These pictures are from the afternoon we spent with Connie and her kids. I didn't take as many as I should have (this always happens to me), but I did get a few. We had fun playing outside
in the sprinkler and playing inside. And I enjoyed the little bits of conversation that Connie and I managed to get in during all the activity around us.

I'm back!

Sorry for the long absence. We have settled into a bit of a routine here in our new home and think I have found my blogging window. For now anyway... I have a lot of catching up to do. And thought I would stretch it out over a couple days.

These pictures were taken about 2 months ago during a diaper change. For some reason -- I can't remember why -- I got Kaiya up to change her diaper after she had fallen asleep for the night. Probably realized that I hadn't changed her diaper before she fell asleep. Anyway. She is laying on the changing table. I take the diaper off and as I reach for the wipes, she rolls over onto her belly and is out of it. I had time to grab the camera and get a picture and she didn't move a bit. We finished the diaper change and then I layed her back into her crib. She rolled immediately again and continued sleeping in her favorite sleeping position. On her belly, with her knees tucked up and her little toushy in the air.

That's it for today. I'll blog more pictures tomorrow... I have a ton to post so it will be fun to get all caught up.

Quick Update

I just wanted to post a quick update. I am in my last week of training my replacement here at work. As a result, I haven't had hours on end to surf the Internet. :) I'm sure that will resume once we are settled in Florida. Here's our timeline:

August 9th: Rachel's last day at work (Hallelujah)
August 9th/11th: Tony will leave for Florida, Rachel will go to Ind. to finalize things at house we own and see a couple friends.
August 13th: Doctor's appt to hopefully determine sex of baby for sure! :)
August 15th: Pick up Tony at Airport
August 16th-17th: Get seriously packed
August 18th: Tony's graduation, Load the Truck
August 19th: Pull out in the morning.
August 21st: Arrive in Florida

Whew! Can't think about the next two weeks too hard or I start bawling. This is a bit stressful -- completely exciting -- but stressful.

Ruthie is now living with us. Poor thing is sleeping on her mattress on the floor of our office -- which is a room that is not closed off to the rest of the house. She is graciously sharing her space with us. Most of her belongings are in boxes in our basement currently.

We are still trying to nail things down w/ a place to live in Florida. We found a wonderful house, but are waiting to be approved, etc. Please pray no one snatches this house out from under us -- we have to wait on the Post Office to get our checks down there, so I'm paranoid.

You may hear from me only in small spurts over the next few weeks. I'll be back eventually.

Recent pics

Here are just a few pictures that I took over the past week. We babysat AJ last week and they were both up until 9:30 playing. We tried to get Kaiya to bed before he came over, but she must have heard us playing. I went in her room about 30 minutes after he was over and she was wide awake sitting up in her crib. Oh well... :) They had a lot of fun -- and big muscles Kaiya wanted to push AJ all over the living room.

The other pictures are this morning. I put all of Kaiya's hair in piggy tails and she looked so darn cute. The first picture is a chipmunk picture of her w/ a mouth full of O's. :)

POLL -- Would you do it?

I was browsing the news online this morning at work and came across this article on http://www.foxnews.com/.

My sister has a German short-hair and her husband has a labrador. Rebekah -- this is what the spawn of Ziggy & Katie could turn out like!! AHHHH!!!

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MENOMONIE, Wis. — Debbie Hulleman's dog Pepper has been known to gnaw on lipstick, munch on shampoo bottles and chew on toothpaste. But Pepper got Hulleman into a real mess after gobbling nearly $750.

"This is probably the worst," Hulleman said Thursday, recalling how she poked through vomit and dog piles left in the yard to recover the cash.

Hulleman had asked her mother in Oakdale, Minn., to take care of Pepper and Zach, the family's other dog last month while she and husband went on vacation. Pepper, an 8-year-old black Labrador-German shorthair, got into a purse belonging to her mother's friend and chewed the cash from an envelope. Hulleman's mother recovered some of the money that Pepper spit out, thinking she had it all. But when Hulleman returned from the trip and went to clean up her dogs' mess outside, she noticed a $50 bill hanging from one pile.

The chore of sorting through dog feces netted about $400, the 50-year-old dog lover said. Between that and other bills that Pepper had either vomited or simply chewed on, the family recovered $647.

"We have a $100 bill that can't be recovered because you need three-fourths of a bill and it is only half of a bill," Hulleman said.

The family swapped the soiled money for fresh currency at a bank.

"It wasn't that bad. I soaked it and strained it and rinsed it. I just kept rinsing it and rinsing it. I had rubber gloves on of course," Hulleman said.

"Everyone said, 'I can't believe you did that.' Well, for $400, yeah, I would do that," she said.

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It gave me a little giggle and I thought to myself.... Yep... I'd do it too. :)

So... now the question is: WOULD YOU DO THAT? Comment please! :0)

It's a BOY! (maybe)

We had a doctor's visit on Tuesday and he told me last month that we could find out what we are having if I come with a full bladder. The ultrasound reflects off the bladder so it would help him get a clear picture. Apparently I overshot the full bladder bit. I was so paranoid about not having enough water, that I drank a lot. I was in pain walking up to my appt because I had such a full bladder. :) Silly me... Anyway... when he went to do the ultrasound the baby was sitting Indian style. Yep -- legs completely crossed. AHHHH! My full bladder was taking up so much room that the baby couldn't stretch his legs out. The doctor got one decent shot and said he had a guess if we wanted to hear it. He said that if he had to make a guess he thinks that he saw boy parts. He followed that with -- don't go painting the nursery, if you buy clothes - save all the receipts, etc. So our next visit is the big ultrasound and we should be able to get a more concise answer then. Below are ultrasound pics (you can click on the picture to make it much bigger) -- the arrow on the first one is pointing to possible boy parts. The baby's bottom is on the bottom, with a thigh bone pointing up.

The second ultrasound is the 3D. With great ultrasound reading skills you can make out a face with eye sockets and a chin. There is a little V down at the bottom and that is the elbow joint. Looks quite alien-ish, but still fun to see the little baby growing and changing each visit.

So stay tuned for a confirmation of the baby's sex. We should know in a month or so.

Where have we been?

I can't believe that it has been so long since we posted. I have some great 4th of July pics to post someday. Whenever Ruthie sends them to me. We took pictures with her camera and so they will be coming soon. In the meantime here are a few pictures that I borrowed from Connie.

We went to visit Tony's mom in Elkhart last weekend and our friends came up to see us and play in the pool. My parents came up for a couple hours too. Here are the pics:

Kaiya w/ Max & Mitch (Connie's 2 yr. twins)

Kaiya & Papa

Big Girl

Over the past month, Kaiya has taken up an interest in our shoes. She constantly parades around the house pulling shoes by their laces, or trying to figure out how Mama's strange different types of shoes all work. She figured these sandals perfectly on her own. Fortunately the camera was close by so I could snap a couple pics.

It was very hard to push the Dora car with high heels on... :)

Corn on the Cob

Kaiya's first taste of corn on the cob. She LOVED it. I ate most of the corn off my cob and then she climbed on Papa's lap to finish it off. She got the hang of it right away, and immediately started just cheesing these huge grins. She giggled the whole time she was eating it. Adorable.

Cardinals

One of Tony's patients works for the Cardinals and sweetly gave us excellent seats to Tuesday night's game. We scrambled for a babysitter (Thanks Nate & Maurine!) and had a great date. We did the typical - "I thought you had cash" - and so we didn't have enough money to park anywhere remotely close to the stadium. (Oops) But we parked by the Arch and walked over to the stadium. As you can see, we had a great view of the game and the Cardinals won!

I sure will miss this view. The arch is such a pretty city landmark. And it didn't come out in the picture, but the sky was really pink/blue w/ the sun going down behind us. A beautiful night!

My little parrot

We took these precious pictures after our trip to the zoo. Aunt Ruthie joined up with us for dinner after we got back from the zoo and these pictures are the perfect example of cute Miss Kaiya mimicking EVERYTHING. She watches her Aunt Ruthie very closely and we catch her "copying" Ruthie all the time. In fact, the other night Ruthie was being really dramatic about something and put both hands on her face. About 2 seconds later we look over and Kaiya is walking towards us with both hands on her face and a big grin because she knows she is just like Aunt Ruthie. :)

Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend at our house. Our friends Austin & Kristina came in for the weekend, arriving later on Friday night. Saturday morning the girls left the guys alone with their video games and went garage saling. I found 5 lb weights that I needed for my workouts and a book about the "new baby" for Kaiya. We only stayed out until 10 a.m. and then dropped Kaiya off with the guys while we went and got our hair cut. Mine is right at shoulder length -- it is much cooler and nice to have the length off for now. I'm sure I'll let it grow again... it is a fun summer cut. No pictures for now -- maybe I'll get one this coming weekend.





We had a relaxing afternoon. It was a HOT weekend in St. Louis. Temps were in the 90s w/ lots of humidity. It was nearly unbearable so we put Kaiya in her swimsuit and played on the deck in the pool & sprinkler with her. She had fun. In the evening we made quick stop at the mall and then went to Fitz's in the Loop. It was a great dinner and fun atmosphere. We dined outside on the patio and Kaiya was so good with lots too keep her attention.





Sunday was another hot day. We visited a different church and I had the most embarassing thing happen to me with Kaiya so far. I'm sure it will only be the first of many... The nursery paged me about halfway through the service and I went to get her. Apparently she was fussy on and off and so I just took her out. I had packed a pretty good diaper bag w/ O's and sippy cup and bottle so I thought she would be able to survive the remainder of the service. Ha ha...


I try the O's first... she eats a few and then I think -- you know. Maybe I ought to try the bottle. So I start mixing it and she immediately bursts into tears. And so I quickly stand up -- leaving everything but the bottle behind and attempt to get out of the service as fast as possible. Not fast enough... She is in a full out wail by this point. Like the kind of scream after she gets gravely injured or after I spank her. Yeah -- I think the pastor had to turn up his michrophone. I finally get out of there -- and make a run for outside, stuff the bottle in her mouth and head over to a porch swing in this courtyard. The church is held at the college I got my Master's at so I knew my way around. Fortunately Tony gathered up all my things and about 10 minutes later our friends and Tony found me and we went home. I was mortified... and also felt stupid for even taking K in the service with me. It was just so good and I wanted to hear the rest of it. I did feel a little better when Kristina told me that shortly after I left with Kaiya a little boy a section over puked and they dripped puke all the way down the aisle and out the doors. So... by that point maybe everyone had forgotten about Kaiya.





After a LONG nap and lunch we decided to go to the zoo. It had cooled down a bit and we figured the zoo wouldn't be too busy since it was the late afternoon, a couple hours from closing. We were right! It was nice and slow and not too miserable outside. This is Kaiya's first trip to the zoo where she actually knew what was going on. She got the hang of things pretty quickly... when the stroller stops it is time for Daddy to lift me up so I can see the animals. :) Here are a bunch of pictures from our time.

This is the face Kaiya had most of the day. Mouth gaping open and eyes really bright. You can see the little wheels turning in that head of hers. It was great.

With Uncle Austin & Daddy in the log that Kaiya was afraid to climb in. I don't know if you can see this picture clearly but we were cracking up. The big bear is sleeping and has its leg propped up on the rock wall. What a life...




This giraffe got really really close!

Kaiya is tall like a giraffe in this picture. Here are Uncle Austin & Aunt Kristina after a long trip to the zoo!

Here is the latest picture of our little squirt. This is a fairly good picture. The baby's head is on the right -- you can see a slight profile. There is a little hand on top, and the little legs are pulled up on the far left. The little one was moving and squirming like crazy... grabbing it's legs and arching the back. Very cute. The head is about the size of a quarter now. The total length is 6.37 cm from top of the head to the bottom.

Several have asked me whether Ruthie or I will be doing the training for Tony's office. We haven't decided yet. I will still do some training no matter what... and then we'll just see what happens when the time gets closer.

Time for an Update!

Well, as you may have noticed, the blog has taken on a tropical theme. This is in celebration of finalizing our plans to head to Florida! As mentioned in previous posts, we really wrestled with this decision -- only because Tony really felt like he should become involved with Maximized Living, was accepted into their program and the timing wasn't ideal with the arrival of Baby #2. If he started the program in September, he would be in the thick of it when this baby comes. Not the most ideal situation for our family. So after really praying about the decision, an opportunity presented itself that seems to be our answered prayers!

Here's the plan: Tony has accepted a position as an intern in a chiropractor's office in St. Cloud, Florida. This chiropractor was recommended by Maximized Living and has offered Tony a position until March 2008. In March, Tony will begin the doctor placement program with Maximized Living in Celebration, FL. (Small chance to brag on Tony: I had heard that this program is very selective and hard to get into. I don't think I really grasped how selective they really are. When I was talking to Tony about seeing if some of the other guys in the program can help him unload the truck. Tony said -- well, there are only 2 people in the program at a time. So I was proud of Tony before -- now I'm really proud of him! It was an extensive interview process -- now I know why!) So anyway... our goal is for Tony to move down to Florida mid-July. He is working to wrap up all of his requirements at Logan in order to leave before graduation. Kaiya and I will stay at in St. Louis until Tony's graduation on August 18 and then we'll all move down the day after he graduates!

We will live in Florida for close to a year. Stay tuned about where we end up after that. We are still very interested in Charlotte, NC.

Another exciting development in our move to Florida is that Ruthie will be joining us. Tony and I talked to her about this possibility shortly after we found out that we were going to have another baby. The training program trains the spouse for free on the workings of the office -- and to be a chiropractic assistant. We proposed to Ruthie two options: 1) Come down with us, take my place in the training and then when we set up our office, Ruthie would be Tony's Chiropractic Assistant. 2) Come down and be our nanny so that I can do the training. At the time, Ruthie had decided that she wanted to stay in St. Louis for another year. She had arranged to live with 3 other girls and was planning on staying here so she turned us down. :) Well, some of her circumstances changed this past week and she really felt like God might be directing her to Florida. So this past weekend she told us she would be interested in moving to Florida. That's the direction we are planning in now. She is going to focus on taking classes while with us -- and she will be a huge help as well. And I was really dreading saying good-bye to her in August. It occurred to Tony yesterday that now he will have someone to help him clean out the litter box. Hooray for Ruthie! :)

My last day of work will be approx. July 31st. Don't you love that approximately? July 31 falls in the middle of the week. So I said that I could stay until the 3rd of August, which falls on a Friday. My motivation with this is that I will hopefully have my August health insurance covered by David if I do that. (Crossing my fingers he doesn't prorate it.)

Speaking of health insurance we are planning to cobra out my insurance here at work. One of my most exciting moments last week was when I found a birthing center that is in-network on my insurance! So... provided this little one stays inside me until at least 37 weeks, I will be able to deliver with a midwife at the birthing center! Such a great option for us -- and I'll get to attempt the water birth that I so badly wanted to do with Kaiya.

That's about all the updates I have for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I had every intention of taking a few of Kaiya last week at Tony's soccer game. And then I left the camera in the car and it was too far of a walk for me to go back and get it. I'll have to snap a few soon. Actually... I think I'll steal a few of her off a friend's site... Here are Kaiya & AJ playing in their tunnel while Mama works all day! :)

Strawberry Pickin'

We had a great weekend. Sunday morning we got up early and went strawberry picking. I attached the pictures of Kaiya below -- the little ragamuffin won't keep any hair clips or rubberbands in lately, so she has messy hair most of the time. :) She had a great time running through the strawberries and as you can see from the pictures, I couldn't get her to hold still and smile for a picture. She was constantly on the go. There was a big Lassie-dog running around so she had fun keeping tabs on him, picking green strawberries and climbing all over. She was a dirty little girl by the time we were ready to go home. We got the very tail end of strawberry season, so only picked a couple of pints. But it was still fun.




After strawberry picking we tried to go to church but didn't get ready in time. Instead Tony ran a couple errands with me. We went to get a couple packs of flowers for me to plant in the front of our yard, by the end of the driveway and the nursery we went to had everything buy one get one free. So... I ended up getting some herbs and tomatoes too. When I was picking out the flowers I saw an entire cart filled with scraggly looking petunias. I asked if they were still for sale -- even at a discount or something and she said that she was just going to let them go and I could take them if I wanted to. So... I took 2 flats of petunias. I think I was able to revive them -- and have plenty extra that I am going to find homes for. I think my neighbor ladies will enjoy them. So... hopefully my herbs, tomatoes and flowers will do well over the next few weeks. I have a little over 2 months to enjoy them -- and I think the next family to live in the house will like them too.

We survived the wedding week! It was a great week at home spending time with family and friends, but whew! We're tired! My boss was joking this morning that I really need a vacation now that I'm back. Now that would be my dream world... never-ending vacations...

I will have to make a mondo post about the wedding, but I am going to wait until I get a few more pictures from the wedding. That way it isn't just a big boring paragraph of text. I know you really want to see the pictures. While I took next to no pictures, many friends and family were snapping away, so I'll get copies of those and post them later.

A quick summary is that the food all came out great. I was pretty proud of myself for that one! Kaiya was the best little flower girl EVER! I'm gonna steal a couple pictures from my friend Connie's blog to put here -- she was a great photographer during the wedding and ceremony so you can at least see what we looked like and how cute K was.

Kaiya decided to wave at the entire audience when we were coming up the path. She walked most of the way and then she started to stumble so I picked her up to speed things along. It was adorable.

Memorial Day was an incredibly relaxing day even though we had plenty to keep us busy. Around lunchtime friends of ours who are moving to New Mexico came over for the afternoon. We shared lunch and then just hung out. In the afternoon we took Kaiya outside on the back deck for some swimming and sprinkler time. After changing her out of her wet swim stuff she decided she wanted to wear my shoes! She even gave walking a good try in them. Was able to get a great picture of the little squirt in the shoes. I'm sure she'll kill me for this later...

After our fun afternoon and sad goodbyes to the Tebbano's we got the stroller all loaded up to head to the park behind our house to meet with our small group. We grilled meat and shared side dishes and dessert, played some Bocci Ball, Kaiya played at the park and as you can see, loved the Lehman's puppy dog. :)

Here are a few pictures from our weekend in Indiana. I always wish I had taken more pictures. We even spent a whole day with Tony's mom and I didn't get a single picture. What? We'll have to get some this next week. Anyway... Here is a picture of Brent & Bekah reading to Kaiya before bedtime. I'm so lucky I have a little girl who loves to read books! Hoping it will last!

This is Kaiya and Papa on the lawnmower. Kaiya was really excited about it until she heard the loud noise. Such a contrast from my friend Connie's boys who love to ride the lawnmower with their Daddy. I'm not sure how well it will show up here, but she has a very sad little face in this picture. I rescued her after the picture was taken.

Well, the car ride to Indiana wasn't the best trip. Kaiya cried for a little over half of it. It was her bedtime and she couldn't get comfortable in her carseat. She was still using the infant carrier and was 8 lbs and 2 inches away from out growing it. However... after that horrible ride I decided we would upgrade for the ride home. So Kaiya's sweet Nannie bought her the next stage carseat that will be just right for her for quite awhile. She thinks she is such a big girl riding in it and the trip home was a breeze! Here are a couple pics of her in it when we first got it and you can see she is delighted! Thanks Nannie!

Here is Kaiya's favorite moment of mischief. She loves digging into my purse and unloading my wallet. This is definitely off limits to her, but she just can't help herself.

Okay... this is the cutest story. This morning I was getting ready for work and I usually just pen Kaiya up with the baby gates in the living room. I had gotten my lunch together and packed my bag for work. I noticed it had gotten quiet in the living room. A sure sign that Kaiya is into something she shouldn't be. I walk in and find this:

Yep, that would be my oatmeal chocolate chip bar previously wrapped in saran wrap, in my work bag for lunch.

Busted!! Tony and I were cracking up. And she was in hog heaven because she's never had this much sugar in her life. :)

And this is her when mama took the bar away. A mini-tantrum that was soon over when Daddy started tickling her silly.

These are the moments I live for. She has this little busy mind in her tiny body and I love to see it in action. Anyway... we'll remember this one forever.