A year ago today my little girl turned 4 months old. She was smart, and beautiful, full of spunk and attitude. Everyone always said that once we got to 4 months, her colic would be gone, and that would be the funnest part of having a baby.
A year ago today my 4 month olds life changed drastically. The fact that my baby girl turned 4 months old that day, wasnt the biggest thing we had going on.
The semi truck came, the movers packed, we said our goodbyes, and off we went.
A year ago today we left for Missouri.
We left virginia much later than we wanted. It was 7pm before we pulled out of the driveway. Wes and i had to drive seperate cars, so i was driving alone. We drove throughout the night and got to nashville around 4 or 5 am. We spent 2 days in Nashville, and got back on the road heading for our new home, in Kansas City Missouri.
Today my daughter turned 16 months old. It has been a year since we left virginia. We still have a while to go until we can return, but this is a big milestone. We are one year closer to going home.
Although life here isnt as great as it is home, nothing is ever the same as home.. It is better than it was. I have become very picky about who i allow into our lives, to keep the drama out. I have shutout people that i would never imagine having to shutout, but we are happier that way. Life here isnt so awful anymore, and i hope it helps to make the remaining two years go by fast.
Happy 16 months old baby girl.
and 2 days ago, my precious Brooklynn turned 4 months old. But nothing drastic happened on that day... She spent her special day at Aunt cheyannes with her cousins.
I make babies, whats your superpower?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
on the menu
Well its Saturday.. well really, its 12:23 am... so friday just ended..
Im sitting here trying to convince myself that cooking texas toast right now at midnight just because im craving it would be a bad idea.. but it sounds so yummy... on that note alone, I am going to take a pregnancy test soon... Not because i think im pregnant. Just to put my mind at ease. I am on the mirena, sooo.... im supposed to be pretty in the clear when it comes to pregnancies for 5 years... but knowing me, i would be the one that gets pregnant on it. So i freak out over any sign at all.. cravings, no period, etc.. no period is caused by the mirena often.. so i guess i will freak out a lot.
ANYWAYS.. heres whats on the menu this week :)
Saturday- grilled salmon, broccoli, brown rice. I let wes choose what he wanted for Saturday.. since i usually pick the meals.. so i could go ahead and take it out of the freezer.. did i mention i am loving my new 20 dollar deep freezer...
Sunday- Sloppy Joes and waffle fries... This is also a wes favorite, but bryleigh and I like it too :)
Monday- Spaghetti and meatballs.. Mondays are typically wes' longest work days.. I dont try to make anything fancy on mondays.. no point.. probably going to either eat alone, or eat after 9pm... not that sloppy Joes are fancy, but you get the point
Tuesday- pork chops on the grill, white rice, green beans.. discovered the most delicious marinade for meats last week.. orange juice, lemon juice and some other various spices. Sounds wierd, orange juice on meats, but holy moly... Tried it on pork chops, chicken, and steaks, and we both agreed, it ended up being the best pork chops, chicken, and steaks we had ever had. Definitely using that marinade from now on.
Wednesday- pineapple sausage brats on the grill, carrots on the grill, onion rings
Thursday- Garlic chicken pasta.. its a yummy chicken, pasta, vegetables mix that is SOOOO good.
Friday- Fajitas
No going out to eat next week. We are saving money for our LA trip :) found out its 40/night JUST TO PARK!!! AH!
well, im gonna go preheat the toaster oven.. after writing my list, i especially have to have the texas toast. I usually NEVER snack. with breakfast lunch and dinner i rarely get hungry in between, so i guess it doesnt make me feel bad to indulge every once and a while... besides, 2 pregnancies down, and i only have about 11 lbs to be back to my original weight. I'm okay with that number 3 months after i had a baby.
Im sitting here trying to convince myself that cooking texas toast right now at midnight just because im craving it would be a bad idea.. but it sounds so yummy... on that note alone, I am going to take a pregnancy test soon... Not because i think im pregnant. Just to put my mind at ease. I am on the mirena, sooo.... im supposed to be pretty in the clear when it comes to pregnancies for 5 years... but knowing me, i would be the one that gets pregnant on it. So i freak out over any sign at all.. cravings, no period, etc.. no period is caused by the mirena often.. so i guess i will freak out a lot.
ANYWAYS.. heres whats on the menu this week :)
Saturday- grilled salmon, broccoli, brown rice. I let wes choose what he wanted for Saturday.. since i usually pick the meals.. so i could go ahead and take it out of the freezer.. did i mention i am loving my new 20 dollar deep freezer...
Sunday- Sloppy Joes and waffle fries... This is also a wes favorite, but bryleigh and I like it too :)
Monday- Spaghetti and meatballs.. Mondays are typically wes' longest work days.. I dont try to make anything fancy on mondays.. no point.. probably going to either eat alone, or eat after 9pm... not that sloppy Joes are fancy, but you get the point
Tuesday- pork chops on the grill, white rice, green beans.. discovered the most delicious marinade for meats last week.. orange juice, lemon juice and some other various spices. Sounds wierd, orange juice on meats, but holy moly... Tried it on pork chops, chicken, and steaks, and we both agreed, it ended up being the best pork chops, chicken, and steaks we had ever had. Definitely using that marinade from now on.
Wednesday- pineapple sausage brats on the grill, carrots on the grill, onion rings
Thursday- Garlic chicken pasta.. its a yummy chicken, pasta, vegetables mix that is SOOOO good.
Friday- Fajitas
No going out to eat next week. We are saving money for our LA trip :) found out its 40/night JUST TO PARK!!! AH!
well, im gonna go preheat the toaster oven.. after writing my list, i especially have to have the texas toast. I usually NEVER snack. with breakfast lunch and dinner i rarely get hungry in between, so i guess it doesnt make me feel bad to indulge every once and a while... besides, 2 pregnancies down, and i only have about 11 lbs to be back to my original weight. I'm okay with that number 3 months after i had a baby.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sleepy girl..
Okay i want some feedback moms out there...
Bryleigh has been in this rut.. maybe not a rut.. maybe its perfectly fine. I know with kids her age and younger there is a wide range of normal, but i feel like this is a bit excessive. Well.. my kid likes to sleep.. a lot. She rarely fusses when its night night time, and when she falls asleep, she sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. On an average night, she goes to bed at 9pm. We keep this late bedtime due to the fact that her daddy works 12 hour days, so if he is going to get to see her, it has to be after 8pm. Well she goes to bed at 9pm, and doesnt wake up until 11 on most days. 11!!!!!!! Somedays, it will be noon and finally i will go in there and wake her up. THATS 15 HOURS OF SLEEP!!!! 3 hours after she wakes up.. around 3 or so, she is ready for another nap. and that lasts 3 hours. MY CHILD IS SLEEPING 18 hours a day!!! thats nuts to me. She is developing right on track if not advanced according to me lol, shes smart, engages with us very well, eats well, etc.. I am concerned. I thought at first maybe it was a growth spurt, but its lasted a long time..
any opinions would be great :)
last time i talked to the pediatrician about this, she said "most other parents would be happy to have your "problem"." very sarcastically lol. im going to talk to her about it again next visit.
Bryleigh has been in this rut.. maybe not a rut.. maybe its perfectly fine. I know with kids her age and younger there is a wide range of normal, but i feel like this is a bit excessive. Well.. my kid likes to sleep.. a lot. She rarely fusses when its night night time, and when she falls asleep, she sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. On an average night, she goes to bed at 9pm. We keep this late bedtime due to the fact that her daddy works 12 hour days, so if he is going to get to see her, it has to be after 8pm. Well she goes to bed at 9pm, and doesnt wake up until 11 on most days. 11!!!!!!! Somedays, it will be noon and finally i will go in there and wake her up. THATS 15 HOURS OF SLEEP!!!! 3 hours after she wakes up.. around 3 or so, she is ready for another nap. and that lasts 3 hours. MY CHILD IS SLEEPING 18 hours a day!!! thats nuts to me. She is developing right on track if not advanced according to me lol, shes smart, engages with us very well, eats well, etc.. I am concerned. I thought at first maybe it was a growth spurt, but its lasted a long time..
any opinions would be great :)
last time i talked to the pediatrician about this, she said "most other parents would be happy to have your "problem"." very sarcastically lol. im going to talk to her about it again next visit.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I GOT MY GOLDEN TICKET
I feel like i just auditioned for American Idol... I'm standing there... i just sang my heart out.. I did my best..randy, simon, kara, and ellen all looking at me kinda funny because i cant carry a tune in a bucket.. and then i come back to reality, click submit, and its real.. im going to hollywood.... Wes and i are going to Los Angeles california for our anniversary. I cant believe it. I have dreamed my whole life of visiting california. We found a great deal for a whole package.. Hotel, plane, car.. Already booked, already paid for. I've got my golden ticket.. we will spend 4 days there... exploring.. Bryleigh and Brooke will stay with grandma, at our house for 3 of the days, then the 4th day they will spend that with their cousins. I have caught myself a couple times at random parts of the day just stopping whatever im doing, and getting kind of giddy like a small kid at christmas time thinking about whats coming up... 1 more thing to mark off my list of things to do in my life.
Today bryleigh did something that i thought was really cute. Something really small, but made me smile. Since brooklynn was born, bryleigh has done a great job acting like brooklynn does not exist. She wont look at her, wont get close to her, wont kiss her, etc... The most she has done is go up to her when she is crying and either try to force feed her some snacks, or tries to feed her some of her sippy cup... But today brooklynn was being very peaceful, just looking at her playgym mobile.. laying on the floor.. (i can safely put her there because bryleigh will not bother her 99% of the time).. but if it were that 1 percent, she is like 2 feet from me... Anyways, she was staring at her mobile, and she started to fuss a little.. So bryleigh kept looking at her.. kinda with a curious look.. she finally walked over to her, got down on her knees, put her face right above hers and said "Heyyyyyy" really sweetly.. Bryleigh is 1 so her conversation skills are lacking, so after Hey i guess she didnt know what to say next so she just stared at her smiling, and then walked away. I thought it was so sweet. I think Bryleigh is a very loving and sweet girl deep down.. sometimes my sweet girl turns into her alter ego, Rotten Bob... but thats a whole other story lol.
Well thats all for today :)
Today bryleigh did something that i thought was really cute. Something really small, but made me smile. Since brooklynn was born, bryleigh has done a great job acting like brooklynn does not exist. She wont look at her, wont get close to her, wont kiss her, etc... The most she has done is go up to her when she is crying and either try to force feed her some snacks, or tries to feed her some of her sippy cup... But today brooklynn was being very peaceful, just looking at her playgym mobile.. laying on the floor.. (i can safely put her there because bryleigh will not bother her 99% of the time).. but if it were that 1 percent, she is like 2 feet from me... Anyways, she was staring at her mobile, and she started to fuss a little.. So bryleigh kept looking at her.. kinda with a curious look.. she finally walked over to her, got down on her knees, put her face right above hers and said "Heyyyyyy" really sweetly.. Bryleigh is 1 so her conversation skills are lacking, so after Hey i guess she didnt know what to say next so she just stared at her smiling, and then walked away. I thought it was so sweet. I think Bryleigh is a very loving and sweet girl deep down.. sometimes my sweet girl turns into her alter ego, Rotten Bob... but thats a whole other story lol.
Well thats all for today :)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
exhausted!!
man what a weekend. Friday and saturday night we were at the ER... hindsights 20/20, and we couldve POSSIBLY, very slight chance, couldve prevented last nights visit.. but.. like i said, hindsight is 20/20..
We took Bryleigh friday night to childrens mercy's ER, (her pediatrician sent us there)... We sat there for 3 hours while my child had a 104 fever without being seen. Someone was keeping Brooklynn other than grandma or aunt cheyanne, so i felt uncomfortable leaving her there for SO long, so i went and asked how much longer we had to go until it was our turn and there was still several people in front of us. My main concern was making her feel better, and i really thought it was the fever bug she gets all the time. The whole alternate the pain relievers routine, and she would be okay. So we left to get Brooklynn, decided to try that, and if she didnt improve to take her the next day. Well she improved, or i thought. Fever stayed around 100 all day, until night time. we gave her the meds, and the fever wouldnt break.. just continued to rise... so we went back.. this time to the hospital that we like.
As soon as we sat down in Triage bryleigh threw up all over my pants.. twice. it was everywhere. Her heart rate was in the 200's, and her fever was 104. Although she tried to tell us that her temp was only 100, because she was using an ear thermometer that never work when a toddler is moving all around.. so they toook it again rectally, because i told her to and it was 104. She was immediately given an IV because that was supposed to get her fever down. With meds in the IV. Iv finished, she was still miserable.. temp was STILL 104. They gave her something stronger and that finally broke the fever. She wanted to walk all throough the ER.. she was one of only 2 patients there. she was smiling, laughing, and telling all the doctors ALL DETTERGEN. my baby is so sweet. She had an ear infection, some sort of throat infection, and was vomitting.. not sure if she has the stomach virus for the 2897 time, or if she was vomitting from being so sick. dont know if that even makes sense. but in triage was the only time shes thrown up this time around.
Today has been great. She was only slightly fussy. wants to be held and cuddled, which i love because she is NOT a cuddle baby or a sit still child. she has just started really wanting to eat again tonight. Shes on amoxicillan and zofran, and tylenol and motrin for 48 hours.
wes and i are SOOOOO tired. we got home from the ER at 5 ,didnt fall asleep until 6 due to trying to make bryleigh more comfy.. brooklynn ofo course went to bed normal time, so she was ready to get up at 9. I did something that i never do, and i felt really guilty for it. When she woke up at 9, i fed her and put her in her swing so i could go back to sleep :( She didnt cry or anything, and im assuming went right back to sleep. Shes such a good baby. I know doing that this one time isnt going to be detrimental to her, it just made me feel bad. well, its 10, and im going to sleep so good tonight. goodnight, thankyou everyone for the prayers.
We took Bryleigh friday night to childrens mercy's ER, (her pediatrician sent us there)... We sat there for 3 hours while my child had a 104 fever without being seen. Someone was keeping Brooklynn other than grandma or aunt cheyanne, so i felt uncomfortable leaving her there for SO long, so i went and asked how much longer we had to go until it was our turn and there was still several people in front of us. My main concern was making her feel better, and i really thought it was the fever bug she gets all the time. The whole alternate the pain relievers routine, and she would be okay. So we left to get Brooklynn, decided to try that, and if she didnt improve to take her the next day. Well she improved, or i thought. Fever stayed around 100 all day, until night time. we gave her the meds, and the fever wouldnt break.. just continued to rise... so we went back.. this time to the hospital that we like.
As soon as we sat down in Triage bryleigh threw up all over my pants.. twice. it was everywhere. Her heart rate was in the 200's, and her fever was 104. Although she tried to tell us that her temp was only 100, because she was using an ear thermometer that never work when a toddler is moving all around.. so they toook it again rectally, because i told her to and it was 104. She was immediately given an IV because that was supposed to get her fever down. With meds in the IV. Iv finished, she was still miserable.. temp was STILL 104. They gave her something stronger and that finally broke the fever. She wanted to walk all throough the ER.. she was one of only 2 patients there. she was smiling, laughing, and telling all the doctors ALL DETTERGEN. my baby is so sweet. She had an ear infection, some sort of throat infection, and was vomitting.. not sure if she has the stomach virus for the 2897 time, or if she was vomitting from being so sick. dont know if that even makes sense. but in triage was the only time shes thrown up this time around.
Today has been great. She was only slightly fussy. wants to be held and cuddled, which i love because she is NOT a cuddle baby or a sit still child. she has just started really wanting to eat again tonight. Shes on amoxicillan and zofran, and tylenol and motrin for 48 hours.
wes and i are SOOOOO tired. we got home from the ER at 5 ,didnt fall asleep until 6 due to trying to make bryleigh more comfy.. brooklynn ofo course went to bed normal time, so she was ready to get up at 9. I did something that i never do, and i felt really guilty for it. When she woke up at 9, i fed her and put her in her swing so i could go back to sleep :( She didnt cry or anything, and im assuming went right back to sleep. Shes such a good baby. I know doing that this one time isnt going to be detrimental to her, it just made me feel bad. well, its 10, and im going to sleep so good tonight. goodnight, thankyou everyone for the prayers.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
fevers and new words
Bryleigh has been running a fever since yesterday. Yesterday it got to 104. We called her pediatrician, and the nurse said for us to take her to childrens mercy. Weve been through this what we call "fever bug" a few times since bryleigh has been born. She gets these crazy high temperatures, we go to the hospital or dr, and they say the same thing. Its viral, alternate motrin and tylenol every 4 hours. okay. seems to work. Usually it helps make her more comfortable. Maybe it is.. Its times like these i wish she was able to communicate better.. What hurts? Are you hot? are you cold? what can mommy do? I just want to make it all better. I rock her and love on her but she still whimpers every few minutes.. I know she is saying "mommy fix it", and i try so hard to make her feel like mommy wants so badly to fix it.
Anyways, her language has really taken off this week. I love the new phrases she says. Funny the things she catches on to. She now claps for herself and says "good girl" when she does something that SHE thinks is good.. Like throwing my keys in the trash...
When i give her medicine i always say "all better".. So the last few times i have given her medicine she says "All detter-gen" I dont know where the extra syllable comes from... But i know what shes saying. And by the way, this is her first 3 syllable phrase :) (All words that start with the letter B come out with the "D" sound right now... Bye bye is dye dye, ball sounds like doll.. but i must say, all dettergen is definitely my new favorite.
Monkey and bunny are her best friends. She goes everywhere with Monkey.. but 90 percent of the time she has Bunny too.. She is saying Monkey, and it sounds like un-KEE.. she really enunciates the KEY sound.. its funny. She has also added the word poopoo.. but im not quite so proud of that one lol.
Well thats all for the night. Everyone say a prayer for Bryleigh.. Mommy might not be able to completely fix it, and make her not sick anymore, but God can
Anyways, her language has really taken off this week. I love the new phrases she says. Funny the things she catches on to. She now claps for herself and says "good girl" when she does something that SHE thinks is good.. Like throwing my keys in the trash...
When i give her medicine i always say "all better".. So the last few times i have given her medicine she says "All detter-gen" I dont know where the extra syllable comes from... But i know what shes saying. And by the way, this is her first 3 syllable phrase :) (All words that start with the letter B come out with the "D" sound right now... Bye bye is dye dye, ball sounds like doll.. but i must say, all dettergen is definitely my new favorite.
Monkey and bunny are her best friends. She goes everywhere with Monkey.. but 90 percent of the time she has Bunny too.. She is saying Monkey, and it sounds like un-KEE.. she really enunciates the KEY sound.. its funny. She has also added the word poopoo.. but im not quite so proud of that one lol.
Well thats all for the night. Everyone say a prayer for Bryleigh.. Mommy might not be able to completely fix it, and make her not sick anymore, but God can
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
looking up
in approximately 3 weeks we will have lived here in missouri for 1 year. It has been a very very long year, a very hard year, but things are starting to look up. Although last week was a very hard week due to illness, it was still an alright week.
Sunday i had my first softball game in a really long time. Wes' aunt and uncle asked me to play on their co-ed team. Wes played right center field and i started out playing third base. By the third inning i was moved to short stop and played there the rest of the 1st and the whole 2nd game. It makes me feel pretty good about myself to be playing short stop on a co-ed team. I made a few errors, but nothing i didnt expect after pretty much playing no sport in 2 years. All in all i had a blast, and am so excited to be playing again. I met some cool people too.
I have also been hanging out with my sister in law a lot lately. Life out here was so lonely feeling like i had no one. I mean of course i have wes, and he is wonderful, but he works really long hours so 95 percent of my time i was spending alone with the girls, not going anywhere. Well Cheyanne and I have been planning outings, park trips, shopping trips, garden work, etc, and that has really helped me to enjoy my days here, instead of dread them. Its amazing how much having one friend can help.
And finally school. I have found a school out here that accepts all my credits as not just electives, but actual core classes towards a degree in biblical counseling. (yay) I have only 39 credits to go for my bachelors, and they have accelerated 6 week courses, so i will easily be able to finish in the next two years. And then i plan on starting on my masters, and joining the military as an officer.
Friday we are going to a greenhouse i have been seeing commercials for on tv. I want to get some more starter plants for squash, strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes.. might look at potatoes too.. garden is doing so good. im really proud of how it looks.
and as for the kiddos... the best part of my life.
brooklynn laughed out loud, like really laughed today. i had the same exact feeling i had when bryleigh laughed for the first time. it completely melted me. i think it is the sweetest sound in the world to hear a small baby laugh out loud. and i was able to hear both my babies laugh out loud for the first time, and daddy did too :) i was able to get him on the phone and lay the phone beside her so he could hear her. i love those moments. i finally got the recorder up to record her but she stopped!! im sure there is more giggles to come though!
Bryleigh added a new word to her vocabulary today. I hear people bragging about their childrens 30 word vocabs that are younger than bryleigh and i think that is nuts. Bryleigh (i dont think) has a 30 word vocabulary, but she sure is so smart. She is constantly picking up on things, and saying/doing things i had no idea she could do. Yesterday i had a candybar wrapper and i was joking and said here bryleigh take this to the trash, and sure enough, she went and threw it away. Wes and i made a huge deal of it, clapping and telling her what a good job she did. it was so sweet, she clapped for herself and did a small dance where she bounces up and down with her butt when shes excited. She knows where her eyes, hair, nose, and mouth are. her feet, and her fingers. she can count to three outloud, and also with her fingers. today she pointed at a banana and said "NA NA, NA NA" so i gave her a banana, and she was happy. she says thankyou when someone hands her something, and she says it clear enough for others to understand. she says all gone, and whats that. sorry for the long rant, she just makes me so proud to be a mother. they both do :)
Sunday i had my first softball game in a really long time. Wes' aunt and uncle asked me to play on their co-ed team. Wes played right center field and i started out playing third base. By the third inning i was moved to short stop and played there the rest of the 1st and the whole 2nd game. It makes me feel pretty good about myself to be playing short stop on a co-ed team. I made a few errors, but nothing i didnt expect after pretty much playing no sport in 2 years. All in all i had a blast, and am so excited to be playing again. I met some cool people too.
I have also been hanging out with my sister in law a lot lately. Life out here was so lonely feeling like i had no one. I mean of course i have wes, and he is wonderful, but he works really long hours so 95 percent of my time i was spending alone with the girls, not going anywhere. Well Cheyanne and I have been planning outings, park trips, shopping trips, garden work, etc, and that has really helped me to enjoy my days here, instead of dread them. Its amazing how much having one friend can help.
And finally school. I have found a school out here that accepts all my credits as not just electives, but actual core classes towards a degree in biblical counseling. (yay) I have only 39 credits to go for my bachelors, and they have accelerated 6 week courses, so i will easily be able to finish in the next two years. And then i plan on starting on my masters, and joining the military as an officer.
Friday we are going to a greenhouse i have been seeing commercials for on tv. I want to get some more starter plants for squash, strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes.. might look at potatoes too.. garden is doing so good. im really proud of how it looks.
and as for the kiddos... the best part of my life.
brooklynn laughed out loud, like really laughed today. i had the same exact feeling i had when bryleigh laughed for the first time. it completely melted me. i think it is the sweetest sound in the world to hear a small baby laugh out loud. and i was able to hear both my babies laugh out loud for the first time, and daddy did too :) i was able to get him on the phone and lay the phone beside her so he could hear her. i love those moments. i finally got the recorder up to record her but she stopped!! im sure there is more giggles to come though!
Bryleigh added a new word to her vocabulary today. I hear people bragging about their childrens 30 word vocabs that are younger than bryleigh and i think that is nuts. Bryleigh (i dont think) has a 30 word vocabulary, but she sure is so smart. She is constantly picking up on things, and saying/doing things i had no idea she could do. Yesterday i had a candybar wrapper and i was joking and said here bryleigh take this to the trash, and sure enough, she went and threw it away. Wes and i made a huge deal of it, clapping and telling her what a good job she did. it was so sweet, she clapped for herself and did a small dance where she bounces up and down with her butt when shes excited. She knows where her eyes, hair, nose, and mouth are. her feet, and her fingers. she can count to three outloud, and also with her fingers. today she pointed at a banana and said "NA NA, NA NA" so i gave her a banana, and she was happy. she says thankyou when someone hands her something, and she says it clear enough for others to understand. she says all gone, and whats that. sorry for the long rant, she just makes me so proud to be a mother. they both do :)
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