arms!?






On another note, Lola has been sleeping with a stuffed toy, Knufflebunny, since she was 4 months old. My Uncle Lee gave it to her for Christmas right before she was born, along with a Knufflebunny book. Each time we put her in her crib she grabs Knuffle and cuddles with him. It is so cute! We were walking by some little shops down the street from our house last week and we stopped dead in our tracks...there was a BIG Knuffle in the window of a shop (the other one is much smaller)! Ryan went back on Wednesday and picked it up, and now she has "Big Knuffle" and "Little Knuffle". I love this picture, dragging her blanket with Kunffle over her shoulder...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sick, Sick Sick!

Everyone I know is sick! I don't remember a winter that was this bad. Every person that sits near me is sick, and most of my friends are sick - I'm not exaggerating. I think we just keep passing it back and forth. Thank goodness Lola is okay right now, but I know it's just a matter of a few weeks before she has another cold. I am so ready for Spring!

Monday, February 15, 2010

We had a bridal shower for my cousin Andrea on Saturday at Ryan's store. It was nice to see everyone and Andrea got lots of good things! I can't believe my baby cousin Andrea is getting married. I only have 2 cousins on my mom's side and 2 cousins on my dad's side, and I am close to them all. Kate and Andrea are my mom's sister's girls. Kate lives in St. Louis and Andrea lives in in Phoenix. They grew up in the Kansas City area, and then moved to Texas and then Arizona. We saw them quite a bit when we were younger, and now see them once or twice a year.

We will go to Phoenix in April for her wedding and I'm really looking forward to it, although honestly, not looking forward to travelling with a 15 month old. :)



Wine at a Bridal shower is a must! And don't the flowers look nice? I did them myself. And my wonderful hubby did the food.



Andrea (the bride) on the left, Kate on the right



Aunt Marilyn (mom's younger sister) on the left, Kate, Grandma, Andrea, Mom, and me

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I love yoga!

I used to think yoga was stupid, and wondered why anyone would do it. But to be fair, I had never tried it so I shouldn't have judged without knowing. When I was around 25 weeks pregnant in fall of 08, I felt the need to slow down my usual high-paced gym routine. My body felt tight and I didn't feel like I could get myself stretched out properly...so I decided to go to prenatal yoga. I fell in love that first evening. I couldn't believe how challanging it was, and I was in pretty good shape at the time. I enjoyed the way I felt when I left and I also met other girls who were due around the same time as me. The next day I had sore muscles, which once again I couldn't believe since I am a gym rat and was still lifting weights at least 4-5 days/week. How could something I thought was so stupid and couldn't be considered a 'workout' actually give me sore muscles!?

Fast forward to today. I went to yoga at lunch and it felt great. I saw my friend Susan, whom I met in prenatal yoga, and whom I just had over last weekend for a playdate with our girls. My body feels strong and limber, and my mind feels clear. Ahhhh....

Monday, January 25, 2010

Lola's 1st Birthday

It was a weekend full of birthdays! We went to Julia Olson's 1st birthday party on Saturday. It was the first birthday party Lola had been to (besides my dad's 60th birthday when she was 3 weeks old, I don't count that). For those of you who don't know, Julia and Lola were born on the same day - January 24th. I met Julia's mom, Elizabeth, at the gym when we were both pregnant. We had both been going to the same gym for a while, but we had never actually met. I'm not very social at the gym - I put on my headphones and tune everyone out. Elizabeth and I both happened to be in the locker room at the same time one day and I saw her little belly and asked her if she was pregnant (thank goodness she was!). She was due 3 weeks after me, on Feb 14th, but Julia came exactly 3 weeks early. Elizabeth and I still go to the gym together. She motivates me to do cardio because we chat the whole time. Otherwise, I'm lucky if I can get 10 minutes of cardio in before I get bored out of my mind and move on to the weight room to lift (which I absolutely love).

Sorry, back to birthdays... My mom came up Saturday morning and we spent the whole day baking/decorating the cake and cupcakes and cleaning the house. Then I took a break to go to Julia's birthday, then came back to keep decorating/cleaning. Ryan was in charge of the food and he got everything ready on Sunday morning while mom and I got things set up.

We had a good turnout, around 22 people. Lola did great. She did get grumpy when she was opening presents, because she wanted to hold/play with what was opened, but we had to take it from her so she could open the next present. I can't really blame her! We were trying to get through presents quickly so she could move on to cake before she got really hungry and tired. She didn't make as big of a mess with the cake as I anticipated. But then again she isn't a great eater and she pretty much takes one bite at a time and doesn't stuff a whole lot in her mouth at once. She did manage to eat an entire cupcake, which in turn prevented her from taking an afternoon nap! She always naps for at least 2 hours, but she was not interested at all. She screamed and screamed and finally I gave up. I think she wanted to come back downstairs and play with all of her presents, because when I got her up and brought her downstairs, she made a beeline for the gifts.


This is the only picture we got of her where you can see her entire shirt. And yes, she is holding a stack of baby food containers. She loves to play with them and wouldn't put them down!









It's my party and I'll scream if I want to! Ryan took away a gift she just opened and she wasn't too happy.



April got Lola a stuffed squirrel. Actually, this is April's squirrel from growing up. I have a stuffed squirrel that looks very similar, although it is much more worn out than this one. My stuffed squirrel, named 'squirrel', was not my favorite toy when I was little but became my 'lovey' as I got older for some reason. I even took squirrel to college with me, where some of my roomates and dorm friends (you know who you are), were very mean to squirrel. I found him hanging by his neck from the ceiling and I found him in the microwave when I would get home from class. Not nice!! :) So April decided that Lola needed a squirrel friend too.



Lola and Julia with their birthday hats on! Julia wasn't too happy, and we couldn't get them to look at the camera. At least we tried.



No she didn't blow the candle out herself, I did it for her. I don't think she even knew what to think about the flame in front of her face.




Thursday, January 21, 2010

No more bottles!!

When we went for Lola's 9-month checkup back in October, Dr. Burgert said he would like to see her finished with bottles by the time she turned 1 year old. I remember thinking that there was no way, it seemed so difficult and daunting to think about. When she turned 10 months I thought it seemed more daunting, and at 11 months I was thinking there was no way! She isn't a great eater so the bottles were providing her with a good portion of her nutrition. Plus, we had gotten into a pretty steady routine. She would have a bottle before her morning nap, before her afternoon nap, and before bed. She would lay on the boppy pillow and drink it. It almost seemed like her 'lovey'. I will say that she is pretty good with a sippy cup and with a regular cup, so that made it seem like it might be possible.

So around a week ago, we cut out her morning bottle. It went fine - we just replaced it with a sippy cup and a snack. But I remember thinking that it seemed like it might be more difficult to just cut out one bottle since she would still get one in the afternoon and evening, and it might upset her more. So on Tuesday at daycare, she had no bottles all day! They just gave her a sippy cup and snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Her teacher, Elaine, said she got grumpy when they made bottles for the other babies so they just gave her a sippy cup each time she freaked out about not getting a bottle. Tuesday night I decided to cut the night bottle since she hadn't had one all day anyway. I fed her dinner a little later so she would be full and gave her a sippy cup before bed. All went well!

Let me step back a minute and say that Ryan is completely freaked out by the fact we are cutting out bottles. He originally said he was upset because she is fairly skinny, she isn't a great eater, and he was worried she wouldn't get enough nutrition. I explained that we weren't just taking the bottle away and starving her! we were replacing it with a snack and a sippy cup of milk. He then (kind of) admitted that he was upset because this meant she wasn't a 'baby' anymore. He went on a rant about how she wasn't a 'baby' for very long - she started crawling at 7 months, walking at 9.5 months, and now she was not drinking out of a bottle anymore. It was pretty cute actually!

Yesterday was his day to stay home with her and I thought for sure he was going to cave and give her a bottle. But he didn't! He did blame her foul mood on the fact she didn't have a bottle, and it was probably true. He also blamed her short afternoon nap on that too. I think he is going to blame a lot of things on the lack of a bottle for the next few weeks... It's going to take her a little while to get out of her old routine. Good lord, I am horrible about routine. When my routine gets messed up I freak out! I think she probably inherited that from me. :)

Last night I packed up all the bottles, nipples, lids, and the bottle drying rack (which took up a large portion of our countertop). I looked over at the counter and felt a twinge of sadness...my little girl is growing up! I am excited to get my countertop back, but still a bit sad at the same time.

Ryan sent me this picture yesterday when I told him that her grumpy mood was probably a coincidence and had nothing to do with the lack of bottle before her nap. When we used to mix up her bottle, she would freak out and run to the boppy pillow and lay down. I think it may be time to put the pillow away too!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Christmas 2009

What an interesting Christmas we had! I can't remember the last time we had snow on Christmas Eve. It was a little scary though, Ryan didn't come down to Fort Scott until Christmas Eve afternoon and it was sleeting pretty badly. Thankfully he was able to leave earlier than planned because the weather got very bad.

Lola's first Christmas was good, although I spent 5 days chasing her around my parents' house (which is not babyproofed). I was exhaused by the time we left. All she wanted to do was climb up the stairs and pull leaves off of the plants. We got to spend a couple of days before Christmas with my brother and his fiance. They went to her parents' in Salina for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. That was the first time Matt had not been with us on Christmas and it was kind of sad. :( We hadn't seen them since the beginning of August so it was great to catch up. They are getting married in September of this year!


Lola got a 'Wheelie Bug' from Grandma and Grandad. She also just happened to have a ladybug sweater to match!



We had a heck of a time trying to get a good picture of her in her Christmas dress, she was not cooperating. Ryan had to hold her, and this is the best picture we got.



Lola and Daddy



Christmas morning, still in snowman pj's



Christmas morning, opening presents. She was more interested in wandering around and grabbing other people's presents than she was with her own presents.



I have no idea how many bows we stuck on her head...



New carseat! She kept crawling in it and wanting to sit in it. As you can see, she also drooled on it.



Grandma got her this bow onesie which was super cute! She also got her picture taken with santa while she was wearing it. She kept trying to remove the bow.



I decided it was time to try and knit her a sweater. I have been knitting for years but have never attemped a sweater. It turned out really cute, although I made the arms way too long and had to roll them up twice so she could wear it!