Field Trip

I am the proud new owner of a new nephew. Head over here and check him out. He's a cutie.

Day Of Love

Today is a big day. My sweet little niece turns 2. She and Gretta could be twins; but not by looks. They couldn't look more different. Gracie is chubby and dark, mellow and cuddly. Gretta isn't any of those things. But the way they talk, cry, squeak, and pad barefoot across the floor, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. I miss that Gracie. Here are a couple of shots of her I ran across. I have more recent ones, but these ones are precious to me. You'll see why.

Mom getting Gracie dressed in her blessing dress.

I miss those hands. When she died, I held her hands and stroked them, and tried to burn the image of them into my brain. She had lovely hands, and the cutest little mole on her hand. She always had beautiful rings, Diamonique mostly, but some very expensive ones as well. She had beautiful nails she kept done up just so, for 13 years with the same nail lady! But those hands are so much more than a physical attribute. She loved her babies. Her grandbabies, especially. And dressing them, rubbing them down after a bath, cuddling with them, watching them run through her backyard, all had more to do with her hands than any jewelry. Those hands fed and clothed us kids, worked hard for us, and showed us the direction we should take in life.

Chubby little Gracie on her blessing day.

She is a special little kid. I have never met a more mellow baby. The day before she was blessed, Jill got out the white nail polish. And we polished her fingernails and toenails. She sat still through the entire process. On the other hand, if it was Gretta, if Gretta was awake, she was moving. Gracie is different than Jill's other kids. She is dark, and has dark eyes. She is Aaron to a tee. She was a long time getting here, but boy are we glad she did. I love this kid!

I know I talk about her like she's my own, but after spending every day with her through the summer, I feel like she could be. We bonded. I love her.

Happy day, Gracie!



Today is also my other nieces birthday. Abby is 5 today! She was our next door neighbor for 4 years, and we miss being able to run back and forth from their house to ours. I believe Abby was born on Friday the 13th, just like today. Creepy. So happy day to Abby, too! We miss you.

Womb Mates

Did you hear about the lady that gave birth to Octuplets? OCT-tuplets. For the record, that word isn't even in my computer dictionary. Quintuplets, yep, it's there. Sextuplets, sure. Septuplets and Octuplets, nope. This should be our first, or maybe seventh or eighth clue that our "fertility treatments" have gotten a little out of control. And the poor lady, she didn't even know she was having 8 babies. She thought there was "only" 7 until the delivery, and then surprise! one more.

I guess what's one more when you're already having a litter. Note that that is a statement, not a question.

My darling Terrible Two year old, of which I have one, has decided that she can dial 9-1-1, stay up until midnight, and drink regular Coke. Imagine a day like that times 8! I need a nap just thinking about it.

Two Down

My baby is two. Two, people. Where has the time gone? So instead of blah blah blahing your ear off, I've included a sweet picture story, in reverse order, thankyoublogger.



Gretta showing off her pearly whites.

At the beach this summer.



Memorial Day bbq with the Ward.



Playing in the water. A favorite pastime.



Where her love of all things dog began. Camping last Spring in Wisconsin.



Enjoying some early morning play time in the Spring.



Love that hat. She gets laughs whenever she wears it.



Learning how to crawl. She was so skinny!



Swaddled up for nap time. She was so wiggly, if I didn't swaddle her, she would flail around and never sleep. And of course, she had the lovely helmet. It did make her head a nice round shape, so I guess all that stink was worth it.




And the birth shot. I could include several bloody C-Section shots here, so if you want to see them just email me, and they're all yours.

So that's it. My babes. Growing up too fast. But I have to include reasons we love Gretta

• She knows how to get her way. That Pterodactyl scream gets the job done effectively.
  
• Anything dog related is her best friend.
  
• She loves Ranch Dressing.
  
• The way she won't eat her own dinner, but she'll crawl up on your lap, open her mouth, and say "mmbite?"
  
• She runs everywhere.
  
• The way she "stays close" when we carry her from the car to the store/church/school, so as to keep her face buried in our shoulders and avoid the freezing wind.
  
• When she lies down on the step when she needs her bum changed.
  
• Her love of "Me's", which is Gretta's way of saying binky.
  
• Having 20 blankets in her crib at night, along with her many many dogs.
  
• When someone is crying, she gets such a sympathetic look on her face, as if it really makes her sad, too.
• That she knows how to turn on the toy room TV all by herself.
  

Gretta, we love you. I'm sad to see you grow, but I love seeing all the new things you discover. You are truly a joy to have in our family. We love you!

The Best Thing

For those of you that know me well, know that I likey my sleepy. I love taking naps, and I love sleeping in on cloudy, rainy days. Unfortunately, I have an early riser on my hands. Emma likes to get up around 6 or so, sometimes earlier. But it's not Emma that I'm talking about. Maggie, she could sleep in until 8, no prob, so it's not Maggie I'm talking about either.

It's Gretta. She wakes up at the first sound of life in the house. Which, unfortunately, is around 6 when Emma wakes up. Not.A.Good.Thing. But since I'm a loving, devoted mother, I arise and start off the day, doing my motherly duties of cereal and milk and making lunch. And of course I do all of this with a smile on my face, and a song in my heart. Sense the sarcasm here.

The other night, as I was getting G ready for bed, she became fixated on a Hello Kitty pillow that resides on the bunkbeds that share her room. She didn't want to leave that pillow alone on the bed. So I put the pillow in her crib, thinking she would be sick of it in no time. Turns out, she loves it. Yeah, she's 21 months old. She probably shouldn't be sleeping with a pillow. But she is.

And my life has suddenly become much, much easier. Now, her once short sporadic naps have become 2 hours or more. Heaven! And her habit of waking upon any sound in the house? Gone! She sleeps through anything now! I can even go in her room to check on her now, which is probably a good thing, since she's sleeping with a pillow and she's 21 months old, or have I mentioned that already?


So thank you, Hello Kitty. I never thought I would be grateful for a creepy kitten with a giant head, and yet, I am. Gretta thanks you too, from her very rested heart.

2nd Picture

I was tagged by Rachel, (which reminds me, I'm still not positively sure as to how to pronounce your name correctly. I've heard it like Ray-shell, and I've also heard it like Ruh-shell, so if you could enlighten me, that would be super!) who challenged me to post the 2nd picture ever uploaded to my computer. Wow, this is going way back in the way back machine. I have a few less chins, and Maggie has a whole lotta black hair! And I can't believe Emma. She's always seemed so grown up to me, but she looks so little in this picture. So here you go.




I think my BFF Lisa Blackburn took this picture, she also gave Emma that little dolly, which we still have! We also still have the jammies Emma has on. My mom gave those to Emma when I was still in the hospital after giving birth. Of course now, the sleeves and pants have been cut off to fit an ever growing child, and making them much more comfy. Gretta was just wearing them the other day, and they are trash-tastic! But I digress.

Maggie was about a week old in this picture, I think. I know she was still pretty new, because I can only fit in those jeans I have on for about the first 2 weeks after I have a baby. Then the tummy puffs back up, and there's no way in Hell those things are going on. They've been that way with all 3 babies. Plus, obviously I was still not sleeping much, just look at that shiny skin and the apparent lack of blow drying skills. Nice. Sugar Daddy is looking good as always, though. He's my babe.

Bundle of Joy

Congrats to Kirsten and Bryan.

A new little boy, 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 19 inches long has joined the ranks.

We need more boys, hint hint, Kristen and Michelle.

And good job Mom on the coaching thing. I think maybe you've found your true calling.