Understanding Laura

Hello - Is It Me You're Looking For?

2011-12-20T15:40:00.013-09:00

I can not believe it has been as long as it has since I blogged.

I put a lot of pressure on myself - trying to keep things "fair."

If I told one story about Kellie, I felt the need to come up with a story of Delia. If I talked about one Grandparent, I felt guilty if all the grandparents were not somehow mentioned. (And they usually weren't because - let's face it - I'm Laura. I have a memory as holey and horrible as a rotting clump of Swiss cheese.)

All that pressure made blogging no fun.

I'm blogging today because I realize just how much I've let slip through my rotting brain and with no blog to refer to, I find myself wondering WHAT(?!?) happened this year.

I'll try to recall some things - for my own sanity. If you enjoy it, all the better.

December 2010 - Grandma Lori came for Christmas and we all really enjoyed her company. We miss her this year. :(

January - Kellie mastered writing down all the names of our family members. She did so frequently - and not always on paper. I've left the few spots I've found in the house because the little stinker put them in inconspicuous spots and since it took me a few months to find them - I smiled instead of yelling.

February - I began sewing on the side - a slow start of a profitable business that quickly took on a life of its own. Toward the end, I was sewing 30-40 hours a week. I became consumed with my "work" and had a difficult time balancing my sewing life and my family life. I stopped sewing (for profit) in...no...wait... Can't remember what month I quit sewing. But I did. So there.

My big brother (who is awesome) and his wife (even awesomer) came for a visit and humored our boring life. We did get to see some rocks, though. So I don't think it was a total bust for them. I also gave them a Ju Ju Be for the little bitty bun they were cooking.

March - I tried to focus on some homeschooling - my short attention span meant a short-lived homeschooling session... but a lot of memories were made. For other people. Not me. I've only got the pictures as proof. We also went to the Cave of the Winds - super cool!

April - I briefly fit into a size 8 skirt. Delia began potty training. We had family pictures taken...with our DOG.

May - I had a birthday and got this gorgeous bag from my dear friend Ryan. Apparently I became so obsessed with the Harvey's seatbelt bags - they are the only thing I really photographed in the month of May. Except for one time when the girls made a fort and read stories to each other by flashlight. I also put on a child's size bib to prove I'm sure what I thought was a very valid point.

June - Grammie and Grandpa were in town in the beginning of June. Mema, Papa and Bella (and Andrew and Aubree) came for a visit at the end of June - overlapping with Grandma Lori's visit in the beginning of July. We went to the renaissance festival - something I really NEED to blog about so I know how UN-fun it is with small children.

July - Delia turned two - and her two is ridiculously cute. But her party started out with a screaming fit. Brian humored my obsession of seatbelt bags. We discovered LaLaLoopsy love. The girls drew lots of rainbows - inspired by this one. And we celebrated Grandma Lori's 39th birthday with her. ;) And we had a day trip at the Denver Aquarium.

August - The fabulous Aunt Talie painted us these beautiful pictures - which I think we got this month... When they visited? One is Alaska, the place of our daughters' births. And one is the butterfly we saw in the flowerbeds that Grammie and Grandpa set up for us. Kellie started preschool - thrilled at first. Then disappointed that they were teaching her absolutely nothing about kidneys or giving birth or why your lungs hold air. Delia began falling asleep randomly. We went to Utah for my newest nephew's birth - Baby Link. The girls still ask when he is coming to visit them. Tami changed my life by letting me be such a big part of her birthing experience. I love her even more than I did before. I'm pretty sure the only way I could love her to the max is if she gifted me Buster. Her cat. Seriously. That cat rocks. If you can't part with Buster - I understand. But, I am kind of waiting in the wing until you're not looking so I can snatch him.

September - We adopted River, our dachsund mix, from the animal shelter. We love her. Her acceptance into the family was immediate for everyone except Brian. He took about a month to warm up to her and stop referring to her as "your dog." Kellie took ballet. She quit by October. I sold a lot of my girls' toys - realizing that we have too many. Don't act surprised.

October - I had a brief love affair with Coach bags. That ended ugly (as a seamstress, the sewing quality made me want to yak in my mouth). The girls were extra cute. I started HCG dieting. I dressed up for Halloween. Why is everyone acting so stinkin' surprised?? We started a wildly unsuccessful love-your-sister chart. Move a smiley face (to reveal a frowny one) if you hit your sister. To move the smiley face back (and earn a super duper smiley face) come up with a way to "make it right." It went like this:
Kellie: Delia, you're standing too close to me. *smack*
Delia: Waaaaaaaah! *tears* You lost a smiley face!
Kellie: Oh mooooooo-ooom! I lost a smiley face! I'm gonna go move it. *moves smiley face* Come here Delia, let me give you a hug. *hugs Delia*
Delia: *smack* Now I get to move a smiley face!

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Our Weaning Chart, however, was wildly successful. Delia weaned in one short weekend with no trouble...at first. Later, she would ask to nurse and I'd singsong:
"No more nursing! Happy weaning! You weaned! Have a choo choo train!" (her weaning reward)
She'd respond flatly:
"I didn't wean. You weaned. I want to nurse."

November - Kellie turned 5. And got a hamster - who she named Allie because, you know, they're kind of like twins now. I discovered how much I love washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. And even more how much I love styling it. We went to the North Pole. I officially switched to a two purse lifestyle. Though, technically, I have many more than two. I just quit buying purses and only have one black and one brown and one Harvey's that I consider daily use bags. That's as good as it's gonna get for a bag addict.

December - I realized it had been nearly a full calendar year since I last blogged on a regular basis. My insides nearly died and I spent a day in the ER. That sucked. (Don't worry, I'm fine. Just had a bad stomach bug that caused some pretty nasty dehydration. ER gave me IV fluids and Zofran and let me take a 4 hour nap. Nice ER. Niiice.) This is the first Christmas with no family portrait - but I've been living within our means this Christmas (very small compared to years past) and the family portrait always turns into a $500 ordeal thanks to my ridiculously cute kids who look good in every dang picture they snap. So of COURSE I have to pay for the CD and prints and then make a million copies and ship them out so everyone can feel the warm fuzzies I feel when I see their smiling faces. Thanks to generous Grandparent gifts this year - we were able to buy a small gift from each set of Grandparents for the girls and print off a sizable stack of 4x6s. I made a greeting card from assorted pictures on my hard drive. And that is how I do Christmas on the cheap.

I also started a blog chronicling my weight loss, weight obsession, weight issues.... It's fun... yeah, that's the word. If you want to feel normal - click on over here and bask in my crazy.

I think we're all up to speed - Happy 2011!

Penguins and Cupcakes

2011-01-09T18:55:00.004-09:00

Kellie and Zoe are nesting on wooden eggs -
the nest is made of reusable shopping bags.
Kellie is hoping two baby penguins
will hatch from her efforts as an egg mama.

Delia and Kellie enjoyed some cupcakes before bed.

Delia is signing "cake."

Check! Check! Check!

2010-10-20T20:21:00.002-08:00

Don't look in my office... Or open the stairway storage... Or try to sit on my couch...

If we pretend those three areas of my life are blissfully ignored - I'm done!

10x30=300 was a success!

Here's my final list - please notice the extra credit and count it toward the demerits I received for the horror going on in my secret places. ;)

1. infant onsie
2. sippy cup
3. sippy cup
4. sippy cup
5. sippy cup
6. infant shoes
7. workout band
8. dishwasher basket
9. dishwasher basket
10. dishwasher basket
11. dishwasher basket
12. sippy cup
13. sippy cup
14. plastic tray
15. metal straw
16. metal straw
17. metal straw
18. infant spoon
19. infant spoon
20. infant spoon
21. infant spoon
22. infant spoon
23. infant spoon
24. infant spoon
25. infant spoon
26. snack container
27. snack container
28. bottle
29. mcdonalds toy
30. picnic basket
31. dye dish
32. dye dish
33. dye dish
34. dye dish
35. hair pretty
36. giant yellow easter egg container

BONUS!

Bonus 75. green sweatpants
Bonus 74. grey sweatpants
Bonus 73. grey sweatpants
Bonus 72. blue sweatpants
Bonus 71. blue sweatpants
Bonus 70. mini US flag
Bonus 69. mini US flag
Bonus 68. mini US flag
Bonus 67. tee shirt
Bonus 66. tee shirt
Bonus 65. tee shirt
Bonus 64. tee shirt
Bonus 63. pair of jeans
Bonus 62. pair of jeans
Bonus 61. belt hanger
Bonus 60. washcloth
Bonus 59. washcloth
Bonus 58. washcloth
Bonus 57. washcloth
Bonus 56. pair of socks
Bonus 55. pair of socks
Bonus 54. pair of socks
Bonus 53. pair of socks
Bonus 52. pair of socks
Bonus 51. pair of socks
Bonus 50. pair of socks
Bonus 49. pair of socks
Bonus 48. pair of socks
Bonus 47. pair of socks
Bonus 46. pair of socks
Bonus 45. pair of socks
Bonus 44. pair of socks
Bonus 43. pair of socks
Bonus 42. pair of socks
Bonus 41. pair of socks
Bonus 40. pair of socks
Bonus 39. pair of socks
Bonus 38. pair of socks
Bonus 37. UV lamp
Bonus 36. UV lamp
Bonus 35. black gym shorts
Bonus 34. black t-shirt
Bonus 33. flannel pj pants
Bonus 32. blue sweatpants
Bonus 31. swim trunks
Bonus 30. mini US flag
Bonus 29. dog ball flicker
Bonus 28. dog post
Bonus 27. windup lantern
Bonus 26. green slacks
Bonus 25. tee shirt
Bonus 24. pair of jeans
Bonus 23. belt
Bonus 22. belt hanger
Bonus 21. swiffer dry
Bonus 20. swiffer wet
Bonus 19. mop
Bonus 18. bed lounge pillow
Bonus 17. mini marvy jar
Bonus 16. marvy jar
Bonus 15. washcloth
Bonus 14. towel
Bonus 13. towels
Bonus 12. pair of socks
Bonus 11. handkerchief
Bonus 10. phone book
Bonus 9. student bible
Bonus 8. Air Force Manual
Bonus 7. Air Force Manual
Bonus 6. jangly skirt
Bonus 5. plate
Bonus 4. plate
Bonus 3. plate
Bonus 2. plate
Bonus 1. infant pants

SchoolRoomaPalooza!

2010-10-13T19:03:00.006-08:00

I've successfully removed 300 items from our home - and the number is steadily rising. So, I've had some extra time to play with our school room.

I'm so close to being done with this project - but I'm thrilled with how it's all looking so far.

Dress up and Dollies

Dress up and Doll house

From garage door -
Toy shelf with fine and gross motor skills

Desk, easel, ride-ons, and puzzles

Just to show the layout a bit -
Desk area on left, reading corner on right

One half of the reading corner

Second half of the reading corner

Again, to show the layout -
reading corner on left, dress up on right

Kitchen on right, dress up on left

The laundry I'm neglecting to post this -
I really dislike folding laundry...

Learning materials storage -
Check out the stacking file drawers!

They're all cram-packed with books such as these

Less glamorous storage

But they're all labeled!

Day 7 through 27

2010-10-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Call me an over-achiever!

I've completed all but 36 items of the 300 item challenge!

I think once I got the de-clutter bug, it was easier to let things go. I opened my eyes to just how much stuff I had stashed away that was never going to get used again.

I am having a Vietnam Veteran's Association pickup tomorrow morning - the guest room was over-run by castoffs!

Feast your eyes on this glorious purging -

The list:
37. area rug
38. baby gate
39. baby gate
40. baby gate
41. baby bath duck
42. heart sounding bear
43. red bucket hat
44. old school phone
45. UV lamp
46. resistance band
47. hand soaking dish
48. winter stocking cap
49. winter stocking cap
50. winter stocking cap
51. winter stocking cap
52. cat food lid
53. travel size bottle
54. travel size bottle
55. black shoes
56. black sandles
57. wire hanger
58. grey hoodie
59. navy blue hoodie
60. pink hoodie
61. white hoodie
62. grey sweatshirt
63. pink sweatshirt
64. teal hoodie
65. scarf
66. pair of baby shoes
67. pair of baby shoes
68. pair of baby shoes
69. pair of baby shoes
70. decorative shelf
71. yak tracks
72. mop head
73. infant pants
74. infant pants
75. infant pants
76. infant jumper
77. white cami
78. infant socks
79. infant socks
80. infant skirt
81. t-shirt
82. t-shirt
83. baby rattle
84. baby rattle
85. baby rattle
86. baby rattle
87. baby board book
88. baby board book
89. baby bear toy
90. baby cheetah toy
91. baby doll toy
92. baby lion toy
93. baby zebra toy
94. baby octopus toy
95. soft baby toy
96. baby board book
97. baby ball
98. baby bird toy
99. baby butterfly toy
100. baby wheel toy
101. baby wheel toy
102. baby bear toy
103. baby butterfly toy
104. baby lion mirror
105. baby owl toy23 toys
106. 30 linkadoos
107. finger puppet
108. playmat
109. book bag
110. vinyl pouch
111. maroon purse gift bag
112. collapsible hamper
113. broken tent
114. area rug
115. walker
116. box for dvd player
117. box for camcorder
118. magazine
119. magazine
120. magazine
121. magazine
122. magazine
123. magazine
124. magazine
125. magazine
126. blank vhs
127. khaki corduroys
128. dog leash
129. grey slacks
130. collared tank
131. grey turtleneck
130. grey turtleneck
131. white cami
132. white tanktop
133. black t-shirt
134. pair of jeans
135. pair of jeans
136. pair of jeans
137. belt
138. belt
139. belt
140. belt
141. bdu cap
142. blue belt
143. bdu cap
144. bdu field jacket
145. bdu blouse
146. bdu blouse
147. bdu blouse
148. bdu blouse
149. bdu bottoms
150. bdu bottoms
151. bdu bottoms
152. bdu bottoms
153. bdu bottoms
154. bdu bottoms
155. bdu bottoms
156. bdu black shirt
157. bdu black shirt
158. bdu black shirt
159. bdu black shirt
160. bdu black shirt
161. bdu black shirt
162. bdu black shirt
163. bdu black shirt
164. bdu black shirt
165. bdu black shirt
166. bdu brown shirt
167. bdu brown shirt
168. bdu brown shirt
169. bdu brown shirt
170. bdu brown shirt
171. purple cami
172. blue cami
173. black cami
174. teal cami
175. pink cami
176. black cami
177. night gown
178. white cami
179. white cami
180. white t-shirt
181. white t-shirt
182. white t-shirt
183. white t-shirt
184. flannel pants
185. blue sweatshirt
186. grey halter
187. white collared shirt
188. white collared shirt
189. green sweater
190. blue striped collared shirt
191. blue striped collared shirt
192. blue collared shirt
193. bouncy ball
194. lego piece
195. lego piece
196. lego piece
197. lego piece
198. rosary
199. bow tie
200. baseball cap
201. sparkly halter top
202. black tank
203. pairs of jeans
204. pairs of jeans
205. pairs of jeans
206. pairs of jeans
207. pairs of jeans
208. pairs of jeans
209. pairs of jeans
210. pairs of jeans
211. pairs of jeans
212. pairs of jeans
213. pairs of jeans
214. blue skirt
215. grey sweatshirt
216. grey sweatshirt
217. shower curtain
218. set of shower curtain hooks
219. paisley halter top
220. black skirt
221. M&M pants
222. lamby pants
223. penguin pants
224. grey slacks
225. grey slacks
226. black slacks
227. black slacks
228. yak tracks
229. maternity swimsuit
230. Sports ra
231. Sports bra
232. Sports bra
233. Sports bra
234. Sports bra
235. Blue floral tee shirt
236. Halloween dog tee shirt (size small)
237. Infant snow gloves
238. Infant sleeper
239. Green maternity shirt
240. Purple nursing tank

Days 4, 5, & 6

2010-10-05T20:51:00.002-08:00

I'm still purging! Brian is keeping a running tally on his desktop notebook. I did tomorrow's purging today to help me keep up with Brian's surgery/recovery coming up.

Here's what we've got so far:

Day 6
241. Black BDU shirt
242. Black BDU shirt
243. Husband's tee shirt
244. Daughter's tee shirt
245. Broken princess cereal bowl
246. 20+ pairs of infant socks
247. flannel PJ pants
248. grey/blue yoga pants
249. grey/yellow yoga pants
250. black yoga pants

Day 5
251. Mostly empty lotion tub
252. Seventies yellow ottoman duster
253. Maroon ottoman
254. Broken plastic garbage can
255. Hot curlers
256. Husband's old poster
257. High Chair
258. Baby bottle
259. Baby bottle
260. Baby bottle

Day 4
261. Baby bottle
262. Baby bottle
263. Baby bottle
264. Orange polo
265. Tan polo
266. Wooden rocking chair
267. Wooden chair
268. Floral suitcase (Ruthie - you can count this toward your 300 as well :D )
269. Small fan
270. Ironing board holder

Day 3

2010-10-03T17:01:00.001-08:00

Still going!

271. Green feather duster
272. Daughter's worn out slippers
273. Daughter's baby crib angler
274. Venus razor bed
275. Daughter's stained-beyond-repair tee shirt
276. Basically empty hand cream
277. Hair elastic organizer - Kept thinking I could re-purpose this... but it's been years
278. Hospital syringe
279. Purple fluffy toilet seat cover
280. Toilet paper holder bar

Day 2

2010-10-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

This feels so good!!!

281. husband's AF shirt
282. husband's AF shirt
283. jock strap
284. Longhorn hat
285. husband's AF shirt
286. husband's collared shirt
287. husband's Hawaiian shirt
288. husband's Hawaiian shirt
289. black maternity shirt
290. black crepe shirt

This Is What It Looks Like

2010-10-01T19:27:00.003-08:00

When Delia really REALLY wants to nurse.

The yellow is the bathrobe MeMa made
for Kellie's third birthday.

Delia has become quite fond of it -
she carries it around like a security blanket
and won't accept any substitutions.

Day 1

2010-10-01T19:07:00.002-08:00

291. green striped shirt
292. white maternity shirt
293. black maternity shirt
294. pink collared shirt
295. black shrug
296. Pink Room shirt
297. denim skirt
298. flowered skirt
299. khaki skirt
300. black skirt

10x30=300

2010-10-01T18:15:00.002-08:00

What would my life be like 300 items lighter?

I'm about to find out as I journey through a 30-day purge of unused items in our home.

Goal? 10 items per day for 30 days.

This idea is compliments of my Pink Ladies in the Pink Room. I'm hoping to take it and run with it.

I wish I'd done this 30 days before we moved... But it's never too late!

Feel free to join in! Link your blog if you're posting.

School Room

2010-09-27T08:27:00.004-08:00

Ooooh! I just discovered the mass-upload feature!
That made this post sooooo much faster!
Yippy skippy!

Creative Corner

It's 10:31 am and Delia is in PJs.
When you cut your molars, you can have a PJ day, too.

Reading Nook
(Delia's favorite part - she loves the dogbed pillows)

Shop and Cook

Doll House

Manipulatives

I didn't get a good shot of the activity lot.
Behind the yellow Rody horse, there are walkers, strollers, and pushcars.

This is our sad new entryway.

Dramatic Play
My favorite part (and Kellie's too!)

A little bit of flat surface rescue and a few more wall decorations -
and we've got ourselves a school room! :D

Top-less

2010-09-27T08:14:00.001-08:00

Today is one of those days that almost requires a nursing mama to be top-less.

Delia is cutting her molars and my ta-tas are her best friends.

On a positive note - I've got the school room 90% completed.

Will try to go snap some pics...if I can put my nursies away for five minutes. Ha!

Girly Whirlies

2010-09-20T07:37:00.002-08:00

Before and After

2010-09-15T11:59:00.021-08:00

Pictures of the house! Finally!

The floors are being refinished today - so I couldn't get a picture of the kitchen.

But it's the same color as the dining room - just a few shades lighter.

I'll post more as more progress occurs. :D

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After

Front Room Before

Front Room After

Waiting for the utility company - hee hee

Front Room After

Bathroom Vanity Before

Bathroom Vanity After

Family Room Before

(I've removed the mirrors and Brian removed the speaker shelves)

Family Room After

Office Before

Office After

Star Wars wall compliments of Dad and Ruthie

Girls' Room Before

Girl's Room After

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After

Guest Room Before

Guest Room After

Hot Air Balloon Night

2010-09-13T20:39:00.014-08:00

Delia is currently obsessed with backpacks...and hats...and purses

Super Why games make Kellie's face happy

Delia has mastered "Too far!"

She comes running right back 95% of the time

Hot air balloon fest!

Yay! Hot air balloons!

Slowly losing weight, I am

Showing Delia the hot air balloons

Oooh - pretty lights

A grainy picture of the Energizer Bunny hot air balloon

Kellie is the Princess of gymnastics

Delia is a gymnastic-fantastic

Mr. Brian Gent - buying a house

This is it!

2010-08-17T14:08:00.002-08:00

This is our house!

Sorry for the poor lighting.
I'll try to upload better (and more!) pictures tonight.

The Art of Making Do

2010-08-13T19:35:00.005-08:00

*Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Or do without.

Growing up in a large family, we were taught the art of making do from a very young age.

Somewhere along the line - I lost the art of making do. Perhaps it was the steady income we gained when Brian joined the Air Force. Maybe it was the keeping up with the Jones' habit we acquired once we had mostly married friends. It's also possible it was the thrill I got from ordering, receiving, and implementing new toys in my daughter's lives.

However I got to that point doesn't really matter. What matters is where I've ended up - in Frugalistaville. (It's a place. Trust me.)

I don't think Brian and I have lived within our means in nearly five years. It was a difficult transition - many sacrifices were made including the opportunity to meet Brian's Grandparents and have them meet their great-granddaughters for the first time. But we've learned a lot about ourselves and what it really means to set and keep a long-term financial goal.

Having gone back to my roots, I'm learning to repair instead of replace. Re-purpose instead of refuse. Revamp instead of reject. .... You get the idea.

So when my beloved Ju Ju Be (which is lonely in it's recently thinned out stash) got munched in the van hatch back - I repeated my new *mantra and refrained from rushing to my laptop and ordering a replacement.

Likewise, I've repaired/revamped/re-purposed the following items this week alone:
2 skirts
1 baby doll stroller
1 play tent
1 mesh laundry bag
4 books

I'd like to challenge my readers to practice the art of making do. So if you're up to it, the next time you get the urge to rush out and replace an item - look around your house and ask yourself - what can I re-purpose today?

Remember!
*Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Or do without.

I think it's safe to say my parents would be proud to see that I've gone back to my roots. :)

When All Is Quiet in the House...

2010-08-10T19:03:00.004-08:00

Delia is busy as a mouse!

"I didn't do it!"

"Okay. I did it."

"Can I nurse to wash it down?"
(She's signing nurse/milk)

Delia's Words

2010-08-09T07:39:00.002-08:00

Baby
Ball
Blanket (bah bah - she also uses this for soft stuffies)
Bye
Call (Call Gappa!)
Cup
DaDa
Dance
Danger
Dog
Go
Good Girl
Grandma (Gramama)
Grandpa (Gappa!)
Hi
Kellie (Kell)
Kitty
MaMa
More
Night night (nuh nah!)
Not nice (Noh Nigh!)
Nurse (nuh!)
Ouch/Owie
Peepee
Poopy
Potty
Thank you (Ankoo!)
Uh Oh (ut oh!)
Where did it go? (Where go?)
Yucka
Zoe (Zee!)

I was robbed!

2010-08-09T07:31:00.002-08:00

The last time I left my car unlocked was well over six years ago. I lost my radio/CD player that day.

I went to help a friend clean and stage her house and left my van unlocked to save myself a few minutes as I was feeling impatient while unloading the kids.

I WAS ROBBED!

I was in her house for a little over 3 hours, my van in her driveway in what felt like a safe neighborhood. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did, I left the van unlocked and someone helped themselves to my GPS system.

I hope that whoever took it uses the money they make off of selling it to get their kids some food or school clothes or health care.... or a Ju Ju Be. I might be able to forgive a Ju Ju Be.

After I found out (Brian asked where my GPS was to run some lamps over to my friend's house), I shouted at the heavens,

"But I was doing something nice for someone else! I was doing something niiiiiiiice!"

On a positive note:
Kellie is spelling words like: bed, mom, dad, kellie, gent, delia, no, on, stop, go, up, down - the list goes on! She can write any word that you spell for her and draws some pretty rockin' stick figures.

Delia is putting several words/signs together: signing "eat" "mama" "milk" when she wants to nurse, saying "eyes" as she stabs you in the eye, signing "ouch" and pointing to her mouth when she is teething, getting into something and then telling on herself by bringing that something to me and saying "ut oh!"

Brian and I put an offer in on a house - hoping this one sticks! Wish us luck and I'll update with pictures if we get it.

Stuck!

2010-07-16T18:32:00.002-08:00

Delia's new favorite word - Stuck! (pronounced "duck!")

"I stuck!" As she tries to get out from behind the couch and recliner.
"I stuck!" As she tries to pull her finger out of a tiny hole she'd shoved it in.
"I stuck!" As she tries to get past a big sister blocking her way to MaMa.

She is now walking more than crawling....and I just got incredibly ill. End of post. :x

Happy Birthday Delia Kate!

2010-07-08T16:05:00.036-08:00

Delia will be one year old in two short days.
I can't believe it's been a year since I was BEGGING
for SOMEONE -ANYONE- to get this baby out of me!

Brian's work schedule prohibited us from celebrating on her actual birthday - so here's our early celebration!

We've called Delia "Smiley" since she was just a few months old. So we went with that as her birthday party theme. Enjoy the pictures! We wish you could be here. :D

1st birthday layette
From Grammie and Grandpa - Anywhere Chair

Smiley's Smash Cake

Smiley's ShareCakes

The Birthday Spread

Sweet big sister loaned the stuffing from her chair for the photos.

Kellie helping Delia dance

Sisters

"Say 'birthday cake'!"

Enjoying all the commotion

Stepping to Daddy

She made it!

My girls

Daddy's girls

Delia's "Good Girl"

A kiss from Good Girl

Experimenting with the present pile

I think she's getting the hang of it

Zoe's tail hit Kellie's face - poor kid.

From Mom and Dad - a Rody Horse

Bouncing

From Auntie Rachel - a handmade baby doll

From Auntie Terra - handmade play food

Ready for cake!

She did NOT want to keep the hat on!

Big sister did.

"Happy birthday to you!"

Dig in!

Delicious!

Sister sharing

Auntie Rachel and Dad

Delia's first taste of cow's milk

And back to playing with all the new presents
From Mema, Papa, and Bella - a gumball machine and sidewalk chalk

Stashiness

2010-07-05T07:03:00.002-08:00

I have had a rotating diaper stash ever since February of 2007.

I can say with certainty now that the door to the rotating stash has closed.

If you'd like to score some awesome fluff at an awesome price while I purge the nice but unnecessary from my stash, go to my HyenaCart listings. :D

Thanks readers!

Due Date

2010-07-04T09:09:00.010-08:00

This was Delia's due date, one year ago.

Now? This baby is walking! She will independently take steps between two objects if steps are less than 8 total. She will also turn around from the wall, table or couch and see how far she makes it before she falls. Thanks again to Emily for helping me capture these precious moments in photographs.

Kellie has found her inner-mommy
and is using her new talents on her baby sister.

We try to sway her toward practicing on the dolls.

"Momma - you're my best mommy."
"Mommy? Can I wear two babies?"
"Momma - will your nurse my baby to sleep?"
"Mom? Tell me about when you were a baby."
"Momma - I wasn't a very happy baby, but you and Daddy knew how to help me calm down."

Hopes, Dreams, Aspirations

2010-06-29T09:31:00.007-08:00

Sighing

Smiling

Dreaming

Inspiring

Skirtin' it Up!

2010-06-28T17:29:00.003-08:00

And lovin' it!

Feminine

2010-06-25T18:52:00.005-08:00

My bestie (Emily Kate) sent me her pre-loved digicam. I nearly cried when I got her email saying she'd send me her Canon. I love having the ability to take pictures of my kids to share with you readers and the grandparents. Thank you Emily!

My pretty lady friend (Heather P.) turned me onto skirt-wearing full-time. I've been experimenting with the skirts I own and LOVE how feminine I feel. Not to mention how cool I feel in this hot summer weather. ;)

Since skirts are such a big hit for me - I trucked on down to Salvation Army for their 50% off sale and now have plenty of skirtiness to go around. Total damage for all the skirts and four pairs of shoes was $57! Try to buy that in a department store!!

I'm really diggin' budgeteering - and I've been very successful at it! I gotta tell ya - we were waaay off mark while living in Alaska. We got ourselves into a heap of trouble acting as though we had infinite money. ;) We've now eliminated our credit card debt and have only our van to pay for. It's been liberating to have such a firm knowledge of our finances.

All's good in the Gent home - thanks for stopping by!

Happy-Sad-Love

2010-06-18T18:46:00.002-08:00

When I was a kid, one of my favorite family bonding times was "Happy-Sad." We'd go around our (very large) kitchen table and each child would be able to share a Happy moment and a Sad moment from their day. Once everyone had a turn, if we all had more to share, we'd go around again.

Kellie is old enough now to understand the concept and it helps us reconnect at night no matter how hectic our day was. We've been Happy-Sadding it for about six months now. Kellie has gotten creative and adds on her own little bits. She's added on "Worry" "Funny" "Frustrating" and now "Love"

Kellie's moments today:
Happy - Playing at the park with Alex
Sad - Not being able to get down from the playground
Love - Coming home to my bed to snuggle to sleep with my Mommy

A Woman and Her Bag...s

2010-06-17T09:00:00.014-08:00

If you've been following my blog for the past 4 years, you've likely noticed that I tend to gravitate toward one item, one brand, one type of gear at a time. Right now, all my obsession energy is focused on Ju Ju Be.

They make amazing bags in amazing prints with amazing features and I just can't get enough! I've been known to share the love in real life but have never really gushed about it on my blog.

Well, now I am entering in their advertising program that pays a percentage of sales to the advertising mama. So, if you click on my link and buy within 45 days, I get a little bit of that sale to go towards my next bag. Which could be a gift for you - ya never know! ;)

Use this code to get free shipping through July 15th!
Free shipping through July 15th with promo code: SHIPJJBCJP

If you have a blog and are interested in becoming an affiliate, post a reply with your email address and I'll send you a link. :) Why don't we all earn our JuJuMoney together?

And now a few pics to show off their fantabulous bags-

Be Right Back

Be Prepared

Be All

Be Light

Basket o' Ju Ju Bes
Baby in a Be Light

L to R - Packabe, Fuel Cell, Be Quicks, BeTween

Be Quick

MiniBe (And a Busy Book by my Dad)

BeHave (My current fav!)

High Steppin'

2010-06-14T09:04:00.002-08:00

Delia began standing unassisted for moments at a time about two and a half weeks ago. This week, she can successfully walk from person to person about six (or more!) steps if she's not so excited that she falls over.

I dropped my camera yesterday, so it's going to be a while before you see pictures from me. We're trying very hard to live within our means. And that means saving up for things that are not within our budget. So, for Delia's birthday, I'll have to buy a disposable camera. I'll try to remember to scan some pictures in for you Grandparents. ;)

Kellie can write her own name, Mom, and Dad without any assistance. She can write any word that we help her spell. But those three she writes without assistance.

Between Kellie and Brian-
"Daddy, your name has a D in it."
"No it doesn't! It starts with B."
Kellie looks puzzled and then responds with, "Duh-duh-duh Daddy. That's a D. Your name has a D in it."
Daddy looks properly chagrined.

Time Machine

2010-06-01T08:18:00.006-08:00

Same baby...

...same diaper!

Sign "Thank you!"

Thank you very much!
I'm here all week!

*Kellie declined a photo shoot...
So I've opted to post an embarrassing baby picture for her posterity.*

Within Sight

2010-05-27T15:56:00.002-08:00

Tonight is Brian's last night on the mid-shift (6pm-6am) and I couldn't be more thrilled. Kellie was awake from midnight until 4 am - reminding me every ten minutes that she couldn't sleep. Arggh. I'm wishing I had my hubby here tonight. We are all three very crabby girls!

Kellie, Delia, and I went swimming today. Kellie is such an awesome little swimmer and loves to pretend she's Ariel the Little Mermaid in the water. I can remember pretending the exact same thing as a kid. Brings a smile to my face to hear her version of Ariel's singing when she loses her voice to Ursula.

Delia hops along in her little floatie, her feet touching the bottom of the 18 inch kiddie pool. She is absolutely thrilled with her autonomy. I'm not entirely sure if it's because of her freedom in the pool or not - but she has begun standing unassisted for 5-10 seconds at a time! I don't think I'm ready for this! She's growing out of babyhood faster than I can keep up with. She's added a few new words to her vocabulary -
Ucka (Yucka - don't touch that, dirty diapers, dirty rock, you get the idea)
Danjah (Danger - don't touch that, be careful, step back)
Airgo? (Where'd it go? - when things disappear from her hands (thanks big sis!) or she sees me searching for something)

Kellie noticed a roll of princess wrapping paper in the basement and insisted we make a gift for her cousins. So, I gave her four sheets of paper and some art supplies. She created 4 very different pictures for each Bagley cousin. She wrote their names on each paper. Then she helped me peel and break crayons to make "magic crayons." She wrapped the box of magic crayons and came with me to the post office to mail it to the Bagley cousins. The cousins should be getting the box sometime soon if they haven't gotten it already. ;)

I'm very grateful for all the love and support I have been blessed with in my life. Particularly in the form of Grandparents. Thank you for helping me through this surprisingly challenging journey. I hope to one day repay you all.

Happy MaMa's Day

2010-05-08T16:24:00.002-08:00

Delia's communication has exploded! It's so much fun to hear her sweet little voice! Among others (that are spontaneous and usually a mimick), the following words make-up her expanding vocabulary:

MaMa - Delia's favorite word.
NughNugh - A close second. This is what Delia says when she wants to nurse.
Gooh Gah Zee (Good Girl Zoe)
Gankoo (Thank you)
Deah (Delia)
DaDa
Go (She uses this when playing on the playground or being spun around by DaDa)
Mah (More)
Dan (Dance - she uses this when we hold her hands and help her dance)
Naw Nigh! (Not nice! - she uses this when we take away a new-found shiny toy, like a cell phone or remote control. Or if Daddy closes the fridge before she has had the opportunity to fully inspect it. Or if she wants to be picked-up and her desperate attempts at climbing our legs don't work.)

As I'm typing this, Delia is nursing. She keeps popping off to talk to me.
Nurse-nurse-nurse
"Good Girl!"
Nurse-nurse-nurse
"Good Girl!"
Nurse-nurse-nurse
"Good Girl Delia!"
Nurse-nurse-nurse
"DaDa!"
Nurse-nurse-nurse
"Thank you!"

She has two teeth now and is working on her third.
She climbs stairs like a maniac (and looks back to make sure we're watching before she continues).
She loves Peek A Boo and talking on the phone.

Kellie is into macaroni art and made a beautiful necklace for me for Mother's Day. She helped us catch some ants on my birthday - then helped us humanely release them after starving them for 3 days. (Those ants were not digging the gel the Dollar Spot at Target supplied...)
Her best friend in Colorado is named Tyler. Tyler and Kellie have so much in common - it's spooky.
With all our hustle and bustle, Kellie has been deprived of her daily art project. Once we busted out the paints, she set forth and made many masterpieces. She revels in the glitter and glam she had previously taken for granted.

Well, Delia is at her wit's end, saying "Not nice!" because I won't pick her back up. So that's the sudden and unexpected close of this post. Thanks for reading!

Go!

2010-04-04T10:09:00.006-08:00

Delia would be nine months today had she been born on or before her due date. Buuuut, since she made the command decision of allowing herself a little extra time to get used to the idea of being a little sister to a big sister who was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to carry her little sister by her armpits...she will be nine months in six days.

Our almost nine month old baby says MaMa, DaDa, and Go.
She signs Milk, All Done, and More.
She crawls, pulls-up, and cruises.

And she freakin' climbs stairs!

Kellie has been maintaining a responsibility chart and is the sole trash-remover (for the bathroom trash) the sole laundry-folder (for the cloth wipes and napkins) and the sole table-clearer (for dinner...for her dishes). After folding a large stack of wipes last night, she says, "Now how am I gonna top that??" A little chuckle. "Oh, I know. Hot fudge." If you haven't seen Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs - get out.

For our Easter Day celebration, I explained to Kellie why we celebrate Easter. She held up her hand mid-explanation and said, "Momma, I know. I already feel Jesus in my heart." And then the scavenger hunt began. It was Kellie's first scavenger hunt (my first in over ten years) and we all had a blast. Delia was all grins and Kellie was thrilled to be searching for "clues." She was minimally stressed-out about the clue I hid in the dog food..."What if it got dirty???" She's my kid.

We had a blast in Utah, visiting Grandparents and cousins. But I don't think we'll do 3 straight weeks again for a long time - we ALL missed Daddy.

We're headed to Georgia and then on to Florida to see more family and friends and while I'm excited for the visit, I have resolved to stay in Colorado for at least 6 months after that.

So, there ya have it - a brief update on what's going on over here. I'm trying to find the love of blogging again...but it's not coming easily. I feel awful knowing my blog may be causing hurt feelings. The stress of that guilt has kept me away. But I feel terrible that I have written next-to-nothing on Delia and really need to have my blog to look back on when I fill in her baby book. Thanks for reading!

A Preschool Co-op

2010-01-19T15:28:00.002-09:00

"MaMa, I'm big enough to reach a light switch. I don't need a paci anymore."
"Great! Want to go throw it away?"
"Well sure!"
...and she hasn't looked back.

"Mama, I like the way you say my name."

"When I was a big Daddy, I read big Star Wars books."

"MaMa, you must be a good pusher."
"I am?"
"Yeah, I'll bet Delia was really hard to push out. And you did it. You're a good pusher."

"Mama, I don't want to take a nap."
"If you don't get your rest, you won't have enough energy for gymnastics."
"That's okay - we can call and cancel."

Kellie starts preschool tomorrow through a local co-op.
She'll be the youngest child in our group. Wish us luck!

From Kellie

2010-01-14T16:59:00.004-09:00

"Thank you for having Delia in your belly and letting her come out of your birth canal. I like that she came to live with us."

"When I grow up I'm going to be married and have kids." (How many boys and how many girls will you have?) "Five boys, and three girls."

"Grandpa can never come to our house again. I broke his elf and he will be SO SAD."

"I love you so much Mommy. My belly is full of love."

"Fishies don't like people to hug them. They can't breathe. When I was a fish, I used to breathe water. People don't breathe water. But people like hugs."

"I drew this man. He is SO SAD. And this is a woman. I know she has man hair, but she is a woman."

"Mom, I wrote an 'e' and it's swirly."

"I wrote 'mtie' - what does that spell?"

"I'm writing a letter to Santa. I gotta know why I didn't see him on Christmas."

The little squiggles to the right of each person is
what Kellie says made them happy or sad or grumpy.

Letter to Santa

Woman with "man hair"
The scan didn't show up as well as the others.
She does have pupils and she is smiling.

The "grumpy" man

The "so sad" man

The "swirly" e

Just Photos

2010-01-02T14:47:00.040-09:00

Wish I had more time - but a photo post is all I've got in me.

If you would like copies of this Santa picture,
email me and I'll send you the ordering website information. :)

Anticipation

2009-12-18T08:20:00.001-09:00

I checked our garbage can last night - the note I left is gone. It was very well taped on and the weather was not windy last night. I think our neighbors took it. Though, they thoughtfully left my garbage cans where I placed them.

I contacted our rental agency today to ask about covenants or rules that we might need to be aware of. I'm awaiting a call back.

I'm nervous that I may have been drawn into a garbage can war. I envision a daily ritual of moving my cans back to the side of the house. Uggghh... I wish the note-leavers had signed their note so I could confront them directly. I hate this waiting feeling.

Love Thy Neighbor

2009-12-17T15:21:00.008-09:00

This evening, I found this note taped to our garage and our garbage can moved from the side of the house - parked in the middle of our driveway up against our garage door.

My response?

Well...

While I wanted to respond with the same level of hostility, Brian sweet-talked the irritation out of me and helped me compose a friendly letter in response.

Dear Neighbor,

Should you have a concern, we'd be happy to talk about it.
Please drop in at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,
The Gent Family

I taped it to our garbage can and put the garbage can back on the side of the house.

Had our neighbors come over to talk to us (instead of using their passive-aggressive tactic), I would have responded with this -

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize our garbage cans were bothering you. Thank you for coming to talk to me about it. Unfortunately, we have nowhere else in our front yard to store them, our garage is full with a car and a minivan, and our gate has been broken since we moved in. I'm afraid I don't have the energy to care for two small children while manhandling the gate open, holding it open, and rolling two garbage cans out once a week. However, we have a work-order in with our rental agency and are anxiously awaiting a functioning gate. For the time being, this is the only storage solution we have. We really would like to accommodate your request. We will do so as soon as we are able."

I've never had neighbor neighbors. Is this how things go? I'm not so sure I was missing anything!

After-Post Thoughts-

Where did all that hostility come from, anyway? That was a quick leap to freak-out. What if I'd reversed my minivan into the garbage can instead of finding it on my way to the mail box? I've been home ALL DAY LONG. I know they didn't try talking to me first. It's not like I missed them while I was out. Can you see my eyes rolling???

Can't Stop This Train!

2009-12-15T11:50:00.013-09:00

Delia is a rolling machine! It's no longer safe to let her play at the top of the stairs while I dry my hair - she's attempting to roll her little body down the stairs!

Sitting is coming easy for her as well. As long as nothing shiny catches her eye, she'll remain sitting. She'll even correct herself when she is overcome with glee and loses balance.

Kellie's big girl bed is too big for her big girl room. We kinda knew it would be - but still had it assembled as a bunk, hoping we were wrong. We weren't. There will be time to separate them after Quiet Time.

Kellie, Delia, and I were all lying down in the new bed. Kellie wrapped Delia's head in a hug, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, "I love you Delia. You're my baby sister." How sweet is that? My Mommy-heart was a puddle of goo.

Delia's physical development is on fire this month! She can stand while holding onto something for support. Here, Brian has demonstrated her new skill in his hamper.

Grammie introduced Kellie to "Fancy Nancy" and Kellie has taken to Nancy's spin on life. Fancy is in, plain is out. Kellie wakes me up in the morning asking if we can go shopping at Target. She insists on being dressed to the nines. This is her most recent ensemble. Gotta love the fish net stockings.

I Have A Rat

2009-12-13T14:50:00.003-09:00

I do. I really, really do.

Why I bought the rat? I bought him the day I came to terms with the completion of our family of four. I think the desire to hold something tiny once more drove me to buy a rodent.

Why I'm keeping the rat? Kellie's sweet little voice, "Mama, I love this rat."

What?? Don't look at me like that! :) It teaches her responsibility and bonding and... Well! I don't know what to say! I thought a rat was the second to last thing I'd adopt. A ferret is the last - but that's only because I'm not disciplined enough to care for a ferret.

Anyway... Here he is. His name is Fritz.

Baby Bear and the Parakeet

2009-12-13T11:17:00.002-09:00

Two stories about our girls -

The Parakeet - Brian was holding Delia in the crook of his arm while I was making lunch. I commented that she looked tired as her blinks became longer and more closely spaced. He jokingly covered her eyes with his hand and said, "Sleep!" When he pulled his hand up and away from her face...she was asleep. Serious. He then laid her down in her crib where she had a half hour nap and woke up giggling.

The Baby Bear - We went shopping for beds yesterday (Kellie has outgrown her toddler bed). Kellie was playing with the other kids that were there with their parents. Two girls (who looked to be about 7 and 9) were being really nasty to her when she'd call out, "Hey friends! Let's go play on this bed!" they'd snicker and run the other way. When she asked their names, they gave her fake names and giggled behind their hands. I ignored their behavior and watched Kellie interact with them. I felt irritated that these girls were being so bratty toward my daughter, but figured she'd have to fight her own battles. Well, they played (if you can call running away from Kellie and trying to trick her into thinking they were playing hide and seek, playing) for most of our stay there. It amounted to 30+ minutes of play, each minute getting worse than the last. Still, Kellie was oblivious to their ploy. When they coaxed Kellie up into a storage closet behind a bunk bed, then each went to the two doors and began to hold them closed, the MaMa Bear in me lost it. I shouted across the display room, "Hey! Hey!! We do NOT lock little girls in closets! Step away from there RIGHT NOW!" The youngest was in my line of sight and responded immediately. The older girl was on the other side of the bed - all I saw was RED. The little girl stepped back from the door and shied away from me as I stalked over to her side. When I got closer, I asked, "What do you think you are doing?" Well, I guess I scared her speechless because she just stared at me with big eyes. In my stern-Mommy voice, I said, "Where are you parents? Are you here with your Mom or your Dad?" (The ring leader and older girl stayed within ear shot and listened to her younger friend get a serious scolding.) The younger girl pointed across the display floor and into the next room, "They're over there." she whispered. I replied quietly and with meaning, "I think it's best you go over there and tell them what you and your friend were doing." Her eyes got wider (I was starting to feel bad that I'd scared her) and she brought her hands in to cover her face. Still pissed at how they'd treated my baby for the last 30 minutes, I narrowed my eyes and whispered "Do you understand me?" She nodded and ran toward her parents, her older friend followed quickly behind.

I've been going over and over the scenario in my mind, wondering what I could have (or SHOULD have) done differently.

The facts are-
Those girls were behaving badly.
Their parents were nowhere in sight the whole time.
My daughter is three and naive to how terrible other kids can be.
Had I not stopped them when I did, Kellie would have been locked in that closet.
Knowing Kellie, she would not have gotten over it quickly. (Both the nasty joke and the feelings of betrayal.)

I ask myself -
Should I have intervened sooner? Like when they would coax Kellie onto one bed then giggle and run away, higher and farther than her smaller body could keep up with?

Should I have stood silently by and let Kellie learn a lesson that day? Whether it be -Stand up for yourself- or -The world is not the nice place your sweet little heart thinks it is-?

How much of my stern-voiced intervention was protecting Kellie and how much was lashing out at the little girls who were nasty to me in MY childhood?

How do I teach Kellie to stand up for herself when she clearly saw no malice in their tone of voice or games of trickery?

Is she still young enough to need protecting? Or is it time she endure her own emotional bruising in her transition into real life?

I'm glad she doesn't know what those girls were planning. Nasty little buggers. I'm glad she accepted my response that it was "time for them to go" when she asked where her "friends" had gone. I'm glad those girls listened and I hope they learned a lesson.

But I had nightmares about all of this last night. My MaMa Bear instinct has never presented itself more clearly or with more strength than it did in that furniture store. I'm all shaken up about it. I just want my baby's transition into BigKidWorld to go smoothly and without trauma.

...Is that too much to ask?

The Naked Truth

2009-12-10T07:42:00.003-09:00

If you're feeling like I am - then join me in an honest picture post.

Honestly, this is what my children see all day long.
It's who I've become, but not who I want to be.

Look at that poor sad girl...

How Did It Come To This?

2009-12-10T07:10:00.002-09:00

Oh, I'll tell you.

A typical day goes something like this-
It's 8:30 am, I stumble downstairs and thoughtlessly shove 2-4 fun size candy bars in my mouth. As I'm devouring them, I prepare a healthy balanced breakfast for Kellie. Then I search for something to drink. I convince myself I need caffeine and down 8-12 ounces of Mountain Dew or Pepsi.

That's just my morning. Nevermind the rest of the day where I forget to eat until I'm starving and don't have "time" to make a real meal for myself. So I cram handfuls of potato chips into my mouth as fast as I can before Kellie sees me and wants chips with her lunch instead of broccoli.

Then comes dinner time. I usually eat what I prepared for the family...twice. So while it's the healthiest thing I've eaten all day, I've eaten too much.

Now I'm 5 months postpartum weighing 12 pounds more than I did at 6 weeks postpartum.

Enough is enough.

I weigh 187.8

Today, I vow to work diligently and eat healthily so I can weigh 150 (or less!) by Delia's 1st birthday.

I actually ate a healthy *5 point* breakfast with Kellie today. :) I can do this.

Just When I thought I Had It All Figured Out

2009-11-21T08:23:00.010-09:00

But come on - did you all really think that was the end?

Found a fun little vintage desk, table and chairs, and buffet.

Now this pretty little (enormous) chair has no home. :( I might have to sell it.

See how out of place it is?

Dining set

Desk open

Desk closed

Fun, huh?

My J key is broken :(

Craigslist? More Like Gold Mine!

2009-11-19T21:18:00.012-09:00

I wasn't feeling the original color scheme of the sitting room,
so I changed it up with a few slipcovers and rugs.

4 Craigslist chairs ($75)

1 Craigslist armoire ($50)
2 Craigslist chairs ($FREE$)

1 Craigslist chair ($FREE$)

After the overhaul-

1 Craigslist bench ($30)
I reupholstered this little bench and added a few canvas bins for storage.

We spend a lot more time in this room now...
I think it's just because the atmosphere is calming.

Not Craigslist - but still a new addition.

9 Amazing Craigslist finds
1 lesson learned -
stick with the name-brand paint!
These letters took upwards of 6 coats of paint.
I quit counting...

Thanks for dropping by!

Checking In

2009-11-15T17:36:00.003-09:00

I keep meaning to post - but I honestly don't know what to say.

Suffice it to say that I'm alive and we are surviving this shift one day at a time.

Here's a big THANK YOU to my wonderful support group. My insane phone calls and texts will hopefully die down in the next couple of weeks. Brian switches shifts in December. But thanks for listening and helping me cope. :)

Because You Threatened So Nicely

2009-11-01T21:15:00.010-09:00

I mean asked... asked so nicely.

You know who you are...

Delia Kate

Or as we like to call her -

Deals, Deely-O, DeeDee, or Little Sister

Kellie's oh-so-grown-up A-line

And from the front

She's collecting eggs in her basket like her MeeMah

What?

Three month old babies don't play the banjo?

You know I love me some PJs.

Escpecially ones that bear the title Kellie so fully embraces.

Satisfied? I hope I don't receive any hate-voice-mails from you.

*cough* Terra Gudgel *cough*

I'm posting - I'm posting!

Home Sweet Home

2009-10-15T23:55:00.024-08:00

While we've been in Colorado for two weeks, I finally feel like we live here. Our belongings arrived as scheduled on Monday and we got a wonderful visit from the Reed family as the movers were finishing up. They were passing through Colorado on their way to Oklahoma and drove out of their way to see us. :) It was nice to see you guys!
Brian got a bee in his bonnet looking for the remote control for our DVD player. He began tearing through boxes like a mad goat. We've lived here less than a week and we are officially unpacked. :O He finished up the last of the boxes tonight and we have still not found the remote control. :\

I shouldn't have, but I stayed up after the girls went to bed to finish organizing the play room.

So now, a mini-tour. (A full-tour will hopefully be soon!)

This is from the front door -
sitting room, stairs, dining room straight through the back.

This is the cute little armoire we got on Craigslist to hold
all the whatnots that have no home in our slightly smaller kitchen.

I have a wonderful story about the previous owner that I will post at the bottom.

Dining room off the kitchen - overlooking the family room.

Kitchen.

From top of stairs - kitchen and dining room.

From sitting room - stairs leading up to master bedroom on left,
girls' bedroom on right, bathroom in the middle.

From door - girls' room.

From closet - girls' room.

Bathroom.

From the dining room, down a half flight of stairs is the family room.
Off the family room is the girls' play room.

From far corner - door and game closet.

From other corner - where the wooden kitchen and fridge will be set up.

From play kitchen corner - art easel, baby friendly toys, and *the doll house.

From door - puffy chair, creation table, dress-up accessories, baby dolls, and stuffed animals.

*The really nice lady from Craigslist (the armoire lady) gave this doll house to Kellie.
Just straight up gave it to her.

I'm pretty sure it made her year. :) Thank you!

Girls update -

Kellie can spell her name.

Delia can grab her feet.

Acoustics

2009-10-11T06:12:00.002-08:00

I'm in the main room of our temporary living facility.
Delia is in bed with her Daddy, cooing and waking up slowly.

She is two rooms away - through the dining room.

I just heard her fill her pants.
This one is going to be a doozy.

What a way to start the day. ;)

My little brother and my sister in law are in town as of last night. They were sweet enough to drive our dog and car up here. And brave enough to continue on through the mad ice that descended upon our town. I owe you two big! Thank you!

Permanence

2009-10-09T21:12:00.002-08:00

Do you know what being the wife of a military man does to your concept of long term?

I just ordered a single box of checks.

It felt so...weird. But I have so many books of checks with outdated information - this makes more sense.

Don't you think?

Kitchen Confession

2009-10-08T20:37:00.003-08:00

I have purchased and assembled 8 total play kitchens. Oh, I wish I was kidding.

I've been on the quest for the perfect play kitchen for Kellie (and eventually, Delia) for a year and a half now. I fell in love with this one while hunting with Terra Gudgel, but settled on this one as the shipping for the Sylvie was an additional $100 to Alaska. There were many many more before the custom kitchen from backtobasicstoys.com. But the custom kitchen served us well for about a year.

Unfortunately, the custom kitchen was made of pressed wood. If you've ever moved cross-country, you know that pressed wood has a high rate of damage en route. So I asked Kellie if she would rather keep her kitchen or have a new one in her new home in Colorado. She looked at the pictures of the two kitchens for a good thirty seconds. She decided on the Sylvie and hugged and kissed her custom kitchen goodbye before I sold it on Craigslist.

PFD season is in and we received our final family PFD payment today.
We got the house. (Yay!!)
We move in on Saturday.
Our belongings arrive on Monday.

Put 'em together, folks. ;)

We're getting a new play kitchen! My dream play kitchen!

I am just giddy imagining all the fun the girls and I are going to have making wooden scrambled eggs and wooden fruit salad and wooden shiskabobs for their Daddy - in our new home - in our new state. Eeeee!

Thanks for all the loving posts! :) I've missed you guys! And Nanette Jula, I am so up for a cloth diaper MaMa meetup some time. :D Maybe you and your kiddos can come share our new kitchen!

Delia update -
She successfully brought a toy to her mouth today. Repeatedly. (Plastic car keys from Kellie's baby days.)

If you sit her up and (gently!) let her head fall forward until it meets the mattress (yep, she's bent in half at this point), she can (and does) right herself by pushing her legs out from under her so that she is then flat on her belly, holding her head up steady. (She loves this little maneuver and will do it over and over with a smile.)

She scoots. Forward with something to push her feet on. Backward all by herself.

She smiles almost all day long. :)

Kellie update -
She loves to hear the TLF phone ring. If you want to make her day, give her a call.

She can identify most of the letters of the alphabet...then offer a word that begins with that letter.

She loves to point out signs she recognizes. "Mom! See that sign over there? The white and orange one? It says Home Depot." "So, Dad? Do you see that blue and white sign? It says IHOP."

When she played with her water cups in the tub and the water came out of several small holes in the bottom of the cup, she exclaimed, "It comes out like a shower!" When the cup with one small hole came into play, she exclaimed, "It's like pee pee coming out!"

100 Things You May Have Missed

2009-10-06T23:07:00.004-08:00

1 - Me, of course.
2 - We found a home today.
3 - It's huge.
4 - Colorado Springs is beautiful.
5 - I feel like we're home, a feeling I had only around friends while stationed in Alaska.
6 - Kellie has a stretchy lizard from the Garden of the Gods gift shop.
7 - She named him Leekie.
8 - Delia is rolling over.
9 - When she wants to nurse, she says "Uhn-gee." Serious.
10 - Brian has two pairs of socks left.
11 - My eye is twitching. Lack of sleep and stress makes my eye twitch. It's SO annoying.
12 - We bought a minivan.
13 - Kellie calls it "our new blue miniban."
14 - Brian goes to work tomorrow.
15 - We're all pretty bummed about it.
16 - Delia has a bedtime.
17 - It's 8 o'clock.
18 - Don't mess with her bedtime.
19 - I've missed blogging.
20 - I "blogged" in my head all the time while I was away.
21 - I even took pictures with the intent to post and blog about them.
22 - I'm so excited for our new home, I can't sleep.
23 - We had a blast in Utah.
24 - Kellie remembers her cousins and names them off.
25 - Kellie thinks all her Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and cousins will be waiting for us at our new house.
26 - She also thinks her Alaskan friends will be there for her playgroups...and her birthday party.
27 - Poor kid.
28 - I don't know how to break it to her.
29 - Our gentle corrections don't seem to have an impact on her ideas of our new home.
30 - Delia is often mistaken for a boy.
31 - I think some may feel bad for our sweet little "boy" in "his" brown little ruffled pants from "his" big sister.
32 - I have GOT to laugh quieter!
33 - Andy and Natalie will be driving our car to Colorado.
34 - They're also bringing Zoe.
35 - Thank you Andy and Natalie!
36 - A heap!
37 - I've felt so disconnected from real life.
38 - I'm SO over cheeseburgers.
39 - I'm SO overweight!
40 - Delia and I are ECing.
41 - I swear she knows what we're saying to her.
42 - Kellie is such a sweet big sister.
43 - So compassionate, considerate, and kind.
44 - Kellie got a hair cut.
45 - Brian is an amazing driver.
46 - My cell phone doesn't work in the Temporary Living Facility.
47 - I love cooking meals again.
48 - Delia was blessed while we were in Utah.
49 - She screamed the entire time.
50 - Between myself, Brian, and Kellie - we have consumed 2 pounds of cashews in 5 days.
51 - I can't wait to have our stuff back.
52 - We (hopefully!) move in on Saturday and our household goods arrive on Monday.
53 - I feel like I've known Delia my entire life.
54 - I love having two girls.
55 - Delia has never ever worn a disposable diaper.
56 - Not a one.
57 - I'm hoping I'll be able to make back the money I invested (and re-invested) in trying out different diapers with Kellie.
58 - I'm pretty sure -no sposies ever- is my only chance.
59 - Babywearing is very common here in Colorado Springs.
60 - Instead of being asked, "What is that? Where did you get it?" I hear, "Oh! I've never seen one like that before! It's a pretty sling!"
61 - If I want to live in this house we've applied for, I have to curb my shopping hobby.
62 - I really want to live in this house.
63 - Delia tried to bring a big (to her) stuffed owl to her face today and got soooo frustrated that it was too large for her to lift one-handed.
64 - Her two hands wouldn't work together.
65 - She began squawking at the owl.
66 - Delia nurses in the car seat.
67 - I lean over her.
68 - After 12 hours in the van on the way to Colorado Springs, she got used to nursing in the van.
69 - She now refuses a pacifier.
70 - She knows the good stuff.
71 - She'll hold out.
72 - Kellie has been handling this move and all these changes with astonishing grace and good attitude.
73 - I'm just so amazed at her behavior.
74 - Sometimes it seems as though she is years beyond her actual age.
75 - She's watched enough movies to turn her brains to mush.
76 - I think our portable DVD player is both a blessing and a curse.
77 - Her favorite movie right now is Robots.
78 - The Disney princesses DVD we just picked up is a close second.
79 - Brian and I are really into "The Office" right now.
80 - We're working on season three.
81 - I haven't yet decided if Kellie will be going to public school or be home schooled.
82 - We have a playground right outside our Temporary Living Facility.
83 - There is not one near our new house.
84 - Kellie will be crushed.
85 - Hopefully the new house with all her old toys will hold her attention long enough for me to find a swingset of sorts on Craigslist.
86 - My family is sleeping.
87 - I should be sleeping.
88 - But even after I finish this post, I'm going to take a bath.
89 - Tomorrow will be a long day.
90 - Our 2008 minivan is the newest vehicle I've ever owned.
91 - I love it.
92 - Our 1998 Camry is 11 years old and still purring.
93 - All my hair is falling out.
94 - I talk about it excessively.
95 - This drives Brian nuts.
96 - I'm actually quite comfortable in our Temporary Living Facility unit.
97 - The drive up here wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
98 - It was definitely longer than I thought it would be.
99 - I'm happy to be in Colorado Springs.
100 - I'm in a good place and hope to get back to regular blogging.

Good night all! It feels good to be back!

I Owe You a Week of Pictures

2009-07-19T10:07:00.028-08:00

We're all doing well and have settled into a comfortable routine.
This post will be short on words because these pictures
say so much more than I have the brain power to come up with.

Plus, I spilled milk on my keyboard today and the keys
are sticking like the devil.

Enjoy!

Trina, Brian, Delia, Laura

Daddy and Delia

Delia's placenta, Felicity, Laura

Still-gooey-Delia and Grammie

Kellie's hand and Delia
Sister bracelets

Daddy and Delia

Grandpa and Delia

Grandpa, Delia, and Grammie

Grandpa and Delia

Heather, Delia, and Laura

Daddy, Kellie, and Delia

Nikki, Ariana, and Delia

Mommy and Delia
Moby-wrapping

Delia

Daddy and Kellie

Delia...
and her nursies

Delia

Delia and my arm

Delia and the Hungry Caterpillar

Kellie and the Monkey Bib

Mommy and the Girls

Grandma Deah and Delia

Kellie and Delia

Kellie
Hide 'n Seek

Kellie, Delia, Laura
Bowling on Wednesday

Kellie
The Ultimate Fire Fighter

Dad and the girls

Delia Katherine

2009-07-10T23:30:00.007-08:00

Delia was born on July 10, 2009 at 6:06 am
She weighs 9 pounds 4 ounces
She is 21 inches long
Her head is 14 inches around

I've been saying for a few weeks now that I honestly won't know I'm in labor until my water breaks. I'm so glad it did, or I would have gone back to sleep!! Thank you Ambien!

The Birth Story: Greased Lightning
July 10

3:30 am
I wake up with the tiniest bit of wetness, thinking I've wet my pants. After a check in the bathroom, where the leaking has stopped, I lay back down and have my first strong contraction accompanied by more leaking. I count my contractions and try to decide if this is the real thing or yet another false alarm.

4:10 am
I call the midwives on-call service and have Trina paged. I tell her what is happening and she asks how far apart my contractions are. I tell her I don't know but that I've had 9 since my water broke. (Trina - awww....math in the morning...) They are about 5 minutes apart so I sound the alarm and wake everyone but Kellie. Kellie and Grandpa stay home and Ruthie and Brian load up in the car with me. Amanda (my doula) is to meet us at the birth center.

4:30-5:00 am
I scream out the window through each contraction because I can't walk. (Can't walk! Can't walk! Ahhhhhh! Want to walk!!) Contraction over, window up, groaning and generally being very pissy.

5:00 am
Ruthie and Brian unload the car while I pace around the parking lot through a contraction. Contraction over, I head into the center. I make a beeline for the toilet where I groan and scream and make a hearty show of how displeased I am.

5:00-5:30 am
I have dilated from the 4 centimeters I was at the day before, to 7 centimers. I walk up and down the hall, sometimes nearly breaking out into a sprint - moaning about how I want the water in the tub. Trina can't fill it fast enough for me so I make sure everyone knows how much I want it by chanting through each contraction. (Want the water, want the water, want the waaaaater!)

5:30 am
The tub is full! I eagerly climb into the tub and it feels wonderful on my contracting body. I'm dilated to 10 and fully effaced by this point. Trina shows me how I'll have to lay to be able to birth in the tub. I try, unsuccessfully, to squeeze a baby out. In between contractions, I express my distaste with the position. (I can't push in the tub! I need out!)

5:40 am
I'm in the bed on my back and trying in vain to push Delia out. Legs pulled to chest, butt at end of mattress, groaning and screaming and hating this new position just as much as the old one. Trina asks if I want to try the birthing stool. (I don't care!!!) Contraction over... (Yes!)

5:50 am
I'm on the stool and screaming and pushing. I keep telling Trina that my pushes are doing no good and that Delia isn't coming out and is never coming out. Trina reassures me that she is indeed making progress downward. I get about 4-5 good pushes each contraction and it feels like Delia is lodged somewhere deep in my body and has no intentions of surfacing. I groan, I scream, I lean forward against the wall. I am none-too-shy about making my frustration known. Trina has me feel for Delia between contractions and I actually CAN feel her head, but it's not moving fast enough for my liking. I moan about that, too. The birthing stool is too low to the ground for me to birth Delia, so it's explained to me that I can push until her head is nearly out, then I have to move to the bed.

6:04 am
Delia's head is nearly out and the stool is removed. I grunt about that. (Okay Laura, let's move to the bed so you can finish pushing. *Ungh!* No!)

6:06 am
I squat, right there at the side of the bed, and push Delia the rest of the way out. Good thing Trina was there to catch her because her location in relation to the floor was the last thing on my mind. I'm handed a slimy baby and then I situate myself on the bed for the finishing touches.

6:10 am
We snuggle and wait for the placenta.

6:15 am
When it comes time to push, I can't remember how to push something so small. (I don't know where to push...) After one of the nurses explains it to me, the placenta pops right out.

6:15-9:15 am
My wounds are assessed. I have third degree tears, one in my sphincter, but am otherwise in good repair. Delia and I continue to snuggle and a doctor is called about the tear in my sphincter. Delia is weighed while I am being stitched up by the sweet Doctor Richie who came to the birth center in record time and didn't charge a visit fee. She offered her services as a gift. Dr. Richie happens to be the wife of the Dr. Richie who attended Kellie's birth.

Delia is an excellent nurser and is filling up diapers fast.
Kellie loves being a big sister and picking out diapers. Her favorite part about Delia is her umbilical cord stump. She asks to see that a LOT.
Grandpa and Grammie left tonight. I'm so sad to see them go but am so happy Delia made her appearance when she did. If it wasn't my plan A, it made a wonderful plan B. Grandpa still got to watch Kellie, Grammie still got to attend the birth, and we had all week to play with Grandpa and Grammie.

I don't mention my wonderful support posse in the birth story because I truly felt like I was in my own little world. I am so grateful that the following were able to attend my labor and delivery (and I'm very sorry that I was so darn independent. I can't imagine it was very fun to sit back and watch. I could have at least let each of you rub a part of me, right?) -

Brian
Ruthie
Amanda
Trina
Three very nice lady nurses :) Golly, I wish I knew your names.

And now I know two! Sarah and Felicity. I'll work on the third.

Trina is coming by for a house call tomorrow. I'll ask her then and post it so I can remember for the future. Thanks for reading!

*Edited head circumference, nurses' names and dilation upon arrival at the birth center.* 08-11-2009

Kellie Chipped a Tooth

2009-07-08T11:21:00.002-08:00

Kellie was hopping like a happy little bunny through the mall when her feet missed a hop and her face hit the ground - teeth first.

Poor kid has a chipped front tooth. :(

She talks different, looks different, and is behaving differently.

But, amazingly, she's kept good spirits and I'm actually getting used to her new looks and new speech much more quickly than I had anticipated.

Since she's only 2, I haven't enrolled her in our dental plan yet. The soonest she'll be eligible is August 1st. Luckily, the pediatric dentist I spoke with said they'd just be observing it anyway.

So we wait.

I'll post a pic later.

Attitude Reflects Leadership

2009-06-09T21:17:00.002-08:00

Kellie has been having a rough week. It's like she went ape crazy with screaming, kicking, rolling tantrums that lasted from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

Yesterday, when the day BEGAN in a tantrum, I kept my cool instead of losing it. About three minutes before her tantrum ended, I said, "I don't understand your screaming. I think I'll just go start my day now." I poured myself a bowl of cereal and prayed for Kellie to remember how much her Mommy loves to hear her sweet words. Thirty seconds later, as I'm munching on my Honey Bunches, Kellie says, "I'm all done screaming. I'm ready to eat now." I happily got her a bowl of cereal. She asked if we could say another prayer over her breakfast - which we did. In that prayer I said, "Thank you for helping Kellie find her sweet voice and sweet words." We didn't have another tantrum all day. As she was replaying the tantrum back to me (something she and I do, we call it "talking it out") She said, "And MaMa said, 'I can't understand your screams.'" Which made me feel like a successful parent. Because recently I've been losing my cool after 45 minutes of screaming and rolling and irrational freaking and I hear her playback my response, "Stop screaming! I'm so mad! Your screaming makes me mad!" or "MaMa said, "Get back in your bed!'" Some of my less-stellar parenting moves...

Since my breakfast prayer, I've had a change of attitude. With that attitude change, the tantrums have reduced to once or twice a day, lasting less than three minutes. Easily diffused by comments that make me feel proud, even when parroted back in a two year old's sing-songy voice:

"Mommy doesn't understand screams. I'll listen when I hear words."
"Oh boy, you sound upset. Let me know when you're ready to talk about it."
"What a bummer - it looks like you aren't ready to go outside and play."
"It's quiet time, you don't have to sleep, but you do need to lie still and let your body rest quietly."

All of these phrases are part of our normal tantrum-diffusing vocabulary. But in my pregnancy-induced fussiness, I'd lost my touch. I'd gotten so used to my easy-to-handle toddler that I wasn't maintaining all the hard work we've poured into her by reinforcing our method of parenting.

Two days in and we're on the right track. I just hope my postpartum self can remember how to be the parent that Kellie needs. It sure breaks my heart to hear my harsh words and tone played back in my sweet daughter's voice.

False Alarm

2009-06-05T00:55:00.002-08:00

Contractions are still coming strong. But I have a feeling that's just part of being me.

After the fastest OB triage visit ever (less than an hour!), it has been concluded that I am 40% effaced and 1.5 centimeters dilated.

Delia is not coming tonight, don't you worry. But I'm starting to lose faith that I'll make it to 37 weeks. Wish us luck!

Happy Happy, Joy Joy

2009-05-02T13:12:00.005-08:00

Grandma Ruthie is coming our way!

It's official! June 12th - woohoo!!

On other happy news - What can ten bucks buy you?

An awesome summer picnic table!

(Sorry the picture is so grainy.
I took it from our kitchen window - which has a screen.)

In Kellie's favorite colors!
(That's Kellie's smile when you ask her for one.
Not her real smile. Her cheesing-it-up smile.)

A Girl and Her Lovies

2009-05-01T21:25:00.010-08:00

Kellie's bamboo blankie has become a little worn-looking. This afternoon, after her nap, I asked her if she'd like to "color her bamboo blankie" to help hide the wear and tear. To which she replied, "Oh I'd love to! Let me go get it!"

I asked which color she'd like her blanket to be. Her immediate response was "yellow!" I asked her to pick two more colors out of the assortment of dyes I had handy from prefold dying days of the past. She picked yellow and orange and blue. We worked together to dye her blanket and a little one for Delia. (Kellie chose pink and purple for Delia) After seeing the yellow and orange set, I knew blue wasn't going to turn out very pretty (it's a matter of order. If I'd dyed the blanket blue before the orange, it would have turned out fine.) so we compromised with red.

Isn't it pretty??

I think it looks like a Big Stick popsicle.

It Begins

2009-04-29T20:05:00.002-08:00

Tonight was my first injection of Tributylene.

I'm 30 weeks - 50% effaced - 1 cm dilated

Contractions coming and going...

Things are happening. Big things. Wow things.

Think full-term thoughts my way. Please?

Should I Be Doing Something Else Right Now?

2009-04-24T22:13:00.023-08:00

Conquering the mountain of laundry that threatens to take over my home?
Or picking up the toys strewn about the living room floor?
Replacing all the diaper bags and purses I ripped out of Kellie's closet in my desperate search for the perfect zipper pouch?
Or possibly clearing the table so my poor family won't have to shove aside mail, oranges, and a sweater shaver to eat?

Yes. Yes I should.

Am I?

I think the following post answers that question -

A few things you missed in my pregnancy-induced laziness:

The farewell of a wonderful family, bound for Florida -
Terra, Phil, and Nora Gudgel

The Imaginarium

28 Weeks

The Alaska Zoo

The Great Indoor Gent Family Easter Egg Hunt

The Alaska Aquarium

Dress-up
(Despite the pouty face, this little girl was thrilled with her tutu!)

Spontaneous love and flowers for MaMa
(Thank you Daddy! And thank you Kellie Allie!)

Lastly, my hardcore nesting that was a direct result of the previous post.
With a highlight of my new diaper bag,
all packed and ready for a possible pre-term birth.
I figure if I have it packed, it will decrease my chances of needing it.
Every little bit helps, right?

The Ju Ju Be - Be Right Back

Maya Wrap ring sling and a premium prefold for a burp cloth

MaMaMade Preemie-sized blanket on the left, receiving blanket on the right.

8 preemie prefolds, 2 newborn Bummis Super Brite covers,
1 Mommy's Touch wetbag, 2 outfits and 2 undershirts
In the black case - Body Shop bamboo hair brush,
Buriti Baby shampoo, Buriti Baby body butter
In the black elastic straps - 18 cloth wipes
2 Snappis and 1 pair of locking-head diaper pins

How much time did I just kill?

I killed an hour.
60 minutes. I killed them dead.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Now, will someone please come fold my laundry???

I Can't Quite Put My Finger On It

2009-04-18T23:41:00.002-08:00

Something is different. Something I can't pin down.

I feel like I'm running out of time.

Time to nest and prepare.

I have no concrete evidence to support this feeling. But there it is.

With Kellie, I felt this way about two weeks before she was born - pushing Brian to put up our Christmas tree, pestering Terra to have our family photos done, staying up too late to put the house in order...

Today, Heather drove my waddling pregnant body all over town - picking up items that only a nesting MaMa would deem necessary!

I'm wondering if I'm hyper-sensitive to this feeling because of how early and quickly Kellie arrived. Maybe I have more time than two weeks? My gut says four to eight weeks - leaning more towards four than eight.

If I had a crystal ball - I'd love to look into the future and see me pushing 39 weeks. I'd even take the shame of being the overly-sensitive pregnant lady who had herself and everyone around her convinced of the inevitable pre-term birth!

Honestly? I don't think that will be the case.

A girl can dream, right?

Suh-LAM!

2009-04-16T23:11:00.004-08:00

I just had my first contraction that slammed the air
out of my lungs and stopped me mid-sentence.

Whooo-eee!

Head Down

2009-04-15T00:43:00.003-08:00

Ladies and Gents!
We have achieved a head down position!

At my 28 week appointment, my midwife confirmed that Delia
is indeed situated for a successful take-off.

Can I hear a woohoo?

WOOHOO!

Turns out the slightly painful tapping on my cervix
was just her little bitty hand.

Kellie said today,
"We're going to hear baby Delia's heartbeat.
And her kicking. She's going to kick her ball."

Methinks she has imagined my uterus to be one large gymnasium,
set up in a way that is pleasing to the infant kind of people.

Kellieisms

2009-04-13T09:35:00.004-08:00

-Whispering about the forbidden lollipop on the kitchen table: Can I have this candy for second? Shhh... we don't want to open it. Just look at it. Wait! I'll open it just a little bit... This is a SNACK for me!

-I told you - you don't want to tickle me!

-Kellie? Can you spell your name? Oh yeah, sure. K-e-l-i-e-l-i-e

-Whoa - I'm serious!

-That's disgusting! (gus-gusting)

-Vigorously kicking the back of the driver seat while in the car: I'm making music! With my feet!

-I had a bad dream tonight. Oh yeah, I did.

-Shouts across the BX parking lot to our friend Nate: Nate!? Are you going home or going to work? (Finds out from me that he's already at work, just stopped by to say "hi" to his family.) Oh! I love that you're here right now!

-Found another forbidden lollipop. Says to the original lollipop: Hang on! Your brother's here!

Coping

2009-04-10T00:40:00.006-08:00

I'm in a funk.

A deep funk.

I miss you, Terra.

However, I'll cope - while I mope.

Six whole days before a breakdown is a lot better than I was expecting.

Thanks to my dear friends who kept me distracted as long as they did.

Perspective

2009-04-05T22:54:00.003-08:00

I have a block of cheese in my refrigerator
that expires after Delia's due date.

Weird.

I can't believe that Delia's arrival is so close.
I'm thrilled - but I think I'm still in denial.

As I jog from room to room and leap over baby gates...

sometimes I forget I'm pregnant.

Happy

2009-04-02T23:18:00.004-08:00

Daddy Inspired

2009-03-24T00:42:00.006-08:00

While I love the name Hazel,
I think it's important for a father to be completely pleased
with the name of his child.

So, after much deliberation
and many many name combinations,
we have arrived happily at:

Delia Kate

Delia Kate was in a breech position during today's ultrasound. She was transverse (side to side, not up and down) at her last ultrasound. Tonight, at water aerobics, I dove headfirst into the pool in an attempt to flip her headside down. Flip she did...and then she flipped right back as soon as I angled my body toward the surface of the water.

Determined not to be breeched out of the birth center, I lay in bed tonight and gently nudged her head down and her bum up.

I can't be certain that she has moved into a head-down position -but I am feeling kicks in my ribs where I used to be feeling hiccups and hiccups in my cervix where I used to be feeling kicks. So I'm hopeful Delia and I have accomplished an early station-ready position.

Keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't flip herself again before 30 weeks!

Bag of Water

2009-03-24T00:14:00.003-08:00

Last Monday, when Kellie started giving herself "injections" (using whatever pointy object she had handy - a fork, a crayon, a wooden bottle of catsup...) I felt it was necessary for me to explain the weekly doses of progesterone she sees Mommy undergo.

This is how my explanation went:
MaMa: Baby girl! Is there a reason you're poking your fork into your belly button?
Kellie: I'm getting my shot! It's okay - it doesn't hurt.
MaMa: Are you getting a shot like Mommy?
Kellie: Yep!
MaMa: Do you know why Mommy gets shots?
Kellie: wide-eyed stare
MaMa: Mommy gets shots to help keep baby Delia in my belly just a little bit longer.
Kellie: Oh, 'cause baby Delia is growing. solemn faced nod
MaMa: That's right, Delia is growing. And she needs a lot more time in Mommy's belly before she'll be big enough to come out. My shots are helping her stay in longer. You're a lucky kid, because even though you came out of Mommy's belly early, you were big enough to come home with Mommy and Daddy right away.
Kellie: Uh huh. 'Cause I was growing!
MaMa: That's right! You were growing. But your bag of water broke a little too early when Mommy's cervix began effacing. When your bag of water broke, it was time for you to be born.
Kellie: mindlessly goes back to dancing the fork and catsup bottle across her belly

There was no more talk of injections, shots, bellies, growing, so forth...

Until Delia's ultrasound today.

Kellie had been very involved with the ultrasound up to this point - shouting out the body parts she knew and telling the tech all about Delia growing in Mommy's belly. So the tech was being an awesome guy and including her in our conversation about Delia's growth, position (breech, by the way), and facial features.

Mom to ultrasound tech: What are you measuring there?
Tech: I'm measuring the amniotic fluid. Tech looks at Kellie and says, more specifically - The bag of waters.
Kellie: beaming pride I was a fish in a bag of water.
Tech to Mom: Did she just tell me that she was a fish in a bag of water?
Mom: puzzled chuckle Yeah. I guess she did.
Kellie: indignant that the grownups around her would chuckle at her very proud statement I was a fish in a bag of water! But then my bag of water broke and it was time for me to come out of Mommy's belly.
Mom: looks to Dad, then to tech, and hastily attempts to explain how Kellie came to the conclusion that she had once been a fish... in a bag of water...in Mommy's belly

I'm assuming her creative mind took a whole week to stew on my explanation of her early arrival. We used to keep a fish tank in her room and we'd replace the fish often as the tank's previous inhabitants would inevitably perish. While carrying the many fish from the car to her room, Kellie would often observe that they lived in a bag of water.

That's really the only connection I can see.

Sometimes her train of thought astounds me!

From the Mouths of Babes

2009-03-02T00:10:00.004-09:00

Kellie has been doing so well putting herself to sleep this past week. Unfortunately, a lot of our forward steps were lost in the backward steps we took during the recovery from her cold.

So, after a particularly trying night, I was at the end of my rope. With my patience worn aggravatingly thin, I squatted down to Kellie's eye level and asked in my most concerned Mommy-voice - "Kellie, what is keeping you up tonight?"

The sweetest and most mature conversation I've ever had with my daughter followed -

Kellie: Oh, I'm just thinking.
MaMa: What are you thinking about about?
Kellie: The carnival - I can go on the carnival when I'm older.
MaMa: That's right. You can go on the carnival rides when you're older.

There is a carnival in town for Fur Rondy. We drive by it several times a week. When Kellie asks if she can "go on it", we tell her she is still too little to ride the rides, but she will be able to when she grows bigger and is older.

Anxious to further clear her mind, Kellie continued with what I believe is every last bit of information blocking her from a peaceful sleep.

Kellie: And Daddy too.
MaMa: Yes, Daddy can ride the rides, too.
Kellie: When he's older. And baby Delia, when she is done growing.
MaMa: Yes, when Delia grows up to be a big girl, she can ride carnival rides, too.
Kellie: Like a tree. When I get older, I'm going to grow a baby like a tree.
MaMa: A tree?
Kellie: Uh-huh. And animals. Like a tree and animals. Delia is growing.
MaMa: Delia is growing. Kellie, you're growing, too. Your body needs sleep to grow. When you sleep, your battery recharges - giving your body the energy it needs to grow big and strong.
Kellie: Sometimes we need new batteries.
MaMa: I guess so. But for healthy little girls, they just need a good nights' sleep.

Most of the things in Kellie's life that are broken or are not working can be fixed by a simple battery change. Consequently, Kellie's logical little mind has deduced that any and all problems can be fixed by a new battery. When we were waiting in the Chiropractor's foyer, she was treating a decorative tile a little too roughly. After explaining to Kellie that her touches must be gentle or the tile might break, she very solemnly turned to the receptionist and said, "Oh, I'll bring you new batteries." In her mind, new batteries would be the ultimate restitution if her clumsy toddler hands had caused the tile to break.

Kellie nodded her agreement and began to lie back on her pillow. Her eyes, nearly closed, popped open suddenly as she sat up with the last little bits of information rattling around in her all-too-tired head.

Kellie: When I am older - I'm going to make a baby, and a tree, and animals!
MaMa: Okay Kellie, when you're older - you can make a baby, and a tree, and animals. But for right now, you need sleep.
Kellie: Oh, yeah. So I can get new batteries. Like the play ground.
MaMa: Kind of. The play ground is closed - you're just tired. Do you think you can go to sleep now?

The playground at the Base Exchange Mall has been closed. It is being replaced by a GameStop store. When Daddy explained this to Kellie, she needed to see for herself. After seeing the paper-covered windows into what used to be her beloved play room, she reasoned that the playground must be broken. They must be fixing it by giving it new batteries. It's still a fresh event in her mind - we're trying to ease her slowly into the idea of never getting the playground back.

Kellie: MaMa - I love you. Sometimes we get in a car accident. And we beep the horn.
MaMa: I love you too, Kellie. Yes, sometimes we do get in a car accident. And sometimes we beep the horn.
Kellie: Oh, and then we go to the hospital. We see the baby - she says "wah wah wah."
MaMa: Yep, if we get in an accident, we go to the hospital. We might see the baby on the monitor.
Kellie: Oh, yeah. But she's fine.
MaMa: Yes, Delia is fine.
Kellie: Oh, she was just scared.
MaMa: Yep. Just scared.

After our car accident on the 10th of December, we went to the emergency room. Kellie was assessed and the doctor said she was fine. For me and Delia - they had some difficulty finding fetal heart tones with the doppler. Kellie was worried the sound of the doppler had scared the baby. This is about the time when she started saying "the baby says wah wah wah" on a regular basis. All through the exam, Kellie insisted this baby was a girl - she's never strayed from that belief unless prompted by adults. I believe she truly connected with Delia in that moment. She has been loving and concerned and excited and involved with every aspect of Delia's life since that day. At my midwife appointments, she straddles my hips, facing me, and the midwife works around her. Kellie loves to kiss my belly and tell the baby goodnight. Delia is on her mind frequently, so I'm not surprised this was one of the things racing through her thoughts as she fought sleep. I just love her tender little voice whispering, "It's okay baby Delia" followed by a kiss on my belly. And I love even more her recent desire to lift my shirt up so she can snuggle the baby.

Kellie: I want to stay up until five o-clock. It's the middle of the night!
MaMa: It is the middle of the night. What about - instead of staying up until five o'clock, you can be awake at five o'clock tomorrow evening? Would that be okay?
Kellie: Oh, yeah. Time for nuh-nights.
MaMa: Yep. Time for nuh-nights. Do you think you can sleep now?
Kellie: Oh, yeah.

Often, when MaMa loses her cool after many many night wakings with requests for food/playing/going downstairs/etc., I will say, "Kellie - it is not time for _______! It is the middle of the night!"

Finally, after two grueling hours of chasing her back to bed followed by a lengthy and surprisingly deep conversation, Kellie laid her head down and was immediately asleep.

Immediately.

MaMa whispers, with a quiet chuckle: I love you.

But I'm sickie!

2009-02-26T11:10:00.004-09:00

When Kellie is sick, everything ends in an "ie" - sickie, nosie, wipie, foodie, cuppie... You get it.

On the cloth diaper and parenting forum I frequent, the subject of lovey's came up. I realized then that I had absolutely no pictures of Kellie with her lovey.

So here she is - stuffy nosie and all!

She became attached to this cat with a zippered body when she got sick. Maybe that's why she calls him Hobbie (instead of Hobbes, which is what Brian named him).

The blankie I made from bamboo velour. Kellie sleeps every night and nap with her blankie. If it is unavailable, MaMa's blankie will do. (I made an adult-sized blanket of the same material)

Hobbie she usually only asks for when she's feeling crummy. She has him in bed every night, but will carry him around and take him on car rides when she's crabby, sick, or just plain old fussy.

Normally, when Kellie is feeling rotten, we have lots of babywearing time. She'll pull on my pant leg and say, "I want to sliiiiing!"

Well, with this belly bump, I don't really have room for a 26 pound toddler on my front. And back carries just don't cut it for Miss Kellie Allie. Thank you to Nikki for letting us borrow this swing. Kellie is able to sleep and get her rocking fix.

I hope Kellie still wants to be worn after Delia is here. :( That's a long time for her MaMa not to be able to sling her - she may lose interest.

I just realized that as I typed it... How sad.

I'm a Big Girl Now!

2009-02-21T21:20:00.005-09:00

Uncle Jared and Aunt Tami sent Kellie her very first computer game:

Learning with Sesame Street!

Thank you SO much!
Kellie loves "having a turn" on Mommy's computer
and Mommy loves that her explorations on the keyboard
don't result in error windows! :)

Kellie is a BIG girl now!

This is the third night in a row that our bedtime routine didn't involve a Mommy or Daddy sitting in her room until she fell asleep.
Kellie has never had an easy time going to sleep.
And now, at 2 years and 3 months, she is able to put herself to sleep
with no tears, no sobs, and no complaints.

I am LOVING it!

All these big girl steps she has taken have been perfect timing for our upcoming arrival.
She's become so independent recently - undressing herself, helping with chores and cooking, pottying herself, and now - putting herself to sleep.

I'm just so thrilled!

~~~~~~~~

On the newborn front, Delia Hazel's stash is now complete.
The highlight?

bumGenius! Onesize Organic Cotton All-In-Ones

Aren't they pretty?

Flowers

2009-02-17T20:54:00.002-09:00

While walking down the aisle of the commissary - quite a few paces apart.

Kellie: I smell a MaMa!

MaMa: You do? What does a MaMa smell like?

Kellie: A MaMa smells like a MaMa!

MaMa: I smell a Kellie! What does a Kellie smell like?

Kellie: Kellie smells like flowers!

Growing

2009-02-17T10:35:00.002-09:00

Kellie: I see it! I see the baby!

MaMa: You do?

Kellie: Uh huh! Right theeeere! (little finger points at my belly)

MaMa: If you see the baby, what is she doing?

Kellie: She's GROWING!

Later, at the breakfast table...

Kellie: Milk goes in my belly. Fries go in my belly. Cereal goes in my belly.

MaMa: What goes in my belly?

Kellie: The baby!

Maybe Baby

2009-02-17T01:19:00.005-09:00

In an effort to maintain pregnancy beyond 35 weeks, I began weekly injections of 17P - a synthetic progesterone - on February 9th.

In one week, I lost my second trimester bounce.
I have no desire to clean, cook, or organize.
I would be happy sleeping 12 hours a day.

I feel like I'm powering a locomotive uphill - and that's just to get out of bed!

Essentially, I've been feeling like toast.

I almost quit the injections. Almost.

But reading through my blog posts during my first pregnancy convinced me that four months of pure exhaustion is worth the increased possibility of a full-term baby.

I was 50% effaced at 33 weeks.

50%! And my cervix was not checked again until I went into labor at 35 weeks.

I know we got off lucky with a pre-term baby exhibiting signs of a full-term pregnancy. But just because you win the lottery once, doesn't mean you should buy more tickets. Right? Be happy with the good fortune you have and make preparations for when your good fortune takes a nap.

If I can keep my cervix from effacing before 36 weeks, then maybe my bag of waters will have the support it needs to remain intact.

And if my bag of waters remains intact, then maybe my body won't expel Delia in an attempt to save her life.

If my body doesn't give Delia the boot before 36 weeks, then maybe - just maybe - we can have a happy, healthy, family-centered birth at the birth center.

Maybe.

Maybe is enough for me.
Let's hope this maybe is enough for Delia Hazel.

Surprise!

2009-02-02T22:58:00.011-09:00

After a few big-time take-my-breath-away contractions, my midwife recommended I have my ultrasound moved up by a week to make sure that the baby was staying put.

Everything is fine - just a little bit of warm-up on my uterus' behalf.

But that means my ultrasound was a whole week early!

Sooooo... No more waiting!

We are having a GIRL!!!

Please allow me to introduce Delia,
whose middle name is yet to be determined. :D

Kellie and Brian picked out her take-home outfit.
Cute, huh?

She stayed snuggled up to her placenta the whole time.

Isn't she beautiful??

She looks just like her Daddy.

Crawling

2009-01-30T06:19:00.002-09:00

This pregnancy has flown by! That is, until now.

The next ten days are going to craaaaaawl by.
Especially if they're anything like the past five have been.

Mark your calendar and check back for the gender spoiler!

February 9, 2009

By Definition

2009-01-19T22:10:00.003-09:00

Thanks for the idea Emily! I've got some time to kill while Kee Kee drifts off to sleep.

I am: a Mommy
I think: my blog stinks sometimes
I know: The gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true - it took me a long time to learn that one!
I want: a professional housekeeper for one week
I dislike: most disposable products
I miss: my husband when he's at work
I fear: car accidents
I feel: pain from a swollen tongue
I hear: Kee Kee's lullabies
I smell: our home
I crave: Hidden Valley Ranch, buffalo wings, and pizza
I cry: at most movies - especially Sweet November! Sorry you had to be there for that Em ;)
I usually: eat too much
I search: for my cell phone once a week or more
I wonder: what this baby will be
I regret: eating that salad right after cleaning up that dog puke right after springing to life from a dead sleep on the couch
I love: my family
I care: about other people's feelings. I'm just usually oblivious to them.
I always: wait too long to wash laundry
I worry: about the things I said before thinking
I am not: a morning person
I remember: very little
I believe: everyone has some good in them
I dance: and the whole world stares. Oh, I'm no Shakira. I'm like a train wreck - how can anyone expect you to look away?
I sing: loudly and with gusto!
I don’t always: do the dishes when I should
I argue: when I'm feeling feisty
I write: in my head
I win: at Monopoly
I lose: everything but my planner. What is up with that?
I wish: I could have a home full of children
I listen: to whatever artist American Idol made HOT that year
I don’t understand: liars, lies, lying
I can usually be found: at home or a playgroup
I am afraid: of being alone
I need: a heating pad. Right now.
I forget: to return phone calls
I am happy: with my life

My Happiness

2009-01-19T21:42:00.003-09:00

At 12 weeks, I was feeling this little baby's fluttering movement.
At 14 weeks, the bumps and jumps were a little more obvious and frequent - up to three times a day.
At 16 weeks, I love to lie very still on the couch and wait for this baby to wiggle and jiggle about.

In those moment's I am filled with happiness. The happiness I worried wouldn't come.

A small confession (one that I understand is pretty common for a second pregnancy) is that I only fell head over heels in love with this new person when I could feel it squirming about.

My first pregnancy love was magical and almost instant. I was truly ashamed that I hadn't fallen as fast for this baby as I had for my tiny zygote of 2006. But I'm there now and just as in love as I was the day I found out. I may not have known that I was in love then, but I know it now. And it's a wonderful feeling that I'm reminded of with each little nudge.

Three Cheers for Individuality

2009-01-19T21:13:00.003-09:00

Kellie's individuality is important to me. As she has changed her name -over and over- I've gone along with it and asked her friends and family to respect her decision as well.

I'm not sure how far I should stretch it... but for right now, I'm going to stretch it just a little further.

Kellie has asked to be called Kee Kee.

She made her mind up on Sunday when her nursery leader accidentally called her Kee Kee. -I can't imagine it's easy remembering all of Kellie's names along with the names of the other children in the class.-

Kee Kee giggles gleefully each time we call her by her new chosen name.

Given the choice between Kee Kee and any of her previous nicknames (Kay Kay, Kellie Allie, Kellie Allie Allison, plain old "Kellie"), she undoubtedly chooses Kee Kee.

My daughter has a creative streak wider than I could have hoped for. I'm assuming her renaming herself is similar to another child pretending to be different jungle animals.

I'm having fun with it and am always sad to see a nickname go.

Her love of language has been fun to experience as well. Over the months, we've had some fun words come out of her little mouth. Since Kee Kee has always been so spot-on with her pronunciation, it's rare to have a word said incorrectly. Unlike many parents, I revel in them and maybe let them go on longer than I should. Mostly because I know my daughter, and I know that the moment she finds out she's been saying it wrong, she will correct herself posthaste.

Just so I don't forget these little gems of joy, I'd like to list off a few of my favorites that have come and gone. Most of these mispronounced words lasted weeks only.

Barbo - Her Barbie from Grandma Lori was affectionately referred to as "Barbo"
Snow Flow - She loves to watch the snow plows do their work. She'd put an F where the P should be and say it just like it the beginning of "flower"
Sodo - for soda
Nuggle - for snuggle
Air Puh-lane - for airplane
Beenana - for banana
Bow-ying - for bowling
Eeeks-cited - for excited
Mewgsic - for music

I'm sure there's more. If you've heard Kee Kee speak and can remember a word she used to say incorrectly - let me know so I can add it to my memory box. Please? :)

My Reward

2009-01-09T21:29:00.003-09:00

Kellie Allie has been having a tough week with her cold and congestion.

As she was preparing for bed tonight, she was going through meltdown after meltdown with no hope of reprieve. Brian was not wearing his Tender Loving Daddy hat and was carrying on with bedtime business as usual. Though I'd scheduled Kellie Allie's bedtime to unload our groceries while Brian put her down, I knew she needed some TLC. So I set aside my cans of green beans and asked Kellie Allie if she wanted to snuggle Mommy. After an emphatic "yes" and a leap from Daddy's loving -if not snuggly- arms, we headed to bed.

As we rocked and snuggled in our glider, we listened to her lullabies from Grandma Ruthie. Ten minutes into our snuggle session, Kellie Allie had calmed down and was breathing deeply.

Halfway to slumberland, she quietly said, "Thank you MaMa."
To which I replied, "I love you."
Her sleepily whispered "I love you, too." warmed me so deep, I momentarily forgot that it was -12° in Anchorage today.

Moments like these are the best part of being a Mommy.

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things

2009-01-07T13:28:00.004-09:00

As my daughter quietly sang herself to sleep this afternoon,
I listened closely to the lyrics and could pick out
her favorite things in the song she was making up.

It went something like this:

Oooo Ahhh Cheeseburger...
La Baaaa Bowling...
Eeee Oooo Snow Plow...
Mmmmmm Moon Ooooo...

To add to her list of favorite things,
I'd like to share some pictures of our two year old in action. Enjoy!

Just kidding... I'll try again later. Getting all sorts of errors.

ETA: Blogger and I are friends again! Pictures for all!

Helping Daddy
(Pardon the snot face... She's got a cold and her poor face had blisters.)

Zoe and Simon - Her puppies!

Cooking in her kitchen in the apron her Deah made for her.
She's making some pretzel, waffle, tomato soup. Yum!

Simon snuggling her wrapping paper.

Christmas PJs and piggy slippers.

Batman!

Running!

Babywearing

Music!

Dress up and grocery shopping

Appen Decto Hecko Me!

2008-12-21T00:32:00.002-09:00

Thursday - I woke up to a SWOLLEN belly, looking more like I did when I was 5 months into pregnancy with Kellie.

Thursday night - I had excruciating pain that woke me up each hour as the safety on my heating pad would turn on and consequently turn off the comforting heat.

Friday morning - What? I looked more like I did at 7 months pregnant! And I couldn't walk while standing up straight nor could I pick up Kellie.

Terra drove me to the ER and took care of Kellie for the day (Thank you!! Thank you!!) while the ER docs tried their darndest to diagnose me without risking the baby's health and happiness.

Twenty four hours later, I'm one appendix lighter and several cups of clear liquid diet heavier.

Funny clear liquid diet story -

When it had been closer to 17 hours without ANY food, I politely told the tech taking my vitals,

"I'm not trying to be severe...but if I don't get some food soon, I will eat my own leg."

His eyes, having grown to the size of golfballs, blinked several times before he backed surreptitiously out of the room to tell the nurse what I'd said. The nurse came in with a denial of food until a doctor cleared me to eat. He offered me some Jello. As I cried into my Jello, I made a plan of action. I'd remain doped up so I could at least sleep through the gnawing hunger.

Three shots of Demarol later (That's six hours, by the way) the doc is in the house! After devouring the remaining 6 calories stuck to the sides of the cup of my sugar-free Jello, I sat sobbing when the next shifts' nurse asked, "Are you okay?"

I replied, snot-faced and swollen, "I'm just...sob...so...sob... HUNGRY!!! sob A hoo hoo hoo hooooo...."

Never fear! Nurse Kevin to the rescue. Not 30 minutes later, I'd devoured four tiny cups of peanut butter, two saltines, a bowl of raisin bran, a cup of orange juice, and a quarter of a banana. Turns out my eyes were bigger than my stomach.

With food in my belly and the tears gone from my face, I guess I looked well enough to have earned an early release. I was sent home 24 hours earlier than planned.

And now here I type, hunched over my incisions and my slightly fussy fetus.
Those kicks sure are getting stronger!

What's In A Name?

2008-12-16T11:24:00.002-09:00

Kellie has requested we call her by her new favorite name:

Kellie Allie

Also acceptable are any of the following names:

Kellie Allie Allison
Kay Kay

Speaking of names, we're tossing around a few for this new baby. At the top of our list are Gavin for a boy and Amelia for a girl.

Our due date has been changed from the 8th of July to the 1st. Which for me could mean a May baby! :P Only if this little kidlet is as anxious to begin life as Kellie was.

We got in a car accident on Wednesday. Since our ER visit, where Kellie Allie was convinced that the ultrasound scared her baby, we have had so many conversations about how "Mama beeped the horn" that I think I could respond in my sleep. The accident was minimal - thank goodness for insurance! - and now we're just trying to hold it together until the new year's paycheck. Blah.

Bubba

2008-11-15T10:42:00.002-09:00

Last night, Kellie laid her face on my belly, gently rubbed it, and whispered, "Hi baby. Hi bubba."

This morning, she got a little too kicky in bed, stopped herself and said, "Oh. Be gentle with the baby!"

Kellie's awareness is the most fun part of this pregnancy thus far. :)

Nude Trained

2008-11-07T21:33:00.004-09:00

When it comes to potty learning, I've heard of day trained.
I've heard of night trained.
I've even heard of home trained.

It appears that Kellie is nude trained.

The three accidents she's had since calling quits on diapers have been while wearing panties. Poor kid. Those panties sure do confuse her. It's made it hard to leave the house. She doesn't pee on command. She only goes when it's her idea and she doesn't understand the concept of "this is your last chance until we get home." Fortunately, she's not too freaked out by the puddle at her feet. She actually enjoys mopping up her pee.

I'm hoping tomorrow can be a panties-at-home day so we can work on training while clothed. Then we'll have to work on public training. The public restroom is too fascinating to focus on pottying.

Nevermind her bladder is full-to-bursting.

Did the lady next to us just go poo poo in the potty???

"Good job! Mom! She did a good job!"

And I Cried

2008-11-06T21:34:00.001-09:00

Keeta went home with a new family.
I thought I would be fine.
Until Kellie got down on her hands and knees,
put her face right up to the kennel, and whispered,
"I love you Keeta."

And I cried. Oh how I cried.

At Least You Didn't Bonk Your Head

2008-11-06T13:16:00.002-09:00

Kellie is pushing her baby around in her shopping cart.
She runs into a chair.
This is what she said to her baby.

"Oops! Oh. Well. At least you didn't bonk your head."

She kept on pushing the cart.

One Accident

2008-11-05T20:51:00.001-09:00

In 24 hours! Not too bad for her first day, huh?

Dry Day

2008-11-05T20:50:00.001-09:00

Yes! With three poops in the potty - too!

Dry Morning

2008-11-05T12:28:00.002-09:00

WOW!
She even woke me up from our joint nap to tell me she needed to go potty.

This sure feels funny...

Dry Night

2008-11-05T07:13:00.000-09:00

Seriously!

Potty Time

2008-11-05T00:54:00.002-09:00

I think we are on the cusp of potty learning.

Kellie was playing with Nora when she grabbed frantically at her privates and ran to me saying, "MaMa! Poo poo coming!"
I said, "Oh! Do you want to sit on the potty?"
"Yeah!"
We run to the potty and Kellie pee pees it up.

And another time before bed.

Then, after she'd gone to bed, but had not fallen asleep - She asked again for "Potty please?"

She woke up not a half hour ago asking for the potty. She peed in her little potty in her room and promptly went back to sleep. After the ceremonious dumping the pee-pee into the big potty routine, of course.

Kellie wears cloth diapers, so panties feel a lot like the security of cloth to catch the pee-pee. When she shows interest in the potty, I keep her bum bare so she's not confused and wetting her panties. Since that first instance while playing with Nora - Kellie has not wet a single diaper. That was around 7:30 or 8:00 and now we're coming up on 1:00 am.

Having trained kids in the day care center where I worked, I know 5 hours of being dry is a big sign she's ready. So it looks like a few naked days at home are in store for us. From there, we'll branch into panties and then even further into outings and public potties. I just can't believe this time is NOW. Ya know? And so suddenly!

But for those who know Kellie - you know that once she's made up her mind about something, there's no turning back. I have a feeling we're about to wave bye-bye to diapers until this new little Muffin is born. Wow. Just WOW!

Hey! You Scared Me!

2008-11-04T09:13:00.002-09:00

Kellie is in the bath.
She almost topples while trying to drink from her rinsing cup.
I lunge forward to catch her.
She catches herself.
She says, "I almost fell over!"
I say, "Yeah you did! I was worried for you!"
She says, "Hey! You scared me!"

Strength

2008-11-03T21:40:00.005-09:00

I talked to Ruthie today and continued to say "If you come to Alaska..." throughout our phone conversation. When I finally explained my "if" attitude - that Dad had kept his commitment in reserve - Ruthie said "Oh - your Dad! There's no if!"

With the upcoming arrival of this new baby, I need maternal support.

I'm such a lucky girl - I've got two mothers!

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many more times before my journey is through:
Having four parents has been a blessing in every single aspect of my life. I wish I could share my good fortune. For I have four parents who love me, have raised me well, and have respect for me as a person.

The only time I ever feel like having four parents is a burden is when I have one spot to fill and four eager folks to fill it.

Enter Mom and Ruthie. :D

Thinking ahead on this baby and what I want and what I need and who I need to be here - I realized that I want very much to have this life-altering experience with both my Moms. Kellie came so early that my Mom's presence was a much-needed calm after a storm. We'd missed out on the experience of shared childbirth but her soothing words and motherly wisdom were a welcome buoy in the raging storm of early parenting.

Then Tara and her loving nature brought us that experience we'd missed. We were blessed to be able to share Isabella's birth through the generosity of my little sister. Isabella's labor and delivery was such a warm and happy time. I'm overjoyed that I was able to be such a big part of those moments with my Mom and Tara.

All this got me thinking about childbirth. See, I have two Moms. One by birth and one by choice. Ruthie has been a Mom to me for more than half my life. The connection one feels when a new life is brought into this world is overwhelming. Joyous. Monumental. Unforgettable. I got to have that with my Mom. I want that with my Ruthie!

My Mom and I talked about all of this - as we tend to talk about everything under the sun. My Mom is gracious. Her support and understanding in my strong desire to share my childbirth experience with Ruth is astounding. I am grateful for her open heart. I do not feel as though this time sharing is begrudged in any way. While I know for a fact that she would love to be by my side through all the ups and downs labor and delivery can bring, I also know that she sees great value in my growing personal strength. Having a stronger relationship with Ruthie will not break anything we've spent a lifetime creating.

It can only make me stronger.

Us stronger.

All three of us - me and my two Moms - stronger.

Man. Now I'm crying. Lame-oh hormones.

BallerinaHandyWoman

2008-11-03T14:04:00.008-09:00

What's more fun than dress-up?

Combining two roles for the ultimate BallerinaHandyWoman!

Daddy taught her how to dance like a Ballerina. :)

Taste Buds

2008-10-29T16:05:00.002-08:00

Kellie: MaMa, it's gross.
MaMa: What's gross?
Kellie: I don't know. But it's really yucky.
MaMa: Did you eat the soap?
Kellie: Yeah.