Hello 30!

The day has been looming for quite some time and yesterday it happened, I turned 30. How did this happen? Wasn't I just 25? 18? 5? In the years leading up to this day I didn't think that I would have a problem with it at all. Just another year, just another birthday. Well, in the days leading up to it, it got harder and harder. What is it about turning 30? I thought about the past decade and all the changes. I joined the military. Deployed. Got out. Fell in love. Got married. Had a baby. Traveled, a lot. Went to school and graduated. Moved to Indiana. Bought a house. Adopted a puppy. And those are just the big things. Not enough time to mention all the small memories that can be just as significant. So I've decided that instead of being sad that my 20's are going, I'm going to look forward to my 30's, excited to see what is in store for me.

The whole weekend was a celebration, thanks to my amazing husband. On Saturday we went out to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack up in Greenwood. So yummy. It has been years since I've been to a Joe's. We had a good dinner (tried crab dip for the first time) and the environment there is perfect for Nate--he enjoyed the music and the bright colored t-shirts. Afterwards we headed over to Babies R Us, which seems to be our favorite store ever since Nate came along. We never get tired of looking at/buying things for the kid. We got a new front carrier since the one he has is too small (big surprise) and it's much easier to carry him around in the carrier than to hold him. We ended the night with a stop at DQ for some blizzards.

On Saturday Jaime, Jeremy, and the boys came up to cook out for dinner. Jaime and I went to get pedicures while the boys stayed at home (ah, freedom!). We also stopped at the outlet mall to pick up some clothes for Lucas. When we got home there were a few cars out front. I thought, I don't think it's just going to be a cook out today! I walked in to a house full of people all shouting 'surprise'! I found out later Michael had been planning this party for awhile and I had no idea. Sneaky man. It really made me feel special that he went through all the work to plan and put together this party for me. It was so good to see friends and family and have them here to celebrate turning 30 with me. There were balloons and decorations all over the house. Michael got two cakes, a regular cake and an ice cream cake. And now with our patio, it was nice to be able to have people inside and out, and the kids enjoyed the play set. It worked out really nice and I see many future parties/get togethers here.

It was a fantastic way to kick off the new decade of my life. I am happy and healthy. Life is good and I am blessed.

When Baby Fat Isn't Cute

Skimming through a baby magazine, I come across this mini-article. The first line: "Wondering why your little one is slow to crawl?" Hmmm....Nate is over 8 months old and still not crawling. Getting close, but not quite there. So I continue on. "If she's a bit on the chubby side, her pudge may be holding her back. A recent study...found that babies who have more fat lag behind leaner ones when it comes to mastering gross motor skills..." Okay, so I've heard this before from people, but it's good to see it in print, and from a study done at some university. To be honest, it's hard not to compare, darn that facebook where I can see all those other mommies bragging about their babies accomplishments. But then there's a part of me that doesn't care, knows he will crawl in his own time (unless he goes straight to walking) and is enjoying the fact that he's not all over the house yet getting into everything. So why does that little voice creep in and say, wow, your baby is not crawling yet? What's wrong? Nothing, I reply! And now I have an article that says so. :)

Wisconsin Trip

Our trip up to Wisconsin went really well. It was nice to see friends and family and to visit the place I grew up. While traveling with two families and small children is not always the easiest or stress free, we were able to do everything we wanted to do and had a good time.

We left late Wednesday night, figuring that the kids would sleep in the car all the way up and we were right. We stopped for gas around 3am and they woke up and were wide awake. Jaime and I thought they'd never go back to sleep. But as soon as we hit the road, they were all back to sleep. We left a little sooner coming back to Indiana, leaving after dinner. Nate fell asleep but woke up a couple of hours later. We stopped and fed the kids, but I knew the stop wouldn't be long enough for Nate, thinking he just had a nap, not down for the night. So it wasn't long after we got back on the road that we had to pull over again because he was not happy. The Toppes went on ahead as their kids were still peacefully asleep. We only had to stop once more on the way home, making it back home around 6am. So traveling, in my opinion, went much smoother than expected!

A run down of the things we did while we were there: We had a cook out at the park on Saturday and invited friends and family to come down. It was so good to see some faces that we haven't seen in years--some over a decade! We also were able to view the house we grew up in. It's currently for sale and the realtor let us in to look around. So many memories came flooding back walking through the rooms. We watched my brother Matt play a baseball game. Went out to breakfast with my Dad, brothers Kenny and Matt and Matt's girlfriend Tiffany. Went out to dinner with my sister Kathy and her family and Dad and Linda. Went up to Jody's house and met little baby Mason (so tiny!) and walked around the farm. Went paddle boating out on the lake a couple of times. Definitely a sight to see us out there paddling around! Went to the park, went shopping, went out for Friday fish fry. The highlight was going up to Jim Peck's Wildwood Zoo. We pet and fed goats and pigs and rabbits. Fed juice to a bear. Nate grabbed a deer's antlers. Just awesome.

I'm not sure if I'm leaving anything out. Of course in pure Nate style not only did he poop on my brother's rug but also all over my niece Katie. In his defense, that augmentin is not his friend. I'm really glad we went up and hopefully it won't be as long before our next trip up there.

Summer Fun

Now that Nate likes the water I'm finding every opportunity to get him in it. And as hot as it has been lately, it hasn't been a problem. We went over to Michael's parents on Friday night to visit. I brought the swimming gear and we took a dip in the pool after dinner. He loved it! It felt so good to cool off. On Saturday we went out on the boat on the Ohio River with my sister's in-laws down in Madison. Another good day to be near water as it was a scorcher! But as long as the boat was moving or we were in the water, we were good to go. It was Nate's first boat ride and I think he liked it--all the bounces and water splashing. He wasn't too sure what to make of the river once he got in it, I don't think anyone is when you're in the beautiful Ohio River, but once he started chewing on his life vest he was fine. We also got to ride in the "water elevator" or the locks for the first time. It was pretty neat to see how you actually get up a dam. After we stopped for gas and grabbed some ice cream we headed back home.

We also took Nate to his first basketball game. We got some discounted Indianapolis Heat (WNBA) tickets through the Guard and so we met a guy in Michael's unit up there for dinner and the game. A couple weeks ago we celebrated Lucas' birthday down at the YMCA in Scottsburg. It was going to be a pool party but the storms closed the pool. We had fun playing with balls and eating cake anyway.

And now we're looking forward to our big trip up to Wisconsin this week. Should be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to spending some time with family and friends.

Busy, Busy, Busy

We've been so busy but when my sister asked me what we were doing, I couldn't exactly say. I don't know what keeps us so busy each day, but there's always something. Isn't that life? Michael's parents came up last week and we cooked out and spent the afternoon playing with Nate and having good conversation. It was nice that they were able to come up. We still didn't have the canopy for the patio and it was too hot to eat out there so we ate inside. I am anxiously awaiting that canopy going up or cooler weather. Or both. We went down to Scottsburg on Saturday for Lucas' birthday party at the YMCA. It was supposed to be a pool party but it started to storm and so they had to close the pool. Afterwards we went back to Jaime and Jeremy's for some dinner and games. We also took Nate to daycare for the first time last week. It was so difficult. I cried before we took him, after we dropped him off, and then we went and picked him up early. If I was to get a full time job, I don't know how I could do it everyday. Everyone says it gets easier, but I don't know. We did enjoy a much needed "we" time that day though. We went out to lunch and went to a movie. Other than that, our days our filled with honey-do lists, cleaning, and other little tasks that seem to consume the day. We had to go shopping last week for a new car seat as Nate has outgrown his. It's crazy to see him in a big car seat; I'm used to his legs hanging over the edge. And I hate that I can't take it out of the car now so if he's asleep and can't just leave him in it. So while I feel like I should have a long list of things to tell you as to why we're so busy, either we're not really that busy or it's just all those little things. But I wouldn't trade it for anything--such a difference going from being lonely and bored to days filled with little tasks and conversation.

Let's Take Him to the Doctor

...just to make sure everything is okay. It's what I was thinking as I woke up to Nate screaming yet again in the middle of the night. He has some good nights and then he has had the nights where he's up so often I feel like neither of us slept at all. He started teething again in mid-June, but 3 of those little teeth have popped through and so I didn't think he should be in that much pain anymore. And then I read an article in my Parents magazine about how parents often mistake babies getting up in the middle of the night for teething when really there are other causes, such as an ear infection. While he wasn't showing a lot of signs of an ear infection--no pulling at the ears, temperature, extreme fussiness--he has been upset with me whenever I clean his left ear at bath time. So, after another long night this past weekend, I decided to take him in on Monday.

Sure enough. The doctor said it wasn't a full blown ear infection but he does have fluid behind the ear--which also explains his runny nose. So he's on amoxicillin for that. We also asked about his pooping. He was pooping more regularly but now it's just a couple times a week. And the thing that was most concerning is that it seems painful when he does poop and is the consistency of clay. I know, you love all the details! So it seems as though he's suffering from a bit of constipation. We are starting with dietary changes first, more fruits like apricots, peaches, and prunes and cutting out bananas and dairy. He needs to drink 4oz of juice a day as well. Hopefully this will take care of it, although it will be hard to determine if it is working now that he's on antibiotics, which may cause diarrhea. So we might have to wait until he is done with his meds and then see if the changes in his diet work. If not, then he'll have to start on miralax daily, long term. We're hoping it doesn't come to that. We also asked about his eczema. Some days it bothers him so bad he just scratches until his skin is bright red and almost raw. So the doctor prescribed some cream to put on twice a day. It will be a trial and error until we figure out exactly what strength cream he needs and so now he's on the medium strength. We also need to bathe him in different soap (Dove, Cetaphil, etc.) and the lotion needs to be mild (aquafor, eucerin, etc.) so no more smelling like baby lotion. :( But hopefully that will help his poor sensitive skin.

We Have a Patio

I've been wanting a patio for so long now, I can't believe we finally have one! The patio guys came out on Tuesday and surprisingly were done on Tuesday. It was a quick process, much quicker than I thought. They finished up cutting the lines on it this morning. It looks beautiful and is much bigger than I imagined (perfect for a dining set AND a firepit). It will be a perfect place to spend time outdoors.

Yesterday we spend the entire day in search of a patio set. Did we find one? Of course not. I was a little disappointed, but I'm glad we didn't just settle for something we weren't happy with. We found a couple that we liked, but one of them the table was cheaply made but the chairs were wonderful and the other one the table was beautiful but not sturdy and the chairs were not as comfortable. We decided that we didn't want to spend that kind of money, and we're talking some money, on something we're not completely thrilled about. We planned on eventually getting a picnic table so when we have get togethers there's a place for everyone to sit. So we decided to just go with the picnic table now and get a nice patio set next summer. Now all we need is a canopy for shade as the patio sits on the west side and is blazing hot in the evening. I can't wait to move the grill out there and set things up and have our first cook out on the new patio.