Merry Christmas!!

This will be my last post for awhile. We are leaving today after work to go to Indiana and spend Christmas with our families. I hope you all have a great time with friends and family this Christmas. These are Kaiya's Christmas/9 month pictures. What a cutie! :)

By the way -- the cat dilemma is worked out. We are going to take Money Bags with us and keep him in Laura's basement until we head to my parents. Then he will go home with Tony on the 27th.

I'm definitely feeling stressed out. Tony is picking me up from work and we are leaving from here, so I was running around like a madwoman last night trying to get organized and packed. I never seem to be able to get everything done. Then this morning I shut my alarm off instead of snoozing it. So I woke up about 40 minutes before I needed to leave for work. Thankfully -- good ol' Ruthie will come through for me. She is watching Kaiya today at the house and I have given her the job of packing Kaiya's bag. And a few other jobs... :)

Time management -- something I'm still working on...

Christmas Travel Dilemma

Okay... it's come down to this. A dilemma for our holiday travel plans -- What to do with Money Bags (the cat)? When we got Money Bags, we decided to get a cat because they are easy to leave alone when you go out of town. However, our extremely social cat loves to ride in the car and go on trips with us. So... for the past 3 years, we have taken him with us. This year, my mom's house has turned into a zoo and Money Bags, being the big dominant male cat is not wanted for fear that he might eat the other cats. Shocking, I know...

No -- to be fair to my mom... she has the two dogs, Kali (Money Bags sister), a new cat Squeaky (who is very petite), and then Ruthie will bring her cat LuLu along. So it really is a zoo. And Money Bags does think he is in charge when he comes. The other part to the dilemma is that we are first going to stay with Tony's family. As I posted earlier, his mom's dog was beat by intruders a couple weeks ago. So I'm not sure what the dog would think of us bringing $bags to his house. Honestly, I'm kind of afraid Tido might eat Money Bags. And my mom said we could bring him, as long as we took him with us to Laura's and didn't just drop him off at her house for the full week.

So... here are our options:

1) Provided my neighbors are going to be in town and willing: Leave $bags at the house and have the neighbors feed him.

2) Board him at Petropolis for $10.50 per night. I would do this in a heartbeat, however, the new cat suites are all reserved. So he would have to go in the old one and it is 2.5 cubic ft. Kind of a tight space for a guy who is used to running the house.

3) Threaten Tony's mom that we won't bring Kaiya unless we can bring Money Bags, and then keep him contained in her basement away from Tido while we are there. And then once we go to my mom's house keep him contained there.

4) Convince my mom to keep him contained in one of her basement rooms while we are at Laura's.

So much thought for the beloved cat. :) I'm sure Tony will have something smart to say in response to this long post about "the cat." But I don't care. I love him...Money Bags, that is...

WARNING!!

Opening freezer while barefoot can pose great risk to your toes!!

Friday a package of frozen chicken falling from the freezer broke my little toe. I even iced it up real good on Friday night -- but the damage was already done. By Saturday I was lovely shades of black and blue. Don't worry -- I was able to go to work today. :) ha ha... I'm just limping a bit in shoes. Poor Rachel...

This is the life...

Tony and I have decided that this is the life! Kaiya has mastered the no-hand-feed. She loves to run her fingers through her hair or mama's hair while she is eating, and she figured out how to do this while eating with both hands. :)

Time for a post!

I've had a busy week at work -- nice for a change! :) As a result, I've been less diligent about posting on the blog. I took a couple cute pics this weekend that I thought I would post. We went to the mall on Saturday and Kaiya is getting much more interested in her surroundings. I was standing near a family and the little kids had balloons tied to their stroller. Kaiya noticed their balloons and started kicking her little legs and sqeaking. A definite sign that our shopping trip would go much smoother if I could find a balloon for her. :) Thankfully the balloons were being given out just around the corner. She was so delighted with her balloon. And played with it for quite awhile when we got home too. In this first picture, she got the string stuck between her toes, so wherever Kaiya went, the balloon followed. She thought it was the greatest thing!

This picture is great. Tony's dad gave Kaiya a doll that came with a hair net. I snuck it on her head -- Tony & I think Kaiya has a promising future as "The Lunch Lady."

Little Cindy Lou Who

Today I begin my practicum hours. Yesterday I went to the site and met with my practicum supervisor. I'm good to start my hours whenever I want and it's pretty laid back. I just show up whenever to do them. So... I have the day off of work today to do them. After a quick e-mail check I'll be heading out. I'm really looking forward to this -- it will grow me as a counselor.

Last night I took Kaiya to get her Christmas and 9 month pictures. They turned out super good. Like usual, I ordered way too many of them. They come back December 19th.

I took one of my own in her Santa suit with the infamous Grinch. I thought it was pretty cute. :)

Our Weekend

Well, what a very interesting few days we have had. Starting on Thursday with the ice/snow storm that came through. I was able to leave work at noon on Thursday and then went home as the freezing rain came down. The rain continued until 2 a.m. and then changed to snow. So... by the time the snow started we already had about 2 inches of ice covering everything. Friday was a snow day for both Tony & I. We stayed in all day, but took Kaiya out in the yard to see her first snow. She had limited mobility in her snowsuit, but she was curious about it. Saturday was a big day. I was taking the bus (www.megabus.com) to Chicago to see some friends. The ride there was great and Kaiya was really good on the bus. Enjoyed the afternoon with my friends and then around 5 I started feeling terrible. It was the full blown flu by 7 p.m. and I was in Chicago with Kaiya. :) My sweet friends took care of Kaiya (and me) all night while I was in bed. Tony booked me a flight home the next morning, as the 5 hour bus ride was not sounding too good w/ the flu and baby. :) Got back to St. Louis at noon and then headed home to bed. I spent most of yesterday in bed and I'm home from work today. Kaiya is at the sitter's so I can rest. Not the best weekend I've had... but it could have been worse.

Worse would actually be Tony's mom's situation. Last week her house was burglarized. They took everything of value -- and all the presents under the tree! And she had most of her shopping done and under the tree. They beat up the dog and trashed the place. Anyway... here is the video from the tv newstation that came to interview her. She's doing better now, but how scary!!

http://www.wndu.com/news/headlines/4807361.html

Finally, here are the Kaiya pics from the snow. And one of her standing up on the chair. She is much more interested in standing up on things, than she is on crawling around. Wonder when we will have a walker? She can hold onto the couch and get from one end to another end by holding on. So it could get crazy around here in the next couple of months!

It isn't quite as clear as I hoped, but on this picture with me holding Kaiya, the moon is in the sky. It was about 4:30 p.m. when we took the picture... I just thought the sky was so pretty.

Boot Camp

Well, the time is long overdue. Time for me to get my butt in shape. :) Rebekah's wedding has given me the motivation to get started. Main reason #1: the dress

The dress is gorgeous. I tried it on and love it. However... as you can see -- it is not very forgiving through the middle. :) So my goal is to get into the size dress I would have worn pre-baby. And to help me do it... drumroll, please...

I'm not expecting rockin' abs quite like those... but hopefully it will help me out. I ordered it this morning. The nice thing about it is that the workouts can be broken into 10 minute segments for when I only have a short amount of time on my hands. (Which is most of the time.) Anyway... I'll let you know how it goes after I get it.

Thanksgiving pictures

Here are a few pictures that were taken on Thanksgiving. As you can see, Kaiya was worn out! :)

This picture was taken on Sunday evening. Shortly after Aunt Bekah left. Kaiya was zonked.

This week has gone well, so far. We have had unusually warm weather... 70 degree days make it difficult to get into the holiday spirit! However, it did make it very nice to get the Christmas lights put up (Thanks Dad for all the help with that! Christmas lights fall under the category of "yard work" to Tony! ha ha...) So, the warm temps will only last until Wednesday and then the real winter weather will arrive. This coming weekend Kaiya and I are heading to Chicago to visit a few of my college friends. We are going to ride the bus (I'll let you know how that goes) and are leaving at 7 a.m. Sat and then getting back around 4 p.m. on Sunday. I'm looking forward to the trip and being able to catch up on life and introduce Kaiya. :)

Last night I decided it was time to trim Kaiya's hair. Nervously I took off about a 1/2 inch on the top. The kid has a ton of hair right there on the top front. I could have taken more, but I was kind of scared. I debated saving it -- isn't that what you do with the first haircut? But Tony laughed when I told him I felt like I should save it -- and told me he's looked at his first hair like once in his life. So... it went in the trash can. I think maybe I'll save her first "real" haircut. When there is more to save. It seems like the right thing to do. But the umbilical cord definitely hit the trash can -- there wasn't much hesitating on that one. Her belly button is proof enough that she was once attached to me. :)

Fall Leaves

I've been meaning to bring our pictures from the weekend to work so that I can post them on the blog. I forgot two days in a row. :) There's always tomorrow. We had a fun weekend with Rebekah and Ruthie (when she wasn't working). Bekah was a HUGE help in getting me organized. We tackled the scariest room in the house (the office area). It has basically looked like a tornado ran through the room for as long as I can remember. I am so glad to have it organized and feel so much better when I pass through the room. Cause that's the catch -- I have to pass it all the time as it is an open room that we walk through to get back to the bathrooms or bedroom. You can imagine my anxiety when company says they have to use the bathroom. :) ha ha... Anyway... it's clean now.

What else... we went to Sam's to price food for Bekah's wedding. Still nailing a date down, but it's looking like Friday, May 25. I'm helping her cater it. Basically just appetizers -- definitely something that we can handle. I love stuff like that. She has a lot of great ideas and it is all very do-able. I'm excited about the chance to save her money.

On Saturday we also raked leaves in the backyard. It was a family affair with Bekah, Ziggy, Tony, Kaiya and I all out there working hard. Took some fun pictures in the leaves (which will be posted when I remember my usb cord for the computer). We were SO tired when finished... the back yard is huge!! And Tony took a huge chunk of time out of his schedule to help with it. And for those of you who know how much Tony hates yardwork, you know what a gift that was to me. My two favorite quotes from him for the day -- "maybe if we leave a small layer it will stunt the grass growth next spring." That's Tony... always looking ahead to the future. And the second quote: "When we move we are either living in a forest (because it is natural to have leaves on the forest floor) or not having neighbors." (Because truly, the main reason we were raking the leaves is because our neighbor is a lawn-mowing nazi. He mows his grass constantly -- always making us look like slackers. So of course, he had all their leaves raked 2 weeks ago. I told Tony we had to rake them before they all blew over into the neighbors yard.) I think Tony would have been secretly delighted if they had blown into the neighbors yard. :) After all -- our neighbor has a riding lawn mower w/ a mulcher so it's an easy task for him.

Anyway... pictures are coming.

Other exciting mama news is that I am about to ask Santa for a night of uninterrupted sleep. This parent stuff is exhausting and I am nearing a breaking point with K waking up in the night and wee hours of the morning. So... the new plan is this (thanks to Jen for the suggestion): When Kaiya wakes up in the middle of the night, leave her in the crib while heating a formula bottle, then take it in and feed her in the dark w/out talking, burp her and then put her down right away. We did pretty well with it. I took care of the bottle and burp, then Tony put her down. We have been making the mistake of bringing her into our room when she cries in the middle of the night and then I nurse her and we both fall asleep in our bed. So no wonder she cries in the middle of the night. It's mama at her complete disposal -- meanwhile I am sleep deprived. :) So hopefully this plan will help break the bad habit that we created. Time will tell! And I'm pretty determined.

Old Navy Adventures

Kaiya's Christmas Dress! I spotted this cute little thing at Old Navy last night and had to get it! :) She is getting her 9-month pictures taken in December, so we'll have her wear this.

The main mission on my shopping trip to Old Navy was to find jeans. And I'm happy to report that I finally found jeans that fit right! I've been putting that trip off since having Kaiya... just too depressing. I have been getting by with my great garage sale jeans -- but much to my delight, they are getting too big! The plumber look has not been the best look for me lately. And we all know that with a crawling baby I am bending over constantly. So I decided that even though I am not back to where I used to be, it was time to buy jeans. I took my trusty shopping guide, Ruthie and we tackled Old Navy. Thankfully it was a quick trip. We found the perfect pair of jeans immediately as Ruthie asks me, "What about trying the new 'curvy' style." I can tell she is treading lightly for fear I lash out at her for insinuating I am "curvy." But it is what it is. And I am glad to report that I now have jeans that fit me right. All my previous jeans have been gaping at the waist but snug on my hips. These jeans fit me perfectly.

I also got this shirt in green and one in black. I'm not sure, but I think I am cooler now. :)

Answer to prayer!

I wanted to post and update about my job situation. Last week I mentioned I only had 15 Mondays left. That has changed just a bit... :) I decided to talk to my employer about my transition out of here. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have a 300 hour practicum to complete before April 27. Originally I was thinking that I would need to stop working at the end of February so I could be full-time out at my practicum site. And then once my practicum hours were finished I would get to stay at home with Kaiya until we move (wherever we move). Tony enlightened me that preceptorships (internships) are not paid. So... we would be without income from March - August. In light of that, I decided to give David the option of my last day being Feb. 28 or allowing me to work part-time starting next year. He decided that I could go part-time starting in December! So I will have every Friday and every other Thursday off to begin my hours at the practicum site. I will continue to receive the same benefits I did at the full-time level. This is such an answer to prayer! I am able to finish my Master's degree, continue to provide for our family, and possibly get in a little more at-home time with Kaiya once my practicum is finished. Depending on when/where we move, I will probably continue working here until or through May.

The Official Halloween Pictures!

I took Kaiya to JC Penney for pictures in her costume. I also took along a little costume that I found at a garage sale for 50 cents (the lion outfit). Thought it would be fun to get her looking so cute. Don't you just want to kiss those little cheeks? :)

Our weekend

Well, another Monday is here. But for my count, I only have about 15 more Mondays left here at the current job. Of course I had to take out the holidays for my count. :) But there is a light at the end of this tunnel. After this job, I'll go full-time at an at-risk youth treatment center through the end of April to get my practicum hours in. Very exciting!

Wanted to post a link to our weekend activities. Friday night we went to Fortel's pizza parlor for small group leader training and then afterwards everyone went to SkyZone for trampoline dodgeball. :) I'm giggling just writing it. Yes... trampoline dodgeball. It was much more fun than I thought it would be. And... in the words of one of the other participants: "For a mommy, you still have it going on!" (That was spoken by the guy I hit in the face with one of the balls.) oops! Here's the link to what we did: http://www.skymaniafuncenters.com/ We both had fun and got quite a workout -- both of us were sore the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday I went to Kimmswick with my friend Nicole to check out the shops there. Some shops were cute, others not so cute. The worst one was a really slow shop where the lady working pointed out that we didn't go through all the rooms. (We knew we didn't want to after walking through the first room.) I mumbled something about just being interested in candles. Something that she had in the first room, but she made sure to point out that she had a hot chocolate candle burning in the very back room. So... we obliged and walked through to the back room... took a deep breath of the hot cocoa aroma and walked right back out again. After browsing the shops we planned to eat lunch at the famous Blue Owl. We arrived at 11:55 and found out they were taking names to eat between 1 and 1:15 p.m. So we opted for soup, salad & breadsticks at the Olive Garden! :)

After a long day of shopping, I decided that I wanted to soak in the tub. Kaiya needed a bath too, so I filled up the tub and she played for a bit. The water had cooled off a bit and so I drained some out and added some warmer water. I notice bubbles, followed by torpedo poo in the tub. Nice way to end the bath. It's a first for Miss Kaiya -- must have been the warm water. :) We all got quite a laugh out of it. Ruthie's friend Mark was over doing laundry and he announced that he would never be taking a shower at our house again. :)

Saturday night Kaiya got a case of the clingy cries. Clingy cries are were she only wants held by mama and continues whining periodically while being held. If she is put down or given to anyone else the whining escalates immediately to screams. It was great -- couldn't get much done at all.

Sunday was a normal day. Church and then stuff around the house. Only Kaiya still had the clingy cries. When Tony got home from his soccer game he relieved me so I could make a dessert for small group. After arriving at small group I was getting the dessert out of my back seat and discovered that it spilled all over the back seat. I made Lemon Gooey Butter Cake. And gooey is the right word for it. Gooey in my fabric seats. Not to mention we no longer had a dessert for small group. We left Kaiya with the group and ran to the store for a back-up cheesecake. Tried to play games at small group, but had to leave early because of Miss K. I fed Kaiya, gave her a bath and then handed her off to Tony the rest of the night. She was crying when I fell asleep at 9:30 and Tony said she finally went down at 11:30. *Sigh* We have to figure out what's up with her. But hooray for Tony for letting me go to bed early!

That was our weekend. Moments of fun squeezed between moments of insanity.

Costume Party!

Halloween was fun -- even though we only had 4 trick-or-treaters! It just means left over candy for us! We had some friends bring their babies over and we took pictures with them. The cute little duck is AJ (Kaiya plays with him all day while I'm at work) and then little cowgirl is Hannah (Nate & Maurine's little girl -- Nate is in school with Tony.) We also took some cute video. Kaiya is so close to being on the move. We've been trying to capture the first crawl. She can move 2 hands and one leg and then usually bites the dust. :)

I love this one. They both are checking out the pumpkin.
What is this thing that has invaded our home?

Happy Halloween!!

In honor of the holiday, I wanted to post these pictures of the ever famous Halloween bib that my mom made for Kaiya. During Ziggy's recent visit I let him borrow it. :) Have a Happy Halloween!


We are just gonna hang out at home and hand out candy. I'll dress Kaiya up in her costume and a couple friends might bring their babies over for pictures. Other than that... pretty low key.

More pictures

These are pictures taken over the past few weeks. The first set of pictures were taken Friday night while watching the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series. Our friends, Patrick and Nicole spent the evening with us. Below is Nicole & Kaiya chilling with Cookie Monster. Kaiya has her curly after-bath curls going on. :)



The next picture is from a week & a half ago when Kaiya was home sick with her first cold. I took a vacation day and Aunt Bekah came in for the day and we went shopping. As you can see... the nose is running. Poor thing is probably wondering why we were taking her out and about! :) But Kaiya loved the Kohl's cart where she could ride in the front and hang out with the Grinch. We didn't hear anything except for squeals of delight. We put the Grinch back before leaving... but continued to find bright green hair on Kaiya the rest of the day. :)

These last pics were taken today! She is all decked out in her pumpkin patch outfit. She has now reached the point where she recognizes the camera and gets an automatic grin on her face when she sees me get it out. This is new this morning... so that will be fun. I won't have to spend time making crazy faces in order to get her to smile. :)

Cause for Celebration!

Tony passed his Part 2 Boards!!!

After much sweat and tears, we found out Friday that Tony passed. This is really important because now he gets his license on time. Phew!

Here are a bunch of different pictures that we have taken over the past 2 weeks. The first pictures are from when my parents were in town and we went out to dinner in Old St. Charles. After dinner we took a short walk down Main Street and came up to the horse drawn carriages. The horses, Lewis & Clark (very fitting, huh?) were very friendly, Lewis especially. He put his big nose right in the stroller and gave Kaiya a good sniff. She was delighted, of course! :) This picture was taken this past weekend when Tony's mom met us in Chicago.

It was apparent that Kaiya had lots of fun -- she slept the entire way home -- not even waking up to eat. :)

This picture was taken on Monday with Daddy. She holds onto his hair for dear life and loves riding so high.

And finally, the slippers... Handmade by Grammi (my mom). They stayed on just long enough for a picture. And then... they became wondeful toys. :)