Halloween

So I wanted to update before all of my pictures go out of date. Updating has just been sucking for me lately. I am just horrible able making sure I get updated even monthly is a challenge. I think with face book it’s easier just to put a blurb on there rather than actually taking time to write something exciting… not that my entries are all THAT exciting.

Well October was here and gone in a blink of an eye. Nikolai is crawling like a champ and he has found a way to pull himself up. Now he isn’t cruising yet but I don’t think it will be long before he gets that figured out. He also has managed to say “mama” and “dada” but doesn’t know who they are yet… he says it when you look at him so we are working on “bye bye” too. He likes to wave his arm up and down when you say bye bye… but he also does “hiiiii” when you say hi to him… so it’s hard to say what he’s actually trying to say and what he has learned.

He is defiantly a little mover though. He wants to be with his siblings in the worse way and he has found chasing them in his walker is pretty sufficient. The little Neighbor girl comes over and plays with him all the time to and the girls get super mad at her paying attention to their brother instead of them. But she’s an only child and has only grown ups to play with, so it’s fine.

Well it has been a good October even though this month flew by. We went to the pumpkin patch, got Niki’s 8 ½ month pictures done, acquired 2 guinea pigs, and went trick or treating. It has been definitely a fast month.




Niki’s pictures were a lot of fun. I wanted him to be in a diaper and some kind of theme and really struggled with trying to find the right theme like the girls had… but what I got was pretty good. And when I got to the studio that had a great set up as well so it worked out really well for what I needed it too. I add some pictures of that.





We did go to the pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween, it was PACKED compared to last year where it was dead, of course it was raining the last time we went but hey it was good times. They had this inflatable rubber thing which the girls got to jump on. Everything that was “worth” anything cost money so we paid for them to jump on this thing for 3 minutes. We didn’t do the hay ride or anything like that but they did do some jumping.





So we did get the girls a couple of guinea pigs. The girls really wanted to get a pet and let me tell you they begged for MONTHS and so finally we had them save up money to get one of them. The second one we got for free on Freecycle in our area… The girls only renamed one of them. The first one they paid for was “Elephant (Elle) for short” and the second once was “George” but they renamed them to “Audrey” Both are males just so you know. Everything I read about guinea pigs said that they are VERY social and that they need another campaign to truly be happy… so that’s why we have two… now we have put the two together and well… let’s just say they didn’t really like each other, so the two are side by side and they talk to each other and it’s all fine. We can only truly hold Audrey and he is just a sweetie. He kind of talks when you hold him. Elle is still pretty young and so he doesn’t really allow you to hold him very much. When we change his cages we have to hold him to move him and he doesn’t really like it. So we are still working with him. We got Elle from a coworker who didn’t want him any more and the lady from Freecycle said that her son just didn’t play with them. The girls really like them; they want to hold them so we are okay with them.

The kids were fun for Halloween this year. Maya was a Lion, b/c we had a lion costume and Lehna was a Cheetah b/c we had a cheetah costume. Now Niki my plan was to make him a skunk but I could NOT find the outfit for him, so we had the duck outfit and he wore hat instead. He didn’t care and I didn’t really care so that’s what we did. Now I was prepared for 300 trick or treaters every year we always go through about 15 bags of candy and this year, I was READY but this year we ONLY had like 15! It was HORRIBLE so I had a ton of candy to kind of get ride of it was AWFUL. So I have been bringing it into work and have been giving it out to all of my express employees. So it’s been working out. I get rid of it before I eat it all!




We are into November I have some shopping done got everything written down I want to get for the kids. I’m still waiting n my list from my husband, but mine is safely written and given to the right party 

So November will be over shortly and we’ll be into December. There are only 4 paychecks until Christmas so we must plan accordingly.  I have to say I HATE Dave Ramsey he’s brilliant in his teaching about money but it still sucks. I have learned quite a bit about myself as far as spending habits and I have to say those DIE HARD too.

So we had some scary news this month as well as happy news. Tim was laid off at the beginning of October and I have to tell you Tait and I was very worried. We were worried for a couple of reasons but I’m happy to say that Tim has FOUND a job and is starting in a week. I know he’s excited and so are we!

Well this has been an update of October… hopefully another will follow come November… maybe.


My project
So I have big 8x10 on my wall at home and I loved this picture of Niki so I decided to do one of the girls too... I have Maya's done just need to get Lehna's shot and up!

Update

It's time for another update.

I'm like averaging like once a month... not so good, but better than once a year... so what can I say I'm a working progress.

So this month I turned 31 I'm not "in my thirties" which you know who cares really, it was just another birthday. We had some people over to celebrate the grand occasion. We had a good time, the kids really had a great time. I really wanted to play games but that didn't happen but heck next year.

Lehna is now done with school she has moved on and is going into first grade next year and Maya will move into Preschool. I think that the move will be great for Helen who watches them during the day. Both girls will go to the same school which is kind of different but it should be fun for them. Maya will go 1/2 days M,Tue, Thur, and Friday she'll be off on Wednesday, but that's a short day for the school any way. I'm kind of nervous for Maya to start school b/c she is not my greatest listener. She my challenger. I thought Lehna was bad but Maya is way worse she is the I'm going to challenge you b/c I think I can get you to do whatever it is I want by talking circles around you... it's fun times.

Nikolai is doing great his 4th month check up was a success his belly button is starting to turn back and they said that he's 16 lbs and 26 1/2 inches long. So he's a big boy I think both in height and weight he's in the 90th percentile so it's all good. He is changing by leaps and bounds so I wanted to make sure that I included some recent pictures since he's changing so much. He looks so much like his daddy it's amazing! So if Tait ever wondered what he looked like as a baby all he has to do is look at his son to know.

Work has been busy we have a bunch of impossible job orders right now that we are struggling to fill. But work is work. It's going fine.

I'm still loosing weight but it's not coming off fast enough. I have managed to loose 38 lbs but it's still taking FOREVER to get the rest off, it's only been 4 months since Nikolai arrived but still feels like forever. We have completed Couch to 5K and also Bridge to 10K I can now run about 5.5 miles in an hour, it's pretty exciting stuff. My run that I was going to do is going to have to be rescheduled b/c we are not going to have a baby sitter like we originally thought. So we will have to do it in the fall or find another one. Runs are VERY big around here, so we should find another eventually. I'm pretty proud of myself. I went from not being a runner at all to being able to run 5 miles, it's amazing really. My hips still kill me as a run but they are getting better. I think things are still moving back into place from Nikolai. I have decided to set a goal for myself this week and do some for of exercise every day. I was running 3 times a week, which I will still continue, but I think I really need to vary it b/c my body is starting to get used to that form... so I am going to have to vary it. I really want to get back into palates but the one classes that I'm find at the rex plex are on nights that are not convenient for our families schedule, so I'm been looking outside of the rex plex and really haven't found anything, a LOT of yoga studios, but I don't want to do yoga so I'll find something.

So here are some pictures that I took this weekend. Enjoy them and have a GREAT WEEK!

Big Smile


See what a big boy I am!

Holding Hands with my Big sister Lehna

Pretty girl Lehna!

You make me soooo happy!

I want to make sure I can see everything!

I love to smile!

Easter, Birthday, and 3 months (well almost any way)

Well Easter is over but we had a good time. We decorated Easter eggs, we had an egg hunt AND we had Mom and Terry down for Easter lunch. It was fun times. The girls got metal “baskets” this year I think when it comes time to go to the beach it will be nice to have the nice sturdy ones. They really enjoyed doing the stickers on the Easter eggs that was probably their FAVORITE part. They spent way more time putting the stickers in there rather than coloring them. Of course when you only get one dipper it makes it difficult for them to be patient and share. It was great having my parents down and making lunch for them. We had deviled eggs (of course because we boiled eggs the day before for coloring), ham, cheese potatoes, and rolls, it was yummy. I told Tait that I want to find another one of those hams so b/c it was TASTY!

Girls getting ready to decorate

Hard at Work Stickers are VERY important

Materpieces I tell you!

Easter Morning


We also got a trampoline while I was on maternity leave, I can’t remember if I mentioned that before or not. But I figured that I could mention it again. It is GREAT for the kids to go out and release some energy and get well rested… it makes them sleep SOOOO much better. Or if they have a major sugar fix we can send them in the netting to “run its course” which is nice b/c then by the time the crash happens they are ready for a nap.

Yes go ahead and wear you little legs out... yes yes good idea jump harder

Lehna flying high

my two jumping beans
So my grandmother had her 75th Birthday party last weekend and we traveled down to Indiana for some much needed extend family time. It was really a very cool time. I got to see so many people that I haven’t seen in years. It’s kind of a strange thing really. When you grow up with so many of the cousins and such that when you are around each other older it’s a different experience. It’s like trying to relearn them all over again. I think grandma really liked seeing as much of her family as that could be there. We took a HUGE family picture, which was really fun, and turned out really well.

Swimming! (this was before we had the pizza party)
We came down early Friday morning to see Tait’s side of the family since so many of them have not seen Nikolai yet so we wanted them to see him. It was good being able to see them. And I think Tait liked being able to show off his boy  so Friday night we were in Peru and had a pizza party and went swimming. I kind of felt like I was a fish in an aquarium b/c there were people all around the pool watching us swim…. It was a different experience. Lehna and Maya got to spend a lot of time with Evan and Zachary so it was really fun for them. It’s just amazing how the friends between cousins begins and even continues when you get older. And I got to see that between so many of the kids there at the event.

On Saturday we had the big family picture than it was time for the open house at the old fire station in Peru, then we headed to the Four H building where Tait and I had our wedding reception so that was kind of fun. It was really a special thing for grandma. We only played one adult game and it was Win Lose or Draw and that was a fun thing to witness. The creativity was really kind of fun to watch.

Fun at the Park (after the pictures of course)


Sunday we went to sacrament with grandma at the church in Peru, and it was amazing just how small it was. The ward has really gotten really small and so it was kind of a sad thing. But our religion really is a hard life style and I know that many members fall away because of; it’s just so strange from how it was growing up. After church we headed home. It was a great weekend. I’m glad we got to come down Friday and see everyone.

Well Nikolai turns 12 weeks next Friday! It’s so hard to believe that he is that big already. It feels like the time is flying by it’s really hard to witness, and I have to say that since going back to work I feel like I’m missing quite a bit of it.

See mommy I can smile!

Smiles EVERYWHERE!

Naked!
So this weekend I decided I was going to take my shot and being his 3 month photographer rather than going to the photo studio I think they are okay. Tait said that if they aren’t what I want I can always go to the studio. I think they are fine, fine enough to NOT go to the studio. Now when he gets 6 months or 9 months I’m going b/c I have a tradition to keep!!! Both girls had really funny pictures taken Maya at 6 months and Lehna at 9 months and they were so great that I don’t want to miss that opportunity again with Nikolai. So taking all three in one pictures was SOOOO difficult. Nikolai was GREAT I even got some of the little cutie smiling for the FIRST time… but the girls… not so much, they didn’t want to corporate but I got what I got and I’ll deal.

We are at the beach

All Three Trouble Makers

Beach Baby

Beach Bunny

Beach Babe


Well life has come back into normal shifts and swings… and work is CRAZY right now I am spending a lot of mornings going in early and getting new hires in and such… it’s great but leaves me feeling exhausted and a little sad that I am not spending a ton of time with my family. It sucks. Today I was supposed to do a bowl a thon and I turned in my envelope and told them that I needed to spend some time with the family today instead of bowling. I felt bad but sometimes you have to make choices. I don’t think it really mattered to be honest because all that meant was someone on my team was going to bowl twice. So not a biggie. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks as work gets CRAZIER I will find a better balance.

Weight loss and work out time. Well Tait and I completed all 9 weeks of couch to 5k and we can now run for 30 minutes. On my last workout I managed to make it 3 miles so I was excited about that. So we have started a new work out program starting Monday call Bridge to 10 k so that will work us to run for 60 minutes. I want to be a runner I would love to have the body of a runner and slowly I will get there. I have lost 15 lbs on my own now so I’m excited bringing my total with baby weight to 35 lbs. So I’m now the same size that I was BEFORE moving to WI and I hope to keep going. I want to lose another 60 then I figure 20 after that and I’ll be feeling great. I’m reteaching myself how to eat and make better diet choices. I wish I could get my oldest on the same plan but it’s hard. She has to have retained or lost by September or they will put is under a dietitian, which I don’t think would be a BAD thing but it’s a blow to my personal pride makes me feel like a bad parent. I don’t want her to be overweight and the way the world is with the bullying and teasing that by her NOT losing weight is not going to help her later, and I want her to be protected. I realize that I won’t be able to do it all the way but if there is something that I can help her with I want to try. I want her to love herself and her not feel the same issues that I had with my body growing up and I know that she can do that now while she’s young. So we are trying to teach her that you need to work on Self talk and loving your body regardless of shape and that Tait and I are wanting to be healthier because it will allow us to not get sick. You know trying not to say “gosh I’m so fat” in front of her, you know things like that. It’s hard especially when you don’t loose a week or when we are frustrated but we are trying.

One more Big Smile for the Road!

2 Months Old Already!

Well I wanted to update everyone on Niki’s progress. He is now 12 lbs 11 oz (75th percentile) and is 22 ½ (50th Percentile) inches long. So he’s very short and round almost like a little ball but he’s super cute! He does has a herniated belly button which means his belly looks like his hiding a little grape inside. The doctor felt it and goes “yep we see these all the time” and he said it should be soft and bubbly feeling inside when you touch it and it doesn’t hurt him at all. He said that if it’s still around when he’s 3 or 4 years or age then they will do surgery. He is very congested sounding but he said that’s from reflux that he has and since he vomits or spits up quite a bit from his nose that’s why he sounds so noisy when he sleeps. Again nothing to worry about but just something to watch and hopefully by 4 months old he will not make that noise anymore, but I guess time will tell. The poor baby also got 3 shots when he was there and he cried so very hard I felt very bad for him. And then the poor baby slept all day Friday. Overall his is healthy and growing very strong. He has a very firm grip. We still try to capture his very sweet smile on camera but it’s a hard battle. He smiles but mostly in the morning and he smiles when he is laid on his changing table as he’s talking to the stars on the walls. He is cooing quite a bit more and is starting to react to faces. He’s just taking his sweet time as he’s developing which is okay, I don’t want him to go too quickly any way. They said that by 4 months he should be rolling over, but if he’s not its okay too. It’s amazing how fast it’s going by. So things are getting ready to go “back to normal” on Monday. I’ll be back at work and the world will return back to a semi normal fashion once again. I’m excited about going back to work and sad at the same time. The normal feelings that a mom has when they go back to work I’m sure. I do enjoy spending my days with Nikolai and Maya but I’m glad that I’ll be back working again. I’m still working on my Couch to 5 K and right now I feel like I’m sucking a little bit. Today’s run was run 25 minutes. I had to slow my pace way down after about 3 minutes I felt like I was going to die then after that I had to stop 3 times I was soooo disappointed but since I had to stop I made myself do a 2 minute penalty which basically means that I watch for how long I stop and if it’s more than 30 seconds than I run an extra minute instead of doing the full “cool down” walking part I just add the time on there. I got to 2 miles but it was really hard. I should have it 2.25 miles but it just didn’t happen but luckily the next 3 work outs are this same thing again so maybe by the 4th time I do this I will be able to do this time with no problem. We have been doing this for 6 weeks now and during the time I lost 7 lbs but right now the last 2 weeks I haven’t moved in weight loss so it’s a little frustrating. So hopefully my metabolism gets a move on soon b/c I’m starting to get frustrated. So that’s life right now. Hopefully after next week I won’t be too tired and hopefully I’ll blog again soon. We’ll see how this whole returning to work thing works out.