30 Days of Thanksgiving- Week 4

Mon Nov 26th- I'm thankful for being at home and for naps when I can hold Caylee. 
  **Caylee has never been a baby that likes to be held close for long periods.  I know people think we're mean parents because we don't put her in bed with us during a fitful night, but she kicks and rolls and constantly moves... she thinks it's play time!  When she sits with us on the couch she likes her own spot and own space.  I'm completely fine with that, because I like her independence.  However, there are days when she wakes up from a nap very upset and I can go in and sit with her quietly for another hour or so.  Those times are very special and I'm so thankful I get to be home to do that with her!!

Tues Nov 27th- I'm thankful for Caylee's helpfulness!
  **Caylee is such a good little helper.  Even at a young age she is learning how to do things around the house.  She'll shut the dryer door for me when I load the clothes and even pick up clothes if I drop some and put them in.  She'll help stir when I make food and she is getting much better at putting her toys away (although they usually come out if you aren't quick enough!).  It's important for me to remember to keep showing her how to do things and teaching her, because she really enjoys helping!  The funniest thing is that she'll bring me my slippers if I am not wearing them.  She's also great at getting her socks and shoes and handing them to me when we have to leave. 

Wed Nov 28th- I'm thankful for "rough" playtime!
  ** Being this pregnant, or really, being pregnant at all, it's difficult for me to play hard with Caylee.  However, she loves being chased right now and chasing us back.  She needs that time to get out some energy and I love that Matt comes home and immediately plays with her.  He's so good with her!  It's so funny to watch him tackle her and she just runs back for more!  Their new thing is him throwing her on the couch and her rolling back off.  She goes head first into his arms and he throws her back- so funny and she just cracks up the whole time!

Thurs Nov 29th- I'm thankful for sleeping in!
 **It seems like November has been a LOOOONG month.  Between Caylee getting 3 new teeth and having a double ear infection our nights have not been very peaceful.  That being said, this week she has been sleeping in just about 30 minutes longer than normal.  I'm so very thankful for the extra rest, especially since I never know if naptime will work out or not! 

Fri Nov 30th- I'm thankful for a healthy pregnancy!
 **Today was my 30 week check-up for Micah!  30 weeks!! We are getting SO close, I can't believe it!  My blood pressure is doing great, his heartbeat was wonderful and all is going well... I'm so excited to see our little boy in just 9 short weeks.... so glad all is going well so far :)

Christmas Decorating!

I was so excited to decorate for Christmas this year because I thought Caylee might have fun playing with all the "new" things.  She didn't even care!  I pulled out tons of ornaments that she was allowed to play with and stockings and such, but she just went back to playing with her normal toys.  As a few days have gone by she is more interested in the tree and we have some lower ornaments specifically for her to take on and off that she is starting to notice.  But the entire time we put the tree up, nothing... she just walked around and laughed and played with her things!  It is a HUGE tree too!  This is the first year we've put it up bc we have never had the room... well, we don't quite have the room this year, but we made it work and I love it!  Matt did some lights on the outside of the house too.  The mantle is the only thing I can't figure out.... it's so deep and really needs a lot of "stuff" that we don't have.  I may take a trip to Hobby Lobby soon....  or just leave it alone, who knows.  For now, here's what I have :)


Watching Daddy hang lights... it was SUPER cold, so she has on her new coveralls, snow coat and awesome hat! 

Finished!

She didn't like the tree much, but LOVED the step ladder... and yes, the top of the tree hits the ceiling... no angel this year.  But the angel is very special, so it IS sitting on the mantle!

 Wouldn't smile...

Finally smiled, but had taken the bow out! Bummer...

 Completed house... he didn't go all the way to the top, but we had nothing to reach up there, plus it was SOO cold! Very pretty though!

I'll get more family pics in front of the tree and house later....

I am so excited for this Christmas! I know she's young, but we have a full advent calendar complete with short verses each day to read and activities I came up with (more on all that later).  It's going to be a great month!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving- Week 3

Sat Nov 17- Thankful for a FREE day!
  **On this day, Matt was able to watch Caylee ALL day while I went to Ft Wayne to do some shopping, have lunch and get my hair cut.  I LOVE being able to stay home with Caylee and RARELY let anyone watch her.  However, it's nice that they could spend the day together and that I could have some time to myself.  I think everyone had a good day!!

Sun Nov 18- Thankful for a NEW bed!
  **That's right... FINALLY... we were able to get a new mattress.  Not just any mattress either, a KING mattress.  At first I was worried because it's memory foam with an extra plush pillow top.  I don't usually like memory foam, but I LOVE this bed.  My back has been feeling SO much better when I wake up- and a KING bed is awesome!!

Mon Nov 19- Thankful for sunrises!
  **Our bedroom window isn't facing directly East, but it's enough so that I can see the sunrise each morning.  Sunrises are great because often times that is the only sun you get to see all day.  It's deceiving because they are so pretty, but by mid-morning/afternoon-ish the sun has disappeared behind the clouds and the sky is grey again.  But the sunrises are GORGEOUS!

Tues Nov 20- Thankful for flu shots.
  **Yep, I know, it's weird.  But my mom always made us get our flu shot and now I am very thankful for that.  I can't imagine being that sick with a little one, so at least I can be protected now and hopefully not get anything!!

Wed Nov 21- Thankful for Caylee's Dr's.
  **Caylee had another ear infection-- this time a double ear infection.  We kinda figured something was up when she stopped sleeping well and was just super fussy during the day.  (She never pulls on her ears like they say she should).  But thankfully, they were able to get me in that day AND give us meds before the holiday weekend!  Whew... they sure do help-- and we ALL needed sleep again.

Thurs Nov 22- Thankful that Matt will listen to Christmas music on Thanksgiving!
 **Matt is not a fan of month-long Christmas music, but he indulges me and beginning Thanksgiving Day we get to listen to it ALL the time!  I LOVE it!  We had a long drive this Thanksgiving anyways, so it was fun finding the Christmas stations.

Fri Nov 23- Thankful for pj days!
 **Some days, Caylee and I do a whole lot of nothing.... that's ok.  On these days, it's nice just to be in our pj's and play a lot.  She's getting SO smart and SO much fun to play with.  These days can be long, but when she's in a great mood we have lots of fun.  Plus, it's great to snuggle on the couch and relax a lot... especially after a few very long days of little sleep, not feeling well and traveling. 

Sat Nov 24- Thankful Matt can work on our dogs!
 **Today Sammy was neutered.  I'm so glad Matt could do it and save money... plus knowing that he knows what he's doing and can take care of him after surgery is nice too. 

Sun Nov 25- Thankful for God's love!
 **Today's sermon was simple.  God Loves You.  It was a nice break from normal "preaching" and a good reminder to remember the great love God has for us, even though we don't deserve it. 

Sammy

**For some reason I can only upload iphone pics at the moment... I'm trying to fix the problem, but the next couple weeks of posts will have no pics or iphone only pics, I'll fill in the rest later...**

Meet Sammy....

He came to us in 2008 on our driveway.  I never wanted 2 dogs, but Matt cleaned him up and by the time I came home from work Sammy had found his spot on the couch.  It took a while for him to get used to "dog things", like bones and toys and stuff, but now he's the MOST spoiled dog in the world!  Anyways, it's been long overdue for him to be neutered, but we finally decided to have it done... by Matt of course!

Here he is getting shaved to put the IV in.

 

My poor dog... already starting to feel the drug effects.... I got to be the tech and help out-- although I barely did anything bc Caylee wanted to "explore" the clinic a little too much.

 All doped up and having surgery....

 At home resting....

 

It was a busy day for the little guy!  I know why vets don't let you pick up your dog until the end of the day... while the drugs are wearing off it's very sad!  He was shaking and wobbly and really didn't know where he was.  But by late evening he was back to his normal self, no one would have known he even had surgery!! So far he's healing great and wants to be way more active than he should be.  Trying to keep him calm has not been easy.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, after 5 hrs in the car, 3 outfit changes on Caylee, 2 diaper blowouts, and 1 long bath we are finally done with Thanksgiving!  Poor thing... I found out yesterday she had a double ear infection and antibiotics never work well on her system-- they do seem to be helping the sleep though!  (Thank goodness, bc Matt and I were getting TIRED these past few days).  I don't know why I never know she's sick.  She doesn't run fever or act sick, just gets really whiny and refuses to sleep at all--- I guess I just think we are going to be that family that avoids all sickness.... HA!  Silly me... "that" family doesn't exist, especially when kids are little :)  I guess I should just start paying more attention to her mood changes to know when she's not feeling 100%.

Anyways, back to Thanksgiving.  Matt had to work today (and this weekend), but he didn't have anything this afternoon, so we headed down to his parents house for a few hours.  They were having a BUNCH of people over and there were even a few other kids there-- not that it mattered bc Caylee did not play with them at all.  I brought my camera, but only managed a few phone pictures btw chasing her around everywhere... paranoid that I needed to change her diaper every 30 minutes! 

Caylee ate very well... she loved the cranberry sauce, bread, cornbread dressing, fruit, cheese and jello.  She tried the sweet potatoes (I LOVED those!), but she did not like the regular potatoes.  She did not like the turkey either... not a big meat fan unless it's processed-- oh well!  I'd say she had plenty of food without the turkey!  She did not like the green bean casserole either-- still hates green beans.  There were lots of desserts which I'm sure she would have liked, but after all that we chose not to give her any.... I made carmel brownies and peanut butter rice krispies (which we have leftover) so she can try the brownies later (still allergic to rice for some reason). 

The weather turned out to be very nice- about 65 and sunny- so we went outside and Matt drove her around on the ATV.  She really liked it... although I was nervous! I was glad he was driving!  She also loved playing with the dog... of course...

It was a long day, but nice to see people.  Caylee was very happy all day (except in the car) so I was glad the medicine and not feeling 100% didn't make her grumpy.  Tomorrow we get to relax! (Well, not Matt), but Caylee and I will probably start watching some Christmas movies... it's never to early to teach them the good movies! Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Cranberry sauce was everywhere!

 We tried to get a family pic, this was the best we could do... she's not looking, but oh well.

 About to ride..

 Playmates... (she was really more interested in the dog than the little boy)

 Found a toy she loved!

30 Days of Thanksgiving- Week 2

Here's this week's specific things....

Fri Nov 9- Thankful for Pizza Night!
  **Fridays are the one day a week that I don't have to cook.  (I don't cook everyday, because we eat leftovers too), however, Friday is the only day when I don't even have to think about what's for dinner.  Matt always brings home pizza.  It's delicious and usually from a new place each week-- we're still trying to find a place around here that we like the best!  YUM!

Sat Nov 10- Thankful for nice days for the park!
  **Nice days are getting fewer and farther between up here.  The colder is gets, the less I want to be outside.  Plus, this area is known for grayness, which always makes it seem colder when there is no sunshine.  However, we have a few days every so often that we can get out and go to the park!  Caylee loves it and she is getting bigger and able to do more... especially if Matt is around to help us. 

Sun Nov 11- Thankful Matt cleans my car!
  **I don't keep a clean car.  Never have.  But it sure is nice to get into a clean car after Matt has washed it for me-- inside and out!  I do appreciate it, although I know it's frustrating for him that it doesn't last long. 

Mon Nov 12- Thankful for Kindermusik!
  **Kindermusik is one of the few places we go that Caylee can interact with others her own age.  It's a little later in the evening than I would prefer, but she does great and has a blast.  She's doing so well being around the other kids and really getting into what the teacher is doing!

Tues Nov 13- Thankful the dogs are nice to Caylee!
  **I do love our dogs... although, as I am constantly telling Matt, "They are dogs, they'll be fine".  But it's been really nice that they are nice to Caylee and that she is enjoying them too.  Sammy seems to be her favorite, probably because he'll let her pull and "pet" and sit on as much as she wants.  But Diego is sweet to her too.

Wed Nov 14- Thankful for Duck Dynasty!
  **Ok, so I realize how strange that sounds.  And in reality I'm thankful for two things with this...:1) the Maggard's who introduced us to DD.  And 2) laughing with Matt.  It's a funny show and very clean, really great to laugh together!  It's a nice downtime after a long day!

Thurs Nov 15- Thankful Matt will clean mice with me!
  **This, I could not do alone!  I had spent a long time this day cleaning everything because of mice.  When Matt came home, I still had a lot to do since I couldn't do some while Caylee was awake.  I'm glad he willingly cleaned with me... and helped with every crazy idea I had about keeping mice away.  He's just good like that!

Fri Nov 16- Thankful for walks!
  **As long as the temp is above 40, I will bundle Caylee up and we'll go for a long walk.  I enjoy these walks- mostly just to get out of the house!  I also enjoy the peace of being outside- even though it is cold...  walking is great for me too and has made me feel a ton better this pregnancy! (I didn't walk as much with Caylee). 

Cinderella...

Don't you wish life were a fairy tale?  I do, because then animals could talk to you, make you pretty dresses and help with chores.  Instead, they just scare you! 

I was told this might happen.... warned by the neighbors.... even my dad said it happens in Iowa....  MICE.

Seriously?!  A mouse in the house is NOT what you want to see at 9pm at night.  I texted my mom and told her I was like Cinderella and was going to name him Gus so that I didn't freak myself out even more.  It worked for a little bit... then we found him AGAIN.  It didn't work so much this time.  Matt went through his normal routine of tearing the place apart, vacuuming, cleaning etc... all while I stood on the couch- Yep, that's what I did.  No luck though- Gus Gus had escaped through whatever hole he had found.  So what's a person to do?!  WALMART.  Yep, 9:45pm and off I headed to walmart....  this is what I came home with.....

**About 10 traps... all that were left (again, people up here know this happens-- it's due to the farmers plowing the fields and the mice have no where to go-- common... but NOT pleasant)
**Peanut Butter... crunchy... Matt read that they like crunchy best... poor guy doesn't stand a chance
**Kit Kat and Sparkling Grape juice.... for me... for my sanity... so I can pretend I'm Cinderella and that mice are helpful and friendly.... :)

 You might be wondering why Matt didn't go to the store.... easy answer... I wasn't going to chance seeing Gus again by myself.  Matt had to stay home and tear apart closets so we could set our traps.

Here he is preparing the traps... ALL of them... I don't care.  Like I said, most of the traps were already sold out, I would have bought more- this is a common thing, so it must mean we're in for a couple rough weeks with all the plowing going on....

Anyways...  on the way home I heard Francesca Battistelli's song "This is the stuff"... the chorus goes:

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

It's things like a small mouse that make me CRAZY!  In Texas, it was scorpions. In Kentucky, it was the dogs chasing groundhogs- UGH.  And yes, many people don't have to deal with these things, but for whatever reason I do.  Again, it's not what I would choose, but somehow-- even in a little mouse-- there has to be a reason for God allowing things.... I will probably never know, but it does give me a little hope that God puts us through things, little things, so that we come out with more trust/awe of Him.  Maybe that's just crazy, but I hadn't heard the song in MONTHS and it just seemed right at the time.  In reality, I am SUPER blessed.  And yes, the house is an old farm house, so really, what can you expect?!  BUT, it's very nice and we're VERY blessed to have the space, the low cost and the safe area for our kids.  It's those things I need to keep in mind... on top of the fact that Matt will clean and tear things apart for me late at night so that I can be reassured that Gus is not anywhere in sight :)  Love him!

**Oh and Matt may have seen him in the garage, so he may not be in right now-- no sign anyways... and I keep the dogs close by ... just in case... :)  They better be good for something!

Cold Day- November

These are just a few pics of being outside on a cold day....

We only lasted about 20 minutes because it wasn't even 30 degrees out and she won't keep mittens on.  I was lucky the hat stayed on! :)

30 Days of Thanksgiving- Week 1

I saw people posting on FB what they were thankful for.  One post every day this month.  So I decided to do my posts on the blog, but a week at a time!  Here goes week 1! (These are in no particular order either)

Thurs Nov 1- Thankful for Matt's job
  **His job is not in my ideal location, however, he has much better hours and seems to be really enjoying it!  His boss has been flexible when Matt needed time off for Caylee's birthday weekend and they have been able to switch weekends with each other.  He gets home in time for Caylee to see him before bed- sometimes with enough time to play :)  He's off on Sundays!  We love this and have really enjoyed going to church as a family for the first time in years!!  We've had some great weekends because of his schedule and I'm so thankful for this practice and thankful Matt enjoys doing what he does!

**One client has many exotic animals- this is a Lemur they made Matt get his pic with.  He does not work with these animals, but they come to the clinic occassionally.  Matt is a large animal/ equine vet :)

 

 

Fri Nov 2- Thankful for my salvation

   **This kinda goes without saying, but because my hope is in Jesus I have the confidence of being in heaven one day.  I also can't get through my day without my quiet time (I notice a HUGE difference!)... I need and rely on the peace God offers and trust in His plans and timing, since mine seem to have not worked the way I imagined :)  I can't imagine going through life without knowing Christ and knowing that He has a purpose for me. 

 

Sat Nov 3- Thankful for my sister's engagement! 

  **Praying she and Nick will have a strong foundation in Christ for their marriage and that this next year (while it will be a whirlwind) will be so fun and wonderful!

 

Sun Nov 4- Thankful for Calvary Evangelical Church
 **Matt and I have searched EVERYWHERE for a good church up here.  This entire environment is just so not what we're used to.  However, it seems that we may have finally found a good church.  Even if we don't stay here forever, it's been great to hear Pastor Clark these past few weeks- he's really passionate about the Lord and the people of the church, that definitely comes out in his sermons. 

Mon Nov 5- Thankful for my new heater
  **Matt knows I freeze.  Every part of my body hurts when it's cold!  It's like I have no circulation in my feet and hands!  But having a heater is hard with a child.  They often get too hot.  But Matt found one and on the box showed a picture of a kid laying on it!! Perfect!  Caylee and I love being warmer now and since this morning was a chilly 24 degrees, we really needed it!!

Tues Nov 6- Thankful for MUMS
 **This is a group of ladies, very similar to a MOPS group if you know that, and it stands for "Mothers Uplifting Mothers".  They have been really nice to me and hopefully I can begin to make mroe friends through it!  So thankful that the church hosts a program like this!

Wed Nov 7- Thankful Caylee can play by herself some
 **Caylee is SUCH a good girl most days.  On days that I'm not feeling 100% it's really nice that she can play with her toys herself.  She's so funny to watch and finds many ways to entertain herself!

**Playing with her cups, and yes, a spatula in the background! 

Thurs Nov 8- Thankful for only needing 1 glucose test!
 **Being pregnant means that at around 28 weeks you have to do a glucose test.  They give you 10 oz of an orange drink that you have to finish in 5 minutes.  For most people this isn't a problem.  However, I rarely drink anything but water- even when I'm not pregnant- sweet drinks are just not my thing!  So getting this SUPER sweet orange (yuck) drink down makes me gag!  I hate it, but I'm glad I pass the test and don't have to re-do it!!  The receptionist told me when she had her daughter many years ago they had her eat a candy bar.... that I could DEFINITELY do... candy and chocolate sweets are my downfall, but drinks- no thanks. 

So there is week 1 of Thankfulness!  They are silly, but the point is to be specific and not generic, so I'm trying :) 



Home Happenings...

Things happening this week:

1.This past week the temps have been SUPER cold! (Highs in the low 40s) It had been in the 50s (cold for me) before, but suddenly, this past Tuesday (High 35) we had snow/ice/rain mixture!  It was messy and, like I said, COLD. Luckily, I had just bought a coat for myself (I thought I could avoid it, but there is just no way) and Caylee was already prepared with a snow coat and dress coat! 

Boots ready! She has trouble walking in these bc they are so thick... we're learning....but it did cause quite the bruise on her little head this week :(

 Snow coat! Crying a little here bc she fell with the boots... you can see the bruise starting on her forehead... it wasn't as hard as the bruise made it look, but I did feel bad for her!

So we opted for a little extra walking help while in the boots... and "baby" helps too!

 Dress coat!

2.This weekend we were also able to get a lot accomplished for Micah's room!  We found a great desk/dresser online and a rocking chair.  The next step is moving Caylee out of the crib (my plan is Thanksgiving) and into her big bed, then we'll be all set!  And yes, for all you skeptics... our plan is STILL to put Micah in our bathroom for a few months while he's getting a lot of night feedings.  So.... all the stuff is in there currently, waiting for clothes and diapers and a sweet little boy!

 Notice the bathtub :)  We still have some reorganizing to do....

 Along with those purchases for Micah, we also found a kids' table and chair set online... It will need painted, but it's super cute and Caylee LOVED it.  She can't quite get into the chair by herself, but soon she'll be ready for it.  I'm excited for her to start to learn to color and eventually do lots of crafts there! 

3. Training..... this week involved LOTS of training.  I am training Caylee to use utensils and I was prepping her for the time change that happened this weekend.  Both are going VERY well!  At first, I showed her how to use a spoon and she would put it in her mouth and then give it back to me.  Very sweet, but she'd never do it herself.  Then, I tried to force her hand and show her- that never works, she gets very angry.  So finally, I just started giving her a spoon or fork at every meal and constantly telling her to use it.  When she did, I praised her!  She still uses her hands for a majority of the meals, but she will try to use a fork and spoon and on very rare occasions it actually works for her!  It'll be many, many months before this is mastered, but at least her table manners are coming along nicely!  I don't mind the messes it makes either--- and trust me, giving a spoon to a 1 yr old with a bowl of oatmeal/yogurt is EXTREMELY messy!!  But she's such a trooper and really likes to try :)

As for the time prep... We kept her up about 5-10 min longer each night this week.  The result:  It worked!  When it would have been 8:30am today (and she would normally have been up at 8), it had fallen back to 7:30am and we were all happily asleep in our beds until the new 8am!  Today was a little long and she was tired about 7, instead of 7:30 (bc to her that is actually 8), but she did great all day and seems to be sleeping well now.  I figure since we're up at night it didn't hurt to start the switch early... that way we could enjoy the extra hour last night :)  I also moved mealtimes 5-10 minutes each day too.

 The bib she has is a full cover bib with cap sleeves (AWESOME! THANKS LANDER'S family)...

4. Finally... and most importantly!  Cassidy got engaged this weekend!  We were so excited for her and wished we could be there... her ring is GORGEOUS too!  So, next year (2013) Caylee will get a new Uncle.... Nick... we're excited  :)