Post 200

Us at Daddy's graduation

Daddy and Baby at Graduation. Don't you love what she thinks of Daddy graduating??

Wow, only took me what, 16 months to hit 200?? Oh well. Of course, I finally get some time to blog, and my camera dies on me. I only got half the pictures I wanted to post off of it before the batteries died. And they aren't AA or anything. Oh well. I can upload more pics later.

Let's see, Where to start? I guess we will start with what you are all really here for: the baby. She turned three months old this week. Hard for me to believe. That means that about a year ago we started this crazy journey called parenthood. She is a great kid, and is learning all the time. She has just recently discovered her hands. She grabs for things now. And unsuccessfully (usually) tries to put them in her mouth. The really super annoying thing she does with her hands is this: when she is hungry, she starts sucking on her hands. Not a big deal right? Except, she shoves her fingers so far into her mouth that she gags herself, and has more than once made herself throw up. It's annoying. I have had to start gloving her hands again, because at least then she can only get the knuckles into her mouth. But she is starting to grasp the concept of toys and is becoming interested in them. Grandma and Grandpa Sev bought her a jumperoo when they were out visiting. They hadn't bought her a baby shower gift yet, because I really didn't know what I wanted. But boy am I glad they bought her this. It took her a little bit to get used to it, but she is definitely into it now. Today she was grabbing at the little piggies. She gets happy when it starts singing to her. She laughs and talks to it. And, it lets her sit/ stand up without my assistance, which definitely gives my aching muscles a rest. I can't get over how much I love that little girl. It's trite I know, but my life is definitely more complete now. We got a special little spirit when we got her. I'm glad she waited for us. The more I think about her, the more I realize that the gospel really is true. We aren't descended from monkeys. We can't be. There has to be something more out there, beyond this current life. How else can you explain the little miracle?

Playing with toys in her high chair. I love putting her in the high chair because she can see me, so she is more content to sit there while I make dinner or otherwise work in the kitchen.

In other news, Alann graduated last week! Yay! He is now full of BS. I mean, he has a BS. (That joke never gets old does it?) Anyway, we had a plan- he would take the summer off school, work at Lowes and WSA, and start grad school in the fall. Yeah, HAD a plan. He got accepted to grad school, to the Urban planning masters. But then the school introduced a new masters- MRED, Masters of Real Estate Development. This is even more interesting to him. They want him there, he wants what they have to offer. So he is switching (for now anyway) to the MRED program, with a certificate in Urban Planning. This will help him get a better job when he graduates and he is guaranteed to graduate in a year. So, he starts class next week. He started at Lowes this week, and is quitting tomorrow. He can't do school and Lowes, and I don't blame him. Getting up at 3 is hard. Staying up is even harder. The concerning time starts after summer. After summer, his courseload will be such that any job over 10 hours a week will be difficult. So, he probably wont be working. And I wont be working... Anyone see a problem with this?? We do have a few options we have talked about. 1) He can switch back to the Urban Planning masters, no harm done. The MRED program is new, so they want the students to take classes in a certain order and time. The MURB (or something like that) is established, so it is a little more laid back. He can take the classes at a more sedate pace and be able to work. 2) We can sell the house, he can move onto campus and I can move out to MO. For a few months, we can deal with it. (I know Grandma Sev would love that.) 3) We can live on loans and whatever money we can manage to bring in. When I mentioned this to a friend of mine (hi Jeanna!) she mentioned that she needs a new babysitter come August, so I could watch her 2 year old full time. When Alann first mentioned the 1 year no working timeline to me, I felt at peace. I felt that this is what we should pursue. Then here comes Jeanna, answering both of our prayers before we even had time to ask them. What a wonderful life we lead. So, caring for her daughter would give us almost enough to cover our bills each month (not the mortgage, but other utilities), so the loan Alann would need would probably still be less than what I owe in student loans. I think we could manage it. My only question- would we pay taxes on money made from childcare? I just don't know. I would assume yes, but how? Anyone with experience, please let me know.

Spring is officially here. I shaved the dogs this week. I love them shaved. There is so much less hair in the house. It gets to a point in spring (and again in fall, they get confused) that I have to sweep, vacuum, or otherwise eradicate hair puppies every day. That's just too much for me. So I shaved them. They look pretty decent. Maybe next year, or the year after, they will look professional (as I get more practice).


Nicki loves baby. Or Nicki just wants attention from me, and I was paying too much attention to the baby. Yeah, that was probably it.

I get this look a lot. "Mother, what ARE you doing to me??" This was the first time I put her in her high chair. She was less than thrilled.

Oh, and just in case I had forgotten, this is Jersey's. And she wants to go for a ride.

More coming later. Maybe Sunday??? I need to charge my camera so I can post more pics. But I have a lot of stuff coming up tomorrow and Saturday, so Sunday is more likely going to happen.