Two weekends and some Grandparents

A couple of weekends ago we went to Summerfest in Fergus Falls. We went a little too late and didn't take a schedule so we had no idea where/what was going on. It was really hot, so we got some ice cream and chilled out in the grass. Josie got her first taste and it was love at first taste. I didn't expect anything less.

On Wednesday (last week, I'm a wee bit behind) my parents came up to do some errands but also got some quality J time in. She couldn't have been happier reading her books to those doting two.

Last weekend we went to Bismarck for a wedding. Mike was in the wedding so Jo and I hung out one on one (nothing new there) and we dealt with the teething/lack of sleep as much as possible. Jo also got to swim again (love it of course) and dance at the wedding dance. She was so tired though from not being able to fall asleep in the hotel room, so it was a tough weekend for us all. Plus she's got this new thing where she  screams/shrieks as loud as possible all.the.time. We are less than thrilled.

Riveting game of peek-a-boo kept her happy for a solid 20 minutes. That's a record I think.

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Still Kickin'

 Life's been busy but so so good. How about a little update?


1. I spent a portion of yesterday and most of today (as of 3:00) pulling weeds, planting veggies, putting up fence, shopping for perennials and vines, and planting perennials and vines. When I say "I" what I mean is my MIL who showed up one day ready to work. How could I turn her away?? She took over on the overwhelming part, and now we aren't the trashy neighbors on the block! I really feel like we were becoming those people. *SHUDDER*. I hope to get pictures once things are flourishing a bit. 


2. I also planted a mini herb garden hanging on the ledge of our deck but chances are I killed the basil. It's windy, like really windy, and I didn't have enough dirt to support it right away so I'm thinking it's a goner. Luckily, I have seeds to start fresh, but I don't feel like waiting for the whole plant to grow. Basil, suck it up and live, ok?


3. Josie's arm and leg rash is finally going away. Unfortunately we still have no idea what caused it, but my latest theory is that it is something Buckley rubbed up against (maybe at the lake?) and she came in contact with him days later. Who knows, though. She's doing better after a mere three weeks (please note sarcasm) and we are glad to be done with it.

4. Plus she's finally getting some more teeth! The front two on top are oh so close and I hope they come in soon. She hasn't been acting like she's hurting, but I can't imagine it feels all that good.

5. I have these big plans to go through all of hubby's and my clothes and really redo how we have everything in our tiny little messy bedroom, but I can never find the right time to start. Do I wait until Josie's napping and power through (overwhelming and I usually want a nap too) or do I try to keep her busy while I tear apart the bedroom?

6. Josie swam in the lake for the first time this weekend. She literally just walked right in, clothes and all, and splashed around. The problem we have now is she gets so upset when we try to "restrain her" with a life jacket or floating device. She also doesn't want me holding her hand, but there is no way I'm letting that crazy fearless girl go free in the lake! It's not happening, sister. So we need to work on this. We're going to be hanging out in a hotel with a swimming pool while Dad is doing official usher stuff for the wedding on Saturday, so we'll get plenty of pool time with floating devices. She will just have to face facts. :)

7. Piano lessons are going good! I definitely could take on a bunch more kids, but the few I have are fabulous and I am loving giving them. I know it will pick up when school starts, so I am looking forward to that season (although it can take it's sweet time coming).

8. Guys. My hair is LONG. I like it, but I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to start looking a bit witchy or Amish. Don't get me wrong, love the Amish look, but it's not for me. If you feel that I'm getting that look, let me know pretty please.

9. I need to have a baby #2 update with a picture. I know I know, I've been terrible. I plan on changing that maybe just maybe. But but but here's the exciting news! We have our big ultrasound next Tuesday and then we'll know what we are having! Doesn't matter either way, but we're excited to find out. AND EVEN BETTER - my SIL Elizabeth is due in a week. A WEEK! I can hardly wait to hold/see the little baby (gender not known until birth) and buy some fun little baby gifts. AAHHH I cannot wait.

10. I made a smoothie for a snack today that had strawberries, bananas, and spinach and Josie loved it! Finally a way to sneak veggies into girly girl's diet. She's still been terrible about it but I'm one step ahead of her (for now).

10 is good. I like it. Hope you made it through all of that random la di da!

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Monthly Photo

Josie is 11 months old (and a week, you know how I am with these updates...never on time).

This is also her LAST laying down shot. While I'm relieved to no longer have to wrestle her, I am sad that this stage is ALREADY done.

This month Josie got her first flu, she got a horrible rash that you can still see in these pictures on her arm and leg, and she developed picky taste buds. No more eating whatever is put in front of you. Suddenly I'm being challenged to be creative with her meals so she's not just eating meat, cheese, and bread. When I say meat, I mean red meat. This girl is just like her father and doesn't want anything to do with fish or white meat! I can sometimes get her to eat it if it's covered in red sauce, but even then she usually figures out what I am up to and spits it out. Veggies are the toughest, and I'm not sure she keeps more than one or two bites actually in her mouth. 

We just started working on getting her sleeping through the night and are starting the process of weaning her off of formula. She did try whole milk but didn't like it at all so we'll see how that goes when she doesn't have formula as an option soon.

She's walking all the time and once in a while gets excited enough to attempt to run. It's pretty funny because she's just laughing and flailing her arms yet can't quite control her speed and usually ends up falling over. She's gotten better about having to be into everything she's not supposed to, and can entertain herself pretty well with books and bigger toys. I've finally got some bigger toys for her now that she's bigger, and she can't get enough!

We don't seem to get sick of each other even though we are alone most of the time. She likes to bring me books to read which absolutely warms my heart, because she's still just as independent as before and usually wants to do everything herself. 

We haven't really had to discipline her in any ways yet, since she's still a bit young for that, but the few times I gave her the look or said something in a stern voice, she just laughed at me. We'll have to work on that!

She's saying Mamama all the time and now says Dadada too, although not always in the right context. She knows that saying "hi!" happens when someone just shows up, but over uses it all the time and walks around saying hi hi hi! to anything and everything. It's fun watching her watch  us make noises too. She often will just stop and stare at our lips and then bust out laughing. If we imitate her sounds, sometimes she'll do the mocking bird thing back and forth which is one of our favorite games. Current favorite: Da boo da boo da boo with super hard consonants. She loooves saying this.

Still just the two lower teeth. We're wondering if the other teeth will ever make an appearance! She's wearing all 9-12 month clothes and I pulled out her 12-18 summer clothes too so we wouldn't have to buy more. They are a bit big still, but she can pull it off. She is 22.2 lbs as of last week although I think the biggest way she's grown is up. She's definitely a lot longer than last month! We'll get the official measurements next month at her one year appointment.

Now we have a birthday party to plan and more fun activities to do outside!

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Bit of Truth

Time for a bit of truth.

After the "honeymoon period" of the first couple of weeks, I got the flu (old news, I know) and seemed to feel better after a couple of days. But the truth was that I felt miserable. I was overwhelmed with the state of my house, felt outrun by my moving baby girl, and couldn't face the kitchen for meals and cooking. All I could think was "how am I going to do this every day?" It was such a dreadful feeling, and I felt like a failure.

But then the weekend came, we left town, had some great family time, and came back to settle into yet another routine week. This time? I thrived. Suddenly nothing was too much, I wanted to bake or cook, clean, chase the girly girl around. So what changed?

I didn't give myself time to recover. I forget sometimes that I'm pregnant and need a break sometimes. That just because I'm not over the toilet puking doesn't mean I at 100% and can do anything and everything. So after I allowed myself to rest guilt free over the weekend, I truly was able to enjoy my time and get it together in my life.

It's difficult to not be hard on myself with expectations and desires around the house. I forget that life happens and there are ups and downs.

Truth: I love staying at home and this is exactly where I am supposed to be. It's just hard to remember this when I'm not feeling good... maybe I should write this down and frame it somewhere so I won't be so hard on myself.




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