Happy 4th of July

 

chalk flag

 

We had a fun 4th of July! We stayed home and did the normal playtime until after the afternoon nap. Then we packed up and went to Chris' parents for a 4th of July "picnic" inside (since it was so hot outside). The girls and Lucas played and we all went over to the area park. Alivia just loves playing with her cousin Lucas! We then went to see the grand, and I mean GRAND, fireworks display at the Omaha Country Club where Chris' brother is the chef and our sister-in-law is the pastry chef. The fireworks display was just awesome to say the least! Alivia does not like the noise, but did open her eyes once I took her in the clubhouse. Addison, on the other hand, loved the fireworks. She was pointing and all excited as she watched from Daddy's lap. We arrived home around 11. Our neighbors continued their fireworks  with loud music until 11:30, which did not make Alivia too happy (she slept with us).

It was a fun day. And, yet another wonderful day off with our girls (aren't they all?!).

 

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In Memory

A wonderful man, and friend of Chris & his family lost his battle with cancer last weekend. Here is the dedication that was posted on Channel 6's website, where he worked as News Director. May God grant eternal life to John!

 

"Channel 6 News Director Loses Cancer

There have been 4 comments posted

Longtime Channel 6 News Director, John Clark, lost a long battle with cancer this weekend. John was just two weeks away from his 59th birthday.

John dedicated his entire broadcast career to . He started as a reporter at KMTV, but in 1980 moved to WOWT.

Working at Channel 6 first as a reporter, John became Assistant News Director and Assignments Editor in 1984. In 1991, upon the retirement of Steve Murphy, John became News Director.

John Clark was a journalist and a professional. He expected no less from the rest of us.

While it has been many years since John has been seen regularly on TV, you see his impact in every Channel 6 newscast which airs today.

As News Director it astonished him that viewers in some surveys are asked if accuracy matters. John believed that if we are not accurate we are nothing. If he said it once, he said it a thousand times; he'd rather be last and accurate than first and wrong.

John was always mindful that many of the stories we do touch people in very personal and sometimes painful ways. He always urged care and caution in those situations.

John took great pride in leading a news organization that is able to step up and cover major stories whenever they happen.

He was especially proud of the many national and regional awards won by Channel 6 during his tenure, but he most valued the trust that viewers placed in our newscasts night after night, year after year.

While always a professional broadcaster, John Clark was also a family man. He was husband to Joyce, father to Justin and Jeff and proud grandfather to five energetic grandsons.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family who will miss him deeply. His Channel 6 family will miss him as well.

Our industry and our community have lost a strong, honest leader.

VISITATION will be held on Tuesday from with a Wake Service beginning at at St. John Vianney Catholic Church.

FUNERAL will be Thursday at a.m. at St. John Vianney.

St. John Vianney Catholic Church

5801 Oak Hills Drive"

 

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/8272247.html

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The Process Has Begun

With a little (okay, maybe a lot) of encouragement from Chris, I have started to wean Addison just 1 week before her first birthday. After being pregnant and breastfeeding almost constantly for 3 years, you would think I would be ready. Oh, but I am not. Addison is doing well. I think I could cut her off altogether and she would be fine (that is the benefit of stopping now at 1 year instead of later I guess). Alivia was a bear to wean, so I hope that I am right about Addison. I have her at 3 times a day now. I am looking forward to weaning the noon feeding so the pumping in random parking lots will be over. I am going on a business trip shortly after Addison turns 13 months, and I do not want to take my pump again. I am SO TIRED of airport security questioning me and my breast pump that I can not wait to leave it at home. Since I am almost 4 months pregnant, it would probably be best to give all my nutrients to the new baby now.

So, wish Addison and I luck. Our little baby Addison is growing into her little girl body quicker than Mommy can mentally keep up with.

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Some things ARE free

Spiderman at HyVee

We spent our weekend fdoing all kinds of free activities that found us, really. First, we went to Hy-Vee where Alivia played on the blow up things outside. She loved the big slide and grew to like the spiderman trampoline like "thing". She really liked the cotton candy and icecream! Addison, we soon found out, does not like clowns. Sunday, we went to another free event at a church up the street. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people from our neighborhood went (it was an open house type thing for this new church). They had outdoor activities and a free concert. They topped it off with fireworks at 10. Addison LOVED them, Alivia layed on Daddy's chest and cried. Hopefully the 4th goes better at the country club.

So, some things in life ARE free!

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Oh What a Feeling!

Okay, it is not like Chris and I had a lot of debt or anything. However, we were paying on a student loan that we had for Chris' Masters Degree. It is now official...it is paid off! I realize if I were as financially savy as I think I am, I would have parked the money into a growing account and paid the minimum monthly payment since it was a low interest rate that was tax deductable. However, I would have to have done this until Chris was 45 of something...another 10 years of interest I just did not want to pay! I hate monthly payments, too! Now, we can happily report that we have only living expense bills to pay every month! (Luckily, Chris and I do NOT believe in credit cards). To celebrate, Chris took me out on a date last night to Kobe Steakhouse, our favorite. First of all, we never go out just the two of us.. Although we missed the girls, it was so nice to do and should be done more often.

 

Oh, what a feeling to be debt free! We are SOOOOOO excited!

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Frustration...

...is a new word in our family lately, one Alivia is finding the meaning to quickly. This evening, the nanny called and quit. Yes, the nanny that was to begin on Monday called and quit before she even started. Seriously, did she think she had to clean? Now we are back to the Grandmas to get us by until we find someone else. Can you say, "The handwriting is on the wall"?

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Addison's Going to Be 1 Year Old!

Addison, almost 11 months old

Join us for fun under the sun,

As Addison Rose turns ONE!

Sunday, July 15th at 3pm

Well, the invitations have been snail mailed out! It is difficult to believe that Addison is going to be 1 already. We are having a party with family to celebrate her big day (which is actually on the 12th). We plan on having sandwiches, salads, a Big "1" cake, and icecream. I will, of course, post tons a pictures! Hopefully Addison can open up a bit and enjoy her party.

On July 12th, you can see Addison on Channel 6's 1st Birthdays at 5:45 and 6:45am. Until then, Addison will continue to have us all chasing after her, up the stairs, around the house, around the park, and around the yard. One day after turning 11 months, she got her first tooth on the bottom. She is trying to do a lot of chewing with the one tooth that is barely showing! Unlike her sister, she is a picky little eater. She pushes food away, or, if Mommy is persistant, she will take the food and then toss it. That is always a lot of fun (imagine a bowl, which was to stick to the table, full of homemade mac n cheese tossed on our wood floor. YUCKY!). She is a little lovebug, coming up to us just to give us a hug several times a day. We love that! We love this stage, as with every stage of our girls' lives. You have to enjoy every moment while you can. 

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"I need help!"

That is a phrase that it took me years to say. I am the first to admit, I am quite stubborn. But, with 2 kids and being quite tired and many times sick with our third child, I am finding it difficult to keep up with it all. Although there are many Moms of 2 or more kids that work, I do not personally know of very many that I can talk to on how they juggle it all (believe me, if I could, I would be an at home Mommy cleaning during naptime).  Anyway...a couple months ago, I finally started calling about getting someone to help with the household cleaning. By the time I get home from work, get dinner, clean up, play a bit with the girls, bath time - it is 8:30 and I am exhausted. I then have to study for my job (new products coming out in August), and do my other at home work for my job. Then, about 9:30-10, I have to clean up a little bit. If I am tired or something and skip it...there is just more to do the following night. You get my drift.

I thought finding a cleaning lady would be simple. No. The first one cancelled before even showing up for an estimate. The second one (the one I have now), did a HORRIBLE job on her first clean, the next time she did not show up until 4:45 (giving her 15 minutes to clean our home). Needless to say, I had her go home. I have tried to get others between these 2, all charging too much for me. Remember, I am quite a conservative spender, but try to be very particular about a clean house. For a family without cable because I think it is a waste of time and money, devoted any money to a cleaning lady is a big splurge.

So, I now know why it took me so long to say, "I need help." Sometimes it is just better to try and do it all myself. :) Happy cleaning.

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Success

Success at first meant getting my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. The next thing success meant to me was to be married to my wonderful husband, Chris. Next, success was getting a job in pharmaceutical sales. Success then had to be being the best and achieving president's club for top sales. If that was not enough, success meant getting my MBA. After all that was said and done, success was to finally become parents. Now, as a Mommy to 2 and soon to be 3 babies, success has taken on a much different meaning.

Today, success means ALIVIA IS STAYING DRY AT NIGHT! I wake her at 10pm every night, she goes potty, and then is dry every night. This is her success...but as a Mommy, it feels good to have less laundry to do (and this is actually success...the other stuff was just stuff leading to successes as a Mommy!)! Yeah, Alivia!

Now, doesn't success feel good?

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A Year of Change

Oh, where do I begin? Well, I will start on April 26. 2 weeks prior to this date, I started running with my neighbor, Beth. Running has always been a passion of mine. I also had some things to tone since having Addison 9 months prior. I was having fun with our new evening activity, but I had begun to have what I thought to be low blood sugar in the evenings and in the mornings. This would not have been uncommon since I was still pumping extra in the evening, was running, and was now skipping the evening snack (because I was running where I was spending the time snacking before). I did not think anything of this until my friend, Heidi, called on Tuesday, April 24, to announce they were expecting their third baby. As excited as I was for them, I then began to think to myself...could I be PREGNANT?! No way! After all, my body was not functioning correctly since I was still nursing. I could not be. Right? So, Thursday morning (April 26), I stopped and picked up a test. Sure enough, it was positive almost instantly! Oh my goodness, I had to call Chris at work. I was in shock. Chris just did not believe me!! He was shocked (and still is) to say the least. I called and scheduled blood work and an ultrasound. Since baby's due dates are typically figured by the woman's cycle, our due date is more of an educated guess. My blood work at that first appointment had me at 7 weeks. My ultrasound was conflicting. So, I did not get a due date. I guessed it to be December sometime so we could announce our surprise in the end of photobooks we were giving the Grandmas for Mother's Day.They were surprised as well! At the 8 week appointment  I was told my due date would be right around Christmas, but still no exact due date (although they are only estimates anyway). At my supposed 12 week appointment last week, I had another ultrasound and my due date was set - December 27, 2007. Alivia was born at 36 weeks and Addison was born at 37 weeks. I am hoping for a somewhat early arrival so we do not have a Christmas Birthday. How have I been feeling, well better after being placed on Zofran. This is a drug used for nausea in chemo patients. I was on it with Addison, and I could not have made it without it! I was quite sick on Zofran for a couple weeks this time. It is slowly improving, but I still know when a pill is due. Maybe in a few more weeks (I was on it until week 16 with Addison). I am now 13 weeks. After mailing out the announements last week (to everyone except my work, unless they read this blog), we told Alivia. She, at first, said she wanted 2 sisters. Then, changed her mind and said she wanted a baby brother like her baby cousin Henry. She has not said much since. I really do not think she knows what is going on yet. I do think she will be Mommy's little helper this time. Addison, is just figuring out what babies are. For the most part, she thinks "babies" are dolls. At 11 months, she is still a baby herself!

We are so excited to have another baby. We found out that God definitely has His way of planning things. Chris said at the beginning of 2007, "This is going to be the year of change." We had NO IDEA what that meant at the time. I just thought he was going to get a new job! So far, we just hired a nanny (which we are so excited about), we are looking for a bigger car (oh boy...do I dare say MINIVAN?), we are trying to decide if we want to remodel our office and move that space to the spare bedroom in the basement so that each of our kids can have their own room, and we will be having  a new bundle of joy joining the Austin Family in December (and I am not even listing off every change)!!

Now, that is a year of change! 

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Happy Father's Day

Our Annual Father's Day in Iowa at the flight breakfast was exciting this year. Daddy was able to get a test ride in a plane Grandma Bill is considering. The girls had a good time, too. Happy Father's Day!

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God's Blessings

Alivia & Addison

God's Blessings come in many shapes and sizes,

Some even come as big surprises.

We were happy with our family of four,

But God thought we would be happier with just one more.

December 27, 2007, is now the approximate date,

For a baby girl or baby boy, we will just have to wait.

 

Love,

Chris & Krista

Alivia, Soon to be "Crowned the Big Sister" again &

Addison, Soon to be "Crowned the Middle Sister"

 

Thank-you, God, for your surprises!

(I am now 12 weeks)

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Addison turns 11 months old!

Our little baby is growing into a little girl. She is setting her own pace, as both of our girls tend to do. Unlike Alivia at this age, Addison gets around by crawling and cruising well. Outside, however, she moves like a spider, never allowing her body to touch the ground. Addison can stand alone - but refuses to take her first steps. She has perfected crawling upstairs and up the slide (the baby one at the park and the toddler slide we have in our basement)! She shows no interest in climbing the steps and going down the right way on the slide in our basement, either. She is quite vocal, mostly squeeling to get her needs met. Her only words: Mama, Dada and Piper (our cat). I am strict with words though. I have to hear her say something twice for me to count it. Unlike with Alivia, I am not allowing others to convince me that there is something wrong with her because she is not talking nor walking. As a nurse by education, I realize babies set their own pace. Addison has yet to do any signs. Alivia was signing at 8 months, but I have not had as much time to focus on this with Addison. She waves, does the whole SO BIG, and shakes her head yes. But as far as signing milk, more, eat, etc...she just has not shown interest. I am hoping in the next month she will begin to communicate by signing.

Addison's favorite things continue to be her taggies and her favorite toy is her little piano that her big sister colored green today. She also loves to play with rocks outside, but I am waiting for her to try and eat them. Inside she has found the pantry, the towel drawer and the storage containers. Letting her go crazy while I get dinner can get rather messy. One of Chris and my favorite things about Addison is her sleeping habits. We lay her down at night with her taggie and she goes right to sleep without a peep. When she wakes in the morning, she lays, sits or stands quietly until I check on her and see she is awake! The same thing goes for naptime! Gotta love that!

In one month, she will be 1 year old. That is so hard to believe!

Addison will have her 11 month pictures taken on this Thursday. Check out proofs at http://www.capturetoday.photosite.com/. Look for Addison's proofs to be available Friday or Monday of next week probably. I will post her picture from today as soon as I get it loaded.

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Yummy chicken toes...

I know...that does not sound good! Call them whatever you want, they turned out yummy. I have been hunting for new, fun things to make for dinner around here. Alivia and Chris like chicken nuggets, but I refuse to buy any of the unhealthy versions in the store. I found this recipe in my April issue of Parents Magazine, which adapted the recipe from "Cooking Rocks! Rachael Ray's 30-minute Meals for Kids." That is a book on the top of my want list! What working Mom has more than 30 minutes? (or Mom in general for that matter).

Okay, here it is.

Crunchy Oven-Baked Chicken Toes

1 c. cornflakes cereal, crushed

1 c plain bread crumbs

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/3 c. flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 lbs. chicken-breast, cut into 20 pieces.

1/4 c honey mustard

1/4 c barbecue sauce

1. Heat oven to 375. In large bowl, combine cornflake crumbs, bread crumbs, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and allspice.

2. Drizzle vegetable oil evenly over the cornflake mixture. mix well to combine. Place flour and beaten eggs into separate bowls. Dredge the chicken toes in the flour, then the eggs, andthen the cornflake mixture. Pat to form an even coating. Arrange the chicken toes about 1 inch apart on a nonstick baking sheet. Place the chicken in the oven and cook until crisp and brown all over, about 15-20 minutes.

3. In small bowl, mix together honey mustard and barbecue sauce for dipping (We just had bbq sauce).

 Makes 4-6 servings.

I served it with grilled vegetables (peppers tonight) and cubed watermelon. Alivia loved the grilled peppers. This is a girl that until recently would not dare to eat a vegetable (which started when she was about 12 months old. Interesting considering she nursed for just over a year and I eat mostly fruits and vegetables). 

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A week gladly over.

What a week. After all that went on last week, it is no wonder why our entire family now has a cold. I am now just getting the sore throat...so I guess it's my turn. After the whole daycare incident (and the 2 prior ones) Chris and I are done with childcare. We are going to utilize family for the mean time until we can figure something out. Chris will maybe consider a nanny type person to just watch our girls and maybe ours with their own children. But, that is it. And, that is a big maybe, too. We just had no idea the evil in this world until this week. It is really sad. Why can't we live closer to my friend, Heidi? :)

Today was our nephew Henry's baptism. Chris is honored to be his Godfather. We already marked it in the calendar so we can be sure to recognize his baptism day yearly. Chris wants to be the best Godparent and uncle he can be. I will post pictures when I get them loaded.

We are praying for a nice, peaceful week this week. I really do not think we can take too many more twists, turns and surprises. But, you never know...

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Pathetic Baker

Okay, let me explain. I am not THAT pathetic really. After all, I had a job in high school making cookies everyday for a local business. I loved that job! With that said, I will get to the pathetic part. I love oatmeal cookies. I have this recipe that came from my now 92 year old Grandma. However, the recipe only works if you use lard. WHO USES THAT ANYMORE? Anyway, I had this big craving for oatmeal cookies and I did not have a good recipe. So, while doing my Friday evening grocery shopping, I actually bought one of those Betty Crocker Cookie in a bag things. I often wondered when I saw those, "Now who would buy those?" Oh, I would! Let me tell you, they are NOT homemade. But, they were okay and I guess I filled my craving a bit. Next time, I will look on the web for a recipe though - not one through Betty Crocker.

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What a day!

My day started out wonderful. I woke up to sunny skies. Went downstairs to prepare for breakfast and was greeted by the flowers Chris got me yesterday. The girls were in good spirits and easily got ready to go. We arrived at daycare and our provider was clearly in a bad mood. She was quite rude to me and not so nice to Alivia. I was NOT HAPPY when I left there, but decided not to say anything until my return. I returned to pick up instead of Chris so I can ask her about her behavior. I asked, "Is there a problem that I need to be aware of?" Without getting into the story, I will summerise with...we are looking for new care. They are going to Grandmas house for now. This is just proof that you can not trust your children with just anyone, not even someone who calls herself a Christian. Stating it is one thing, acting as God would is another story. As Chris said after she hung up on him tonight, WE NEED TO PRAY FOR HER!

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Happy Birthday, Grandma Bet!

Last night, we had a small gathering for my Mom's 60th birthday on Monday, June 4. It was just our family, Marsha, Nikki, Mom and Dad (of course), and Char & Jan (close friends of my parents). It was a fun night. Alivia loves parties. I guess we must too since we have so many it seems. :) Mom got a lot of nice things. We gave her a nice locket from Von Maur (my favorite store) and put 4 pictures of the girls inside. I think she liked it. Jan bought a champagne cake from The Cake Gallery (where we normally get our cakes), & it was a huge hit.

Happy Birthday, Mom (aka Grandma)! & many more...

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A Dry Bed...

I really don't think that before Chris and I were married that we would think that one of our biggest desires now would be to sleep alone together in a dry bed! Alivia has gotten out of bed and snuck into our bed in the middle of the night since shortly after Addison was born. She was 100% potty trained until she started daycare, then reverted to wetting at night. The combination of sleeping in our room and night accidents are a big problem. Last night Alivia was in our bed when I came upstairs for the night. I admit, I ignored her until I was ready to crawl into bed 1 hour past the normal time (so I was good and tired). I went to pick her up and she was soaked, along with many layers of bedding on my side of the bed (including a silk comforter). I was not happy. I gave up pull-ups just last week when I asked her if she wanted to wear panties or pull-ups and she picked panties. It is just not working.

So, the DRY CLEAN ONLY silk comforter was washed along with all our bedding including the pad. Now, I just have to come up with a plan so we can have our clean dry bed back!

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Welcome summer!

Oh, why can't every day be a day off? Topher and I have loved the last 4 days at home with the girls. I would be lying if I did not say that Alivia and Addison loved having us home, too. Everyday, Alivia would wake up and ask if Daddy was still at home. Then, when I said yes, she would excitedly ask, "Do I get to stay home with Daddy and Mommy today?" It is so nice to see how excited she is to stay home with us, but at the same time sad that she is so upset to be left at daycare. I am sure there will be a lot of tears tomorrow as they are left for breakfast.

What did we do all weekend? Oh, we rode bikes (Daddy has this new toy that he pulls the girls behind his bike. It was an early Father's Day present that I think Alivia loves!), swam in the girls' new pink pool, played on the swingset, changed Alivia's baby's diapers more than 100 times, and went to the park. The sprinkler park is now open, so Alivia is looking forward to going there when the weather warms a bit more. Topher took her up there to look on Sunday, but it was just too cool to go play. Today we went to Iowa for the Memorial Day service and then the annual family picnic. I would post new pictures, but I left the camera in Iowa! What will I do without my camera all week! Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa are coming on Friday to babysit, so I will get it back then. Alivia can not stop talking about all the fun she has on the farm. Chris is looking nonseriously, I think anyway, at land to build a house on. What would Alivia do without being able to go to gymnastics?

I finally signed up Alivia for Swimtastic swimming lessons. We will see how she does. It is an independent swimming class with just 4 kids maximum in her class. She went to gymnastics alone, and she thinks she is ready for swimming alone. For the price of these lessons, we have high hopes. She begins in 2 weeks, so we will keep you posted.

So, tomorrow is back to the daily grind. Nothing like being thrown into the fire, either. My boss will greet me at my breakfast appointment at 8:30. Okay, what was I thinking making a breakfast appointment the day after a Holiday (the boss coming is completely out of my control)? So, it will be a big rush to get the girls up, dressed and at daycare early so I can rush to pick up my breakfast and get there in time. My hands hurt just typing that out. Thank goodness I have that SUPER WOMAN cape stashed away for just the occasion.

With that said...Happy Summer! Our family has a busy month of June planned with something every weekend, I think. Then, in July, Addison will be turning 1 with her big birthday bash on July 15th. I am sure there will be more Austin excitement up our sleeves as we make our way through summer.

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Going Private...kind of

Okay, those of you on vox know that when you post a message, vox shows other users that just posted updates. One from a person named Stace, I don't know why, caught my attention. Scary, this woman had pictures/videos of her daughters stolen and placed on someone else's blog as their own pictures! Creepy! So, I will continue to keep most of our posts public, but I will no longer post the pictures to the public. That is way too disturbing for me. Sorry, if you want to see updated pictures you will have to sign up to vox and I will add you to our neighborhood (which is an easy process). I hope everyone understands and keeps visiting anyway.

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Happy 3rd Birthday, Alivia!

Oh, what a 3rd birthday it was, too. Alivia woke to fresh chocolate donuts...her favorite but an extremely rare treat. She opened her presents: A Barbie big wheel that she will have to grow into, a wooden bake set, and Dora colorforms. She was mostly excited about the donut and told me, "Mommy, now that was a good donut!" After checking out her presents, we packed up for our trip to the zoo. It was a nice day to be at the zoo. It was busy as it usually is for our annual birthday trip. Alivia noted "there are a lot of kids here," to Grandma Bet when we called her while at the zoo. Alivia was actually afraid at first, which was weird considering we were just at the zoo 6 weeks ago and she was fine. She soon got over that. We visited the aquarium, bears, elephants, tigers, monkeys, gorillas, rhinos, and the giraffes just to name a few. Alivia liked the sharks best, as she thanked God for the "Sharkies" in her prayers tonight. We brought a picnic lunch from Little King. We stayed just a bit longer after lunch then made our way to Zestos for icecream. Alivia had her first chocolate shake and Addison helped eat my cone. Yummy.

Alivia came home and played until heading to bed. After thanking us for her birthday, she went right to sleep. What a sweetheart!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Alivia! Thanks for 3 great years (and many more fun years to come!).

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It's Time to Celebrate...

Alivia turns 3!

...Alivia's 3rd Birthday! On Sunday we had Alivia's 3rd Birthday party with a few family. We try to keep the parties to close family that she knows well. Alivia had a lot of fun this year. Her cousin Lucas came, so she had fun playing with him. She needed help blowing out those 3 candles on her Dora cake (she asked for a Dora cake with Dora presents :) ), but she had no problem opening her presents. She has been enjoying playing with some of those tonight.

On Friday, her actual 3rd birthday, she will open her presents from Chris and I, and then it is off to a day at the zoo. She is really excited about that.

 

Alivia's 3rd Birthday Dora Cake

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The Cost of Living...

Seriously, Chris and I are finding out how much our cost of living is going up lately. Perhaps it is the cost of living in our house! The first of May started with the installation of the fence. We love it and would do it agian in a heartbeat. It was needed! Next came carpet. We have rather yucky carpet throughout the dining room and upstairs (we replaced the family room carpet last year and the basement carpet is new). So, it had to be replaced. Chris and I are dragging our feet to call the store to set up the installation. Why? We have to move all of our furniture, take down the beds, move dressers, clear closets, etc, etc. I, for one, just am not interested. Oh, and to top things off, our computer crashed last week. Chris had a hard drive just for me to save my pictures on. Luckily, I load them every month at Shutterfly, but, I lost most of them from our computer. Needless to say, I am quite upset about this. Chris is always telling me to back them up on a CD, but I am admittedly too dumb to do that. I will learn when this new Dell arrives. Now, don't anyone tell me that Dell produces bad computers because it is too late - it is on its way.  After 2 crashes in 2 years, this one better last longer. That is all I am saying. So, this is the final warning for Microsoft and then we are going to Mac.

So, now you know what I mean when the our cost of living seems to be on the rise THIS MONTH. Oh, and to top it off, I have never seen gas prices so high! Seriously!

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Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! We went to Chris' parents home last night to wish his Mom a Happy Mother's Day. Today we are making the trip to Iowa to wish my Mom the same (and Grandma's too). We are looking forward to a relaxing day on the farm. Alivia, having spent the night there this week while I was out of town, is excited to get to play with Grandma's toys, playset, and Tiper, their cat.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Addison turns 10 months old!

Addison has changed a lot over the last month. She has advanced into a big girl by eating mostly table foods. I still give her a baby food with DHA in it at every meal, though, and she has yet to refuse. As she turned 10 months, she started to spit food out. Hopefully that was just a fluke.

She is cruising really well now. However, to get from point A to point B, she drops to her nears and crawls like a rocket. Her favorite thing to chase is Piper, our cat. (He is a household favorite). She has also been known to crawl to Mommy or Daddy and crawl up our leg to hint that she wants to be held. She got her first pair of shoes so she can get around outside and in stores without stepping it something with her barefeet. We had to buy cradle shoes with a traction because her little feet are too small for cruisers or first walkers! These ought to last a good month!

Happy 10 months Addison. Check out the girls' lastest pictures taken on her 10h month (5/12/07) at http://www.capturetoday.photosite.com/Album152/. They are mostly Alivia's 3 year pictures.

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All fenced in

All fenced In...

Well, we did it! After living in our home for nearly 7 years, we finally had a fence installed. Oh, we have our privacy back somewhat too! Our yard was turning into the neighborhood playground (which Alivia loved), but Chris and I got frustrated by being the neighborhood babysitters. It is SOOOOO nice now to go out to our yard. We were not sure we would like it, but we would do it sooner (like last summer when we had a new baby, a 2 year old, and a neighborhood full of kids to look after).

As for this weekend...it is the garage sale. I know we say this every year, but this year is the last year. We are giving up a lot of stuff to clear our spaces a bit. What does not get sold goes to Good Will.

Next week is a busy week. I leave Monday night for Denver leaving Chris with the girls. I am totally dreading it. I hate leaving the girls. Chris will have fun, though. :)

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More spring cleaning...

Chris & Baby Henry Emmett

...more cleaning?! Chris completed the office organization this weekend. It looks SO nice! (Thanks Topher!). I started clearing out the storage room in the basement getting ready for a garage sale. It is amazing how much stuff we accumulate from year to year. We get rid of a lot of stuff every year, too. I would say we are the opposite of pack rats.

Chris' brother Brent and his wife Bridget had their first baby boy on Saturday, Henry. We went to visit baby Henry this morning after Mass. Alivia was not so sure about the whole situation. I got her to go by telling her it was her cousin Lucas' brother (but Lucas was not there). She is probably just hoping that she does not have to share anything with him, too!

This is the last week before I start copromoting another drug. I am getting sick of reading modules and taking tests. We have another drug coming out hopefully in the fall, so I guess I will have to get over that. And, I will have to rest up now because I do not see the late nights of studying ending anytime soon. Thank goodness I do not require much sleep. Anyway, we have a meeting in Denver in a couple weeks, so Chris will be HOME ALONE with the girls. I am sure he is looking forward to that bonding time.

Until next time...

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Go fly a kite

What a beautiful weekend! So, what did we do? We went out and flew a Dora kite, what else? Aunt Nikki came over and played with Alivia on Saturday while I started to clean our windows. That is always such a fun job. I did not get much done though since Addison did not nap very long.

Topher started another organization project, our office. He seems to think we have more stuff in our office than in our entire home. However, he has throw half of it away (THANK GOODNESS!).

So, today, while Addison napped and Topher organized, Alivia and I went shopping. We went to her favorite store, Von Maur. She likes the Thomas train set and the beads there to play with. When we got back, we went to the park for a while and flew the kite again. The weather was wonderful. Alivia peddled her little bike all the way to and back from the park (and it is a BIG hill up there). It was a fun weekend, but I am not sure Topher would think so.

Oh, Addison's 9 month pictures are available at http://www.capturetoday.photosite.com/Album118/. She was happy for just a moment.

Another busy week...so let's get to it!

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I am sleeping with Spidey?

 

Spiderman, oh I mean, Chris

Oh please, allow me to explain. Last night, I crawled into bed to cuddle up with Topher (hopefully this is not too much information), and he was hugging something. "What is that?" I asked him curiously. "Nothing," he replied. So, I asked again, "What is that" and this time he replied with a, "Nothing, it's mine!" "Okay, what is it?" and I get another, "It's mine!" Okay, he was beginning to sound like Alivia. I did not care that it was his, I just wanted to know what it was. So, I rolled over and turned on the light. So, what was it, SPIDEY! This was a special Spidey, too. It is red on one side and black on the other, like in the new movie coming out (scary that a Mommy of 2 girls knows this, isn't it?). So, just for a night, I slept with Spidey, so to speak. I am just hoping Spidey stays in his own bed from now on. :)

Thanks Topher for adding some humor to the end of our Saturday!

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Addison turns 9 months old!

 

That's right, our little baby girl turned 9 months old today! She had her Dr check-up and was 14 pounds, 13 oz  (<5), and 25 1/2 inches long (10%). She somehow shrunk a 1/2 inch (they clearly measured wrong last time). Her Dr was concerned that she was not drinking breast milk while in daycare, opting for more food, water, and juice. So, he wanted us to consider formula when I am away. I think I am going to have daycare only give her breast milk to drink and see what happens. She is pretty proportional, so the Dr was not that concerned. She looks far from malnourished.

Addison is somewhat advanced as far as her physical abilities for her age (she is so unlike her sister at this age). Addison crawls well, pulls to a stand, cruises and bumps into everything. She still has that calcification on her forehead that is just to go away with time. Addison rarely sits still, preferring to crawl and chase after Mommy, Daddy and/or Alivia. She says Mama, Dada, and Baba and babbles a few other things that I can not spell. :)

It has been an amazing 9 months Addison! We Love You!

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Negotiations over...

...Chris has made a decision. After nearly a week of negotiations and stress, Chris decided to stay at his current job at Northrup Grumman. Chris had an interview with Union Pacific Railroad doing similar computer work for them. He initially accepted the position because of the professional and financial growth. However, upon telling his current employer, they counter offered. Chris then decided to stay. UP is a great company to work for, but the Union dues, downtown parking fees, loss of vacation time, etc, made it a sacrifice. Chris is now happy with his decision.

Good luck Topher!

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The Art of Negotiating

Here I go again, talking about art when I am so far from being an artist. Chris and I have been doing our share of negotiating and I find it quite interesting and perhaps a bit annoying at times (and rewarding at other times). I got an estimate to carpet our home from the Mart. After I initially told the sales person the estimate was too high, he called with a quote that was $1000 less. Yes, you read that right, $1000. Seriously, why didn't he just give us that price the first time? It did not matter anyway because we did not get the carpet. I have also been calling around for estimates on fences for our backyard. They varied by nearly $500. Chris and I together were able to negotiate a price that we were happy with. But again, why didn't they just give us that price to begin with. Chris has been doing his own negotiations this week of a little more importance than a fence or carpet, but we will discuss that later. I guess I just do not understand why we have to negotiate. Is shopping for anything turning into an experience similar to buying a car?

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Addison's 1st Easter

We had to wake up Addison and Alivia this morning to get ready for 9 AM Easter Mass. Alivia told me she was still tired and did not seem to care to see a basket with candy. She was quite excited when she did see it though. She got a Barbie with some new clothes, Happy Feet, Bible ABC cards, a coloring book and of course, candy. Addison got a 3 books and a little lamb that baa'd. After Mass, we went and picked up Aunt Nikki and drove to my parents in Iowa for the day. After a fun filled weekend, we were exhausted (Yesterday we went to Great Grandma & Grandpa Austins in the morning and Nikki and I went to visit Grandpa George in the afternoon, Chris and I also have stayed up until midnight or later the last 3 nights watching movies on Thursday, talking with Dave on Friday night and again watching movies last night. Go and rent The Pursuit of Happyness...a good movie!).

Alivia really got into Easter this year, which was so touching for us. I asked her at dinner today what Easter meant. I thought she would say eggs and candy. But, she first said...going to church, and then I asked her about the cross and she responsed "Jesus!". I guess whatever we are saying is sinking in. Both Alivia and Addison had fun on their indoor Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Alivia ran excitedly picking up her eggs. It was so cute. Addison even picked up a couple of eggs, and she liked to hear the noise of the candy when she shook the egg.

Everyone slept on the way home, except Nikki and I. Tomorrow is back to reality. But, it was sure nice to spend extra family time together over the weekend.

Happy Easter! 

(Stay tuned...Chris may have a big announcement to make this week!)

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Happy Birthday to Topher!

Today Chris turned 35! We were both luckily able to take the day off work. We went bowling with Aunt KK in the morning. This was Alivia's first time bowling and she really liked it. Chris spent a lot of the day pondering an important decision (which I will later post if and when the decision is made). We also dyed a few eggs for Easter. Alivia had fun with that. We then had a few guests for dinner and cake (a non party party since I decided to no longer have a party :) ), including my cousin Dave from Chicago. We laughed so hard our faces hurt. I think Chris had a good birthday.

 

Happy 35th Birthday, Chris...and many more!

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Little bump

Addison's little bump on her head turned out to be nothing major, thank-goodness. She must have bumped her head and formed a small calcification (dried blood) under the surface. The Dr said it should go away with time.

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April Fools!

So did anyone get fooled?

I got Chris this year...good. I took a late night trip to the store last night and he was downstairs when I returned home. He had no idea what I purchased. So, this morning after church, I reminded him of my trip and told him that I picked "something" up and um, he was going to be a daddy again. Let's just say, I thought Topher was going to  BLANK his pants. Needless to say, I told him right away, "APRIL FOOLS."

Okay, that was funny. Now, I just hope God saw Chris' reaction since He is in charge of our family planning. :)

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The art of spring cleaning

Alivia at work.

I am the last person to talk about art, or cleaning for that matter. But, that summarized our weekend. After a very long and difficult week, I was just happy to get through it in a few pieces. So, I was content cleaning. We started our weekend by trying a new (but very old) pizza place in Millard...Bernie's Pizza. We would give it an 8 out of 10. The pizza was great, made by Bernie himself. It was a small Mom and Pop shop. We ate out, (which is quite rare for us) and the food was good. Afterwards, we went to a park nearby and Alivia had a blast.

As far as the weekend went, I cleaned and did laundry while Chris started the season of yard work. The yard is already looking green and our home is beginning to smell of cleaning solutions. I'm just getting started, though...I have a lot more to do.

Addison started saying "Mama" last week and continued talking throught the weekend. She is becoming more vocal and loud now! She is also our little George, Curious George that is. She crawls to whatever is dangerous to check it out. For example, I put her down in the basement to crawl surrounded by toys. She crawled right over the toys and went straight for the heater. This did not surprise me at all. She also is pulling to a stand quite well and then letting go of 1 hand but not both hands yet. She is getting really good at picking up her finger foods and loves crackers! Addison does have a little bump on her head that is not from a fall that seems to be getting bigger. I hope to take her to her Dr this week to check it out.

Alivia came down with a cold today and told us 100 times or more, "My nose is running." Now, we just need to teach her to go and get a tissue by herself. She used to do this by herself but now likes us to do this special treat for her. Last week was her first week of doing 50% of her gymnastics class alone! I watched from outside of the room. What a girl! She also went down the tunnel slide, "By myself" as she says. She is a big girl! Now, if we can just get her out of her pull-up at night...

I am going to Denver for a day this week, so I will check out the mountains for everyone - briefly - and then fly back. But, if all goes well, the trip will give me a raise. At least that is the goal. On Friday, Chris will turn 35! So, Happy b-day big cat daddy!

Here is to hoping for a MUCH better week this week!

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