The Mutha of all Updates!

So, if anyone actually reads the blog, then you probably notice how quiet it has been. One issue is that I've pretty much been sick since November. I get better from one illness and then catch something else. That, plus the holidays, plus the other stuff going on (which will be explained) has made it difficult for me to get much done...including keeping the blog updated.

I said I've been sick since November, but my story really starts in October. October 22, to be exact. That is the day I found out that I was pregnant. This was pretty much a total shock for me. You see, this was my 5th pregnancy and as you may have noticed, I only have 2 children. I had 2 miscarriages prior to getting pregnant with Jameson and then I took Clomid in order to get pregnant with both Jameson and Delilah. So, first of all, I was surprised that I can GET pregnant again on my own (I'm assuming that it's due to losing 35 of the 50 lbs that I gained after my first miscarriage - this is a blog post in and of itself) but my second concern is that I don't have a good track history of STAYING pregnant when I do get pregnant on my own.

Anyway, October 22nd was a Friday and I had the usual blood tests (they follow me pretty closely early on due to my previous issues), but apparently the nurse left early, so they didn't get back to me until Monday (10/25). According to the nurse, my quant levels put me at about 5.5 weeks pregnant but my progesterone levels were low. We scheduled the ultrasound for Friday (10/29). I was terrified for my ultrasound. I was terrified (and pretty sure) that something would be wrong, but at the same time I was terrified that there would be a tiny beating heart. After 5 pregnancies, I feel like I can tell if it's going to be viable or not. I was also so worried because this was totally not planned (not prevented either, but I guess after 4 years you just get comfortable) and 22.5 months apart is a challenge, I wasn't convinced that I handle kids 18 months apart!

Anyway, as soon as I saw the image in the ultrasound room, I knew what was going on. I saw the gestational sac and no fetal pole - so no heartbeat. It was another blighted ovum (this is what happened with my first miscarriage). The ultrasound tech tried to explain it away (they always do, I don't blame them though). They had me do another blood draw to check my levels, to see if maybe my dates were just off, but I knew. The nurse called and said my numbers were still going up, so she scheduled another ultrasound and then an appointment with my OB for the following Wednesday (11/3).

So, at my follow-up ultrasound, I pretty much saw the same thing. The gestational sac had grown, but still no visible embryo, so this confirmed another blighted ovum. I was 85% relieved, the timing was not good at all for us, but there was still that 15% that was sad about another lost baby and concerned about my body not sustaining another pregnancy. I met with my OB, Dr. Martin. I told him that I preferred to try and miscarry on my own, so he gave me 2 weeks. I waited patiently and there was nothing. There were 2 nights that I had some pretty bad cramping and I thought it was going to happen, but it didn't.

I made another appointment with my OB for 11/18. He wanted me to have another ultrasound to be absolutely certain that I had a blighted ovum. There was a student doing this ultrasound and once the supervisor came in, she started freaking me out. She asked a lot of questions and acted surprised that they weren't still tracking my progress with blood draws. So the 10-15 minute wait to see the doctor seemed like an eternity. But, once he came into the room, he assured me that everything was just as we had expected. We scheduled the D&E for the following morning (11/19).

My first cold also started around this time. So I ended up calling in. I was exhausted, sick, and just ready to be done with this whole experience. To further complicate things, I was throwing a baby shower for my friend, E, the same day as my surgery. I wasn't too worried about it because it was going to be pretty low key, everything was done for it, and it was not at my house! :-)

So, it was the morning of my surgery. We went to the hospital and got checked in. I was a little taken aback when I had to sign a paper to decide what to do with the "remains." But other than that, we were in pretty good spirits. It took forever, 2 nurses, 4 heating pads, 2 warm towels and 7 stick marks to get the IV in, but they got it in. My OB was ready for me before they had me ready! Right before they wheeled me in OR, the anesthesiologist visited with me. Russell had left for the waiting room at this point, so I was alone. the anesthesiologist professed his deepest sympathies and then assured me that they were going to take good care of me. I pretty much lost it at that point and couldn't keep the tears back.

The surgery was quick and uneventful, just what you want. I felt okay afterwards. I was pretty drugged up at the baby shower, but I wasn't too uncomfortable. Overall, my recovery was pretty good. I probably should have called in on Monday (11/22) also, but I made it through the day and then I actually felt almost human again on Tuesday (11/23).

So, then we had the excitement of Thanksgiving. After that began the preparations for Christmas. Then, on December 15th, we had a full morning - I taught Kid-Ability, then I met the family at the library so that Jameson could make a gingerbread house, then grabbed lunch at Panera before taking the kids to Target to get their pictures taken as a Christmas gift for my Dad. After that I went to work, as usual. The around 3:30 my stomach started hurting and by 5pm, it was so bad that I had to leave work early. By 8pm, I decided that I was in so much pain that I needed to go to the ER.

The nurse in the ER said that the location of my pain was classic of gallbladder issues. But all my tests came back normal, so I was hydrated, given pain killers, anti-nausea drugs, a daily antacid and sent on my way. Once we left the ER and got my prescriptions filled, it was about 12:30 or 1 am. Then Jameson woke up throwing up around 3:30 am. Ugh. Russell was tired because he hadn't slept yet and I was still not feeling well, so it was quite the scene at our house. I did, however, teach Jameson to throw up in the toilet. I think we figured out that he got sick about 9 times throughout the morning. By 11am, he was done.

I followed up with my PCP on Monday (12/20), she got me in later that day for a full ultrasound of my gallbladder (they just did the small one in the room at the ER). The results of that were normal, so they scheduled me for a HIDA scan on 12/23. The results of the scan were also normal, so no one knows whats wrong with me. Oh and Russell took D to the doctor on Tuesday 12/21 and she had the beginnings of an ear infection.

Then, on Christmas Eve, we were having some family over for our celebration. I woke up with a little bit of a scratchy throat. I didn't think too much of it because I had a busy day and hadn't slept too much, I thought it was just because I was doing too much. Christmas day, I wasn't feeling too well and by the 26th, I was feeling very sick. I'm still not feeling well and I have an appointment for Monday.

So there you go. :-) Hopefully I'm on the upswing of everything. In the midst of all of this I have not been focusing too much on Weight Watchers. I've pretty much plateaued for a while. I weigh in again tomorrow and will get back on the plan starting then. I'm hoping I'll feel better after eating healthier. Aside from being sick, I'm doing pretty well. I have to say, I probably should have had a D&E with my first miscarriage. I have received so much support from the hospital, nurses, etc. So, hopefully I'll be back to my regular blogging in the new year.

Oh and I finally got my business up and running. So, if you haven't already, please check out my website or on facebook.

**I will be going back through and updating some milestones that I missed - Delilah turned 10 months and took her first steps! And I have some pictures to post. I'll get caught up on these last two months! So, check back for those updates. :-)

Also, a big thank you to all of the family and friends who have supported me through all of this...and always. Love you all!

Merry Christmas from the Elves!

We had a lovely Christmas at the *B* house! Santa was good to us! The kids have been playing with their "cars" (as Jameson says). Jameson got a Cars scooter and Delilah got a Little Peoples ride-on/walker toy. After opening presents, Papa Terry and Mama O came over for breakfast. We ate some yummy food...although, D is apparently not a fan of yogurt. She does, however, LOVE bagels.

Hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!

Let the Christmas celebrations begin!!

We started our Christmas celebrations at Papa Terry and Mama O's house. It is so nice to have EVERYONE together. Man, our family has gotten big! :-) It was a fun day. The kids played for a while until it was time to open presents. The kids were, of course, spoiled! But, the adult we're pretty spoiled too. We are all invited to go on a Disney cruise as a family as our Christmas gift this year. I'm pretty excited for that!! So, after we opened gifts, the kids all wanted to play with their new toys. Jameson was pretty engrossed in his new Percy train set. We took out annual "elf" photo. D wasn't too impressed:

This is a stage we're going through. Delilah isn't happy unless I'm holding her. Hopefully it passes quickly... :-) We all ate pizza for lunch and hung out for a while. Well, except Russell, who was napping - shocking, I know. Although, in his defense, he only got a few hours of sleep.

After we left Lake Manawa, we headed to Lincoln to celebrate with Russell's family. Jameson was so excited to show his trains to Gigi! We had a good time with the Lincoln family. We ate too much and laughed at all of the funny things that the kids did. The most exciting thing that happened while we were in Lincoln is that Delilah took her first steps!! She has been cruising for quite a while and I knew she would venture out before too long. So, Russell and I sat and tried to coax her to walk between us and the little stinker did!! Fortunately, Russell's uncle was filming at the time, so now I just need to get a copy for that tape!! Exciting stuff happening over here!

Gingerbread House!

The kids and I (and Russell, when he's off of work) have been going to storytime at the library on Wednesdays. Last time we went, they announced that there would not be storytime today, instead they were making gingerbread houses. I thought that it sounded like so much FUN, so I quickly signed Jameson up!

I had to teach Kid-Ability in the morning, so I met Russell and the kids at the library. It worked out pretty perfectly timing-wise, as I got there just as Jameson was getting his supplies. And, as you can imagine...the 2 year old sat and picked through and decided what candy he was going to eat while Mom and Dad constructed the gingerbread house. All the while, baby D chomped away on some cereal and a pretzel rod. The important thing is that we all had fun!

10 Months!

My little baby is getting so big! Wow, 10 months! Delilah is changing every day. She is talking more and more. Last month, I was complaining that she wouldn't say "Mama." Oh man, I take that back! "Mama" has become the all purpose word. It means: more food, I'm tired, I'm bored, Dad's picking on me, HEY! Pay attention to me... :-) I guess she's figured out who to call to get her needs met! Haha!

Jameson and Delilah are interacting more and more. He still enjoys pushing her down, but he will also play with his baby sister "Dewawa." He takes care of his little sister...kind of. I hear "Baby wants more cereal" (or some snack food) all the time. And, yes, J will help himself to whatever they are eating, but he does share. D is still just enamoured with her big brother. She just lights up when he pays attention to her. It makes me heart swell!

Delilah's tastes seem to be changing and maturing. If I try to hold her over with something like cereal or Goldfish crackers, she seems to get tired of them. She has been eating more and more table food. She even tried cheese the other day. She liked it! She still is a good eater!

**Chirp, chirp**

Crickets here. :-) Just in case anyone has noticed the lack of activity over here, it has a lot to do with the holiday season and the preparation for our upcoming celebrations. In addition to that, there have been a few other things going on, including my medical issues (which, *I think* are over) and some projects that I have in the works (which will be unveiled very soon!). Hope everyone is doing well, and I should be back on my regular posting schedule soon! :-)

Weekly Menu 12/5/10-12/11/10

Breakfast: Cereal, Oatmeal, Eggs, Toast, Waffles, and/or Fruit
Snacks: Graham Crackers, Popcorn, Yogurt, Cheese & Crackers, Fruit, and/or Veggies

Sunday
Lunch – Sandwiches/Leftovers
Dinner – ?

Monday
Lunch – Taco Salad with Chicken and Black Beans
Dinner –Chicken Teriyaki Bake

Tuesday
Lunch – Soup & Sandwich

Dinner – Honey Lemon Chicken, Penne, Broccoli

Wednesday
Lunch – Sandwiches/Leftovers

Dinner – Baked Chicken Fajitas

Thursday
Lunch – Mexican Pizza, Salad

Dinner – Ranch Pork Chops

Friday
Lunch – Sandwiches/Leftovers

Dinner – Spaghetti, Spaghetti Squash, & Italian Sausage

Saturday
Lunch – Chili

Dinner – Light Dinner, we have a Christmas Party

Weekly Menu 11/29/10-12/4/10

Breakfast: Cereal, Oatmeal, Eggs, Toast, Waffles, and/or fruit
Snacks: Graham Crackers, Popcorn, Yogurt, Cheese & Crackers, Fruit, and/or Veggies

Sunday
Lunch - Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Dinner - BBQ Beef, Baked Potato, and Corn

Monday
Lunch - Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato Fries
Dinner - Mexican Lasagna, Rice, Green Beans

Tuesday
Lunch - Chinese Rice Bowls
Dinner - Calzones, Broccoli

Wednesday
Lunch - Pizza, Salad, Pineapple
Dinner - Marinated Chicken Quarters, Rice

Thursday
Lunch - Taco Salad with Chicken and Black Beans
Dinner - Chicken Teriyaki with Pineapple over Brown Rice

Friday
Lunch - Leftovers or Sandwiches
Dinner - Shepherd's Pie with Turkey

Saturday
Lunch - Leftovers or Sandwiches
Dinner - Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash and Italian Sausage

Thanksgiving Day

We had a good Thanksgiving. Last year, Russell was still in Texas for Thanksgiving, so this year it was nice to be celebrate as an entire family this year. And this was Delilah's first Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving round 1 was at Papa Terry and Grandma Onie's. They had quite the turnout! It was nice to see some of my cousins that I don't normally get to see! The food was delicious, although I'm not sure that Jameson ate more than a roll. We kept having to tell him to sit down. It's much harder to enforce the sit down until you're done eating rule when he's at another table! :-) Jameson was pretty happy to be playing with all of the kids, although Russell had to go in the toy room at one point to make sure he wasn't picking on the girls. However, Russell ended up falling asleep. Poor guy got woken up even earlier than usual so we could make it to my Dad's house in time.

Round 2 was at Nana Sandy and Papa Bruce's house. Another delicious dinner! It was nice to see the twins, but Rachel wasn't there because she was on a trip to Cancun! (Lucky girl!!) Anyway, at this dinner Delilah tried some actual turkey (I tore it up really small for her) and she ate a sweet potato (the WHOLE thing!!). So, she got to eat a little bit of what we ate! :-)

Overall, we had a good holiday! Now it's time to watch some football!!

Sick! :-(

There has been a terrible cold making its way through our house. I'm not sure where it started, but the kids got it first. I haven't been sleeping a lot with the kids coughing themselves awake. To make matters worse, I get paranoid when Jameson starts coughing because on two occasions he's been coughing, swallows whatever he coughs up, and then throws up. So, I lie awake in bed waiting for him to get sick. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet. But, every day this week I've drug myself to work. I consider calling in, but then I worry that tomorrow will be worse than today, so I force myself to go. Well, today I finally gave in and took the day off. It seems that I have also gotten the cold, but what sealed the deal was when Jameson, whom I've never heard say the word "black" before says it while pointing to the bags under my eyes. Thanks, Buddy. :-) The good news is that I had already taken Friday off to throw a baby shower for my friend, E. I already have everything done or enlisted the help of others, so it should be pretty low key. Looks like, I get another day to recover.

Delilah 9 months!

Delilah is 9 months old. It seems pretty unbelievable! I remember thinking when she turned 3 months that she was 1/4 of a year old and now she has 1/4 of a year left to go!! She is acting less and less like a baby and more like a person every day! She is such a funny little girl. She can play peek-a-boo all by herself. She is crawling and cruising all over the place! She is even able to maneuver under things, for example the coffee table, and she is getting into everything!! She is very curious.

I still think her favorite person is Jameson. She just laughs at everything he does...until he makes her cry, that is. :-) She squeals and screams all the time. She makes these little, almost growling noises when she's playing with Daddy, I call them gremlin noises. She is talking more. I hear Da da da and yeah yeah yeah all the time. And I swear she is saying "Hi Dada." But, when I say "Mama?" she responds by laughing! It's not a joke, little girl!! :-)

She has a big appetite! She eats a whole container of baby food and is still hungry! So, we started giving her table food in addition to the baby food. She is loving it! I think her favorite is Cheerios, but she's had peas, cut up green beans, banana pieces, sweet potato pieces, squash pieces, and cut up peaches. And she didn't seem to complain one bit!

To celebrate Delilah's 9 month birthday, she got to watch the family eat at Cheesecake factory. Oh, they did bring a few bananas on a plate for her. And Nana Sandy joined us for dinner, because it's her birthday too! (Happy birthday, Nana Sandy!) :-)

Delilah 9 Month Appointment

Delilah is 9 months old today and this morning she had her 9 month well-baby appointment. Dr. Zimmerman has been back from her maternity leave for a while and Jameson has already seen her, but this was Delilah first appointment with her since she's been back. Delilah scored high in all areas of the questionnaire that they had me fill out. But, like her big brother, she especially excels with her gross motor skills. Anyone who has met baby D in person should not be surprised. This little girl is on the move! She is always trying to bang something, get into something, or climb over something. She is definitely trying to keep up with her brother!

I did have a surprise when the nurse calculated Delilah's stats. She seemed concerned that D's percentages had dropped. Her stats were: Height: 26 1/4" (11%), Weight: 16.9 lbs (15%), and Head Circumference: 17 3/4" (77%). Dr. Zimmerman seemed less concerned about the drop. She said if they are going to drop, it will be when they start getting active. And since Delilah is a crawling, cruising, and climbing machine, she said it might just be a matter of increased calories burned. I wasn't too worried because I was thinking that she was in the 20-25% range previously. But, I just looked back at D's stats from 6 months. She was 30th for height and 50th for weight. That makes me sad! She's only gained about an inch and a pound in 3 months. Poor girl! I think I need to work on really getting her to eat before her next appointment.

Oh, I also talked to the doctor about Delilah's leaking eye. Jameson was born with a blocked tear duct (which is common) and that thing leaked constantly for weeks. It was pretty gross. I *thought* we had avoided it with D. But then when she was a few months old, she got a touch of the sniffles and, wouldn't you know, her right eye started to leak. And then I noticed that when she cried, she her right eye always had more tears than her left (if her left had any at all!). When she got her two colds, the gunk coming out of her eye was her biggest symptom. In fact, when she had her first ear infection, it was the greenish gunk coming out of her eye that concerned me because there wasn't much coming out of her nose.

So, Delilah will need to see a pediatric opthamologist. Dr. Zimmerman said that if a block tear duct is going to resolve itself it almost always does do by 6 months. I did let her know that some times when my sinuses are really bad, I also have gunk come out of my eye. She said I probably have a narrow tear duct and there is a possibility that Delilah also has that, but we won't know until she's checked out. So, it looks like Delilah also gets to see a specialist - just a different type than her brother! That reminds me, I need to make an appointment for Jameson to see the orthopedic doctor in March. :-)

Weekly Menu 11/14/10-11/20/10

Haha, guess I didn't really keep up with my menus. The big reason is that I have been pretty busy (mainly with work, nothing too exciting, but I may blog about this later) and we have mostly been eating out of the freezer. But, here we go again!

Breakfast: Cereal, Oatmeal, Omelets, Eggs, Toast, and/or Grapefruit
Snacks: Yogurt, Fruit, Graham Crackers, Cheese & Crackers

Sunday
Lunch - Soup & Sandwich
Dinner - Pizza Burgers, Spaghetti Squash

Monday
Lunch - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Dinner - Possibly out to eat, I'm not sure.

Tuesday
Lunch - Hoagie Sandwiches, Pasta Salad
Dinner - Taco Tuesday (You're welcome, Russell!)

Wednesday
Lunch - Leftovers or Sandwiches
Dinner - Hawaiian Pizza, Salad

Thursday
Lunch - Spaghetti & Meatballs, Cheese Bread, Zucchini
Dinner -Meatloaf, Twice Baked Potatoes

Friday
Lunch - Chili, Cornbread
Dinner - Out...for me, anyway. The guys are on their own! :-)

Saturday
Lunch - Leftover Mexican chicken, Mmmmmm!
Dinner - Pork chops with gravy over egg noodles, squash

What's on your menu?

Jameson's trip to the Dentist!

Jameson had a trip to the dentist today. We go to Children's Dental Specialist. I cannot say enough about them! Jameson has been going since he was 18 months old and they have been great with him! I was a little concerned because it started off with a tantrum. Even though I had prepped him all morning about the impending trip, he had a tantrum of epic proportions when it was time to turn his movie off. But, he eventually settled down and off we went. Jameson had fun with the toys in the waiting room. He found a truck that he liked so much that he wanted to bring it back with him. But, I convinced him to leave it in the waiting room pretty easily and he happily trotted to the back room.

We entered the back room which is basically just an open exam room with about 4 chairs. There was a little guy on one of the chairs screaming as the dentist cleaned his teeth and his Mom held his legs. Jameson just kind of looked over at him and hopped up on the exam chair. He picked out his new toothbrush, put on the headphones, laid down and enjoyed the episode of Dinosaur Train. I sat up a little straighter when another Mom walked in the room with her two young kids and asked her kids if they were going to be good like "this little boy." :-)

Jameson had X-rays of his teeth for the first time. He did really well until the last one and then he started crying. Poor guy jumped down from the chair and wanted to go back out to the waiting room to play with the truck! But, I talked him into getting back in the exam chair to watch some more Dinosaur train. The dentist said his teeth look great! Jameson did such a great job that he got to pick a prize! It was really funny because this time was the first time he had definite opinions about which one he wanted! He picked a little toy car.

Weekend Recap

Friday morning I had my Weight Watchers meeting. I had to take both kids with me. The kids were well-behaved, so I'd say it was a success. :-) I have been dealing with some medical issues for the past few weeks, so WW had kind of been put to the back burner. Two weeks ago I had gained 2.6 lbs and then I skipped last weeks meeting. But, I went this week and lost 1.4, so I am just about back on track. :-)

Saturday was a busy day! D and I had a party to go to in the afternoon. We went to my friend's house. She has a son who is just a little bit younger than D. He was flirting with her and she was trying to attack him! We'll have to work on how not to come on too strong! :-) D was up cruising around and she even moved from a line of folding chairs and then reached across a gap to my leg. I think this little girl will be walking before I know it! Then we joined the boys to watch the Husker game with some other friends. Whew, that was a nail-biter! Jameson was having a good time playing with boys his age. He found a bunch of Cars toys and was in heaven! After the game, we went to the Rose Theater to see Go, Dog, Go. We met Nichole, Hannah, and Justice at the play. Jameson really got into it. He was yelling at the characters (along with all of the other kids - it was appropriate) and at one point he was dancing to the music! It was a busy day!!

Sunday morning, J and I got haircuts from my talented cousin, Jenny (thanks again!!!). No more mullet for Jameson! :-) Then, with our fresh haircuts, we went to Lincoln to visit Russell's family. Jameson was so excited to show his new Cars toy (thanks to our awesome neighbor Thomas) to Gigi. He had a lot of fun playing with Russell's cousins Michael and Katie. They played catch with him forever! Jameson also helped Gigi and Katie make dinner.

This morning we had breakfast with Nana Sandy and Papa Bruce. They wanted to see the kids before they went on their trip to London. Jameson scarfed down his pancakes, along with some of Nana and Papa's breakfasts and Delilah ordered a GIANT bowl of applesauce. She made a pretty good dent in it too! :-)

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun-filled weekend! Russell was in Texas for Halloween last year for Navy training, so this year was extra special. We started off our Halloween celebration on Saturday at Papa Terry and Grandma Onie's house. Aunt Erin, Uncle Tyler, Aunt Nichole, Hannah and Justice were all there. We had lunch and celebrated the October birthdays (Papa Terry, Aunt Erin, and Aunt Nichole). Afterwards, the kids got into their costumes and trick-or-treated through the house. Everyone went into a bedroom or the bathroom. Nichole and I took the kids around to knock on the doors to get their treats. It was really cute!

Then on Sunday we, of course, took the kids trick-or-treating. Graham Cracker (Grandma Debby) came over to hand out candy so that we could all go together as a family. I took Jameson last year, so this was actually his second year trick-or-treating, but we only went around the circle and up and down the street that our circle is off of - so maybe 10 houses total. This year we went around basically a whole block plus our circle. Jameson was in a weird mood. He woke up from his nap quiet. He was happy to be dressed up as Brobee, but didn't want us to take any pictures taken and he was pretty serious when he went up to the doors. I think the highlight of his night was when Spiderman answered one of the doors. He saw him when we were walking up to the house and he yelled and started running! I think overall he had a good time. And he's been asking to eat candy constantly since we got home. :-)

Now, about their costumes. Unless you have a kid about preschool-age, you probably don't have a clue who they are dressed as. Jameson was dressed as Brobee and Delilah was Foofa from the show Yo Gabba Gabba. It's one of Jameson's favorite shows! Here are the few pictures we were able to take:

Weekend Recap

Yet another busy weekend in the *B* household! Friday was basically prepping for our busy weekend. And that left me very tired, so I went to bed early. Saturday, Russell watched the Husker game and I went to the grocery store. I would have rather watched the game, but I needed to go and that was the best time. Then we went to Nana Sandy's annual Halloween party. We could only stay for a little while because Russell had to work. The kids' costumes weren't 100% ready, so I had them wear the Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits that Nana Sandy bought them at Walt Disney World last year. They were a hit! Jameson ended up steal someone's walkers and running around with it for a good portion of the evening.

Sunday, Russell came home from work, slept about 3 hours and then we met Nana Sandy, Papa Bruce, and Aunt Rachel for brunch. Rachel came home for the weekend and we met up for brunch before she went back to school. Then we went to the Spooktacular at the Zoo. It was a ZOO! It was crazy!! We met Russell's old partner, Marc, and his family there. Marc's wife, Katty, and I went last year and it was nothing like this! We think it was colder though. The guys ended up talking so much that the boys really didn't get that much candy. Oh well, I'm sure they'll make up for it next week! Then we went to NFM to see Graham Cracker. She got to show the kids off AND we got some free popcorn and plastic storage containers. They were having some sort of VIP event! After that, I went to my freezer dinner exchange. It was held at my friend Kellie's house. I just took Delilah with me because Nana Sandy took Jameson to watch the Millard North dance team. So, after the exchange, D and I chatted for a while with Kellie and Maddie. It was a lot of fun. But, by the time I got home, I was pretty tired, so it was an early night!

Oh and of course, I did not take any pictures! Sorry!!

Good morning, Sunshine!

This is what I saw this morning when I went to get D. I guess she figured out that she is able to pull herself up now!

Weekly Menu 10/24/10-10/30/10

(I'm trying this out - mostly for my benefit, but maybe it will give you some dinner ideas!)

Breakfast: Cereal, Oatmeal, Omelets, or Eggs & Toast
Snacks: Yogurt, Fruit, Graham Crackers, or Cheese & Crackers

Sunday
Lunch - Soup & Sandwiches, Fruit
Dinner - Chili, Salad, Cornbread

Monday
Lunch - Sloppy Joe's, Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Dinner - Pineapple Enchiladas (made with chicken and green peppers)

Tuesday
Lunch - Soup & Sandwiches
Dinner - Pork Chops, stuffing, and apples

Wednesday
Lunch - Leftovers or sandwiches
Dinner - Shepherds Pie

Thursday
Lunch - Thai Chicken Pizza (with Broccoli and homemade dough), salad
Dinner - Shredded Mexican Chicken (made with black beans and corn), tortillas

Friday
Lunch - Soup & Sandwiches
Dinner - Pulled Pork sandwiches

Saturday
Lunch - Out to eat
Dinner - Brats, Squash, Broccoli

That's our plan! Post your menus!

Enjoying one of those last few days outside...

It ended up being an absolutely beautiful Sunday! Of course, I overdressed the kids because I was freezing in the morning, but that's beside the point. This afternoon the kids and I visited our friends Lacey, Ryan, and their daughter Hayden. Hayden's twin brother, Rowan, passed away last year and they had a celebration to commemorate the completion of a pond in their backyard in honor of him. You can learn more about Rowan, his pond, and his family here.

Russell had drill this weekend, so he wasn't able to join us. But, he was home by the time we returned. Some neighbor kids were outside when we got home, so I decided that we should let the kids play outside for a bit before dinner. This time of year, you just never know how many nice days we have left until we are confined inside due to the cold!

Jameson had fun playing with the kids, but he may have trouble in a few years. There are 2 girls his age who live on our circle. He is always chasing them and trying to kiss them. He is quite the ladies man!

Delilah seemed to be getting a little bored, so I strapped her into the neighbor's wagon and started walking her around. But, of course, big brother wanted to help out. He just needed a couple of reminders to walk slowly and not to attempt to go up the curb. But the duo had a lot of fun walking around the circle!

8 months!

Time is going by so fast! Eight months already! I think I say this every month, but Delilah's personality is really coming out. She is our little comedienne at the dinner table. She loves a good game of "monkey-see, monkey-do." She likes to alternate between slapping her hand down on the tray of her highchair, looking straight up and then back down, and laying her head to the side. It is the funniest thing! She loves when we all imitate her and laugh with her!

She likes standing. Her new favorite toy is the activity table. She loves pushing the buttons and watching the lights. She does a little bit of stepping and bouncing in place when she's standing. It almost looks like she's dancing! She *can* pull herself up, but I'm not sure that she realizes that she can do it yet. I don't think it will be too long though.

She is still doing her low crawl. She will get up on her hands and knees, rock a little bit, and then collapse on her stomach and pull herself along. She also appears to be doing some yoga. She gets up on her feet with her hands on the floor in a downward-facing dog position. She also loves using the raking motion with her hand. Anything you put her hand on, she'll start raking her fingers back and forth. In fact, she has taken 3 keys off my laptop!

Delilah continues to be enamoured with her big brother. He can get her to laugh harder than her Daddy and I!! He is such a good helper with her...for the most part. :-) Jameson is always looking out for baby D. For example, when I'm leaving for work, I'll give everyone a kiss and Jameson will say "And baby kiss?".

Oh and Delilah has a 8 month birthday gift for herself - her front teeth! She's been working on them for a couple of days now. Poor baby, these teeth have been really hard on her.

10%!!!!!!!

In Weight Watchers, there are a series of small goals to achieve on the way to your ultimate goal. You get stickers for every 5lbs you lose and a big sticker for losing 5% of your starting weight. They hand these things out at the meetings and everyone claps for you, it's pretty motivating. However, one of the big goals is losing 10% of your starting weight. They tell us of all of the health benefits that a person will attain by losing 10%, including lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Additionally, it's an achievable goal and will hopefully help keep you motivated to continue on your journey.

Well, guess what? As of today, I have lost 10%! And I'm feeling really good! In weight watchers, they give you a keyring to commemorate your achievement. And later on, they give you charms to keep on your keyring for other milestones.

So, in honor of losing 10%, I thought a progress picture was in order. I don't know why, but I never too a "before" picture. Maybe because I've taken so many before and never made it further than losing a couple of pounds. This picture was taken in November (actually, I think it was Thanksgiving) the year I had Jameson. I know it's not the best picture with the light behind me, but you can see how big I was.

Aaaaaaaand, here's my progress! It's funny because I was pretty disappointed when I saw this picture because I *feel* thinner than that. However, now that I look at it compared to another picture, I am looking pretty good - if I do say so myself!! :-) And I think it should be noted that the jeans I am wearing are an old pair of size 18 that I haven't worn since before I was pregnant with Jameson. (They probably are a little stretched out, but still!) Yay!

More changes around the *B* household!

This weekend Russell switched to the overnight shift. It should be feasible since I work part-time. He can sleep until lunch time, when I need to get ready for work. This way, we are not dependent on everyone to watch our kids and we're not driving them all over Omaha. Also, Jameson will have consistency so that we can work on potty-training soon. Russell is excited because he can watch football. So, overall we felt that it was in the best interest of everyone. Plus, we may actually get someone to watch the kids so we could have a date night once in a while!! :-)

So far, he's worked 3 nights. The first night went smoothly and the morning was pretty easy. But, Monday night was a little more difficult. Jameson was dead set on not sleeping in his bed. He laid in bed crying "Mom's bed" forever and he came downstairs a couple of times. I was so worried that he was going to wake Delilah up! I think he finally fell asleep around 10 or 11. Then he woke up around 2 am crying!! This really won't be that big of an issue, but I had to teach a class in the morning.

Last night was somewhere in the middle. He didn't want to go to bed (last night, he thought he was going to sleep on the couch!). But once I got him upstairs, he stayed in bed all night and didn't wake up until 7:30. For the record, on all three nights, D was the perfect sleeper that she usually is. :-)

This weekend we finally took the leap and got rid of cable. We've been talking about it forever, but postponed it for one reason or another. We decided to do it because the only thing we really watch that can't be watched online were the shows on HBO. And currently the shows we watch on HBO are on hiatus until summer 2011. It really doesn't make sense to pay $70-80 a month for "free" HBO. So, cable got the boot and we signed up for Netflix instead. We will evaluate getting cable back when our shows start up again. Or, maybe we'll just crash a friend's house that has cable (Hi Kellie!!).

This weekend the kids had the opportunity to see two sets of grandparents. Papa Terry and Grandma Onie ("Mama O") stopped over for a visit. Jameson had to show them just about every single toy of his. He also would run over to the door and point out Mama O's car. Delilah showed off her crawling skills. She also showed us that she could duck her head so she could crawl under the coffee table!

On Sunday, we all went over to Papa Bruce and Nana Sandy's ("Nanny") house. We visited for a while and then we ate dinner. The kids are growing up. Jameson sat in a booster seat so that Delilah can now sit in the highchair - which is the highchair Russell used when he was a baby. Jameson had to show Daddy where he now naps when he's over there (in Uncle Ben's room - which was Russell's bed before that). Delilah was again showing off her crawling skills. In fact, she tried to crawl OVER Nana Sandy!!

To round out visits with the local grandparents, Graham Cracker came over Wednesday night to watch the kids. But, she didn't actually SEE the kids. Russell's crew went out after work on Wednesday because that was the last day they were all working. I wanted to go as well, so my Mom came over and "watched the kids" so that I could go. The kids were already in bed and, thankfully, stayed there for her until we got home!

Oops, this got long! I'll try to be better about updating more frequently!

Define crawling...

Delilah has been trying to move for quite sometime now. She would stretch out her arms as far as they would reach. She would try to push her feet into the ground. And watch out - if she could find something to push off from with her feet, she could really launch herself. I've seen her up rocking on her hands and knees twice. So, I thought we still had a little bit of time before she would be racing around.

The other day, Russell called me into the room to show me that she was pushing off her toes to move herself. Well, today I set her on the ground near my feet and she evidently saw a toy across the room that she wanted because she took off! She wasn't up on her hands and knees, so I guess she's actually scooting? She's pushing off with her toes and pulling with her arms. But she was determined and made it the 10 feet across the room like it was nothing!! Way to go, baby girl!

Laundry Detergent

I had a lot of questions about my homemade laundry detergent on Facebook, so I thought I'd just write a blog post about it! :-)

First of all, my recipe: a while back, a friend of mine (Hi Beth!) shared the recipe that she uses from Modern Cottage.

1 bar of soap, grated

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

1/4 cup Oxy-Clean

Mix it all together. Use one tablespoon for a light load, two tablespoons for a large or dirty load.

There you go, that's it! Pretty simple, right? I have been doubling the recipe. I bought some Ivory bar soap a while back thinking that I needed it for the detergent. So, to get rid of it, I've been using one bar of Ivory and one bar of Fels Naptha. I was recently told that if you stir this recipe for a while the shreds of soap will break down and it will turn completely into powder. I may try this next time, but Russell thinks it looks cool the way I make it now, so maybe not! Haha!

I have been using homemade laundry detergent for a few months now. We have been very happy with the way it smells - and more importantly, the way it cleans. So, I'd say we're converts! :-)

Russell and I are trying to live a more green life. We're doing what we can for our family and for the environment. The added benefit is more often than not, we save money in the long run by choosing the greener option! Making our laundry detergent fits right along with this.

• I haven't priced out the detergent exactly, but various websites estimate this detergent costs between 12 and 14 cents per load.


• I really just like know what goes into the products we use around the house. The Fels Naptha does have some fragrance in it, but at this time I am okay with it. Down the road, I may look into other options.


• Most of the commercial detergents have a lot of chemicals in them. When your clothes are rinsed clean, all of those chemicals drain out of your washer and into our water supply. Yuck!

Some notes - I can't say for certain because we don't have an HE washer, but I'm told this works for HE washers as well because it is a low sudsing detergent. Also, I do not use this detergent on my cloth diapers because soap can cause a build-up. For my cloth diapers, I use equal parts Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxy-Clean Free.

So, hopefully I answered some questions out there!! Let me know if I can answer any more! :-)

Jameson - 2.5 years

I know a lot of the blog is focused on Delilah. It is so fun to chronicle all of her milestones month to month. I wish I had thought to start this blog when Jameson was a baby! So, as my little man turns 2.5 today, I think it is only fair to have a post dedicated to only him. :-)

Jameson is developing by leaps and bounds these days. It is so fun to hear him put together a few ideas. In the past, we were just thrilled to hear him say the word "shoes." But now he will say "shoes on" or "shoes off." He tells me when things are up or down. His newest obsession is the movie Cars. Lately, he's been telling me about the red car or the blue car. This morning he told me several times "Mommy up, Daddy nigh-nigh." Oh and the other day he crawled in my lap and said "I wuv you, Mom." Aww, that's the best!

Jameson is turning into quite the comedian. He loves to put on a show for an audience. He now has a dance he does when he eats that I think is hilarious!! He will sing for us. He likes to make faces. He can get D to laugh like no one else. He loves to be tickled, even though it usually ends with "Shop [stop] Mommy" or "Shop Daddy."

Jameson is quickly becoming less and less a toddler, and more a little boy. He is so independent! The other day, I learned that if I don't get downstairs fast enough he will get his bowl out of his cupboard, get the cereal out of the pantry, fill the bowl, and put the cereal away - I did pour the milk for him. :-) He is also turning into a little monkey. I learned tonight that he can climb up onto the bathroom counter by himself! He is growing up right before our eyes!!

Jameson 2.5 year appt

Jameson had a doctors appointment on Monday. We got to see Dr. Zimmerman because she is back from her maternity leave!! I'm not sure if this is a normal appointment or to track his talking (or lack there of). We've been working on sentences the last few weeks. Instead of just "wa-wa, please" or "car, please" or whatever he's asking for, I've been working "I want wa-wa, please." And it seems that he's figured it out!

So, back to his appointment. This was the second time that I braved taking both kids on my own. We got there on time, which was a feat in and of itself. Once we checked in, Jameson immediately bypassed the TV and ran over to the books (saying "Book! Book!"), I was so proud! The nursed called us back pretty much right away (which is amazing on a Monday morning!). The nurse weighed and measured him. They now weigh him on the big scale and measure him against the wall. They did this at his 2 year appointment, but it still surprises me that he's such a big boy! He weighed 29.6 lbs and was 35 inches tall.

The nurse took us to the room. She asks some questions and then leaves. Then I start filling out the packet they gave me. I had to ask him to practice a few of the skills. I learned that he can repeat two random numbers out of order (like two, five). I also learned that the next skill we need to work on is fine motor drawing skills. :-) While I'm completing the questionnaire, Jameson is playing around the room. He is opening and closing every drawer. He then decides that he wants to be up on the exam table. So he starts saying "Help me up, please." Yay! So, I included that as an example of a sentence!

So Dr. Zimmerman comes in and starts checking Jameson's eyes, ears, throat, stomach, etc. Everything looks normal. She asks about his last and next appointments for his foot. She commented that there is still some curvature to the foot (I told her that Dr. Sheehan said he will likely always have that) but that he has the range of movement to put it back to normal (which is most important). She then went through and scored the questionnaire. Now, keep in mind that Jameson was below average on the last assessment and she's been threatening to recommend early intervention for probably a year now. She would set a goal and deadline for Jameson and he would just barely meet that goal. So, she went through and said that Jameson is now above average in communication. Did you hear me??? ABOVE AVERAGE!!!!! You have no idea what a relief that was to hear! :-) Really, the only area he was a little low on was the fine motor skills (drawing), but she said that was still in the normal range! Yay!

And, as if that wasn't good enough to hear... Jameson was showing off all of his skills. He counted, said his colors, did some animal noises, and spelled his name. And she said to Jameson "Your mommy is running things like a pre-school." That was quite the stroke to the ego. :-) So, all in all, it was a positive experience. However, I was told that they reformulated one of the immunizations that Jameson had previously received to include 6 new strains, so he will need a booster. But, I scheduled that for the same time as his flu shot, so hopefully that won't be too traumatic.

While we're on the subject of Jameson, there is some big news in our house. On bath night, I generally ask Jameson if he wants to sit on the potty. He usually sits on it, pretends to push something out, hops off and gets in the tub. On Sunday, he sat on the toilet and immediately started peeing. I started cheering so loudly that Russell (who happened to be home) came in to see what the commotion was about. We made a big deal about it and have been talking about it ever since. Well, tonight was bath night again, so of course I asked if he wanted to try to go potty before getting into the bath. And, again, he peed right away!! He was so proud of himself for being like Mommy and Daddy! We're not going to officially try potty training until Russell switches shifts. We think that will be easier because he'll be on a much more regular schedule rather than spending one day here, two days there, one day somewhere else... But, yay Jameson!!!!

7 months old!

Can you believe it?? I can't! We're over halfway to Delilah's first birthday. :-( My little cuddly girl's personality is coming out more and more everyday! She definitely is a little diva. If she's upset about something, she is not afraid to let you know! She can go from a smiling and happy to a shrieking with tears running down her cheeks in 0.2 seconds. :-) She has really, REALLY enjoyed her first month of solid foods. So far, she has tried rice and oatmeal cereal, as well as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, peas, green beans, and apples. She love it all! She wants to try everything and she is so strong! If you're holding something like a cup, she will grab it and pull it toward her mouth. You have to be very careful because she just might pull whatever it is out of your hands!!!

She also is very interested in the items that we have in the pockets on the changing table. As soon as you lay her down, she is already rolling over to grab anything she can reach. Her new trick is to bang things - specifically on her highchair tray. She might just pound on it with her hand or use a toy. It is so fun to watch her use intentional movements! She will do it and then watch for your reaction. She loves making people laugh - especially her big brother! They're relationship is getting more fun to watch everyday. Jameson likes playing peek-a-boo with his sister and singing to her. Delilah revels in the attention from her big brother.

Weekend Recap

Friday was a typical day. I went to Weight Watchers. I'm down another 1.6lbs. Woo hoo! So that means I'm down nearly 24 lbs! I went to work, came home, and hung out with the kids until bedtime.

Saturday, the kids had a photoshoot with our neighbor, Staci. The kids are going to be famous models, but there will be another post about that in the future. But, to tide you over, here's a teaser:

This picture was Staci's vision. We had Russell hopping around the garage (even though he didn't feel good and he was listening to the Husker game before work) to make D smile. After the photoshoot, we went to the zoo for a baby shower. This was monumental because it's the first time I've taken both kids to the zoo by myself. Kellie and Jon were also there. Jon and his friend (the father-to-be) took Jameson and a couple of other kids around the zoo while the ladies participated in the baby shower. Afterward, we wandered around the zoo for Maddie's first trip to the zoo. Poor Jameson got a bug in his eye on the way to the cat house! But we wandered around a bit before it was time to leave. And we even ran into an old friend from Ames (who now lives in Omaha) on the way out!

Sunday was another quiet day. We stayed at the house. Tonight was bath night. Delilah is getting crazy in the bath tub!! I give them a bath together. I put the baby bath in big bath tub. Tonight, D was leaning over edge of the her bathtub to grab toys from the big bath! She is getting so strong!

Pretty quiet over here...

So, we had a wild weekend, but otherwise it's been pretty quiet. Russell took Sunday and Monday off for the circle party and then Tuesday and Wednesday were his normal days off, so he had a nice little break. Unfortunately, we all started feeling pretty yucky on Monday night. I'm hoping it's just allergies. Sneezing, coughing, stuffy heads, etc. It seemed to hit Russell and Delilah the worst. I was worried that D's ear infection was coming back, but she looked a lot better today - no gunk coming out of her eyes. So, I think we're on the road to recovery, but the earlier part of this week was spent sleeping! :-)

Circle Party 2010

So our annual circle party has come and gone. This year the theme was "Cinco do Circle." I know it doesn't EXACTLY make sense, but 5 was a big theme this year. There are 5 houses on the circle, it was our 5th circle party, and it was held on September 5th. Russell made a banner this year. He wanted to hang it from the street light, so that everyone who saw it knew what they were missing. I envisioned disaster when he told me he was going to free-hand it, but I was impressed that it turned out pretty nice! I designed T-shirts for the ladies and the kids and Russell helped me iron them on. And, well, to give you an idea of what THAT process was like...He said next year we will just have them printed. :-) But, I think they turned out pretty cute...especially for the price!

Like every year, the neighbors rented a bounce house. As usual, it was a big hit. It was fun to see the little kids in it. What a difference 6 months makes! At Jameson's birthday party, these kids weren't so sure what to do in the bounce house. But now, 6 months later, they were having the time of their lives! :-) Guess we'll be going back to Jumpin' Jax again next year!!!

We ate lots of yummy food, had a few drinks, and of course there was the firepit! This was the first circle party that I wasn't either pregnant or working, so I celebrated! :-) We played spoons, which is a circle favorite. I call it a success that we did not break a table! And we made it to breakfast, which was Russell's goal. We had a delicious meal of eggs and toast. After that, everyone was ready for bed!

Overall it was a good night and a nice way to bid farewell to summer. Unfortunately, no one told the kids that we wanted to sleep in this morning. So, we were up pretty early. The good news is we are both off today, so we have a day to lounge before it's back to work!

Game day!

Quiet Week!

It has been a pretty quiet week. I can't even think of anything interesting to talk about that happened this week! This week seemed to speed by. Which is good because I was worried it would craaaaaaaaaaaawl because it was the first full week that I had to work in 4 weeks! (But I get Monday off!) This is probably the calm before the storm!

We have another busy weekend ahead of us! Tomorrow is the first Husker game! Yeah! I won't be WATCHING it because it's on pay-per-view and totally not worth buying for Jameson, Delilah, and I. But we will be wearing red!

Sunday is our annual circle party with our neighbors. We are very excited! It is always a good time. And this will be the first year that I'm not pregnant or working!! :-) Hopefully I have some good pictures to post.

Finally, in Weight Watchers news...I lost another 2.4 lbs. I hit 5% today! Which means I lost 5% of my body weight! That is VERY motivating!! :-) Yay, on to 10%, that's my next goal!

Another busy weekend!

My Step-Mom, Ione, retired on Friday, so there was a lot of celebrating to be done this weekend! :-) On Friday, The kids and I (Russell had to work) went to a retirement party at Grandma Onie and Papa Terry's work. We got to meet a lot of their co-workers and ate some delicious brownies. Jameson and his cousin, Hannah, were more interested in chasing each other around. They were a little wild, but they sure were cute!

That evening, we met up with Jon, Kellie and some other people at Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Kellie's 30th birthday - which is actually today, Happy Birthday, Kellie!

For Christmas, I got my parents a gift card for a photographer to come out and take pictures of the whole family (all 15 of us!!). So, we did that Saturday morning since everyone would be in town. Christine McGuigan came out to the my parent's house to take some pictures. It was no easy feat to get everyone assembled! Jameson started off with a huge crying fit because he wanted to ride the motorcycle (a toy we passed on our way to the area we were going to take the pictures) rather than pose in a picture. So, we got him calmed down just in time for my niece Justice to start crying. She's a pretty particular child (anyone who knew my brother growing up can understand) and is pretty attached to her Mama. Fortunately, the two older grandkids, Hannah and Alaina, were cheesing it up enough for everyone! So, thanks Christine I know it wasn't easy! I'm so excited to see the pictures!

Saturday evening was a retirement party at the lake! It was good food and lots of fun. Russell was able to make an appearance for a little while, but he had his fantasy football draft that evening. (As you can see, he has his priorities...) So, most of the evening was spent with me keeping track of a wild 2 year old with a 6 month old on my hip. How many activity points do you think I earned?? :-) Tyler was teasing me that I had a Justice in the making because baby D would not really let anyone else hold her for very long. Speaking of Tyler, I asked him if he would take some pictures "of party stuff" for me since my hands were full. His wife, Nichole told me that I need to be specific, because if I ask him to take pictures "of party stuff" I will end up with pictures of a water bottle or his butt. So, here's the first picture he took:

He said "Look, there are THREE water bottles!" What a clever guy! Anyway, enjoy some photos of the party courtesy of Tyler:

Grandma Onie took Jameson for a tour around the lake in her golf cart!

A big thanks to anyone and everyone who helped me keep on eye on my wild man. Especially to those who sat in a car or the golf cart with him to let him drive (Uncle Tyler, Uncle Mark, the Schartows, the Fagans, Great-Aunt Denise...I'm sure I'm forgetting someone). It was a big help!

Sunday was a day to rest...well, mostly!

Weight Loss

So, I realized that I haven't posted in a while about Weight Watchers. So, a lot of you probably think I've fallen off the wagon! Well, I did not. :-) I've lost 10 lbs in 4 weeks. And since I started out 10 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight with Jameson (thank you breastfeeding!!), I'm counting it as 20 lbs! Yeah! I must be looking good, I got my first two compliments yesterday!

I weigh in again tomorrow. I'm trying to slow down my weight loss a little bit because I think it's affecting my milk supply. Oh and when I enter my weight into the website it yells at me because they don't recommend losing more than an average of 2 lbs a week. I still have a ways to go, but I'm feeling really good! I'll post some pictures soon.

6 months pictures!

We had Delilah's 6 month pictures (plus Jameson - that's for you, Lacey! :-) ) taken today. Jennie of Jennied Photography came out to our house and took our pictures. We had lots of fun, even though D was a little temperamental - as any princess should be! She did not, however, disappoint in enjoying every single last bite of her sweet potatoes!

Jennie was patient enough to tutor our budding, future photographer.

Thanks, Jennie! We'll be sure he gives you a discount when he goes pro! :-)

We should see our pictures in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited!

First Word?

Well, it depends on who you ask. :-) *I* say she's just babbling, but Russell insists that she's saying Dada. But, if I remember correctly, we had the same argument - but opposite positions - when Jameson started saying "Mamamama." I know I say it over and over, but I just can't get over how DIFFERENT these two are! For the record, if D is talking, this is about a month earlier than I have for when J started talking. Of course, we all know he was busy working on other stuff before he started talking. :-)

For your entertainment, here is the conversation between J & D during their bath tonight:
Delilah: Dadadadadadadadadada
Jameson: Dad work!
D: Dadadadadadadadada
J: Dad woooooooooooooooooooooork!
D: Dadadadadadadadada
J: DAD! WORK!

:-)

Oh and BTW, D now has 2 teeth!! She'll be eating steak before we know it!

Busy Day!

I mentioned previously that Russell's siblings are all headed to college this year. We already had our "last meal" with Aunt Becca. This morning we had breakfast with Nana Sandy, Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Ben because Rachel is leaving today and Ben is leaving tomorrow. We ate some bagels at Bruegger's. Yum!

Then we went back to their house to say our goodbyes.






Then we went to Delilah's 6 month well-baby check up. Dr. Zimmerman, our regular pediatrician, is still on maternity leave, so we had to see another doctor. She will, however, be back next month, in time for Jameson's 2.5 year appt. It should come as no surprise that she's perfect! :-) She is able to do all of the skills that the doctor asked about. The doctor checked her ears and said they looked better, but not back to normal yet - which makes sense since she has only been on medication for a few days.

Her Stats were:
Height: 25 1/4 in (30th percentile) Weight: 15lbs 14oz (50th percentile) Head Circumference: 17 1/2 in (80th percentile)
So, she's following right in her brother's footsteps for being short and having a large head! :-) It's to hold all of her brains, as my mom would say!

Then, Russell and I were back to work after a long weekend off. It was kind of a hectic because OPS is back in session today. At work we follow the OPS calendar, so it's back to my school year hours (2pm-6pm). So, it was pretty crazy at work too. Tyler has agreed to help us watch the kids on Mondays (plus a few extras this week). Jameson was so excited to play with "Han" and "Teh-Teh." He was also talking about seeing "Ty" and " 'Cole." But he fell asleep in the car on the way there and thus did not nap while he did not nap after we got there. So, of course, he fell asleep on the way home. Poor buddy slept right up until bedtime, dozed through his diaper change, and then was right back out when I put him in bed. His cousins must have worn him out!!

With being so busy this morning, afternoon, and then at work, I feel like I really only got to sit down after I got D to bed. Whew, it was a hectic day! :-)

6 Months old!!!!

My sweet little funny girl is 6 months old today! I know, I can't believe it either! I remember that it seemed like forever before we could introduce Jameson to solids, but this time around, I find myself saying...already?!? Her funny little personality is definitely coming out. She is "talking" a lot more. She is always babbling and laughing. It makes me so happy when all I have to do is look at her and she cracks up. It brings me such joy to see that big grin on her face and her little tooth peeking through. She continues to look up to her big brother and he has so much fun finding ways to make her laugh!

She is such a good little sleeper! I never realized how difficult Jameson was to get to bed until little D came along. If you had told me a year or so ago (when I was pregnant with D) how easy bedtime would be these days, I would not have believed you! Delilah is pretty scheduled in regards to bedtime. And when she's ready for bed, she will let you know! There were quite a few days (especially when I was pregnant) that I did not have the energy to put J to bed. So, I'd let him stay up until Russell got home from work (10:30 or 11). And he was still running around at that time. But, these days I HAVE to put D to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 and J may not even be showing signs of being tired. He will see me rocking D to sleep and suddenly he's ready for bed too. That works better than any other bedtime routine we've tried

Ear Infection...round 2!

So, it seems Delilah has caught the cold that is traveling throughout our house. She's been kind of sniffly the last few days and then this weekend her eyes began getting puss in it. I spoke to the nurse on Friday and she said I didn't need to bring her in because she wasn't running a fever, she was sleeping okay, and she was sleeping well. I figured she had caught big brother's cold, but I've heard that some kids get a little cold when they are teething. That never happened for Jameson, but I say it over and over again that they are so completely different that I never know what to expect.
So, last night D was coughing junk up and choking on it. I decided that was the last straw because she scared me every single time!! Fortunately the cough seemed to go away when she went into deeper sleep, so I've still be able to sleep...well, for the most part anyway! :-) But, we made a Doctor appointment for this afternoon. Turns out Delilah was starting to get an ear infection also. Poor baby! So, hopefully we're on the road to recovery. Except it appears that Russell may be getting it next. The good news is, he can say something if HIS ears hurt!
Monday and Tuesday I worked 8 hour days. That was JUST the reminder I needed to appreciate that I am able to work part-time. I complain about wanting to be a stay-at-home mom, but I truly feel that I have the best of both worlds. It didn't help that I had a dream that Delilah came running up to me after work. So, I was thinking about that alllllllllll day. Plus I was getting updates from Russell all day. It was torture being gone that long! Here are some pictures I received:
Tuesday, Jameson didn't get his afternoon nap. I called Russell when I was on my way home from work at 5. Russell was telling me what a terror J had been. He also said he had just put him in bed and now he was asleep. So around 7 or 7:30 I sent him upstairs to try and wake J up, so that there was a chance he would sleep that night. Russell came downstairs and said Jameson would be down in a few minutes. About 15 or 20 minutes pass by and there is no sign of J. Russell goes back up and says that apparently he was not getting up. Jameson ended up sleeping all night!! The good news is, he did NOT get up at 3am, like I feared. The bad news is I did not see Jameson AT ALL on Tuesday! :-( Yet another reason I am grateful to be working part-time.
The kids (Russell's siblings, not OUR kids) are all leaving for college this week or next week. We went out to eat for Becca's "last dinner" at Taste of Thailand. It was delicious, as usual. And I consider it a success because no one fought, cried, or threw up. There was a theory discussed that it was because Russell wasn't there, but *I* didn't say that. :-) Anyway, Jameson ate a lot of Thai food and enjoyed his dinner with Aunt "Becha." For some reason, her name was the most difficult for him to say. But, it seems that he has it figured out and has been using it quite frequently. His language is definitely expanding!

Sorry Becca, apparently I did not get the best picture!

Heat Advisory?

What does the *B* family does when there is a nearly week-long heat advisory going on? Why, we have an impromptu pool party on the front lawn, of course! We had so much fun, we drew the attention of a few neighbors into our tiny pool. Enjoy the pictures! :-)

Oh, check out baby D's swimsuit! That's courtesy of Aunt Rachel!