Misc. Weekend Happenings.....

Well, as I looked through the pictures and video from this past weekend, that was the best title that I could come up with. This past weekend was a blur, so I am glad that we have the pictures to remind me! :)

Saturday morning we got up and had a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage. As I was doing the dishes, Alex wanted to be in on the action, and apparently I was the perfect amusement park.........at least until he noticed the camera.....

Then it was on to the big project of the weekend - finishing up the paint in the bathroom. Last weekend we finally decided on the colors, and I think that it looks really cool. We did a "Bellagio Faux" finish - where you work a 3' by 3' section, lightly coating the paint onto your base coat. Then, 5 minutes later, you go back over that same section with a trowel, spreading it out and letting some of the base color show through. We did this twice - the base coat is the "nude" that we have had up since the beginning, and then the first finish was a darker brown, then we did this all again with a lighter tan shade. We are very happy with the results......here's a shot for you to see!

Then it was on to cleaning the house. I always dread that part, but it always feels so good once it's done for another few days. I wanted to get it done before the Husker game, and with Andy's help, we did get it all done. Alex still isn't a fan of the vacuum, so he kept his distance while I worked. I had just pulled the sheets off of the line, so he found a comfortable place to sit while the vacuuming went on.

Then it was time for the Husker game. The Huskers looked pretty good, their defense is looking great! While we were watching the game, one of us (I can't remember who) yelled, "Go Huskers!" and our little echo repeated it! It took us quite a while to get it on the camera, but here is Alex's first "root" for a team! :)

Not shortly after the echo, Alex re-discovered a new game, with his landing zone now gone. (If you remember, Alex used to jump off the couch onto Andy - - this time there was no Andy...) We decided that we had better get a video of it so when we have to go to the ER with a broken leg or ankle, we can prove that it wasn't child abuse. :)

Then he put a new "spin" on it - - blinded! What this boy won't come up with......

Then today - we went to church where Alex set the record for smacking his head on things - - I am ready to sew non-skid patches onto his knees and butt! The wooden church pews and his khakis didn't exactly give Alex the resistance he needed to do what he wanted to get done!

After that we went grocery shopping, came home and finished the laundry, and played a while. Alex decided that today was going to be his ornery day - and he was FULL of the weird facial expressions ALL DAY today! He would get into things that he knew he shouldn't be into, just to see what Andy or I would do. As Andy was finishing up getting the toilet re-set (again) in the bathroom, Alex shot his Daddy this look.....

Oh, that little man! Have a great week everyone! Keep your fingers crossed on Monday at 2:30 and 3:30 (central time) while my VB girls play their first game!!! I'll let you know how we did! :)

Jesus, Cookies, and Alex's First Driving Lesson

As I look back onto the title of this post, you all must be thinking that I've been drinking or something.....nope! :) Just the happenings of what's been going on here the past week or so.

Jesus - Alex has some "Arch" books that have a pretty good rhythm to them as you are reading them. He really seems to enjoy them, because he chooses them almost every night for one of us to read to him. A few nights ago, Alex came into the living room with one of his Jesus books, and pointed to Jesus, and said His name! Andy quick grabbed the camera, and we got it! Enjoy!

Another night (or maybe it was the same one, I can't remember!), I was having a craving for some sugar cookies. Alex is always wanting to help me in the kitchen, so I let him decorate. Yes, I can hear the audible groans from most of you, and the rest of you saying, "Stick, stick, stick!" because of the sticky mess that came along with it! But, Alex REALLY enjoyed shaking the sprinkles on. Enjoy!

Here is a shot of the cookies once they were baked. Yum-o!

After they had cooled, Alex and I sat on the floor and enjoyed our work. ;)

Mmmmmmmmmm!

On to tonight! Alex is always wanting to stay outside when we get home at the end of the day. He loves being outdoors, and will go look for toads, snakes, or just play in the car. Tonight he wanted his first driving lesson - and Andy needed to be in the car for the "ride"!

Steering.....

Trying to reach the pedals......(a few times he actually crawled down onto the floor and pushed the pedals!)

Daddy looking on to see how his student is doing.......

Alex messing with the foglights and interior lighting (I'm going to have to remember that in the morning when I turn on the lights and can't see anything!)

And Alex showing that he does have a little of his Grandpa Dave in him......messing with the radio! :)

He even figured out how to eject the CD - only to push it immediately back in!

That's our life up until now - all is going well for all of us - Acta has dropped a little bit since last Friday, which my ribs are thankful for! Andy's work life is going to be hectic for the immediate future, and possibly for a while......one of the PTA's (Physical Therapist Assistants) just found out that she has breast cancer - she has 5 kids - from a freshman in college to younger than Alex, so keep her and her family in your prayers. She is late-30's, early 40's.....so pretty young. Andy will be picking up her caseload (mostly home health), as well as keeping his own clinic caseload going. AND, another one of the therapists will be going on maternity leave any day now......so they are all stretched pretty thin right now. My first volleyball game is on Monday, and I think that my girls are ready, most of them anyway. This will be the hardest game we play all year, so we'll see how we stack up!

Until then........

Daddy's Little Boy

Oh, what a night! Alex's mood, again, ran the spectrum. Fortunately, tonight he had many more pleasant moments than tantrum moments, but he still had a couple......I think that it has to be all related to his sleep, because this weekend, he was fine because he was getting his usual 2 hour nap. He must just wake up early at childcare (noise or something else waking him up), because he's not getting enough.....

Which is why we are beginning to put him to bed earlier at night. He was usually in bed around 9, but we have officially bumped it up to between 8 and 8:30. It seems to be going well, for the most part.

Tonight, as we got Alex ready for bed, we got one of those "moments" where it was just too funny, we couldn't help but laugh. Normally, our routine is to brush teeth, change into jammies, take his flouride (just a little dropper-thing - our water here isn't flourinated), choose 3 books, climb into bed, choose which parent is going to be reading to him, say good-night to the "unchosen" parent, "unchosen"parent leaves, read the three books with the "chosen" parent, get a drink of water, lights out and to sleep we go. Tonight, as we got to the choosing, he chose Daddy to read to him - which he has been for the past few nights. That's fine - it gives me a chance to get some stuff done for the time Andy is reading and such. Tonight, however, as I was saying goodnight to him, getting my hug and kiss and "love you", as soon as he said the "love you" I went in for one more kiss on the cheek. As soon as I kissed him, he looked at me, put his hand on my shoulder, gave me a little push, and very clearly said, "Move!" He was ready to read and I was in his way!!

Andy and I both had to chuckle. As I closed the door, he did blow me a kiss and say "love you" one more time.......what a kid! :)

And here's a shot of the happy bedtime readers - -


We certainly know who is ruling this roost - at least for another 50-or-so days! :)

Our Weekend...

Hello all -

Again, no pictures tonight, but I wanted to send out the update on our weekend events. :)

I had my visit with Dr. Lawrence on Friday afternoon. She wasn't what I was expecting (I guess I don't really know what I was expecting, but she wasn't it....), but I was impressed with how thourough she was. VERY different from my delivery Dr. last time.......very refreshing. :) She did an in-office ultrasound just so she could see everything instead of reading someone else's report. Acta has finally rolled over, but she was surprised to see how high he is. His butt and legs are right under my bra-line, his head is above my belly button. I told her that was good to hear because my ribs are already being kicked!! She listened to his heart, looked all over him (he was "snuggling" with his cord, had it pulled up to his face and was gripping it with both hands), and said that everything looked "perfect!" She wants to see me every two weeks for a while, until we get closer to November. Added bonus - I was in and out of the office in 45 minutes! (Unlike my Dr. here in Ord, where you are usually in the waiting room for at least an hour, then another 30-45 minutes to see the Dr! If it weren't for the outstanding care that we get through them, I would have said "gone" a long time ago!) Anyway......I was VERY impressed with Dr. Lawrence and her staff. My next appt. is on the 22nd (I didn't want to go back on Andy's birthday - )

This weekend flew by - as most do. Saturday morning Andy had to work (which he didn't find out about until Thursday night), so Alex and I stayed at home and ran a few errands. It was chilly and rainy outside, so putting his jacket on was a struggle. I was exhausted by the time Andy got home - I am so thankful that I have him!!! I don't know how I could manage by myself....or how anyone could, for that matter. I guess I have a new respect for the "single parents" - - I know I couldn't do it right now (being pregnant and exhausted all of the time doens't help, either!) So we just bummed around Ord on Saturday, got a few things around the hosue done.

This morning we got up and headed to Grand Island, because we needed to get a few things for the bathroom (the toilet upstairs has been leaking - the wax ring didn't make a complete seal when it was put on, so we had to get a bigger ring - - it appears to be working now, so fingers crossed!) And after spending 1 1/2 hours at the Home Depot paint counter, trying not to get too mad while 4 men stood around the machine and tried to figure out how to get the color that I wanted into the paint container.......can you tell I was a little erked? Finally, another lady (who was supposed to work at noon today but came in early) walked up, told them how they needed to do it, and I had my paint in 3 minutes. Not bashing you guys out there, but seriously!!! 4 men and 90 minutes, and here a woman comes in and solves the problem in 3!

Then we ran to Sam's, Wal-Mart, and had Applebees (yummy salad!) for lunch, then headed for home so we could fix the toilet yet this afternoon. We also had some laundry to get done, so we had the better part of the afternoon left and finished everything. Andy was a gem and took Alex for a while so I could get a nap in. It was just what I needed - - too bad I can't work naps into the workweek!!

So that was all - we will try to get some photos up tomorrow, it just didn't work out this weekend. Have a great week everyone! :)

Different Plans.....

Well, I had fully intended to come home tonight and take some pictures and/or video of Alex tonight to share with all of you - - but as the title reads, Alex had "different plans."

Tonight I think that he hit the beginning of the "terrible twos" wall and just kept trying to run through that brick wall - getting more frustrated each time that he hit the wall.

Honestly, tonight was one big tantrum. I hope that we don't have to have another night like tonight in a LONG time!!! He was fine until supper - then he got frustrated because he had mashed all of his carrots (trying to cut them). He threw his fork twice, threw carrots onto the ground, even leaned over out of his seat and proceeded to allow the drool fall from his face to the floor (that's a little bit funny, now - it wasn't too funny when he did it!). He hardly ate any of the roast we had, and needed both his milk and juice at his elbows. When he would attempt a bite (or a cut), he would knock one of the cups over, and then the crying would start all over again. Trying to move the cups up (so they were still within reach, but where he would not be knocking them over) was pointless - we would be screaming. So that was supper.

I bought some new books today from a Books Are Fun vendor that comes around to the schools in our area. They are some pretty cool picture books about bugs, trucks, kids, etc. I pulled those out thinking that it could get his mind off of whatever was bugging him......nope! He sat for one of the books, and then went over to get another one of his books, but melted down because he thought that one of the pages needed to be separated (it was a board book - with the thick pages!). It took forever to convince him that the pages were, indeed, NOT stuck together, but we shed quite the tears over it.

When we FINALLY got that book read, he wanted to sit on the couch for a while. I thought, "Great! He's going to be happy for a couple of minutes!" Wrong!!! He kept throwing his blanket, then wanted it, then didn't want it, then he wanted his juice, then he didn't want it, then he wanted some fruity jello. He wanted Mommy to hold it, nope, Daddy hold it. No! Mommy hold it, no, Daddy. This went on for a good 20-times. We finally put the jello back into the fridge because he couldn't make a decision.

A few minutes later he had calmed down enough, and decided that he wanted Mommy to hold the jello. Great! Can we be happy now? Nope!

He began to eat it, but then decided that he wanted me to read a book instead. I couldn't get up to put the jello down, he wanted me to put jello on the armrest of the couch.....sorry, little man, my better judgement is going to override you on this one. Daddy couldn't hold it, it couldn't go on the floor, crying, crying, crying.

Do you want to go outside? (Usually this has to be asked once, and he is out the door!) Not tonight! This resulted in more crying and tantrum-ing.

I wanted to make it as late as possible before putting him to bed, but finally at 8 (an hour before his usual bedtime) I had enough. We brushed his teeth (he didn't want to do it - yep, more crying), got him in his pj's, and he cried "Mommy" the entire time. So afer we had finished, I asked him to pick out his three books before bed (our usual routine). Nope - we had to throw another tantrum. So Andy picked out three books, kissed him goodnight, and left the room. Then even more screaming happened. Apparently, the "Mommy" he was crying earlier was only for that 5 seconds - he wanted Daddy now. So Daddy came back in, read him his books, and it's 8:12 now and the little man is sawing logs. It's the first time tonight I have had time to think!

I don't know if he is just not napping well at Julie's, if he is cutting teeth (heaven forbid that we actually be allowed to feel inside of his mouth!), has allergies (we all seem to be fighting some crud right now.....), getting sick (or is sick), or if it's just the two's coming on a little too soon. Whatever the reason, I don't want to have a repeat of tonight EVER again!!

Tomorrow night we have a football game in Sargent, so hopefully that can occupy him enough to keep him happy thoughout the night. I have to take tickets.....so Andy and Alex are by themselves until at least halftime! I also have my first appt. with my delivery Dr. tomorrow, so we will see how that goes. I'll be driving to Broken Bow after school to meet with her, so I will post about that most likely on Saturday sometime.

Until then.....pray for patience!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Poll Results

I just removed the poll about what you all believe the baby's name is. For future reference, here are the results:

Taylor - 1 vote
Christian - 1 vote
Zachary - 8 votes
Christopher - 6 votes
Michael - 3 votes

Thanks to all of you who voted - you're going to have to wait until the little man is born to know his name! (Which may or may not be before we find out who our next President will be! Sorry, with all of the "conventioning" going on last week and this week, it has me in a bit of a political mood! Don't worry, it won't last!) :)

It's Been Awhile...

Heya faithful blog readers out there. This is Andy coming to you tonight, with an update of what we have done since you last heard from us. I will fill you in on updates regarding our individual wheelings and dealings, and then finish with a pile of pictures with vague captions for you. For those of you who are picture people, skip to the end, but fellow thousand worders, read on. Confused? 1 picture = 1000 words. C'mon people. Its simple word/math, or wath. Or Mard.

Alexander: daycare is going very well for one Alexander James. He has his buddies, who I call the Little Boys Club. Alex, Jake, and Dawson are all about the same age, and love playing together at Julie's. They all get there about the same time in the morning, and the LBC starts its day with a few laps around the house. At the end of the day, Alex is happy to leave with us, but always has to wave goodbye to "Jooolie" and "fends" (I think that means friends.) His head has recovered nicely from multiple falls, though his shins may be more black and blue than normal skin tone at this time.

Alex picks up new words everyday. He will repeat pretty much everything you say, so his mother is having to watch her language very closely right now. (Or maybe that's me). He knows the names of 20-25 animals, most of his body parts, quite a few foods (zissa = pizza, asana = lasagna), and is a big fan of the word "outside" (ahsize).

Christine: School is now in full swing. She is coaching junior high volleyball again, and for the most part enjoys coaching, though I'm sure working with junior high age girls has its days. Acta has started moving quite a bit the past few weeks, and we are both getting very excited to meet our new little one. She gets little tired by the end of the day, what with the limited amount of sleep, a full day of teaching, and her little man using her like an amusement park when she gets home at the end of the day. Even though she gets worn out by the two (three) of us, I don't think she would trade us for anything.

Andy (me): Work has been going well for me. I will have some schedule changes coming in the next few weeks which will mean less driving, so I am quite excited about that. We have been busy at the clinic, so I am staying busy there. Otherwise, I can't think of much new going on in my little world.

This past weekend, Grandpa and Grandma Bowin came to town, and we had a great time with them. On Saturday, we all went for a walk to the pharmacy, grocery store, and then the park. Alex played on the merry-go-round, the swing, the swing, and the swing. His favorite was the swing. The toughest part of the day was getting him to leave the park. On Sunday, Alex heard grandpa mention something that sounds like the word walk, and he was ready to go. It took him a solid 10-15 seconds to convince grandpa and grandma to take him for a walk. Somehow, they ended up at the park again, where the previous day's activities were repeated. On Monday, Alex got to take another walk around town with grandma while grandpa helped us wash our cars (thanks again grandpa!). After lunch, they headed home, and we all laid down for naps.

Happy September to everyone! Stay tuned for more updates. Eventually.

Now, on to the pictures.

Alex playing in the car. The toughest part of the day is getting him to come inside once we get home.

Who me?

I like burritos.

Saturday afternoon naptime. That's grandma on the couch, grandpa on the floor, Christine on the loveseat, and Alex on Christine.

Zzzzzzzzzz.

Alex playing shy after his Monday morning walk with grandma. Oh, and grandpa has a toy croquet mallet.

I'm invisible.

Are you guys still paying attention to me?

Alex ran and dove into this position.

Safe!!

X-Games Baby!! (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)

Read it again daddy. (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)

Why did you stop reading, Dad? (photo courtesy of G & G Bowin)

Zoo pics!

Well, I guess that I should name this post more than just zoo pictures, but I wanted to be able to find the trip to Omaha easily on the blog - so the rest of you will have to live with the "Zoo pics!" title. :)

Here's the weekend as it happened:

Friday after Andy got off of work we packed into the car and headed to Omaha. Nothing major happened Friday night - we checked into the hotel, met up with Grandma Le, Grandpa Dave, and "Rah-rah" (Aunt Sarah). Alex was quite the entertainment for the night - he really enjoyed having an audience to show off in front of!

Saturday morning we all got up and ate breakfast (the hotel had an awesome buffet - Alex LOVED the fresh fruit and sausage links). Then Grandpa Dave went down to Lincoln to help Great-Grandma with some computer problems that she was having, while the rest of us went to the zoo. We were there right when it opened (8:30) because we knew that we would need to leave around 1 or 2 - depending on when Alex needed to nap. We headed to the Rainforest, Desert Dome, Kingdoms of the Night, Gorilla Complex, and the Monkey House. By the time we had finished walking through those, Grandpa Dave called and he was back in town already. So, we met up with him and went around to the carousel and then waited in line for the train. We took the train back up towards the front and then waited (forever it seemed) in line for lunch. We ended up having a beautiful seat overlooking the rainforest. After lunch, we went to the Aquarium. Alex was done after that. Grandpa Dave and I took Alex back to the car while everyone else looked through the Butterfly Pavillion. There was a line, and Alex was getting quite tempermental, so we took him back to the car so he could have a little "chill" time before heading back to the hotel. He was asleep within 5 minutes - and even slept as I carried into the hotel, up the elevator, into the room, and laid him on the bed. He was WIPED OUT!! He slept a good two hours! OK, on to the pictures.....

Alex and "Rah-rah" on the waterfall bridge (it overlooks the hippos - Alex was mystified my them!) They took time-out for a wave!

Alex and Mommy looking at the macaws.

There were peacocks roaming all over, and every once in a while they would cross right in front of us. Alex loved to stop and look!

Another peacock......

This is hilarious - Alex was trying to walk like the peacock!! :) (Apparently he hasn't heard the saying "MONKEY see MONKEY do! - this is PEACOCK see, ALEX do!) :)

Outside of the Gorilla complex - they had these brass (?) gorillas outside - there were a ton of kids playing on them, Alex seemed to want to play - -

But when "Rah-rah" tried to put him on it, nope!!

Alex and Daddy looking close-up at a gorilla and it's baby!

Alex and Daddy waiting in line to ride the carousel - Daddy had to be the choice because it was "Not recommeded for pregnant women"!! Seriously, a carousel???

Alex chose a tiger - he loved it!!!

Alex, "Rah-rah", and Grandpa Dave all looking at the fish (it's hard to see, it's dark in there, but there is this big tube and all of the fish swim around in the same direction - it's pretty cool!)

Some pictures from the butterfly pavillion - this one is a blue morpho.

Daddy took this pictures - it's a mimick butterfly - when it spreads it's wings it makes the face of an owl to scare predators away.

And that's the end of the zoo trip - on to the rest of Saturday! My aunt and uncle had a 40th anniversary celebration, and it was madness! :) All of my cousins and their families were there (my sister, Elly, was the only one not to make it - 8 hours in the car one way is a little much for a "weekend trip" - especially with a 1-year-old!) Luckily, they had a TON for the kids to do! Alex spent most of his time on the swing. This was about 3 hours into it - Rah-rah and Daddy were getting the biggest giggles out of Alex!

This is an "action shot" that I am super proud of!! Look at the expression on Alex's face! :) This photo is the highlight of my photography career, so far. :)

A "cousins" picture - left to right - me, Rah-rah, Sonya (Janelle's 2nd), Colleen (Vicky's oldest - the party was at her home), Ben (Vicky's 2nd - the only boy on that side!), Angie (Janelle's 3rd), Ashley (Janelle's 5th), Jenny (Janelle's first), and Heather (Janelle's 4th). It was amazing that there were no kids, flying balls, or husbands chasing after kids in this picture - there are 13 kids among Janelle's brood, and Colleen has another 2. Alex was a little overwhelmed, there were more kids there than at his childcare place!!! :)

This was taken at the hotel this morning. Andy and I just had to look at each other and ask, "What is he thinking?" His poor little head has had quite a few hard knocks in the past week, and here he is adding a few of his own - - why!??!??!?!

We also decided to go to the pool this morning before we left. Friday night we walked around, and Alex had been asking to go to the pool since then. We made time for it this morning......and here's how close Alex got to the water.........

Immediately after this picture he grabbed his shirt and said, "All done."

We did manage to sit on the edge and dip our feet into the water, but that was it. After asking for it all weekend, I would have assumed that he would have been a little more enthusiastic!

And this was on the car ride home. We left around 10:30 (Alex was up at 6:30 this morning!!! Someone NEEDS to talk to him about sleeping in!), and he was shot! Just look at the "comfy position" he chose to sleep in!! (shoes and all!)

We had a great time! We are all exhausted, but I think that now that the Olympics are over, we can get to bed at a decent time now. Alex is already quite tempermental (it's 7:45), so his bedtime will be earlier tonight - mine will be too!

Have a great week everyone!!

Away for the Weekend!

Hello all - -

Just a quick post to say that we will be gone this weekend - we are headed to Omaha! My Aunt and Uncle are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so we decided to make a weekend of it and head to the zoo Saturday morning! :)

Look back sometime Sunday or Monday to see the great times we had (will have) this weekend!! :)

Careful!!!

Before you read this post, let's all have a collective "Poor Guy!" for Alex - he REALLY konked his head this afternoon.....

After I got off of work, Alex and I went over to Andy's clinic because I have been having terrible cramping and back pain all day. I wanted to see if Andy could maybe put some heat on it and take care of a little of the pain. Alex has been to Andy's clinic hundreds of times - he knows where everything is....even what he shouldn't be getting in to. Well, Andy's office is one of the places that Alex isn't allowed in, because he resets the computer and that screws with the entire office computer system.

Anyway, Andy has been putting a chair in front of the door handle (because Alex knows how to open the doors there) to keep him out of the office.

Alex was running around, as usual, only cut the corner around the chair a little too close. He went flying forward, smacked his head on the doorframe.

Despite the minutes upon minutes of crying (which seemed like an eternity to me), he strongly refused to let us put any type of ice or anything cold on it. Believe me, we tried as hard as we could - but once he would get settled down, if he saw the ice pack or even an ice cube, the screaming started all over again.

So home we came and gave him some Tylenol, and he seems to be back to "regular" Alex. We took these shots as he was eating supper - because that is one of the few times he is sitting still long enough for us to get a shot! He's in the bathtub now, because he was just gross from childcare today. He must've played hard, he stunk when he got home!!! Guess that means that he had a good day! :)

I'll keep telling him to be careful with that head of his - hopefully he will start to listen one of these days! :) (Yeah, right!)

One more thing - Happy Birthday to Grandpa Bowin!