Gainfully UNemployed

Well, I think it has finally sunk in, so I guess I can blog about it. I ended up having to quit my job after shuffling babysitters all over the last few months, and making life SO much harder than it should be. Twelve hour shifts are HARD to get babysitters for- thank you to all of the family and friends that have worked around us and helped us out SO much! My cute mom and Marci deserve a special thank you- they have both been barfed on and so willing to come back for more. THANK YOU! So....I guess this begins yet a new adventure I'll miss St. Mark's and Labor and Delivery, but I'm sure I'll end up back there eventually anyway- one way or the other, I always seem to gravitate back to the delivery room, hopefully not as a PATIENT any time soon though!! I think Kinder is happy about the whole thing, she's just happy anyway though-she's SUCH a happy little monkey now, I think we're finally growing out of the barfing all over stage- YAY! We're still teething though- she's a trooper, the only way you can tell they are bugging her is when she gets 'birdie mouth'SOOOO cute!

Chompers

This past weekend we ran away to the cabin again. It was SO nice-I think we should just move up there....ummmmm...I wish. We came home with more than we left with though...Cody caught a big old bass (when did they put those in the lake?!), and Kinder came home with FOUR new teeth all trying to poke through at once! Wow- just so everybody knows, teething really DOES suck as bad as you've all heard. Four at once makes it an even more special experience. My poor little monkey- looks like she takes after her mama having to do EVERYTHING the hard way. This picture is a few days old, but if you look you can see the top left tooth and the bottom left tooth, the right bottom has made it through the gums now, but the top right is just swollen, ugly, and YUCKY!! I've never really talked to teeth before, but I've BEGGED this one to just break through and get it over with all ready! Honestly, she's been a WHOLE lot tougher than me through this whole thing, she's been smiling babbling (maybe it has to do with all of the drugs I've thrown at her-Hyland's teething tablets are truly a miracle) her way through. Not me- I think I hurt FOR her, you'll notice I cut myself out of the picture- my face was not NEARLY as happy- more stressed than anything else.

Caught Me A Marlin

It was Cody's happy birthday last Tuesday, so we slipped away for a little family getaway to the cabin. It was SOOOO nice! We both needed the break from reality for a few days. We left Saturday and came back Wednesday night. Cody decided that for his birthday all he wanted to do was play with BB guns and fish for carp (I made him PROMISE not to shoot his hand again). Little did we know that there isn't only carp in the lake anymore...he caught this ginormous (for the lake anyway) rainbow trout off the dock-the LAST place I would think to fish. Yay! Cody got a happy birthday fish! Instead of candles on a cake, he decided to burn a giant pile of branches and weeds on the beach Cody style with a helping hand from our good friend gasoline. Now THAT's how Cody relaxes- it was a great trip. Kinder had a blast too- we introduced her to the swing...

Prince Charming and Kinderella

I'm starting to think that Kinder is going to be so big she is going to eat her kindergarten class. We went to Mandy and Jason's for Tate's baptism last week and Sammy wanted to hold her even though she is HUGE! It was so cute, I'm still not sure who was holding who ;) Awwww shucks- kids are SO entertaining.

Sitting Pretty

I can't believe she's all ready sitting on her own!! She held her own bottle this week too- she officially doesn't need mommy as much! She is well on her way to going mobile-SCARY! I told Cody the other day that we needed to bust out the babyproof gear- he thinks we still have time.....we'll see. In other news, Cody and I have bought yet another plaything to kill ourselves on- a new tube, WAAAAAY fun!

We fit me, Paige and Cody on this bad boy all at once-it was a BLAST!

Daddy's Little Girl

Cody is OFFICIALLY broken in as daddy- and Kinder has found her hero. I got to work the 4th, so Cody took Kinder up to my parent's cabin for some solo time with his baby girl. The pictures say it all. He walks in a room and her face goes into perma-grin. Cute! As for me, I'm hanging in....barely...life is crazy and getting crazier by the second. Speaking of crazy.....I take the props out to Christian Bale BACK!!!! I watched some stupid life story thing and found out he is a totally wacky nut job! A hot totally wacky nut job, but this definitely has demoted him from my hot list- it's not alllllllllllll about looks Christian- NOT being a psycho serial killer on your days off is a definite requirement for hotness.

CRASH!!

Life can change SOOOOOOOOO fast. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again. Thank you Batman Begins for adding a new mantra to my world and thank you Christian Bale for just being hot. I'd go into details, but I don't really know any right now....

Happy Birthday Catherine

Catherine,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you more than words could ever say! You are everything that is beautiful in this world and I hope that everyone who knows you and will ever know you will see in you what I see in you. Thank you for being who you are and for giving me someone to look up to and be grateful for. I love you more than life itself my darling sister. Thank you for all the memories you have given me, I adore you and cherish each and every moment I have been blessed to share with you. I am so lucky to have you in my life and I wish you a happy birthday and another wonderful 30 years...times two.
All my love,
Michelle
xoxo

Piggy Backs!!

First of all....my WONDERFUL, MAGICAL, AWESOME sister (in law, but I vote just plain old sister) Michelle, busted out her mad talent on my blog again....THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH MICHELLE, I LOVE YOU!!! Also, Kinder spent Easter with Grandma Tona while I had to work, and Aunt Marci babysat her overnight on Monday and I just wanted to thank them AGAIN! She had SOOOOOOOOOO much fun watching all of the kids and playing with Olivia. They are going to be SOOOOO much fun to watch as they grow up together! Last weekend Cody figured out that Kinder is juuuuuust about able to support herself sitting up with a little bit of help, so it was time to saddle up daddy and go for a ride!! I'm sure it was the first in a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG line of piggy back rides she'll be chasing daddy around for. Yee-haw!!

Baby Kinder Pages

Where did 3 months go?

Well, I head back to work in only THREE days- where did my extremely fulfilling, happiness overflowing, bliss-filled three months of maternity leave go? It went too fast, that's all I know. By the time I sorted out all the problems with breastfeeding, mastitis, and WICKED post partum anxiety/depression....POOF! I'm back in the working world again. I guess it isn't necessarily a bad thing though, with Cody on the road all week, being home 24/7 with nobody but a cat and a newborn to talk to has made me a little crazier than usual. I must say, after working labor and delivery for SEVEN years (yes, SEVEN), as much as I THOUGHT I knew about post partum depression, NOTHING prepares you for it......I have TOTALLY changed my view about it, AND the entire birth experience now. For those of you out there who have experienced it- I have a new found PROFOUND respect for you. It has been one of the toughest things I've ever had to tackle. THIS....

.

is the only thing that has gotten me through- it's amazing how one little smile can completely fix EVERYthing. One more little thing before I go.... this cute little video was Kinder talking to Cody yesterday morning- I had to post it.....cheesy first time mom stuff, I know, but it was cute anyway. She's definately a daddy's girl- he got her first actual laugh this morning before he left :)

Digital Scrapbook Pages Again!!!

Cody and Kylie.

Kitty Time!

Sleeping Kinder.

Brother Cody.

Cody Then and Now.

Cody and Catherine.

Wild Ride!!

I finally got the baby to sleep for FIVE SECONDS, so I thought I'd update everybody super quick- life is CRAZY, I still haven't figured out how to balance a baby, a giant toddler (Cody), a small business, and my TRASHED house...did I mention I go back to work in a few more weeks? Needless to say, I'm a little overwhelmed, but Kinder has been so cute and is growing too fast. I have GOT to take a minute and get some more pictures for Michelle. Speaking of....PLEASE check out her new blog site Words Imagined- I suck at posting links, but if you just go to her blog from my family and friends list, she has a link to get there- it is SOOOOOOO cool what she's been doing, and I'm SOOOOO amazed at her talent for digital scrapbooking- ROCK ON MICHELLEO!!!!!

Casablanca

Once upon a time...

Dad

Call the Cops

8 months is a LONG time!

Hearts and Stars

A big huge THANK YOU!!!!!

Michelleo has done such a cute job on these scrapbooking pages, I just had to leave a little thank you for her- she has worked COUNTLESS sleepless hours to make those, and I just love EVERY one!!! Everytime I jump on my blog I find something new to make my hormones overrun and I end up crying- good crying, mommy crying :) I'm not sure if it's due to hormones or the two hours of sleep I'm lucky to get with Kinder the colic monster. Awww- but I love that little monster!! This mom thing ROCKS- it's HARD, but it's been soooooooo worth the fight to get here. She amazes me every second as I'm watching her grow and change every day. She's almost actually due- a week from today she was SUPPOSED to get here, a week from Tuesday, she'll be a month old!! Time is all ready flying (that's why there are so many little girl songs that make me cry on my blog now). Anyway- THANK YOU AGAIN MICHELLE!!! I LOVE YOU TONS!!!!

Who doesn't love baby pictures?

Stealing IS okay!