My Snow Angel

So the Northeast has been pelted by yet another monstrous snowstorm and let me tell you, I am so over it. Our Mexican sunny vacation cannot come soon enough! Good thing it is only a week away. On Wednesday we woke up to snow like crazy...it was on and off all day long. Leah just had to go play in it, so I bundled her up and I have to say, she is so darn adorable in her snowsuit and such. I'm so thankful that we have a fenced in yard, because it enabled her and the dogs to go run around for a bit, while I stayed nice and toasty inside with Kiersten. Anyway...she didn't even make it off the deck before having to stop and make a snow angel, so sweet!

The storm continued into Wednesday night. It was the craziest snow storm I had ever witnessed complete with thunder and lightening with a bit of freezing rain. When Mitch woke for work on Thursday morning which is around 5:20 AM I might add, he called into work and found out that they had a late start for 9 AM. But instead of going back to sleep he did what any GOOD man would do and got up and out and started shoveling. I felt bad for him when I woke up at 7:30, ooops! Thank goodness our neighbor Bill helped him out with the snowblower. Mitch said it was the really thick and heave kind of snow, not the fluffy light stuff that everyone (but me) loves! So daddy got to sit and have breakfast with the girls and shortly after he left for work we headed to Shawn and Amanda's so we could have a playdate with Matt and baby Monica, What fun!

My Bug!!!

Yes, I said Bug. I have called Kiersten that since the day we brought her home from the hospital. Actually it started out as my little Bug-a-Boo, but has been shortened over time to just bug. Sometimes it's Ladybug, sometimes its doodlebug, and at least 3 or 4 times a day she is a Jersey Stink Bug, ha ha! But most the time she is just my bug. I started to think that maybe it was inappropriate to call my precious baby girl a "bug" all the time, but a few weeks ago I was watching the show Parenthood and Erika Christenson's character (the blonde lawyer sister) called her 5 year old daughter a bug I felt like I had been redeemed, I was not the only one so I am sticking with it. Being that she is my little bug, as I have started first birthday party plans, I felt that I had no choice but to go with a ladybug theme. But not the pink and green combo that's out there these days...I want the REAL one. I ordered her an adorable onesie, cupcake toppers, a banner, balloons, plates and napkins and a custom lady bug invitation from etsy. I can't wait to see it all. We are going back to Illinois the last weekend in February and decided we would do her party then so all her little cousins could join in on the fun, and besides it's only 10 days early. Much more fun than having it in Jersey with our 3 couple friends and handful of kids. So thankful and grateful that Gigi and Papa have a big house for hosting the party. They did Leah's too, but at least in May we were able to be outside. It's going to be a good time. But anyway, below is the picture I chose for the invitation, but I'm not revealing it yet. Leah wanted in on the action so of course we took a "Birthday party" picture for her too!

In other news our bug is walking, she took her first steps last week. Mitch was in Wisconsin for his grandfather's funeral and my mom was out here with me. On the 18th she was taking one step here and there...I don't really count that, but on the 19th she was off. It started with the one step here and there and quickly jumped to 4 steps and then 7!!! Gigi was having fun counting and watching this major milestone. Now you can't keep her down. She rarely takes more than 7 or 8 without falling on her toosh, but she's going and there is no stopping her now. Way to go, Bug!!!

I'm done with you, January.

January has not been kind...really. I truly am done, and it's not just the weather that has been dreadful. We just haven't been able to catch a break. It all started on Dec. 15th, I started to notice a little tooth ache, but that wasn't complicated enough. It turns out it was in a tooth that already had a root canal so literally hours before we were to board the plane to head home for the holidays I was at the endodontist office so she should could come up with a plan of action. She decided that antibiotics were the best course of action for the time being because a re-treatment of a root canal would be painful and the antibiotics would get rid of the infection temporarily until we returned to New Jersey. I spent the better part of the holidays with a mild toothache, but survived. On Dec. 31st I headed back in to see the specialist... had my re-treatment root canal and headed home. Boy was I in for a treat when I woke up on Saturday. She prescribed me Vicodin and I USED it...about every 4 hours along with ibuprofen I used it. This lasted a week until I went back. At that time she prescribed me more vicodin and a muscle relaxer and by Monday Jan. 10th I was finally comfortable. Yes, 10 days on a vicodin binge...it wasn't pretty. On Saturday Jan. 15th, I noticed a large blister on my gums...and the pain was increasing so on Monday Jan. 17th, back to the endodontist and finally after one month of pain, 3 refills of Vicodin, one prescription of muscle relaxers, one fistula and one tooth extraction I am finally on the road to recovery.

On January 5th Mitch's mom called and said that his grandfather was being admitted to the hospital for complications from either the flu or food poisoning. Not sure which, but anyway they thought he had fatigue and dehydration. On Saturday the 8th Mitch's parents called and said he was diagnosed with MRSA and that they were treating him and if he made it through the next 24 hours he would most likely survive. He responded well to the medication and by Monday it seemed that things were looking up. But the next day the news was grim. Diagnosed with Pneumonia and the doctors needed to know if they should treat or just make him comfortable. Grandma Fran wanted him treated for a week, but on Thursday it was decided to take him off the machines and Thursday afternoon Grandpa LaVerne passed peacefully with his family surrounding him. That night Grandma Fran fell, hit her head and had to be taken to the hospital. A concussion and bleed on the brain kept her in the hospital overnight, so Mitch jumped in the car and drove to Wisconsin to be with his family. Visitation was last night and full military funeral was this morning. I stayed home to take care of the girls who aren't ready to be at funerals and would never have survived the drive. Daddy will be home tomorrow night which is good, we miss him terribly.

On Tuesday Jan. 11th Sandy had to have a cyst removed from her paw. I have had to change her bandage every day because she continues to chew them off. I am stuffing meds down her throat twice a day and wrapping her paw in plastic every time she has to go out...I commented to my mom that there is a reason I am not a vet or a medical professional of any kind. Thankfully the vet called yesterday and the cyst was benign.

And lastly, Mitch was supposed to leave for Switzerland on Jan. 12th...on the 11th it got pushed to the 14th, on the 13th it got pushed to the 14th. Then on the 14th it got pushed to the 22nd. So now I am waiting for him to return just so he can turn around and leave again. I'm feeling pretty sorry for the girls. I'm not sure they are going to remember him. And I'm just a little bit ticked off at daddy's employer. Seriously, people can't plan like that and just make things work at the drop of a hat.

So yeah, January hasn't been real great for us. Lots of stressors but then I get to cuddle up with these two, hear them laugh and smell that sweet baby scent that comes from their heads and I start to think..."Maybe January isn't so bad after all?"

Run, Run, Run as fast as you can...

Yesterday was 1-11-11, what a cool date. I guess the only one better will 11-11-11. We spent the morning at Terhune Orchards. They did a Read and Share about Gingerbread Men. It was so much fun. After waking up Leah yesterday morning I told her we were going to go to the Orchard to make a Gingerbread Man with Kathleen and Ryan. I kept repeating "Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man." I couldn't remember the whole story or I would have gone there. She kept referencing the Gingerbread Man cookie in the movie Shrek, which tells me that she watched "Shrek the Halls" way to many times this Holiday season at Gigi's house.

Once we got to the Orchard they set us up in one of the Greenhouses where it was nice and warm. The lady in charge went over how some of the ingredients used to make Gingerbread men were grown on farms. She talked about wheat becoming flower, cinnamon, and ginger roots. Leah is holding it in one of the pictures. Then she showed them seedlings that were beginning to grow and I thought she did a really good job. After the farm presentation she read The Gingerbread Man story. I was happy to learn that Leah had been listening to me, as she recited the "Run, run, run..." sequence of the story. After the story they passed out the cookies and little kits for the kids to make their own little men. Leah had such a good time, she was especially excited about the sprinkles, but then again what kid doesn't get excited about sprinkles. I must say she really did a good job. I let her eat a little bit of him there and we brought the rest home.

Kiersten did great too. She just crawled around on the table tops watching the action, probably thinking "Hey, where is my Gingerbread Man." I must admit I started to feel a little sorry for her so I gave her a taste of the icing and slipped a chocolate chip or two into her mouth. Afterwards we walked around the Orchard. Saw the goats, a duck a rooster and of course we had to pet the dogs and the kitty. We always end our trip with a walk through the store where Leah picked out a few MacIntosh Apples and some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Yummm!

10 months and counting...

Can it really be that my baby girl is 10 months old??? 2011 has snuck up on me rather quickly and it is starting to dawn on me that I should probably start making plans for bug-a-boo's 1st birthday part. Where has the time gone?!?!? Not a whole lot to report, she is still the happiest little Bug I have ever laid eyes on and she is pretty cute to boot. Lately I can't get enough of her cuddles, even when she is trying to bite on my chin and leaves me covered with slobber because she is trying so hard to get those top teeth. Not sure what we weigh now and no length measurements, because we don't go back to the doctor until our 1 year physical at this point in time. I am guessing she is still hovering around 18 and a half pounds because the flu she had back in December was NOT kind to her.

Still not walking. I figured for sure since she was crawling at 6 months she would be starting to take those 1st steps by now but she really is not ready and shows no interest. Probably partly because she is the world's fastest crawling baby...no really, she is! We try to stand her up and get her to take steps. She attempts from time to time and loves to walk holding on to stuff but she is just not ready to let go. We have seen her sneaking little "stand-up all alone" attempts and trying to figure out how to balance. It's adorable, especially when she falls on her little butt! Anyway, I think that's it for 10 month update. Still not really talking yet either but she can babble up a storm with the best of them. Happy 10 months, Kiersten!!!

Here we go again...

It seems that every time we leave New Jersey they get hit by a major snowstorm. So again this year we returned from the holidays to snow...approximately 2 feet of it. Of course that doesn't compare to what we saw in Minnesota but it is not the norm here in Jersey. Last year they were hit with a major snow storm that closed the airports, lucky for us we were already gone. This year the same thing happened, again lucky us...we were already long gone. But Poor Aunt Laura and Uncle Jeff got stranded in New York. They had a rough holiday with a funeral and rearranging flights and a long stay in a hotel. I think to say that they were ready to get home to Phoenix would be an understatement. Leah on the other hand was so happy to be home and to play in the snow. Last year during our Nor' easters that dumped a few feet of snow on us she had so much fun playing and building a snowman. This year she was eager to get out and give it another try. Of course it helped that she had watched Frosty the Snowman umpteen times this Christmas so she happily named her snowman Frosty. Kiersten on the other hand was a little less eager to get out and play in the snow. Actually she wanted to be outside. She stood at the sliding glass door and cried and cried for her Daddy and Leah but she wanted nothing to do with the white stuff. I know looking at the pictures you are thinking "Good Lord, Mommy put some clothes on that baby." But the temperature was actually up in the mid-50's, Mitch and Leah were both too warm so we figured her fleece romper and winter hat would suffice. Besides she was out there for a whole 5 minutes. I just love her reactions to the snow. I was happy that I snapped the picture just at the right time when she was rearing up to let loose with a wail. Another thing that makes my heart smile is seeing how Leah wore the white little lamb hat with her snowman last year and in this year's picture Kiersten is donning the adorable fleece as white as snow. Maybe next up will be snow angels.