Crickets

When Adelynn was born we needed to find something the soften the noise of those around her while she slept. Whether it was while eating at a restaurant or in her own crib. We weren't quite sure how she'd respond to being woken up by noises around her. Last thing we wanted to do was to be "those parents" who should have kept their baby home rather than ruining the night of everyone in the restaurant. Not everyone is sympathetic and smiles at the parents trying to comfort their child. Instead they shoot sharp glares.

We soon realized that if Adelynn was cranky, we could flip on some running water, thunderstorms, or crickets and she's stop crying right away. She'd soon doze off or sit peacefully looking around.

Last night and today she hasn't been her normal happy-go-lucky self. She's been fussier than normal, resists eating, and harder to put down for naps.

Today we opted out of a bike ride to Houston, MN to see my Dad's new house, and instead drove the Fusion and took Adelynn with us. She started getting fussy in the car so I hooked up my iPhone to my radio and hit play. Within 30 seconds she stopped crying, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

One day, she'll say how she loves the sounds of crickets, and this blog will tell her how it all started.

Happiness

Nick and I were blessed with an incredibly happy baby girl. She is so laid back, and makes the baby stage painless. She is always smiley, talkative, silly and loves to flirt with everyone.

It doesn't seem to matter where we are. A stranger will look at her and she'll flash them her cheeky smile. Soon I'll catch them being mesmerized by her. "She is such a happy baby!" they say. My typical answer "She only fusses when she's over-tired or over-hungry." Even then she is still pretty darn good. When it's time to sleep, we carry her into her room, turn on the crickets (to block noises from the kids) , give her hugs and kisses, then hand her one of her two favorite friends to snuggle with. She might let out a short squeal but that's about it. She takes two- 2hr naps and at 7:30pm it's lights-out until 7am. Spoiled :) yes, we are. I have to keep warning Nick that they aren't all this easy.

Loose Tooth Come Out, Come out!!

Sam's bottom left tooth has been wiggly for a couple days now. Tonight I made BBQ ribs, yes, I as in Lori. Sam had a hard time eating because of her loose tooth. I told her to go yank it out so she can come back to eat dinner.

Instead she started digging through the drawer for some floss.

Me: Whatcha gonna do with floss?
Sam: Tie one end to the door knob and the other to my tooth.
Nick: you might as well get some pliers and I'll yank it quick.
Sam: Ok!
Me: No way!

Needless to say, she brushed her teeth and headed off to bed.

Trustworthy, Loyalty, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent

That is The Scout Law

A little over two years ago Randolph Cub Scout Pack 208 was approaching its end. The previous Cubmaster moved up to Boy Scouts with her son which left nobody to run the Pack. Majority of the boys that made up the pack would be advancing within one year to Boy Scouts as well. This is when we signed Seth up to join Cub Scouts and on his registration form Nick offered to be the Den Leader. A month went by and we heard from nobody so I got a hold of the council and left a voicemail how Nick is looking forward to being a Den Leader and Seth was looking forward to getting started with scouting.
Then Nick received the call...

The Pack wasn't going to make it. Either Nick needed to step-up and become the Cubmaster and Seth's Den Leader or else Seth would need to join a neighboring communities Cub Scout Pack. There was no way Nick would let that happen. He had dedicated a lot of his childhood to Boy Scouts and becoming an Eagle Scout. He knew the value of what a child can take out of scouting.

Scouting helps youth develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives. Scouting provides youth with an opportunity to try new things, provide services to others, build self-confidence, and reinforce ethicsl standards. These opportunities not only help them when they are young, but carry forward into their adult lives, improving their relationships, their work lives, their family lives and the values by which they live. Scouting.Org did a study and found that 83% of men who were scouts agree that the values they leared in Scouting continue to be very important to them today.

Two years later our pack has more than doubled in size. We went from nine scouts last week to 25!! This is the largest recruitment we have seen. Typically it's been two, maybe three, boys at a time. Those who have dedicated their time and energy into keeping this Pack alive were so happy to see that what they were doing made a difference. 16 new scouts in just one month! Seth has been the lone scout on his den for a long time. Now he has another third grader joining him. With 16 new scouts, that also means more parents who would be willing to step-up also and help take the load off of Nick's shoulders.

This is exciting stuff! Maybe in three years Nick and I will bring Boy Scouts back to Randolph. It feels good to make a difference in this world, and that is what we're teaching these boys.

Nick is giving a presentation to the parents of potential recruits at Welcome Night.

Not a single child left without signing up.

Some parents even left to run home and get their checkbook for registreation.

Ghostly

Sam, Jada and Reisa were hanging out with me while Nick, Seth, Steve and Devin were off doing scout stuff. I was sitting in the sunroom studying the respiratory system when I caught something ghostly in the living room, like the old sheer curtains that came with the house. Where they possessed? Angered that I have replaced them with modern day honeycomb shades? I was getting nervous when all of a sudden I heard them giggle. Phew!!! Just the girls dressing Sam up to get married. Dum dum da dum, da da dah da... I heard from around the corner.

Girls, and their fascination with weddings. I can't wait for Sam's wedding day. It'll be pretty inexpensive when I can whip out the old curtains to toss over her for a gown.

I've been saying this a lot this evening. Adelynn has been cruising around touching everything she shouldn't be touching. Yes, I need to re-baby-proof my house but I haven't gotten that far. I'm impressed that I've blogged as much as I have with how demanding Anatomy & Physiology II is right now.

 

When I tell her no, she gives me this look.

 

What am I supposed to do but tell her "I Love Youuuuuuuuuu",

so she doesn't categorize me as the mean one.

She's already spoiled by her daddy and adores him so much.

 

Her daddy deserves to be adored - so it's okay. He'll have the hard time telling her no when she is a teenager. I, on the other hand, will be immune to the "but mommy" look.

Wild in Footies

Sam was all about her footie jammies as a toddler. Up until she was six she would wear them year round and all day if she was allowed. For the past year or two she has grown out of them all. I was on a quick mission in Target and cut through the girls section, and came to a screeching halt when I saw footies in her size. I grabbed the cutest one and put myself back in mission mode.

The other week Addy went through two outfits at the store so I had to buy her a new outfit while we were there. It was getting cool and she was running low on jammies so I picked her up some soft snuggling jammies.

This morning, laying on my floor, were two matching wild ones. They both looked at me and smiled. Makes any momma feel warm inside.

Carefree Sunset

Sam and JoHannah were playing on the hill by church. They stood there for a while pointing off into the horizon. Who knows what they were captivated by before taking off running.

Oh, to be carefree.

Positively a Yes

 

Yesterday after leaving the Rugged Maniac I started having some cramping in my lower abdomen. Hmmm... I must have used some muscles during the race that I haven't used for a while.

 

Today, Seth had an orthodontist appointment to get his teeth molded for discussion of what our next steps are. Afterwards, Seth and I stopped at Dairy Queen for a little treat. Seth got a oreo blizzard and I got a small vanilla cone. Something didn't seem right... I felt strange...

 

Our next stop was to Walgreens. "Momma, what do we need here?"

Me: "Oh, I just need to pick up some more foundation."

Seth: "Can I push the cart?"

Me: "No cart needed buddy"

 

I grabbed some foundation that happened to be buy one get one half off, some mascara and colored lip balm. While Seth was preoccupied with the toys, I grabbed a box of prenancy tests and off we went to the cashier.

 

I got home, took my test, and two lines is what I saw.

 

Nick and I talked about having another child, but our plans were to wait until November to conceive. I joked with him when Sam and I got home from horse camp that I needed to have the next  baby in the spring so I could be clear for another week of horse camp.

 

All it took was one try.

May 24, 2013

We will become a family of five!

Rugged Maniac

It all started as a joke. I received a LivingSocial deal about participating in a 5k mud race. I forwarded the email to my boss, Amy, and told her she should sign up. Before I knew it, majority of my team at work signed up. We weren't quite sure what we just did, and often dreaded the thought of the day coming.

We picked up matching tanktops and fun knee high socks to distinguish us as a team. We looked pretty good. Before and after covered in mud.

Myself, Lori Johnson, Molly Spiess, Amy Parmley, and Loriann Lane

We were Team Mudsuckers!

I brought Seth, Sam and Reisa Ross (to watch them while we ran)

I've never participated in a race before and was very nervous at failing. There were walls I'd have to climb or scale, barbed wire I'd have to crawl underneath - while in sloppy cold mud a foot deep. I'd have to run up and down four foot trenches, pull myself up from an mud pool using only a rope in a slippery plastic tube. Whether I thought I could do it, or not, I put myself into that situation. I didn't have to participate in any of the obstacles, there was always the option of walking around it and meeting my team on the other side. I couldn't do that. It felt like giving up. I wasn't going to give up. I was going to push myself, and I did! I made it! I went over, under and through every obstacle there was. We didn't do too great, not good at all I guess. Overall it took my team 1 hour 15 minutes and 05.8 seconds to finish.We weren't there to make the fastest time. We definately didn't train for it. I ran three days a week a few months prior then hurt my knee by running at an angle in the ditch. The week before the 5k I started running again. Something that I felt good about and will need to continue in the spring.

I would do this again... I accomplised something that I never thought I could. Next time, Nick comes with.

Proof is in the Pictures

 

It never seems to fail... whenever I scroll back through my pictures on my phone I run into self portraits of Sam. This time it was Sam and Squirt. Based upon Squirts ears and facial expression, she must be hoping that this loud pig covered child will let her go so she can escape under the bed.

 

Sam doesn't realize it, but I love seeing pictures that she snapped when nobody was looking.

Going for a Ride

It's a cleaning day so Sam and Addy are keeping each other company so I can focus. They still find a way for me to get distracted. Sam was giving Addy rides on Mr. Dobearse (we're being sensitive to his breed of a dog, bear and horse) and needed a quick picture to capture the moment.

sMiLe :)

Quiet Time

Being sent to your room can have it's perks. You get to be all alone in your room full of toys with nobody watching you to make sure you're sitting quietly. Since Seth and Sam's rooms are upstairs it's hard to make sure their "quiet time" is actually spent reflecting on their recent actions and what could have been done differently.

While cleaning out the bathroom closet I needed someone smaller than me to grab the things from the top shelf. Sam would have been my first choice but she was MIA.

After Seth handed everything down I decided to leave him there. It seems like a good place for quiet time to take place. ;)