Our Family: June 2010

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

June 28th, 2010

Before I start, I have to share that I had an Ah-ha! moment today. For some reason, I decided to look at what Ella was doing at the same age as Alexis, so I referenced the blog. I had a wonderful trip down memory late and it made me realize that I had missed a lot of stuff since having a 2nd child and I put my foot down. That's it! From now on, it's blogging time. So here goes....
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It's a Monday night in the summer, which means I'm flying solo with my girls. Picked them up from daycare and as usual, Ella comes running. I notice the funniest thing. When she put on her clothes for the day, apparently, she had forgotten to take off her pajama shorts first, so yes, she had two pair of shorts on all day, in 80 degree weather. Like she isn't hot blooded enough, but with two pair of shorts - woof-ta!

Lexi is just as happy as a lark. Suprising since she only ate twice at daycare (usually 3 times). We all got home in one piece and Ella is up to our room to watch cartoons, while I start feeding Lexi some carrots. She's gobbling them up when all of a sudden, all she can do is rub her eyes, take a bite, rub her eyes. So I calmly put down the spoon, stick in her green soothie binkie and away we go to her room. Monitor on - check. Radio on- check. Lexi & bink in crib - check. 5 minutes later, she's snoozing away. 1 1/2 hours later - yep, still sleeping. Apparently she was a little tired. I think she's cutting some teeth. Her bottom gums are getting pretty thick and she's crabby on and off, so I'm assuming that's what it is.

Ella & I eat a basic cream of mushroom casserole for dinner and then she's busy putting beads on those plastic holders with the little teeth things that you iron and they all stick together. Amazingly, she's been working on 2 of them for over an hour. So creative and so smart. She tells me, "Mom, this sure is a lot of work. Even for a smart kid like me!"

Later tonight, Ella went downstairs to go potty and apparently was a little out of it as she opens the door to the garage, looks and then shuts the door and goes into the bathroom. Silly girl - although sometimes a little scatter brained =)

June 29th, 2010

Rise and shine so early Ella. A little before 6:00, Ella comes meandering downstairs to the kitchen; eyes still half closed. Hugs and kisses in the morning from her are priceless, so gentle and soft as she has yet to realize the excitement and fullness of the day yet. Then she's off to go potty before picking out breakfast. This morning, it happens to be Lucky Charms with milk and a cup of OJ.

Alexis was so happy this morning when I went it to wake her up to nurse. Ella, of course, wanted hugs and kisses from her before anything else got done. Not that Alexis gives hugs and kisses at this point, but to say Ella is a little affecitationate towards her little sister is an understatement. Lexi fed - check, put in a cute sun dress - check. She is ready for the day.

Unlike Ella, I have been putting Lexi in dresses almost everyday. At this point in Ella's life it's hard to get her to wear a dress, skirt or even a skort - all she wants to do is boy stuff, even picking out boy colors for anything she does. Did you know there are boy colors and girl colors? We didn't either until Ella informed us of it - in essence, boy colors are anything but pink and purple.

After work, I headed to the church offices to work on our church directory. Another gal, Jen and I are working on putting together the pages at the beginning of our directory of all the different church activities; men's groups, women's groups, kid's groups, the Rededication of the Church following our extensive remodel. After many, many meetings, we are just about finished. To put it in perspective, I started working on the directory before I had Lexi. Not this particular piece, but other items - so over 8 months ago. Yikes!

Got home from working on the directory and Lexi was chowing away on mixed veggies (1st time) and then mixed fruit (peaches, pear, pineapple juice). She loved both of them and gobbled them down. Ella was eating her supper really well too.

Then we grilled some chicken to eat another night this week and Charles put deck protectant on the deck and stairs. After I got done grilling, the girls and I went for a walk with Penny. Ella rode her bike, Lexi in the stroller. A little over a mile later, Lexi was sleeping, Ella's legs hurt and Penny was pooped. Mission accomplished.

Got both girls to bed - although at times getting Ella there is a challenge. Not actually putting her to bed, but keeping her there. Last night, her mind was running about police officers. "Mom, um, um, I was thinking about police officers and how they put people in jail." "Ella, they only put people in jail when they do something wrong, so as long as you listen to Mom and Dad and obey the law, you'll be fine." "Ok, mom, love you". Ugh - this went on for about an hour, almost until Charles & I went to bed. Oh well, she's so much like me with her mind running that it's a little scary.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June

Alexis' 6 month pictures taken by yours truly.

Ella's 4 1/2 year old pictures, again taken by yours truly.

We had a wonderful 1st weekend in June. Charles plays golf weekly with some guys from our church, St. Pius X. Every year, our Holy Name Society has a golf outing to raise money. This year, Charles' brother Clark, brother in law Don, and Clark's friend Les played in the tournament. Les was a last minute add after Charles' other brother, Bobby, broke his hand at work (Darn it!). So we had a house full of guests - just what we love - and a whole lot of fun. Golf tournament on Friday for the boys - shopping for Brenda & I. Principal Charity Classic on Saturday with everyone, including Brittany & Brad - ICubs game Saturday evening - breakfast and check out on Sunday morning. One of the best weekends we have had in a very long time and soooo much fun! As Bobby & Lori were checking out, Penny though she'd go along.... she jumped in the front seat of their car.

Bobby & Lexi on Sunday morning.

Lexi & her best buddy Penny. She looks really white in the picture - not quite that pale in real life.

Brenda & Ella making iron bead creations.

Happy Father's Day Charles! I got the girls new shirts that say, "I love my Dad".

Daddy & his girls.

Pretty Lexi

Grandma Ellen & Ella playing soccer in the front yard.

Grandma Ellen & Ella before Ella's t-ball game - the Grasshoppers dominated! Ok, maybe not - since they don't keep score.

Grandpa Roger & Lexi sitting on the driveway.

Grandma Ella feeding Lexi a bottle.

Grandma Ellen, Grandpa Roger & Ella before her t-ball game.

Ella & Daddy opening Father's Day gifts. A homemade picture frame from Lowe's that Ella made. New cufflinks & a tie tack from all of us.

Happy 34th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

All of us - minus Charles who took the picture! If there was ever any doubt of how much my Mom & I look alike, the doubt should now be removed.

Lexi's first swimming trip. She absolutely loved it!

More lake fun....

Lexi & Aunt Brenda at Uncle Jamie's 40th birthday party!

Happy baby....

All grins eating cereal =)

Making more creations w/ iron beads.

Yummy! I love my bottle, especially when I can feed myself. Her poor cheeks have been raw like this since just about the time we brought her home from the hospital! Darn dry skin!

Chilling at the lake in her exersaucer.

Some other highlights.....

06/01/10 - Alexis is now rolling over on her side to sleep.

06/07/10 - Ella riding her bike without training wheels
06/12/10 - Lexi is talking up a storm - lots of babbling!

06/13/10 - Alexis is starting to wake up on her tummy.

Alexis has stopped nursing twice at night after daycare. I'm guessing it's because she's eating baby food and isn't as hungry. So she's nursing in the morning, taking 3 bottles at daycare, and nursing at night before bed. Then cereal for breakfast, or closer to a morning snack and baby food for dinner. She started with sweet potatoes, then squash, then carrots.

Oh my....

Man, I am overly behind. It's catch-up time, boys and girls. Hold tight cause this could be a bumpy ride.

Life is full of stuff - sleeping, eating, work, & play. I find that I am constantly reminded (in a good way) to slow down and enjoy it. Often times I find myself so busy that I don't even make time to watch my girls and truly appreciate them, or to hug my husband and ask him 'How was your day'?

I'm making time NOW to slow down and do the things that are important to me. First - pray. Second - time to appreciate my family. Third - take care of the first two and the rest will fall into place.

April

April started off with a wonderful Easter with all of our family - well almost all of them. Lots of Easter egg dying, hunting and the like. Spending time with loved ones.

Then, big birthdays. My aunt Connie turned 60, my grandfather turned 89. Over the past few months, things have become more challenging with grandpa as he begins to encounter health problems - outside of the amputated leg and skin cancer on his face, he is in the beginning stages of Parkinson's. Still sharp as a whip and playing pinnochle with his 3 boys almost daily - he is now not able to continue with his daily freedoms entirely. What an amazing man with a big heart and a story to tell....

Duste started to have some episodes that made us nervous. Over the past several months, I'd noticed a few lumps on her sides near the middle of her back. She had an episode, which I think could be Vestibular Disease. All got better for about a week and then she quit eating and drinking. Would barely go outside and when she did, she'd lay in the grass and not move. Frightening. So, Charles & I made the call to my parents to have my mom meet me half-way in Jefferson to pick up Duste and take her to live with them. This way, if her life became labored, then they would be able to take her to the vet and have her put down.

So Penny (our other dog), Ella, Lexi, Charles hugged & kissed her, and took some pictures. I loaded her up in the back of the van for our 1 hour trip and somewhere between home & Jefferson, the dear Lord took my little Duster. It wasn't a difficult death, as far as I can tell as I didn't hear anything. But even 2 months later, it still hurts. Charles had bought Duste for me about 8 months after we began dating and she was my first dog.

We loved that dog more than anything and she was a great dog - smart as a whip, sly and cunning and at times, we truly believed, she was part human. Especially the way she'd cock her head at you while you talked, how she'd look at you and then ignore you and do her own thing. At any rate, many tears were shed for Duste. My mom and I had Oreo blizzards in her honor at Dairy Queen.

When we first brought her home from the shelter in Ft. Dodge, she had gotten into a bag of Oreo cookies and ate the whole thing. We should have known at that point that she was unique. Chocoloate is poisonous to dogs (apparently), but it didn't affect Duste whatsoever. Then it was on to fond memories of her - how many pairs of shoes did she eat? Burying pancakes in my parents backyard - digging a hole under their back porch to lay in the cool dirt under the house. Oh Duste - I love you!

Ella was a very sad girl for a few hours when I shared the news with her. But we had talked about it many times in the week before Duste passed away and Ella had made peace with it. What an amazing girl she is!

Miss Lexi - started cereal. Absolutely no interest. Clamps her mouth like you're going to feed her dirt. No luck. Will continue to try. She continues to be a good eater and sleepers. 3 - 6 oz bottles each day + nursing. She's a very happy baby and everyone seems to enjoy her - family, friends & neighbors.

And finally, we got our 1st garden in our new house planted (6 years later). A lot of convincing on my part and agreement to have strawberries and Charles was all ready!

Ella finished up Round 2 of swimming lessons and passed! She is doing quite well and can't wait to start practicing this summer!