Fun photo shoot

We had a girl's day with Aunt Rachel and Jojo at a local garden. I wanted to get pictures of the girls in their smocked dresses before the summer ended. Here's a sample of some of my favs.

These boots were made for walkin'....

Wowzer

Don't ask me why, but Annalee really wanted to wear a Target bag tonight. I guess this might come in handy one day if we are really strapped for cash!

Then Daddy carried her upstairs by the handles! Too funny.

More Good Times at the Zoo

We had a fun morning at the zoo today. It was nice outside and we really needed to get some fresh air.

Cutest cousins on the block!

Annalee and Papa with the giraffes.

My best attempt at a pic with Annalee and the zebra.

Checkin' out the monkeys.

Can't go to the zoo without feeding the parakeets!

Budding Photographer

Annalee likes to look at the pictures on my camera and she actually knows how to work it; turn it on/off, scroll through the pics, and as of today- push the button to take a pic.

This was her first attempt....oops, need some practice.



Second attempt, notice me trying to position myself in the viewfinder.



Third try...not bad, love the fact that you can see her cute feet!



I'm thinking that I need to let her practice a little more, that way Mommy can be in at least one pic a year!

Goodbye Noodle Neck, Hello Bumbo!

3 Months Old

Wow, another month older!
Monthly stats and accomplishments:

• around 13lbs, just guessing on this one
• finally have some good head control, woo hoo no more noodle neck!
• only waking once in the night to eat, usually around 4:30am (after going to bed around 9pm)
• 'talking' a lot! I love to hear those sweet sounds
• still eating every 2 hours during the day
• such a happy baby!

We are still amazed at what a blessing Grace has been to our family. She is very predictable, easy to get to sleep, and such a joy!

The Girls

I love the fact that I can call Annalee and Grace "the girls." What a blessing! Here are some sweet pics of them.

Public Service Announcement

Alright ladies,
this might be too much information for you to handle, so you may want to skip on by 'What the Beck' today, but since this is my online journal of my life I think the recent story needs to be documented.

Two weeks ago today I had an i.u.d. placed as my birth control. I had the same one after having Annalee, so I didn't even think twice about my decision because the first one worked so well. On Saturday night I started having severe pain and knew right away that something wasn't right. After calling my doctor's office that night and finding out that my choices were to leave a message to be returned Monday morning, or to go to the emergency room, I opted to wait and see since the pain had started to subside. I had pain off and on all weekend, but by Monday it was better. Then on Wednesday it started getting worse again so I called to make an appointment with my doctor for last Thursday.

I went in, was examined and they couldn't find what they were looking for, awesome. They sent me down the hall to have a sonogram and the sonographer couldn't find it either. Remember, this device is supposed to be in my uterus, and it's M.I.A at this point! The look on the doctor's face was priceless, she couldn't believe her eyes. At this point they order a CAT scan to be done on Monday to find out where it could have gone. They keep asking me if I was sure that it hadn't fallen out...umm, pretty sure I would have noticed it if it did!

On Friday before going to the zoo, they call back and want me to come in ASAP for an abdominal x-ray to make sure it is indeed somewhere in by body. Come to find out, it is...but we don't know exactly where.

I come in on Monday for my CAT scan, the results come in later that day and it has infact migrated out of my uterus and into my abdominal cavity. Super. The doctor wants to see me the next day for my Pre-Op appointment...that's right, the only way to retrieve it now is through surgery.

So, yesterday at 12:30 I headed to the hospital for my first surgery of my life. The nurse has to ask a million questions about my health and my answer to all of them was no. Finally, she asked what I was there for and I had to tell her the ridiculous situation. Luckily it was only a laproscopic procedure (a small incision in my bellybutton for the scope and another small incision to remove the device), but I still had to have general anesthesia and the whole bit.

I was able to come home last night at about 9pm and I am doing good today, just a little sore. The biggest pain of it all is having to pump and dump my milk and give Grace formula because I didn't have very much milk stored up. I only have to do that for a few more hours though.

The moral of the story, read the fine print and be prepared to be the 1% that this type of thing could happen to. Needless to say, despite my good experience with the first i.u.d., we won't be going that route again!

Just for fun

Just for fun
we had another cake for Papa's b-day!


Just for fun
we went to the circus for Uncle Jeremy's birthday.


Just for fun
Caleb and Annalee pretended to go night-night in JoJo's bed.


Just for fun
Annalee played Barbie's half-naked.


Just for fun
Grace and Ken had a little heart-to-heart (thanks to big sis).

Just for fun

JoJo is making Annalee an adorable dress.

Just for fun

the girls watched Sesame Street while Mommy got dressed.

Happy B-day Papa

Papa turned 55 today! Happy B-day. We celebrated with taco salad and chocolate cake, yum! Annalee woke him up this morning with a homemade card. She was so excited to give it to him and then she took it back. That girl. Grace just loves being in his arms...she usually falls asleep when she gets there. We love you Papa.


We also had a fun day with Summer, Elijah, and Judah. We found a new indoor playground at a mall that we don't usually frequent. It was really big and super fun for the kids, but a little crowded.

2 months already!

Why are we moms so surprised that our babies grow so fast? Isn't that their number one job right now, to grow? But yet, each week or month I continue to be amazed at how big my girls are getting.

Grace's 2 month stats and highlights:

• 11 lbs 12 oz
• still eating every 2 hours during the day
• sleeping 6-7 hours straight at night and then another 2-3 after that
• continues to be a rock star baby! she's pretty predictable and easy going
• smiles up a storm
• starting to coo and "talk" to us (I'm trying to get it on video, but I have to act like a moron in order to get her to do it and I'm not ready to share that side of myself with the www yet.)

That's about it, exciting right?

Here's some examples of those sweet smiles...big sister is so funny!!

Love this sweet face!

Potty Humor

I'll post pictures soon, I promise, but I have to share a funny story.

Tonight we were all standing in the living room talking and I thought I heard Annalee. I went into the kitchen to listen to the monitor and the next thing I know she is running by me with the biggest grin on her face yelling "I tee tee'd in the potty!" Important things to know; she had already been put to bed-at least 30 minutes prior, she took off her own diaper and pj pants and went in the potty and then put her pj pants back on-no diaper though, she made her way down a flight of stairs to share her good news.

This is not the first time it's happened, the other 3 times have been when she is supposed to be napping...one time is was #2 and we were lucky enough to have her bring the potty with her to show off her achievement.

While I am super proud of her for A. knowing when she needs to potty and B. actually going to the potty to do it. I am a little frustrated that she waits until bedtime or naptime to decide to be so independent in this area. Afterall, she has managed to pee in the middle of the kitchen twice now.

Oh the joys of potty training.

Today

Today...
Grace took a 4 hour nap
Annalee is wearing big-girl panties
I fell asleep during storytime...mid sentence

I definitely had to try to find the positives today since it didn't start out so great. Annalee woke up earlier than usual, Grace's morning schedule was awry to say the least, we had a major boo boo from a fall off of a stool, and mommy was generally frustrated all around. After a Chic-fil-A run and some afternoon naptime/quiet time...we are good to go.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I knew it would happen, and it did. Annalee just nursed one of her baby dolls.

Slippin' and Slidin'

We had another great 4th of July this year. We spent the day with friends eating, swimming, and riding the longest slip and slide in backyard history...100 feet! The guys were pretty proud of themselves for making such a great slide. That evening we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then went downtown to see some fireworks.

Just for fun...here's Annalee on the slide last year!

And, of course, this is what Grace was doing most of the day.

We celebrated Uncle Blaine's b-day that night too.

What We've Been Up To

Here's a picture walk of what we've been doing lately....

playing dress up at our friend Mallory's

cooking in our play kitchen

hanging out with our JoJo

making tents for our "friends"

having fun with our buddy, Elijah

What has Grace been up to you ask?

Well...a whole lot of this...


and working on her smiles!