Growing Up!

I should be in bed, but I wanted to just post that Collin cut his first tooth today! I noticed this evening that the tooth has completely cut through - how did I miss this coming?! His sleep has been horrible lately, he drools and chews on everything, but he has basically been doing this forever it seems! The poor guy was a little more cuddly too, it just looks like it hurts something awful. Growing up is hard! 

Speaking of growing up, Kate has been such a great helper lately. She always has, but recently, I have done a lot of bath and bedtimes by myself (single parenting is no fun, I have no idea how people do it 365 days a year) and I now put Collin in his little seat on the bathroom floor and do Kate's bath, then she gets out and I do Collin's bath while she gets herself ready for bed. She is very proud that she can do lotion, jammies, teeth and hair by herself and I'm able to get Collin ready at the same time! Then we read books together (we give Collin one to chew on) and then kisses/hugs. And here is where there is a "growing up" feature I don't like. She has started to say things like, "I wiped your kiss off!" or "Mom, I said I don't like kisses." What??!!! NO!!!  She likes that I get upset and try and give her more kisses, but I just hate hearing that. By the way, Collin is the one soaking up her love, I guess it has shifted from Mommy to him. Their little relationship is so stinking cute!

Taking good care of her brother

What else, Kate has these phrases she uses all the time, they don't always last long, but lately it has been "for years and years." For instance, "Mom, can we go on the boat? We haven't gone on it for years and years." So, this generally means  - a couple of days:) 

She is also obsessed with pretending that she is the Mommy and I am the daughter and Collin is "our son." Every day, I play along for awhile and then have to get strict and tell her that no, I am actually the Mommy now and have to drive her to preschool or nurse Collin:) She really wants to be Collin's mommy and totally has down everyone's relationships "Mommy, you are Grandma's daughter?" Yup! It's one of those cute things that turns annoying (she won't let me push the stroller, yet careens toward the ditch) and I hate asking her to stop pretending, I know having this much imagination is a good thing! She also told me the other day that Collin told her he wants a sister:) 

Our little "Mommy"

We are toying with the idea of turning the sunroom into a true four-seasons room. It would be a playroom/art room/guest room:) We know what we want to do and are pricing it. We would obviously love to have it functional before this winter, yet there are so many other things to do with that money. I want to do it, but am not sure it has the top priority...ugh. 

It feels like everyone is sending their kiddos off to school and Dave and I feel weird that Kate is not in the same boat. I have her in a preschool program (though not sure how much of a curriculum they are actually doing) at a church in New Lisbon. She loves it and asks every night if she is going to school in the morning (right now, I take her over there Tuesday and Thursday from 8a -3p). This fall, many of her peers are going to 4K or 4 year old preschool, but her birthday is not for two months, so she can't go. I know she could totally handle it, though I am really not ready for her to ride a bus (I am surprised by my apprehension about this, it is freaking me out!) She told me she wants to ride the yellow school bus, but I told her that Mommy likes driving her to school:) I just feel like children younger than her are taking this next big step and she is left behind. I am going to increase her time at the preschool program at the church this fall, at her request and to gear up for next year. And actually, as I looked at how to increase her time, I got very sad and realized that I don't really want to have her gone so much. I'll miss her! It seems weird, almost two years ago, I started staying home with her, it is like I assumed it would always be that way. Me, home with Kate. (adding to the brood obviously, but she would always be there) Thus, starts the conflicting emotions of a parent! Wanting them to go, but wanting them to stay:) 

Well, it is super late and I should be sleeping. All day long, I think of things that I need to look up/find/shop for/email back etc. and tell myself, I'll do it after the kids go to sleep. It is so silly and I should know better. I am so exhausted by the time he is actually asleep that I can't even remember what I was going to do, even if I could keep my eyes open. I do try and use the time I'm up in the night with Collin to be productive, but that is a recipe for disaster. Amazon is just too tempting and with two hours of sleep, no glasses and a fussy baby, you just never know what might be brought by UPS to my door in 2 days! 

Peace!

(ps - it is too late to proof this....good luck:)

Our Ozark Vacation!

Time to recap our "summer vacation" trip down to see Dave's folks! After Dave's vacation was taken away this summer due to two anesthetists being gone, we were ready to have some time off and get out of town! We all were looking so forward to this trip, I was more than happy to start planning/packing a couple days ahead of our departure on a Thursday morning (weird, I'm still off on my days!) We took the suburban because we also had Abby along and to just mix it up and rest my van:) It was not too full, surprisingly, and we had a good trip down. It took us about 8/8.5 hours the last time, but we usually stop over in Iowa City for a night as it is right on the way, but this time we headed straight down. The kiddos did great, we only stopped once because Collin was crying - at a lovely church in rural Iowa. I'm realizing that the busy life of raising two kids makes things go by very fast and you can get caught up in the schedules, routine, worries....but sometimes, you have to just stop and look around. Yes, we fed him oatmeal cereal parked (essentially) at a cemetery, but it was absolutely gorgeous out and it was such a beautiful church, lawn, cemetery. Our path may wind around a bit, but that may just mean there are more roses to stop and smell! We made the trip in record time and were super happy to sit down to a supper that Bobbi had ready. 

Our set up at Gma & Gpa L's was that Kate was in the upstairs bedroom (Gma and Gpa upstairs as well) and Dave and I were in the downstairs bedroom, Collin was in a pack and play in the very large walk in closet off our connected bathroom. This turned out to be a great setup. Kate did fine in her room, we didn't have a monitor/camera on her, she did come out once each night, very soon after we left her. She would say she heard a strange noise and then go back in with one of us. She also always asks for water, so that happened too, but it went great. Collin, who has been giving me tons of issues with sleep...did great! We probably had a full night, straight-through every other night. Twice he was up and mad for about a half an hour. Otherwise, I would just nurse him and then put him back down. That little (not little to me!) fact, plus the fact that Bobbi is an angel and manages Kate when she wakes up in the morning, makes for some lovely sleep and catching up on rest, ahhhhhhhhh...:) Well, maybe half the mornings? We ended up with both kids in bed with us, this is becoming a little habit of ours, Kate likes to climb in bed, Collin is usually rising and eating/hanging out, and we all sort of wake up, cuddle and ease into the day. Life is good.

Since I'm not writing this when we were still down there and my mind is shot by this time of day, I'll just list out some highlights:)

Morning coffee up in the screened porch, Kate spotting the yellow parachute of the para-sailors every morning, I got to go for a couple runs by myself without feeling like I needed to hurry up, we had margaritas while shopping at HyVee!, Bobbi and I obsessed over a puzzle and completed it (1000 pieces) in about a day and a half with just sporadic time at home to work on it:) Collin was chewing on everything - a favorite of the week was a bottle coozie and Grandpa's knuckles, we boated to Jolly Roger's, Coconuts and The Boathouse for meals, saw a water airplane take off and land. Dave and I had a short "date" away from the kids and shopped - bought some Minnetonka Moccasins on sale:) We went to a local winery on Sunday and listened to some live music, did a tasting (wine and moonshine!) and had some flatbread. It was quite hot, Kate ran around like a crazy person and was a lot of fun!

It was pretty entertaining to watch this guy!

Just chillin' on the boat

Yay for wineries with space for little girls to run!

The boats on Saturday were crazy! The lake was SO busy, choppy and I have to say that I was a little uncomfortable! I'm not sure if it was because we had both kiddos on the boat or I'm just so used to our quiet lake up here, but I was nervous. Luckily, we were able to get out on the water on Sunday and Tuesday as well, it was so calm and perfect. All of us were ecstatic that we had the weather and opportunity to be out there during the week. 

This is more like it:)

Ron and Bobbi's neighbor and friend, Mike (Schaeff) just completed (well, almost complete) a dream home right next door. We have watched it go up since last fall and have been dying to see it up close. On Monday, he was hosting a house-warming and birthday party, so we had the opportunity to do just that! It is a very impressive house and it is built up. High. Ron and Bobbi are up high in the 'hood, but this is way above their house. The view is incredible. Very cool to see and of course Kate and Collin charmed everyone at the party:) 

Quite the view!

If she is within reach, he is grabbing for her hair!

The restaurants and bars are so fun down at that lake, our new favorite is The Boathouse. We happened to be there on a Tuesday night, so luckily for us, it was pretty empty. It has a pool, comfy chairs all around, a cute little bar/dining room and wonderful food and drinks. It was the perfect place to spend our last night in Missouri. 

SO relaxing and fun

There is probably more I should include, but my brain is too full to think back right now! We left Wednesday morning for Wisconsin and didn't do too bad on our departure time (left at 9:45 a.m.?), and luckily, Ron didn't have to go into work right away, so he was able to see us off as well. We did a lunch stop in Hannibal - perfect timing for Mr. Collin as well, and went to their little historic downtown and had lunch, then let Kate play at a playground for a little bit. It was a really nice stop and then we hit the road feeling good. However, after about Iowa City (3.5 hours to go) we struggled with Collin, he wasn't too happy and we stopped a number of times. Kate also must have been sneaking fluids as she had to go potty a million times. So, that was a very looooong 3.5 hours;) We got back at about 9:30 p.m. I think and thankfully, Collin slept through the night for me when we got back. 

It is certainly an adventure to get down there and back, something we can't do super frequently, but it was totally worth it! (more pics in our August 2013 album!)

House Cleaning...

(I wrote this yesterday but didn't get to post until this morning!)

Hello! This is the first post I've written in the car:) We are somewhere in Missouri, a couple hours from Dave's folks on Lake of the Ozarks. Collin is fussing, the kind of fussing that leads right into a nap.....or escalates into a screaming fit. Stay tuned!

Just catching up on life this time, lets see... (okay, that was the beginning of a fit, but I slithered into the back seat and was able to get him asleep relatively quickly - hurray!! shhh!!:) 

So, in the recent past, Abby has been a little  out of sorts, sick and she was having some sickness. In the house. Yeah, not good. We have hardwood throughout our house, everyone has told me that it is so wonderful for cleaning up and when you have pets/kids...yup. If that is where they get sick or spill, etc. Abby treked upstairs to go in the kids' rooms on the carpet. Thanks, Ab. I don't do well with the dog hair in the house, I really couldn't handle this. So, I was going to get the carpets professionally cleaned (Dave did clean them with our steam vac thing right away). I called this local company and the gal was so sweet, she gave me all the info and possibilities, I said I would talk to Dave and get back with her. She penciled me in for Monday the 12th just so that I wouldn't lose the time if we decided yes. Sounds great.  Well, I called back and got the machine, left a message that said we would like to book it, just need to tell her what we decided and then find the time to actually do it that day. I never got a call back and every time I remembered, it was after hours. So, I set an alarm to call them at 8 a.m. on the 12th to see if there were coming/schedule it. After another sleepless night with Collin, I was woken (on the bed in his room) at 7:59 a.m. to knocking on the door and Abby flipping out. Guess who was there and ready to clean the rooms?! I stumbled downstairs and told him that didn't know he was coming (especially so early!) so he told me he would go do another job ("couple of hours") and then come back. Perfect. Now I have to get two kids up, move the furniture out of their rooms and do breakfast! (It was only one guy and you pay more to have them move furniture, I had planned on Dave and I moving everything out the night before, but wasn't going to move stuff unless we had to - it was the kids bedrooms!) 

So, I started moving things out, comforted Kate  - no the man will not suck up all your toys:) The guy came back at 9:30 a.m. and started bringing stuff upstairs. He helped me move one thing and was pretty nice overall. I am happy they got cleaned but just hate these kinds of things. I feel like sometimes we have so many random service people coming out to the house, I've told Dave in the past - I need a break! I don't like have strange guys in the house, especially with the kids. And they always ask questions I don't know the answers to. It just throws my days off, I am trying to be more open to spontaneity, but......:)

Putting the rooms back together later that night was more work than I expected and we rearranged Collin's room, but I like it overall right now. We do not love the log furniture we inherited from the previous owners, but are working with it for now. I'm anxious for those of you who visit us to see the new guest room/nursery! 

Collin has started solids and I really love this time of babyhood. It is super messy and fun. The diapers have changed! And that is fine, I thought at first that he was going to have some trouble with digesting the cereal and few veggies/fruits we tried, but all seems well now. He is a hungry boy and I just adore that messy open mouth that is diving towards the spoon for the next bite:) We have started very slowly compared to what we did with Kate, I think just because I am more busy and forgetful:) He sometimes seems so distracted when nursing and some morning hasn't been interested in it, so I am thankful to fill him up with some solids for that reason too! Granted, Kate can be quite the distraction, but he is just so difficult to keep focused. I am starting to go up to his room or back in our room to remove him from the main rooms, I don't always like to be separated, but then again, sometimes it is a nice breather for me too:) Provided he settles down and actually nurses.

I got this, Mom!

Kate has been loving running lately. When we go for walks or to the playground, she'll take off and run, never before have we had to worry about her going to far or venturing off, but we've hit that milestone now! I'm now trying to instill the concept of "staying where I can see you!" But it is pretty fun to see her run and love it. She wants to do another "running race" (5K) sometime. She also loves to practice volleyball. She knows how to bump and set and wants to practice all the time. I try to get some soccer, t-ball and tennis in there too, but right now, she is a running and"bolleyball" girl!

Didn't get her running, but she likes to push her brother:)

Kate has always spoken very clearly and well, but she does sometimes start words with a "v" and I always find it so funny. As I said, she plays "bolleyball," we live in "Bisconsin," Jesus talked to his "bisciples" :) I'm trying to think of the other ones...super random!

Dave and I are very excited to have his new boss starting at the hospital soon. Mike will be starting in September and many of you know the craziness that it has been for the last 1.5 years, Dave met the new guy and likes him, thinks he will be good for the hospital/department. So, it will be wonderful to go from 3 CRNAs to 4....though it is still not the 5 that it was when we moved up here. There is still a lot of uncertainty, his schedule will change and obviously the dynamics of the group. Surprisingly, his boss is moving into our neighborhood! They have two boys that are 5 yrs and 8 yrs old, so that is also exciting to be getting a full-time family as neighbors! 

Since they went down to 3 CRNAs as the beginning of the summer, the guys have not been allowed to get any time off. So after some lobbying, the hospital agreed to give them some time in August. We haven't been down to the Lake of the Ozarks in a long time, they have come up a few times, thankfully, but we are making our first family of four trip down to Missouri! We are looking so forward to the break, the weather should be wonderful. If we can survive the trip, it will be awesome! (so far, not bad at all, but shhhh...he is still sleeping. I'll throw you out of the car if you wake the baby!!!) :) 

Kate reading Daddy's anesthesia journal...

Collin loves to make faces

Babies, Birthdays & Botanical Gardens...

Hello! It has been awhile since I posted, even though technically, we are "less busy" since the wedding:) I'll tell you the main reason I'm in a bit of a fog....Collin. Yes, I'm throwing my sweet baby boy under the bus. After having Kate a few years back and dealing with a sleepless baby, I thought I would be prepared for such a baby this time around. But then, he was amazing! He slept! Somewhere around 7 weeks, he slept through the night for the first time and had given me 12 straight hours, weeks of sleeping through, all kinds of glorious things and I started referring to him as my "good sleeper." 

Yum.

Well, right around the 4 month mark (it did coincide with the start of our traveling and craziness) he started getting up in the night. And not just getting up. Staying up. Sleeping for only 30-40 minutes at a time, at times. And somehow, after enjoying some sleep-filled nights, I am a BEAR when I don't get sleep now! I've done this before, why is it so much harder this time? I'm guessing it is because I thought I had this licked feel like we are moving backwards and I'm going to throw in my advancing age and the fact that I have a 3.5 year old as well. 

Ugh. I need to figure this out. That is the hardest thing about parenting. The guessing, the trial and error, the figuring out why your child is doing something. And maybe worst of all, Dave and I seem to be the common denominator! What are we doing (or not doing)?! 

Anyway, I am experimenting and trying to stick with my plans each day/night. Luckily, I have been through this before and I know it will end. I just wish I could have little more stamina (and I could figure it out sooner this time and without crying it out!). There is so much more I would like to do each day, but right now, this zombie mom is not getting it together. I hope you stay tuned and find some post of how my son is sleeping like an angel and I have regained a life that includes a daily shower, eyes that stay open and a queen bed in Collin's room that doesn't contain both kids curled up next to me well past the time we should be getting up in the morning (okay, I kind of like that part:). 

That was my no-sleep rant, on to other things...Collin is awesome! :) He really is. A happy baby that if fed and having some sleep will be happy to just play with toys, roll around on the floor, watch his sister, whatever. He has a great giggle and Dave and I are thinking that he may carry on the Lenninger laugh! He LOVES to be on his feet, if he is fussing on the floor - just pick him up and let his feet touch the floor, he'll pick them up and act like he is walking. Hmm...once he is actually mobile, he may never stop moving.....oh boy! He likes to eat his toes, seeing himself in the mirror, jumping in the jumperoo, grabbing his sister's hair and flying up in the air (mostly Daddy - though I'm the one that was urped on while doing this, of course).

So happy!

Kate is still a very good big sister, not really jealous, likes to help and can actually calm him and make him laugh. Like many siblings, she just loves too much sometimes:) "I'm helping him roll over!" doing pattycake or trying to make him pray...that kind of stuff we just have to watch. Some of the funny things she has said/done lately...if I ask her to do something or stop doing something, "Mom. I can't. I'm doing something important. That means I need to do it right now." If you ask why she did something or if she'll see one of her friends at school (for example) "I have no idea, Mom." We get this a lot. Her favorite book right now is probably "Good night, Good night, Construction Site." (one of Dave and mine's too!) 

So cute. Collin will have to deal with this his whole life:)

Kate did Vacation Bible School at the church where she does preschool (but not our church...it's complicated) and she loved it! She learned so many songs and is singing them all the time, I was also told she was a great singer by the teachers, which I'm pretty sure means that she is one of the louder ones:) She loves to dance and sing, a trait of both Dave and me, though is no You Tube sensation for being on pitch - which means she will likely follow in my footsteps:) Maybe Collin will have a great singing voice like his Daddy! Last night, we were all marching through the aisles of Home Depot singing "Father Abraham."  :) 

Dave's birthday was really a weekend extravaganza, not a surprise if you know Dave well:) I did not get him a gift (yet) because he usually buys what he wants anyway, and I guess I mentioned last winter that he didn't need a rifle right then, but maybe for his birthday. But I did bake him a cake to take to work - rum cake, another Dave tradition:) On Friday, we went out to dinner on the boat with some of his work/volleyball friends and then let him drop me and the kids off for bedtimes. Dave continued on for a fun lake bar crawl, I was worrying a decent amount, but he checked in and was home safe and sound at a decent time of night/morning. On Saturday, we went to Madison and went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, something Kate and I really wanted to do and then to our friends' house for supper. I LOVED the gardens. We bought a membership and I fully intend on going back there as much as I can. So peaceful and beautiful. Kate loved spotting the butterflies, but not when they would fly toward her, then apparently they were some sort of tiny monster trying to get her and she would scream and jump out of the way:) 

My little scientist:)

Sibling love, playing in Simpson's backyard

Baby blues

On Sunday, we went to church at St. Luke (Kate's school) and enjoyed the potluck and bouncy house afterwards (first time she was brave enough to go in one). Then home for naps and we had sitters coming so we could have a date! I know! That never happens, this is the part of Dave's birthday that was really for me too:) We had Rylee (15 years old) and her mom, Chris (Kate's dance teacher) come over to watch the kids. They have begged to watch them, I felt comfortable with Chris minding Collin and Kate has a devoted buddy in Rylee:) Dave and I went for a boat ride, just the two of us. Again, never happens. I think the only other time we had been on the boat together/alone was the day we picked it up in Green Lake, WI in the about 39 degrees and sleeting. Good times. 

She really did smile, I swear!

It was awesome to enjoy the boat and each other for a few hours. We soaked up the sun, got some appetizers at a restaurant, read magazines and just enjoyed not holding a child in a life jacket or telling Kate that she didn't need another snack;) A good birthday weekend for Dave and for us all!

For more photos, check out our albums on Google....
July
https://plus.google.com/photos/101621614710195723652/albums/5899121912594023521?authkey=COvsgLTkjrCcMA

August
https://plus.google.com/photos/101621614710195723652/albums/5909452282466182913?authkey=CMTE6rPE1Ki-nQE