It's amazing all the things that can happen in 24 hours.
Last night after Lila went to bed, Jake and I sat on the couch for a while with his iPad 2 (from work) and played Angry Birds. I always thought it was lame and didn't know why people got so addicted to it. And then I got addicted to it. But at 9:30 I got hit with a massive headache/neck ache. Like the kind I used to have after we got married. They completely wipe me out and they hurt something awful. I had Jake rub my neck and shoulder for a while but it didn't help at all. Finally I laid down with a heating pad on it and that loosened my muscles up really well and I went to bed. I fell asleep sprawled across the bed, so by the time Jake was ready for bed an hour later, he decided to sleep on a guest bed instead of waking me up. Nice guy. I got him at 3am and I couldn't fall asleep for another hour or more. I don't sleep well when I'm pregnant.
Got up this morning with Jake. He'd talked to Mike the night before and Mike wants me to talk to Cassandra this weekend while she's here about Kalina, give her a different perspective on everything. Mike called at 7:30 to talk but I called him back after Jake left for work. Kalina texted him at 3:30am saying that she hadn't known he was dating anyone and that she couldn't move on and wanted to know if he "really truly" meant when he said he would've given her a chance if she would've asked for one. Yikes. He was pretty mad that she was texting him again. Decided to talk to Cassandra about it and see what she thought. He texted her back later in the day and said --
You won't be able to move on until you repent. The bishop can help you with that. I was 100 percent committed to you until we walked out of the courthouse and our divorce was final. You need to move on.
Kalina wrote back:
I will be able to completely move on now that you've answered my question. Thank you. As for the repentance, I have gone through with repenting. You don't know what has gone on in my life since the divorce so don't think that because I don't go to church here is because I haven't repented.
Grr. She still makes me mad. Mike's friends from church, the Zirkels, stayed at the Holiday Inn where she works while their power was out... she worked right along side with Corey (the guy she cheated on Mike with) the whole time and Brandon Zirkle said they were practically glued at the hip. Gross. She... makes me mad.
Anyway. We spent the morning playing. I took a shower. Gave Lila a tissue (Kleenex) to tear apart while I was in there to distract her. She "blew" her nose in it the whole time.
At 11:15 we had another OT appointment. This one went really well. In the past, we've been brought back to a small exam type room where you close the door. This time we just stayed in the big physical therapy room where there are tons of toys, mats, stairs, swings, etc. and other kids around. This made the biggest difference. Lila didn't cry at all and had fun playing around with Kristen. She must have mostly been afraid of the room because it reminded her of the doctor's office. We played a little bit with Cheerios. Told Kristen about Lila's progress and she was happy to hear that. She said next week we'll play a little while but then try to put her in a high chair to play with some food. She'd like Jake to start trying to get into Lila's mouth. She gave us a "gum massage" protocol... the goal is to eventually be able to go around Lila's mouth 3 times, but if all Jake can do is just touch Lila's gum once to start out with, that's fine. We're not supposed to stress Lila out at all or push her to do something. She said that with some kids, she can push them and make them mad because 2 minutes later they're over it and happy... but she recognizes that Lila is definitely not like that. If we force her to do something or make her stressed out, she will regress a lot. So we just make things fun and easy and try to move along slowly at her pace.
After that we grabbed lunch at Taco Bell together before Jake had to drive over to Stryker for a meeting. Lila stayed awake on the way home, thankfully, and went down right away for a nap when we got home. While she slept, I talked with Kelsey on the phone and then did some cleaning and reading. I read a bit of Sister Beck's talk "A 'Mother Heart'" and focused on the section about Proverbs 31. I noticed that a lot of the qualities of a virtuous woman have to do with hands... "she worketh willingly with her hands... with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard... she stretcheth out her hand to the poor..." So much of what we do as mothers is physical work. It has to do with touch and nurturing and cleaning and feeding and holding and soothing.
I'm so glad I read that when I did, because Lila woke up from her nap (after sleeping for 1 1/2 hours) and cried hysterically for a while. She was arching her back and kicking her legs like she was in a lot of pain and she wailed and cried. I gave her some Ibuprofen, got her blanket, and took her downstairs to nurse and rock in her chair. After reading that talk, all I wanted to do was soothe her and be there for her. She nursed and rocked with me for maybe 20-30 minutes before falling asleep for 30-40 minutes. It was amazing. She was so relaxed and peaceful. She fell asleep with her head on my chest, all snuggled in close to me, and I just sat there and rocked her. And then she let me cradle her like a baby while she slept and I just looked at her sweet face... like I did when she was a baby. Oh, I miss that. I soaked it all in and enjoyed it. I know that someday soon I won't be able to give her all that attention because I'll have another little one. I'm trying to enjoy every day with Lila. I love her so much.
She woke up from her mini-nap with a cheerful "dada!", hopped off my lap, and started playing with her toys. She was in a very good mood and felt a lot better. So we played in the basement for another hour or so. Got some texts from Jessica. Jason takes a big test tomorrow for med school and then has a 2.5 week break. They're going to spend next week working on their townhome (painting and such) and then they want to drive over to visit us!!! Yay!!! I'm so excited! We get to meet little Audrey (she'll be 2 months old), and show her how big Lila is, and do fun Michigan things, and show them our house. I'm so excited.
Lila got hungry so I took her up to the kitchen for dinner. It is so much fun now that she eats... I fix her her own little plate of food. I feel like a real mom! I gave her a plate of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and green beans. She didn't eat the green beans but enjoyed the rest. When she was done with those, I gave her some Butterscotch pudding and she ate almost half of that. Good girl! I ate dinner too. Jake got home a little late from work.
The Betzold family is getting geared up and excited for the 4th of July! I'm so excited!
We took Lila outside a little while. Maybe 10-15 minutes. I think she got a little sunburnt in just that short time. Looks like I have to put sunscreen on her whenever we go outside. Did some yardwork. Lila tried sweeping the grass.
Got in. I cleaned the kitchen. Went to the basement and videochatted with Grandpa Betzold on the iPad. Lila hammed it up completely and won his heart. He was so happy to see her and is so excited for the 4th. She started calling him "Papa" which is amazing because we didn't tell her who it was! Very cute.
She went to bed at 9. It's now almost 11. Jake's doing work. I need to go to bed.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Lila @ 14 months
- Starting Occupational Therapy. Has sensory problems and oral aversion. Is on a brushing program. Was scared of therapists at first, but now that we're out in a bigger playroom instead of a smaller "exam" room, she's completely fine. (It probably reminded her of a doctor's office, and she hates those.)
- We have noticed a HUGE improvement with her eating. She's still nursing, but mostly before nap-time and bed-time. Her favorite food is mac and cheese, and she's starting to love pudding and pureed baby foods too, which is very exciting for us because she's always hated it. Up to this point, she has tried the following foods: Cheerios, Teddy Grahams, cream cheese/peanut butter bagels, Goldfish, mac and cheese, Sacrament bread, PB&J, Spaghettios, spaghetti, Ramen noodles, bacon, pudding, pureed sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, tortilla chips, Doritos, shredded cheesed, banana pancakes, baked/black beans, green beans, steak, mashed potatoes, ice cream, chocolate bars.
- She's starting to get messy with food and enjoy it, laughing while eating, putting 4 Cheerios in her mouth at a time.
- She's taken a few sips of milk and juice and pop, but doesn't care for them a whole lot. She loves water. She uses sippy cups with straws and sometimes tries to drink out of regular sippy cups. She loves drinking out of fast food cups and likes to blow bubbles in them. She's started to spit out water she drinks playfully.
- Likes older kids.
- Words she says: doggie, quack, "bawk bawk", mama, dada, papa, no, mommy, daddy, ball, baby, hi, shoes, door. She babbles and "talks" a lot.
- LOVES being outside. She likes bikes and tricycles. She loves toys you can push or pull around. She loves walking around outside; stepping onto the grass and back onto the sidewalk. Loves the hanging baskets of flowers and pointing at them but doesn't like when I take them down. Likes playing with the watering can. Likes playing in the rain and in water outside. Likes walks in her stroller. Loves it when neighbors walk by our house with their dogs. She pets them and lets them kiss her, not afraid at all, even of a HUGE hairy sheep dog.
- LOVES her pink sandals. And now she loves all of her shoes. Stands at closet in morning waiting for them. Tries putting them on by herself. She now turns around and sits in my lap and waits for me to put them on. (She all of a sudden loves sitting in my lap and can back up and sit there on her own.) She likes shoes in books too.
- If I ask where her toes are, she knows and points. She loves when I play "Little Piggies" with her. She'll take my fingers and put them on her toes when she wants me to.
- Knows where her nose is and can point to it. Points to our noses too.
- Likes brushing our hair and her own hair. Doesn't mind having her hair brushed, but always pulls bows out immediately and pigtails don't last very long. She has curly blond hair.
- Eyes are blue but there's yellow around the pupils.
- Wearing mostly 3T clothes and size 5 shoes. Size 5 diapers.
- At her 13-month (one year) check-up she was 31" tall and somewhere between 28-29 pounds. Still above the 97th percentile for both. Her head circumference is also above the 97 percentile.
- Does well at grocery stores.
- HATES baths and showers again. I usually have Jake do them.
- Can back up and sit down on steps and our laps. Sits back and relaxes. Loves to do this.
- Starting to climb on things: beds, chairs, couches... but needs help usually.
- Loves bouncing on beds (while sitting down).
- Likes the little trampoline we got from the Andersons.
- Definitely has a favorite blanket. Loves to snuggle with it and carry it around. Loves playing peek-a-boo with it.
- Gives hugs when asked and sometimes kisses.
- Usually cries when I sing lullabies or when some toys play music.
- She's started liking toys that have flashing lights on them, like her laptop. Still loves talking into microphones on toys.
- Loves iPhones and iPads.
- Loves watching videos of herself.
- Loves car keys.
- Stands by front door and waves when she wants to go out.
- Likes merry-go-rounds. Doesn't like swings. Loves walking up and down hills.
- Slowly spins in circles until dizzy sometimes.
- Whiny lately. Clingy to mom. Wants to be held a lot.
- Sometimes doesn't want to sit and eat in high chair, cries, and fights it. When that happens, she'll usually sit in our laps and eat.
- Likes books still.
- Likes to Skype with my parents.
- Loves Uncle Mike and Aunt Emily.
- Cries in car if we're driving around bedtime. During the day she'll often fall asleep if she needs a nap in the car.
- Loves my glasses and hates that I won't let her play with them. Loves sunglasses too.
- Makes it halfway through sacrament before needing to be taken out for a walk. Loves the water fountain at church.
- Will "draw" on paper with ink pens but bites crayons.
- Hates when I'm cooking dinner and wants me to carry her.
- Plays with my makeup bag when I'm getting ready.
- Doesn't watch a lot of TV. Does like Sesame Street and cartoons when they're on.
- Loves carrying reusable grocery bags around like a purse, with the straps over her shoulder. So cute and funny.
- Overall a sweet and funny and happy baby. Has a huge independent streak. Will not allow us to feed her or brush her teeth, but she will do those things by herself. She likes my toothbrush but not hers. Doesn't like to hold our hands when we're walking. Likes to do things by herself. She adores Jake and I though and is very affectionate with us. Loves to be tickled and kissed and snuggled. We love having her in our family.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
10w 3d
Doing well. I've been generally feeling a lot better. Not so tired and awful and depressed. This is great news. I eat like 4-5 actual meals a day now though. I eat breakfast and by 10:30-11:00 I'm really hungry again. And I usually eat a second lunch later in the afternoon and dinner. And always ice cream or cookies before bed.
Sleeping a little better too... but that's probably because Lila's been sleeping better. If we don't get to bed early enough, I get SO TIRED and then start having crazy depressed thoughts (not really crazy, I just start feeling miserable about life), so I then I know I need to get myself to bed asap.
Having a more positive attitude about everything too. Excited for our next appointment and for things to start feeling more "real."
Sleeping a little better too... but that's probably because Lila's been sleeping better. If we don't get to bed early enough, I get SO TIRED and then start having crazy depressed thoughts (not really crazy, I just start feeling miserable about life), so I then I know I need to get myself to bed asap.
Having a more positive attitude about everything too. Excited for our next appointment and for things to start feeling more "real."
Saturday and Sunday
Yesterday morning at 11:00 I had Alicia Thompson's baby shower. I was pretty excited to go and get away, have some girl time. Before I left, I put Lila down for a nap, but Jake said she woke up at 11:20 so it wasn't a very long one at all. It was a beautiful, sunshiney day. Pretty hot out. I took backroads to get there... I had the windows down and the radio loud it just felt like so much fun. I felt like a teenager again :)
The shower was at Sharon Hunt's house, in her backyard. She has a GORGEOUS backyard. It was on the patio, and there are big rolling hills and a brook nearby and lots of trees. It was awesome. Good food and good company too. It was like an "old" 1st ward reunion. Alicia's having a girl, so she got tons of adorable things and it was a lot of fun for her, especially because she had a boy the first time. I spent a few hours there. Talked with Jessica Wesel a while. Her son Jarom is a month older than Lila (he was there at the shower) and is going through a whiny phase too... she talked about how from like 14 months to 18 months, kids just have a hard time (at least in her experience). And how it's just a phase. It was good to hear that, because Lila's been crazy lately and I don't know how to handle it all the time. I'm so grateful to have good friends in the ward and feel comfortable with them.
Headed home. Jake and Lila had spent a lot of time "playing" in the garage. Jake was putting things away and Lila was exploring. Had some lunch. Lila went down for a nap. While Lila was napping, we started watching the movie Country Strong and it was so stupid. When she got up we went to Culver's for dinner (craving) and then to Meijer for groceries. Got home and gave Lila a jar of pureed sweet potatoes and she LOVED it. She made a huge mess and was laughing and trying to eat it with a spoon. I don't know how much she actually got into her tummy, but she sure had fun, and our OT wants us to let her get messy and play with foods like that, so that's great. She's making great progress!
We Skyped with my parents a bit and Mike stopped by for a bit. He was taking Cassandra out for dinner. Lila went to sleep well. We headed to the basement and finished Country Strong and it was even more stupid than ever. I worked on Primary stuff during the movie. By the time we headed to bed at 11:00 I was SOOO TIRED.
Church today was okay. Lila did great during Sacrament Meeting. She usually makes it till a little bit after the sacrament is passed before needing to be taken out. She sat and sang with us while holding the hymn book, which was SO cute. She ate a lot of snacks too... Cheerios and Teddy Grahams. At one point she was shoving 4 Cheerios in her mouth at a time, which is something she's never done before... she's always just put only one thing at a time in her mouth and slowly sucks it till it dissolves. Looks like she's getting the chewing thing down though. I'm so excited. So then Jake took her out to the hall. Primary was kind of crazy. Holly and I were the only leaders there. Our new nursery leaders weren't there, so Jake and I filled in and took Lila. Lila had a blast. Only 3 1/2 more months till she can go! She did get nervous whenever I'd leave the room, but that's okay. I had to run around and hand out Primary sign-up sheets and miscellaneous things to the auxiliaries but it went better than I thought it would. Met a new family that just moved into the ward after church, nice people. Four kids.
After church we drove out to D Ave and 6th to check out some riding lawn mowers for sale. Lila fell asleep in the car so I sat in there with her while Jake looked at them. Mike texted to say that Cassandra had gone to Sacrament meeting with him in Battle Creek... so of course that's the one week that Kalina decides to go to church!! So they were both there! He said it was definitely awkward. Yikes.
Then we headed to the nursing home. I was sooo hungry and not feeling well as a result, but we only stayed for a short time. Came home, had a yummy lunch. Lila ate more sweet potatoes and mac and cheese. I laid down and took a short nap while Jake played with Lila. We tried getting Lila to take another nap, but it was a no go. Made a yummy dinner. Jake grilled steak (YUM) and I made mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and green beans. Lila enjoyed dinner. She mostly ate mashed potatoes, but tried steak and beans too! Good girl! She screamed and cried through her bath. Then she took my toothbrush and actually did a pretty good job brushing her teeth with it. Figures that she would like a grown-up toothbrush (she likes using grown-up silverware). What a girl.
She was asleep by 6:50. Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen. Now we're eating ice cream and listening to a general conference talk.
*Lila woke up at 7:30 because she'd pooped. She hadn't pooped in 2 days. She's back to bed.
The shower was at Sharon Hunt's house, in her backyard. She has a GORGEOUS backyard. It was on the patio, and there are big rolling hills and a brook nearby and lots of trees. It was awesome. Good food and good company too. It was like an "old" 1st ward reunion. Alicia's having a girl, so she got tons of adorable things and it was a lot of fun for her, especially because she had a boy the first time. I spent a few hours there. Talked with Jessica Wesel a while. Her son Jarom is a month older than Lila (he was there at the shower) and is going through a whiny phase too... she talked about how from like 14 months to 18 months, kids just have a hard time (at least in her experience). And how it's just a phase. It was good to hear that, because Lila's been crazy lately and I don't know how to handle it all the time. I'm so grateful to have good friends in the ward and feel comfortable with them.
Headed home. Jake and Lila had spent a lot of time "playing" in the garage. Jake was putting things away and Lila was exploring. Had some lunch. Lila went down for a nap. While Lila was napping, we started watching the movie Country Strong and it was so stupid. When she got up we went to Culver's for dinner (craving) and then to Meijer for groceries. Got home and gave Lila a jar of pureed sweet potatoes and she LOVED it. She made a huge mess and was laughing and trying to eat it with a spoon. I don't know how much she actually got into her tummy, but she sure had fun, and our OT wants us to let her get messy and play with foods like that, so that's great. She's making great progress!
We Skyped with my parents a bit and Mike stopped by for a bit. He was taking Cassandra out for dinner. Lila went to sleep well. We headed to the basement and finished Country Strong and it was even more stupid than ever. I worked on Primary stuff during the movie. By the time we headed to bed at 11:00 I was SOOO TIRED.
Church today was okay. Lila did great during Sacrament Meeting. She usually makes it till a little bit after the sacrament is passed before needing to be taken out. She sat and sang with us while holding the hymn book, which was SO cute. She ate a lot of snacks too... Cheerios and Teddy Grahams. At one point she was shoving 4 Cheerios in her mouth at a time, which is something she's never done before... she's always just put only one thing at a time in her mouth and slowly sucks it till it dissolves. Looks like she's getting the chewing thing down though. I'm so excited. So then Jake took her out to the hall. Primary was kind of crazy. Holly and I were the only leaders there. Our new nursery leaders weren't there, so Jake and I filled in and took Lila. Lila had a blast. Only 3 1/2 more months till she can go! She did get nervous whenever I'd leave the room, but that's okay. I had to run around and hand out Primary sign-up sheets and miscellaneous things to the auxiliaries but it went better than I thought it would. Met a new family that just moved into the ward after church, nice people. Four kids.
After church we drove out to D Ave and 6th to check out some riding lawn mowers for sale. Lila fell asleep in the car so I sat in there with her while Jake looked at them. Mike texted to say that Cassandra had gone to Sacrament meeting with him in Battle Creek... so of course that's the one week that Kalina decides to go to church!! So they were both there! He said it was definitely awkward. Yikes.
Then we headed to the nursing home. I was sooo hungry and not feeling well as a result, but we only stayed for a short time. Came home, had a yummy lunch. Lila ate more sweet potatoes and mac and cheese. I laid down and took a short nap while Jake played with Lila. We tried getting Lila to take another nap, but it was a no go. Made a yummy dinner. Jake grilled steak (YUM) and I made mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and green beans. Lila enjoyed dinner. She mostly ate mashed potatoes, but tried steak and beans too! Good girl! She screamed and cried through her bath. Then she took my toothbrush and actually did a pretty good job brushing her teeth with it. Figures that she would like a grown-up toothbrush (she likes using grown-up silverware). What a girl.
She was asleep by 6:50. Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen. Now we're eating ice cream and listening to a general conference talk.
*Lila woke up at 7:30 because she'd pooped. She hadn't pooped in 2 days. She's back to bed.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday and Friday
Thursday Lila had another OT appointment, this time with Kristen again. It went better than last week's. She likes Kristen better... or at least feels more comfortable with her. She still cried a lot and wanted mom and dad most of the time, but she made a lot of eye contact with Kristen and was smiling at her towards the end. Kristen said that she thinks she'll be able to touch Lila (without Lila freaking out) by the end of the month, and that's where we really need to be... because Kristen will need to put her fingers in Lila's mouth and stuff. Ohhh Lila. Kristen said that Lila is very "sensory offensive"... has a lot of issues that she'll gradually get over.
We stopped at home briefly before heading out to run errands. I picked Emily up and we stopped at Sally's Beauty Supply to pick up hair stuff for Mom and then to the Asian food store for more watermelon seeds for Dad. Lila slept in the car. Then we dropped them off at Uncle Larry's because they're heading to Green Bay for Lindsey Trotter's high school graduation party and will see Mom there. (Can't believe Lindsey's graduated--I remember when she was born!) We went back to Emily's apartment. Lila likes it there. Then Jake called to ask if Lila and I could meet him for lunch, so we did and Lila had a blast. We went back to Emily's until she had to go to work. It was nice to spend time with her; she's been working a lot lately and busy.
Went home and relaxed. Lila took a nap and I made dinner while she slept: Italian pasta salad. Jake came home early (5:00) so we could eat together before he had his meeting at 6. I laid in bed a long time with Lila before she fell asleep. Got up and did some reading online... I found a blog (a friend of a friend of a friend) of a girl who's infertile. She reminds me a lot of me... and it was really interesting to read and put things into perspective for me. I've been having a hard time with this pregnancy so far. Not very excited, pretty nervous, feeling pretty negative about it. So to read about a woman who wants to be a mother so badly... shifted the way I was thinking. And then I read on Ben O'Brien's wife's blog that they're pregnant and due on December 14th. She has bad morning sickness... she wrote: "Nausea and fatigue have ruled the last few weeks, and I can hardly get out of bed or off the couch (partly because I'm too tired to move, partly because I concentrate so hard on not vomiting that I'm afraid I will if I change my position.)" And that her diet consists of "orange juice, ginger ale, cereal, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, grits, chicken noodle soup." Yikes. I can pretty much eat whatever I want whenever I want, and am very functional still, even though I feel blah. That also made me grateful.
I had to go to bed at 11:00... which is pretty late for me. Jake still wasn't home. Didn't get home till 11:30 or something crazy like that.
Today was a lot of fun. Lila woke up before Jake left, and when we went in there to get her, she was smiling and laughing and so happy. So cute. We spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry. At 10:00, Kari (and Hayden), Amber (and Hunter) and Ann (and Lucas) came over for a playdate. They were here for a few hours. Amber is 21 weeks prego with a little girl. Lila had fun chasing the boys around. They played out in the yard for a while. I'm the first of my friends to have a house, they all still live in apartments. I told them all the big news and they're excited for us. I think Kari has a hard time though... she can't have anymore kids of her own (because of her CF) and is currently just starting the foster parent process.
At 12:30, just as all the others were leaving, Desiree arrived with 7-week-old Jarom. She stayed till 4:00. It was nice visiting with her, as always. Sounds like she's adjusting to motherhood quite well. She had an awful delivery though. Was induced and spent 3 days in labor and pushed for 3 hours. She talked a lot about Tyler and how worried she is. He... is not an awesome husband. He has one part-time job that he's not doing well at, not in school, still "working" on his pre-reqs for nursing school, is turning 26 soon, stays up till 6:00 am most nights playing video games and then sleeps till 1 or 2 in the afternoon!! There's a lot of other stuff too. I just feel bad for her and don't know how to help. She's going to end up being the bread-winner of the family. He came home from work the other day and said, "I think I'd like to be a stay-at-home dad." What dad says that?? Not most. They've already been to the movies together 3 times since they had Jarom. I haven't been to the movies once since Lila was born!! Tyler "insists" upon it because he wants to make sure they still have married-couple time, so that the baby doesn't "become their world." They don't have the money to be going out (they almost couldn't make rent this month), and if he did want alone time with Desiree, their time would probably be better spent talking. Anyway. Just frustrating and I feel for Desiree. She's feeling stuck.
Jake got home and we went out in the yard. I mowed most of the front lawn before getting too hot and tired. Then we went in for dinner. We gave Lila a container of butterscotch pudding and she LOVED it. It was so funny! First she put her fingers in it and started licking them. Then she dug in with a spoon. She was laughing and smiling and so happy, and she got pudding all over the place. It was so fun for us... to see her acting like that. We also got her to say "mommy" and "daddy" quite a few times. Then Jake gave her a bath and she FREAKED OUT. And then we put her jammies on and played together as a family for an hour or more. It was sooo nice. I'm glad that Jake did that instead of heading out to finish mowing. We had so much fun. Lila was in a great mood. We tickled her. She gave us hugs and kisses. She laid on the floor and Jake waved a blanket above her and she loved it, just like she did when she was a little baby. She's been doing a lot better at bedtime this week, falling asleep easier and sleeping longer. Grateful for that. She loves giving me kisses before bedtime now.
Jake finished mowing the lawn (mowed till the sun set) and I've been writing on here and IM-ing with my mom. Hoping for a great weekend :)
We stopped at home briefly before heading out to run errands. I picked Emily up and we stopped at Sally's Beauty Supply to pick up hair stuff for Mom and then to the Asian food store for more watermelon seeds for Dad. Lila slept in the car. Then we dropped them off at Uncle Larry's because they're heading to Green Bay for Lindsey Trotter's high school graduation party and will see Mom there. (Can't believe Lindsey's graduated--I remember when she was born!) We went back to Emily's apartment. Lila likes it there. Then Jake called to ask if Lila and I could meet him for lunch, so we did and Lila had a blast. We went back to Emily's until she had to go to work. It was nice to spend time with her; she's been working a lot lately and busy.
Went home and relaxed. Lila took a nap and I made dinner while she slept: Italian pasta salad. Jake came home early (5:00) so we could eat together before he had his meeting at 6. I laid in bed a long time with Lila before she fell asleep. Got up and did some reading online... I found a blog (a friend of a friend of a friend) of a girl who's infertile. She reminds me a lot of me... and it was really interesting to read and put things into perspective for me. I've been having a hard time with this pregnancy so far. Not very excited, pretty nervous, feeling pretty negative about it. So to read about a woman who wants to be a mother so badly... shifted the way I was thinking. And then I read on Ben O'Brien's wife's blog that they're pregnant and due on December 14th. She has bad morning sickness... she wrote: "Nausea and fatigue have ruled the last few weeks, and I can hardly get out of bed or off the couch (partly because I'm too tired to move, partly because I concentrate so hard on not vomiting that I'm afraid I will if I change my position.)" And that her diet consists of "orange juice, ginger ale, cereal, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, grits, chicken noodle soup." Yikes. I can pretty much eat whatever I want whenever I want, and am very functional still, even though I feel blah. That also made me grateful.
I had to go to bed at 11:00... which is pretty late for me. Jake still wasn't home. Didn't get home till 11:30 or something crazy like that.
Today was a lot of fun. Lila woke up before Jake left, and when we went in there to get her, she was smiling and laughing and so happy. So cute. We spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry. At 10:00, Kari (and Hayden), Amber (and Hunter) and Ann (and Lucas) came over for a playdate. They were here for a few hours. Amber is 21 weeks prego with a little girl. Lila had fun chasing the boys around. They played out in the yard for a while. I'm the first of my friends to have a house, they all still live in apartments. I told them all the big news and they're excited for us. I think Kari has a hard time though... she can't have anymore kids of her own (because of her CF) and is currently just starting the foster parent process.
At 12:30, just as all the others were leaving, Desiree arrived with 7-week-old Jarom. She stayed till 4:00. It was nice visiting with her, as always. Sounds like she's adjusting to motherhood quite well. She had an awful delivery though. Was induced and spent 3 days in labor and pushed for 3 hours. She talked a lot about Tyler and how worried she is. He... is not an awesome husband. He has one part-time job that he's not doing well at, not in school, still "working" on his pre-reqs for nursing school, is turning 26 soon, stays up till 6:00 am most nights playing video games and then sleeps till 1 or 2 in the afternoon!! There's a lot of other stuff too. I just feel bad for her and don't know how to help. She's going to end up being the bread-winner of the family. He came home from work the other day and said, "I think I'd like to be a stay-at-home dad." What dad says that?? Not most. They've already been to the movies together 3 times since they had Jarom. I haven't been to the movies once since Lila was born!! Tyler "insists" upon it because he wants to make sure they still have married-couple time, so that the baby doesn't "become their world." They don't have the money to be going out (they almost couldn't make rent this month), and if he did want alone time with Desiree, their time would probably be better spent talking. Anyway. Just frustrating and I feel for Desiree. She's feeling stuck.
Jake got home and we went out in the yard. I mowed most of the front lawn before getting too hot and tired. Then we went in for dinner. We gave Lila a container of butterscotch pudding and she LOVED it. It was so funny! First she put her fingers in it and started licking them. Then she dug in with a spoon. She was laughing and smiling and so happy, and she got pudding all over the place. It was so fun for us... to see her acting like that. We also got her to say "mommy" and "daddy" quite a few times. Then Jake gave her a bath and she FREAKED OUT. And then we put her jammies on and played together as a family for an hour or more. It was sooo nice. I'm glad that Jake did that instead of heading out to finish mowing. We had so much fun. Lila was in a great mood. We tickled her. She gave us hugs and kisses. She laid on the floor and Jake waved a blanket above her and she loved it, just like she did when she was a little baby. She's been doing a lot better at bedtime this week, falling asleep easier and sleeping longer. Grateful for that. She loves giving me kisses before bedtime now.
Jake finished mowing the lawn (mowed till the sun set) and I've been writing on here and IM-ing with my mom. Hoping for a great weekend :)
Tuesday - Wednesday
Tuesday. It was Mike's 26th birthday. He'd asked me to make him a (confetti) cake because he and Cassandra were going to Silver Lake Sand Dunes for the day and she wouldn't be able to make anything. (She was going to make a pie anyway, because she doesn't like cake. Which Mike thinks is funny because making cakes was like the only thing Kalina loved to do.) So, Lila and I set out early to Walmart to pick up things for cake and meals for the week. It was good to get out in the morning (we usually run errands in the afternoon) and it was a beautiful sunny day. When we got to Walmart I realized I didn't have my wallet with me, but thankfully Jake had given me cash the week before and I'd stuck it in a pocket in my diaper bag.
Got home and had lunch. Lila went down for a long nap (2 1/2 hours, long for her) and I made cake and read during that time, and laid down for a while and almost fell asleep just as she was getting up. Jake called and wanted to drive to Gun Lake to buy an extension cord from Craigslist. (He's been obsessed with extension cords since we moved into the house.) It was 35 minutes away, and it's always risky taking Lila on trips during dinnertime, but we decided to go anyway. Lila did great. It wasn't a long trip at all. Pretty scenery too. On the way home we stopped at McDonald's for dinner and Lila had fun because we were sitting next to a family with 3 little girls. Lila ate some fries and some nugget too.
Mike didn't end up coming over that night because he broke the Jeep at the dunes. Took it through water that was too deep. Funny, but also sad. For the second night in a row, we had to go to bed early because I was too tired to do anything. Got ready for bed at 9:30.
Yesterday morning I watched Brig Thompson from 9:30-11:40. It was nice for Lila to have a playmate. He was perfectly well-behaved, didn't cry or fuss or whine once. Lila is so whiney lately. It was an interesting contrast. Brig is 3 months older than Lila, but about the same height and probably 5-7 pounds lighter. He was climbing onto the barstools and Lila was so intrigued and tried to do it too, but couldn't. By the time he left, I was ready for him to be gone :) Lila needed a nap and was a handful. Having two kids will be so interesting... Jake came home for lunch and was good company. We had pizza. Lila fell asleep while he was here. When she got up, she was cranky. Surprise. So I took her to the basement to relax a while. She nursed for a bit while I rocked her in her chair and it was a really nice moment. She was perfectly content and would just lay in my lap and let me rock her and kiss her and tickle her. I always seem to cherish her "happy" moments lately because she's been so whiney. I don't understand what the deal is with her.
After that I fed her some early dinner. I made spaghettio's for her for the first time and she liked them. She generally likes pasta. I also gave her some ice cream and she really liked that and wanted it too. (It was originally my bowl of ice cream, but when she saw me eating it, she pointed at it and grunted like she wanted it.) Then I made BLT's for dinner. Was able to eat mine quickly after Jake came home and headed to the church for a Primary meeting at 6:30.
It was sooo nice to get away for a few hours, even if it was to go to a relatively boring meeting. I haven't been out without Lila in... a really long time. I really need to do that more often. It was our first meeting as a new presidency and since our ward was reorganized. I think we'll all work together well. We have SO many families moving out of our ward in the next few months.... our primary is going to be so tiny. Found out that Holly is due on November 2nd and finds out next week what she's having. I didn't tell them that I'm expecting... but that's okay.
When I got home, Lila was ready for bed and went to bed easily. Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen together and chatted, it was really peaceful. Mike came over by himself for birthday cake. Cassandra didn't want to come because the Lillroses had company (the creepy people she and Mike just visited a few weekends ago). So Mike filled us in on the latest. He's worried because Cassandra is pretty set on homeschooling their kids, and Mike doesn't want his kids to be homeschooled. They haven't really talked about it yet.
Jake was so tired last night, but surprisingly I wasn't. I'd napped with Lila for a bit. But by the time we finally made it to bed at 11, I was tired.
Got home and had lunch. Lila went down for a long nap (2 1/2 hours, long for her) and I made cake and read during that time, and laid down for a while and almost fell asleep just as she was getting up. Jake called and wanted to drive to Gun Lake to buy an extension cord from Craigslist. (He's been obsessed with extension cords since we moved into the house.) It was 35 minutes away, and it's always risky taking Lila on trips during dinnertime, but we decided to go anyway. Lila did great. It wasn't a long trip at all. Pretty scenery too. On the way home we stopped at McDonald's for dinner and Lila had fun because we were sitting next to a family with 3 little girls. Lila ate some fries and some nugget too.
Mike didn't end up coming over that night because he broke the Jeep at the dunes. Took it through water that was too deep. Funny, but also sad. For the second night in a row, we had to go to bed early because I was too tired to do anything. Got ready for bed at 9:30.
Yesterday morning I watched Brig Thompson from 9:30-11:40. It was nice for Lila to have a playmate. He was perfectly well-behaved, didn't cry or fuss or whine once. Lila is so whiney lately. It was an interesting contrast. Brig is 3 months older than Lila, but about the same height and probably 5-7 pounds lighter. He was climbing onto the barstools and Lila was so intrigued and tried to do it too, but couldn't. By the time he left, I was ready for him to be gone :) Lila needed a nap and was a handful. Having two kids will be so interesting... Jake came home for lunch and was good company. We had pizza. Lila fell asleep while he was here. When she got up, she was cranky. Surprise. So I took her to the basement to relax a while. She nursed for a bit while I rocked her in her chair and it was a really nice moment. She was perfectly content and would just lay in my lap and let me rock her and kiss her and tickle her. I always seem to cherish her "happy" moments lately because she's been so whiney. I don't understand what the deal is with her.
After that I fed her some early dinner. I made spaghettio's for her for the first time and she liked them. She generally likes pasta. I also gave her some ice cream and she really liked that and wanted it too. (It was originally my bowl of ice cream, but when she saw me eating it, she pointed at it and grunted like she wanted it.) Then I made BLT's for dinner. Was able to eat mine quickly after Jake came home and headed to the church for a Primary meeting at 6:30.
It was sooo nice to get away for a few hours, even if it was to go to a relatively boring meeting. I haven't been out without Lila in... a really long time. I really need to do that more often. It was our first meeting as a new presidency and since our ward was reorganized. I think we'll all work together well. We have SO many families moving out of our ward in the next few months.... our primary is going to be so tiny. Found out that Holly is due on November 2nd and finds out next week what she's having. I didn't tell them that I'm expecting... but that's okay.
When I got home, Lila was ready for bed and went to bed easily. Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen together and chatted, it was really peaceful. Mike came over by himself for birthday cake. Cassandra didn't want to come because the Lillroses had company (the creepy people she and Mike just visited a few weekends ago). So Mike filled us in on the latest. He's worried because Cassandra is pretty set on homeschooling their kids, and Mike doesn't want his kids to be homeschooled. They haven't really talked about it yet.
Jake was so tired last night, but surprisingly I wasn't. I'd napped with Lila for a bit. But by the time we finally made it to bed at 11, I was tired.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Memorial Day Weekend (Part 2)
Sunday was a good day. My mom even came to church with us, which is great, something she doesn't normally do. (Can't remember the last time she came to church with us.) I think it was mostly so she could be with Lila. :) Church starts at 9. We sat in the back. Mom went out with Lila for a while to the foyer because Lila was getting feisty. After sacrament meeting, I introduced Mom and Dad to Shane's mom, Kristen Murphy. We went home while Jake stayed at church to do some clerk work.
Lunch was yummy leftovers from the BBQ. When Jake got home, we went to the park before it rained. We had a lot of fun there. Lila walked up and down the hill a few times with Grandma, but then she found a friend there... a 4-year-old girl who took Lila under her wing and showed her around. They'd walk around the park, and this little girl would put her arm around Lila. It was terribly cute. When we got home, Jake and Dad set up the new (old) speakers in the basement from President Anderson. Emily fell asleep on the couch in the basement, so I kicked her out (told her to sleep in the guest room upstairs) so that I could sit there and visit with the rest of the family. Mom and Dad wanted to watch some kind of sport (they're addicted to sports) and the only thing on (our free channels) was NASCAR. We were hit with a huge thunderstorm/rainstorm but it didn't last too long in Kalamazoo. Battle Creek got hit pretty hard though. Mike's apartment was out of power for a few days and there were tons of trees down all over the city. Mom and Emily left for a while and Lila napped. That evening while we were putting Lila to bed, Mom/Dad/Emily watched Beauty and the Beast.
Monday morning, we were all up fairly early so my parents were able to spend some time with Lila before they left. I'm so grateful they were able to come. It was really the first time in the 5 years we've lived here that both of them were able to come and we were all really able to enjoy ourselves. I'm so grateful we have our house now. Lila just loved having them around. She often stood at my dad's feet with her arms reaching upwards so that he would pick her up. She loved to say "papa." Mom had a blast taking care of her and also taking care of me. They helped us get organized... and now we're all organized! We can move ahead with decorating. What a blessing. I'm already excited for their next visit.
After they left, we decided to go to Ultimate Frisbee. Mike stopped by on his way to invite us. Jake always tells them that he'll come "someday..." The last time he went he was super out of shape and I guess felt intimidated by that fact. But he went and took it easy this time and had a lot of fun. Lila and I went to play at the playground. Robyn and Christian Green were visiting from Indiana so we played on the playground with their 4 kids and also with Liberty Wesel. Cute kids. Lila loved being on the merry-go-round with them. Stopped for a treat on the way home and then Mike came over to shower at our place before heading to Cassandra's. Lila took a good nap. Jake and I spent time outside organizing the garage and weeding. After Lila got up, we headed to Joe and Becca Burkhead's for their annual Memorial Day BBQ. Mike and Cassandra went too. Lila had a really great time there. She's super cranky at our house usually, but when we're out she's usually much happier. She had fun just walking around Joe and Becca's place. She liked sitting on their steps. (It's one of her favorite things to do now: sit on steps. She figured out how to turn around, back up, and sit down by herself.) Cassandra brought Spruce Beer from Canada (like root beer... except made from spruce trees), and it was so gross. Smelled like a Christmas tree. Jake said he felt like one with nature when he drank it, but not in a good way.
Another funny thing that happened: Miguel Reyes was there. He's half-Mexican so has a similar complexion to me. Lila went up to him and wanted him to hold her! It was so funny! I don't think I've ever seen her do that to a stranger before, let alone a MAN. We figured that it's probably because she thought he was my dad! lol!
Joe and Becca are adorable, by the way. They did a flag ceremony. Joe is in the Air Force and Becca is in the Civil Air Patrol. They dressed up in their uniforms and marched through the living room with the flag and did a little ceremony. I love them together--a perfect match.
After that we went to Walmart to pick up some things for the house. Don't remember much about the rest of the day... but it was sure nice having an extra day with Jake. I love that guy.
Lunch was yummy leftovers from the BBQ. When Jake got home, we went to the park before it rained. We had a lot of fun there. Lila walked up and down the hill a few times with Grandma, but then she found a friend there... a 4-year-old girl who took Lila under her wing and showed her around. They'd walk around the park, and this little girl would put her arm around Lila. It was terribly cute. When we got home, Jake and Dad set up the new (old) speakers in the basement from President Anderson. Emily fell asleep on the couch in the basement, so I kicked her out (told her to sleep in the guest room upstairs) so that I could sit there and visit with the rest of the family. Mom and Dad wanted to watch some kind of sport (they're addicted to sports) and the only thing on (our free channels) was NASCAR. We were hit with a huge thunderstorm/rainstorm but it didn't last too long in Kalamazoo. Battle Creek got hit pretty hard though. Mike's apartment was out of power for a few days and there were tons of trees down all over the city. Mom and Emily left for a while and Lila napped. That evening while we were putting Lila to bed, Mom/Dad/Emily watched Beauty and the Beast.
Monday morning, we were all up fairly early so my parents were able to spend some time with Lila before they left. I'm so grateful they were able to come. It was really the first time in the 5 years we've lived here that both of them were able to come and we were all really able to enjoy ourselves. I'm so grateful we have our house now. Lila just loved having them around. She often stood at my dad's feet with her arms reaching upwards so that he would pick her up. She loved to say "papa." Mom had a blast taking care of her and also taking care of me. They helped us get organized... and now we're all organized! We can move ahead with decorating. What a blessing. I'm already excited for their next visit.
After they left, we decided to go to Ultimate Frisbee. Mike stopped by on his way to invite us. Jake always tells them that he'll come "someday..." The last time he went he was super out of shape and I guess felt intimidated by that fact. But he went and took it easy this time and had a lot of fun. Lila and I went to play at the playground. Robyn and Christian Green were visiting from Indiana so we played on the playground with their 4 kids and also with Liberty Wesel. Cute kids. Lila loved being on the merry-go-round with them. Stopped for a treat on the way home and then Mike came over to shower at our place before heading to Cassandra's. Lila took a good nap. Jake and I spent time outside organizing the garage and weeding. After Lila got up, we headed to Joe and Becca Burkhead's for their annual Memorial Day BBQ. Mike and Cassandra went too. Lila had a really great time there. She's super cranky at our house usually, but when we're out she's usually much happier. She had fun just walking around Joe and Becca's place. She liked sitting on their steps. (It's one of her favorite things to do now: sit on steps. She figured out how to turn around, back up, and sit down by herself.) Cassandra brought Spruce Beer from Canada (like root beer... except made from spruce trees), and it was so gross. Smelled like a Christmas tree. Jake said he felt like one with nature when he drank it, but not in a good way.
Another funny thing that happened: Miguel Reyes was there. He's half-Mexican so has a similar complexion to me. Lila went up to him and wanted him to hold her! It was so funny! I don't think I've ever seen her do that to a stranger before, let alone a MAN. We figured that it's probably because she thought he was my dad! lol!
Joe and Becca are adorable, by the way. They did a flag ceremony. Joe is in the Air Force and Becca is in the Civil Air Patrol. They dressed up in their uniforms and marched through the living room with the flag and did a little ceremony. I love them together--a perfect match.
After that we went to Walmart to pick up some things for the house. Don't remember much about the rest of the day... but it was sure nice having an extra day with Jake. I love that guy.
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