Homey Holidays in Evansville

We're in Evansville now, spending lots of good quality time with Mark's family. Christmas was fun. We've been eating tons of food, playing Boom Blox on Wii nearly non-stop (sore arms!), and chasing Taylor around the house.

We forgot the memory card for our digital camera, so we are just taking videos and snapshots with the camcorder. I haven't figured out how to get any of the videos online yet...I have to change the format and such. I'll try to post pictures soon.

Tonight is Jon's birthday party at Ann and Jon's house. Jon will be 26 tomorrow. Mark was commissioned to make deep dish and regular pizzas, so he's been busy all day prepping the dough and sauce. Luckily, his mom has three ovens at her house, so cooking will go quickly!

I haven't written much about the little things going on, like Taylor's new words and phrases, so here a quick rundown:
DA-da = Taylor
MAM-uel = Samuel
MA-ma = Grandma
Lola = Lola & Lolo
Mawk = Milk
Cool dude (with thumbs up!)
Oh no! (for really bad situations)
Ummmm... (when trying to remember something)
UP-in = Open
I want that.

I was also told that when Mark's mom and his brother, Chris, asked Taylor where her fingers were she said, "Phalanges." Ah, a baby with a very good scientific understanding of her body parts. I didn't teach her this.

Taylor is much more communicative about her needs now, letting us know exactly what she needs to do in the bathroom and showing us when she has extracted a booger from her nose.

Speaking of that, I just looked on the baby monitor and saw her taking a break from her nap to pick her nose and, er, improperly dispose of her find. This is sadly reminiscent of the home video of my 2nd birthday party. One of those embarrassing moments when you shake your head and realize, "Like mother, like daughter."

On that note, I think I will go help Mark with the pizzas. Hope you all are having a great break! The new year is only a few days away!

The Magic House

Today Taylor and I went to the Magic House with Sarah and Samuel. They had a great time running around and playing with all of the exhibits. One of their favorites was a wall of pins that you push in to make impressions. It was cute to see all the little 3D hand impressions pop in and out of the wall.

They sat in on story time there, which was a tale about a resident mouse of the Magic House that cleaned up the museum as a Christmas present to all the workers. I don't think they heard much of the story, as Samuel was running around the back of the room the whole time and Taylor was entertaining another little baby in a stroller next to us...and stealing things from the his diaper bag.

Santa appeared at the end of story time, which was the first time either of the kids had seen him. As to be expected, they kept their distance and looked at us like we were crazy for suggesting they sit on the strange man's lap. But after it was all over, they did let us take a picture of them in front of the Christmas tree.

All photos were taken with our new Canon camcorder. They aren't as good as a regular digital camera, but not bad. I definitely like having the option available so I don't have to lug around multiple electronic devices during outings.

Pin wall

Taylor walked right by Santa, unaware of her close proximity.
It was long enough to get a photo! When she turned around and saw him she ran.

Samuel was a bit distraught by the scary bearded man.

Babies' 2nd Christmas - the craziest stripey photo you'll ever see.

Jetted Tub

It works!

Still no shower walls yet - or floors or a complete toilet - but this is progress. Mark put up the green board (waterproof drywall stuff) last night in preparation for the shower walls, but before we moved the large back wall piece of the shower in the bathroom we noticed some damage on it. We're trying to figure out what we can do, whether the damage is repairable or not. Depending on that, this may be weekend #4 with guests and only one bathroom.

Ah, the pains of progress.

Busy Household

Here's a glimpse of our living room this holiday season. Festive, fun, and filled with things to trip over.

With all the family in town and continued home renovations the last couple weeks, it's been hard to find time and creative energy to write. But here's a short rundown of our latest events:

• We had a successful Thanksgiving with smoked turkey ala Mark, lots of pumpkin pie, and a new fangled cranberry sauce recipe (mmm, port). It was such a treat to have my parents and Chris & Carol in town to celebrate.
  
• We decided to exchange some Christmas gifts a bit early, so now we have a beautiful new mini-camcorder to play with (Thanks Mom & Dad Neely, Mom Synowiec, and Cathe & Adel!). We've taken lots of video already and Taylor loves to watch playback of "the baby" (a.k.a. herself). I'll see if I can post some clips soon.
  
• The bathroom went one step forward and two steps back - the tub is installed and the jets work great, but more walls were torn out and the toilet is only partially functional. Plenty of work left to do before we're out of town for Christmas...
• Taylor and I stumbled across a FREE children's craft event at Lowe's on Sat morning. They gave us a kit for making a little gingerbread house with a roof that opens, and candy-themed stickers to decorate. I built the house and Taylor added the stickers. She even got a free Lowe's apron with a gingerbread man patch (you get a patch every time you participate in their craft events - offered every other Sat). I think we'll try to go back next, next Sat to see what the new activity is.
  

I had a really hard time getting Taylor to sleep tonight. We've been staying up so late this weekend that her schedule is off by a few hours. She finally fell asleep on the couch a couple of hours ago and I found myself compelled to do some online shopping - partly for books about getting children to sleep and how to wean from nighttime feedings. We must work on sticking to routines as well; they make parenting much much easier.

I suppose I'll attempt getting us both back into bed now. It'll be much more comfortable than me trying to squeeze onto the couch with her for the rest of the night!

Not Moving After All

Mark found out this morning that he didn't get the job in Dallas. While we are a bit disappointed, it definitely takes a lot of the pressure off of our home renovation timeline. And, it's nice not being in limbo anymore. Uncertainty makes you feel like time has stopped and you have no idea what you should really focus on - do you keep living in the moment or do you try to plan ahead even though the future is unknown? Though I was excited to entertain the possibility of living a new city, I didn't want everyone around me to feel like I already had one foot out of the door. 

Thinking about moving makes you evaluate all the great reasons to stay - and we have a lot in St. Louis: a great church, a great Bible study group, amazing friends, fun activities for Taylor, and a cozy house (no matter how many improvements we might think we have yet to make).

Despite the news, I'm still in redecorating/rearranging mode. I came up with so many neat ideas and got such good advice on fix-ups in the last few weeks that I still want to try it all out.  I'm really excited about actually getting to make my custom curtains now! I was worried that the pretty fabric we bought would continue to sit in plastic bags for years until we were settled in a new house. But now I have some motivation to focus on the projects I had lamented not doing over the last few years - like framing pictures and hanging them on our very bare walls.

Plus, all these decluttering ideas I've had will be nice to implement for the joy of making our home a more pleasant and welcoming place instead of merely depersonalizing to make it more sellable.  I'm still holding out hope for some nice Black Friday sales at Lowe's and Home Depot on light fixtures, etc too. Actually, I'm excited for Black Friday in general.  Last year was my first to go out to the stores in the wee hours of the morning, and I really enjoyed it.  Amazon also had incredible deals that whole day and a few days following, so Mark and I already know we'll be logging plenty of time searching for gifts there.

In other news, the permit has not yet been approved for work on our guest bathroom, which means it will sit in demolition mode for at least a few more weeks.  Sadly, we will not have a second shower to offer our guests until after Thanksgiving...but maybe it'll be done before Christmas (??).  At least the toilet and sink are still functional.  And if I rehang the towel rack and mirror, it will be as if nothing changed.  I'll just rig the shower curtain somehow to block the gaping hole of the icky tile shower-that-was.

Let the countdown begin - one week until Thanksgiving! Mark and I will be hosting my family this year - our first time ever. After my cleaning/decluttering/rearranging madness has subsided I'll begin planning the shopping list and such. I can't wait for homemade pumpkin pie - my all-time favorite.

Last week in review

I was about to go and trim Taylor's fingernails as she is sleeping (one hand and two feet down, one hand to go), but then I remembered that quite a bit has happened in the last week and I wanted to blog what I could now before Taylor wakes up!

House rundown:

• Covered over concrete graffiti with leftover concrete we had in garage. It seems to have worked.
  
• New formica countertop in master bathroom for around $20 (from Hoods). Mark and friends made the necessary cuts and we saved a LOT of money.
• Inside doors are in process of being painted white. The hallways look fresher and cleaner already. The goal is to have them finished before the weekend.
  
• Mopped kitchen floor with bleach, but grout stains are still there. Must try alternative solutions, likely involving hands, knees, and a toothbrush.
• Other potential projects this week: buy and hang trim and mantle for fireplace, remove layer of wallpaper glue from guest bathroom, remove wallpaper from master bathroom.

Taylor rundown:

• Taylor and Samuel really enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit at the Science Center (From a distance and hands on). At first they were a little apprehensive about gigantic creatures moving and roaring, but by the end they were waving at even the scariest ones.
  
• Our Parents As Teachers representative, Meg, said Taylor listens to directions extremely well and seems to be very in tune with emotions (noticing expressions in a book - angry, sad, etc. She also hides her face from me now when she knows I'm upset with her).  Meg was also impressed with Taylor's drawing technique, that she uses only her fingers and wrist to draw now and that her strokes are small and purposeful.
• On Sat, after church in the sanctuary, Taylor did her FIRST unassisted forward roll (somersault). She has become quite a gymnastic daredevil lately, doing jumps and back-flops on the bed every evening.
• Finally, Taylor is actually starting to put her shoes on by herself on the correct feet. It seemed before that she preferred having them on the opposite feet, but she's been coming around.

Other news:

• I smashed my left pinky finger/fingernail pretty badly when opening up our running stroller on Saturday.  It got caught in a section that snaps closed.  The tip of my finger is still red and swollen and very sensitive, but it's getting better.  Thank God it wasn't Taylor's finger, or the situation could have been much worse (see Maclaren recall)!
• We'll have visitors this weekend (Yay for Ann and Jon!) - the beginning of our holiday madness.  After this weekend there won't be much of a break until after New Year's.  We'll be squeezing in home renovations when we can.
  

Ok, Taylor is up, it's time for breakfast and we need to get ready before gymnastics.  Have a great day!

Wet concrete + Neighborhood hooligans = Trouble

The city has been replacing sections of concrete on our street for the past couple of weeks.  Yesterday, the section in front of our house was up.  At 8am on the dot, the doorbell rang and one of the workers let me know they'd be drilling the concrete soon, but I should still have access in and out of the driveway (barely).  As they started drilling the house was going BOOM BOOM BOOM.  But it only lasted a few minutes.

Taylor and I left a couple of hours later (driving mostly over the grass to exit) and stayed out as long as we could so we wouldn't be in the way of the worker's back home.  When we returned at 1:30, they were all done and the concrete looked great.

Until around 6pm.

That was when Mark and I came back from our trip to Sam's to find little hearts and initials etched in the wet concrete just off of our driveway.  Mark did his best to scrape away what he could, but the concrete was pretty stuff at that point.

Then I woke up this morning to this:

and this:

and this:

Which is all RIGHT in front of our house:

I saw the concrete workers picking up their equipment, but didn't flag them down to talk about it before they were off, so I called the concrete company to ask if anything could be done.  The secretary said she'd talk to a guy to see if they could pour a little concrete over it or something, but I didn't get any specifics.  I didn't want to be a pain, it's just that if we are going to be selling this house in the next year or five years I don't want "AJ + DJ " to affect our property value and a potential sale.  Sigh.

Another full weekend

No word about Dallas yet.  We've been getting more done around the house though.  On Friday, Mark took a home plumbing certification exam at Florissant City Hall so he would be approved to do work on the bathroom.  He passed!  Then yesterday, he dropped off his plans for the bathroom to the City in order to get a permit for some of the work.  He's hoping he'll be approved to do the minor electrical work required if we install a jetted tub (a potential incentive we've been considering for prospective buyers).  Mark finished painting the front of the house this weekend and installed a new light fixture in the kitchen (quite an ordeal as the ceiling started falling apart around the hole).  And I did some yard work and indoor organization.

On Saturday, we went to the evening service at church and again when we went to pick up Taylor we were told, "Your daughter is so funny."  "What did she do this time?" I asked.  They told me that she somehow managed to take her ID sticker off her back, gave it to the workers, and then ran all around the room to avoid them as they tried to put it back on her.  Then she tried to take out the trash from the room.  The workers assured Taylor that they would take care of it.  She was also a hit with her little purse, which I let her take in with her.  Half the time we leave the house now, she insists on taking it.

We had a "first" this weekend as well - when Taylor woke up from her nap on Sunday, instead of beckoning me to come and get her, she called out "Daddy!"  Mark was just putting away some tools outside, but when I told him his daughter had just requested him, he kicked off his shoes really quickly and ran in to greet her - relishing the moment.  He came out of the room holding her and within a minute Taylor was fast asleep in his arms, so content.

And yesterday was another cool moment with Taylor.  I was busy in bedroom and my cell phone started ringing so I asked Taylor if she could run to the living room and grab it for me (I think it was probably in my purse).  Within a minute I heard her little feet running back and she appeared at the door, phone in hand.  What a smart little baby!  I was so proud.

Today we're headed to the Science Center with Sarah and Samuel to check out the new dinosaur exhibit.  I think the kids will get a kick out of the life-sized animatronic models.

Photo Friday

All the girls are bundled up for walk

Pot roast with mashed potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower

Improvements on the left: Newly painted window frames, pillars, and door.
Trimmed bushes and removed tree by front door.

More work in store for front: Rotten wood and chipping paint

Bathroom demolition begins

Sunday Fun Day

Taylor and I are feeling much better. We're on the right schedule (even going to bed at a better time) and just coughing a tiny bit. I took her to a follow-up visit with our pediatrician who said she could maybe justify giving her antibiotics if I was really concerned about the cough, but if she was that apprehensive I figure the best course of action is to wait and see a little longer.

The childcare workers at our church think Taylor is hilarious. When we picked her up after the service last night, we heard the whole story: Taylor was playing when she noticed that one of the children had a runny nose. So she went to the changing table, opened a package of wipes, and wiped the child's face. Then she proceeded to wipe all of the children's faces...and then the walls and other surfaces. After that she went back to the changing table, got out a pair of latex gloves and put them on, and then she grabbed a diaper and started walking around with it (perhaps looking for a doll or a child in need of a diaper change). And during all of this, she would occasionally get distracted by the music they were playing in the room and break out in spontaneous dance [the woman telling me the story then acts out the arm flailing and head banging].

Oh my goodness, our child is so funny. When Mark and I picked her up we found her carrying two purses (one on each shoulder) with a diaper tucked inside. The childcare worker also said that she was amazed with Taylor's comprehension, that Taylor understood absolutely everything they said. What a smart cookie.

Today begins another stint of intense home repair. While Mark works on the baseboards and repainting around the door frames, I'll be working my way through the piles of laundry and dishes. Mark's mom is coming back into town this afternoon and will be here until Thursday helping us out. We'll likely know the outcome of the Dallas position by Wed (definitely by the end of this week), so we can adjust our repair schedule accordingly.

Home and readjusting - plus home adjustments!

Sorry there was never a Part 2 to my "On my way home" post. We didn't end up having anytime in Tokyo to use the computer before the trans-Pacific flight and I don't think any free (or moderately priced) internet stations exist in the Dulles airport.

Anyway, long story short, we made it home safely with extra seats on every flight. Though we had a few rough spots during travel, overall Taylor was very very good and we survived the sleep-deprivation and the airplane food and the close connections.

The only sad news: Taylor picked up a cough in KL and I ended up contracting it after we returned, so at points we've been feeling pretty miserable. But lots of sleep is helping us recover.

There's a possibility we will move to Dallas! Mark has applied for a position with Boeing down there, so while we await the interview process and such, we decided to get moving on some of the home repairs we've been intending to do for so long. Whether we move in the next couple of months or stay in this home for 5 more years, this stuff needs to be fixed.

This weekend, Mark filled holes in our door frames and baseboards and then mudded around the door frames where there were gaps in the paint. Yesterday, he power-washed the house and the back patio, built a brick border around our backyard garden, and trimmed half of the trees. Then he and his mom started repainting the front of the house. Quite a bit of work done, but a lot more left to go!

Over the next couple of days they will do more painting, plant some bushes, and start some of the inside repair work. By the time we're done (in a few months?), we hope to have two newly redone bathrooms, a finished fireplace, a couple of freshly painted rooms, and new curtains and blinds on every window. Whether the curtains will be generic or my lovely handpicked fabric all depends on if we're actually moving or not.

Last night we tried the first meat from our 1/4th of a cow (a Missouri-raised, grass-fed cow). We made spaghetti with ground beef. I could tell a difference as soon as I plopped the meat in the pan. The raw beef smelled so much better than the stuff we usually buy at the store. In the final product, I think the meat was more tender than usual. I'm really looking forward to trying out new recipes for the cuts of meat I've never cooked before - brisket, pot roast, flank, etc - that showcase the meat more.

On my way home, Pt 1

We made it to Singapore safely. Though I was originally told that the flight was full, we ended up with an empty seat right next to us. Amazing! I don't know right now if we'll have extra seats on the flights back, but I'm still praying for it.

My friend, Titus, who I know from Northwestern, met me at the airport. He and his wife, Evelyn, offered to house Taylor and me for the evening. They took us out to dinner at a local food plaza and ordered a variety of dishes - roasted chicken, fried fish, noodles, rice, and veggies. Taylor at so much chicken and rice! I was very thankful. It's been neat to see a different side of Singapore this time around. I feel like I'm experiencing authentic Singaporean food and culture.

Titus and his wife have a dog and a cat at home, which means Taylor is thrilled to be here. She seems to be having more fun with the pet toys than the pets do.

We told a cab to come get us at 5am tomorrow (yikes, that's in 6hrs!). It is a short ride to the airport and our flight leaves at 7:10am. We have a layover in Tokyo, where I'll try to write a little again, and then on to D.C. and St. Louis. We'll be back by 6pm on Friday night.

Relaxing

We've been taking it fairly easy the last couple of days - just little outings here or there to keep the kids active.  I've been reading through the stack of books I bought from the Bible conference.

Tomorrow is Nelya's birthday, so we picked up a few little things to create a party-like atmosphere.  At a party store we found a "Happy Birthday" button with confetti and ribbons, and today we bought a box of really nice assorted cupcakes.  We'll just be eating at a little restaurant with a playground for the celebration.

Last night I ended up giving Nelya a couple of her gifts early - a beautiful doll stroller from Pottery Barn Kids (from Lolo & Lola) and a lovely green-eyed Cabbage Patch Kid (from Chris, Carol, Mark, and me).  This was mostly in an attempt to fend off fighting between her and Taylor over toys.  It helped quite a bit, until the kids all got really tired and Taylor was snatching toys from everyone.

I also brought a couple little gifts for Leisan, to ease the jealousy over Nelya's birthday.  She went crazy over the Highlights magazine from Lolo & Lola, and was really excited about a Barbie Target gift card (i.e. a play credit card) I gave her that doesn't actually have a balance on it.

Leisan celebrated Deepavali (an Indian holiday) at school yesterday, which involved everyone dressing in traditional Indian clothing - including bindis.  Here are a few photos of the celebration and areas around her school:

Rice art

Leisan in her classroom

Cathe, Taylor, Nelya, and Andrea outside the school

The little girls enjoy the playground inside

Jetlag and Nicknames

It's another cloudy morning in KL.  Angela just left to take Leisan to school and Taylor wanted to tag along.  Cathe and Nelya are back to sleep after a brief waking period in the wee hours of this morning. 

Taylor woke up at 3:30am and, sadly, made enough noise to wake the other girls around 4 or 4:30am.  They all played together and ate Cheerios for a couple hours, until Nelya went back to sleep.  She's been running a bit of a fever the last couple of days and we don't know why, but it doesn't really seem to be bothering her.  Her body temperature cooled down significantly after she had some water and food.  Leisan didn't end up sleeping again before school, so hopefully she can make it through today okay.  She has a swim lesson this afternoon and I told her it wouldn't be good to fall asleep in the pool.

Despite the early rise, Taylor actually slept quite a bit.  She napped from about 3-5pm yesterday and then was down at 6pm for the night.  She ate a bit of an orange and some cheese and a good amount of Cheerios for breakfast, so I'm not worried about her not getting enough food here.

It was funny to listen to the girls play this morning.  The little ones are still learning names and trying to work out the new sounds those require.  I had tried to prep Taylor to say "Nelya" before we arrived (it was too hard to learn "Leisan"), so she's been calling her "Nana."  However, it all gets a bit confusing because Cathe and Nelya call Leisan "Nana" (originating with Leisanka Bananka, I believe).  So now I think Taylor is referring to both of the girls as "Nana."  And, kind of out of nowhere, Nelya calls Taylor "Baby Boy."  So silly.

Last night Cathe took me to the second evening of the Klang Valley Bible Conference, where David Chapell (the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis!) was speaking.  It was crazy to have come all the way to KL to hear a St. Louis native speak.  The talk he gave was interesting - an exposition of Daniel 8.  I'm curious to dig up more research about it's historical implications.  We may return tonight for the final evening of the conference, and Chapell's final talk.

I think I'll try to read until Taylor and Angela return.  It's so rare to get this much free time without the pressure of chores hanging over me, I barely know what to do with myself.  At least you all benefit from the blogging ;)

Whew! In Kuala Lumpur

After two days of traveling, we have finally made it to KL.  The morning flight was quick, so even though Taylor was more energetic than the previous flights, we managed just fine.  Cathe met us at the airport and it took about an hour to drive back to her place.  I have a future blog posting in mind already about all the traveling tips and tricks I've acquired in this process.  There were definite differences between this journey and the one in June - toy interests, food choices, necessary accessories, etc.  I have a lot I could say about what to do/bring to be prepared for traveling with a toddler.

So far I've unpacked all of Cathe's stuff and we've had lunch.  It's close to time to pick up Leisan from school and take her to gymnastics, but I think I'll skip out on those activities so I can rest up and get settled.  Taylor and Nelya are playing very well together.  I think it makes a huge difference that now both of them are active and know how to play.  It's interesting to think that Taylor is as old now as Nelya was the last time we were here.

It's a really cloudy day - not nearly as sunny as in June, but still very warm and humid.  I'm not completely exhausted yet, so I'm hoping I won't have bad jetlag.  Though I must say, it is a harder to stay awake when I'm not running around, zooming from one place to another.  I'm looking forward to this next week of little outings and yummy Indian and Thai food.  I'll post pictures as I take them.

In Singapore

We made it to Singapore!  And beyond all expectations, we were offered two empty seats in Economy Plus for the flight from Tokyo.  Plenty of space to spread out.  Plus, Taylor slept the entire flight.  It was SO easy.  I was praising God the whole way over.  We've been so blessed this trip.

We're checked-in to the Transit Hotel in the airport now.  Our bags are checked through to KL, so we still just have our carry ons to worry about.  I didn't think to pack stuff for overnight in our carry ons, but we have toiletries in the hotel so we can at least take a shower and change clothes (my back up ones from the trip over).

Taylor hasn't been eating as well as I'd hoped.  Thank goodness I brought the freeze-dried corn - that's been her go-to food the past day or so.  I'm hoping to find something around the airport that she will eat either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Ok, time to shower up and rest a bit before our 8am flight!  I might check email again before we depart.  We'll be with Cathe and the girls in no time :)

In Tokyo

We made it to Tokyo and are relaxing and cooling down in the computer room.  I forgot my leftover Yen from last time we were here, so I had to buy another little thing from the gift shop to get change.  Yay for my new cartoon panda laptop duster, which is currently entertaining Taylor while I type.

The trips went amazingly well - thanks for the prayers.  Flying to Chicago was easy, we had a fabulous breakfast with Megan, and we were back to the airport in plenty of time for the int'l flight.  The only thing out of the ordinary was me needing to wash Taylor's hair in the bathroom sink at Walker Bros. Pancake House.  Apparently we didn't scrub the yogurt out well enough last night, so her hair was super greasy this morning and didn't smell so good.  It was something I needed to rectify before a very long flight with her head right under my nose.

Then, we had an extra seat next to us on the flight from Chicago to Tokyo!  What a God-send.  The flight was better than I ever could have imagined.  Taylor was so good about playing with her toys and keeping to herself.  She took a couple of really good naps too.  I'm hoping the flight to Singapore will be just as smooth, even though she'll be lap-bound the entire time.

We have a couple more hours left before we board for Singapore.  We'll be staying in a hotel there overnight before we catch another flight to KL.

Lots of love!  I'll write again when I get the chance.

Back to Kuala Lumpur in 7 days!

Taylor and I are heading back to KL sooner than expected. My sister offered us a free trip out there to keep her and the girls company while my brother-in-law in gone on a super-long business trip. We'll be there for a week and a half - Oct 5th-16th.  The best part is that we'll be with Nelya to celebrate her 2nd birthday!

So, that means I have some serious cleaning and packing to do before we go.  Thankfully, my parents were here this weekend and Mom helped me clean the kitchen, living room, and dining room.  I just need to tackle the laundry, the toys, and a few things in the basement and we'll be set.

This morning I tried to transfer our license plate registration to the Sienna, going to two different places in the process.  Sadly I found out at the second place that our security inspection for the Sienna had expired on the 15th, so we have to get that redone before we can take care of the rest of the paperwork.  On my way home from the Lincensing Center, I went to Firestone to try to get the security check, but they are all booked until tomorrow.  I didn't realize this process would be so complicated!

Uh oh - free time is up!  To my duties I go.

Doggie trouble and looking ahead

This week Taylor has nearly pushed Phoebe to her breaking point.  Taylor has been so enthusiastic about being with her - chasing, hugging, kissing, tickling, sitting/laying on, feeding, and otherwise pulling and poking Phoebe - that there is an almost constant barking soundtrack to our days.  Phoebe is actually beginning to growl at Taylor now too.  Mark and I feel like referees.  Poor Taylor cries whenever we prevent her from getting near Phoebe.  Anyone have any good suggestions to make peace?

Thankfully, we have a weekend packed with activity to hopefully keep all of us focused on other things.  On Sat morning we'll go apple picking at Eckert's Belleville Farm, then we have lots of wood-chopping and basement-cleaning to do.  If I'm particularly on top of things, perhaps I'll make those living room curtains too.  A girl can dream, right?

Community Group (our in-home, small group Bible study) starts on Tuesday.  We'll be studying 1 John until Christmas break, and possibly 2 & 3 John if we have extra time.  We have several new people this year and a handful of kids too, which will be really fun.  Taylor will get to make new friends.

I must go - Taylor is trying to spoon-feed Phoebe her own kibble.

Last week in Omaha

At the zoo:

Sitting on a lion

Petting goats

Lounging in a hippo's mouth

At Lolo and Lola's house:

Surround sound squeaky blocks

Pearls

The expression she makes when I say "Smile!"

Breakfast with Mommy and Paula Deen

French Toast with the cinnamon and sugar baked in, from Paula Deen's "My First Cookbook." Taylor did well eating it, though honestly her favorite part of the meal was the milk.

Nighttime weaning ?? and a Neighborly Blessing

Last night went pretty much as usual - I nursed Taylor to sleep in her bed, I went to sleep in my bed, and at some point in the middle of the night she ended up right next to me in bed (read: I didn't want to squeeze back into the toddler bed agaaain so I pulled her over).

However, then something unexpected happened. Taylor was fussing a bit, so I scooted over to nurse her and she refused me! I figured maybe she just wanted back in her bed (she is less tolerant of being squished in-between Mark and me now), so I plopped her over in the toddler bed and attempted to nurse her again. "No, no, no!" she howled while pushing me away. Flabbergasted, I rolled her onto her side and just patted her back until she was asleep.

Hmm, perhaps this is the beginning of nighttime weaning? A bit of a shock to be refused for the first time ever at night, but not altogether unexpected. Patting on the back worked well. Maybe that will be my first "go to" now when she fusses instead of nursing. We're entering a new stage.

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This morning, Taylor and Phoebe and I set off for a long walk down the street. A neighbor of ours, who lives almost at the opposite end of Barcelona, happened to getting something out of her car as we passed. Taylor said, "Hello," and the friendly woman started talking to us.

Her name is Jackie, she has lived in her house for 11 yrs, she has 5 grandchildren, and they just put a new retaining wall in their backyard. We had a great conversation, which was encouraging because I often find myself awkward and at a loss for words around new people. It was exciting to meet someone new.

Jackie suggested that next time we're out, I let Taylor ride her bike around the block with me for extra fun and exercise. I told her we didn't have a little trike yet, but that that was a good idea. "We have an extra one downstairs that our granddaughter has outgrown," she said. "Would you like to have it?" Wow, sure! She went inside for a minute and returned with a beautiful purple Disney Princess tricycle. It's in fantastic condition.

(Don't mind the sour expression - she's just sad I'm not pushing her right then!)

Taylor absolutely loves it. She can't quite reach the peddles (apparently they sell attachments to bridge that gap?), but she certainly enjoyed me pushing her all the way home on it. I foresee many hours of playtime ahead with this.

Today we were not only blessed with a new friend, but a fun new toy as well. I'm looking forward to crossing paths with Jackie again - this time with Taylor peddling along close behind.

Tiny Dancer

Check out Taylor's fabulous dance moves. I wish we could capture them all on video - she is hilarious to watch! I think dance classes are definitely in her future.

Minivan Mama

I've been a slacker about posting lately. Here's our most exciting addition over the last few weeks - a 2008 Toyota Sienna, complete with a DVD entertainment system! We traded in Mark's old Camry for this 8-seater beauty. This means if we're ever traveling with more than the four of us (counting Phoebe), we'll have room to spread out. I am officially a Minivan Mama.


The exterior is "Desert Sand Mica."

Note the extra little mirror overhead so I can keep an eye on things in the back.

Taylor has the front row seat for all in-car entertainment.

New Chairs!

Well, sort of. My parents came into town this last weekend and my mom and I re-upholstered the Eating Room chairs. These were the ones we bought from our first estate sale a couple years ago. They went from hard seats with dingy blue flowers to fresh, new, durable, and cushy seats in a matter of hours. Mark had to replace the bottom of one of the chairs because the wood was so splintered; he did a great job (you'll have to ask him about his Lowe's fiasco). We all very much enjoy sitting in them now.



Sewing curtains was also on the To Do list this weekend, but those didn't happen. We had more fun shopping and playing with Taylor and making Bulgogi. I'm still hoping that I can complete at least some of them on my own in the next couple of weeks.

Nuclear Meltdown

What a morning! I had so many errands planned for today. Taylor was bright and cheery, I made sure she had eaten (even a little bit) and that I had everything I needed with me for the day. Then we set off.

We made it through two quick stops at the mall and then on to the JCPenney Outlet store where I needed to get some hardware for our living room curtains. Taylor didn't want to sit in the stroller so I let her walk and she did well staying fairly close to me. When she started straying a bit further, I whipped out a pen and some paper and some snacks and she sat down to draw while I priced a few items. It worked well for a few minutes (a successful Mommy moment). But then the paper lost it's appeal and she took off running.

I decided my best bet was to put her in the stroller and get moving. Even if she didn't like it at first, she would calm down - she always has. Well, this time was different...

She screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

People started giving me sideways glances and made comments as I walked by. I quickly put back all the items I had planned to buy and booked it out of the store, which was on the far end of the mall from where I had parked.

Maybe she'll stop screaming when we get out of the store - change of scenery, right? Wrong.
Maybe she'll stop screaming if I get some Reece's Pieces candies from the little dispenser (naughty mama). Whoops, no coins.
Maybe she'll stop screaming once we get outside? Out of the stroller? In the car? If she gets to play with the steering wheel? If I offer to nurse her? No, on all counts.

Ok, that's it. I'll just put her in the carseat and go home. She resisted the carseat, but the drive was fine. Ah, finally home.

Then the screaming began anew. She didn't want to get out the carseat, out of the car, out of the garage. She didn't want me to take off her shoes. She didn't want me to walk into another room. She was excited about seeing Phoebe, but when the dog pummeled her with licks, she began crying again. It was a full 15 minutes after we got home before she calmed down. A combination of a new diaper, nursing, and playing fetch with Phoebe seemed to do the trick.

All the rest of this afternoon she's been a peach, acting like she does any other day of the week. We drank juice, we ate lunch, we read books, and now she's taking a nap. Boy, was this a roller-coaster of a day.

In the end, I still have over half of my errands yet to run (and re-run), but this time I'll attempt them with backup (aka Daddy). And, there's always tomorrow. A valuable lesson learned.

Sprinkler Season

Check out our new Medusa-like sprinkler. It was on clearance at Target. Taylor approves. More pictures and some videos on Picasa.

A Mother's Work is Never Done

My 18-month-old

Taylor passed the 18 month mark two days ago. She now weighs in at 21.25lbs and is 30.5in tall. She's staying consistently in the 15th-20th percentile range - petite but healthy. Here are my favorites from our photo shoot today.

Snapshots from July

I finally got these off of my camera and on to the computer! I'll upload these photos and more to a Picasa albums as well.

Taylor and Samuel in Forest Park

Running!

Mark's birthday pizza cake and pizza!

Taylor loves to see photos of herself

Playing with Daddy's shirt (looking out the sleeve)

Hugging (a new Taylor specialty)