This and That...

This is Hilarious!

This weekend flew by again! This past weekend Tait, Lehna, and I went north to visit everyone in Peru. We had a great weekend. It was nice to be able to have extra hands around to hold Lehna. I know that everyone enjoyed holding and seeing her. We spend Friday through Sunday with the Wagner’s and I also managed to visit Grandma Sullivan and Aunt Joyce so they also got to see the love bug.

Lehna is now rolling over! Can you believe it?! She can roll from her tummy to her back with little difficulty. My plan was to get the video camera out and record her rolling over so I could post it on the web (well Jackie could post it) and wouldn’t you know the little rat wouldn’t TURN OVER! She was watching TV on her tummy and chewing on her hands but she wouldn’t turn over. Sooo I’m going to have to surprise her with the video camera and capture her! I tried again last night but when I put her on her tummy she just go REALLY mad and cried. So I decided that it wasn’t the night either… soooooooooo I’ll keep you posted on her progress or hopefully I can get her turning over posted! It just so amazing to me that she is learning things so quickly. She also is trying to sit up on her own. Tait and I have both watched her pull herself away from the car seat and your arms if she’s in the lay down position. Last night I even caught her trying to lift herself up when I was changing her on the changing table. So she is trying to sit up… it may take some time but she’s doing a GREAT job!


This week Tait and I managed to get her high chair together. We both heard that soon she’ll be starting fruit and such so we wanted to make sure that we were “ready” with the high chair. And we can pull her into the kitchen with us and she can watch us make dinner or fold the laundry without us having to leave her in the living room. We also discovered that Lehna likes to play in her exesosauser. She can’t quite reach the toys yet but she loves being able to stand and look around. It’s also nice not having to hold her quite as much b/c I can get so much more done.


This week has been the week for change in our family. With Lehna starting to change and grow and learning new things, Tait has decided that he needs change and growth. Tait has been looking for a new job for the last couple of months and right before Lehna was born (the day before actually) Tait got a new job. But with all the excitement of Lehna’s birth and with both of us needing a lot of help. Tait passed on the new opportunity. Well the time has come again to where Tait has another opportunity to change his current work environment. He is really debating and he’s on edge of trying to decide what to do. We are waiting to find out about another job opportunity but unfortunately for Tait the time is ticking away on the other job. So he has until Friday to decide what he’s going to do about the new job. I really hope that these decisions could be easier for him. So we are in limbo right now he is trying to decide what to do and I’m trying not to push to hard. I really want him to have a new job in a better working environment. He’s so stressed where he is now and I know that once he leaves he will be in such a better place. So wish Tait luck this week. And hope MULBERRY calls him back! Thanks again for reading about us!

UPDATED:Tait's First Father's Day

Updated at the end of "Tait's First Father's Day"!


Lehna has the best daddy in the world. Tait is the greatest dad a mom could ask for. He is caring, understanding, and LOVES his little girl! Tait has his very first Father’s Day and to celebrate it, Lehna made him (with mommies help) a picture frame with Lehna’s foot prints and at daycare she made him (with Penny’s help) an apron that had her hand and foot print on it. Tait was very excited about his gifts and he said he can’t wait to get a picture in the frame so he can take it to work.



Tait is totally devoted to Lehna I have never seen a man so involved with his child. Tait was so very nervous about becoming a daddy and being able to take care of Lehna. So to help ease all of our nerves I had enrolled both of us into some Child Care Classes to help “educate” us before we became parents. At the classes it was clear that Tait was going to be a great dad. He listened to their advice and also read some additional books to help prepare us to know what to expect and how to handle situations when they arise.


The day Lehna was born he didn’t want to leave Lehna’s side. He was so proud to be able to carry Lehna into the nursery after she was born and to be able to show all the awaiting family. He has really developed a strong bond with Lehna and it’s amazing to watch.


Tait is always helpful with Lehna and is always sooooo willing to take Lehna in the morning so that I can fall back to sleep. He enjoys just watching her and telling her how special she is and it’s really touching to see Tait enjoy his child so much. The more Lehna changes it seems Tait falls more in love with her. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband.


Most men would shy away from changing dirty diapers or hand off a crying baby but Tait actually welcomes the challenges with open arms and is more the willing to do what ever she needs to make her happy. He is amazing and I’m lucky to have such an amazing man in my life.


So Happy Father’s Day to you Tait and both Lehna and I love you with all our hearts.




WEEKEND UPDATE:


The best picture of Lehna!!
Well, this weekend was another exciting weekend! Why was it such a wonderful weekend… well it’s because I turned 25! Yep another year older. I would say wiser but let’s not stretch it! Actaully, since I had Lehna I think some of my brainpower has actually left me… which is scary!

To celebrate my birthday, Tait got me the latest book by my favorite author Johanna Lindsey called “A Scandelous Marriage”… which by the way I have read completely from cover to cover. Couldn’t put it down! It was GREAT! It was a lot different then I thought it was going to be but hey it was still good! I also got some birthday money from the parents so THANK YOU MOM AND HELEN! Tait and I went to Joe’s Crab Shack in Indianapolis for dinner. I convienced Jackie to watch Lehna for the weekend… although it didn’t take much of a fight. They kept Lehna Saturday to Sunday. Dinner was nice; it was a little odd though. For those of you who have never been to Joe’s, it’s like looking in an Oriental Trading Magazine and seeing all the crap that you don’t need hanging from the ceiling. I thought the dessert and appetizers were WONDERFUL but I wasn’t impressed by the crab there so that was a disappointment. Next year we’ll just have to stick with good ol’ Red Lobster. But I think next year I would like to go out in a BIG group of people out to dinner… I haven’t ever done that and I think that would be fun! But we played with Lehna for the morning and afternoon and took Lehna to Jackie and Marcus’. And since I was SUCH A SLACKER last week I have LOTS of pictures of the Love Bug this week… so make sure you check out her photo album to see the pictures not featured in the blog!!


On Sunday we picked Lehna up and took her to get her pictures taken. I wasn’t allowed to go crazy but I did get a good number of photos. She was of course looking ADORABLE! We brought her pink and white outfit and also a yellow and white outfit with ducks for her pictures. So when they come in I’ll scan them in and post them so everyone can see them. But I was really excited. I want to get her pictures taken at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months… so we’ll see if we stick to that pattern! Tait thinks that I should take pictures of her… but I keep telling him that it’s easier just having it done somewhere else! Of course he disagrees! But it was also Father’s Day on Sunday so I made sure that I made Tait’s Favorite dish… Peppercorn Ranch Chicken with Cheesy French Fries. I know that his FAVORITE dish is the Turkey biscuit dish that Helen makes but I don’t know how to make that so chicken was good enough. But I cooked the chicken in the broiler instead of the Forman Grill and for some reason my kitchen just filled with smoke! NOT b/c I burned it but it just got really smoky… and now our house smells like Peppercorn Chicken… so there you go. I know that today once I open the windows and turn on the ceiling fans it will help blow the smell out but it’s just amazing just how well the smell lingers… it’s just a shame I wasn’t making Cinnanon Rolls b/c I could LIVE in that smell! Here’s another picture of Lehna on her changing table with her favorite toy her Giraffe!


I talked to the ladies at her day care this morning and they seem to think that Lehna is teething. They said that based on what they have seen in the children that have been there they said she’s showing all the signs. They said that her constant need to have something in her mouth, her drooling, her trying to chew sideways on her bottle, her cold, and that her gums are really stiff. They feel like maybe she’s trying to push through teeth. They said most babies teeth at 5 months but girls have a tendency to mature early so they wouldn’t be surprised. I haven’t talked to Lehna’s doctor yet but that sure would be nice if it was teething then maybe her cold would go away!


As for development other then her teeth she is really doing well. She holds her head up and can now push up from the floor. She may not be able to push all the way up yet but she is trying. She is always trying to pull forward when you put her in a sitting position she tries to hold herself up. Of course she can’t hold herself up yet but she does try. We try to put her on the floor as much as possible so she can learn how to flip over but she normally doesn’t like that all that well. So she’ll only tolerate it for a little while. But I think she’s doing great!


Next weekend Tait and I are taking a mini vacation and we are going to go visit Helen and Tim in Peru. I’m really excited about it and Tait and I are going to play golf! I know Helen wants to see Lehna so it will be nice to be able to get on the course… I haven’t been able to do that much since Lehna was born! I will be sure to take LOTS of pictures so everyone can see her. But that’s all I have for now make sure you check out her 2-3 MONTH ALBUM! Take care!

Let me tell you about our weekend...

Well this weekend really wasn’t as exciting as last weekend. In fact, Tait and I did a lot of things around the house and really didn’t venture out. On Saturday, I ventured out to get a carpet cleaner. The one we purchased about a year ago has finally given out so I had to rent one. I was so excited to get one b/c I know that it makes the floors look so nice. Well, we spent Saturday afternoon cleaning the carpets and let me tell you just how whisper quiet our machine was; I have rented them before and they are supposed to sound about as loud as a vacuum cleaner well ours was like 5 times that sound. I knew it didn’t sound “right” but quite frankly I really didn’t want to pack the stupid thing up and AGAIN and trade it in at Kroger’s so I just went with it. I started in our room and slowly worked the way through the house. Well I was really worried about the noise and Lehna b/c I didn’t want her to wake up from her nice nap. Well Lehna was totally not bothered by the noise she slept the whole time it was around her. The thing was so loud that after you turned it off your ears were ringing it was awful! Well after we cleaned the carpet Tait and I decided we needed a change in our living room so we moved the furniture all around. I really like the way it turned out it seems to have make more room in our living room by dividing up the space a bit. So both Tait and I were pleased by the new change. That was pretty much or day on Saturday just kind of cleaning… not very exciting.

Sunday morning we woke up again to NO HOT WATER! Which is soooo freaking annoying because the dumb pilot light in the water heater kept burning out. Well I didn’t know what that meant and Tait didn’t know what that meant so we called Tim. Tim told us that it means we need a new thermocupler… now I don’t know if any of you have ever had to replace a thermocupler but if you have you know what I’m talking about when I say “it really bites the big one” to replace and if any of your have never replaced a thermocupler and you need to do that… CALL A REPAIR MAN! Well I went out to get a new thermocupler I wasn’t sure what I needed and the very kind man at Home Depot was more than willing to help. My favorite question he asked me was “are you going to be replacing this yourself?” When I said yes he kind of smiled and said “okay.” He KNEW what a pain it was going to be but yet did he warn me NO, the big jerk! Well Tait and I put Lehna in her Swing and she slept as we both endured the most grueling 3 hours EVER!

We turned the water heater off so we wouldn’t blow ourselves up or anything like that and we proceeded to take the thermocupler off. Well unscrewing it from the outside gas thing was much easier then taking it off from the inside. Well our stupid water heater is kind of placed at an angle so the little 4x5 inch hole that you have to stick your big chunky hands in is kind of difficult b/c of the dumb angle it’s placed at. So Tait and I pulled and pulled on this stupid thermocupler thing and FINALLY it came out… Well, in all our pulling, we managed to flatten the part that holds the long piece into place so we then had to spend another hour trying to bend this little itty bitty metal circle thing to shit to try to get it out of the metal holder. Well after 2 ½ hours of us trading off and cursing and kicking the floor we FINALLY got all of the old pieces out of the holder. Well by that time Tait and I was both pretty tired of this stupid water heater and was trying to think if we really had to fix it the rest of the way… well of course we did but we were debating not finishing it. We then had to push the new thermocupler up through the magic holes to push it into place. Well again the freaking angle of the hole make is more than difficult and also the fact that our metal holder is at a jacked up angle so the really long piece that had to go through the itty bitty holes was hitting the bottom of the burner so you really couldn’t push the piece up through the holes… Tait and I were soooooooo frustrated by this stupid water heater and Tait did manage to finish pushing the new thermocupler into place and it now works really well… but we were really debating if the water heater was going to make it!

The whole time we were fixing it we were cursing the wonderful designers of the wonderful invention! And we were commenting on how easy it was to change the thermocupler and that it was just so simple! Tait said that he was going to call the good people at the Smith Company and offer to take them to dinner. Once they joined him at dinner he was going to shake their hand with his right hand and then stab them in the throat with his left hand… stupid designers! It was an interesting Sunday afternoon so a little word of advice if you ever had your thermocupler go out in your water heater… call a repairman. Don’t fix it yourself and save yourself 3 hours!

So I know I didn’t add any pictures yet… to be honest I didn’t take any thing weekend but I am planning on taking some this week so as soon as I get them up I will have Jackie put them up for me! Thanks again for reading about us. Have a great week!

My First Zoo Trip!!

Another weekend has passed and it was filled with new adventure and excitement. This weekend Jackie, Tait, and I took Lehna to the zoo! It was a lot of fun! Lehna was definitely aware of the different animals and that this wasn't the normal puppy or kitty. I have TONS of pictures of the event and Jackie is kind enough to put them up for me. THANK YOU JACKIE! So you can see the event for yourself. We started out nice and early on Saturday. We headed out by 7:15am from our house to get to the zoo. Jackie is a Zoo employee so she gets to get in a half hour before the public, so we wanted to take FULL advantage of it! We walked in and it was nice b/c it was nice and empty! We went to the new dolphin exhibit first and it was AMAZING. They didn't allow strollers in the exhibit so I waited outside while Jackie, Tait, and Lehna went in. Well after a couple minutes Jackie came out and sent me in to join Tait and Lehna! Well Tait took some really good pictures of the Dolphins and Lehna was looking around and watching the dolphins swim around her. The glass was so beautiful it was like you were in an underground world it was very pretty. But by the time I got in there Lehna was crying so we had to go b/c you are only allowed to talk in a whisper in there so we didn't want the glass to break! So after that we went around to see the different animals.


Dolphins in the new Exhibit, the pictures don't do the atmosphere justice. It was beautiful!

We went to the desert animals next and this made Lehna's nose run! It was terrible! But you can see that we had a very friendly Blue Caimon Iguana lizard which was right up next to the glass. He was friendly but boy was he UGLY! There were also these little lizard things all around.


Isn't he UGLY?


Small Lizards that were EVERYWHERE! They are baby bearded dragons.

After the Desert Animals we walked over to the plains. I was VERY excited about the plains area b/c that is where the GIRAFFES ARE! Well if any one knows Lehna you know that she has a keen eye for giraffes! We walked over to them and she just stared at them which was soooo cute. Below are some pictures of them. Also, here is a picture of Lehna and me standing in front of the giraffes. I swiped that picture from Jackie's site. Check out her site by the way...


Lehna's Friends, but they don't sing like the one at home!


Lehna, Momma & the Giraffes!

After the Plains we went to the small petting zoo area. I didn't take any pictures there but Lehna was hungry and she needed her pants changed so we did that! AND it was air conditioned so we kind of rested out of the heat for awhile.

After the Petting Zoo we went to the Forest Area. This is where we saw the Kodiac bears and such. They were pretty neat and we didn't take picture but some kid threw a rock at the bear glass and it was all cracked and there was a volunteer sitting outside of the glass telling people it was okay and not to worry and that the glass was on order. You can see the bear below. he doesn't seem too concerned about the glass. We also saw the red panda bears and there is also a picture below. It was funny b/c they were in their cave when we got up there but then when we were outside of the cage Lehna started to cry and they came down from their cave. I guess she woke them up. But they then proceeded to climb the tree.


Just laying in a nice cool bath.


His Twin Brother, they had names but I can't remember them they were kind of hard to say and SPELL!


Lehna woke the red pandas up!

After the Forest Area we went in to see the Waters Building. This place was PACKED by the time we got there! Next time we need to do that first b/c it was sooo busy. Well we went through it kind of quickly b/c there was so many kids and stuff we only took a few pictures there. Below is a picture of an Eel and also of the penguins. Also there is a picture of Lehna in the blue light. The seals and sea lions kept swimming right by the glass so we were right next to the glass but it kind of cast a blue light on everyone! I think Lehna liked it!


Eels in the coral reef!


Tait REALLY enjoyed seeing the penguins!


The blue light that cast its glow...mood lighting.

After we did the stuff inside the zoo we went to go to the gift shop and you'll never guess what we got. Well they had all of these stuffed giraffe and Jackie picked up one of them and said "Look Lehna; a Giraffe!" Well Lehna just kind of looked at it. Well there was this other giraffe that was there and I picked that up and I said "Look Lehna; a Giraffe!" and she looked at it and gave us the BIGGEST SMILES I have ever seen, so we KNEW that this was the giraffe she wanted. It was very sweet. There was also this hat that was like a Giraffe's head like the antlers and was furry and colored like a giraffe and I put it on and Lehna just stared at my head. I think it was a little confusing to her. Because the other hats she didn't care about but the giraffe's hat she just looked at with questions in her eyes... it was VERY cute!

After hitting the gift shop we went to the White River Gardens to see all of the butterflies. I was VERY excited about getting to see the butterflies. I have a few pictures below so that you can see the pictures of them. It was funny there were these two butterflies that were close to landing on Lehna but then she started to cry and the butterflies flew away. I think they were pretty brave little butterflies! There were these really pretty butterflies that were GEORGOUS blue, but they were really ugly when their wings were closed. Tait got a picture of them with their wings open and they were pretty! I really enjoyed looking at the butterflies it was a nice end to the day.



Butterflies that were ugly with wings closed.


Same Ugly Butterfly but with its wings open; aren't they beautiful!??!


Brave Little Butterflies!!

By the time we out of the Zoo and Gardens we were pretty hungry so we went to Pizza Hut for some lunch/dinner. Well Lehna was VERY fussy when we were there but it wasn't too bad I just felt bad for her. Well we then went to Once Upon a Child and I had a BALL there. There were sooooo many outfits that would look cute on Lehna and they were VERY cheap! But by the time we got there Lehna had had enough of the day and she was refusing to take a nap. Well Tait was walking around with her and her eyes were SOOOOOO BIG and her nose and eyes were all red from not sleeping. Well she looked like she hadn't slept for three days and had nothing but coffee. So Tait took her to the car trying to calm her down to sleepy time, but she of course refused. After we started driving Lehna fell fast asleep. Well when we got home I felt her head and she was ON FIRE! It turns to find out she had a fever. I don't know if it was being out in the sun for such a long time or if it was because of her terrible cold or what but that was a nerve racking 4 hours for her fever to break. We gave her some Tylenol and Pedalite and she was just like new, she even slept the night away.

We had a great time at the zoo regardless of Lehna's fever afterwards and I'm sure it was because of her cold. Lehna is getting better by the way. She still has a cough and she is still congested but she is showing improvement and that's what I like to see.

Below are some really cute pictures of Lehna and Jackie. The bottom one is HILARIOUS look at the face Lehna is making! Crack me up! LOL Well once again thank you for reading out us! (ALSO check out Lehna's Photo Album there are LOTS more pictures of the zoo and all the animals it's just click the link above, or on photo albums and then click Indy zoo!)


Such pretty girls!!


Lehna in her stroller.


Check out Lehna's face isn't it HILARIOUS!

Happy Graduation Jill!

The Leaders of the Pack
Well, this weekend was a pretty relaxing for the most part. Tait and I ventured down to Williamsport to attended Jill’s Graduation Party and it was fun! Tait played ball with Mariah, Mason, and Travis, which was funny to watch. Landyn was of course all legs and he was EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING which made him a challenge to watch… he even managed to knock over one of Cathy’s deer in her front yard! He is just a pistol! It was funny b/c he was playing with the cups that were right next to the water cooler well he kept knocking them on the ground so Tanna moved the cups back so he couldn’t reach them and wouldn’t you know that he moved a little chair over to the cooler so he could reach the cups, but by the time he moved the chair over I think he forgot was he was doing b/c he starting playing with the cooler instead of the cups. He is just changing and growing so fast and every time I see him he is talking so much better! Now if we could just get him to hold his own bottle I think Tanna would be set!


"Everyone look here! Hey Look Here! Hey Over HERE!"

Grandpa Tim with Landyn after the "deer incident"
The party was good the food was of course wonderful! They had two BIG graduation cakes so I made sure that I had a piece of both! We also had a chance to see Grandma and Grandpa Wagner. Lehna was a bit fussy by the time we got to their house after the party, so after about an hour of crying she finally fell asleep. After her brief nap she decided she was feeling better and giggled and played on the floor with grandma, which I know Grandma really liked. So we spent probably about 3 hours there after the party and then headed home. Lehna was VERY tired and she slept the whole night through it was really nice because Tait and I were both beat!


Go, Travis, Go!!

Aunt Tanna with Baby Lehna

For the rest of the weekend we just kind of just hung out we did venture on a walk on Monday to the park in Darlington but that was about it. I was hoping to find a swing at the park that I could hold Lehna in but they didn’t have a swing they just had a bench under a tree… so I couldn’t swing Lehna… which sucked. Even the swings they had for the kids were kind of scary they were just two rickety old swings but they had room for like 5 swings but only two were there. There is a new play set that was just put up so that means by the time she is up and walking and wanting to play it should still be nice enough for her to play on.

Well, I know this was a pretty brief blog update, but quite honestly I’m running out of things to talk about. So I will leave for today. This weekend we are going to go to the zoo! I am soooo excited about it and I know that we will have a good time. Aunt Jackie is also VERY excited about taking Lehna to the zoo so I will be sure to include LOTS of pictures at the zoo for next week! Thanks again for reading about us!



Wanna see more of Lehna?To see Lehna's 2-3 Month Album,click HERE!!