Random Old Stuff

I am a little behind in my blogging so here is a mish mash of the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Jamie gets stuck between the table top and chair a lot. She is on her way up to sit on the kitchen table.
After being saved.
Sometimes Jamie wakes up from a nap a complete bear. Sweet but grumpy. This day she was mad at the world, and the bright flash.
Last day in the pools for the season. September arrived and so did the fall temperatures. Almost like summer disappeared overnight. Booooo!
At Qdoba for lunch.
Jamie loves rice but it is a huge mess. You are cleaning up rice from her hair, her face, her legs, her hands, the high chair, the floor, your shirt, your hair, you name it, you find rice there.Playing at the mall together.
Pete likes bottles now that his sister drinks one. So I give him a bottle of water or milk every once in a while, sit him up in the window and he is happy.
I had a headache over the holiday weekend so dad took Jamie to the mall for a daddy-daughter afternoon out. I put Pete down and laid down for about 2 hours. It was helpful but I think the change in weather, allergies and a mix of neck and back problems has brought back some of my miserable migraines. And oh are they miserable. We put Jamie in a forward facing car seat for the first time and they headed off. Jamie wasn't so sure about the new seat and new view but P. said she loved it once they got going. Wish I could have seen it. I got out to the garage to take some pictures of my little girl in a big girl car seat. So exciting.
Pete was excited for her too! She wasn't so sure of it all.
But had a good time at the really busy kids area at the mall with dad. The end.

More Random Old Stuff

Whitecaps baseball game with dad.Pete taking Jamie for a ride in his Barbie Jeep.
Jamie taking Pete for a ride on her car.
Learning bad habits from his sister. Anyone have any great ideas on how to keep Jamie off the kitchen table?
Uncle Gerhard visited us from Germany and brought us a bunch of yummy German chocolate. And took us to IHOP, apparently Pete's favorite restaurant now. :) Whenever we get in the car he asks to go to IHOP. Or he asks if we are going to Omi's house.
It was our friend Onnie's birthday at the end of August. We took her a cake to work and sang her happy birthday.
Jamie likes to dunk her face in the water in the pool. Here is a sequence of shots I took last time she did it.

Visit

Two weekends ago my friend Andrea and her son Eric were in town and stopped by to have dinner with us. It was so nice to see a familiar face. Andrea and I have been friends for about 10 years now. Wow, has it been 10 years? I met her at church in Colorado Springs, then we worked together, then she moved to MI, then I moved to MI. Weird where life takes you. Eric had a soccer tournament near our house so Sunday we caught the second half of his last game. I have known Eric since he was a little baby and now he is a stud on a traveling soccer team and really sweet and grown up. He was so good with the kids, playing with them, holding them and watching Thomas the Train after dinner with them. As always it was fun catching up with Andrea. Here are some pictures of our time together. Andrea and Eric brought some birthday gifts for Jamie. And I have to say, Andrea is an incredibly generous and amazing gift giver. Holy cow. Jamie got the cutest jeans and sweater outfit. You will see it this fall/winter. So darling. The coolest jeans I think she will ever have and this sweater is something I wish I could wear. She also brought her this cupcake toy where you match the top shape to the bottom shape and put them in this tray. It's a big hit and it drives Pete crazy when Jamie gets the cupcakes out of sorts. She brought two books also! One 'Can you See What I See' pirate book for Pete and 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus' for Jamie. Both are so cute and we will remember our fun time with Andrea and Eric whenever we read them. Thanks to both of you for taking time out of your busy weekend to hang out with us and thanks for the wonderful gifts.

Pete and Eric looking through his new book.
Playing with the cupcakes.
It was such a hot and humid day to play soccer. Pete helped cool Eric down with a little ice water shower.

How?

How am I supposed to lose weight when Meijer puts these cookies on sale? OMG.These cookies are like melt in your mouth clouds of heavenly goodness. I never buy them because they are expensive, and you can't eat just one, or just three. BUT they are on sale this week, 3/$5 and I have coupons! So much for after Labor Day dieting!

Funny Face

Me, "Pete, come here and take a picture with mommy."
Pete gets on my lap and faces the camera.
Pete, "Mommy, make funny face."

Me

Let's see. About me. I still am not losing any weight. I work out, I eat less, and I still weigh more. I honestly thought I was pregnant because my tummy was getting so large. It's just terrible. What is going on? What can I blame it on? The fact that I am not nursing anymore? Maybe this was the year my metabolism decided to slow down on me. Maybe Culligan puts calories in their water. Maybe I absorb sugar from Jamie. Whatever it is I am quite frustrated with it. So, after Labor Day it is time to get serious. Gym=3+ times a week. Meals=smaller, less carbs. Dessert=less. No way am I cutting out dessert. My motto, I would rather live a few years less and eat what I like than be skinny and miserable.

Another quote to P. last night. "Maybe I should just get pregnant. I'll lose weight for sure then."
Ha, not funny.

Let's see, what else? I have been cooking more lately. Made my first fresh peach pie yesterday. Yum. It's taking all my might not to eat some right now but there are only two pieces left and I want to share that with my husband after dinner tonight. The more I cook, the more confidence I get.

I have really enjoyed this summer here in MI. It was warm. No, it was hot. And I loved it, most of the time. The mosquitoes weren't as bad as other summers. We saw a lot of family and did lot's of family things. It was just a lot of fun, the weather was nice and the kids are at such a fun age to enjoy all the joys of summer.

I start my bible study again in a couple weeks. Can't wait to see all the ladies, study the bible again with a group, and have some "me" time. And, I am finally joining MOPS. I have thought about joining since I was pregnant with Pete. Can't wait to meet some more wonderful moms and make some new friends. Should be a busy fall/winter. Bible study, MOPS, gym, stay at home mom who thinks she can cook now.....

Monday night I stood in the front window watching P. and the kids play in the neighbors sandbox. (They let us use it.) I felt so proud. Proud of my husband and proud of my beautiful children. P. takes the kids outside to play after dinner most nights so I can clean up and have some time to myself. I usually fill the dishwasher, put some stuff away and sit down on the couch, and watch Entertainment Tonight with my laptop on my lap. I cherish that time and it's amazing how refreshed I feel after just a half hour or hour to myself.

I decided I wanted to start reading. I am reading Bottom Line, a Christian book about a stay at home mom. So far it is right on. :) I even put a book on hold at the library that was a recommendation on a blog that I read. I still prefer to watch TV though and last night I watched the Fashion Police on E! instead of reading my new book. Oh well, one day at a time.

Next thing on the list. 3rd baby. To be or not to be? That is the question! The desire is there but will all the logistics fall into place? Remember, one requirement for another baby was I had to lose weight....... Stupid logistics.

Someone took this parking spot I was going for at Meijer the other day and I said, "Crap!" under my breath. Next thing I hear, "Crap!" from Pete's mouth. I laughed and said, "Sorry buddy, I meant shoot." Pete says, "Crap! What does crap mean mommy?"

Whoops.

Katie

Katie left to go home on Friday. She was with us for almost 2 months and as always it was hard to see her go. This year was harder because Pete was older and understood she was leaving us.

The summer started out busy and exciting. Katie was excited to be here and the kids were thrilled to have her. She was very entertaining to two small children, I had someone to talk to, and I had someone to help me if I needed it. The biggest help for me was I had an extra pair of hands to carry things whether it be stuff or a child. And if I needed to run inside to do something or put the dishes away I would just ask Katie to watch the kids for a second while I got it done.

Let's just say having a 13 year old in the house this summer was challenging. The dynamics of taking care of a 13 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old were completely different. They have completely different needs and wants. Teenagers these days are so distracted by electronics. They consume their lives. Katie would go for hours without eating, drinking, or peeing. She was constantly on her phone texting, on the computer playing games, on her iPod Touch playing more games or watching movies/tv, on her iPod listening to music, on her Nintendo DS playing games, or watching TV. It was a constant battle trying to get her to do something other than these things. And if I did get her off she pouted and moped around until she was allowed back on. Kids rely on these things for constant entertainment and their happiness really. Playing outside, being with the family, playing cards or a board game, etc just doesn't cut it for kids these days. And it's something I am going to have to get used to. How will it be when my kids are older? Much worse I am sure. So I guess this is good practice for me.

Anyway, overall our time with Katie was wonderful. She is really a sweet girl and for a 13 year old isn't that bad. She loves the kids and the kids just loved her. We did a lot of fun things together and made a lot of fun memories. Pete misses her. Last night at dinner he reached for her hand to pray and she wasn't there and he said, "Big Sissy." We all knew what just happened. So we prayed for her instead. Jamie looks for her when she wakes up in the chair she was always in. And again I deal with trying to someday explain to the kids that Katie is their sister but has a different mommy that she lives with. They are blessed to have her though and we were blessed to get the summer with her. I am just nervous about next summer when she is 14, then 15 and 16. Yikes.

Here is Katie saying goodbye to Jamie as she left for the airport on Friday.

The Moon

Pete loves the moon. He looks for it every night. He finds them in every book. If he sees one in the sky he makes sure everyone knows it's there, and looks at it. And keeps looking at it. It's weird because P. and I don't have any particular love of the sky or astronomy. In fact, we both think space exploration is kind of silly. If you ask Pete what he wants to be when he grows up he says fireman, or astronaut. And he wants to drive a bulldozer, golf cart and truck like daddy. He says, "someday." :)

This week there was an incredible moon in the sky. It was full, yellowish orange and huge. We all enjoyed watching it rise and staring at it in the sky above us.

Here is Pete, and his moon.

1 Year Doctors Appt

Jamie had her one year check up today. 21 pounds, 29 inches. 50th percentile of weight and 75th of height. Everything looks great. She is doing well in all areas and the doctor was impressed with her curly hair and long eye lashes.

When we were in the waiting room I overheard a woman say she had six kids. I piped up, "You have six kids!" She said yes and I asked how she does it. She says it gets easier with every kid. You are more relaxed with every one and the older ones can help out. I envied her. I want six kids.

Jamie did just fine at her appointment. She cried for a bit after her 4 shots but recovered quickly when I showed her pictures on the wall of babies and horses. At one point she remembered she was hurting and cried again. Thank you God for a healthy, happy baby girl.

Here is the little sugar ball waiting to see the doctor.And here are Pete and Katie eating their snacks while waiting for Jamie to see the doctor. Pete is a giant goof ball these days. Mom taking a picture=making a silly face for the camera. And yes, those are his snow boots. He wanted to wear them yesterday to the MOPS picnic at the park and I said no. So today, he wore boots.

New Fun

This is the new fun thing. A jeep! A bright pink Barbie Jeep! :) And it is so fun. Our wonderful friends the Fords handed it down to us last week. They purchased it for their 3 year old daughter as an incentive to get potty trained and it worked. And they enjoyed it for over 5 years now and last week it became ours to enjoy for many more years to come. Pete was dying to drive it the night we got it but we needed to buy a battery. Then the battery needed to be charged for 18-24 hours. So, we had it up and running Saturday night and it was a blast. Apparently it is even a little faster than normal jeeps due to some rewiring on the Fords part!

Pete was a little scared at first. It actually has some pep to it and can be a little loud while running. He drove a little in the driveway with P. running beside him and got out. I was nervous it wasn't going to be as big of a hit as I thought it was going to be. So I got in, very carefully, and drove Pete around. He liked that. Jamie did too. She loved watching us race around here and laughed the whole time. Like hysterically laughed. Then I drove Jamie around. She loved it. LOVED it! She laughed, giggled, waved, bounced and pointed. That little girl, she is going to be such a daredevil someday. That juiced up Barbie Jeep will be doing jumps and going off cliffs when she gets behind the wheel.

We had a great idea. Put the jeep in low gear and see how Pete liked it then. It worked. Perfect speed for him. He drove it by himself for at least 20 min. It was so nice to have the field next door and the large driveway to drive in.

Here are the pictures. What a fun experience. And what fun memories we will have in the future. And what a great gift to receive from our friends. Thank you to our dear friends the Fords for this fun new addition. The kids love it and we can't wait to have you over so you can see the kids live in action! Tonight we are going to wash it and take it back out for a spin!

Fun Stuff

The kids are having a lot of fun lately. Here is their fun. They have something else new that is a lot of fun but I need to go to bed. Stay tuned......

Riding Sandy the horse at Meijer.Climbing on the kitchen chairs.
Playing with mama.And playing with big sissy and Abby.
Doing Katie's homework book and celebrating completion of her last page for the summer.Being pretty and walking.
Brushing Jamie's new teeth for the first time. Pete took these pictures for me since no one else was home. His finger was over the flash but I like the way it turned out.
Playing outside on a beautiful summer night.

They love playing in their cribs together. They bounce around and land on each other and laugh like it's the funniest thing in the whole world.
(And yes, Pete is ALWAYS naked.)