Christmas in Omaha

Well, we had a very nice visit with the family. We went to the Wordekemper Christmas celebration on Sunday and had lots of good food and played Bingo for Christmas gifts. Eli was a little overwhelmed at first, but adjusted quickly to all of the family there. There were plenty of kids around, so lots of entertainment. That night we were able to put him bed on time and he slept almost 14 hours straight! He needed the rest.
Christmas Eve dinner was at Brian's house. Aaron's parents made the feast, then we were done opening gifts by 8pm! Eli got Tickle me Elmo, Tickle Me Cookie Monster, and Tickle Me Ernie, plus another Elmo toy. He was terrified of all of them, yet Brian insisted on torchering him by playing them over and over. Eli just kept saying "No" and backing up and finally had enough when he started to cry, poor kid. We're hoping to get him more assimilated to the toys. Grandma Bernie gave him a Leap Frog video game, and he loved it because he was able to watch the "Choo Choo", he absolutely loves Thomas the Train. Aaron and I both received really nice gifts from the family as well.
Christmas morning John woke us up at 6AM so we could open gifts from Santa. We let Eli sleep in. We packed up after breakfast and left Omaha by Eli's naptime. We arrived safely back to KC and Stoli greeted us with lots of dog hair. Aaron vacuumed the house twice because it seemed like Stoli was shedding so much! Aaron and I put Eli to bed and we watched "Superbad", that movie is hilarious.
Well, that's about all for now! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Sorry, I did not send out Christmas cards this year. I'm planning on sending Valentine's instead.

Take Care!

Visiting the In-Laws

We had an uneventful drive to Omaha last night. We left a little later than anticipated, but that was ok, because I did not feel rushed and I was able to get everything done that I wanted to before we left. Aaron drove and I sat in back with Eli. I am so ready for a bigger car now. I feel like we really have to squish in the Camry! Also, now with a bigger belly I feel even more clausterphobic. We made one stop in Rockport at the McD's. I ran into Carla, a PT I used to work with at the Burn Center, so random.
Eli fell asleep the last 45 minutes of the drive, so when we arrived at Brian's, around 8pm, he was sleepy and clingy. That was ok, because I was wanting to cuddle with him. When his cousin John got here, he immediately ran up to him and started playing with him. He warmed up to everyone else and was running around in no time. He and John really play well together.
We got him ready for bed. We read a few books and he said good night to everyone and Aaron took him up for bed. I went up to check on them and Aaron was fast asleep and Eli was standing in hi Pack 'n Play smiling and wanting me to get him out, that was already close to 10pm! When I left the room he started crying, so I went back in and laid down until he fell asleep. We tried to watch a movie, but the DVD was giving us a hard time, so I ended up going to bed around 1030 or so.
Eli still woke up around 7AM, he played in bed with us for a little while, then Aaron took him downstairs to play, while I laid in bed awake for another hour or so.
Later on in the morning after breakfast, Eli, Aaron, and John played in the snow. Aaron pulled Eli in the sled and he was screaming with delight! I'll post some pics later. It was fun to watch them. It is freezing here! Eli loves to eat the snow. I got a good picture of Eli sitting on top of John and they are eating snow together.
Today we're having family pictures taken today at Aaron's parent's house. Their cousin Cory is a photographer. I hope we get some good ones. Then we'll be having dinner over there and going to Cory's brother's graduation party. Nana Bernie will be babysitting tonight so we can go to the party.
Everyone is taking a nap right now. I should too, but I just drank a coke. We're watching "Return of the Jedi".
Well, more later! Enjoy your Saturday! I'm bummed we can't watch the KU game, but last I checked, we're winning!

"Peeeaase and Tank yoou"

This week seems to be dragging! I do have to say Eli has been super cute lately with his new words and sounds he is making. He now knows how to say "please (peeease) and "Thank you (tank yoou)" with some prompting of course. It's very charming. You have to smile when he says it. He's also been saying "Santa" and when you ask him what Santa says, he says, "ho ho ho". So cute.

Lindi, Carina, and Izzy came to visit us on Sunday, they were unable to spend the night due to the weather. It was fun watching Carina guide Eli when they were playing ball with Aaron. Carina was a crack up when she sang "Frosty the Snowman" for us, with her little dancing moves. So funny! Eli cried when they had to leave.

Eli transitioned to his new classroom this week. Today was the first day he did not try to walk down to his old classroom. He is still getting used to kids in his class. His teacher IM'd me the other day telling me he really enjoyed Spanish class this week, and I asked her what words they learned. They learned words having to do with the holidays, I was impressed with the vocabulary, not that they will remember.

I have been having a lot more aches and pains this week, but Aaron has been very helpful by giving Eli a bath at night, it's just so hard for me to bend an lift Eli sometimes. We'll be leaving for Omaha tomorrow. I'll try to post some pics soon.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holiday!

BTW-- I finished my project in time, but it got pushed back for another month. Figures!

Prego Moment

Today was a trying day. I received an email from one of our leads wanting to push the project I have not really started, to early next week, now I have to work this weekend when I was planning on finishing my Christmas shopping. The reason the project is taking longer is because the collegue that was "let go", and my reason for not wanting to come into work, totally f--@#ed it up! Anyhoo-- I was really bummed about that. Then I had to sit in a very painful meeting, when the meeting was rudely interrupted by the fire alarm. I don't know what I was thinking, but I took my laptop with me, (I really would not care if it burned in a fire), and we had to stand in the freezing cold. Most people were at their desks, so they had their coats on. Here I am standing, freezing my a$$ off, carrying my stupid laptop. I asked some team members if they parked nearby and one of the guys did. So we sat in his car for a little while until we knew people were going inside.We walked in together an as we were about to open the front door, I lost my balance, and crash, the weeble-wobble tumbled into Albert and landed on the cement. I caught myself with my knees, so I have this huge bruise. I was a little shaken up, but mostly embarrassed. I returned to my desk and I started crying and could not stop. I was hoping no one would come to my desk, because I was so embarrassed I was crying, it was ridiculous. I felt fine, but of course I was thinking the worse, thinking about Ziggy, so I was kind of monitoring her/his movement. Finally a little later, my work friend, Sheila asked how I was doing and I was cracking up, and we were both laughing because I was telling her how I could not stop crying, she knew I was crying too, but could totally relate, even as I was laughing about it, I was still tearing up! I had emailed Aaron a crazy email telling him what happened, so of course he called, cautious of what he said on the phone, since I was in a fragile state. Anyway, I'm fine, just sore. I swear I've fallen way too many times with this pregnancy, I think this baby is either going to be super clumsy or a graceful dancer. LOL!
I have been super emotional this week, finding myself tearing up at the craziest thoughts. I wish this week was a little longer so I could get some crap done at work! The ice storm did not help, I left work early Tuesday.
That's about all. I talked to my friend Caci last night, she said the nicest things to me. I was was great talking to her! Well, pray I stop falling , I do not need the falls as I'm creeping up to my third trimester. I'll talk to you all soon. Need to go to bed.

Prego Pics

24 Weeks
18 Weeks
11 Weeks

Here are my prego pics. Aaron and I have tried to do weekly progressive pictures, but we always forget.

This week was a busy week for us. We had our annual Ladies Holiday party, it was ridiculous, there were 6 of us who were there that were pregnant. We had a great time. Out friend Brandi, who lives in L.A. was there for the party and another friend and old roommate, Erica, was in town from St. Louis. It was great to be together again.

Saturday I went to a friend's baby shower, it was such a great shower.It was at Foo's Frozen Custard in Leawood. You should try their "Foo Latte", it's heavenly! Then a few friends came over for dinner while the boys had their "Festivas" party.

Eli and I went to breakfast with Kelly, Alex, and Solomon. I was finally able to meet the little man. He's adorable! A great mixture of Kelly and Alex.



Eli turned 19 months this week. He had fun playing with snow this week. He says "Cold outside" and "snow". We will be transitioning to a new classroom this week. He is definitely ready!

Here is is playing in the snow.



Well, that's about all for now, I'll update you more this week. Have a great week!

Ziggy is Dancing!

As I'm sitting in bed right now, this baby, Ziggy (the zygote), is dancing up a storm! I feel like I've popped out within the last week, maybe it was all that turkey and pumpkin pie. I mean, it looks like I've swallowed a turkey! We have a doctor's appointment this week, I'm 23 weeks right now, but I feel like I'm already in my third trimester, boy am I in for a treat the next few months! I know, I need to post some prego pics, I will, I'm just lazy.

Eli is going through a phase in which he says, "No" very sternly to us, like he's scolding the dog. Aaron and I are trying to teach him to say "Yes!", but he's so stubborn he just says "no" back. He's also very good about mimicking animal sounds. He knows most of them, but when we ask him what a duck says, he says "Da ba da ba dahhh!", every time. It's pretty funny.

Well, that's about all for now. I need to go to bed. I'm walking in the morning because I feel like my ass has gotten bigger. LOL! Good Night!

"Thanks-mas"

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, of course we stuffed ourselves, then everyone vegged out and took naps, then had a repeat of the meal for dinner. Aaron acquired a visitor that day when he went on a run before the big meal. A black lab followed him home. We think he was less than a year old. Of course, the tag he had only had the number for the vet's office. We tried calling Animal Control and other shelters, but they were all closed. The Roeland Park police even told us to just let the dog go. Aaron tried to bring it back to the area where the dog started following him, but did not see anyone that was looking for the dog. We tried to let it wander, but it stayed at our front door. Since it was so cold out, we took him in and kept him in the garage. He was potty trained, thank goodness.

Thanksgiving night, we started our Thanks-mas celebration by putting up our x-mas tree. Aaron had gotten the tree the day before and had it in the garage. Brady and him had to make a fresh cut and put it on the stand, it is a gi-normous Frasier fir, it's beautiful! I love x-mas trees! I love putting up my ornaments too, I have so many I have received as gifts, I can remember who and where I got them from. My sister and I have been giving ornaments to each other since she first got married. I have a lot of cool ones from her.

Friday, my sister and I went on our shopping extravaganza on Black Friday. We were pretty good for the most part. I had already bought most of my gifts for everyone already. Aaron tried calling the owner of the dog after he talked to the vet's office. He was unsuccessful, but was able to get a hold of a shelter. Aaron brought the dog there and a few hours later, the shelter called back and told him the owner was reunited with his dog. Aaron and Brady took Max and Eli to Union Station, Eli is fascinated with trains! They had a good time. That evening, Mom and Dad took over and Elin, Brady, Aaron and I were able to go out for a bit. We had dessert and drinks, well for me just coffee. It was nice to be able to enjoy each other's company.

Saturday was our x-mas celebration. We opened gifts here, the kids had a grand ol' time opening all of their presents, it went by really fast! We all received some great gifts! Then we went to my cousin's house where she prepared a feast for us. Max and Eli had so much fun running around. That night we watched the unfortunate KU loss. Bummer!

Sunday everyone got ready to leave. We had an empty house by early afternoon. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful for the travellers! We tried cleaning the house and we also raked the leaves. Eli has so much fun jumping in the leaves! Aaron and I made turkey soup from our leftovers, my favorite! We were so tired from the weekend festivities so we all went to bed pretty early. Not looking forward to going back to work!

Home Invasion!

Well, my family all arrived safely. The Torviks arrived later than planned, poor Max has been sick so they took him to the doctor this morning to make sure he was ok to travel. He just has a viral infection and should be better by Friday. He was a little groggy tonight when they got here. Mom and Dad arrived this afternoon around lunch time, besides themselves my Mom decided to bring her own refrigerator with her. She always brings a ton of food with her. I was planning on making lunch for everyone, but then she told me she made a chicken casserole, I was annoyed because every time we plan what we are making etc, she tells me something then does another! Family, you've gotta love them!

Eli helped me wrap gifts for Thanks-mas this morning, it was fun. We were dancing to the music while wrapping gifts. It's snowing/sleeting. Can you believe it was 70 degrees just yesterday? Speaking of yesterday, I had my luscious massage, it was awesome, but while I was getting my massage I was stressing because I was thinking how I should have gotten it on Sunday, after the holiday weekend. LOL!

Well, I better get to bed, I haven't gotten a lot of sleep the past few days, and I have to have my game plan for the big meal. More later.

Happy Turkey Day to everyone!

Monday-- Day before my Vacation!

I was not ready to go back to work today, but I remembered last night that I had to take Eli to the doctor this morning, so I did not get to work until 1130! What a nice work day, another bonus was my vacation starts on Tuesday! Whoo hoo! We've taught Eli to yell "Whooo Hooo!" so funny, then he claps and says "Yeah"! The doctor visit went pretty well, Eli used to be so subdued when the doctor would examine him, now he does not want any of them touching him. Poor guy, he got one shot today, but he did great overall. I had given him some Tylenol beforehand to lessen the pain. My gi-normous son now weighs 34 lbs and is 35 inches tall. That is greater than the 97 percentile. He is the one who causes the percentage to go up!At least he is proportional! I took him to school (daycare), and it was lunchtime. All the kids were shirtless, they were eating chicken noodle, so it's pretty messy.

Work was ok, I had a lot to get done and the guy whom I loathe was back to work. He had been gone for about 3 weeks, and now he's back. He drives me nutty, but I won't dwell.

I picked Eli up and it's great to be greeted with him running to me with open arms. So cute! He colored a Turkey for me, well more like scribbles. They said he had a good day.

Went home and fed Eli dinner. Aaron was at the grocery store buying the turkey when we got home. He had to take Stoli to the vet because we had noticed a growth on his flank. The vet said it was a tumor. They took a biopsy to send off, but they are thinking it is benign, poor Stoli. Aaron bought a bone for him. We also figured out that he may have allergies because he's always chewing his feet and rubbing his face. We can give him Benedryl.

I can't believe I am still awake! I think because I don't have to work tomorrow, my adrenalin is pumping! I am getting a prego massage tomorrow, Aaron's b-day gift to me. I can't wait! I have some errands to run to get the house ready to be invaded by family, LOL! Anyway, hopefully I can get all my stuff done! I have to wrap some "Thanks-mas" gifts as well. I better get to bed. Talk to you all later!

In a Nutshell

My first blog ever... I feel so outdated! I love reading other people's blogs, so I thought I should join in. Erin and Kelly both inspired me to do so, and Lindi has been a long time blogger and I really enjoy reading their blogs whenever I can. It brings a little laughter to my day, and I feel like I know what's going on in their lives. Like them, I'm sure I'll be talking a lot about family life.
In a nutshell...I've been married now for 4 years to my DH (Dear Husband), Aaron. He definitely puts up with me and I love him so much! We have a huge Labrador, Stoli, whom Aaron had given me for my b-day one year before we were married because Aaron was too scared to propose to me that year. LOL! We have an 18 month old little boy, Elijah. Eli is the center of our universe right now, he makes us see things from a different perspective and encourages us to do the things we remember doing when we were kids. He's running around, literally. Learning new words and sounds. His personality is really starting to shine. Our family is growing, we're expecting out second baby in March, we're not finding out the sex of the baby because there are very few surprises in life and finding out the sex of the baby when they are born is one of the best surprises. At this time we're calling Baby #2 Ziggy, it's a a fun, androgynous name.

This weekend we're visiting family, it's my MIL's b-day. I was able to go to breakfast with my friend Molly, it was great seeing her. She is due with her first baby, and we're only 2 days apart, amazing! After having breakfast with Molly, I was able to do my last bit of "Thanks-mas". My family is coming in town to celebrate Thanksgiving next week and we also celebrate Christmas that weekend. It's been an ongoing tradition we started when my sister got married.

Right now we're watching the KU vs. Iowa State football game. We're kicking their butts right now, making us 11-0, what a feat! Well, that's about all for now. We're waiting on my FIL to start dinner, I'm STARVING! Need to find a snack!