Life's been crazy...

So, a bunch of random thoughts...

No pics of Sweet Pea today... I haven't been on the ball in awhile.

Today I was talking to my friend Courtney while unpacking groceries (I had my headset plugged into my phone so I could do two things at once). I put the phone down and Sweet pea looked at me and said, "hello" while pointing to the headset. I went over and grabbed her play phone and put the headset on her and she had a blast for about 20 minutes. She looked so cute with that headset on and talking to her friends.

She continuously hands me the phone and says, "daddy?" or "Bumpy" (used to be Bumpa... her word for Grandpa). I swear she said "Boppy" instead of Bumpy or Bumpa today! How does she keep changing the name? We call Daddy at least once a day. She says "hello daddy" and then takes the phone away from her head, points to it and says, "Daddy!". She listens for a few seconds and then says, "bye bye". It's fun for her to talk to daddy during the day.

When we're out and about, whenever she sees someone with a mustache or beard, she STILL runs her finger over her lips and says Bumpa/y. It's super cute. I thought she might forget, but no!

Our computer is in our kitchen while Hubby works on a project in the basement. Sweet pea's favorite thing to do right now is look at pictures! She loves to name all of the people... ashton, mommy, daddy, audrey, bumpy, mooney (grandma... I swear it sounds like mooney), our neighbors, and jake (which she points to and says - no, no dogs - something my mom taught her at Christmas). It's super fun and she loves it.

Why have I not been on the ball lately? Well, we've been having some serious car troubles this month. Three weeks ago, the blazer wouldn't start (and I wasn't home with it!). A fuel pump and a lot of money later, it was running. Then, last tuesday, Hubby stalled with the neon on the expressway on his way home. A new transmission and a radiator and alot of money later, it is running. At this point, we decided to shop for a car in a few months, target = spring. THEN I took the blazer in for an oil change on thursday and explained a heat issue I was having. They came back with a leaking manifold gasket of some sort... basically it's leaking coolant into the oil and they wanted alot of money to get it fixed. I said thank you but no... we don't want the car anymore.

So yes, we're keeping the yucky neon and getting rid of the blazer. We've shopped for a new mini-van all weekend. YES, you heard me right... mr. hubby will soon be the proud owner of a new mini-van!!! The man that said he would never (and yes, he used words that strong), NEVER own a mini-van will be owning one by tomorrow or wednesday. Life is funny, isn't it?!

We picked out a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country. It's pretty nice and will have a warrenty which is better than driving the blazer with 149,000 miles on it just waiting for what's going to break next.

AND... if you're looking for used cars and find a 2000 red blazer with a moon roof and dark grey interior for a great deal - RUN!!! The dealer actually asked us if we would be willing to take phone calls from interested buyers... "uh, no" was our answer.

Hopefully, we'll have some fun pictures of Sweet Pea (maybe in her new van?) here soon...

YUM YUM!

So, one of hubby's favorite foods is mashed potatoes... really, mashed potatoes. I made them last week and saved the beaters for him. He was so nice to share with Sweet Pea, and the pictures are cute. She loved to eat them off the beater but refused to eat them off of her plate.
Then, I made rice crispy bars. When's the last time you guys had rice crispy bars?!!! You're missing out! They're just as good as they were when you were younger. She took her sweet old time eating all of the rice crispies and marshmallow goo off of the spatula... and was pretty mad when I took it away from her (I swear, it was all gone!)
The pictures that are missing because I didn't take them are of her licking the cookie dough beater. After it was all gone (and a few tears were shed) I put it in the dishwasher. The next morning I was emptying the dishwasher... she was ticked off that I didn't give her the CLEAN beater to lick as I was taking it out of the dishwasher and putting it away.

Yum!!!!!! 

hubby hunting last September

So, I was just going through some picturs on our computer and found these! I had never seen these pictures before!!!

Last fall, Hubby went hunting with my Uncle Dale (my mom's brother). He lives about 1 1/2 hours north of us here...

Hubby's never been hunting before, but has always wanted to try it. Dale goes to North Dakota twice a year to hunt, once for Grouse (sp?) and once for Pheasants. Jake, our dog has never been hunting before either!!! Yes, our full bred black lab was always a city dog... especially when we lived in Cincinnati and Boston (in the cities!).
Jake (holding the bird) caught on by the second or third day. He learned from Dale's dog, Molly and another dog that was with them. It's amazing... I think hunting is actually in their genes! Hubby and Dale would shoot the birds and the dogs would go get them and bring them back!
Dale in the background, Molly up close with Jake on the left.
All of the dead birds... hubby's kill is still in our freezer. I don't know how to cook a grouse and haven't been too excited about figuring it out!

Jake is actually living with Uncle Dale and Aunt Becky. He went up there when we left for our Chirstmas tour of Ohio and he's staying as long as Dale and Becky will have him. We miss him so much, but he's much happier up there with Molly. Dale has alot of land and two ponds. He never has to wear a leash to go outside... he just runs and runs and comes back when he's done with his business. When the water's not frozen, he is wet whenever possible. That dog has always loved to swim. Here, he would go outside for a few minute walk (to do his business) three times a day and that's it. He loved us and we loved him, he just wasn't getting the exercise or attention that he deserved. AND... we have visiting rights!!! Dale and Becky are always excited to see Sweet Pea and we'll love to see our dog! 

I potty!!!

So, giving you all more details than you probably want to hear... when I head to the bathroom during the day, I sometimes tell Sweet Pea, "mommy's going potty" or something close to it.

More than once, since before Christmas, Sweet Pea has looked at me and said, "I potty". My response is usually something like, "really, do you have to go potty?" where she'll shake her head yes. The first time or so that happened, I said, "ok, you potty, no problem". I wondered... can I potty train a not quite 18 month old (her age at the time)? OK all of you pro's, my friends with multiple kids, STOP LAUGHING AT ME!!!

The third time or so Sweet Pea told me, "I potty", I took her upstairs to the potty and sat her on it (with out her pants/diaper). She proudly sat there in a sing-song voice saying, "I potty, I potty, I potty" (no, this is NOT what I do when I go to the bathroom). Nothing happened when she was sitting there, but it was cute. That's happened more than once... not sure why I go through with the removal of diaper and pants and actually go through with it, I guess I just don't want to discourage my 1 1/2 year old?

Last night, hubby told me a story... While he was making dinner (I was tutoring last night) for himself and Sweet Pea, she looked up at him and plugged her nose and said, "I stinky". The wonderful dad that he is, he then sat her in her booster chair and they ate dinner. After dinner, she looked at him and said, "I potty". They went upstairs to the changing table and, wow, a stinky diaper.

I wonder if she does really know whats going on?! Maybe, just maybe, if all of the stars are lined up just right and God is on our side we can have just one child in diapers when baby #2 comes? Granted, I don't know the first thing about potty training and doubt I really have the patience for it right now... but, huh, who knows?!

why?

No really, why?!

me: sweet pea, where going to the store
her: why?

because we're out of milk.
why?

because your daddy drank it all.
why?

because he was thirsty and he likes milk.
why?

I don't know...
why?

I don't know, sweet pea...
why?

because mommy said so.

yep, you heard it folks... I just used the "because mommy said so". Really, though, isn't the "why" question a 2 year old thing? Or, at least a thing they start saying when they can speak in somewhat complete sentances? Or, at least when they can understand what you're saying and communicate back?

why? oh, yes... why.

It's official!

We had a doctor's appointment last friday and heard the heartbeat of baby #2!!! God has blessed us with another baby!

If you ask Sweet Pea if she wants a brother or sister, she holds up her hand with all five fingers proudly displayed! Hubby was trying to teach her to hold up two fingers and say "two"... he's always wanted twins... he has no idea what he's wishing for!

Things are going fine... a bit of nauseous that started around Christmas and ended a few days ago. It still hits me every once in awhile, but I just go to the kitchen and eat something and it usually passes.

Due date... August 10th! 2 years, 1 month, 9 days after Sweet Pea was born. Not sure what I was thinking... being pregnant through the summer with a two year old should be GREAT fun!!! Do you think she'll want to sit in the AC and watch movies all day?!

long time, no post...

It seems I've used a title similar to this before!

Few updates, cute stories, etc.

Two weeks ago, Sweet Pea went to her 18 month checkup. Nothing too exciting... we discussed her general dislike of meat (won't eat it... unless it's a chicken mcnugget. She used to eat hot dogs, not any more - both options are questionable, are they actually meat?). The pediatrician recommended vitamin drops... agh. She's growing fine though!! Off the charts in height and 90% in weight... seems fine to me! Hubby's pretty excited, he hopes to have a basketball star someday. I keep telling him that she might be a cheerleader and love ballet!!! He just grumbles at that... She got a few shots and hardly flinched. I do wonder about her pain tolerance though, seems a bit strange.

Last week we had a pretty quiet week. The weather finally got cold here so we tried to go outside as little as possible. I get cabin fever pretty quick, so we ventured out enough to make me happy :) On friday we met a friend and her two kids at a local community center to go swimming. It was cold outside so it sure was nice to get into really warm pool water! It took sweet pea about 20-30 minutes to actually get her suit wet, she just kept walking up and down the ramp leading into the pool. It has a cool handle bar that she can reach, so she thought she was a big girl!!! We went down the water slide together a TON, once she decided it was fun to get wet. She was pretty ticked that we had to leave, if she could have walked to the slide again, she would have. The depth at the slide is 3'6"... she would walk toward it until the water reached her chin and then try to push the water away from her chin so she could keep going!

She's talking and talking more and more and more these days! But, I swear I understand less and less of her. It wouldn't be a problem except she gets pretty frustrated... poor thing. Her mind is ahead of her mouth!

She started kicking the beach ball a friend got us around the house. It's fun to watch, especially when it gets kicked into a corner and she isn't sure what to do...

It's funny how I think of things that family would want to hear about all week, then I sit down and can't remember them! Oh well... we'll try to post more stories when I remember them. I should really get some work done :)

tired...

So, sweet pea woke up crying last night at 3:30... it's such a strange feeling for me since she's been sleeping so well for such a long, long time.

I went into her room and she was standing in her crib, facing the wall? I picked her up felt her burning up head... yikes, another fever. We went to my room and sat down and had some OJ, which I just happened to have, with a straw. She drank, drank, drank... and then we snuggled. Hubby woke up just enough to go and get the Motrin. I handed her the cup and she slurped it up. I was looking forward to snuggling with her in our bed for a bit, until she fell asleep... but our bed has always been 'play time' for her. She kept saying (in quite a loud voice), "that's daddy, i'm sweet pea, you're mommy"... over and over. It's good to know she wasn't delerious or anything from the fever, she knew just who everyone was! She started growling and giggling and I knew it was time to take her back to her crib.

Another dose of Motrin 6 hours later (she got hot, almost like clock work!), she grabbed the cup from me, said thank you, drank it, and then asked for more?! I think the medicine people put just a little too much sugar in their stuff if the kids are asking for more!

She napping now, and I'll be close behind her. Hopefully this fever breaks because I'm not quite sure what to do if it doesn't...

Snow finally arrived!

After experiencing Spring for quite awhile... we finally got some snow on New Year's Eve! Boy, was it pretty... so nice to see clean white on everything instead of dirty, dead grass and trees!
New year's day, the whole family bundled up and went sledding with our neighbors and their three boys. I'm not sure Sweet Pea was completely comfortable here. We got her out of the sled and she wouldn't even touch the snow... after seeing the boys playing in it she got a little more adventurous though...

Sweet pea did go down a hill once with her dad. I'm not sure if she liked it or not... she didnt complain too much but she wasn't super excited either. I think she was still getting used to the idea of the grass going away and this cold (brrrrr) stuff on the ground.
Yes, folks, that's my husband going down the big hill on a plastic sled. I think the last time I was sledding was on the hill of the Forum Apartment building on MLK Dr. in Cincy... anybody remember that place? The thing you should be remembering is the HUGE drop off onto MLK... we were nuts! But, 10-12 years later, we can still sled. It's pretty funny to think that we're sledding with our kid now!!! 

A few Christmas Memories

We're trying our hardest to get settled back into our daily routine... without much luck. Sweet Pea and I got home from our trip to the Eastern Midwest on Saturday night after a rough night on airplanes and in airports. It wasn't that bad, really... it didn't phase Sweet Pea at all, but I thought it stunk. Basically... how can you get dinner during an hour layover from 6-7pm if all of the restaurants in the airport are closed?!!! I wasn't in a po-dunk town! I was in a decent sized mid-western city!!! Oh well, Sweet pea seemed to enjoy eating teddy grahams and raisins for dinner and I all most got sick by the time we landed here... she was quite the sport though! No complaining!!!
Here's a pic of Sweet pea all decked out at Grandma's house. She was loving all of the things that are 'pretty'.
Bad shot, but adorable. She was dancing to who knows what music. We were laughing so hard!!! She was dressed in her 'nice' dress because I was still trying to get a picture of her for our Christmas cards...
We opened presents at my parents house on Christmas eve. Sweet pea got a bunch of new books... we love Richard Scary books, especially when there are flaps to lift!!!
My mom got Audrey a play kitchen which she loves!!! It stinks when I find her cup of milk in the play kitchen though... she loves to put things away!!! The robe she's wearing was made by our neighbor... perfectly beautiful!