It feels like a lot has happened since last Tuesday.
I went to the Chiropractor again on Wednesday because I HURT! I couldn't walk, stand up straight, sit, lay... There was no comfortable position. So I went to the chiropractor with high hopes that I would walk out of there feeling so much better. I did not. I felt the same, maybe slightly better. I remember going home, sitting down in a chair and crying. Nothing was making me feel better and I was starting to feel helpless and desperate for something to change. Later that day I noticed a small rash on my leg. I didn't think much into it (because I was in agony and my brain wasn't working). But later when my mom came over it struck me that when I had described my tingling feeling in my leg to the chiropractor earlier that week he had asked me if I had a rash. And I thought, how unusual that he would ask me that. So I called him up to see why it was that he had asked me about a rash and he asked if I could pop in before they closed. I did, and he said he was almost positive that I had shingles. He said they can cause a good amount of pain and that it just might be what was making my back and hip joint hurt so badly. Went to quick care that night and sure enough, I had shingles.
I remember people kept saying to me that they heard it hurt a lot and they were so sorry. I completely agree now. By Saturday, a full 8 days after my initial symptoms, I was pretty well covered from lower middle back to knee on my right side. They say the rash follows a main nerve from your back. That's why it hurts so badly. Its on your nerve. Your pain receptors.
I felt a big rush of relief to know that I had shingles. Weird, I know. But I was having pain without reason, which is scary for the brain. Knowing that there was a reason and that it would end has made the process easier. Not easy, just easier. Like I said, I cried. I didn't even cry giving birth to my 2 children without pain meds... Shingles hurt. Now here I am 11 days into this and I am finally starting to see improvement. It's a little depressing to wake up each morning with things looking worse. I was very relieved that the pain in my lower back subsided!! Soo happy! Now if the pins and needles feeling would stop spreading to other parts of my body... So far the "pins and needles" feeling covers my lower back down to my ankle on my right side, my ankle and foot on the left side(my toes feel so weird), just above my elbow down to my pinky on the right side, between my shoulder blades on the right side, and one of my ribs. The rash feels like a giant sunburn. My pain medication doesn't even touch the pain. I would have to get a prescription for that... nursing prevents me from doing so. So, I live with it as best I can. By the end of the day I am drained. I cry almost every night just from the exhaustion of trying to maintain normalcy. I'm not proud to admit that.
Joel has been great. He takes over a lot when he gets home from work and during the weekend. Poor guy painted the kitchen by himself. (My sister Megan came over and helped prime the whole thing. Thanks Meg!) We were getting new kitchen cabinets and wanted the kitchen painted before they were put up. Poor guy hates painting and ended up doing it all without my help. Cabinets look great by the way!
Tender mercies have been my life saver! Little things to get me through the day. I couldn't ask for more. Heavenly Father was watching out for me and those around me. Thank you to everyone who has been able to offer help. I'm truly grateful! Maybe in a week I will be close to normal.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Fail
Exercising was going well. We were motivated to keep going, eat right, and getting excited to get in shape. But sadly both Joel and I were injured. Thursday night I pulled something in my back/buttocks area. I took Friday off with hopes of an easy day helping the healing process. Saturday morning, Joel was helping a family from church move and put his back out. Ouch! He was out of commission all weekend. I found motivation to do half a workout with as much enthusiasm as my body would allow. (Good workout too!) But, Sunday came and we were both out of commission. My body ached and throbbed and complained. Monday came and Joel and I made a chiropractor appt. Joel felt wonderful all Monday while at work. I on the other hand counted down the hours and minutes until our appointment in the late afternoon. Doc worked his magic and I left feeling SO much better. Maybe not 100%, but had high hopes that rest and relaxation would heal me quickly. 1.5 hours later I got an exciting delivery from UPS (the stroller I was waiting for! yay!) and with a little too much self confidence, picked the box up 1 handed and POP.... I put my back/pelvis out again. It hurt. And I regretted and kicked myself immediately. Today I am a big ball of hurt. I am doing my very best to not complain but my face says ouch, owie, groan, grimace. I had hopes of being able to pick up the work out again starting Wednesday... now I'm just crossing my fingers that I can get another chiropractor appointment for Wednesday and be healed enough to start monday. A whole week of break... boo.
On a brighter note, Jetta is getting close to crawling! She is leaning into a half crawling, half sitting position. You can tell she wants to do it but is frustrated and a bit scared what will happen. I'm excited for her and also thinking, crap, I'm going to have to put things up high again.
Jetta in her new slippers that mama made her. She's always happy. And maybe getting some teeth soon!
Bentley is at a fun stage. Fun in honest and fun in sarcasm. At the same
time. :) He is stringing sentences together and picking up our word
usage. My favorite is hearing him say "I'm excited for ____." Today he
was excited to have egg sandwiches for lunch and to go to Home Depot.
Very exciting stuff. :) Apparently I have been saying 'excited' a little
too much lately.
Oh and Bentley is currently obsessed with trains. And he has given favorite movies nicknames. "Cars" is called Mater McQueen (yes, 2 characters combined) and "Cars 2" is called Pink Racecars... ahh and Lion King is apparently being understood as Lyin' King... he said something to me today about the Lying movie. Can't remember exactly what he said but the gist was that it was untruthful. haha
Love my kids. Hope I heal soon. I hurt.
On a brighter note, Jetta is getting close to crawling! She is leaning into a half crawling, half sitting position. You can tell she wants to do it but is frustrated and a bit scared what will happen. I'm excited for her and also thinking, crap, I'm going to have to put things up high again.
Jetta in her new slippers that mama made her. She's always happy. And maybe getting some teeth soon!
Love my kids. Hope I heal soon. I hurt.
Friday, March 1, 2013
4 days down... 26 to go
Joel and I started 'Insanity' on Monday, February 25th. Our only free time when we are both home is either before the kids get up or after dinner. And lets face it, this mama isn't wasting precious sleep time exercising. So at night we exercise.
Yesterday was day 4 and the workout was called "Cardio Recovery"... What they meant to say is instead of doing everything as fast as we can (which is my interpretation of all other workouts thus far) we are going to do them moderately slow. And at first Joel and I were thinking, oh ya I can do this one! But then they want you to hold hard positions and "pulse". Pulse is like saying move oh so very slightly so that your legs BURN and yearn to stand or sit and not be BURNING. Needless to say, I think I got a better exercise from this "recovery" CD than I have from any other.
Oh and we bought a blender. Much much better! And we bought protein powder. (I never thought I would ever buy this in my life) We bought 2. One was from Walmart and was a vanilla flavor. YUCK! We couldn't add enough ingredients to hide that oh so awful after-taste. The second we purchased from Costco. Good 'ol Costco. It's chocolate flavor and of course double the size of our previous purchase. We had our fingers crossed we would like it because there was a lot of it. And success!! We both like it! We made a very simple shake last night after our recovery workout. (I still scoff at the 'recovery' part. ha... recovery) It was milk, blueberries, banana, chocolate protein powder and ice. Sounds a little weird but it was actually yummy.
Tonight will be my last workout until next monday. I'm shooting for 5 days a week, and Joel 6. Yesterday my calves were killer and I couldn't walk normally for the majority of the day. Today I feel much better. Except one of the muscles in my thigh. I think I pinched a nerve or something because it tingles in a not comfy kind of way. Oh well, more stretching I guess.
Still going strong.... Hopefully Monday finds me ready and willing to start again!
Yesterday was day 4 and the workout was called "Cardio Recovery"... What they meant to say is instead of doing everything as fast as we can (which is my interpretation of all other workouts thus far) we are going to do them moderately slow. And at first Joel and I were thinking, oh ya I can do this one! But then they want you to hold hard positions and "pulse". Pulse is like saying move oh so very slightly so that your legs BURN and yearn to stand or sit and not be BURNING. Needless to say, I think I got a better exercise from this "recovery" CD than I have from any other.
Oh and we bought a blender. Much much better! And we bought protein powder. (I never thought I would ever buy this in my life) We bought 2. One was from Walmart and was a vanilla flavor. YUCK! We couldn't add enough ingredients to hide that oh so awful after-taste. The second we purchased from Costco. Good 'ol Costco. It's chocolate flavor and of course double the size of our previous purchase. We had our fingers crossed we would like it because there was a lot of it. And success!! We both like it! We made a very simple shake last night after our recovery workout. (I still scoff at the 'recovery' part. ha... recovery) It was milk, blueberries, banana, chocolate protein powder and ice. Sounds a little weird but it was actually yummy.
Tonight will be my last workout until next monday. I'm shooting for 5 days a week, and Joel 6. Yesterday my calves were killer and I couldn't walk normally for the majority of the day. Today I feel much better. Except one of the muscles in my thigh. I think I pinched a nerve or something because it tingles in a not comfy kind of way. Oh well, more stretching I guess.
Still going strong.... Hopefully Monday finds me ready and willing to start again!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Insanity
So Joel and I are starting a new work out together. Joel is trying to get into shape once again and me... well, lets just say that things are jiggling that I'm not used to. Who knew your butt could jiggle just from walking?! So we purchased "Insanity" and have committed to each other that we will do this for 30 days. Joel is going to exercise 6 days a week and I am shooting for 5 days.
We started on Monday. First day, you do a fitness test. Holy moly... the warm-up was enough for me to say I'm done, but then we had to do the actual fitness test. We were both exhausted. And poor Bentley heard us jumping around in the back of the house and was having a little panic attack in his bed. (We did it at night when kids were in bed. Seems to be our only free time.) Both of us had beat red faces and were EXHAUSTED! I mean, drag our feet and flop onto our beds after a quick shower. Yesterday the work-out was even harder. But... we didn't feel so awful after our work out. I even felt energized. Joel thought I was crazy. Maybe I didn't push hard enough?? Who knows, I did a LOT more than I ever thought I could and was happy with my efforts. Jetta wouldn't go to sleep at her normal time so she ended up watching us work out. She giggled a couple times when our eyes would meet, but mostly sat and played with her toys.
2 days down. 28 to go.
Now to start eating healthy to jump start this program. Making a Costco run tomorrow. Last night we thought a blended something or other sounded good. We don't have a blender and thought a food processor would be good enough. Word to the wise, not good enough. (unless you don't mind chunky everything) My gag reflex wasn't having it. Blender from Costco? I think yes :) I love Costco by the way. I'm going to try to blog our experience in hopes that it will keep me motivated to keep going. So far so good.
We started on Monday. First day, you do a fitness test. Holy moly... the warm-up was enough for me to say I'm done, but then we had to do the actual fitness test. We were both exhausted. And poor Bentley heard us jumping around in the back of the house and was having a little panic attack in his bed. (We did it at night when kids were in bed. Seems to be our only free time.) Both of us had beat red faces and were EXHAUSTED! I mean, drag our feet and flop onto our beds after a quick shower. Yesterday the work-out was even harder. But... we didn't feel so awful after our work out. I even felt energized. Joel thought I was crazy. Maybe I didn't push hard enough?? Who knows, I did a LOT more than I ever thought I could and was happy with my efforts. Jetta wouldn't go to sleep at her normal time so she ended up watching us work out. She giggled a couple times when our eyes would meet, but mostly sat and played with her toys.
2 days down. 28 to go.
Now to start eating healthy to jump start this program. Making a Costco run tomorrow. Last night we thought a blended something or other sounded good. We don't have a blender and thought a food processor would be good enough. Word to the wise, not good enough. (unless you don't mind chunky everything) My gag reflex wasn't having it. Blender from Costco? I think yes :) I love Costco by the way. I'm going to try to blog our experience in hopes that it will keep me motivated to keep going. So far so good.
Monday, October 22, 2012
October almost over?! Already?
So much time passes between my posts, that it feels like there is an overwhelming amount of information to share. -But- I'm going to keep it simple this time.
Firstly, Bentley is learning to say sentences. It's adorable. The first sentence he said that wasn't repeating what Joel or I said was while we were driving home from church. I said "I'm HUNGRY, I'm going to eat a sandwich!" and Bentley said "I'm going to eat a sandwich too!"... Joel and I looked at each other with that "awwwwww!" look. Our baby is growing up.
Secondly, Jetta is practically 4 months old now. I can't believe it! Things about Jetta: She is a big time talker! She likes to suck her thumb and fingers despite my attempts to stop her and give her a pacifier. (My thought is, I can take a pacifier away, I can't take her thumb away... But it appears I am losing this battle.) She is snuggley (yay!) And she sure doesn't mind eating either. The girl is already close to 17lbs!! Considering that her 2 year old brother is 26lbs, I think she is quite the chunk! But I love it!
Christmas is coming and I'm trying to think of what to give the kids. I want to make Bentley a quiet book for church. My goal is to starting the planning of exactly what pages to make. Then, when I start, I want to do at least 1 page a week until Christmas. I think it's a reasonable goal. So wish me luck!
We also just took family pictures with my parents and sister. Here are some of my favorites.
Firstly, Bentley is learning to say sentences. It's adorable. The first sentence he said that wasn't repeating what Joel or I said was while we were driving home from church. I said "I'm HUNGRY, I'm going to eat a sandwich!" and Bentley said "I'm going to eat a sandwich too!"... Joel and I looked at each other with that "awwwwww!" look. Our baby is growing up.
Secondly, Jetta is practically 4 months old now. I can't believe it! Things about Jetta: She is a big time talker! She likes to suck her thumb and fingers despite my attempts to stop her and give her a pacifier. (My thought is, I can take a pacifier away, I can't take her thumb away... But it appears I am losing this battle.) She is snuggley (yay!) And she sure doesn't mind eating either. The girl is already close to 17lbs!! Considering that her 2 year old brother is 26lbs, I think she is quite the chunk! But I love it!
Christmas is coming and I'm trying to think of what to give the kids. I want to make Bentley a quiet book for church. My goal is to starting the planning of exactly what pages to make. Then, when I start, I want to do at least 1 page a week until Christmas. I think it's a reasonable goal. So wish me luck!
We also just took family pictures with my parents and sister. Here are some of my favorites.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Learning
It's so exciting as a parent to be able to see the "fruits of our labor" when it comes to raising children. I felt like I was doing an okay job of raising our son until he started throwing tantrums... and then I thought "oh my goodness, what do I do?!" And I'm sure most parents have had this moment where they think "where did this come from?"... I still have these moments but I'm getting better at grasping the fact that all the other parents are wondering what the "right" thing to do or "right" way to raise a child, too.
Bentley is coming in to the stage of life where he has to test his boundaries and wants to be involved in EVERYTHING. Mommy wants to go to the bathroom by herself? I don't think so. Daddy wants to put the dishes away? I can help with that. Cooking dinner? Me too! I think we say at least once a day that Bentley is going to grow up to do/be _____. The most popular fill to the blank is basketball player. He is obsessed with Basketball. And it's a little surprising since neither Joel or I watch it on tv, play it or even talk about it. Bentley didn't even know we owned a Basketball until after this obsession started. One day at Grandma and Grandpa Krause's house, Basketball was on TV and my little toddler apparently stood there transfixed. And so it began... Now G&G Zwygart have a kid basketball hoop at there house for our obsessed little man... Their neighbors have a real hoop in their driveway so anytime we came to visit it was a serious tantrum if we didn't go outside and play. My not even 2 year old toddler is very good at shooting the balls into the hoop. And he says "put it in" or "put it in the HOOP" constantly. Everything can be made into basketball. A laundry hamper, the baby jumper, a chair... all can be used as a basketball hoop. And obviously all balls are a "bak-etball". And thanks to his loyal fans watching on the sidelines, he is also very quick to repeat "almost" or "I did it" after each shot. Along with basketball, Bentley is also quick to be a little helper in the Kitchen. If he can get his way, he will be involved in the preparation of every meal. He LOVES to cook! What is his favorite thing to "help" cook you ask? Well eggs of course... why, you ask? We have no stinking clue! But he shoves a stool around the kitchen so he can climb up and be a part of all of it.
We also just got back from a quick Vacation trip last weekend. I was a little nervous to travel with 2 young children for 6 hours. In preparation for the long drive, we got Bentley a couple new toys that we could whip out when the crying, fussing or tantrums were too much to bear. But to my surprise, Jetta slept pretty much the whole time and Bentley didn't require a new toy until on the way home! We did however give him a new book on the way out and it was a lifesaver! I'm actually patting Joel and I on the back for this one because it is the best buy!! It has pictures and colors and numbers and letters... this kid was seriously entertained! (Having a picture of a basketball on one of the pages was by far his most exciting discovery) And now that we are home I am amazed at how fast he has learned his ABC's! He likes to sing the song (which he only actually says A B C D E and then a bunch of gibberish). And he can recognize quite a few letters! These are the letters he can pick out and remember. BEMNOPRSTUW-- While we were at church yesterday, during one of the more quiet moments (of course) he starts yelling 'T!' 'T!' 'T!' and points at the "Exit" sign above one of the doors. He was very excited about that. And of course Joel and I are hushing him and beaming big smiles at each other with how proud we are. :) My smart smart boy.
Another proud moment for Joel and I is hearing him say please and thank you to others without having been asked. Ahh... love it! And right now he's even saying no thank you. I'm such a proud momma!
Miss Jetta Leigh was born June 24th at 3:53am. Fastest labor I could have imagined! I woke Joel up just before 2am and said we have to "GO!". As soon as my parents arrived to stay at our house and watch Bentley we took off for the hospital. I woke up to contractions 6 minutes apart. By the time we arrived at the hospital around 3am they were 1-2 minutes apart. And Jetta was born shortly after. She was 5lbs 15.6oz and 20 inches long. By 5.5 weeks old she was 9lbs and being just over 7 weeks old now, I would approximate my little lady to easily be 10lbs. All I have to say is she likes to eat! She has just started giving us big gummy smiles and is coo-ing constantly. Here are some pictures of her at 4 days old.
Smile for the camera!
It is so much fun being a mommy!
Bentley is coming in to the stage of life where he has to test his boundaries and wants to be involved in EVERYTHING. Mommy wants to go to the bathroom by herself? I don't think so. Daddy wants to put the dishes away? I can help with that. Cooking dinner? Me too! I think we say at least once a day that Bentley is going to grow up to do/be _____. The most popular fill to the blank is basketball player. He is obsessed with Basketball. And it's a little surprising since neither Joel or I watch it on tv, play it or even talk about it. Bentley didn't even know we owned a Basketball until after this obsession started. One day at Grandma and Grandpa Krause's house, Basketball was on TV and my little toddler apparently stood there transfixed. And so it began... Now G&G Zwygart have a kid basketball hoop at there house for our obsessed little man... Their neighbors have a real hoop in their driveway so anytime we came to visit it was a serious tantrum if we didn't go outside and play. My not even 2 year old toddler is very good at shooting the balls into the hoop. And he says "put it in" or "put it in the HOOP" constantly. Everything can be made into basketball. A laundry hamper, the baby jumper, a chair... all can be used as a basketball hoop. And obviously all balls are a "bak-etball". And thanks to his loyal fans watching on the sidelines, he is also very quick to repeat "almost" or "I did it" after each shot. Along with basketball, Bentley is also quick to be a little helper in the Kitchen. If he can get his way, he will be involved in the preparation of every meal. He LOVES to cook! What is his favorite thing to "help" cook you ask? Well eggs of course... why, you ask? We have no stinking clue! But he shoves a stool around the kitchen so he can climb up and be a part of all of it.
We also just got back from a quick Vacation trip last weekend. I was a little nervous to travel with 2 young children for 6 hours. In preparation for the long drive, we got Bentley a couple new toys that we could whip out when the crying, fussing or tantrums were too much to bear. But to my surprise, Jetta slept pretty much the whole time and Bentley didn't require a new toy until on the way home! We did however give him a new book on the way out and it was a lifesaver! I'm actually patting Joel and I on the back for this one because it is the best buy!! It has pictures and colors and numbers and letters... this kid was seriously entertained! (Having a picture of a basketball on one of the pages was by far his most exciting discovery) And now that we are home I am amazed at how fast he has learned his ABC's! He likes to sing the song (which he only actually says A B C D E and then a bunch of gibberish). And he can recognize quite a few letters! These are the letters he can pick out and remember. BEMNOPRSTUW-- While we were at church yesterday, during one of the more quiet moments (of course) he starts yelling 'T!' 'T!' 'T!' and points at the "Exit" sign above one of the doors. He was very excited about that. And of course Joel and I are hushing him and beaming big smiles at each other with how proud we are. :) My smart smart boy.
Another proud moment for Joel and I is hearing him say please and thank you to others without having been asked. Ahh... love it! And right now he's even saying no thank you. I'm such a proud momma!
Miss Jetta Leigh was born June 24th at 3:53am. Fastest labor I could have imagined! I woke Joel up just before 2am and said we have to "GO!". As soon as my parents arrived to stay at our house and watch Bentley we took off for the hospital. I woke up to contractions 6 minutes apart. By the time we arrived at the hospital around 3am they were 1-2 minutes apart. And Jetta was born shortly after. She was 5lbs 15.6oz and 20 inches long. By 5.5 weeks old she was 9lbs and being just over 7 weeks old now, I would approximate my little lady to easily be 10lbs. All I have to say is she likes to eat! She has just started giving us big gummy smiles and is coo-ing constantly. Here are some pictures of her at 4 days old.
Here is Bentley and Jetta in early July. Isn't he a cutie? :)
Smile for the camera!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Finding time
I titled this blog "Finding Time" because it seems like the story of my life right now. There are so many good and wonderful things going on right now that it's hard to make time (and energy!) to do each of them.
Let me start with a small update of our lives.
Joel:
Just finished his 2nd to last semester of school with straight A's. So proud of you honey! School, work and time at home... how does he do it all? Joel's work also did a 'Biggest Loser' contest offering a gym membership with bootcamp during the 6 weeks of competition. Workers could choose to try it out on their own or go to this bootcamp class (or a little of both I'm sure!). At the half way mark, Joel was in 4th place! Yay! He chose to do this bootcamp along with school and work. The poor guy had a LONG LONG day where he'd be gone from 5am-5pm. His work only listed 1st-3rd places so sadly he didn't get to find out how he compared. BUT he did win $25 to the Nike store. (woot) I think he's done an amazing job and looks great! These past two months he's lost a total of 25lbs! To add to all of his spare time (note the sarcasm) he has been working outside of our home trying to get our back yard in working order. A few of the things he (along with helpers) have accomplished: digging the back and front yard for a sprinkler system, installing sprinkler system, burying sprinkler system, pulling weeds, planting grass, moving firewood to new location, roto-tilling for a veg. garden, planting the veg. garden, hauling concrete away, clearing rocks/ debris out of yard, preparing and running a 5k. I know there's more he has done since the weather has turned nice but to say the least, we have not had a free weekend in a little. I must also mention that a birthday, anniversary, mothers day and family dinners were amongst all this.
Me:
I don't have nearly the list that Joel does. To be honest, I look back at my last couple of months and find it hard to make a list of things I've accomplished. However, I recognize that being a full time mommy and homemaker is never an easy job. Joel gets to the weekends off from work, but mine just keeps going. 24/7. So to be able to add to that and say I'm 8 months pregnant now... I think it's pretty fair that my list is short. Things I have accomplished include: finishing up nursery, dishes getting done, house getting vacuumed, toys get put away, groceries purchased, 7 freezer meals have been made, everyone is still alive, teaching in church, activities committee for church. :) AND, I haven't quite hit the weight I was when I delivered Bentley. woo :) Finding time and energy to get the normal things done around the house is getting difficult. I've got this surge of energy to clean though. Thank goodness for nesting! Otherwise nothing would get done!
Bentley:
Bentley has probably done the most of all of us these past couple months. Talk about finding time... This little man does not understand how to hold still. Instead of sitting down to play with a toy, he will squat beside them, always at the ready to go-go-go! He's been doing a lot of learning as well. He can now open doors and has thankfully only applied this to the bathroom door so far. I say thankfully because I can just imagine how happy he'd be if he could let himself outside to play or figure out that he doesn't really need to stay in bed... His vocabulary and understand of the world is growing considerably. Words that he uses and how they sound to me include:
Mama: grandma
Papa: grandpa
a guttural sound something like Ing-ya-ing-ya: strawberry milk
Ya-Ya: aunt Megan
Bob: uncle Bob
Daddy and Mommy
sheesh: cheese
sheddar: cheddar
kuck: truck
bus and car
baallll: ball (he adds a few ahh lllll's in there)
cat key or key cat: kitty cat
shadow: shovel
pots: as in pots and pans, which is usually yelled
juice
sandy: sandwich or used when referring to bread itself
ti-tu: thank you
more: more
verbal 'more' accompanied by signing please or verbal 'meese': please
shoes on: shoes
kocks: socks
no and yes
didi: baby
TD:TV
on and off
nigh-night: can mean he is going to bed, wants to lay down, or pacifier
ah-mo: Elmo
ah see: meaning "I want to see"
cow, goose, doggie, puppy
So that's to name a few of the words he understands how to use and can things he can recognize. He also just started understanding that if we ask him "what does a (input animal) say?" that he should respond with the sound of said animal. Currently all animals say 'moo'. :) In the past 2 months he has also decided that he doesn't want to sit in his high chair (or any restaurant high chair) anymore and that he prefers a booster seat. His pick? The chair he learned to sit upright in. Yep, the "bumbo." His legs still fit but probably not for too much longer. But it makes him happy and meals go a lot smoother. He's our big boy now. He has enjoyed spending so much time outside with daddy. He struts around like he's the most important person there ever was. It's cute! :) And he's definitely keeping momma busy. Run, run, run!
I'm so glad this pregnancy is almost over. Only 6-ish more weeks and I'll have a beautiful baby GIRL. Most importantly, I won't be pregnant anymore :) he he he
Let me start with a small update of our lives.
Joel:
Just finished his 2nd to last semester of school with straight A's. So proud of you honey! School, work and time at home... how does he do it all? Joel's work also did a 'Biggest Loser' contest offering a gym membership with bootcamp during the 6 weeks of competition. Workers could choose to try it out on their own or go to this bootcamp class (or a little of both I'm sure!). At the half way mark, Joel was in 4th place! Yay! He chose to do this bootcamp along with school and work. The poor guy had a LONG LONG day where he'd be gone from 5am-5pm. His work only listed 1st-3rd places so sadly he didn't get to find out how he compared. BUT he did win $25 to the Nike store. (woot) I think he's done an amazing job and looks great! These past two months he's lost a total of 25lbs! To add to all of his spare time (note the sarcasm) he has been working outside of our home trying to get our back yard in working order. A few of the things he (along with helpers) have accomplished: digging the back and front yard for a sprinkler system, installing sprinkler system, burying sprinkler system, pulling weeds, planting grass, moving firewood to new location, roto-tilling for a veg. garden, planting the veg. garden, hauling concrete away, clearing rocks/ debris out of yard, preparing and running a 5k. I know there's more he has done since the weather has turned nice but to say the least, we have not had a free weekend in a little. I must also mention that a birthday, anniversary, mothers day and family dinners were amongst all this.
Me:
I don't have nearly the list that Joel does. To be honest, I look back at my last couple of months and find it hard to make a list of things I've accomplished. However, I recognize that being a full time mommy and homemaker is never an easy job. Joel gets to the weekends off from work, but mine just keeps going. 24/7. So to be able to add to that and say I'm 8 months pregnant now... I think it's pretty fair that my list is short. Things I have accomplished include: finishing up nursery, dishes getting done, house getting vacuumed, toys get put away, groceries purchased, 7 freezer meals have been made, everyone is still alive, teaching in church, activities committee for church. :) AND, I haven't quite hit the weight I was when I delivered Bentley. woo :) Finding time and energy to get the normal things done around the house is getting difficult. I've got this surge of energy to clean though. Thank goodness for nesting! Otherwise nothing would get done!
Bentley:
Bentley has probably done the most of all of us these past couple months. Talk about finding time... This little man does not understand how to hold still. Instead of sitting down to play with a toy, he will squat beside them, always at the ready to go-go-go! He's been doing a lot of learning as well. He can now open doors and has thankfully only applied this to the bathroom door so far. I say thankfully because I can just imagine how happy he'd be if he could let himself outside to play or figure out that he doesn't really need to stay in bed... His vocabulary and understand of the world is growing considerably. Words that he uses and how they sound to me include:
Mama: grandma
Papa: grandpa
a guttural sound something like Ing-ya-ing-ya: strawberry milk
Ya-Ya: aunt Megan
Bob: uncle Bob
Daddy and Mommy
sheesh: cheese
sheddar: cheddar
kuck: truck
bus and car
baallll: ball (he adds a few ahh lllll's in there)
cat key or key cat: kitty cat
shadow: shovel
pots: as in pots and pans, which is usually yelled
juice
sandy: sandwich or used when referring to bread itself
ti-tu: thank you
more: more
verbal 'more' accompanied by signing please or verbal 'meese': please
shoes on: shoes
kocks: socks
no and yes
didi: baby
TD:TV
on and off
nigh-night: can mean he is going to bed, wants to lay down, or pacifier
ah-mo: Elmo
ah see: meaning "I want to see"
cow, goose, doggie, puppy
So that's to name a few of the words he understands how to use and can things he can recognize. He also just started understanding that if we ask him "what does a (input animal) say?" that he should respond with the sound of said animal. Currently all animals say 'moo'. :) In the past 2 months he has also decided that he doesn't want to sit in his high chair (or any restaurant high chair) anymore and that he prefers a booster seat. His pick? The chair he learned to sit upright in. Yep, the "bumbo." His legs still fit but probably not for too much longer. But it makes him happy and meals go a lot smoother. He's our big boy now. He has enjoyed spending so much time outside with daddy. He struts around like he's the most important person there ever was. It's cute! :) And he's definitely keeping momma busy. Run, run, run!
I'm so glad this pregnancy is almost over. Only 6-ish more weeks and I'll have a beautiful baby GIRL. Most importantly, I won't be pregnant anymore :) he he he
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