The Chapman Visit

About 3 weeks ago Janie and her wonderful, beautiful family came to Sonoma County for a whirl-wind trip. Somehow I was lucky enough to get them ALL for just about 8 hours!!!!! We met at my parents house and let the kids run amuck in the back yard, while Janie and I talked and laughed like we were in high school. Thank you guys for blowing an entire day on us!!!!!!

p.s.... Happy Birthday Baker (not that we are getting ANY older) :)

 

Chunk

This is a game I like to play...

'Count the Baby Rolls'

How many can you find? :)

 

Got to LOVE baby chunk!

Just Peachy

Life has been busy as ever... so sorry for the lack of posts. These past few weeks I have been working more then the usual 2-3 days a week, it's been 4-5 (and they are 10 hour days minimum). The good news is that I am love, love, loving work, but bad news is I am missing my kiddo's/husband like crazy, so on my days off I am just soaking them in.
 The other week I FINALLY got around to picking the peaches from the tree... I got 9 full bags! 2 I took to work to share, 2 I froze, 2 mom froze and 3 we used to make 84 jars of jam and jelly! That's right, 84!!!!! It was fun.... took about 6 hours, but fun and yummy. Guess what people are getting for Christmas?!?!?! Oh Angie, do you want some for the Africa trip fundraiser (just thought of it)?

 

 

 

Also, remember that sweater I made for Klein baby #1, yeah the baby that I KNEW was going to be a boy? I finally got to use it (the sweater, not the baby). Looking at Wesley in it, I feel like he should be just getting off a Nordic fishing trip.... the sweater, the pale skin the stunning indigo blue eyes. Any way, fun to finally see the sweater on a baby instead of hanging in the closet. 

Another First

Yet again another Motherhood first... Mallory had been given a supper cute birthday card with little colored decorative cotton balls on it and she loved playing with it. The other day she came up to me with her head held funny and was  saying 'aaahhhhhhhh, aaahhhhhh, aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh '  and was on the verge of freaking out. Since she it typically very articulate I knew there had to be something wrong since she was using grunts and groans instead of explaining the meaning of life to me in the queens english. Now to only figure out what the problem was. A split second later her finger started to creep inside her right nostril as she continued to 'aaaaaahhhhhhh' at me. I had her lean her head back and I could see just a sliver of bright yellow fluff.

I just about died laughing. Poor girl is almost in full blown panic mode and there her mom is laughing it her (probably not the best thing for her little psyche). I tried closing off her left nostril and having her blow it out... but it was too jammed up in there. So I told her we would have to do surgery (she is WAY into having to do surgery on EVERYTHING) so she was excited about it. She was a trooper, she tilted her head back, held very still and let me gently 'cram' my eyebrow twister up her nostril and grab that little yellow fluff ball. (I figured if that didn't work the next stop was my hospital and I could use the long, skinny alligator forceps that I use to get foxtails out of dogs ears).

Half a Year

I can't believe how time flies. Wesley has already been here a half a year already! Wow! He really is perfect in every way. He is a happy, content, babbling, smiley, ticklish little man. He is starting to flirt with ladies when they coo over him... it's adorable. He still has just a touch of reddish blond hair, but his indigo blue eyes make up for the bald-ness factor. He puts everything in his mouth (though we still don't see or feel any teeth), and if we are eating/drinking something, he wants it too. He loves, I mean LOVES to eat! Milk, solids, mashed, pured, cubed, cooked, raw... whatever, just let him but it in his mouth and he's happy. Hes a big fan of sleeping and takes 3 naps in the day and sleeps all night (8-10 hours straight)... his eyebrows get red when he's tiered, it's his 'tell'... it's so cute. He LOVES the water (we are in the middle of swim lessons with both of them right now). He's sitting up unsupported, but will topple over after a few minutes, which doesn't seem to phase him one bit, he just carries on playing and laughing. He loves to be up high, and if you sit when you're holding him, he'll let you know that that is not tolerated. He had his 6 month check up/shots today. He is now weighting in at a whooping 17 pounds 6.5 oz (48%). Can you believe he's gained 11 pounds since he was born! He's 26.25 inches long (44%) and his peanut head is 42 cm (9%). I am in love, love, love with this little man!

Just a Little Run

Yesterday Carrie and I did yet another 1/2 marathon. It was my third total but my first since having Wesley. It was AWESOME! It was here in beautiful Healdsburg, through the vineyards, with my family and friends waiting at the finish line. What could be better? Uhhhh, shaving 13 minutes from my previous time, that's what could be better! I was shocked how well I did. I wasn't really racing, nor did I really train for it... but I guess when my daily jog includes pushing around 50 pounds of kids and 20 pounds of stroller, when I get a chance to run alone it means I am now lighter.... and apparently faster! I made it through 13.1 mile in 2 hours and 49 seconds!!!! Man, just 50 seconds less and I could have said I ran it in under 2 hours!!!!! Next time. (October 14). But I feel really great about it all. I was 12th in my age group (though I don't know how many there were.... probably 13) ;) Besides feeling stiff and my knees hurting a little I am feeling great. Supper happy I was able to complete it and do better then I had even hoped for! Anyone want to join me in 8 weeks?

The Good Ol' Days

Matthew is an incredible father and husband and has been working so hard (at work, at home, and in the yard) that I thought I would thank him for all that he does for us. For those of you who know Matthew, you know that he thinks with only one part of his body… his stomach (gross, what were you thinking?).  So I thought I would make him a fancy dinner, just like I used to do (before kids). I wanted him to see how much I appreciate and ‘see’ all that he is doing for us (even if I forget to comment on it). So I took the kids grocery shopping and utilized their nap time to prep for this beautiful dinner.

The table was set with our wedding china; a fancy zin filled our wedding crystal wine glasses, the cloth napkins were folded perfectly inside the mother-of-pearl napkin rings we had picked out together. (There were even different sized of forks and a salad plate). You get the picture… a beautiful fancy perfect diner.  I prepared a spring salad with heirloom tomatoes form the garden, fresh steamed spinach and veal saltimbocca with sautéed mushrooms! Then I made a flourless dark chocolate cake with fresh peach sauce for dessert. All looked, smelled and tasted perfect. I had visions of getting all dolled up, getting the kids in their Sunday clothes, and the house spick and span and really blowing his socks off.

What he got was; me still in my sweaty runny clothes (hair in shambles), the kids in the same clothes they had been in all day (I didn’t even get a chance to wash their faces) and the house looked… lived in. The food was wonderful though (if I do say so myself), Mallory sat in her seat and ate for all of 5 minutes then asked to be excused and chased Sonny with a plastic rake and tried to brush him (he was her pet lamb apparently) and Wesley grunted and whimpered because I couldn’t shovel his dinner of bananas and peas in his mouth quick enough. Pretty sure I wasn’t able to make eye contact with Matthew for more than a few seconds before having to attend to someone about something.

But in the end Matthew took me in his arms, kissed me hard, and squeezed me tight and I knew he KNEW what I was trying to do for him. Our life isn’t like the good ol’ days… it’s different… it’s better.

Friends

Mallory just did THE sweetest thing. It was my night to put her to bed (Matthew and I rotate every other night), after saying her prayers and talking about the day, she reached up with both hands and held my face and said, "I love you momma, you are my friend." I instantly burst into tears... but sometimes that all I really want to hear... Sigh. I feel as though my heart is about to explode!

One of THOSE Days

Yeah, I'm having one of THOSE days! You know the kind of day where you just wake up and EVERYTHING is wrong, dirty, whiny, cluttered, frustrating... The kind of day where I just want to play hooky and run away from ALL my responsibility. The kid of day where I'm pretty sure it's taking more effort to remain sane then simply allowing myself to go crazy. Yeah, one of those days. Wish me luck.

B-Day Boy

Happy birthday Matthew-Man! This actually happened 11 days ago (sorry my love). Both Matthew and I had the day off work, so his mom and john came over to watch the kids and we drove out to the coast and enjoyed a yummy lunch.... without the kids!!!!! That evening a handful of people came over for a little BBQ and ice cream sunday eating. It was wonderful.

Happy Birthday!

What A Day!

I don't have the time to go in to all the details... but I have to get this down before I forget the intense/sickening/wonderful feeling. Yesterday I had the most exhilarating, frightening, nerve wracking, adrenaline pumping emergency at work that I have ever had to deal with!
I literally had a 60 pound boxer (yes people, that's a breed of dog) :) blow part of her jugular vein to pieces (it was the maxillary branch of the jugular, for those of you who want to know). She had been attacked by a boar and once the clot let loose, my hospital looked like a scene from a horror movie... I am in NO way exaggerating. Blood was pouring and gushing from this poor dogs neck!!!!!!!!!
My staff was GREAT! They totally got everything that I needed as a tech and I and bark orders since we were keeping pressure on the neck (I could feel the pressure of the blood hitting against my palm) and trying to stabilize that patient. Within minutes the dog was under anesthesia and I was trying desperately to keep my hands from shaking as I searched for the exact location of the tear. At one point I had to place my pointer finger inside the vein (yes it was THAT big!!!!!) so that I could get a good visualization of the wall of the vein as cut down over it!!!! I kept talking to myself and to God, asking for help... which He gave me, because somehow I got ALL the bleeding to stop (with the wonderful help of sutures and some clotting gel for added reassurance). We ended up playing ambulance too, and transported the patient in my truck while she was sedated, intubation and on IV fluids to a 24 hour emergency facility (since this of course occurred at 5:30 pm and I wanted her monitored overnight). By the grace of God she is alive and doing great, despite getting gouged by a boar multiple time, losing an obscene amount of blood and having emergency surgery! It was an amazing and very frightening feeling knowing that literally at THAT moment if I couldn't find or stop the bleeding, she would bleed out and die... then and there! Once it was all said and done, I felt like I needed to vomit and I'm pretty sure my hands didn't stop shaking until I finished a glass of wine and sat in the bath for 1/2 and hour! What a day!

July Visitors

July has been WAY fun and its mainly due to the copious number of visitors we have had!
Brie and her wonderful family started it off and came the first part of the month. Needless to say EVERYONE and their mothers (literally) were vying for her time. We got to see them quite a bit and even spent the 4th with them, my parents and the Shiras! Really good times.

Benna, Aunt Dottie, Jeff, Lindsay and Connor all came up mid-month and it was heaven seeing them all. Jeff's stay was way too short, but it was cute watching Connor and Wesley hang together. Connor taught Wesley how to play with his feet (pretty sure Wesley didn't even know he had them prior to Connor), and Wesley taught Connor how to chug milk like nobodies business.

It's been fun having Benna here, though her allergies, my work, and life-type factors haven't let us spend enough time together. But it has been so sweet to see my kids getting to spend time with their Great-Grandma! How lucky are we?!?!?!?!
Aunt Dottie spent almost a week at my folks house and that was a blast! We had wonderful meals, fun shopping trips and she and I enjoyed some nummy wines and a great talk on our little Dry Creek outing.

People keep commenting to me about how it 'seems' like my family is so nice and are amazed that we all get along and really enjoys each other. Well, it's true! I guess sometimes I just take it for granted that I have such a close, friendly family. I forget that not every family is THIS lucky!

Wesley

I'm a little late with getting Wesley's 5 month picture up, but here it is. I can't believe how much he is growing!!! He is now rolling over (every few days), and is VERY into eating! He is loving his once a day solids (all except butternut squash). He is still happy and mellow and would be content to spend the day watching faces and laughing at his sister.

 The other big even with Mr. Wesley man was that on July 15th we had his Dedication. It was really nice and so special that soooooo much of the family could be there. Once again he wore the dedication gown that Benna made for my older brother to wear when he was dedicated, then each of us siblings wore it along with Mallory, and now Wesley! Tradition! (it makes me want to break out in song... for those of you who know Fiddler On The Roof).

 

Yeeeeehhhhaaaaaa!

Ok, seriously?! How cute is she??????

 

TWO!

On Sunday July 15^th, Mallory Rose turned TWO! I can’t believe that my little baby girl is already two… and yet she is ONLY two (and we already have another one that’s 5 months).  How is any of it possible?!?!?

We had a Cat in the Hat birthday party for her on her b-day, thank you to all who were able to attend/help (I have to give a special shout-out to Shawnon who made the amazing cake, and used her embroidery machine to help me make the kids outfits... THANK YOU!). At one point there was close to 50 people in our little home!!!!!!!!!!!! Mallory had a blast, playing with friends/family, jumping in the bounce house (which mom found at S.A for $10), coloring, opening a sinful amount of gifts and eating cupcakes AND cake! Could life get any sweeter? (It seemed like all the adults had a good time too, which was an added bonus).  Friends and family came from all over (Denver, Oregon, San Diego and Sacramento) so it became a mini family reunion at the same time (hey, why not kill two birds with one stone, right). Wait, why are we killing birds?

Any way.

Mallory Rose, you are such a joy. You are funny, sweet, helpful and stubborn (all qualities that I am proud of). You know your mind, your wants and other people’s wants (even if they don’t know it)! You are my little monkey girl, my love-al-buggal, my baby girl and my Malla Rose. You make me smile, motivate me and have helped me be a better person. You are the life of the party, you have the memory of an elephant and when you set your mind to doing something there is NO way to stop you. You are bright, joyful and truly amazing. I adore you and am so proud and blessed to call you my daughter. Thank you for making me a mother.

 I have so much more to tell about. So much has happened over this past week/two, and I’ll get to it all…but I wanted to spotlight our little lady first.

Rolling

Poor Wesley. He started rolling over on the 4th of July and it's taken me an entire week to talk about it. But he did it none the less! Matthew, Mallory and I were all there to watch it too!!!!! The look on his face was priceless... it was pure shock!
He's such a sweet little man. I feel my love growing and growing for him daily. Matthew has started calling him "Face Time," because that's all the little guy wants. Just someone to sit next to him and look at/talk to him. I feel like sometimes we are so busy running after his Super Charged Sister that he doesn't always get the one-on-one time that he is craving. That being said, he LOVES his sister! He loves watching her run, jump and sing... but is favorite is when she grabs a book and reads to him. He gets the biggest smile and his little feet start kicking. It's darn cute!

Yes, Wesley is on the bed listening to a story... he just hiding under the covers. He's a silly little boy, if there is ANY fabric around him (blankets, clothes, toys...) he will grab it and rub it on his face and in his mouth! It cracks me up.

Rugby... The Next Generation

Just like Daddy!

San Diego Fun

Potty update: Mallory is doing great!!!!! She’s got the hang of it and only occasionally forgets that she’s supposed to go in to potty. She has started resisting me (I mean tantrum throwing resisting) when I try and get her to randomly ‘try’ to go potty… even if I KNOW that she has to go. I don’t know what the deal is with that but I want it to stop! So besides her tantrums and the annoying lower eyelid twitch that I developed right around potty training time, things are going great.

A couple months back I got the feeling that I needed to get down to San Diego and visit my family there. Being the loving and supportive people they are, my hubby and mom thought that it was a great idea and they took time off work and came too! We were there for about 4 days and it was amazing!!!! I think I took around 600 pictures, so I’ll just put in the highlights.

We stayed at my Aunt Alicia house (thank you, thank you, thank you), so we spent an amazing chunk of each day swimming, going in the hot tub, playing on her ranch and letting Mallory ride Lacy the pony (my aunt has 12 horses and lacy). We got to visit a ton with Beena, have a HUGE family dinner with all my mom’s siblings, and even made it to the zoo. Matthew and I even got to head out on a little date one night! Oh and Mallory, in true Mallory style got yet another black eye!

We had such a wonderful time; the one down side was that it went too darn quickly!

Potty Training

There is no perfect time to start potty training, but this week I don't work until Saturday, so we would essentially have most of the week to work on it, so yesterday afternoon I though, what the heck, lets give it a shot. We are now about 20 hours in, and I am starting to go crazy! It's a TON of work! For me and her!!!!! Between the potty talks, potty songs, potty books, potty videos and liquids, liquids, liquids (in the cup, in the potty and some on the floor) I feel like I have 'potty brain'! But Mallory is doing great! She has only had 3 accidents all the rest has been in her potty.... so that's nice. She's getting 'good' at running over to it and going (and the jelly bean treats are a great motivator). Good thing I have a food motivated kid. Once again I am reminded of puppy training. I am truly amazed at how frequently those two worlds cross. My favorite part (aside from not having to change her diapers) is watching her cute little bootie run naked around the house. She is just too cute!
Way to go Mallory Rose, I am soooooo proud of you!!!!!!!

Happy Daddy's Day

Happy Fathers Day!