Monday, June 29, 2009

determination!

(sorry if this story is a repeat, but there is an addition to the cuteness!)

Every morning Brady helps me put Oliver in his kennel just before we put our shoes on and head out the door. We have done this since Brady was a baby, and the first time he did it by himself he knew just what to do and he was so proud of himself! I say "Ollie, kennel", and Both Brady and Ollie run to the fridge and wait for me to get a treat, like a little peice of hotdog or meat. I give Brady the treat, and before B would try to eat the treat- so I would say "uucckkk" and shake my head. Now, when I had B the treat he says "uck" and shakes his head- so cute!


Anyway- on normal mornings- they both take off running to the kennel, and Oliver runs right in and Brady gives him the treat and closes the door, I have to latch it. Brady claps and says yay.


This morning Oliver would not go to the kennel- he laid on the rug by the entry and would not get up. I had a few extra minutes so I just watched to see what Brady would do. He kept saying Ollie, next to his kennel, and running back and forth from the dog to the kennel. Then he walked up to me and said so clearly- "mommy, where's Ollie?" (these days his phrase is What is that? and he says it about a million times a day, so to hear him put together a new sentance melted my heart!). So I said, he is right there, help him go to his kennel. Brady set down the treat, and grabbed oliver's face with both hands and tried pulling him to the kennel! It was so cute, he was trying so hard. He pulled a few more times, then kneeled next to him and put his forehead on Olivers to take a break. Then got up and tried pulling him again.


I knew Brady wasnt going to win this battle and we had to get going, so I gave Oliver a little nudge from the back and that made him run to the kennel so Brady could Finally give him a treat and clap!


Chris and I both feel one of our most important jobs as parents is to make our children independant and ready to face the world on thier own as adults. Bottom line, to be good adults. So watching Brady being so determined to accomplish his task of getting Oliver in his kennel makes me feel so proud.


This photo of Brady with his Oliver is 2 months old, you can really see the love these 2 boys share. Oliver did not like Brady until he was about 13 months old, before that we thought we were going to need to find Oliver a new home because he was having some behavior problems.

Friday, June 26, 2009

My 18 month old!

Brady turned 18 months of sunday! I forget his height and weight, so I will post that another time. When he got his shots, he was so adorable! He said "oww, oww, oww". didnt even cry! what a toughie! On our way out the door I asked him to say thank you and bye bye.... he shook his head vigorously no. For hours after his shots he kept saying Oww.

Some of his words at 18 months are:
mama: of course! sometimes mom
dada
mum mum- as in num num
bah-ohl, he isnt saying ba-ba anymore, B is really trying to say bottle.
what is that? that is pretty clear, and FREQUENT!
dank you- thank you
dah- duck.
where is it? always with a shoulder shrug and hands upturned.
owwww- any slight injury is a reason for a hug and a kiss!
iss- kiss
ah-lee: trying to say Oliver, his dog. Ollie for short.
woof- barking like a dog.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sunday, June 14, 2009

sunday fun for B

It was so hard to come to work today (sunday). Not only is a so nice out, but Chris bought Brady some cool new toys... sort of a 1.5 yr birthday thing. There were some toys we really wanted to get him, and with him being an x-mas baby- we didnt have a better excuse!

So, when Brady finally woke up at 9 (I needed to leave by 9:15!) Chris had his new "little quad" all ready . It is a battery powered 4 wheeler that is the perfect size for brady! He was so excited! huge smiles and giggles as he drove it around the house. We have pictures and video to share sometime.

Chris also got him a sprinkler, and they are going to try that out today since it is so warm.

I had tears on my way to work. I dont want to miss out on these giggles and smiles, and family time too.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

update

I'm team green, and Chris is team yellow..... so at this point we dont know if it is a boy or a girl. Chris couldnt come with today. But I think I saw a schmeckle!

My OB called. Assured that everything looked good in terms of no reason for bleeding. However they see a bright spot on the heart. He said that is a very mild marker for Downs. So, I am going to keep the Marshfield Clinic in business and go in tomorrow for Quad Screening (which is a blood draw). I am not worried as the tech had a really hard time getting good imiages of the heart because I am just 16 weeks.....

He also suggested I really cut back on lifting as that could really cause more problems with fissures and hemroids. (sarah r., no I havent had any treatment for the fissures besides fiber and stool softners, they really havent helped me either! I had big problems after B was born, and anticipate that again).

TMI!

TMI alert!!!!

So yesterday after a BM, I had lots of blood on the toilet paper. I have problems with fissures, so this is common- however when I cleaned all up I was still getting lots of blood and I wasnt sure where it was come from exactly. Couple hours later and I was still getting blood, but I was assuming it was the fissures acting up. Anyway, things seeemed weird, so I called my OB. Of course they wanted to see me. They swabbed everything under the sun and found no microscopic traces of blood (now this was about 10 hours later). But to be saf they wanted me to get an u/s. I had that this morning. B2 is beautiful! Lots of stretching, and flexing- very cute.

The placenta is not over the cervix, and there appears to be no blood behind the placenta either.

Still no answer about the blood (I am thinking fissures even though my OB disagrees). But all looks good and healthy baby wise. I have some cute pictures to boot. Just need to find some time to scan them in....

Friday, June 5, 2009

Our garage project







I didnt care to take the time to reverse the order of the pictures. Grr! So look at them bottom to top!
This is our latest project obsorbing all of Chris's time and just a little of mine. Cant wait to do the landscaping! Last night we put in the soil and created our raised gardens! Brady helped a little of course!



Wednesday, June 3, 2009

How Mom's and Dad's differ: bedtime edition.

Ever since I started working different shifts Brady has been off. Now that my days are 8 hours days. ;-) I either work 7:45-4:30, or 10:30-7:15 So I will be home at 5:30 or 8:00.

Here is how mom's get thier kids to sleep: Eat a nice dinner around 6/6:30. Take a bath, given by daddy the master bath giver. Then snugle up with mommy to watch a movie or t.v show until about 7:30 when mommy asks "want to go night, night?" and kid shakes his head eagerly yes. Kid sleeps till 5:30.

And Daddys version. ((((((Brewer game blazing in the background))))) Rush in from outside around 7, hog down a dinner, slam thru a bath, give kid a bottle and have kid sit on lap while dad watches the Brewers jolting all over the place at all the bad or exciting parts. Kid hops off lap, chases dog, throws toys, empties drawers, and runs around till exhausted and cranky- then forced to go to sleep after the brewer's have the game sealed (9:30/10!). Kid wakes once or twice a night and sleeps like doody.

Monday, June 1, 2009

just sit down, and dont do it!

So, I told the bossman today about the 40/wk work weeks. His responce was comical. He asked why I just dont sit down in the garden center and check people out and let my staff do all the physical work. Logical question, right? Extremely not practical though! We are so short staffed, and we are all running around like chickens! Not just me!

Here is the perfect example! Just a couple hours after this meeting, someone came in needing to be loaded with Mulch. I was the only person on the entire property capible of driving the loader. The other person of staff at the GC isnt loader trained, nor will she be, she is just here for the summer. Our transportation is broke down..... so that is usually what I do. What options did I have? No sir, there is no one here to load you- come back again later. Or, me just hiking the 150 yards to the loader and doing it? You guessed it, I picked option 2.

Another great example. Last week 2 full trucks of flowers came in. We had just 2 people on staff, and we went from truck to customers, back and forth for 3 hours! What other option did I have? I asked for help 3 times- no one was available!

So to me.... cutting back to 5, 8 hour days is the best solution. If I am here for 5, 10-12 hour days I wont just be sitting on a stool checking people out. I admit, part of it is me, I am a "get er done" sort of girl. I think having me here refreshed and happy for those 8 hours capible of moving around instead of me being here exhausted for 10-12 hour days is the best option for all of us.