Life in C-2

IEP

2010-10-07T20:13:00.003-04:00

Josiah had his first IEP meeting today! It has taken us about 9 mouths to get to this point and it has finally happened! Yeah! Seeing that I was not blogging much during this time I will give you a run down.

December 2009- Josiah was 16 months old, and not talking. After talking with some wonderful ladies at church, we decided to call Early On.

January-March 2010- Testing, testing, and more testing. We had early on came out to evaluate him and they did find a large language delay. Then we had many a doctors visits to make sure his hearing was okay, and his lead levels were also okay. All the tests came back fine. His ears work great, and he did not have too much lead in him. :-)

April-July 2010- Speech Therapy at Henry Ford Hospital. Because he qualified for early on, they provided 10 free speech therapy sessions at the hospital. I loved speech therapy, because they really taught me how to get Josiah talking more. I was SO sad when we used up our 10 sessions!

August 2010- Detroit Public School came out to evaluate him to see if he qualified for special education services. They found a large enough delay with his speech that he did qualify.

Today! - We have a plan! He is going to get a teacher that comes to our house once a week to work with him, and then he goes downtown once a week for a preschool type program. I'm happy we have a plan for our little peanut!

Fit Throwing

2010-10-04T20:54:00.002-04:00

Josiah knows how to throw a good fit, and he knows how to throw GREAT fits in public. I have heard it said a countless number of times that when this happens the parent should just walk away. The thinking is that the child will see the parent walking away, stop crying and then follow the parent.

I don't think this works. I would go so far as to say I don't think this ever works. To prove my point Donnie and I did a very scientific study with Josiah. We were in the fount yard and I told Josiah that it was time to go for a walk. He did not want to go, so I told him I was going to leave without him. To make this safe, and very scientific, Donnie hid behind a tree to see what Josiah would do. When I got to the end of our block, I turned around and there was no kid in sight. Josiah was still at the house, all alone, and IMHO petty happy about being all alone.

I think I know why this does not work. Kids know from a very early age that you would never leave them alone in public for very long. I'm not sure how they know this, but they do.

Also, I think Josiah would be a okay if I left him forever in the yard only to be taken in by a dog pack to be raised as a dog boy.

Clothes

2010-10-03T21:17:00.003-04:00

I'm not a fan of clothes shopping. I hate to admit this, but most all of my current clothes have been gifts from my mother. Before writing this post, I tried to think of the last time I bought myself new clothes, and this was the only thing I could come up with. This is also true with Josiah. 99.9% of his clothes have been given to us. (God is so good!)

Now, I have bought "new to me" clothes much more recently. Donnie and I are big fans of both Salvation Amy Thrift Stores, and Value World.

This is all background information to this story. Today Josiah and I were at the mall so Donnie could get some homework done. I have been told H & M has super cute Cars movie t-shirts for toddlers. So while we were at the mall, I wanted to check it out. However, I could not bring myself to go inside.

My thought was....what if a child not much older than Jo made the shirt that Jo will wear. I also thought about the working conditions that whoever made Jo's shirt would have to endure.

When I got home I did some looking online to check things out. Not only did I look at the H & M site, but also Gap, Old Navy, Children s Place, and even Wal-Mart. Every site said that they never use child labor, and they treat their employees very well all around the world.

I'm not sure I buy it....What about you?

Whats Your Price?

2010-10-02T20:10:00.002-04:00

When I went back to work as a nanny, even though it was the same family, the job was different. I'm now a nanny/household manager. (please note: I do not make nearly as much as this article states I should...I think I will bring this up to the family I work for! :-) ....also please note that this article is not exactly what I do now, but its close.)

Now when I went back to work I was given the option of just being a nanny for them, like I was before, with the same pay as before. Or I could be a nanny/household manager and make quite a bit more. The part that concerned me about the household manger job was cooking meat. As most of you know I do not eat meat, and I never cooked it. It was a matter of ethics to me. However, when they told me how much they would pay me I suddenly changed my tune. My ethics went right out the window. Sad but true.

On Friday I made a super easy pot roast that the family really liked, so I decided to make tonight for Donnie. I'm now cooking meat for everyone! How sad. :-)

Nuts of Death

2010-09-22T20:34:00.004-04:00

Its that time of year again! Chestnuts are starting to fall. I swear, one could get killed by one falling on your head! Next time any one you come over, remember your umbrella to protect your head!

I have been worried about Josiah and the chestnuts. He likes to play on the sidewalk where they all land. However, we have made it into a game! I taught him to kick them! Now anytime he sees a chestnut he kicks it into the grass! So far so good.

So, if you need any chestnuts kicked, Josiah's your man!

No

2010-09-17T20:58:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, Josiah has a speech delay. So when he started saying "no" a few weeks ago I thought it was great that he had a new word! I do have to say, he says a really cute no. Its not sassy or mean, just a very matter of fact no. I think its really cute.

However, he says it a lot.... like any time you ask him a question. And this has become humorous. A couple of Sundays ago, Josiah was at Sunday school and the teacher asked him if he wanted to read a story about Jesus and color a picture. He looked her right in the eye and very matter of factly said "no". It was really funny. Both the teacher and I were laughing really hard.

I have a feeling his no's will get less cute in the future.

Swim Lesson

2010-09-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

Josiah had his first ever swim lesson Wednesday night! I have been wanting to try swim lessons with him for awhile now but never got around. I even tried having him take lessons at the Livonia Rec Center, but the class was filled.

Then I remember Goldfish Swim School. I knew about them through City Mission, and I have always remembered the name, because I thought it was so cute! They have two locations, so we went to the one in Farmington Hills, and the first class is free!

When the class started I was a little nervous. This was some serious stuff! The other toddlers in the class were like fish! One girl could even swim underwater! However, he did great in the lesson. He even went down a little slide into the pool!

I'm SUPER impressed with the school and the class. But here's the bad part. The classes are expensive, really expensive. Now that I'm working we could change our budget around a bit and we could do it, but I'm not sure I'm willing to do that.

So I think I will be checking out other places. Anyone know a good place for swim lessons?

The Peanut is Two!

2010-09-15T20:30:00.004-04:00

Its official, Josiah has been two for two days now! His birthday was a really fun day! As it turned out I did not have to go to work until 11 am so Donnie and I got to celebrate with Josiah in the morning. Then grandma and grandpa came over and we had ice cream cake. Sadly Donnie was in class for that part. :-(
We got Josiah a Thomas train set and a mat to play with it on. He loved the mat! I was sort of surprised! Grandma made him a car/puppy blanket! His two favorite things in one blanket! He was really happy about that!Grandma and grandpa also got him a cars book, a stuffed lighting mcqueen, and a booster seat for the table! However, I think of all these things he liked the ice cream cake the best. He's a kid after my own heart!

Detroit 187, Good or Bad for Detroit?

2010-09-12T20:23:00.003-04:00

As most of you know I love Detroit. And 90% of the time I love living here. Sure it has its downside, like lack of nice parks, but I still love it. I'm not sure if I'm going to love this new show on ABC called Detroit 187. I want other people to come to love Detroit as much as I do, and I'm not sure if this show is going to do that.

I did go to the ABC website to check out the page and this is the first thing I saw;

Sound Off

Do you think the detectives in Detroit 1-8-7 can save their city?

This does not give me much faith in the show. I'm not counting on detectives to "save" my city. I'm counting on myself and my neighbors to do that!

So what do you think? Detroit 187, good or bad for Detroit?

The Park

2010-09-10T21:14:00.000-04:00

I have a pet peeve. (well..I have a few, but this post will focus on one of them) My son has no nice places to play near our house. This is one thing I do not like about living in Detroit. We do have a playground a few blocks away, but I would never go there. The weeds are taller than Josiah! If anyone out there can do anything about this, I would love it. :-)

Seeing that there are no nice places to play near us, we have found some really cool parks outside of the city. One of them being in Southfiled on 9 mile. On Wednesday night Josiah and I headed over to play while Donnie was in class. People have always told me to cherish this time because it goes by so fast, and to be honest I did not really believe them. Trust me, when Josiah is screaming in rage because he can not have more blueberries time goes really slow.
However, today at the park he went up and down a little slide all by himself! Holy Cow! When did he learn how to do that? Maybe people have been right this whole time! So I'm learning to cherish this time that I have with him. I do have to admit, he is super cute!

New Job

2010-09-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

As I posed yesterday, I'm back to working as a nanny! And it just happens to be for the same family I worked for before! I'm calling my absents from them a really long maternity leave. The story about how all this happened is great, so I have to share.

Donnie had been out of work for a few months, and then decided to go back to school. During this time money was getting tight so I was revisiting our budget, and discovered we had a problem. We could not make it just on his unemployment.

We had many ideas; I could work part time, I could work full time, we could live off our savings, and me stay home. With all these options we decided to take two weeks to pray and see what the Lord was wanting us to do.

Well, I got a phone call at about day 10 of our two weeks of prayer. The nanny that had took my job when I had Josiah had just given the family her two weeks. The family I nannied for was shocked over this, and the mom called me to see if I could help out until they found a new nanny. I told the mom that I would be willing to come back full time, and I got my job back! It was a win win for everyone!

God is so good!

Change is in the air!

2010-09-08T20:34:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone! I know I have not blogged in a very long while, so I will fill everyone on whats going on with us! Great change has occurred in our lives in the past few weeks. I will list them to make it easier to follow.

1.) I am back working full time. I have to say I really like this change. I'm sure that makes me the worst mother on the face of the earth, but I can deal with that. I'm working as a nanny for the same family I worked for before.

2.) Donnie is going back to school! Donnie got laid off of work in May, and decided it would be easier to find a job with a degree. So he is going to Henry Ford Community College to study computers. His classes are at night so he is Mr. Mom during the day.

3.) We have internet! With me going back to work, and Donnie's unemployment checks we are rolling in the money ! (hehehehe) So with all this extra money floating around we decided we could have our internet back! YEAH!!!!

4.) Josiah is turning 2 on the 13th!!!!! Let me tell you, the terrible twos have started early! On the bright side we are going to have an ice cream cake on his birthday, and I do LOVE ice cream cakes!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Break In Part 2

2010-02-19T12:46:00.004-05:00

I'm back at my mom and dad's today, and thought I would post more about what happened yesterday. Here is a timeline of our day.

9am- Josiah and I leave to spend the day with my mom and dad

9:15am- Our house is broken into. I was not aware of this because I have a bad habit of not having my phone with me.

9:45am- I get to my mom and dad's and they tell me that the alarm company has been calling.

9:50am- I call the alarm company, and they tell me that the side door, and motion alarm went off. They said they sent the cops to check into it, but I'm not sure if they ever came.

10am- My dad leaves to go check on our house. I know...my dad's the best!

10:45am-My dad calls to say that someone did break in, but he did not see anything taken.

11am- I talk to Donnie, tell him whats going on, and he leaves work to meet me at the house.

11:45am- Donnie and I get back to the house to see what has happened. Somehow the person did get in the side door, and tried to take the monitor. So this is what we came home to

Nothing was taken. Not the gps, not the cash we had, nothing. Thank the good Lord!

We did file a police report and all that good stuff. I'm just so happy nothing was taken!

Before we left that morning Josiah was playing with crayons on the kitchen floor. When I came home one of them was broke from the person who broke in. I can't really put it into words but this really upset me.

I think Donnie and I work hard to fill our house with joy, love, laughter, and fun. Then to have a stranger break into our house to try to steal these things is really upsetting. Donnie and I both feel very victimized. Its an odd feeling. However, I still LOVE our house, and LOVE my neighborhood. It would take a lot more than someone breaking in to change these things.

I'm here!

2010-02-18T18:00:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone! (well....maybe the two of you who still check the blog) I'm back! Currently I'm at my mom and dad's house, and jumped on their computer!

So we had a interesting day today. Our house got broken into! They tried to take the computer monitor, but they could not get it unplugged so they left it on the floor. I will try to post more about this later.

In the meantime here is a picture of the peanut. He is now 17 months! :-)

Happy (Late) Thanksgiving!

2009-12-08T11:20:00.003-05:00

I know I'm very late in posting this, but happy Thanksgiving!

We headed to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We headed down Wednesday, stayed Wednesday night and came back Thursday.

Things were all going well until about 3:30am Thursday morning. The peanut woke up, and decided he was up....for the day. Lets just say mommy and daddy were not so happy with this arrangement.

He did fall asleep on Grandma before the big Thanksgiving feast. I do have to say he was very chipper for only having a few hours sleep!

Noah

2009-11-24T16:40:00.000-05:00

As I have posted before, a couple days a week I watch Noah. It’s funny to see them interact because they are complete opposites in every way. Noah is running and playing ever second he is awake. Josiah does not. Josiah throws tantrums, a lot of tantrums. Noah does not.

Another difference is how they fall asleep. When Josiah is ready for a nap he gets super cranky, we put him down in his crib, he cries for a few minutes, then falls asleep. Not Noah. He will be playing as hard as every, then all of a sudden he lies down and is asleep. It is the funniest thing to watch! I did get some pictures of him asleep after falling asleep eating.

Shoes

2009-11-23T16:32:00.002-05:00

Amy’s Gift

2009-11-22T16:26:00.000-05:00

Donnie’s cousin Amy was planning on seeing the peanut around his birthday, but things did not work out. So she had to mail the peanuts birthday present. The peanut was most excited about getting a box in the mail!

“A box? For me?”

“What is it?”

“Yeah! A dinosaur! How awesome!”

“I will call him Mr. Dino Jr.”

The Mr. Dino Jr. came with a music DVD that the peanut loved! He even dances to it. I will have to get a video of that sometime soon!

Sick Part 4,639

2009-11-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

So after the night of screaming I thought something had to be wrong with the boy. Because the boy had no fever and no other symptoms his doctor said there was nothing wrong with him. I disagree. So I made a list of 5 possible peanut problems.

1. Teeth Problems (he is getting his molars in)
2. Stomach Problems (Donnie and I both have been having stomach issues)
3. Growing Pains (Katie came up with this one for us)
4. Mental Issues (how old does a kid have to be before they can have anti-depressants?)
And, in my option, the most likely
5. Demon Possession

Donnie called our pastor to discuss this possibility. (we love our pastor Chris) For some reason, Chris thought this was the funniest thing ever, and told us there would be no casting out of demons. We were very disappointed in this development.

My mother told us to go rent the movie Rosemary’s Baby. We will have to check into that.

(Update: Please note that the crankiness, as of now, has subsided. Praise the Lord!)

Sick Part 4,638

2009-11-20T16:23:00.001-05:00

The peanut is still cranky. However, it got really bad Thursday morning at about 2:30am. He woke up crying. (Please note that the peanut normally is a really goodnight sleeper) I let him cry for a bit, then went in changed his diaper, and put him back down. Then he started SCREAMING. At about 3am I gave him some ibuprofen thinking that maybe he was in pain. Nope, he still screamed. At about 3:30am I gave him a bottle thinking that maybe he was hungry. Nope, he still screamed. At about 4am Donnie and I just decided to get him up. That did not even help. He was still screamed.

At this point Donnie and I are about to go crazy! It was so bad we called my mom at 4:30am asking her what to do. She suggested we call the doctor. We called the doctor, and she told us that the peanut was over tired, and to give him a bath.

I thought a bath was the stupidest idea ever, but we were desperate so we tried it. And you know what? He loved it! He was all laughing and splashing. We were shocked. After his bath he fell asleep watching Loony Tones with us. This was abound 5:30am. He slept till 9am. Thank the Lord!

Sick

2009-11-17T14:14:00.002-05:00

The boy is sick AGAIN! It all started about a week ago with a cough, runny nose, etc. Then last Friday it turned into a fever, a high fever, a take the peanut to the doctor fever. The doctor said it was a virus and to keep an eye on him.

By Sunday the fever broke, and he was acting much like himself. Monday is was still acting better, but was being super cranky. Here is the proof.

Then this morning he woke up covered in little red dots. I knew it was time to go back to the doctor. (because the good Lord knows we are not there nearly often enough) And know what? He is sick! Mommy was right!!! He has roseola. He will be fine. My mother has recommended us just making standing appointments with the doctor twice a week. I think this would work for us.

Leaves Part 2

2009-11-16T10:40:00.001-05:00

Here are the pictures from the leaves photo shoot. Enjoy!

Leaves

2009-11-15T10:34:00.003-05:00

Yes, we do live in the city, but we get a whole lot of leaves. More leaves than any person should have to deal with on such a small area. However, we did make the best of it by having some family fun time in the leaves.

I did do a leaves photo shoot. Those pictures will be up tomorrow.

Walking

2009-11-14T10:30:00.002-05:00

Its official...he is walking. Well...wobbling I think is more like it.

High Five!

2009-11-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Recently the peanut has learned how to give high fives. I do think this is the cutest thing ever, so I wanted to get a video of it. However, the peanut did not want to corporate. Whenever the video camera comes out the peanut starts hamming it up!

I do think the video that we did take is funny, even if there is no high five. On the plus side, so can see the peanut doing (what his grandpa Baughn calls) his war cry! Enjoy!

Birthday Week!

2009-11-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

As all you know, this is my birthday week, and I have to say it is going very well. I'm sad to say I have no pictures! :-(

We celebrated my birthday on Wednesday by going out to dinner. My dear friend Katie surprised me by meeting us at dinner! With flowers! I have the best friends!

I some point I will have to take some pictures of my gifts and post them!

Halloween

2009-11-05T12:52:00.002-05:00

Happy belated Halloween! I have to say Halloween was great fun for us! When we first dressed the peanut up, he had a confused look on his face.
But then we took him in front of the mirror, and he was so excited! I think he liked how he looked!

My mom and I had made some pumpkin cookies that we took to my neighbors. I called it reverse trick or treating. I think the neighbors were happy to receive cookies. And everyone thought the peanut looked super cute as tigger!

Hair Issues

2009-11-04T13:40:00.000-05:00

The peanut’s hair is getting long. Really long. Needs to be cut long. I want to cut his hair myself, but Donnie is very against this idea. For some reason he has no trust in my baby hair cutting ability. (Maybe this is because I have never cut baby hair before) So we have decided that my Aunt Deb (who does know how to cut hair) will cut it. Even though we have not talked to her about it. So, Aunt Deb, will you cut the peanut’s hair?

H1N1 & Birthday

2009-11-03T13:39:00.000-05:00

I have a question for everyone out there. Are you getting (or do you want to get) the H1N1 vaccine? Donnie and I are not so into vaccines, so our answer is no. However, the news is making SUCH a big deal about H1N1. I heard a comparison between H1N1 and polo! My goodness. I’m 99.9% sure I do not want the peanut to be vaccinated. But then when I watch the news and I’m 0.1% not so sure. So are you getting the vaccine?

ps- Happy Birthday to me! :-)

The Pox

2009-11-02T13:36:00.003-05:00

As I had posted before, the peanut a few weeks ago got the chicken pox. Let me tell you, chicken pox does not a happy peanut make. To make matters worse, grandma and grandpa were on vacation in China the whole time!

It all started with what we thought was a pimple below his lip. We did not think anything of this, because the peanut’s skin around his mouth is always broke out. However, that night he did not sleep very well at all. Then the next day the peanut was not into eating. This is very uncommon. So I made an appointment with his doctor not having any idea what could be wrong. By the time we got to the doctor he had a few what looked like pimples, and I had a good idea it was the pox. And it was!

Below is a video that I made to document the pox for my mom and dad. It is 15 min long, so if you have some time to waste feel free to watch!

Birthday Week!

2009-11-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

Its birthday week time! As many of you know I celebrate my birthday for a week. And I think I should get even more than a week this year seeing that I turn the big 3-0. For a long time, I was telling people that I was only turning 15. But I think I’m at the point now, that I’m embracing 30. I’m saying 30 is the new 15! Feel free to wish me birthday week wishes!

Halloween!

2009-10-31T13:33:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween! The peanut is looking forward very much to tonight. We found him a tigger costume at Salvation Army that he is going to wear tonight. I will be sure to take pictures and post them when I get a chance. (I hope by next Thursday)

Halloween time only means one thing. Chestnuts. Everywhere. The squirrels are very happy about the situation. And I have to say, I think they are getting pretty bold, letting me take pictures of them eating!

I’m not sure what I’m more worried about. Getting whacked in the head with chestnut spikes or getting attacked by a squirrel. People are right about Detroit being a dangerous place to live!

Cards!

2009-10-30T13:32:00.000-04:00

The past month or so have been tough. There has been an abundance of sickness with the peanut and then the dog scratching him up, things have been rough. However, I received some very touching cards during this time. I can not tell you how a simple card brightens my day! Thank you!!!!

The Great Pumpkin

2009-10-29T13:30:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday, The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was on TV. We watched it together as a family, and I have to say, it was SO fun! I was shocked how into it the peanut was. At some points he was even dancing! I took a (poor quality) video to document this big event. Did anyone else watch it?

Toys

2009-10-27T13:14:00.000-04:00

I am anti toys. The peanut has tons of toys, maybe even millions. However, he does not find them very interesting. What he does find interesting is silver wear. Especially plastic sporks. Give him a spork, and he will be good for hours!

There was one spork that he was in LOVE with. I don't even know where it came from! He would carry it around with him everywhere.

Then this happened

This was the cry heard around the world. The spork had been left on the floor, and somehow I had run over it with a chair. I have to say, the peanut has not been the same since. If you know of any sporks looking for a good home, please let us know.

Noah!

2009-10-26T13:06:00.000-04:00

The peanut now has a BFF named Noah! Noah comes over a few days a week while his mom teaches at City Mission.

He has been coming over for a couple of months now. The peanut is not to sure of this arrangement. Noah tries SO hard to play with the peanut, but the peanut does not really want anything to do with him. (please note that I refer to Noah as the peanuts BFF. I don't think the peanut has the same feeling)

At some point I will have to get a video of them interacting, it can be very funny.

However, we did have a breakthrough last Friday. The peanut and Noah were sitting on the floor next to each other ALMOST playing together! We are making progress!

Party Pictures!

2009-10-25T12:57:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from the peanuts birthday party! (yes, the one that was over a month ago)This is grandma, grandpa, Donnie and I outside with the peanut. Note how thrilled the peanut looks.

Here the peanut is eating his birthday cupcake. He did it much more neatly than I thought he would have!

Sadly I do not have very many pictures of this glorious event. I was so busy running around the whole time, that I forgot to take pictures. Luckily, other people took many pictures!

I'm here!

2009-10-22T12:29:00.002-04:00

I know I have not posted in a very long time! I'll sum up the past 5 weeks for you.

The peanut had his first birthday but was sick with a cold. The cold lasted FOREVER...a good 2 weeks!

Then he came down with the chicken pox. Let me tell you....he was one unhappy peanut. This lasted about two weeks.

Then Frankie scratched up the peanut really bad. The peanut had a cut under his eye that got infected, and he had to be put on two different antibiotics. Because of this we did give our pug away. This was really hard, but I think it had to be done.

Currently the peanut is cold, and chicken pox free! And his eye is looking much better! Things have to get better from here, right? :-)

Pictures!

2009-09-07T19:58:00.003-04:00

The family photos are here! Yeah! I know you all will want to see all 90 of them, so here are the directions. Go to http://www.nicolebakeman.com click on albums and then click on Kelley's. Enjoy and let me know what you think! :-)

Don't Worry!

2009-09-01T10:59:00.002-04:00

Don't worry, peeps, I'm still alive. Computer time has been scarce recently, so sadly there have not been very many post.

I am happy to report that on Saturday we had our family pictures taken! I'm not sure if I posted about this, but we asked a lady at our church to take them, and not pay our wedding photographer the $750 she was wanting.

So on Saturday we went to Van Hoosen Farm in Rochester and had them taken. The peanut was very patient with all the pictures. And he was very happy about eating all the rocks and wood chips he could get his hands on.

I can't wait to see them! On Sunday Nicole said she would have them online in a couple of days, and seeing that we don't have Internet I have been making my mom check her website many, many times a day.

I will post a link to them when the pictures are up!

Garden

2009-08-22T10:42:00.000-04:00

I harvested my garden for the first time a couple of nights ago! Feel free to call me Farmer Stacey from now on. Please note that the cucumbers are a little funny looking, because I did not stake them. I was told that if I let them grow up the fence, they will not be so odd looking.

(Sorry that the picture is turn on its side. For some reason I can't get it to load correctly.)

Too Cute

2009-08-21T10:37:00.002-04:00

I love the peanut's laugh, so I knew I had to get it on tape!

Gymboree

2009-08-05T11:34:00.002-04:00

On Monday the peanut and I went to a Gymboree class! I knew that at Gymboree he could climb on stuff, and he LOVES to climb, so I thought it would be a perfect match. Not so much. The class was 45 minutes long, and about 30 minutes of that was free play. The peanut was not so into playing. He just chewed on a ball, and stared at the other kids. I would even put him on the equipment, but he just stared.

We did sing some songs together, and played with a parachute. The bad part of this was that at any given time half of the kids were screaming, and the other half were wondering around. It was chaos! And to top it all off, the class is $68 a MONTH! I think I was expecting something really great because it was so expensive. (We got our first class for free) Sadly I don't think we will be returning.

Has anyone else tried Gymboree classes? Did I just go on a bad day?

Party!

2009-08-04T11:26:00.003-04:00

Last Thursday we attended my fathers surprise retirement party! We had a great time. My dad knew something was going on, because someone had said something to him about it. However, when the guy spilled the beans, he told my dad the wrong day, so my dad was surprised in the end!

Josiah did a great job eating Cheerios, and crawling around trying to get into as much trouble as possible.

I was quiet impressed with this retirement party! There was a slide show, a video, and presentations. I think for an office full of guys this was most impressive! I think it was a great party to honor my dad and his 40 years with Square D!

Ice Cream!

2009-07-31T17:08:00.000-04:00

Last Friday a group of us got together to celebrate Courtney’s birthday. As part of this event we walked to Dairy Queen, and the peanut had his first ice cream!

At first he was not too sure about it,

Then he thought about it,

Tried it again,

And he was hooked.

On the way back we stopped at a park, and the peanut tried the baby swing again. And once again he was not to thrilled about it. However, Courtney was able to make it bearable.

Shoes

2009-07-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

Awhile ago I bought the peanut some sandals at a mom to mom sale. I have to say they are the cutest things ever.

I don’t put them on him very often because they are really hard to get on, and he’s not walking so I really don’t think he needs them. However, I knew I wanted to do a photo shoot with them before he outgrew them because they are so cute!

The Zoo

2009-07-29T16:57:00.003-04:00

On Monday the peanut had his first trip to the zoo! We are members of the zoo, and on Monday they had a special member’s only night. I have to say we had a really good time! I thought we would only stay for about an hour, because of the peanut, but we ended up staying over two hours! The peanut did great. I’m not sure if he liked it or not, but he was very well behaved.

As the law states, we took the mandatory pictures in front of the fountain. I know I have pictures of me when I was very little in front of the fountain.

One of the peanuts favorite things was banging on the glass with the polar bears. He thought this was great! They were feeding the polar bears while we were there, so that was super fun to watch. We also rode the train while we were there, and that leads us to the peanuts second favorite part. Eating the fence in line for the train. I’m not sure why, but he loved this fence! I think he was sad to get on the train because of leaving the fence. To him the train was not nearly as fun as the fence!

Sick

2009-07-23T08:33:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm teaching again, I have gotten sick. Kids are germ monsters, I swear! So on Sunday I really started to feel sick, but I do think I'm on the mend now! However, now Josiah has it. Last night he had a fever of 102. This is the highest he has ever had. So we took him to the urgent care up the street from us. They just gave us some Motrin and sent us on our way. However, when I got to school this morning I was chatting with Dana, and she said that doctors are not really worried until the temperature hits 104. Katie is this true?

Mommy Problems

2009-07-21T16:06:00.000-04:00

I think I had posted before that we are going to have our wedding photographer take family photos in a couple of month. I have SO been looking forward to this because Dionne does such a awesome job. On Friday I got a email from her assistant with a contract to sign and sent back, and a price list. Now I never looked at her price list on her website, because every thing she has done for us before has been very reasonable.

Well, lets just say her prices have gone up and by a lot. As most of you know when we moved into our house we had Dionne come and take photos, and then she gave us the photos on a CD so we could print them. She only charged us $100 for this. I wanted the same thing for our family photos. Want to guess the price? $750! Yeah, that is not really in the budget.

So what do you think? Should we still do them or not?

Peanut Problems

2009-07-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

Recently the peanut has started to pull up on everything. Now this in it self is not the problem. The problem is that he can’t figure out how to get down after he has pulled up. So he will just scream until someone comes to rescue him. The worst part of all this is that he does it in his crib while he should be sleeping. I’m sure you can see how this would be a problem. We hoped that if we lowered the crib to the lowest setting he might not be able to stand up. Nope, he still can. So lets all be praying that the peanut learns how to get himself down soon.

How does your garden grow?

2009-07-19T15:58:00.003-04:00

I posted awhile back that I wanted to start a garden, and I have! I’m growing tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers.
My tomatoes are doing great! I even have baby tomatoes. My mom says I’m going to have a boat full of them when they are done, so if anyone wants some tomatoes let me know!
Next are my green peppers. They are not doing so hot. However, I was chatting with some other Detroit gardeners and they said the same thing was happening to their green peppers. They told me that this summer has not been hot enough for them to grow. So much for global warming. J
Next are the cucumbers. Currently they are blooming, and I hope to see some cucumbers soon!

Wipeout

2009-07-17T08:27:00.003-04:00

I have a new favorite show....Wipeout. Normally I'm not a fan of watching people get hurt, but I have to say I do love this show! And I don't really feel bad that the people are getting hurt, because they knew what they were getting into when they went on the show.

So anyone else out there love Wipeout as much as I do?

The Pug

2009-07-14T08:15:00.002-04:00

So over the past couple of days, Frankie was acting funny. But then on Monday we knew something was really wrong. He would not eat, or lay down, or jump on the couch like he always does. So we called the vet, and she got us in right away.

And now, and over $300 latter we know what the problem is. A disk in his neck is messed up. Luckily, the vet thinks some steroids will help the problem. They did give him a shot of steroids at the vet, and he is acting SO much better now! Thank goodness!

The vet also commented that he has some odd things in his stomach. She thinks that they are bone, but we never give him bones. I think maybe the pug was doing some dumpster diving.

Wedding!

2009-07-12T08:12:00.002-04:00

We are on vacation! In Rochester! To see my dear friend from high school and college, Emily get married last night. My mom was going to watch the peanut so we all packed up (even Frankie) and headed north.

Sadly, once we got to my parents I realized I forgot the diaper bag. So in between the wedding and the reception we headed home to retrieve the diaper bag. Other than that the night was great. We had a great time at the reception! Then we headed back to my parents to spend the night! Congrats to Emily and Dave!

The Duck

2009-07-11T17:08:00.002-04:00

Here is a video of the peanut playing with the duck. I find it funny, I hope you do also!

Working!

2009-07-09T10:40:00.003-04:00

I'm now a working woman. City Mission, where I taught before, asked me to come teach summer school so I am. :-) Its a super nice job. I have 10 2nd/3rd graders for 4 hours a day. My mom is watching the peanut for me. Sadly I have been so busy planning that I have not posted. So here is a video of the peanut and 4th of July. Enjoy!

Happy 4th!

2009-07-04T16:57:00.003-04:00

Today is a very sad day in my life. The Hasenkamps are not having a fourth of July party at their house. Now my WHOLE life I have gone to the Hasemkamps on this day, but not this year. My mom to make me feel a little better had us over for lunch, before they leave to go to a party. It did not work. I tried to look happy for the photos. :-)

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Naked!

2009-06-30T12:15:00.000-04:00

I got to thinking the other that we do not have naked peanut pictures! (besides bath pictures) How could this be? What are we going to display at his graduation party? So I knew this had to be fixed! Enjoy naked peanut pictures!

Food

2009-06-28T12:13:00.000-04:00

Since my last blog post the peanut is eating lots of new things! Remember awhile back when he did not want anything to do with solids? Well, that is a thing of the past. Now, most of the time, he will gobble up his fruits and veggies. However, now we are onto the stage three foods, and they are in glass jars. I’m not a fan of the glass jars.

In the past week or so he has also had yogurt and eggs! He is not to sure about the eggs, but I’m going to keep trying. One thing that I’m not giving him is meat. I’m a non-meat eater, and for the time being so is the peanut. Donnie and I decided that since I buy the food, and feed him most often I can pick what he eats. I did talk it over with his doctor and she is fine with him not eating meat.

Donnie always claims that the peanut really wants to eat meat, and is most upset about not eating it. I think he is full of poop. However, a couple weeks ago we dropped him off at the church nursery, and know what his favorite toy there was? I plastic chicken drumstick! I was most distraught over this turn of events.

Frankie

2009-06-27T12:11:00.000-04:00

Now that the peanut is moving around, Frankie is becoming less fond of him. The peanut likes to poke him, and he really likes the pugs collar.
I think because of all this change Frankie is acting out. He is having “accidents”, something he has never done before. Last night Donnie went to put on his jeans and he felt something wet on them, and I’m sure you have guessed, Frankie had an “accident” on them.
I think we will need to give the pug more love, to make up for the peanut.

Pictures!

2009-06-26T12:08:00.001-04:00

Last weekend turned out to be a bit different than planned. On Friday night Donnie was feeling sick, and then by Saturday he was super sick. I really don’t think I have ever seen Donnie that sick. By Sunday he was feeling a bit better. The peanut and I went to church and then over to my dad’s and left Donnie all alone on his first Fathers day. I don’t think he minded too much, seeing that he was not feeling well.

However, we did go on a family walk that night, and we did get some Fathers Day pictures! I am happy to report that he is feeling much better now!

Teeth and Crawling

2009-06-23T11:25:00.000-04:00

Its official. The peanut has two teeth, and is crawling all over the place! I have tried so hard to take pictures of his teeth, but with no luck. So you will have to imagine the peanut with two lower front teeth. The teeth are super cute.

He has also become very good at crawling. I had to spend some time childproofing! However, the floor could be covered in toys, and what does he go after? The cords on the computer. So there is no taking your eye off of him!

He has not leaned how to pick something up while crawling. He will put his head on the floor and then reach for what he wants. I find it to be very funny. I think he is happier now that he can crawl because he can go where he wants, when he wants. And a happier peanut makes a happier mommy!

Lego's

2009-06-22T11:24:00.000-04:00

Donnie and I have found a new hobby. Lego’s! Donnie has enjoyed playing with Lego’s for a long time, so he had a whole box of them in the basement. I, however, have not played with lego’s in a very long time. But I have to say, they are most fun.

The first thing I tried to make a few weeks ago was a house, but it did not turn out so nice. Donnie referred to it as an outhouse. I was most upset by this. However I have redeemed myself with my princesses house. And Donnie only helped me a little with it!

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there! We are heading to Rochester today to celebrate fathers day with my dad. Feel free to wish Donnie a happy 1st Fathers Day!

AC

2009-06-20T11:19:00.000-04:00

We have AC! Last year I posted that we could not decided what do about our AC. We were debating about just fixing it, or getting another window unit for the living room. Well, after a year we have decide to buy another window unit for the living room.

It is working out very well. Our house is so small, that it cools almost the whole house! We do have a smaller unit in the peanut’s room, to keep him cool. Because if peanuts not happy no one is happy!

I'm Back!

2009-06-19T11:15:00.003-04:00

Hello to all my very faithful readers! I know it had been a very long time since the last post. For some reason I just did not feel like blogging. I don’t know what came over me. Does any one else ever get that way?
The peanut is now 9 months old! Time sure does fly! I took him to the doctor for his 9 month check up on Tuesday, and the doctor says he is doing very well. He weighs 19 pounds 10 oz now, and is 29 inches long! Now that he is 29 inches, he is too big for his baby car seat. And to that I say, thank goodness! I don’t know about you other mom’s out there, but he was getting SO heavy to carry around in that thing! Now he gets to move on to a big kid car seat. I will have to take pictures of it when we put it in!
Thanks for reading after the long break!

Happy (very late) Birthday Donnie!

2009-05-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

Once again, its better late than never right? Its sad that Donnies birthday was the 20th, and I'm just posting about it now!

Every year I chose a theme for his birthday. This year it was Plants vs. Zombies (a new video game we love), and Donnie got a birthday week this year! (Every year I have a birthday week!) So every day, for a week, he got a Plants vs. Zombies birthday card (that I made) and a small gift. I have to say, fun was had by all!

On Saturday we went over to my parents for the grand birthday party. Complete with Plants vs. Zombie decorations, that I had made. Even the peanut got into the swing of things! Feel free to leave (belated) birthday wishes for Donnie!

Happy (very late) Mothers Day!

2009-05-26T12:37:00.002-04:00

They say that late is better than never right? Well..Happy Mothers Day to all you mom's out there! I had a wonderful Mothers day. Donnie gave me a day off of baby care! :-) He also made me coupons for all sorts of wonderful things, like foot rubs! A better husband I could not find! :-)

For my mom, I made her a vase. I ended up taking a Pringles can, and taping cardboard around it. Then I took pictures of Donnie, the peanut, Frankie, and myself to put on the vase. We also typed up the reasons we love my mom to put under the pictures. Then we put some tulips in it, and delivered it to my mom. I think she really enjoyed it!

Happy Mothers Day!

Look-A-Like

2009-05-17T14:50:00.003-04:00

Over the past eight months, many people have very different opinions about who the peanut looks more like. However, the other day, my dad came over to our house, and brought a picture of me when I was about 4 months old.

Donnie and I saw this and burst out laughing! We look the same! Even the expression on my face in the picture is the same on that the peanut makes all the time. Sadly, I could not find a great picture of this to prove my point.

I'm still here!

2009-05-16T19:53:00.003-04:00

Hello faithful readers! Life have been really busy, and sadly I have not been able to blog as much as I would like to, but I'm here now!

Seeing that the weather has been so nice, we have been going on nightly family walks, and they have been really fun! On these walks we have been using our baby carrier. The peanut seams to like this a lot more than being in his car seat stroller.

However, the only bad thing is this carrier kills my back! So I have a question. Are we doing something wrong? Or do they just hurt your back?

New Skill

2009-05-06T11:13:00.000-04:00

The peanut is sitting by himself! I was shocked to see him doing this last night. However, when I made Donnie look he was like, oh yeah, he has been doing that now. What?!?!?! He never told me that the peanut was sitting?!?!?! I was so upset. However, I got over it while looking at how cute the peanut looks all sitting up! :-)

Pictures!

2009-05-05T11:07:00.003-04:00

As promised here are pictures from our trip to the zoo! Here are the polar bears. There were two of them playing in the tub together, and they were so cute!

Sadly I did not get any really good pictures of the baby chimp with her mom and dad. But here is the baby with his mom.And here are some guerrillas.

Thanks for looking!

Weekend Fun

2009-05-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

Today is a big day! Not only is today our wedding anniversary, but also my half birthday! Feel free to leave happy half birthday comments! :-)

To celebrate these events Donnie and I went to the zoo on Friday while my mom had the peanut. We had a really great time. (sadly I forgot to bring the pictures on my jump drive) There is a 8 month old chimp peanut there! He was so cute with his mommy and daddy. I will have to post some pictures of it soon.

Then yesterday the ladies at my church when to Eastern Market. Eastern Market is like my most favorite place in the world. The only bad thing about this event was that we met in Royal Oak at 6am! Needless to say I came home and took a nap.

Being at Eastern Market has made me want to grow a garden. Does any one have any ideas for veggies to grow that are hard to kill? Thanks! :-)

Answers

2009-05-02T16:07:00.003-04:00

There were two questions recently that I thought I would answer with a post.

Katie wanted to know if we have to blow up the duck whenever the peanut takes a bath. Nope, we just keep it inflated at all times. Most of the time we just keep it in the bath tub, until someone wants to use the shower, then the duck gets moved to a bedroom.

Ann Marie wanted to know why I have a years worth of diapers. When I was pregnant we had two incomes, and we knew that I would not be working after the baby was born, so we thought we would buy a years worth of diapers while we had the money.

I hope this helps!

Problem

2009-04-30T11:21:00.000-04:00

I have discovered a problem with my 3,000 diaper idea. I did not get any overnight diapers! When I was buying diapers it did not even enter my mind that the peanut would soak through his normal diaper.

So what I do now is put the peanut in a size larger diaper at night, and that works out fine. Let this be a lesson to us all, when buying a years worth of diapers don't forget the overnight ones!

What Would You Do?

2009-04-29T11:17:00.000-04:00

As I have talked about many times, our house can get hot. And no, we have not fixed our AC yet. So here is my question, during the night would you leave the windows open to cool down the house?

Here is the problem, our house gets so hot, and then when it gets cool outside its time for us to go to bed. Our house is only one level, so I don't know how safe I feel with the windows open while we sleep. But if we did leave them open our house would be so much cooler in the morning.

So open or closed, what do you think?

The Duck!

2009-04-28T11:13:00.003-04:00

I would like to introduce you all to the duck bath tub. I had some issues finding it, but on Sunday I found it, and got it home! We first put the peanut in with out water just to play, and I think he had a good time!

Then was the moment of truth. The duck with water. The peanut has never been a fan of the water, but he only whimpered a little bit in the duck! I think we have a winner!

Problem

2009-04-23T11:17:00.000-04:00

We have a problem, and it goes by the name of baby tubs. We stared off with this tub. Now it says its for infants, babies and toddlers, but the peanut is already too long for it. Thus started our search for a new tub.

First, we tried the one below. The problem is that the rim of our tub is two wide for it. So we had to take it back.

Next we got this ring seat. The problem with this one is that our bath tub is wavy, so the suction cups do not suction onto the tub. Back this one also went.

So I think we are going to try the duck. When I first saw this at Target, I thought it looked so funny. I did look at the reviews online for it, and people do tend to like it. Wish us luck!
All you moms out there, what did you use for baths?

Too Funny

2009-04-22T11:14:00.000-04:00

Now that the peanut loves to eat solids, we have a problem. He wants to grab the spoon and feed himself. As you can see, this leads to one peanut covered in carrots. But he does look like one happy peanut covered in carrots! I think my goal is to get the food into his mouth before his hand gets a chance to get the spoon.

A New Book to Read!

2009-04-20T13:14:00.000-04:00

I have only watched Jon and Katie Plus Eight a few times on TV, but when I heard that she wrote a book I did want to read it. My mom got on the waiting list for it at her library, and two months later she got the book for me.

I have to say I really enjoyed the book. Its a fast and easy book to read. I'm sure many people could read it in one sitting. From the shows that I have watched at times Kate can be a bit pushie, and I was happy to know that she knows she has issues and is working on them. :-)

Reading the book was also good to put things in perspective for me. At times I think the peanut is SO much work, but after reading about having eight, the peanut is a walk in the park!

So go out and read this book! :-)

WV

2009-04-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

On Easter we left Ohio and headed to see Donnie's dad in West Virgina. The peanut was not to excited about all the hills we went through to get there! The pug however, did very well. And when we got there, he even put on the bunny ears for his grandpa!

Donnie's dad was SO happy to see the peanut. The last time he saw him was Christmas, and the peanut has gotten SO much bigger than then! So the two of them got to spend lots of time together.

Sadly, the weather was very rainy the whole time we were there. However, when we left on Thursday, the sun was out! It was a great time to get pictures of three generations together!

I'm back!

2009-04-18T12:00:00.005-04:00

I know I have not posted in a very long time, but I'm happy to report that I'm back!

Donnie and I took a week a headed both to Ohio to see my family, and to West Virgina to see Donnie's dad. For this trip we not only had the baby and all the baby stuff, but we also had the pug. Needless to say, and adventure was had!

We left for Ohio on Saturday, and stayed Saturday night with my Aunt Deb. Then it was Easter! And you know what? The Easter bunny came to visit us! I love that bunny! (even though I don't want the peanut to do the bunny hehehehe)

The peanut was very excited to get a new book, and we got a book to teach him to sign! How cool!

Then we headed over to my uncles house for Easter with the family. At some point during the afternoon the peanut let me borrow his bunny ears!

My Grandma was also very happy to see the peanut! She loves her great grandson!

And what Easter is complete without an Easter egg hunt? We put out eggs for my younger cousins to look for, and even their new puppy got in on the fun!

The peanut had a great first Easter!

Easter Pictures!

2009-04-05T14:11:00.004-04:00

Today our family headed over to my mom and dad's to take Easter pictures! I'm shocked to report that the peanut did really well for all the photos! First the peanut got to take pictures all alone. Please note that he is all decked out in, not only bunny ears, but an Easter bib and a bunny on his wrist!

Then we had family pictures!

And then we headed to The Village in Rochester Hills to have pictures taken with the Easter bunny. Also note, as some of you know I don't want to do the whole Easter bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy thing with the peanut, but I thought pictures with the Easter Bunny would not kill him.

He did really good with the giant bunny. He was just looking around at everything as content as could be. We also had the lady there take a picture of the three of us. I really like going to The Village, because you just use your own camera, and the line was really short!

Park!

2009-04-03T10:32:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the weather was so nice we took the peanut to the park for his first visit! The whole time we were there, I think he was pretty unsure of the whole thing. Donnie and I, however, did have a great time!

First we tried the baby swing. I was all about the baby swing, while Donnie was saying that the peanut is too small for it. As it turns out, Donnie was right. :-)

And this is my favorite picture of the whole day. I believe it needs no caption. :-)

Next we moved on to the slide. I don't even think the peanut noticed that we were going down a slide, because he was so busy checking everything out around him.

Then it was on to the tire swing. Once again, I think he just wanted to look around.

After the tire swing it was time to go home. The peanut looks a bit relived to be back in the car

I could swear I heard the peanut saying, "Thank goodness that is over!" :-)

Yeah!

2009-03-31T11:40:00.001-04:00

The peanut is eating!!! I'm not sure what changed but he ate his fair share of carrots last night! Yeah!

All Gone!

2009-03-28T13:47:00.004-04:00

For years now I have been wanting to donate my hair to Locks of Love. However, in the past I get so sick of it before it gets to 10 inches that I cut it. Not this time! I did it!

Here is the before:

Then I headed over to good old Fantastic Sam's and got it all cut off. I was a little disappointed that the lady cutting my hair was not more excited about the whole thing. Its not like I wanted a parade or anything, but a little excitement would have been nice. Oh well. Here is what they cut off: (I think it looks like a dead animal)

Here is my hair now:

I'm so happy I got it cut!! Yeah!!

Rolling

2009-03-26T12:38:00.004-04:00

The peanut is a man on the move! I think crawling is a ways off but he sure can roll! I can not believe how much he can move around his crib! I took pictures to document it.

I call this one, "the superman"

And this one is the rarely attempted one arm craw.

Pictures

2009-03-24T10:56:00.002-04:00

Here are the pictures of how the feedings of solids go.

The first bite: "Oh boy! What do you have for me to eat?"

The second bite: "I'm not eating any more!"

So I have been reading what Dr. Spock says about feeding. And let me tell you, I'm more confused than ever. He said to do fruit first, because babies love it. However the peanuts doctor said NEVER do fruit first because then they won't like vegetables. I feel like everything Dr. Spock says to do my doctor says NOT to do. How frustrating.

I still say he will be in first grade with his bottle!

Calling All Moms!

2009-03-22T15:05:00.002-04:00

Okay all you mom's out there, I need your help. Let me set the story. Last week we started the peanut on rice cereal. He would take a bite or two and then just would not open his mouth. Then on Friday was gave him squash, and the same thing. One bite, and he was done.

I'm starting to think he will be going to first grade with a bottle in his lunch box.

Here are my questions. When would you feed baby solids? Before bottle, after bottle, or at another time? What foods would you start with? Any help you can give would be great!

Sadly I did have pictures of all this, but I forgot to put them on my jump drive. :-(

Update

2009-03-17T11:56:00.004-04:00

Good news! Donnie and I are both feeling much better now! Yeah!!! The peanut however, is still sick. I thought he was wheezing on Sunday, so I called his doctor. She told us to get him checked out at urgent care, so off we went. The good news was that his lungs were clear, bad news is that he has an ear infection.

Let me tell you, giving antibiotics to a baby is not as fun as it sounds. :-) I hope soon he will start feeling better!!

In other news, I somehow forgot to post the best feeding picture EVER! So here it is:

I laugh so hard every time I look at this. I know he is saying, "GET THAT STUFF AWAY FROM ME!" hehehe

Bath Fun

2009-03-15T14:37:00.000-04:00

I have posted before that the peanut is not too found of baths. But when I took the him to the doctor last week, she told us to steam up the bathroom, and bathe him to help his sinuses. So we did it, and the peanut did really good! I think he liked being in warmth from the steam. I think we will do this every time now!

The Big Day

2009-03-14T14:24:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was the big 1/2 birthday. Sadly, it was not as great as planned. Tuesday all three of us started feeling sick, and it went downhill from there. I took the peanut to the doctor Thursday, and she said that it is just a virus, and it will just work its way out. So all three of us are pretty miserable. Yuck. I am thankful that this is the first time the peanut has gotten sick.

Even with everyone being sick, we did try food!! I know this will be shocking to all your moms out there, but he was not to happy about it! :-)

Each time he did grab the spoon,

put it in his mouth,

and then made a horrible face.

He also got to open present from Grandma!

Grandma got him spoons and bowls for his new eating adventures!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

2009-03-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

Today is the peanuts half birthday! As I’m sure you all know, half birthdays are a big deal around here. I’m not sure as what the festivities will be, but I’m sure it will be exciting. However, today the peanut will try, for the first time, food! I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures, and fill you all in soon! Happy half birthday peanut!

Do you Butter?

2009-03-12T13:28:00.001-04:00

I love butter. Its true. However, for the vast majority of my life I have settled for “Buttery Spreads” because I thought it was better for me. But then I started looking at ingredients. Here they are for Smart Balance:

NATURAL OIL BLEND (PALM FRUIT, SOYBEAN, CANOLA, AND OLIVE OILS), WATER, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, WHEY (FROM MILK), VEGETABLE MONOGLYCERIDES AND SORBITAN ESTER OF FATTY ACIDS (EMULSIFIERS), SOYBEAN LECITHIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, LACTIC ACID (TO PROTECT FRESHNESS), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E (DL-α-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE), BETA-CAROTENE COLOR

I like eating things I can pronounce, and I made the switch to real butter. It taste better, cooks better, and it only has two ingredients.
However, I know its high in fat and such but I don’t care. Now comes the exciting part. (drum roll please) We are going to have the first ever Life in C-2 poll. Please vote on what you prefer to cook and eat!

The Peanut has Skills!

2009-03-11T13:14:00.000-04:00

Josiah has a new skill! He is trying to hold his bottle. Although, at this point, it is much to heavy for him he is still trying. The funny thing is, he only does this when Grandma is feeding him. When Donnie or I feed him, we are on his own!

Diaper Update

2009-03-10T13:11:00.000-04:00

A few people are asking about the diapers, so I thought I would give an update. Seeing that the peanut turns 6 months on Friday we should be half way through the diapers. Well, we have a lot more than half of the diapers left, so hopefully the diapers will last more than a year!

I think we still have a lot of diapers because the peanut wore the newborn size for awhile after he was born, and that was not in the 3,000 that we had bought. However, there is a problem. Where do we keep all these diapers? All the size two diapers (the size he is wearing right now) we try to keep in his room. Sizes three and four are still in the basement.

Right now, some are behind the rocker.

Some are under the crib,

And some in the closet!

Question

2009-03-09T13:08:00.000-04:00

I have a question for all of you. Do you like the peanut might be able to see things that we can not? I’m starting to think he can. While I don’t believe in ghost, I do believe in angles.

Here is an example. A while back I put the peanut down for his nap, and I went to do laundry. The washer and drying are in the basement, right under his room, so you can hear everything that happens in his room. So I went to do laundry and I could hear him just laughing away! And this was before he would even laugh for us! So what could he be laughing at? He does not have a mobile or anything fun around his crib. So I have come to the conclusion that he can see things that we can not. What do you think?

Pictures

2009-03-09T13:07:00.000-04:00

I would like to add something to the post about pictures. I know some people are concerned that we will never have professional pictures taken of the peanut, but there is no need to worry. Our wedding photographer is going to do family photos of us (and grandma and grandpa!) around Josiah’s first birthday. I know she is super busy, so about 2 months ago we set a date for September. I’m looking forward to it!

Striding

2009-03-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

As I have talked about before, I attend Stroller Strides, and I love it. Its great being with other moms, while doing something good for your body. However, there is a problem. When we go to Stroller Strides the peanut misses a nap. Normally he spends part of the time at Stroller Strides very upset, and then he is super cranky for the rest of the day because he missed that nap. Sadly I decided that I could no longer put myself and my peanut through this every week.

Then I got this in the mail.

The teacher send me a note telling me how great it is that I come, and how it sent a great example for the peanut. I swear she knew I did not want to come back! Now I feel guilty if I don’t go back!

Pictures

2009-03-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

I am a photo snob. I know it’s horrible, but I’m very particular about pictures that I’m paying someone to take. I think this is because I love taking pictures, and I think some of them come out somewhat decent. In fact there is only one person I would pay to take the peanuts picture, and that would be our wedding photographer.

Here is the problem. My mom (and many others) think that the peanut should be taken to studios (like Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, JC Penny, etc) to have his picture taken. I’m very against this, because of me being a photo snob. The funny thing about this is that I get coupons from these places ALL the time in the mail. Each add confirms my feelings against these places. Take this example.

It looks fine from far away, but if you look closer the big brother is sleeping on the baby! Who wants a picture of the big brother suffocating the baby? I will be taking pictures of the peanut, thank you very much.