Merry Christmas!

It has been so difficult to get myself to post lately, but I'm going to make a new year's resolution to post weekly with photos. I feel like when I actually do have some spare time I end up doing house work-- no fun. I have an ongoing list of things I'd like to get done in 2009 such as Eli's baby book and scrapbook, updating Keenan's baby book, and finally putting together our wedding scrapbook. That's a laugh. Aaron is always making fun of my ongoing effort to produce our wedding scrapbook. I will get it done one of these days.

We had our very first "Grown Up" Christmas. It was the first Christmas when Aaron and I were able to stay in town and decide what "we" wanted to do. We just had to spend Christmas Day with Aaron's family. I wanted to establish some of our own traditions this year, so we made a nice dinner on x-mas eve and we let the boys open one present (which I picked out), I bought them matching pj's to wear. Aaron and I stayed up late drinking wine and putting together Eli's gift. Christmas morning the boys actually slept in a little longer which was great, then we went down to open gifts. Eli had fun opening everyone's presents. Keenan did not really know what was going on, but was having fun watching Eli having fun. Eli's big gift from Santa was a train table. Eli is absolutely crazy about Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends so he was very excited about his gift. "Keenan-zilla" destroys whatever Eli builds, Eli gets frustrated, but is learning how to deal. After our gift opening, we went to 10AM mass, of course we can never get there on time, so it was more like 1030. Then we went over to Brian's for Christmas brunch. It was yummy food and great company. Eli and Keenan enjoyed all their new toys, and the adults also enjoyed their new toys(mine was an i-phone).

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Time Flies

Thanks-mas came and went. I have been flying in fast forward mode ever since. We had a really nice time together. Thanksgivng was stressful until we got the food on the table, then I was able to relax. Thank God for alcohol consuption while cooking!Max and Eli really get along well. They play very well together.

Elin and I were able to have a whole day of shopping, but I was shopped out-- I still am, thank goodness for online shopping.

Here is a picture of the boys who were patiently awaiting opening the gifts.



Here they are, the last few minutes of taking pictures. My Mom insisted on taking pics with them. Hilarious...



One of my best friends, Vinnie, and her husband Dustin had a baby girl on Thanksgiving Day! Emmas Marie was born. She is beautiful and we cannot wait to meet another honk-a-pina! Congrats!

After everyone left on Sunday, I had to travel to Madison for training. It was a great training, and I was able to hang with Elin, Brady, and Max. It was snowing and freezing in Mad-town. I was glad to get home.

Hoo Hoo Hoo!

We are preparing for the annual family invasion. My parents and my sister, Elin, and her family will be arriving this week to celebrate Thanksgiving and "Thanks-mas". We have had the "Thanks-mas" tradition since my sister was married. We have a traditional Thanksgiving, then on Friday we transform my house into a Christmas haven-- tree and all, and do some major power shopping so we can have "Christmas" on Saturday. It's fun, but stressful at times. This year, I'm prepared. I have all of our shopping done, and I've already done the wrapping too. I might even have some Christmas decor up before everyone arrives.

We are also expanding our guest list for Thanksgiving dinner. Now that Aaron's family is in town. They will be joining us for the feast. We bought a 20+lb turkey this year. Should be a good time. Especially with Max and Eli running around. Keenan I know will enjoy just watching all the commotion.

Eli is pretty cute. He loves Winnie the Pooh books. He memorizes the books and can recite the lines. His favorite thing to do before betime is "bounce" like Tigger. He bounces on Aaron, and says. "Hoo hoo hoo!" and Aaron says. "Eli, will you ever stop bouncing?" and Eli says, "Bouncing is what Tigger does best! TTFN-- tah tah for now!" So funny.

Keenan is really moving around and now he is pulling himself up! He can pull himself up in his crib and he has figured out how to stick his butt out and let himself gently down. Aaron took him to the doctor because his eyes had been kind of goopy, but getting better. Turns out he has an ear infection, so he's on antibiotics. His eczema has been xoming and going too. So we changed his lotion to Eucerin from Aveeno. Hope that helps!

I'll post a "Tigger" video soon. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

"Mommy you're a girl and I'm a boy"

Eli cracks me up. He says the funniest things, such as this evening, when he was stalling at bedtime, after tucking him in he gets out of bed and says he has to go to the bathroom, which he usually really does need to go, but it is a stall tactic. He said, "Mommy, you pee sitting down because you're a girl, and I pee standing up because I'm a boy. Nana sits when she pees too. She's a girl."

Sometimes when we ask him a question and he does not want to do it such as,
Me: "Eli, do you want a waffle?"
Eli: "No thank you"
Me: "Well, I'm going to make one for myself"
Eli: (On the verge of freaking out)"No, I don't want a waffle EITHER"
When he protests he loves to use the word EITHER. Aaron and I have to laugh.

This morning, Eli and Keenan were playing. Keenan is now crawling, therefore, he likes to be right next to his big brother. Eli was playing with his trains and Keenan crawled up to him and started putting the tracks in his mouth. Eli said to Keenan, "Baby Keenan, that's not s cookie!"

Last, but not least. When we were watching the news after the elections, they flashed a picture of the White House. Eli said, "That's MY house". So I told him, "It sure CAN be your house when you grow up!"

Halloween

I took so many pictures of Keenan, because he would not stop posing, recognize the costume?

Eli is Mater, the tow truck from the movie "Cars", and Keenan's costume is pretty self-explanatory

We had a neighborhood "Halloween Parade"-- all the kids posing

New Opportunity!

As most of you know, I have accepted a position at KUMed as a Clinical Analyst. It has been a great transition. I wish I had some time off in between jobs, but KU really wanted me to start right away. For those of you who want to know what I will be doing exactly, I am going to be helping design, build, and implement the EMR (electronic medical record). It's something I wanted to do at my previous company, but was having a hard time finding a role where I would not have to travel 80% of the time. Now, I only have a 2.5 mile commute. It's great! I will have to travel to Madison to do some trainings, but I'm looking forward to it, so I can visit my sister while I'm there.

Everything just worked out in my favor. I had met some very cool people and I left a great team, but I am so excited to be back at KU! Leaving the boys' daycare was the most traumatic for me. The teachers at Innovation Kids were awesome! They made cards and signs for Eli and Keenan, and Tina, Eli's main teacher was in tears when we left. I unfortunately did not have my camera to take pics of the boys and their teachers, but I know they took some pics.

We found a new school for Eli, and he is enjoying it. The first week was a little rough. His first day he was excited to go to his "new school", the next day was fine too. Then by Wednesday Eli was asking to go to "school", not my "new school". He said he wanted to see Tina. When I brought him to his "new school", I had to leave him in tears. This week is better now, and he can tell me names of his new friends.
His school is very similar to where he was going, at least all of the activities. It is not Montessori, but the lead teacher/owner bases her teachings on European teachings. The program is for 2-5 year old only. By the time kids leave there, they can read, add, subtract, and do some multiplication. They have music, dance, and art.

Keenan is being watched by our nanny, our "Granny Nanny" that is. He is trying to crawl. He has been successful too, but gets really frustrated when he cannot move forward. He also has two bottom teeth now! This morning I found him sitting up in his crib and when he saw me he pulled himself up very briefly, then fell down.

Well, that is a super bried catch up on what's going on here. My life has been a little consumed for the past month, so I hope I can stay on top of my blog again!

I Finished!

I ran the KC Half Marathon on Saturday, the 18th. It was a great race! I felt really good throughout. I ran with Rhonda and Holly. Unfortunately, our friend Becky had injured herself a month or two ago, so she was not able to run with us. Rhonda, Holly and I were keeping up with a 2:20 pace until about mile 8 when we hit a wall. I think I could have kept going, but it's no fun to run by myself. Aaron and Eli met us about mile 10, I needed the hugs! Eli was shy at first, but Aaron said tht after we left them Eli started running after me saying, "Mommy! Wait for me!"

When we got to mile 12 I broke away and had a pretty fast rhythm until the end, I was trying to beat my time from the half in 2006, but was unsuccessful. I do have to say the hills did not kill me, I felt great! The weather was awesome!

Overall, I was pleased! I mean, I just had a baby in March, and here I am in October running a half marathon! Who knew!

Keenan's Baptism

My family all came to Kansas City for Keenan's baptism the last weekend of September. My sister and Max arrived on Friday night. Elin was so sweet to cook us all dinner-- it was fantastic, but unfortunately Aaron was not able to enjoy it. He acquired a sinus infection, so he was out the ENTIRE weekend.

Saturday morning, I had already committed to myself that I would do my long run, so I had asked my sister ahead of time if that would be ok. She had to endure taking care of all three kiddos since Aaron was out of commission. Max and Eli are pretty easy. They get along great, they play really well together. I wish we lived closer so they could see each other more often! I ended up running the length of the half marathon because part of our route was not marked. I was pretty wiped out after our run. When I got home Elin was in the bathroom with Eli, Keenan was screaming, and Max was just hanging out. What fun! She did a great job with them, they were all fed and dressed, what more can I ask for?

Mom and Dad arrived then we went to the airport to pick up my cousins, Roselle and Jess, and my aunt from Chicago. I opted to go to the airport, so my Mom and Elin watched the boys. When we arrived from the airport, we decided to do a little shopping while the "Lolas" watched the boys. We had fun in the short time. Mom and Dad wanted to take us all out to dinner to Strouds. We are able to walk from our house there, so I was able to put Keenan to bed then I walked to meet them all there. They had brought Eli with them, but once I got there he only wanted to be with me. He was not acting like himself at all, I thought he was tired. Then all of a sudden he started puking. Poor Eli. I carried him all the way home, gave him a bath and put him to bed.

Sunday, Aaron was feeling a little better. He was finally trying to keep on top of the Tylenol instead of feeling completely like crap, having a fever and then taking the medicine. He admitted to me later that he almost asked me to call an ambulance he was feeling so badly. I just had to laugh at how ridiculous he was being-- sorry, I'm completely unsympathetic to my sick husband.

The baptism was very nice, we were the only family there, and it was very special. Aaron almost passed out and John smothered flame of the baptismal candle. A very memorable ceremony. My family and Aaron's family were all there to witness the event. Keenan slept for most of it! I think I sprained my arm from holding him the entire time.Everyone came to our house for some BBQ afterwards.

The next morning the cousins were planning on doing some power shopping and we recruited the "Lolas and Lolo" to watch the boys, unfortunately Max had the pukey virus Eli must have had. Poor thing was puking all morning and puked on the way to the airport too.

What an exhausting weekend for everyone! At least we were able to be together!

Keenan is 6 Months

6 Month Stats:
Height:28.5 inches (>97%)
Weight:23 lbs. & 11.6 oz. (>97%)
Head Circum:17.5 inches (74%)

Keenan can sit up really well now. He is leaning forward while sitting up so I think he'll try crawling soon. He loves to grab anything within reach including my hair-- can be painful! He is ticklish and loves to laugh. He is totally fascinated with Eli, and Eli can make him laugh in a heart beat.

Keenan did make my heart melt when he started saying "Mama"! He is a really sweet baby. He is now eating cereal mixed with veggies or fruit twice a day and taking about 30 oz of formula a day. His eyes are now a hazel color, and his hair is growing more in the front with his signature "tuft" sticking up in back. He is napping regularly and goes to bed around 7-7:30PM.

He received 4 shots at his six month appt, including his first flu shot. He actually was a happy baby the day after his shots!

Sick Kids!

This week was a fun one! On Monday I had predicted to Aaron that Keenan was going to get sick today, because he had a runny nose. Around 3 PM, Keenan's teached called saying Keenan had diarrha twice and she already had to send someone else home too. I gladly packed up my things, because I too was not having a good day at work, and left to go pick him and Eli up so Aaron could work late. I got Keenan and he was acting normal minus the butt issue, then I went to get Eli. Once Eli closed the classroom door to walk into the hallway he started crying and I did not know what was wrong, then he started puking up his lunch. Poor baby. He did feel much better after that, and I was secretly thankful the puking happened there than in the car! I called Aaron to let him know we had 2 sick kids, not just 1! What a new experience for me.

We kept them both home Tuesday and Wednesday. Nana Rourke came over to watch the boys. Aaron ended up staying home too, which I'm glad because I think it's tought to watch them both when they are both sick. Aaron took Eli to the doc on Tuesday because we was just not himself. He was quiet and just wanted to lay down, he could not keep anything down. He has some sort of viral gastoenteritis so we just had to let it pass. He was feeling better by the end of the day on Tuesday. Keenan was pretty much himself all day Tuesday, but when it came down to sleeping that night, he was up all night. I thought he had an ear infection because every time I would lay him down he would start screaming, so I took him to the doctor Wednesday morning. Keenan's ears were clear, and he had a low grade temp, so the NP was thinking he is teething, she did think he had a virus, but teething and virus have such similar symptoms. She said to treat it with Tylenol or Motrin. Keenan was not himself all day, we had to hold him to keep him pacified. I think it's because he did not sleep much the night before.

It's just not fun having sick kids!

5 Year Wedding Anniversary

September 13th Aaron and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. We were blessed because Nana and Pop Pop Rourke agreed to watch Eli and Keenan for the weekend so we could go on our "Stay-Cation"! We stayed the weekend at the Historic Hotel Philips downtown KC.. The weekend started with a tornado warning and down pour before we even left. We did not leave the house until close to 7pm, but we made it! Aaron and I went to the P& L district within walking distance from our hotel and watch KU lose, unfortuntely. Then we met up with some friends at our hotel bar who graciously added a round of drinks on our tab. LOL! We went on an interesting adventure with them, I won't even go into it. Let's just say, we were all over served!

Saturday, we slept in, then got breakfast at Rm 39. OMG! It was awesome! Our friend Emily keeps suggesting it to us and we were finally able to go, their steak and eggs are phenomenal! Their coffee is exquisite, and this strawberry jam, which we learned they get from Costco was delicious! I cannot wait to go back! After brunch, we decided to check on the boys since we were so close. I was able to get my kisses and hugs in and they were doing great. So, I took up the opportunity of Aaron asking to go SHOPPING!

We were both still tired, but we decided to buy some new clothes since I back in my pre-prego sizes and Aaron's closet is full of old clothes. We had our "Pretty Woman" episode. We had fun. Then we both hit a wall so we got at snack at McCormick and Schmick's which totally hit the spot and went back to the Hotel to take a nap. We slept until around 7PM. We had a late dinner at Nara downtown (http://www.narakc.com/). It was a nice quiet dinner. Then we had an un-impressive dessert at the hotel restaurant.

Our weekend ended with a huge brunch and a trip to Sam's to buy formula and diapers! You've gotta love being a parent! Overall, Aaron and I had a nice romantic weekend which was needed terribly! Hopefully we can make this a yearly tradition

Girlfriends

Vinnie



Kelly



Erin

Lawrence

Saturday I woke up and ran 8 miles with Rhonda, Becky pulled a muscle, so she's out for the weekend. It was a pretty good run. We went and had a quick coffee afterwards because I had to get to Lawrence to meet my old roommates, Erin and Kelly at 11AM. Aaron's parents are both in town, so they spent the night the night before and had taken the boys to the park in the morning. Aaron was staining our deck so they were helping out.

I saw the boys briefly before I left, then headed out. It took about 45 minutes door to door to Aaron's house. It was first time to meet Miss Cleo, she is a sweetie. It was also my first time at their newer house. It is very cute and they have such an eclectic style. Gus reminds me so much of Eli, I just want to squeeze his cheeks!

The 3 of us ladies headed to lunch on Mass St. We ate at Ingredient. I ate at the one in Overland Park the day before with my friend Julie, and had tasted her turkey burger, so I had that, it was great! We had a great time catching up, we had so much to talk about. Then we went to a spa to get our mails done. Erin had a mani, and Kelly and I had pedis. It was nice to have my feet taken care of after a long run! I thought we were going to shop, but then Kelly suggested we get a beer. Immediately I thought, "Free State"! We sat outside and talked more (3 beers later), we had a great time. Lawrence has not changed all that much, but it was such a beautiful day, and Free State is definitely the same.

Erin had to get home, Kelly was going to the game with her hubby Alex, and some friends. One of my other best friends, Vinnie, was also in Lawrence for the game. Kelly was parking at a friend's house and walking from there, so she gave me her parking pass. Thankfully it was very close to where Vinnie was at.

Vince, Vinnie's brother had rented a tent on Campanile Hill. Now that people are allowed to tailgate and we have a decent football team, it was a whole different culture at the football stadium. It was so much fun! Vinnie is starting her 3rd trimester, so she was so cute and prego!

Family Photos

 

Every year we take a family picture in front of the J.C. Nichols fountain where Aaron proposed to me. This year my parents were with us to be the photographers.

Date Nights!

The past weekend Aaron and I were definitely spoiled. On Thursday night Aaron's Mom and nephew came over to watch the boys while we joined my work friends for a happy hour. We had a good time.

Friday evening, Aaron made dinner and Aaron's Mom and nephew, John came over again to spend the night. Aaron and I were finally able to go see "Dark Knight", at the IMAX theatre, I really enjoyed the movie, especially Christian Bale, he was pretty sexy!

Saturday, Rhonda and I opted for the late start with our running group, we usually start at 6AM, but we started at 630AM. It was a beautiful morning! We both wore long sleeved shirts. We were going to run 8 miles, but it was a pretty hilly route, really steep hills, so we opted for 6 miles instead. After our run we went to Hi Hat for coffee and I went with Rhonda to pick up a cake for the Bridal Shower she was hosting. When I got home, I was able to get some chores done, but unable to take a nap. I was bummed about that. My parents arrived here in the late afternoon. They were very excited to see the boys.

Aaron and I celebrated our 6 year Engagement Anniversary. Aaron took me to La Bodega, my favortie Spanish restaurant with the BEST sangria. That restaurant is defnitely a chic heavy reastaurant. We had a good time, then we went to Harry's to celebrate a friend's b-day. We were both pretty tired, so we were home before midnight.

Big Owwwweeee!

Today was the day I set aside to get a lot of work done, so of course I knew in the back of my mind I needed to prepare myself for something to happen to prevent that from happening. I thought for sure Keenan would get sick today, but no, I had gone down to our cafeteria with one of my friends for just a few minutes. When I went back to my desk our admin for our floor was at my desk, leaving me a note, she said I needed to call my son's daycare. I just thought to myself, of course, the one time I stepped away from my desk and I did not bring my cell phone I was pelted with all sorts of calls. I called Eli's classroom and one of Eli's teachers had told me that Eli had fallen into the door at school and he is probably going to need stitches. They said Eli reacted more because he was scared, and another teacher was applying pressure to stop the bleeding. My poor baby. I gathered my stuff, called his doctor to find out if they did stitches, called Aaron to let him know what was going on, and sent an email to my team to let them know where I was going to be.

I arrived at Eli's school and Eli was sitting down with his teacher, Tina. Tina was holding a washcloth to his head, and poor Eli had this huge gash to his forehead. It is about 3 cm long and about .5 cm deep, I could see bone, so I knew he had to go to the ED. I opted for the Children's Mercy South, because we had been there before and it was close to my office and Aaron's office and they do an exceptional job! I'm so glad they were able to stop the bleeding at school. I rushed to the ED and it was pretty empty, so we were seen right away. Eli was already acting like himself. He was excited to see all their books and toys. Then Aaron arrived soon after we did.

They put lidocaine gel inside and around his wound, and we had to wait about 30 minutes for it to kick in. They had a Child Life Specialist who's job is to play with the kids when procedures are performed and distracts them with toys or blowing bubbles, pretty much anything to keep them content. They put Eli in this contraption where they can wrap him up like a burrito so he can't kick or move around too much. I sat on the bed with him and held his hands, while the nurse held his head, Pete, the Child Life Specialist was blowing bubbles and talking to Eli, and Aaron was also helping distract Eli. The doctor was at the head of the bed putting in the stitches. We had "Thomas and Friends" playing on TV, so that helped too. Eli was so brave, I was so proud of him. They said he was the best two year old they had seen in a while. Eli had 2 internal stitches and 9 external stitches.

I received lots of support from my friends and family. Nicholas and Jake even came by tonight to give Eli some 'Get Well' balloons and cookies, and Nana even came over to put him to bed. I know I have to prepare myself for these kind of injuries with 2 boys, but I hope it does not happen very often! I'm just glad he's ok!

(This picture was taken in the ED after they put the lidocaine on)

No Mail

We received a notice in our mail that beacause our dog charged through our window while a postal carrier was delivering our mail the post office will be holding our mail until we either rent a post office box or put our mailbox at the curbside. After 10 days they will return it to the sender.

Oh Stoli. Needless to say, we have not gotten our mail yet. I called them to see if gating Stoli upstairs would be ok and they said it should be fine. I had to call them again because we still have not gotten our mail. I'm annoyed.

I have an "I'm sorry" card from Stoli to our mail carrier, I should bake him some cookies too.

Looking forward to the weekend.Running in the morning, planning on 8 miles again. We'll see. Then we have a b-day party to go to for a 2 year old tomorrow afternoon. Sunday I'll be running Race for the Cure.

Hot Yoga

Last week I went to hot yoga with 3 of my friends, my 2 running buddies, Becky and Rhonda, and our friend Emily. We try to do something once a month, and this past month Rhonda wanted to do hot yoga. For those of you who are not familiar with hot yoga, it's in a studio where they keep the temperature at about 100 degrees and you do Bikram Yoga. We pretty much sweat our asses off, I started to feel nauseaus after an hour of it, it was an hour and a half class. It was hard to do some of the positions when you have to grab a leg or arm when you're glistening with sweat. When I was laying face down at one point I was just dripping with sweat. It felt good though.

We were starving after our class and we wanted to eat healthy, so we ventured to Eden Alley. It's a vegetarian restaurant with a lot of vegan entrees. I got my favorite Garlic Grilled Cheese, yum! Then we shared dessert. We were all beat from the day and our class, still super sweaty. I could ring my shirt out from all the sweat-- don't worry we sat outside so people would not have to smell us!

Stoli A.K.A Cujo

Last Wednesday was a non-stop day at work, then when I got home from work I was unlocking the front door when I saw some glass. The first thing I thought was that someone tried to break in our house, so I inspected the front door then I saw that the window next to our front door that looks into our stairwell was broken, and I immediately knew who the perpertrator was...Stoli!

This is the third time Stoli has inpersonated Cujo-- do you remember the 80's horror movie about the rabid dog? Well, apparently Stoli did his impersonation for our mailman and busted through the window. I could tell the mailman just dropped the mail and ran because the mailbox door was left open. I felt so bad for our mailman. When I walked inside I spotted some blood on the floor, so I immediately called him. Stoli came and he had this huge gash on his nose. He was bleeding quite a bit, so I put pressure on it, but he was making it difficult for me to hold pressure by not sitting still. At the same time Eli is running all over the house and pointing to the blood on the floor, "Mommy, what's that? What's that? What happened to Stoli?" I just told him not to touch the red stuff. Then Keenan started crying because he was hungry and I could not do anything. I called Aaron and was pretty much like "Get your a$$ home RIGHT NOW!". My stress level had peaked!

Aaron got home and he dealt with the dog and I dealt with the boys. Stoli's bleeding did subside. I finally got the boys fed, bathed, and to bed a little before 9pm and then I was able to eat dinner. Aaron commented on how before we had kids we used to be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we have not been able to see a light quite yet. After I snarfed down my dinner I still had to do laundry because Eli had had a few accidents at school. What a week, and it was only hump day!

Keenan is 4+ Months

Wow! Time has flown! I can't believe Keenan is already 4 months old. I am behind on my blogging, but I will try not to make this a long post.

Keenan's 4 Month Stats:
Weight: 20lbs and 10oz.(>100%)
Length:26 & 1/8" (90%)

Yes, I have another "Chunkalicious" baby. I just have to remind everyone that we breed gi-normous babies, and I love every ounce of their chunkiness! According to Keenan's pediatrician, (who is different than the one we started out with when Eli was born), she said he only needs 32 oz of formula a day. I remember giving Eli 40 oz., so that's what I was giving Keenan. We ended up cutting Keenan's 10 pm bottle. I knew that would mess up his sleeping schedule. She also said we could go ahead and start cereal. The first night went ok, I was not there when Keenan woke up around 5:45AM that Saturday morning, so I have no room, to talk. I was running 6 miles with my running group. I've decided to train for the KC Half Marathon in October. In fact, I ran 8 miles yesterday and I feel pretty good.

Aaron and I were able to have a date night last Saturday. We used a new babysitter, and she did great. Eli took up to her right away, she usually babysits for a family who has four kids, so I knew she would be great. We went out with a few other friends to dinner then after dinner drinks. I guess I had a few too many drinks because I was pretty dysfunctional the next day. I let Aaron sleep in a little longer while I got up with Eli. I fed Eli then we went to the basement so I could lay on the couch while Eli played. As soon as we got down there, Eli said "I pooped". I ran him upstairs, but it was too late. Dealing with poop hungover is not the best thing, that's why I could never drink the night before when I worked in the hospital!

Aaron was brave enough to bring both Eli and Keenan to the grocery store (I have not even done that). I took a nap while they were gone. We started Keenan on cereal. I'm still not sure if he likes it. I've been mixing it with bananas and he seems to like that a little better. Sometimes he gets frustrated when we're feeding him, we have to shove a pacifier in his mouth between bites to pacify him!

I will post pictures of the boys this weekend. I have not had time to do it recently. I even was able to get some pics of them while at school.

Cleo Anne

Congratulations to Erin and Andy! It's a girl! Cleo Anne was born yesterday! Big brother Gus has a new little sister! Everyone is healthy and happy! Enjoy the chaos to come!

Weight: 6 lbs & 9oz.
Height: 19.75 inches

"I Peed on the Potty!"

This past weekend was potty training weekend. We had been putting it off for the last few weeks because we had family come and go, and we did not want Eli to get too distracted. Aaron's Mom, brother and nephew were in town to find a house for Brian, but we decided to go ahead with it.

We pretty much loaded Eli up with fluids and had a timer going every 30 minutes and sat him on the potty. He did really well! We had three accidents the first day and about two on Sunday. On Monday we showed up at daycare with underwear on and about five changes of clothes.

Monday, Eli had only one accident and that was when they were playing outside. The teachers said that's when most of the accidents happen because the kids don't want to stop playing. We've had a few poopy accidents. Eli is just having a hard time with that, and it's fun to clean up too ;o)

Keenan is trying to roll over. He's such a happy baby. He's ticklish too! He's already belly laughing too. I love it! His hair is still a little crazy, but I love the chunky boy!

Funny Things Eli Says

Eli has been asking me, "Are you Cherie?" then he goes up to his Dad and says, "Are you Aaron?"

This morning I asked Eli if Keenan was crying, Eli said, "No, he's all better".

Aaron was getting Eli ready for bed and we were talking to each other, Eli said, "Dad, no more talking to Mommy, read to Eli."

When he plays with his trains or other toys he actually has them using dialogue. He was playing with his dinosaur bath toys and he was taking one dinosaur saying "Hi, how are you?" then taking the other dinosaur, "I'm fine, and you?" so funny!

Fireworks go "BOOM"!

We had a very relaxing and fun weekend. Thursday night was a nice girls night drinking sangria, doing each other's nails, and walking to a neighborhood dive bar. Fun times! I did not get home until 2AM! What was I thinking?

Aaron let me sleep in, and thank goodness that he did, otherwise I would not have been productive at all! I got up around 9AM, and the house was too quiet, then I realized that it was EMPTY! Aaron took the boys on an adventure to First Watch, then the park. THANK YOU AARON! He informed me, that I owe him!

The rest of the day I cleaned and prepared for a little BBQ we were hosting for our friends and neighbors. My parents came into town as well. They were so excited to see the boys. They were amazed at how big Keenan was. Friends started to arrive around 6pm. Aaron put together a con-coction called "Gin Buckets", handed down from his aunt and uncle, they were pretty tasty. My dad thought so too. He was bright red after just one drink!

We had about 15 people over plus kids. Lindi and Ben were able to join us during their Kansas visit. Carina is a blast, she just says the funniest things! It was fun to watch Eli interact with the older kids, they are about a year older than him. Mom and Dad were a big help! At one point, I went upstairs to check on the kids, and my mom had them all sitting in a cicle while she read them some books. Around 930, people walked down the street to the high school nearby where they have a fireworks display. Aaron and I had not watched fireworks since Eli was born, so I was exicted for him to see them.

My Mom ended up walking with him and a group of our friends there. I had to feed Keenan, so Aaron and I ended up walking down a little later. We were unable to see our group until we were walking back. Our friends were telling us how Eli did, he said, "the fireworks go BOOM!". I guess on the way there Eli was so excited to see the fireworks, that he was pushing his stroller and running, he wiped out 3 times, and has some scraped up knees to show forth, but he did not cry.

When Lindi and Ben were getting ready to leave, Carina gave Eli a hug, but Eli just stood there. It was funny and cute. Eli was also pretty exhausted, he did not get to bed until 1030 or so. I went to bed past 11pm only to wake up at 515A to run with my running group.

It was just Becky and I. We ran 6 miles and I felt pretty good. After I got home though, I was so tired. I just wanted to lay in bed all day! Since my parents were here, I was able to! Aaron and i both slept off and on throughout the day while my parents took care of Eli and Keenan. It was so nice!

Sunday, Aaron and I were able to do some much needed yard work while my parents took care of the boys again. Eli was pretty tired so he took an early nap. Keenan slept quite a bit too. After a wonderful lunch my parent left to go back to Wichita and I took Eli to the pool. It was my first pool outing the whole summer! We ran into Bill and Elise, so she and Eli were able to play for a while. They were so cute together. Unfortunately I did not get any photos of the weekend! Bummer! I hope everyone has a great week!

Keenan is 3 Months!

Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs. 13.8 oz
Length: 27.5 inches

My youngest boy is growing so big! Keenan is such a smiler. Aaron can make him laugh doing his Donald Duck impersonations. It's pretty funny.This was his last week at home. I met with Keenan's teacher to figure out everything I need to bring.

We took Bernie to dinner Thursday night to thank her for all of her help. Unfortunately, it's Keenan's fussy time of the evening. He gets very cranky before he falls asleep. We each took turns walking him around the restaurant. I met some girlfriends afterwards to hang out. It was nice to catch up with all of them.




Friday I was pretty exhausted. I did not sleep well the night before. Aaron and I both kind of slept in and relished our last day being able to both sleep in since Bernie woke up with the boys. Bernie left when we arrived home from work, when she left Eli shed lots of tears, it was sad!

Today was our first full day just the four of us. I had woken up almost every hour putting Keenan's pacifier in his mouth. He was off his nightly schedule. I fed him at 6am, then left to meet my running group. I ran four miles and felt pretty good. When I arrived home, Aaron was a little frustrated with Keenan's fussiness. I think we were both getting used to our family dynamic.

Sunday was much better. We were all able to sleep in until 7AM, whoooo! I realy wanted to go to the pool since I had not been for the whole summer, but I always want to go when it's Eli's naptime. So I decided to sit on our deck to get some sun. It's so different than before when we had kids, I used sit and read a book or a trashy gossip magazine, now I sit and lay out while reading a "Parents" magazine!

I took Eli to Elise's b-day party. He had a great time especially after Elise opened a new Thomas the Tank Engine Train Set. He was so excited! The whole day he had not been very talkative, but after Thomas was out, he could not stop talking about it. He kept asking to open it, and when Rhonda did, he said, "thanks guys for helping me open it!". Elise was so tired by the end of her party, poor thing did not have a nap all day! We had a great time though!

Nice Weekend After a Stressful Week

This past week went by pretty quickly. I had to work late Tuesday and Thursday, I did not get done until after 7pm. It kind of sucked! Our team knew we would have to work late, but we were trying to work late to avoid working over the weekend, which we did accomplish. Thank goodness! I was so glad to have Mama Rourke here to help Aaron out since I was late those days.

Friday night I was pretty exhausted. Brian and John are both in town. John just got done with KU Basketball Camp. The campers all posed for an individual shot with Coach Self and the NCAA trophy. Pretty cool. Of course John was all decked out in his KU Gear for the photo op. He was also able to get a few autographs from some players. He had a great time. Brian worked in KC this past week, and is also working here this week. He has sold his house, so he is now really looking for a house in KC. We all had dinner here, then Aaron took Eli to the park. I ran to Target and by the time I got home, the boys were all sleeping.

Saturday morning, I met Rhonda for a run. We were both dragging, but we did it. It was pretty hot. My goal for Saturday was to run all my errands so Sunday I can just relax. So Aaron and I went to Sam's to get groceries and baby stuff while Nana Rourke watched the boys. Of course we spent a couple of hundreds of dollars, buying formula, diapers, and food. It's crazy!

Aaron and I went on a date since this is our last weekend with Mama Rourke here. We had a nice Italian dinner at Il Centro, then dessert at Classic Cup. We went to see "Iron Man", we both really enjoyed the movie. I've always had a crush on Robert Downey Jr. We got home around 1245. Keenan woke up around 4AM, I got up and Mama Rourke came up with a bottle. I told her I could feed him, and she said, "No, you can, go ahead and go back to bed," I did not hesitate, and said, "ok!". Then Eli woke up at 6AM, realy crying. I layed down with him and we tried to go back to sleep. He got up at 7AM, and Mama Rourke took him and Keenan downstairs so Aaron and I could sleep in. We took advantage of it and slept in until 1030! I feel soooo rested! I cannot remember the last time I slept in that late!

This is the last week Mama Rourke will be staying with us. We have really enjoyed having her here and have really appreciated the extra help. We're all really going to miss her!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads out there! We had a pretty quiet, and relaxing weekend. Eli's school had a Father's Day picnic Friday afternoon, it was fun to see Eli playing with his classmates. Nana Bernie brought Keenan, so everyone was able to see him and Nana was able to see Eli at school.

Saturday I went to my running group and ran four miles and felt pretty good. We went to the Farmer's Market. Aaron and I spent most of the time in the coffee shop because Eli was having a great time going up and down the stairs. Bernie bought a bunch of fresh veggies and fruit to make us dinner. Bernie treated us for a Father's Day lunch. Eli and Keenan were great. While everyone took naps, I did a little shopping to buy Father's Day gifts.

Sunday, Bernie let Aaron and I sleep in until around 8AM. I dressed the boys up in matching outfits. You can't really see what the shirts say, but they say "My Dad Rocks" and he does. Aaron is a wonderful dad, always excited to see his family and ready to play! Aaron is such a great help and very thoughtful. Thank you Aaron for everything you do for us!We love you! Aaron got a kick out of the t-shirts. Eli helped his Dad open his gifts. We had a quiet day at home, it was rainy. Papa Rourke came in the evening and played with the boys while I prepared dinner. Brian also joined us for dinner. We had a nice steak dinner, with frozen custard for dessert.

He's a Genius!

The other morning, Aaron and I were awoken by the sound of Eli singing songs in his bed. It was super cute. He really loves to sing and on our way to school he sings his ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and some of his other favorites. He knows the Barney, "I Love you..." song, it's a really annoying song, but when we sing it, Eli stands up and gives me a hug and a kiss when it comes to singing those words. Sometimes I sing it just so I CAN get a hug and a kiss from him!

Eli is also obsessed with "Big Trucks" he points them out to me when we're driving. We recently changed to pull-up diapers because he no longer fits in size 6 diapers. The pull-ups have the characters from "The Cars" movie and we have to try to convince him to wear the Lightning McQueen diapers because he always requests the "Dump Truck" one, and sometimes he throws a fit if he has to wear the race car one. BTW-- sometimes he leaks in the morning, I'm not too impressed with these diapers, but we're hoping to potty train next month for sure!

Eli is learning all about shapes too. When we were driving the other day Eli said, "There's an octagon Mommy!", referring to the Stop sign, I was pretty impressed. Also, Eli has letters that are bath toys, I was quizzing him the other day and he could recognize more letters than I thought he would be able to. Every time he would get one right I would say, "Good job Eli", then he turned around and started quizzing me and would say, "Good job Mommy!". So funny.

Keenan is 2 Months

Keenan's stats as of 5/23/2008

Weight: 15 lbs & 8oz.(>97%)
Height: 24.5 inches (95%)
Head Circumference: 15 and 7/8 (50%)

Keenan is now 2 and a half months and is sleeping so much better, he usually can go about 5-6 hour stretches thru the night. Mama Rourke has been enabling our sleep because she has been getting up with Keenan to feed him, it's been wonderful! He is very responsive now, really smiling. He is already feeling heavy to carry! We'll probably have to put him in a bigger car seat before he turns one, just like Eli!

Well, the first two weeks of work have not been too bad. I'm trying to get back into my routine. I've started up running again with my good friends, Becky and Rhonda. We are not training for any races like last time. I think we'll end signing up for a few 5Ks and try to improve our time. I was wanting to sign up for a half marathon, but no one else was wanting to commit and I need my girls to get me thru another half! I'm feeling more like myself, but I've got quite the muffin top (the best part of the muffin), hopefully running will get me back into shape!

Memorial Day Weekend

Aaron took Friday off so we could go to the zoo with some friends. We met up with Rhonda and Bill, and their girls, Elise and Claire. Elise is only 6 weeks younger than Eli, and Claire is 2 weeks older than Keenan. It was my first time to the Kansas City Zoo, and I have to say it turned out to be a beautiful day, and the zoo was really nice. Eli and Elise had so much fun pushing around their strollers, riding on the train, and going on the merry-go-round. We were all pretty exhausted at the end of the day.







Monday, Alicia and her daughter Kristen came over to visit, they were town for the week. Kristen and Eli had a great time playing together. We weren't able to capture the best pictures with them, they are both at that age where sitting still is not an option.

Mama Rourke came into town Monday evening. We were all very excited to see her. She is going to be staying with us for the first month I go back to work. It'll be great not to have to worry about Keenan while I stress out about work!

Last Week ;o(

I am so sad! This is my last week of maternity leave, I'm finally at a point that I've been accomplishing so much around the house and really enjoying myself, and now I have to go back to work! Last week I finished making Keenan's baby announcements, they were fun to make. The weather is finally cooperating and it looks like it's going to be warm from now on. I've gotten my friend Rhonda, who is also on maternity leave, hooked on Hi Hat coffee, so we have been walking to Hi Hat in the mornings. This week she is painting her house, so I've been walking on my own.



Over the weekend, Vinnie and Dustin were in town, so they visited our family. They are starting their own little family. Vinnie is 12 weeks prego! I'm so excited for them! Aaron and I also went on a much needed date. The weather was fantastic! Eli's old teacher, Miss Rachel watched the boys, I was not worried at all, Eli remembered her right away. He did sit at Stoli's window when we left and Rachel said he was sad for just a little bit, but got over it pretty fast. Aaron and I went to the Power and Light District. Aaron had not been there yet, so we did a little pub crawl and had snacks as well. I had the best bread pudding at this Irish Pub, it beat out Pot Pie's bread pudding. It was DELICIOUS! We were home by 11:30.

Sunday we were up early thanks to our little alarm clock, Eli. He did not watch the movie we started for very long. We had breakfast and decided to do some yard work. The whole family enjoyed the nice weather. Keenan sat in the shade in his bouncy seat, and Eli was all over the place, following Aaron, me, and Stoli around. I was able to plant some flowers in my front garden. We all went to bed pretty early, Aaron fell asleep reading to Eli. Aaron was passed out and Eli was looking through his books on his own as I fell asleep feeding Keenan.





This week I'm going to be gardening and working on my scrapbooks and the boys' baby books. I'm hoping to at least get started on the scrapbooks. Aaron has been giving me crap because I've been trying to start on our scrapbooks since we got married!

Well, I'm going to savor this time I have at home. It's been painful, challenging, and finally fun! I have 8 more pounds to lose to get to my starting weight. I think I need to start running again to lose the last few pounds. I've started lifting free weights again too. Aaron is taking Friday off so we can have a nice 4 day weekend together. Hopefully we'll be able to do a lot of fun family stuff together.

Mama Rourke will be here on Monday to watch Keenan for the month, then back to work for me! Ugh!

Eli is TWO!

Wow! I am so behind on my blogs, time has flown by! Keenan is now 6 weeks, and my little Eli is TWO! I cannot believe he is two, but he is as big as a four year old! We were preparing him for his big day, we taught him to say when his b-day is..."May 4", and how old he is going to be, sometimes he would say, "One", then "Two". So funny, he really is a little chatter box, with very good manners. He is very good with his "please" and "thank you's" which I am very proud of.

This past weekend was a busy one. Friday I went to work to bring Keenan around, it was nice to see everyone, and everyone was anxious for me to get back to work, now that I'm used to being home it's hard to think of going back to work! I'm just now enjoying my time off! Aaron and I were exhausted Friday night, and Aaron was great to pick up a night feeding. I'm trying to ween from nursing because I really do not want to pump at work, I just hate pumping so much and I cannot immagine, for me, doing it at work.



Saturday, we went to Crown Center for Eli's b-day lunch. We went to "Fritz's Railroad Restaurant", it was a big hit! There is a train that runs around the restaurant and drops off the food at each table. Eli was so excited to see the trains! Our friends Jamie and Jessica, and their newborn, Brody, met us there, as well as Katie with her two boys, Nicholas and Alex. Nicholas and Eli were the two that were able to enjoy themselves the most.







Sunday, we opened presents and we bought Eli a new tricycle. He loves it. We had cake and ice cream too to celebrate.

Family Time

This past week has flown by. We had a number of visitors and house guests. Last Wednesday, Elin and Max flew in town. Max was disappointed Eli was not home when we they arrived, they whole day Max was asking when Eli would be home. Elin cooked us dinner every night, it was great and I aquired some new recipes. Unfortunately the weather was not the best when they were here. Our cousin Roselle was supposed to arrive on Thursday, but her flight was with American Airlines, so it was cancelled until Friday. Eli and Max were able to play all day on Friday, they played well together, then would fight the age difference was apparent. Keenan had the baby acne pretty bad this week, I avoided taking pictures of him, so sad.

Mom and Dad arrived Friday night in time for dinner. Eli and Max were so excited to play with them. I was exhausted all weekend. I did not get as much rest as I needed. I have been weaning from the pain meds. Saturday I tried to sleep in. Aaron and I spent most of the morning in bed. I did get out and took Elin and Roselle to the plaza to shop. I was just going to drop them off, but I did hit some stores with them.

Sunday Elin and Max took off in the evening. I think they were both ready to leave. We really appreciated their help all weekend. I felt bad we were not really able to do anything really fun together.

Monday my parents left after breakfast so Roselle and I enjoyed the nice weather and went to lunch at Blue Koi. It was great! Then we did a little shopping before we picked up Eli from daycare. That evening, we met my friends for pedis and dinner to celebrate Rhonda's b-day. Rhonda wanted to eat at Cheesecake Factory. We had a lot of fun.

The next morning, I took Roselle to Hi Hat, my first "walk" since the surgery. It was not a long one, we drove part of the way. Her friend picked her up after lunch, she was going to spend a few days with their family before heading back home.

I really enjoyed the family time, but was excited to have the house to myself. I need the alone time, especially to nap!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

That was an awesome game! KU finally won the NCAA Basketball Championship! Aaron and I had to watch the game at home since we had no babysitters around. I was pretty tired since I really did not get a nap. Keenan was a little fussy, so I was rocking him for part of the game and when Chalmers made the 3 point shot to tie the game before end of regulation, I jumped up and cheered and the first thing Aaron said was "Don't drop the baby!" KU played well thru overtime and we won! We won! What a great game! We wished we could have celebrated in Lawrence! Aaron was saying that we'll be telling Eli and Keenan 20 years from now how we remember when KU won the championship game in 2008, Keenan was just a little baby and Eli was in bed asleep, we'll be telling them all about the game while sharing some beers at the Wheel or Free State. How funny.

Awesome Game!

Last night Aaron & I were able to escape parenthood for a few short hours. We left the boys with Nana Bernie and went to our friends' Ben & Emily's house to watch the KU vs. UNC game. Ben had rigged up his projector in the family room so everyone had great seats! The first half was unbelieveable, then the beginning of the second half was scary, then the last part of the game we were able to redeem ourselves! It was great to watch Roy's reaction during the game, we all had to laugh at his frustration. Watching the commentators after the game was annoying because it made it sound like our win was a fluke, like UNC just did not play well. Monday's game should be interesting, we're the underdog again. I just hope we can play as well as we did in the first half!

When we got home Nana had fallen asleep with Eli and Keenan was in the bassinet beside the bed. I was supposed to feed Keenan around midnight, but neither one of us woke up and when I did wake up it was almost 3AM. Keenan slept for 6 hours straight! Then I was awake again at 4:30A and 5:30A, he was catching up on what he had missed.

Tommorrow and Tuesday I'll be on my own, Eli will be going to daycare, so it should be fine. We have plenty of leftovers in the fridge to tide us over until my sister comes. Elin informed me she has been planning a menu for us which I'm excited for! I love being cooked for! It really helps us out! My cuz Roselle will be coming on Thursday and my parents on Friday night, we'll have a FULL HOUSE! It'll be fun though.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Here's Eli with the t-shirt the Gassens gave him.

Funny Video

This video is of Eli having fun in our hospital room. He was able to entertain himself climbing in the cabinets.

Eli's a Big Brother

Eli has been adjusting pretty well as a big brother. He addresses Keenan as "Baby Keenan", he comes into our room in the morning and looks into the bassinet and says, "Baby Keenan's sleeping" and he likes to look at him and pat his head and gives him kisses when we ask him to.

One Week Old!

I've survived the first week! Actually Keenan is a very good baby, he's just hungry all the time and has the worst oral fixation. He gets so pissed when his pacifier falls out of his mouth, and when he's trying to nurse and finding his target he moves his head in such frustration it's funny to watch. I've forgotten how funny babies look after they eat. Keenan has the "drunk on milk" look after he eats, and it's so cute and funny.
Eli has adjusted pretty well with the new addition. I think having Aaron's parents and my parents around the first week has been really helpful. Also, Aaron is such a big help. He has been taking care of Eli, bathing, getting him changed, etc. while I concentrate on Keenan. I cannot imagine doing this without him! Eli has been going to daycare this week, so I've been trying to catch up on sleep during the day.

I realized again how much postpartum sucks, this might be TMI, but my incision sight hurts (getting better), I'm bleeding, my boobs hurt (especially when my milk came in), I developed a rash where the cloth tape was over my incision sight, I still look 5 months pregnant, and I'm losing sleep, but it's worth it right? It'll get better. I'm really happy I've been able to successfully nurse since I got so frustrated the first time. I also forgot how many calories you burn when you nurse-- supposedly it's like running 5 miles a day! Hopefully it'll help get me back into shape.

My parents are here until the end of the week, they have been cooking for us and helping me around the house and with Eli, so it's been great having then here. Aaron's mom is coming on Friday when they leave, she is great to have around because of her expertise in mother/baby. She'll have her scale so we can make sure Keenan is gaining the appropriate weight. Elin and Max are coming on Wednesday, and my cousin Roselle is coming on Thursday. Looking forward to it!

Well, I'm going to try to take a nap now!

It's a Boy!

Keenan Isaac Rourke was born on March 25th via C-section at 1:20 PM. He weighed 10 lbs, 1 oz and is 21.25 inches long, just slightly bigger than big brother Elijah! Who knew I could carry someone bigger! The delivery was uneventful, in fact Aaron was amazed on how I could joke around with the docs and everyone in the OR as I laid there getting pulled and tugged at. I could feel my body lifted from the table as they pulled and tugged Keenan out of me! Everyone was amazed at his size, including us. I cannot believe I am the mother to 2 BOYS! Can you? You totally forget how sweet the little babies are.

Eli has been a very good big brother, he can already pronounce his name and has been giving him kisses and gentle pats. Yesterday was a rough day since I did not get much sleep and they weened me from my epidural and I got up and showered. Overall though, I have felt pretty good and trying to keep my pain under control. The little booger is eating a ton of formula already since my milk has not yet come in. Nursing has not been as bad as it was last time, and I hope I can do it.

We should be going home tomorrow. I'm going to be getting up and trying to feel normal today. Eli has been going to daycare and is being spoiled my Nana Rourke while Aaron has been staying with me here at the hospital. Well, I'll keep updating you! Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts!

Last Day

Today was our last day as a family of 3! I cannot believe how time has flown and a new Rourke will arrive tomorrow. I think it's been so weird just knowing that the baby will be here tomorrow! I was pretty sore when I woke up this morning, my hips have been killing me from the weight of the baby just sitting there. I took Eli to daycare this morning, and we stopped by Hi Hat, our favorite coffee shop and we split a colada jet tea, he loved it. He sipped on it on the way to school. He was pretty excited to get to his classroom.

I ran some errands before my appt at the hospital. I had my labs drawn then met my friend Becky for lunch at Blue Koi. We had a nice visit and the food was great as always. Went home and Aaron's mom was home, so I got some stuff done around the house and we went to pick Eli up so I could show her where to bring Eli if she decides to bring him there during the week. He had a great day. He was in the older kids classroom and the teacher said he did really really well. She said he followed directions, was talking better than the older kids, and adjusted really well. I was so happy to hear that.

Dry cleaner's update: After not receiving the check I was promised within a week, I called the dry cleaner to let him know. He apologized and told me it was not sent and he was going to drop it off in my mail. It was there that day when I got home, I deposited it on Saturday, so I'm hoping it does not bounce! The news reporter called me today and I told her I was finally paid and she asked if I would be willing to talk to them about how they helped me out. I am willing to, but I told her I was having the baby tomorrow.

We just got back from having dinner at Ponak's it is now a tradition. We ate there the night before I went into labor with Eli. Jessica ate there the night before she went into labor, and now with Baby Ziggy. I had a refreshing Corona. Brian was nice enough to treat the whole family for dinner. Eli had a great time, he saw a "choo-choo" when we were leaving.

Tonight I hope to have a nice, restful sleep. We don't have to be at the hospital until 1030A, and I should have a baby in my arms by 1pm. People are still guessing boy or girl. It's a ...BABY!

Wish us luck and we'll take some prayers too!

Happy Easter!

Aaron showed Eli how to color Easter eggs, he had a lot of fun!Aaron's Mom and nephew arrived in town yesterday. Eli was ecstatic with our visitors! He and John had so much fun playing. We watched basketball last night and went to bed early.


Eli woke us up around 6:30 this morning, we gave him his Easter basket and then fed him a little breakfast while we waited for Nana and John to wake up. When they did, Nana had an Easter basket for all of us. Eli made all of us read his new "Thomas & Friends" book to him at least 3 times each. We went to mass, Eli was pretty well behaved, he makes church go by faster because of the entertainment factor.

John and Aaron had a little Easter egg hunt for Aaron as we prepared brunch. We had brunch made by Aaron's mom then Eli was practically falling asleep at the table, so he took a nap. We had a pretty relaxing day watching basketball and playing. Brian and Grandpa arrived in the evening in time for the lamb dinner Aaron's mom had prepared. It was so nice not to have to cook this weekend! We had a nice dinner.





Well, that's about all for now, only two more days until our life is turned upside down! I've been trying to relax as much as possible and enjoy my time with Eli and Aaron.

39 Weeks

This was my last week of work, I had everything done so I was just working on some backlogged projects. It was a pretty relaxing week. Every night I would go home, I was prepared not to come back. I made it until Thursday, my planned last day. I was pretty much looking at basketball scores most of the afternoon, and had a team lunch which was a nice chunk of the day. At least KU won!

Friday Eli's daycare had an in-service, so it was Eli and my special day together. It was a beautiful day, so we went and got coffee and we blew bubbles and he played for a while. We ran to Target then I had my last doctor's appt. Aaron met us there. I was checked, and had not progressed since last week. I also lost a pound, which I did not expect. We had lunch together then we went home so Eli could take a nap. Eli fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I had a feeling he would not go back to sleep. He didn't, so we just watch a few episodes of "Thomas" and I tried to take a nap. Then we went to visit Rhonda, Elise, Claire, and Bill. Elise and Eli played very well together, but I think Eli was getting a little cranky towards the end of our visit due to the napless afternoon. We did not do much that evening, went to bed early.

I'm Going to Turn Into an Orange!

My craving for mandarin oranges has extended to Orange Soda, Sunkist to be exact. It all started last week when I stopped at the grocery store to buy some flowers for Rhonda on the way to visit her in the hospital. I was searching for a drink, and orange soda sounded refreshing and tasty! The next day I was at Target and orange soda again sounded tasty with a Twix bar too! Yesterday I bought a 12 pack of Sunkist, I never before in my life would have done that, but I need my fix of orange soda! Gotta love being pregnant!

We had a pretty nice weekend, the calm before the storm of our family invading our house and a new Rourke subsides. Friday, Aaron brought home some leftover Jack Stack BBQ from the office being catered for lunch. Our neighbors came over the enjoy the BBQ with us. Saturday turned into a cave day and we did not get out of our pj's until late afternoon. I was having a lot of contractions, but I think I was just dehydrated.

Sunday we had some unexpected visitors in town, and it was great! Kelly, Alex and Solomon came into town to get Alex's computer fixed, and Rhanda's flight was cancelled, so she was able to come over. I had not seen either one of them in months, and Eli had a great time visiting with them. We watched the KU game at a pizza place on the plaza, and visited. Oh my gosh, Solomon is such a cutie. I swear, Eli was acting like he just downed a couple of cups of coffee! He was so hyper all day. I think Rhanda really enjoyed playing with Eli, she hung out with us after the game too.

I made my first batch of corned beef and cabbage. It turned out pretty well, but I had to serve it with rice, so it was slightly Filipino. We had the neighbors over again, but Grace has been sick, so it was just Jarrett. We had plenty of food, so I was happy to share! This is my last week of work, very exciting! Have a Happy St. Paddy's Day and GO KU!

38 Weeks

This week I've been pretty uncomfortable feeling a lot of pressure and I continue to experience the sharp pain of the baby pushing down. I've also lost part of my mucus plug (I'm sure you all want to know the details ;o)! We went to a different doctor this week since mine is on vacation this week and next week. Also, it's good to meet the other doctors since I can go at any time and you don't know who is will be on call! She checked me and said the baby is really low and she's not surprised I've been feeling a lot of pressure, also I am now 1 cm dilated, and 70% effaced. Well, at least I know I'm progressing! With that news, I finished packing my bag for the hospital, as a precaution.

This weekend will be pretty low-key for us. The Big 12 Tournament is on and I squeezed into my KU t-shirt today, I'm sure I look ridiculous, but I had to show my KU pride!

Eli has a cough...again, it doesn't seem to bother him except at night. We've been trying to get him to sleep on his own, so we've been gating his room at night. When he wakes up in the middle of the night he comes to the gate and is crying a little bit saying "Daddy, Mommy, Stoli", Aaron and I tell him "Night-night, go back to bed", and we can hear him walk back to bed, and crankily says, "Night-night", it's cute and funny.

Rhonda and Bill had another girl, I was able to see them and she looks very similar to Elise when she was a baby. I'm so happy for them, and proud of Rhonda for pushing out a 9 lb, 2oz baby, Claire Catherine.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Go KU!

Drycleaner

Ok, so I know I've told a few people about my drycleaner dilemma. The background is, in October of last year, Aaron had dropped off some clothes to be laundered and dry-cleaned at the drycleaner I had been using since 1999, Scotch Deluxe Cleaners. They ended up losing our clothes because their "computer was down", so they say. I had spoken to the manager, Richard, about the clothes we had lost, and he asked that I give him ample time to search for the clothes at all of the stores. I gave them more than enough time, and in November Richard had said he would pay for the clothes lost. Since then I had bought new clothes to replace the old ones and the total came out to $489.12. I had submitted my receipts to the drycleaner the beginning of December hoping to get paid back by the holidays. I had pretty much called them on a weekly or more basis, never during this time had they ever called me back, it was always me pursuing them, but I was not going to give up. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but since they were not members of the BBB, it just showed that they were an unsatisfactory business. Then I contacted NBC Action News. They have a "Call for Action" segment for businesses who take advantage of patrons. They had to wait to pursue my case until the BBB had closed their case. NBC had contacted the manager and he had told them a couple of excuses why they had not paid me yet, but there was no dispute in what they owe me. Finally, today I received a call from the manager (this was a first) and he had said he had lost my contact information when his windows were open in his car and it "blew out of the window", yeah right. He's given me all sorts of excuses in the past, this one was a good one. Today, he said he has a check for me, he is going to send it tomorrow and he wants me to call him in the morning to remind him to send it. These are the most unprofessional people I have ever had to deal with ! I spoke to my contact at NBC and we were just laughing at the stuff he has been telling the both of us. She said that if I don't receive the money this week, they will interview me and I will be on the news so I can finally get my money back. I'll let you know if I do.

Exciting News!

This morning around 5:30 AM, my good friend Rhonda texted saying that her water broke at 4AM and they were on the way to the hospital! Whoo Hoo! We've been texting throughout the day, and as of around 11AM, she was dilated to 8 cm. Then she text me asking how our duct cleaning went (Yes, we had our ducts cleaned yesterday). So Rhonda! I'm excited to find out if she has a boy or girl. I've predicted boy, and she has predicted I'm having a girl. We'll see very soon!

This past weekend was fun. Rhonda, Becky, Emily, and I were able to celebrate Becky's upcoming birthday. We had pedicures done and had lunch at Eden Alley. We were able to do some shopping as well. It was a fun treat for all of us and great timing too! Rhonda was hoping to go into labor over the weekend, but she was just a few days off.

Sunday we were able to enjoy some nice weather, Aaron raked the leaves outside and Eli and played in them. It was pretty fun. I baked cookies, Snickerdoodles, for my team who had a baby shower for me on Friday. They took me to lunch and we had games and cake when we returned to the office. They gave me a very generous gift card, diapers, and some stuffed toys.

Well, I'll let you know what Rhonda has-- her having her baby means that I'm next!

Little Person, Big Voice

This week all the teachers at Eli's daycare have been commenting on Eli's verbal skills. He has been putting together sentences and says "Hi...(Name)" to everyone that works there. He knows everyone, and they all know him. What a social little guy. One of the teachers said he was saying "Bye, have a nice day!" to parents who were picking up their kids. Cracks me up!

Whenever the phone rings at home and we see on the caller ID that it's a tele-marketer we let him answer. He says, "Hello?", listens for a little while, then says "Bye!" and hangs up. Pretty funny stuff. I'd highly recommend it, nice entertainment factor.

37 Weeks

Whoo Hooo! I'm full-term! According to BabyCenter.com "Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard)." Has anyone seen a stalk of Swiss chard around? What the hell? We had our weekly appointment and Dr. Mitchell guesstimated the baby NOT being as big as Eli, but being around 9 lbs. Aaron also admitted I seem to be more comfortable than last time. I'm really hoping we make it to March 25th. I'm perfectly happy with the baby cooking some more. Everything is looking good. Baby is head down, not that it matters. I forgot to ask what the FHR was, sounded strong though. I only gained a pound since last week.

My friend Rhonda is miserable. I feel so bad. She is predicting that I'm having a girl and she is having a boy. We'll see, bets anyone? We're getting pedicures on Saturday with Emily and Becky as well. Looking forward to it! We're celebrating Becky's b-day.

Nothing too exciting has happened this week. Last night Brian, my brother-in-law came over for OK Joe's BBQ, it was tasty. He'll be around this weekend and next week for work. He's going to be moving to KC this year, probably this summer, since John will be starting HS in the fall. I watched the season finale of "Project Runway", it was pretty good. Really looking forward to "Top Chef" to start next week!

My sister and cousin will be visiting the second week in April, Max will be with them too. It should be fun.

Well, that's about all for now!Here's a picture of Eli getting ready for bed. He's such a ham..."Cheese"!