Snow Fun

Today is a holiday for me (MLK Jr. Day) and Doug's last day of winter break.  So this morning since the temperatures got above freezing we decided to take Katie out to play in the week old snow.  I guess it's a good thing it's been so cold this past week so that there was still snow on the ground.  She wasn't sure what to think of it at first.  Plus, her snow boots are a little big, so she was having a hard time walking, but I think she had a good time after all.  Here was my picture of the day.

And a couple of more...

Day 3

Well, my Project 365 is going well.  I'm definitely taking a bunch of pictures, but more importantly, I'm deleting a bunch of not good pictures.  :)  I'm so impressed with myself.  I can easily take 20-30 pictures trying to get just the right shot and then after I pick the "one" I delete everything else in the folder guilt free.  Here's my picture for today. 

New Year, New Us!

This is the year we get back into shape.  Doug & I looked pretty good for our wedding, (Doug actually ate well and exercised, I just worried myself into losing weight planning our wedding), but things have gone down hill.  It's just time to be healthier.  We're not just doing it for us, for Katie too.  Wish us luck!

Dream Job

Inspired by a post on my brother's blog (I'll link to it if he says it's okay...), I thought I'd write a little about my dream job. 

Let's face it, work is work these days.  I work because my family needs the income.  There are parts of my job I enjoy.  Helping people find books and answers to off the wall questions can be interesting, but my favorite part is storytime!  Some days I am very glad that I have storytime on Monday mornings.  Because more often than not after I drop off Katie at the sitter's I get a major case of the Mondays.  I love reading stories to the kids, hearing their answers when I ask what they think will happen next or listening to them tell me about what's going on in their lives.  Preschoolers are pretty cool!  Even when they won't sit still or are interrupting your story, it is hard to keep up the Monday blues after 45 minutes of that!  Then Tuesday comes and the blues start all over and I start thinking about what I really want to do...

If our finances allowed, I'd love to stay home and take care of Katie and our house.  Most days, I feel like I am only doing things halfway.  Work only gets half my attention because I'm thinking about Katie, Katie only gets half my attention because I'm thinking about housework, housework doesn't even get half my attention because working and Katie wear me out so much that I just don't care anymore.  I don't even know that I give Doug half the attention he needs.  We are so busy  and when we're not, we're just plain tired.  Not exactly the basis of a good relationship, right?  But, life won't always be this way, or at least that's what I tell myself on those days that I start worrying that I just can't keep up.

Blogger's Block

I already posted this morning, but it was kind of a lame post and I had every intention of coming here to post something more substantial when Katie went to bed.  So now I'm here and I don't know what to write about.  Not good on day 2 of 30 days of blogging.  So here are some random updates.

Katie is starting to do the "monkey see, monkey do" thing.  It's so cute that she repeats most of what we say and tries to mimic our gestures too.  It also means that Momma & Daddy need to watch what they say a little more carefully.  So far, so good, but I know the day is coming.  She also loves playing with our cats.  BJ in particular, (only because Tess is smart enough to hide!) and she is constantly trying to chase him.   Last night she was pulling his tail so hard that we had to pull her off of him.  He was really good though and didn't hiss or try to bite her.  She also likes playing with her dollies, her farm animals and has recently discovered hats.  Too cute!

Doug is facing his toughest schedule yet, this semester.  His adviser told him that if he made it through this semester, he'd graduate with no problems.  He's definitely on track to graduate.  :)

I am working Saturdays through the end of this semester to save us a little $$ on daycare expenses.  It hasn't been too bad so far, but I'll be glad when it's over.  Even just working 4 hours on a Saturday really eats up your whole day.  I'm definitely looking forward to having 2 days off in a row again soon.

Speaking of saving money, we paid off the truck this week.  Combining that with our recent credit card pay off and some new legislation that gives Doug another 6 months of unemployment benefits means that we're breathing a huge sigh of relief tonight.  At this rate, we're looking at 18 months or so of being a one income family while Doug finishes school.  If we get enough stuff paid off/caught up, it might end up being doable.  And who knows, maybe during all of this we'll figure out a way to live on that one income and I might just be able to realize my SAHM dreams.

More Summer Fun!

Katie is having the most fun already this summer!  Too bad, she probably won't remember it.  Oh well, it's a good thing Momma likes to take pictures.  :)  Last Sunday we headed to the Royals game.  It was a perfect day for a ballgame.  They played the Detroit Tigers (which Daddy had never seen in all his game attending years) and they won, 7-2!!!  Like I said, great game!  Katie got a certificate for attending her first game and made it all the way through 4 innings before getting restless, so we strapped her in the stroller and made laps around the stadium with LaLa & PaPa.  It was also Build a Polar Bear giveaway day in honor of the new polar bears at the KC Zoo.  We can't wait to go see them this summer!

Katie Can Point & Talk!

Yesterday morning, Katie pointed at our cat, BJ, and said "cah!"  Doug and I were unreasonably excited by this.  :)  In fact, I fear I'm becoming one of those people who only talk about their kid.  We were at a party last night and whenever anyone would ask me how I was doing, I'd smile and say fine or whatever, but as soon as they asked about Katie, I pulled out the pictures and started telling them about her latest achievements.  I could have talked for hours!  Haven't you noticed that most of this blog is about Katie, now?

Now, for some unrelated Katie-ness.  Doug made the Honor Roll once again.  He had 3 A's & 2 B's.  One of those B's was in Spanish, his most challenging class this semester.  He worked hard for it though!  Katie & I are so proud of him!

Nothing new with me, really.  It looks like the next step in our hours reduction at work is going to start sooner than we thought.  Either June 1 or July 1.  We were really hoping to be able to put it off until after the Summer Reading Program (August 1), but I don't think it is going to work out that way.  That's a depressing paragraph I just wrote about my life.  See why I like to talk about Katie instead?

Well Check & Other

Katie turned 9 months old on Monday, so that meant it was time for another well check.  She would, of course, have to smash her thumb in a toy this morning right before we left.  I think the last time we took her in she had a black eye from bonking herself in the face with something.  Our parent educator called these the "hard knock months/years." 

She was once again proclaimed "perfect & healthy" by the nurse practitioner and all was well.  She now weighs 21 pounds and 12 ounces and is 28 1/2 inches tall.  She's in the 80th percentile for her weight and the 74th for her height.  She's growing and developing completely normally.  The RNP did let me know that Katie can start eating more solids and we can start cutting back on her bottles.  Yay!  Just 3 more months of formula!! :)  I did have a concern about her eye.  Doug & I (and other family memebers) have been noticing that her left eye seems a little droopy or sleepy.  This is especially noticeable in pictures.  I sometimes have the same thing and I know mine is due to my left eye being Amblyopic.  They were unable to detect anything unusual in her vision at the doctor's office today, but went ahead and scheduled an appointment with an opthmalogist at Children's Mercy just in case.  We know from experience that this is something that is better treated earlier rather than later, so it is important that we find out as soon as possible.

In other news, it's finals week for Doug.  Things are a little crazy at our house this week, but then he'll be off for for 3 full weeks before hitting the books hard again.  He's taking 2 more classes this summer, so he'll stay busy, for sure. 

Mother's Day is this weekend (hint, hint!).  I can't wait to celebrate on Sunday!

31 Days...

My Grandma & Me (31w5d) 6/7/09 at my baby shower.

...until my due date. Wow! Time is flying by! We've been putting the finishing touches on the nursery. It's almost done, just waiting on a few things that have been ordered to arrive. It's really looking cute.

Doug & I attended a one day all inclusive childbirth class in early June. Best money we ever spent! We came away feeling so calm and confident about everything that's coming our way. I hope we can maintain this feeling during the actual birth.

I had my baby shower the day after the class, which was awesome! Mom & Sarah did an excellent job. And the best part were the adorable scrapbook pages everyone made. It will be so fun to actually show Katie who came to celebrate her impending arrival! Everyone was so generous too. We got so much stuff that Doug probably should have brought the truck when he came to pick me up! As it was, we had stuff crammed into every available inch of my car, even my lap. :) We never thought we'd get it all in the nursery, but so far, we've managed to find a place for just about everything!

We're getting caught up on the baby laundry. My mom came and helped one night, and we did 3 loads. You'd think as tiny as baby things are 3 loads would just about do it, but that was really just some clothes, blankets, & sheets. I've done at least 3 more since then and I still have a couple more blankets and another whole load of clothes to do. I'm debating on whether to wash the clothes in the next size up. Opinions?

I had the last of my 2 week/first of my weekly appointments yesterday. I had all the regular checks (I gained 3 pounds in 2 weeks...oops!), my blood pressure was "excellent" and Katie's heart rate is staying consistent at 148-150. Then I had the Group B Strep test and she did an internal exam to check me for dilation and whatnot. Not much to tell. My cervix is softening (sorry, that maybe is TMI), but that's about it. Her head has not made it's way down to my pelvis just yet, but she's staying head down. At this point, we don't want her to turn, because she may not have enough room to get back in the head down position. We talked about how the way her movements are starting to feel different. Dr. V said that at this point, since there isn't as much room, she's doing more rolling and wiggling and less kicks and punches. I can see her roll across my belly and it totally fascinates me. Sometimes I just lift up my shirt and watch my belly. I think it kind of creeps Doug out! He said last night he came to bed and put his hand on my belly and she rolled across it and it was just too weird for him. :) Also, I haven't had any contractions, that I know of. My back's been a little achey, but carrying all that extra weight in the front probably does not help that.

I think that's it. Sorry for the lack of updates! I'll try to stay on top of them better in the next few weeks!

Making Progress

Doug spent alot of time working on the nursery this weekend. In the first picture he's putting together the shelving unit we got for her room. It turned out great, as you'll see further down.

He also set up the crib, with a little help from his sister-in-law, Becky. Becky & Eric were kind enough to pass down this crib to us. It used to be their oldest son's, but since he's almost 5 now, he doesn't have much use for it anymore! I'm not so sure how thrilled he is about having his new cousin sleep in it though. He's not too crazy about having a girl for a cousin. :) Anyhow, after they put it together I got to have my own little bit of fun. I put up the bumper and the mobile (that I picked up at a garage sale for $10!), just to get an idea of how it would all look. And Saturday morning when we were at Sam's Club, after showing Doug the adorable rug, he ran back and got it for me just as we were leaving. Mom & I picked it out a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't so sure that was what I was wanting. But, I'm so glad I got it. It looks so cute with the bedding and the price was excellent. It fits perfectly in front of her crib. And you really can't see it in the picture, but the wall next to her crib is where the quilt is going to hang. And I want to get this to put above her crib. I love that it is vinyl and so totally removable, not to mention that there will be nothing heavy hanging over her. So many cute things to do! :)

We also decided for the sake of utilizing as much space as possible, to remove the closet doors. I promise it won't look nearly this messy in the future, but it seemed like a good spot to put the bookcase and it doesn't look half bad, minus the fact that we didn't get the top of the closet painted! Oh well, there's still time for that. Or maybe I'll just some cute baskets to put up there. :) Once we get the dresser, alot of the stuff on the shelves will be put away and we'll use it for what it was really intended for, books! :) Doesn't it look cute though? Doug still plans to attach it to the wall though, so there'll be no chance of Katie pulling it down or anything like that when she starts climbing.

New window treatment, I had a yellow sheer up there, but it wasn't quite the right shade, it was a little muddy. This white really brightens things up and the light that filters through is cleaner. The changing table (also a garage sale find) is actually on its way to get a paint job. You may have noticed it is a little darker than the finish on the rest of the furniture, so my mom has agreed to paint it for us. But for now, it's doing it's job holding diapers and other assorted items.

That's what we've got for now. We still need to find a chair and get the dresser and then we'll be just about set. Not bad with 9 weeks to go!

Practicing

No belly picture today. My mom took one of me on Mother's Day, but it's on her camera. I'll post it if she emails it to me. :) But, I won't leave you without a picture!

Mom & Dad found a snugli last weekend at a garage sale and when we got it home, Doug decided he ought to try it out. Unfortunately, BJ was the guinea pig...er...cat. :)
Poor BJ, he's obviously not thrilled! Let's hope Katie likes it better! :D

Finally Friday!

Friday's here again! Except this week Friday is my Thursday, because I have to work tomorrow. Oh well.

Tonight, I get to go see my sister perform in the Northwest Dance Company. I'm pretty excited about that. I love watching her dance. It makes me so proud of her.

I don't have a clue about what else is going on for the weekend. I'm working Saturday, as I mentioned above and Doug is going to work Saturday and Sunday. So probably not much of anything, it sounds like. I'll have to come up with something more exciting to post about, that's for sure.

Gone Fishin'

Doug's discovered a new hobby...fishing. We've spent a couple of evenings at a lake with my parents and have done some night fishing. So far, I only fished one time. The other times I get to be the person with the "cleanest hands", but Doug has really gotten into it. I forgot my camera the other times, but this is what he caught over the weekend.

Bullhead

Big Catfish

Updates

Things are going well with us right now. We've had lots of exciting things come up, some friends getting married and having babies. Not us, though. We're happy to let our lives settle down a bit.

We did our taxes over the weekend and are really going to enjoy that nice refund now that we are married. The hard part is deciding what to do with it!

Doug's birthday is in less than 2 weeks (I still don't know what to get him!) so we're planning lots of fun stuff to do and that weekend is also the Super Bowl, so it'll be like 2 parties! Lucky him. :)

Work is still work for both of us. We're looking at maybe taking a trip/belated honeymoon around our 1st anniversary, so we're planning vacation time already. I can't wait! I'm ready for another vacation. The week off after the wedding was nice and much needed, but this time I want to do something other than write thank you notes on my vacation!

I've started working on our wedding album. It is coming right along. I have the whole ceremony scrapbooked now. I have a few more pictures to print before I can start in on the rest though.

That's pretty much what we've been up to lately. We're pretty boring once we settle down. :)