The Totman's

Bethany the talking girl

2012-02-11T13:03:00.002-06:00

Oh Bethany, you are such a fun girl! You are talking and talking all the time now and have such a fun, enjoyable personality. We can't help but smile and laugh at the things you say and do. You are now 27 months old and getting closer to 2 1/2. You are very good at going potty and poopy in the toilet at home and at Koala Bear and love that you get skittles, jelly belly's or other fun treats if you are successful! I think you wonder why mommy and daddy don't get "poopy prizes" because every time we come out of the bathroom you ask if we want a jelly belly or whether we went potty or poopy. Very different conversations with 2-year-olds coming out of the bathroom than it is with my co-workers!

You are so sweet to your sister and love doing tummy time together or laying next to her. One time when we were cuddling in bed as a family you said, "April is next to me, Mommy is next to me, Daddy is next to me!"

Little sayings or expressions are something you pick up easily. Today when I noticed water on the floor and was cleaning it up, you exclaimed "There is water EVERYWHERE!"

You LOVE Wheel of Fortune. We don't watch a ton of tv, but your favorites right now if they are on are Wild Kratts, Curious George or The Cat in the Hat in the morning, Clifford the Big Red Dog during lunch and Wheel of Fortune during dinner. Today was Saturday and when we were making lunch you asked to watch "Cwiferd! the big RED DOG!" When I told you he wasn't on today and was taking a break, you asked if he needed a time out or was sleeping :)

When you stayed at Grandma and Papa's while we went to Miami for my work meetings you built a snowman but because of the warm weather the head fell off. When you got home you told us that the "Snowman had a headache! His head fell down!"

We love you Bethany Claire Totman and think it is so fun you love to tell people your whole name! You also know mommy, daddy and April's whole names and are working on your other friends and families middle and last names too. I think it is fun you can recognize letters, you know B, D, H and A for all of our first names and sometimes recognize others too (like O). You are a little smarty pants!

Addition to my list

2012-01-24T14:03:00.002-06:00

I failed to mention that another reason that I should not have signed up for the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon is that I am old and my knees don't work as they used to.

In the first two weeks I logged over 28 miles and felt pretty good. Then, Saturday the 14th I attempted a 5.5 mile run. My knees were a bit sore at the beginning but I kept running and was impressed I finished the run. Afterwards though my knees were really sore and since then I've had a lot of swelling and needed to ice off and on and take a lot of Advil. I'm so sad! Hopefully I will heal soon so I can still run the race, but I'm taking this as a sign that I need to slow down and not rush into training.

So, you can continue to ask me how things are going, but note that I'll probably give you a sob story about my old, achy knees and how I hope to start running again soon.

April 4 months old

2012-01-21T16:55:00.004-06:00

We had April's 4 month appointment and she is staying high on the growth charts! Her pediatrician said she is doing all the right things developmentally and commented on how smiley and cheerful she was. I asked about suggestions for getting us a full night sleep one of these days and was given the green light to start some sleep training. Her reflux is still there and that might be part of the issue, but the Dr still felt she should be able to put herself back to sleep even if it does wake her up periodically. So, we'll be looking for ways to start that soon. Likely it will be a slow process but letting her cry a little at night won't hurt her and in the end we will all sleep better. Eventually April can move into her cute little room and out of our closet then!

April is doing great at tummy time and keeps her head up and legs and arms moving like she's swimming. She still loves to stand when given the chance and so we've pulled out the exersaucer and she really enjoy looks at all the toys within her reach. Bethany loves to "show April" how to do things and sometimes it is much quicker and louder than she is used to and she gets surprised. She has also been laughing a little... mostly at Bethany but loves to giggle when we're changing her and she gets to wiggle around naked for a few minutes. Her favorite time is cuddling in our bed with just her diaper on. She loves touching the sheets and blankets and wiggling her back against the soft texture.

You are so smiley and love to be talked to! Still so easy going and as long as you are held you are one happy baby. You do fine laying down and playing, but get so excited and bat your bouncey chair toys so hard when you see someone coming to get you. We love you so much sweetie!

4 month stats:
Height 25 in. 75%
Weight 15 lb 8.5 oz 90%
Head 42 cm 75%

Still gotta love those cheeks! We'll post a 4 month picture in her onesie soon! I was looking at my baby book and at 3.5 months I was over 15 lbs too and started off at almost 7 lbs, so I'm thinking the high calorie milk must be hereditary! I love my chubby baby :)

What did I get myself into?

2012-01-09T22:34:00.002-06:00

So, Amber emailed me last week and said that Brent and some friends were thinking of running in the Lake Minnetonka half marathon on May 6th and she wondered if I would think about running it too with her. I looked up the course and saw that the half-way point is literally .5 miles from our house and that much of the run is along the lake and would be beautiful. I thought to myself, how bad could 13.1 miles really be? I'm SURE I can do that! Then, for some strange reason I convinced Dan he should do it, a few co-workers and friends are in on it too. We all signed up, I came home, ran 3 miles, went to bed, woke up and said to myself... what have I gotten myself into?

Here are the things I didn't think about:
1. That it would not be easy to find time to run with 2 small children at home
2. That waiting until they go to bed means that I have to run after dinner and I'm tired by then!
3. That having a baby that doesn't sleep through the night yet means that I should really be sleeping when she is sleeping, not running like a crazy person.
4. That I really don't like running.
5. That I have never run 13.1 miles before... well I guess if you count the 3, 3, 3, and 4.25 miles I've run since I signed up I have, but I don't think you can run the half marathon over 4 days.
6. That I'm super competitive and even though this seems like a really bad decision, I probably am not going to give up very easily.
7. That it is the middle of winter and I will be training on a treadmill and not outside (boring)

But, despite all my complaining here are the few things I do know:
1. Running makes you feel awesome - the next morning after running I always feel great... a little sore, but awesome. There really is a runners high.
2. That I'm really going to love having so many people to keep me motivated towards my goal - really, I want you to ask me how I'm doing!
3. May 6th is right before summer and maybe I'll actually be able to wear fun summer dresses after being hugely pregnant last summer!

So, that is what I have gotten myself into. Wish me luck.

Photo session

2012-01-09T22:21:00.004-06:00

Funny girl

Sisters.... I don't know, is April going to catch Bethany soon in size??

Love :)

Serious

Our church recently had an opportunity to get your photo taken for the church directory. I'm really excited to get a picture directory so I can get better at people's names that I don't know! The timing we had wasn't the best as it was right before nap time, but the person after us cancelled and we got a lot of pictures taken! Scrolling through 100+ photos to see Bethany's different expression in each one is hillarious. Thanks, Daniel for all the pictures!

Bethany - 26 months (when do I stop with the "months"???)

2011-12-29T15:53:00.003-06:00

Bethany Claire is 26 months old! People are so surprised that you just turned two because of your exploding vocabulary and your high activity level :) You keep us laughing all the time. I need to remember to write down the funny things you say more so we can tell you about them when you get older.

- When Mormor and Morfar came over you had a messy shirt on from lunch. Morfar commented that it looked like you left a snack on your shirt for later. You came over to me and Mormor and said "Do you want a snack?" while lifting out your shirt for us to see!

- Another thing when they came over was when we asked if you wanted something back... you turned around in circles looking at your back to see what we were talking about. :)

- We left cookies out for Santa and you mentioned several times on Christmas morning that the "cookies all gone?!" "Santa ate cookies... reindeer"

- You also like to mention that Jesus was born in a MANGER (that part of the story really stood out to you)

- You think Santa is pretty scary though and everytime we see someone with a beard you say you don't want to sit on Santa's lap :0 and then proceed to say "ho ho ho!"

- You are very polite and say "no thank you mommy, I don't want it" when I ask if you want peas or carrots... neither isn't an option hunny!

-Now that April is with you at Koala Bear you are allowed to visit her. You want to go and visit all the time your teachers say and you talk about April a lot. Such a sweet older sister you are!

- You always want to include everyone in what you do. "Come mommy?" when you want me to join you in playing or going upstairs etc.

- Everything deserves a band-aid. Even if it is a bump, you run into our bathroom to dig for a bandaid. We've explained it is only when something bleeds, and you were excited when you skinned your knee and got to have a band-aid for real one time!

- at a restaurant you waved to a little boy with one finger and then wanted to eat our lemons and drink Dan's Mountain Dew. You then "paid" for the meal when you handed our credit card to the waitress and said "I got it!"

- at Christmas you put hot pads from Charlie's new play kitchen down your shirt and walked around and said you looked like mommy, you also took my nursing cover and put it on and asked to feed April :)

- you took your crayons and started drawing on your eyes like mommy

You are a fun, fun little girl and we love this crazy age! You love to sit around with us drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music even if the sitting only lasts for 3-5 minutes :)

More December 2011 pictures

2011-12-27T18:16:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm still having trouble uploading pictures but I'm trying to get a few uploaded here and there. I certainly can not miss the opportunity to post pictures of my adorably chubby 3 month old! Here are a few recent ones of her in her 3-6 month clothes... I love the Christmas outfit that she barely fits into!

April 3 months old

2011-12-27T16:12:00.002-06:00

I couldn't get the picture to come up so I converted it to video... hopefully this works!

Well, sweet girl, you are 3 months old. We know you weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz in early December so you are likely pushing 15 lbs easily by now! You fit perfectly into your 3-6 month clothes but pretty soon we need to get your 9 month clothes out and washed.

You are SO good. Everyone comments on how easy you are and how you love to just be held and talked to. When I went back to work, the nursery workers said that you just hang out and love to interact with people. I sometimes have to put you down, but as soon as I'm back you flash that beautiful full face smile at me and it makes me feel so special! (But, I've seen you give others that smile too.. it isn't just reserved for me!)

We've been comparing pictures and videos of you and Bethany when she was your age and you look very different. She was always moving and tended to screech if she didn't get what she wanted. You definitely want to be fed and held, but your protests aren't quite as loud and you are quickly calmed.

Bedtime is still a challenge because you wake up quickly after being laid down. You can put yourself to sleep just fine, but end up waking up a lot and in order to keep the rest of the family sleeping, I usually pick you up and you give me a BIG smile. I know you just want to cuddle and somehow you sleep so much better snuggled under my arm in our bed. This is something that we will need to address soon, but I think we'll wait until 4 months. It is also a reason why you might be putting on the lbs because you eat around the clock! A lot of babies eat throughout the day and then that allows them to sleep through the night. You may be bothered by your reflux still and so since you wake up, it seems like feeding you is what you want.

You are doing so well at holding your head up and we are trying to keep practicing more tummy time. We put you in your Bumbo seat last night (snuggly) and you played with a toy. When you concentrate on things you bite your lower lip, it is so cute! Both of your bottom two teeth are now in and hopefully we won't have to go through teething for awhile ago. Not that you fuss a lot, but I can tell it does give you a bit of pain and it is certainly painful for me feeding you :)

I can't tell you how special you are to us, April Faith. This last month has had some very difficult times that I'm not ready to process on paper (or blog) yet and I may never be able to. All I know is that you are one loved little girl and we thank Jesus for you.

December 2011

2011-12-27T16:00:00.003-06:00

I'm having trouble uploading pictures, so will have to figure that out soon since I have so many to share! In the meantime, here is one of the girls yesterday when we had our first fire in our fireplace. Merry Christmas everyone!

April 11.5 weeks

2011-12-13T09:15:00.002-06:00

My sweet April

2011-11-29T13:50:00.004-06:00

You are so smiley and sweet! When it is just you and me on our Tuesday's together you love to look at me and coo. We carry on long conversations like that. You have such big, wide eye expressions and get so happy when someone talks with you. You are such an easy baby... just hanging out, rarely crying and waiting to interact with people. I know you love to be with me so night time is still a little tough with only one good stretch of sleep before you join me in bed to cuddle. We also might have a problem with the bottle since you don't seem to like try it or a pacifier. Tonight when I go to the Christmas Tea with grandma, hopefully you'll decide it is ok with daddy and papa though!

At 9 weeks old you are very facinated with your hand and even things further away. You also like to push up on everything by standing with your feet! Sister is by far your favorite thing to silently laugh at. Cuddling together in her bed or when she comes to lay by you when you do tummy time she is a big fan of yours! I'm so happy that you get a sister and can hopefully be close as the years go by.

I love you so much - thankful for our days together!

Bethany's view of how the Vikings are doing this year

2011-11-22T12:22:00.003-06:00

At 2-7 the Vikings have had a tough season so far. But, each Sunday we all get our Vikings gear on to cheer them on. Bethany has picked up on some things we've had to do throughout most of the games this season when watching the games. She also seams to like watching the Bears instead because then we can talk about her cousins from Chicago.

You are too funny Bethany! You pick up on everything we say! Another favorite is when anyone leaves you say "Bye bye, nice to see you! Have a nice day!" You are such a cheerful little girl and you bring joy everywhere you go!

April is 2 months old!

2011-11-21T17:05:00.003-06:00

We had April's 2 month apointment today and with it a few shots, boo hoo. She gave me sad looks the rest of the day and I could tell her little legs were sore. She is our VERY healthy little girl weighing in at just over 13 lbs which puts her in the 90% percentile on the growth charts. Bethany never has made it over 50% so I asked if there is anything to be concerned about (am I feeding her TOO much?), but they assured me that she is just a well-nursed healthy baby and that being full-term means she is always going to be bigger until they level off between 9 months and 1 year. She should be sleeping longer stretches though so they adjusted her reflux meds and hopefully we'll see a 6 hour stretch at night sometime soon!

She is all smiles for me and Bethany during the day and gives us little coo's to chat when we talk to her. Her head is getting very stable and she likes to push up with her legs on our laps when we hold her. She likes to look at her toys in front of her and has found her fist to chew on and look at when it goes by her face.
By far the cutest thing about her is still her cheeks. Now with the big smiles she has I just want to squeeze her and all those little chins and neck rolls! I need to capture the extent of her cheeks and rolls sometime but she doesn't seem to like the camera. She is all smiles and then the big black camera comes and she frowns and gets a concerned look on her face.

April you love to be held and talked to and just like to hang out with all the excitement in our house! You are a lot more laid back than your sister so we'll see if that continues, and how your personality will continue to develop.

2 month stats:
Height: 22 1/2 in. 50%
Weight: 13 lbs. 1.5 oz, 90%
Head: 39 cm. 75%

November 2011

2011-11-09T14:25:00.008-06:00

Busy month so far! A few get togethers with friends and family, a trip to Willmar to see my Grandpa who is recovering from West Nile virus, and a surprise 40th anniversary party for Dan's parents. In January, Dan's sister Melissa started talking with us about the idea and throughout the year we talked about details. It turned out to be a wonderful event and many friends and family of theirs were able to make it!

Surprise!

Paul was the MC

Great-grandma Edna with April

Grandma and Papa with all the grandkids

Bethany and mommy on ride at Mall of America

2011-10-31T14:46:00.003-05:00

Bethany turns 2

2011-10-31T14:22:00.005-05:00

My how time flies... as I look at little April I can't help but remember back just two short years ago when the baby I was cuddling was Bethany and now she is 2! Such an fun loving active toddler who loves her baby sister and family so much. We had her two year dr. appointment on Halloween and while she has fairly average stats, I feel like she acts so much older than 2. She keeps up with friends that are much older, she doesn't have a lot of fear, and when I read about things she should be doing now - like learning how to jump - I think back to when she mastered that last spring!

Height: 34 1/2 inches - 55%
Weight: 28.4 lbs - 50%
Head: 47 cm - 75%

Bethany is progressing with the toilet training and we've instituted the "Poopy Prize" as a result. I think Bethany is a rule person like me and likes to look forward to things, know what is going to happen etc. So when we told her to sit on her potty chair or the toilet she was like, why? I have a perfectly good diaper for that! But, when we told her about this wonderful prize that she could get if she went, she immediately sat on the toilet and pooped. I took out a slinky from the box of toys I've saved for when I need Bethany occupied while I'm feeding April and told her it was a special prize for when she goes poopy. Oh, a Poopy Prize! she said. We let her play for a few minutes and then carefully put it away for the next time she had to go. It was a huge success, she was now telling everyone about her poopy prize and when she would see anything that resembled a slinky she'd ask if it was her poopy prize. There is a commercial on tv with a slinky that goes down the road and she yells "MY POOPY PRIZE" every time it is on. So happy that it is still working and that we don't have to think of a new prize each time either! I'm not pushing the training but we ask her throughout the day and so far she is most consistent right away in the morning and before bed. Other times will be harder to spot and catch when she needs to go but the Dr said normally kids are interested between 2 1/2 and 3 so she's doing good to be starting now!

Bethany listens and understands us so well that I'm often surprised at what she picks up on even if we aren't talking directly to her. We had been watching the Vikings game and then mentioned the Chicago Bears and she started listing off her cousins that live in "ChicaGO" because we had been talking about that the week before. Grandma and Papa were visiting Chicago and so she remembers that and picks up on it anytime she hears about Chicago.

Speaking of the Vikings, she loves to watch the games with us and although the season has been miserable it is quite funny what she sees us do. Now, just ask her if she likes the Vikings and she'll put her hand on her head, shake it and say "oh no" :)

Bethany is VERY good at counting and saying her ABC's. In fact, it is the choice song to try and help April if she starts crying in the car. So, as I'm driving and listening to April scream because she's had enough of being in the car, all of a sudden Bethany starts yelling at the top of her lungs the ABC's to try and quiet April down! Very relaxing car rides these days.

She is also starting to pick up on emotions. We've mentioned to her when things she does make us happy or sometimes sad and so now if we're excited about something and laughing, she'll come up and say "Happy mommy?" - yes, hunny, I'm happy :) Or, if I'm overwhelmed with the lack of sleep and started to cry once, she crawled into my lap to give me a hug... "sad mommy? It ok." Makes my heart want to burst with her sweet spirit caring for others so much!

Bethany is very aware of April and wants to know exactly where she is at all times! In the morning if we leave her in our room to stay asleep and come out to help Bethany get breakfast she always asks "where's April? where April go?" If I forget and leave our door open she'll always run in and peak at her sister trying to sleep.

At night before bed, our reading the Bible time and prayer as a family always ends with kisses. Bethany has to kiss April first. I've been replaced as the first one she wants to hug and kiss!

We are also entering the "why" phase. She is genuinely interested in why things happen, or why I do things a certain way but asking why 10-15 times is a little much even though it is cute!

If we have plans for the day it is fun to tell Bethany about them and then she looks forward to it all day. For example, going to the zoo with Charlie was talked about the entire day before and afterwards she had so much fun telling daddy about it too.

Bethany loves music and so each car has a kids CD constantly playing if she's riding along and she knows which car she is in and which songs are coming up. In daddy's car she'll say "the bus song" or "jericho" until we turn on the CD! We sing songs a lot at home, she has a clean-up song and we made up a zoo song and they all have dances too. Her laptop she got for her birthday has songs and that button is constantly being pushed :)

She surprises us with a lot of new and funny words like aroma (Dan taught her that when making coffee).

Bethany's 2nd birthday was a lot of fun. We played at home in the morning and after her nap Dan got off work early so we could go to IHOP for dinner and then to Mall of America to go on rides. Bethany loved it! As a chaperone we could ride along with her when she didn't meet the height requirement and she just wanted to keep going and going on all the rides. Some were a little scary, but the one we took a video of I thought was so fast but she loved it!

On Saturday we went trick or treating in Wayzata at some local businesses and she had so much fun as a "ee odder" before coming home for her nap before her birthday party. Both grandparents and my sister's family and my Aunt Lynette came and Bethany loved being in the center of attention. Amber brought some balloons including an Elmo balloon which was a big hit! I decorated my first cake as Elmo for her and it turned out good - at least it looked like Elmo!

Bethany, your dad and I love you so much. Whenever I tell you that mommy loves you, you always say "daddy?" Yes, daddy loves you. "April" Yes, April loves you. And we're also reminding you that Jesus loves you too. You are so special to us and everyone around you. Thanks for making our lives so entertaining with your joyful spirit. We can't wait to see you continue to grow and develop into the beautiful little girl that you are!

making my mom's homemade oatmeal bread recipe together

Bethany wearing the "I'm 2" barrettes that I wore when I was 2

of course I had to include our little smiley pumpkin April at 5 weeks old and cutting her first tooth!

April's 1st smile - 1 month old

2011-10-24T13:51:00.004-05:00

I can't believe April turned 1 month old this past Saturday! We had gone into the doctor on Thursday to get some reflux medication because she has had a hard time going to sleep by herself laying flat. I think the meds are working because last night she slept 2 hours straight, woke up to eat and then slept another 1 hour in her pack n play. Even today she has take a 1 hr nap and a 1.5 hr nap in there so I think we are doing a little better than before when she'd only sleep laying right next to me or with me holding her.

Other than sleeping, April is a wonderful baby. She puts up with a lot of noise from big sister Bethany and lots of inadvertant bonks and overall just loves to be around us. We were so excited that on her one month birthday she was all smiles! I was saying her name in an exaggerated way and she just looked at me for awhile and then her eyes lit up and she smiled and smiled. Bethany joined in and we had fun trying to catch pictures of it.

April you are such a sweetie and while I'd love a little more sleep, I have to say that snuggling with you is pretty fun and I know I'll miss these moments someday :) We love you so much and love your little smiles and smirks. You big cheeks make me smile and want to just eat you up! You are growing so well - 10 lbs 5 oz at the Dr this week (Bethany didn't get to that point until her 2 month bday!) and are getting so strong trying to hold your head up and practice tummy time. Thanks for being so flexible and coming along for the ride with your busy older sister!

Some pics of Bethany and friends in the past 2.5 weeks

2011-10-10T15:46:00.004-05:00

love my sister!

double stroller rides are fun!

fun with Brayden

ready for the day

time to help daddy with the leaves

Bethany and Brayden in the leaves

reading to sister "Aper"

Some pictures of April in the last 2.5 weeks

2011-10-10T15:33:00.007-05:00

Sometimes like being swaddled!

Coming home!

Love mommy and daddy's bed

love my headband

first bath at home

cuddly after my bath

cute giraffe bath robe

hanging out with daddy

little smirk

sad cause I haven't eaten in 20 minutes!

sleeping while mommy blogs today

2011 socks from Waconia hospital

Bethany singing the ABC's - 23 months

2011-10-10T15:14:00.004-05:00

April's birth story

2011-10-10T13:45:00.007-05:00

Both kids are napping at the same time! So, I'm taking advantage of feeling relatively rested today (oh yeah, I had a cup of coffee this morning too) and will attempt to capture April's birth story so I don't forget.

I could not believe that on September 21st, the day before my due date, that I would still be pregnant! The Dr's had warned that we may always have premature babies and so I was prepared for an August baby but understood that if I was careful it may be possible to extend my pregnancy and go longer if not full-term. When Labor Day came and went, then the 37 week mark (full-term), then 38 weeks, 39.... I started wondering if I was going to go PAST my due date!?! My back pain had continued for most of the 3rd trimester and while the beautiful weather helped some, I was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. I started thinking about what natural ways I could speed things along and remembered that with Bethany my water broke shortly after I had a massage to try and help my severe back pain. They had said they would not use the massage to induce me, but sometimes just being really relaxed causes the body to go into labor if you are otherwise ready. Even if it didn't I'd get a massage out of the deal :)

So, on the 21st I had a wonderful massage and got a lot done around the house that evening while Dan went to sleep early around 8:30 as he was getting over a cold. I chatted on the phone with my dad while cleaning the entire kitchen, doing laundry and picking up the house (can you say nesting?). At about 10:30 I was getting tired and climbed into bed. Just as I got all my pillows situated around my large belly I felt my water break! I ran into the bathroom while telling Dan to get up and 5 minutes later poked my head out the door to make sure he was awake (he wasn't). He called his parents to come stay over with Bethany so we could head to the hospital, and I called Methodist to let them know my water broke and to see if we should come right away or wait for the contractions to be closer together. They were glad I called as they were over capacity and needed to divert me to another hospital. I was not prepared for that and had tons of questions about whether our insurance would cover another place, if my Dr would be there, where was the next closest hospital etc. A few friends had delivered at Waconia and loved the birthing center and it was only a little farther from Methodist anyway so we had them send my files there. They were actually pretty busy too so I started checking with Maple Grove to see if they had room but when I called back to Methodist they said Waconia would be expecting me and it would be fine. I tried to figure out the insurance situation too by calling Health Partners but being after hours I couldn't get an answer and so we ended up just packing our bags and going. At this point my contractions were about 5 minutes apart and remembering stories of other moms quick deliveries of 2nd and 3rd kids made me think it was important to just get to a hospital. Dan didn't want to deliver a baby in our car :)

We checked in around 12:30 a.m. and my contractions started getting farther apart so we tried walking the hallways. It was a long night and I was tired! They wanted to speed things along after I started to stall so gave me a very small amount of Pitocin and it worked immediately. I started having contractions 1-2 minutes apart around 5 am and after my epidural tried to rest for a little bit. Just like with Bethany, as soon as I started to rest I started feeling a lot of pressure and asked the nurse to check me. The Dr. came by at 7 on his way to a twins c-section and said "wow, I wasn't expecting that - you are crowning!" He couldn't do the delivery since the other mom was already ready so they called another Dr. who lived nearby to come over quickly and deliver our baby! I felt like I needed to push but they told me to try not to (ha!) so every couple minutes I wanted someone to make sure she wasn't coming out too quickly - Dan did not want that job so thankfully the nurse stayed nearby. Finally, the other Dr arrived and got on her scrubs and we were ready to push. I tried to remember what to do and 3 pushes later, April Faith arrived! As I was pushing my water burst again and was very memorable seeing the floor flood (Dan jumped out of the way). The other thing that was scary was that the cord was wrapped around April's neck and body twice. They said it was a long cord but thankfully they got her unwrapped and since it was a quick delivery everything was fine. I got to hold her right away and hear her cry... the most amazing sound! They got her cleaned up, she weighed in at 8 lb 1 oz and was 20 in long born at 8:12 a.m. on her due date, September 22nd, 2011. I had a reminder on my outlook calendar telling me it was her due date from 8-8:30 so she came very promptly during that meeting invite to arrive at 8:12!

It was so fun to look at her, her chubby little cheeks and count her fingers and long toes. We were so thankful she was healthy! Big sister Bethany came with Papa and Grandma later that morning and Auntie Amber and Mormor and Morfar came that afternoon. Like a big sister, Bethany shared her cold with Bethany immediately upon meeting her with a big sneeze. I was scared she would get sick, and she did get a cold, but thankfully no fever.

We got to go home on Saturday and while she was jaundiced similarly to Bethany, they expected it was breast milk jaundice and that she'd get better around the 2 mo mark like Bethany did. We had a follow-up pediatrician appointment on Monday that confirmed the high levels and they also detected a heart murmur so we went to Children's the next day for a cardiologist appointment where they showed us exactly where the small holes were. There were two holes but were very tiny and should close on their own within a year. However, we want to document them because any dr that sees April will hear the murmur and want to be sure it isn't dangerous (which it shouldn't be because these holes are very common).

Dan went back to work on the 29th and Bethany, April and I tried to figure out how to all be home together. Bethany thankfully has been very loving to April so far. She has limited listening skills to me, but loves to hold and talk to April whenever she can. We are staying busy with visitors and play dates and are loving the beautiful fall weather. The first 8 days of October had temperatures in the 80's! Bethany is going to be going to Koala Bear one day a week to keep some consistency with her new friends so we don't have another transition in December and hopefully that will be a nice thing for her to look forward to. I know I am looking forward to having a day to catch up on sleep with just April at home. For some reason April hasn't been sleeping during Bethany's naptime so "sleep when the baby sleeps" hasn't been working with the 2nd child at home for me. I'm also hoping that once April's cold clears up that she'll sleep better at night. So far she has been wanting to cuddle and nurse ALL NIGHT LONG. It is sweet to have a newborn so cuddly, but I also know sleeping is important when you have an active almost 2-year old during the day to keep busy. April will be 3 weeks on Thursday so hopefully by then we'll have some longer stretches at night where she is ok sleeping in her pack n play.

April, you are an adorable little girl and we love you so much! Thank you for joining our family and while big sister Bethany may be very loud sometimes and not understand that she shouldn't get so close to your face and point out your eyes, nose and mouth so forcefully, she loves you very much too!

April Faith

2011-09-27T16:39:00.002-05:00

She's here! April Faith arrived on her due date, September 22nd at 8:12 a.m. She weighed 8 lb 1 oz and was 20 inches long. I'll post a longer version of her birth story soon, but we are home as of Saturday and Bethany came home from Grandma and Papa's on Sunday afternoon and we're adjusting as a family of 4! Dan goes back to work on Thursday so I'm figuring out how to be the best mom of two girls that I can be.

You're still here?

2011-09-19T09:11:00.002-05:00

Yep! No baby yet. This pregnancy has been crazy with my emergency appendectomy, headaches, a broken toe, a condition that caused me to have ultrasounds every 2 weeks at Methodist, moving out of the cabin, moving into our house, moving out of our old house, remodeling Bethany's room, changing daycare, moving Bethany into a big girl bed, back pain etc.

With our due date just days away, it just goes to show that every pregnancy is different! I think it could be for a number of different reasons and here are a few...

- I've done it before. Now that I have gone through this, I'm paying much more attention to warning signs and being more careful about doing too much (not going on 20+ mile bike trips without a cell phone for example)
- We have a Sleep Number bed. I know Dan works for Select Comfort so this may seem like a shameless plug, but I seriously sleep soooo much better than I did before we got the bed. Since our bed arrived the day my water broke with Bethany I didn't get the benefit of sleeping on it last pregnancy, but this time it has been wonderful!
- I'm a Type A personality. Because I want to be able to plan for everything, God must have wanted to keep my on my toes with a 5 week early baby and now a full-term (or past!) baby this time. It has been so strange trying to plan for a 7 week time period that I may be out on leave for work.
- This baby is going to be laid back. Bethany was ready to face the world early and that fits her personality now, so maybe this baby will be different.

So, baby girl, I'm learning a lot about myself during this process and about you! We can't wait to meet you and although I'd love some sort of message telling me exactly when that will be, I will be patiently waiting.

No baby on Labor Day

2011-09-06T16:16:00.004-05:00

Although I thought it would be quite humorous to have a baby on Labor Day, this little girl is content to stay put for the time being. I'm now 37.5 weeks pregnant and feeling great! The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful and it looks like it is going to last all week.... I love fall. We had a fun filled weekend getting a bedroom set for our bedroom, building storage shelves for our basement storage room for all the boxes to unpack someday, going to the fair and then the Minnetonka Orchard. Dan and I even got in a boat ride together to finally figure out a baby name. We're down to only a couple options now so I think we're ready!

Here are some pictures from the last week or so of fun.

Waiting for the bus to go to the fair - Bethany talked about the bus all day and woke up the next morning reminding us of the bus ride and who went on it ("mommy, daddy, Charlie, auntie" (and yes Brent we know you were there too:)

This one looks good

on the hayride at the orchard

She loved all the baby animals, and we're hoping for a miracle of birth soon too!

This is her current favorite book counting all the items on each page. There are 10 buttons which Dan and I have had to count many, many, many times and she does a great job counting along with us

Cutie pie at the Gale Woods farm last week before we found out we got free state fair tickets (thanks, Mike!)

which way do we go at the orchard? yummy apple donuts please!

cute little farm kids

checking out the chickens

Fun to grill yesterday with my whole family and just enjoy the nice weather at the lake. It will never be as easy as it is now once baby #2 comes, so I'm enjoying every minute!

Chatterbox

2011-08-29T20:44:00.002-05:00

Someone told me that once Bethany started talking, it would be tough to get her to stop. Well that is certainly proving to be correct. In the last month or so her vocabulary has really taken off! I'm sure I'll miss a lot in my quick list, but here are some things she is saying these days:

my shoes (especially when she wants to go outside, and is usually followed by mommy shoes? or daddy shoes? if she wants us to come too)
oh no! (exclaimed anytime someone else is talking animatedly - like she wants to participate in the conversation)
clean up (sung to a song Auntie Amber taught her to pick up her toys - but everyone around must help clean-up time or else)
boat ride or dock, usually followed by saying fast (very excited to go fast on the boat and she has a favorite spot to hold on while she jumps up and down when we speed up)
thank you and please (still working on those but sometimes said spontaneously)
ABC's (she sings the entire song along with us, sometimes hard to hear each letter, but she knows what comes next in the song)
A bee! (stated at every bug, bee or fly that comes near us)
Mommy eye, mommy nose, mommy owie (puts mommy or daddy in front of everything she is talking about us for)

A week or so ago Bethany and I were outside and she saw a fly buzzing around and she said "bee!" I told her it was a fly, which she repeated, but then I told her to say "shoo fly" and she had the most confused look on her face. She slowly bent down and took off her shoe and started shaking it at the fly saying "shoe fly!" Too funny. I'm sure a lot of what we're teaching her is confusing like that, but I don't stop to think about it from her perspective which is what made me laugh so hard at this.

Bethany is also jumping, real jumping! She gets so excited if we say we're going to see cousin "Charyee" or friends "Ayish" or "baby E" she says yay, yay, yay while jumping with both feet off the ground. She loves to try and jump off anything, which we try to discourage, but she is really coordinated and seems to do just fine pushing her boundaries if we feel it is safe enough. Her interest in balls to kick, or bounce or throw is also really interesting and I wonder if we have a little athlete on our hands?

Bethany - we love you so much! At 22 months you are an active, busy full-fledged toddler and we love you to pieces. We're so proud you've adjusted so well to your new surroundings and pray that you continue to love to sing your Bible songs and read our Bible stories each night. I love when you point out Jesus in the stories and remind us to pray for dinner or before bed if we happen to forget. You love routine and know exactly what we need to do for simple things, like going for a boat ride - you get your shoes, towell, and then make sure mommy and daddy get theirs too :) We can't wait for your new little sister to arrive because you will be a great role model for her to look up to - her big sister!

New baby's nursery

2011-08-21T21:58:00.005-05:00

Here it is! Having baby #2 is so nice when you can reuse everything you had the first time around. The furniture fits in the room so well, now all we need is baby in a few more weeks!

Thanks Dan for getting the ceiling light and fan and closet shelves done and Roger and Monica for painting and helping Dan move in the furniture last weekend. And Amber for helping get the tiny diapers and clothes in the drawers :)

Moving, Part 2

2011-08-20T21:47:00.002-05:00

We sold our Minnetonka place! It has been a busy couple of weeks trying to get all the details finalized but we will be closing September 13th. We were concerned about a couple of things that could cause the deal to go through but so far things are moving along smoothly. The inspection found what we had expected that the roof over the addition needed replacing but thankfully that was the only thing they asked to have done. Dan spent yesterday afternoon and evening tearing off the old roof and laying new water barriers so that the Richters could come next week and put down the new shingles. Scott came and helped which was great to have someone with experience in roofing, plus to keep Dan going after a long tiring day!

We're now in the midst of packing as we left the house pretty much fully furnished for showings. Dan and his parents moved everything for the nursery into the baby's room last weekend and everytime we stop at the house we pick up a few things to hopefully make the move next weekend go as smoothly and quickly as possible. I'll post some pictures of the baby's room as soon as I take some - it turned out great! I love the Harvest Brown color on the walls (thanks Monica for painting the rooms upstairs!) and with the sloped ceilings it is such a cute little nursery.

The weather has been perfect for packing and Dan's roofing project and I hope it stays nice through next weekend too. June was cold and rainy, July was HOT but so far August has been pleasant which has been so wonderful being pregnant. Even though I've had a few bad back pain days, this week I'm feeling a lot better and actually have been getting some things checked off my to-do list. Amber came with Charlie and helped me organize the baby's room and get her clothes washed and put away... so nice! It would be great if I can last a few more weeks, not only for the baby's sake, but also to get through the move and hopefully feel a bit more organized and ready.

A couple more things on my to-do list:
PICK A BABY NAME!!! We are down to three first names, but need to agree on the middle
Buy a baby book, 2nd video monitor, noise maker (love the sleep sheep) and a few more things on my registery
Find rugs and toy storage for Bethany's room - I'm thinking shelves with baskets to keep things hidden but cute
Pack my hospital bag - Bethany was born at 35 weeks, 5 days which is next Monday.. what will this baby do?

Lots of other things to do related to organizing and unpacking, but that is what winter months are for, right? I still want to enjoy the summer as much as possible and give Bethany lots of 1:1 attention. She had a hard time seeing the crib get setup and her baby toys be put in the room. We kept making a big deal of her big girl bed, fun new room and toys but I'm sure she is remembering when she had the baby things not that long ago and it is yet another transition. She has been a trooper though and really good about everything all things considered.

I'll need another post to talk about all of her new words, but her vocabulary has just exploded the last few weeks! She came in from a walk with Grandma last week and said she saw a "Derr!" and that the boat "beeped" at her when she waved. She repeats everything we say (better be careful!) and we can understand so much more of what she says which is fun. At almost 22 months, she is growing up so fast and will tell you she's "one" with her pointer finger... good thing she caught on to that before we have to start teaching her "two" in October!

weekend getaway for Kevin's wedding near Lutsen

2011-08-07T15:29:00.003-05:00

New Room

2011-07-31T20:56:00.009-05:00

Last week was a whirlwind! I had a great birthday, the humidity stayed low on Sunday and Monday last week for our get together with my family and then for Dan and I to go out while his mom watched Bethany. It was fun to go out on the boat and enjoy a perfect summer evening.

They got to work on the baby room Tuesday and Wednesday and then Dan and his parents got some priming and painting started so Dan could lay the wood flooring. It only took him 8 hours starting Friday evening and finishing Saturday afternoon. He cleaned and put her new furniture in and then we showed Bethany her new room. She loved it! Dan thought it would be fun for her to sleep there, but she was so excited it took her awhile to fall asleep so it was a long night. Tonight was night #2 in her new room and she was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. We're hoping that trend continues so she gets used to her new room before baby comes!

We had a few more visitors today with Dan's aunt and uncle from Colorado and then my best friend from high school's family with new baby Freddy! Bethany loves playing with Sophie and the two girls were giggling under Bethany's covers in her new room together... I think it is a sign of my future with little girls :)

so the video has title slides apparently, not sure how I did that!

It's been HOT!

2011-07-21T09:45:00.002-05:00

Bethany has found a nice way to stay cool in this heat wave we've been experiencing. The last week has been incredibly warm with record levels of heat and humidity. Much to my dismay this has led to more Braxton Hicks contractions and back pain if I do anything besides sitting in AC laying down... not great for nesting and getting ready for baby!

I'm so excited that Bethany's room is almost done! The sheetrock is installed so we may be able to paint this weekend, yay! I also found an adorable classic bedroom set on craigslist in yellow that I originally was told had sold, but the other buyer didn't pick it up so we were able to get it! It's a 40 year-old trundle bed set from Gabberts so is great quality and has a retro feel to it... I love it! I now need to pick paint and then decide between hardwood or carpet squares for the floors (both for easy clean-up). We may get that part of the project done by the end of July, how nice would that be?

More summer pictures

2011-07-10T14:37:00.002-05:00

Close-up of Bethany (20 months) during her fun-filled weekend. Each morning she woke up the 4th of July weekend we talked about the previous days' activities and she jibber-jabbered on and on about how much fun she was having.

This was a little dangerous having two toddlers (Bethany and Charlie) running around with mallets and balls, but they were having fun!

Happily watching Cars and eating a sucker during her first haircut

Warming up in her "Bethany sized" folding chair after swimming at the Momentum Lake Day

My mom, sister and cousin took WAY more pictures of the weekend fun but I haven't gotten them yet. It will be fun to see them and then I'll have to post our favorites soon!

In other news, Bethany is going to be attending a new daycare in a few weeks. She LOVED her time at Westwood with all the loving teachers and her friends, but we're going to try a new place we found closer to home. That way she'll spend less time in the car and it will be easier to pick her up and drop her off the days she attends. It will be nice to get that transition done before the baby comes so she can start to develop new friendships. They just moved to a brand-new facility and the day we visited they were finishing the new playground. It will be so nice that everything is new and clean and they are even opening a new 12-24 month toddler room now that Bethany is enrolling with a 1-4 ratio of teachers to kids so she'll get some extra attention to help with the transition too. One other fun thing is that because they're right on Lake Minnetonka they take the kids on pontoon rides once a week during the summer! I thought it was funny that the materials said to pack the normal things like diapers, wipes, extra clothes... and a lifejacket :)

The weather has really been nice for swimming - the water is so much warmer now! There is a public place with a beach one house down from us that few know about that we've been enjoying. Bethany likes to run in and out of the water on her own and our own lot is about waist deep when you get in, so this is perfect for toddlers. She also loves our boat rides and gets upset if we try to go down to the dock without getting in the boat. We try to go fairly slow to avoid too many waves and bumps for my pregnant belly but Bethany would prefer to go fast the whole time. More, more, MORE she'll say as soon as we slow down.

Still good news from the Dr that there aren't imminent signs that we'll have the baby in the immediate future. I'm almost 30 weeks so 10 left to go! She is moving around a lot and when I relax in the evenings my belly is quite comical with all the motion. We have Kevin and Rachel's wedding the beginning of August in Lutsen and I'd love to have the green light for the drive and make it the full 10 more weeks!

Dan has been busy tearing out the closet in Bethany's new room to prepare for the contractors to come in for the renovation. We're hoping they'll be able to start later this week! My goal has been to have everything done by the end of July so we have time to move in the baby furniture to her room and Bethany's room permanently upstairs. Hopefully things will continue to make progress :)

Summer fun

2011-07-06T21:52:00.003-05:00

I should post titles like my last one more often - summer has finally arrived! I still have more pictures to upload but blogger is too slow tonight. We had a great weekend with family and friends. My aunt and cousin from Phoenix came and everyone came over to our house Saturday for a lake day, Sunday friends came by and Monday we went to the Apple Valley parade and later that evening went out on the boat with Dan's parents to watch fireworks. It was a fun filled weekend!

Dan and Bethany at the 4th of July Apple Valley parade - lucky girl gets a yummy sucker
Roger, Monica and Bethany ready to watch 4th of July fireworks from the boat

Bethany playing a frisbee game with Mormor and Morfar at Lake Harriet listening to a band
Aunt Lynette and Bethany - she's enjoying her watermelon

Summer, summer, where art thou?

2011-06-26T21:05:00.009-05:00

I haven't posted since the middle of May, whoops! It has been a little crazy around here, mostly due to our move on June 11th, and after a break from blogging I realize that the thought of trying to catch-up on everything is a bit overwhelming so I think I'll just give you little snippets of what has been going on with us.

At the end of May we went on a family vacation to Riviera Maya, Mexico! It was HOT, HOT, HOT and when we arrived the first room had no a/c so I was feeling a little nervous and debating looking up the next flight home. Dan was trying so hard to try and make his emotional, pregnant wife happy while resolving the situation and we finally found a slightly cooler room that turned out great for the week :) Bethany did great and loved swimming in the pools and the ocean and we all enjoyed our last vacation as a family of 3.

Once we got home we quickly got ready for the move and on Saturday, June 11th moved the cabin things from storage and the things we needed from our current place into our new home! It turned out to be a great day and we had family and friends along with 2 movers to make things going smoothly. Even though I was only allowed to carry my purse, it was a tiring day trying to decide where to tell people to put things and make little decisions while walking around. We all slept so well that night.... in fact Bethany spent her first night in a twin bed! We had borrowed a bed rail from Joel and Erin and decided one big transition from a crib to a twin bed in a new house sounded easier than a few smaller transitions. She did great! She has since figured out that she can actually get out of her bed but when she's tired she goes right to sleep and on average sleeps from 8:30-6:30. Bethany has also decided that one nap is just fine for her so that is another big adjustment (more so for us I think!). My mom helped us find some big girl bedding so her temporary room while we get her room upstairs finished is all for her.

We're finally starting to feel a little settled, thanks to lots of help from Dan's mom the first week after we moved. She came over almost every day that week while we were at work and put things away, cleaned and did laundry which was so helpful! My mom helped sort through things one day too and things always go faster with help :)

My grandparents and the rest of our family came over to celebrate Father's Day. I think we're going to enjoy hosting get togethers here even more than the cabin because we can be here all week, not just the weekends!

Let's see... other news worthy items include Bethany's first hair cut this weekend! She did great during the hair cut but didn't enjoy the blow dryer all that much. She looks so grown up now with her baby hair trimmed, and yes, I did keep some for her baby book!

A few big purchases have also occured: Dan's dad found a riding lawn mower at a garage sale and so we bought it after we (ok, Dan) realized mowing our larger lawn with a push mower wasn't so fun. We also got a treadmill and the boat lift is being installed tomorrow. Boat lift is essential so we can start enjoying the boat - it hasn't been out yet this summer; and the treadmill will be key for my maternity leave this fall after the complications and caring for a toddler this pregnancy have left my workouts non-existent.

If I think of anything else I'll post again, otherwise I think we're pretty caught up! My aunt and cousin are coming from AZ next weekend over the 4th of July so we'll have lots of family time and other get togethers with friends to look forward to. I can't believe how cool and rainy this summer has been though this far, hence the title of my post. This week is supposed to be in the 90's and I say bring it on!

18 months?!?

2011-05-14T11:44:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old! It is funny this whole time thing... on one hand it seems like just yesterday we were heading to the hospital and holding our sweet baby girl 10 hours later, and on the other hand I can't remember life without Bethany. So many friends have had babies in the last few weeks that I caught myself thinking back to those first few weeks; so little sleep, trying to figure out what each cry meant, but most of all lots of snuggling and staring at this wonderful new creation that was mine!

Bethany had her 18 month appointment this week and is doing great. She showed the Dr how she likes to jump and climb on everything. We asked if she was a monkey and she started saying "ooo-ooo-OO!" like a monkey says. She showed off where her nose, mouth, eyes, belly button and of course her new thing: elbows. We talked about the typical toddler behavior and that "no" and "mine" are favorite words as they try to learn boundaries. Being consistent is the best thing to do and giving choices so she doesn't feel like she doesn't get to make any decisions. We got her a strap that goes over her arms and around her waist so that she can run in public about 3 feet from us, but can't get away too far. It has been a life-saver since she loves to run away giggling but doesn't understand dangerous situation like busy roads yet.

Here are her 18 month stats:
Height 32 3/4 in - 80th %
Weight 24 lbs 1 oz - 25-50%
Head 46.2 cm - 40%

Although she is still a picky eater she's growing really well (most likely from all the milk she drinks!). We are really looking forward to our vacation coming up over Memorial Day weekend as a family to relax and practice our swimming. Bethany loves swimming lessons and practices in the bathtub and jumping off of her potty chair so she's ready on Saturday mornings for class. When I ask her if she wants to get her swimsuit on she yells "YEAH!" and runs to her room. Good thing she still loves water!

I tried braiding her hair but she kept pulling it out seconds after I finished.... this was after her rubbing it but I'm impressed it is almost long enough to stay in if she leaves it alone.

Practicing her back float in the tub. She thinks it is funny to have her ears under the water since it sounds funny when I talk to her like that. I don't want her to get too much water in her ears but everytime I try to get her to sit up she lays right back down!

Here are some other things she's up to at 18 months:

- when we see new babies she uses her finger by her mouth to say "shhh"

-knows what she wants - points for me to lay next to her in our bed in the morning or outside on the chair we sit on when waiting for daddy to come home from work

- some 2 or 3 word sentences: all done, what is it?, I don't know!

- almost jumping with feet off the ground

- knows where we are, sad when we get close to come and points back to the trail to keep going in the stroller

- says "Yay!" or "Whoa!" a lot when excited or sees a bus or truck

- says "no" everytime we ask if you had a good day (little liar)

- still love to lay on mommy's chest for comfort or rub my belly and give your sister kisses

- so interested in Charlie's belly button and nipples - but he is ticklish :)

- says 1, 2, 3 - go! or ready, set go!

- "buh bye" with bag over your arm walking towards door

- twirls around in circles

- help vacuum, use wipes to clean things, use broom to sweep garage

- blow your nose and then throw the kleenex away

- points to most body parts correctly

- practice colors and ask "what is it" when you don't know

- love to take our things and say "mine!"

- very upset when babies cry and you try to hug them, give them your pacifier or snack you have to help

Mother's Day #2

2011-05-10T20:19:00.002-05:00

Sunday was my second Mother's Day! Dan watched Bethany after she woke up so I could stay in bed awhile longer and then they made me breakfast and gave me a card and a gift certificate for some house cleanings. I'm really excited to use that at our new place prior to the new baby coming! Dan's parents joined us at church, for lunch and to watch some NBA playoffs. Then we went to my sisters for dinner that the guys prepared and cleaned up for us all on their own! I had been feeling dizzy this past week and my Dr said I had low blood pressure and needed to try and rest a little more. Just in time for mother's day weekend so I could really relax and let Dan and the guys pamper us. Thankfully I'm starting to feel better so I hope the dizzy spells are over!

Charlie and Bethany had fun together as always. We actually saw them three days in a row because we had house showings on Friday and Saturday and needed to be out of the house. Bethany gets so excited when I ask if she wants to go see Charlie and say "YeaH!" She nods and starting running towards the door to get in the car.

Saturday night we got together at Jeremy and Allisons to celebrate 2 birthdays, 2 new houses, 1 engagement, 1 new baby, finding out the gender of our baby, and Cinco de Mayo for good measure so we had tacos. I think we need to get together more often! Bethany has a fear of dogs right now because of her face to face experience with Bella awhile ago, but we're trying to get her over it. Allisons dog Bear was an older lab and really laid back. Bethany was brave enough to pet him and even walk near him without flipping out which is a big step! Bella is a nice dog so this summer at the lake we'll keep trying to get her used to her... she is just so excited to see Bethany I think and sometimes the extra licks face to face is scary for an 18 mo old!

In other news we've had 4 friends have babies in the last couple weeks with one more left any day now. A few more this summer before we're due in September. It is a baby boom! I love having an excuse to bring over meals so I can snuggle with a newborn, I can't believe Bethany was that small such a short time ago! We have her 18 mo apt tomorrow so I'll update soon with her new stats.

Well, we are experiencing severe weather here in MN tonight. Hail, tornados, it was 88 degrees tonight with like 100% humidity so prime weather for a storm. Since all the tv stations are talking about the storm I decided to get caught up on blogging!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:36:00.003-05:00

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday outside! Bethany was so excited it was sunny she woke up at 5:55 a.m. this morning.... boo. At least she went down for an early nap and we made it to the late service before going to my parents for the day. My Mormor and Morfar (Swedish for mother's mother and mother's father) were here from CA and my Aunt Lynette came too. The food was delicious and the kids had fun searching for the Easter eggs and baskets. They are so fast now that they are both walking, I didn't get one of both of them looking at the camera and smiling. I'll have to get better at taking faster pictures I guess!

Thanks mom and dad for the fun day and Mormor and Morfar for the strawberry pie - yum!

Bethany loved finding the eggs and putting them in her basket but sometimes took the eggs back out before putting any new ones in.

family pic - we need the one where we were facing the camera!
Bethany and Charlie hanging out in their Easter outfits

18.5 weeks

I have zero pictures of both kids looking at the camera and there is always an extra arm in every picture trying to keep them on the couch!

Morning snuggle time - now that she doesn't have a bottle, we have a sippy cup or pacifier time while waking up in the morning while watching cartoons. We started it as a way to get rid of the bottle but now if we don't turn on the tv she points at it or the remote and looks at us. Ugh, at least we don't watch tv much otherwise with her! I can't believe how big she is getting... it took this picture to see how long she looks there, I wonder how tall she'll be at her 18 month apt in a few weeks.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your family and friends too and remember that He is Risen, He is Risen INDEED!

Totally worth it

2011-04-17T21:24:00.004-05:00

My post awhile ago about having lots of changes ahead was certainly true. The goal of selling the cabin and twinhome and moving to a lakehome full-time is turning into reality. Yesterday we went to the house for a 3rd time and finalized our offer with our real estate agent. Shortly after we heard back that they accepted our offer! It has been a whirlwind this past year wondering if we were making the right decision selling the cabin after putting so much time and effort into it. I hoped we could find a place we both loved and I think we found it. We'll do an inspection this week and then plan to close on June 10th and move in June 11th. Wow. God has been so faithfull through this process we are so thankful for his blessings. We will put our twinhome back on the market after Easter and wouldn't that be fun to sell it quickly so we could move everything to the new place all at once... nothing is impossible with Him!

Here are some pictures we took from the MLS listing. Our own pictures didn't turn out great, so I hope you all can come see it in person soon. Our door is always open, we love visitors!

backyard

Living room with the view I was looking for!

three seasons porch

front of the house

April snow showers? and other news

2011-04-16T10:24:00.006-05:00

What a surprise to look out our window this morning! I am so done with snow for the year... that means the entire year, you better not snow again until next January. Not exactly a great day for another house showing.... but it will be fun to show Bethany the house we liked from last weekend that we put an offer on this week. Who knows if we'll be able to work out the details and come to a purchase agreement, but hopefully we'll find out this week. Otherwise, our real estate agent said one thing she knows about us for sure is that we don't get emotionally attached to the properties! We know what we like: close distance to get in to work, nice views, swimmable lake front and big enough for our growing family. Sometimes when we see places we know we have to give a little on things that would be nice to have, so we'll see where the journey brings us. Still struggling with headaches most days. It makes it really hard to get things done that I know I have to (and want to) do. Saving the best news for last: Bethany is going to get a SISTER this September! We had been hoping for another girl to have a built-in playmate and selfishly so that we could reuse clothes that would be in the right season :) I'm blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with my sister so I'm excited for Bethany to have the same experience! I found out that I need to go in for ultrasounds at Meadowbrook at Methodist Hospital every 2 weeks to monitor some things the Dr's are wondering caused Bethany's early delivery. It is great they are keeping a close eye on things because we'd love to keep this little girl cooking as long as possible (although going full term after going early the first time will definitely be a change for me!)

Moving Day

2011-04-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

family pic

Bethany helping us vacuum

helping with the rug

hard to finish packing with two trouble makers on the loose :)

catch-up

2011-04-10T20:41:00.002-05:00

I've been delayed in posting recently. We successfully moved out of the cabin with no major issues. The closing with the buyers went well and it made me happy that they love it so much. They seem to be very similar to us and I'm glad they are excited about it. It was emotional to leave it behind for the last time! Here are some recent pics to enjoy. Bethany playing piano and Grandma and Papa's. Bethany is getting really good at praying on command. When waiting for dinner she folds her hands and looks at you while yelling "ay!"

I made some homemade play doh

sunny day

Baby #2 at almost 15 weeks - I wasn't this big last time until 20+ weeks! Tomorrow I have another ultrasound and although it isn't the anatomy one yet (that one is scheduled for May 3rd) I'm hoping they'll make a guess for me :)

Feeling pretty good this pregnancy except I've been having a lot of migraines. Obviously there is a lot going on which may be part of it, but my Dr did say sometimes with a second baby people do get more headaches... bummer.

Otherwise, we're getting used to being home on the weekends! This is our first one and we had a Momentum Volleyball event and went house hunting so stayed busy. I signed Bethany up for swimming lessons so we'll keep busy doing that too. I'm sure we'll find lots of fun things to do around here this summer if we don't find another place soon. Bethany is as such a fun age so we'll have fun wherever. She loves being outside and listening to the birds and frogs outside in our yard. She says "chirp chirp" in the sing song voice and points and jabbers to them. She loves chapel at Westwood and cheers after every song she hears there or at church. They say she's being so nice to her friends, hugging them when they wake up for naps (she is a short nap taker there) and playing activities with them. We're so happy the biting stage appears to be over! I love it that she understands what we ask her and most of the time does it! Bethany - you are such a sweet, fun girl. You are busy, but it is so nice when you come to cuddle with me and give us hugs too. It makes us want to pocket up these moments forever!

The OTHER big announcment

2011-03-24T19:56:00.003-05:00

So, I alluded to many changes in our life right now. Adding another member to our family is certainly life changing, and yet we have so many other things to think about too.

This blog started with a lot of posts about our cabin. We bought lakeshore property in 2004 because I have so many memories going to my grandparents cabin on Lake Florida growing up in the Kerkhoven area. Dan and I both thought it would be a fun thing to invest in and possibly build a cabin there someday. Well, in January 2008 our dream came true and our cabin was finished after a year of building permits, sub-contractor issues, and plenty of elbow grease each and every weekend we went out there. I love the cabin. I love the distance from our home (just 1 hr door-to-door), the lakeshore (all 180 feet of it on our double-lot), the view from all the huge windows, and the memories.

As our family has grown, we've talked about moving to a bigger home, or if it works to live in our 1,850 sq feet twinhome during the week and spending Friday evening through Sunday morning at the cabin. We have almost everything we need at the cabin but it still is a process to pack up some fresh food, maybe our computers and now Bethany's things each weekend, and also to keep both places clean. But, to me it is a small price to pay for being able to truly relax each weekend... because hey, I left our daily life at home.

Because the housing market has been down there are a lot of lakeshore properties closer to Minneapolis that have drastically come down in price. Before we thought we'd never be able to get onto Lake Minnetonka but now it seems like there are a few places we could see ourselves living in year-round.

So, this leads to our other big announcement. We had both the cabin and our twin-home on the market last summer and fall with limited interest. It wasn't fun showing our house with a toddler, so we took it off over the holidays and then put the cabin back on in February. We had a lot of interest right away with some quick offers but nothing realistic. Then, a couple weeks ago we got a call that we had a showing at the cabin setup for a Wednesday morning. Our real estate agent had lots of dialog with the other agent the night before and by Wednesday afternoon we had a list of questions from the potential buyers asking for clarification on some things since there was so much snow and the lake was still frozen over. We responded and Thursday got an offer. It wasn't close at all so we had our agent give them our final number to take it or leave it Friday morning. At noon we got a congratulatory email that we had a deal. I wanted to be sure we made it through the house inspection because it was all happening so fast and I couldn't believe it went that quickly or easily. The inspection was perfect and they are anxious to close on April 6th. It is a very quick timeline so we've been rushing to get packed and ready to move the weekend of the 2nd. My sister came to help last weekend and Dan's dad is coming this weekend which is good so I don't wallow in my pity-party about losing the cabin. Yes, I'm excited about the possibility of finding a great place to move to, but it is bitter sweet. We put our lives into the cabin over the last few years so I will always miss it.

We've gone house hunting once with no clear answer, so we'll try again. No immediate rush since we can stay at our house until we find something, but the clock is ticking for baby #2 and I doubt it would be fun to move 8 or 9 months pregnant so my goal is by June.

I need to trust God during this whole process as it has been a whirlwind so far. I've been traveling a lot and so my mind is going a lot of different directions. Moving isn't "fun" but pray that we'll find a perfect place that has what we're looking for: good view/lakeshore, decent distance to work, and big enough for our growing family. Dan has done so much research so I'm also learning to trust his instincts to find something that has both of our goals in mind.

Maybe we'll find something just like the cabin but on Lake Minnetonka :)

The Big Announcement

2011-03-14T19:50:00.005-05:00

Putting Bethany to bed and drifting off to sleep 30 minutes later while watching tv...

Waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (and one time breaking my toe!!)....

Seeing a sappy commercial on tv and getting teary eyed....

Smelling stale bread from across the room when no one else can....

Did I mention being soooo sleepy?

Yep, we're pregnant with tiny tot #2 expected around September 22nd/23rd, 2011. Given my history with Bethany we'll be prepared for an August baby but I'm hoping to make it to at least Labor Day, because in any event it would make a good story, right? The Doctors will keep a close eye on things this time because routinely second babies come earlier than firstborns.

We are hoping that the 2nd and 3rd trimesters are less eventful than the first. Remember my appendectomy? Well, that happened when I was about 7 weeks pregnant. In fact, I was worried that the stomach pain was because of the baby and the nurseline confirmed that they were suspicious of a tubal pregnancy. Thankfully it was my appendix, but it was still very stressful knowing that 13% of pregnancies end when having an appendectomy. The surgeon and Dr's were very kind to walk through all the risks with me and in explaining that having a CT scan to confirm it was my appendix would have been too risky with a developing fetus. God was really watching over me and this little one and although I had a tough recovery (which I NEVER want to experience again!) we made it through. Subsequent ultrasounds showed that the baby is still growing right on track and there are no adverse signs related to the surgery and they expect a normal pregnancy from here on out. Right now baby is about the size of a lime and I'm looking forward to when I will start to feel the little twitches and movements for the first time.

We booked a second babymoon for Memorial Day weekend to go to a different resort in the Riviera Maya region in Mexico. Bethany will come along and we're excited for our last family vacation as a family of 3.

This pregnancy is going much faster! Probably because we have a little toddler running around to keep us busy. I haven't taken one picture or written anything down besides this post! It really is true that the second baby has a lot less documented with its life! Well, little one, we are very happy you will be joining our family in a few short months. We welcome you with open arms and Bethany has been practicing with her doll. Don't worry, we won't let her try to wrap you in your blanket or put your hat on as we've only see her do this with her doll in varying degrees of success. We know she'll be a great big sister!

The many expressions of Bethany

2011-03-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

Stink eye

Smirk face

finger painting

who me?

Not sure about all of Charlie's hugs, but I think I'll let him!

Oh Bethany, you are such a funny girl! I laugh at you daily with all your expressions, noises and actions. Your stink eye developed after I was doing that expression when I smelled your poopy diaper which you quickly associated with sitting on the toilet. When we asked if you were stinky you'd make the face and run to the bathroom. Now its expanded to other areas and if you don't like something you might give it or them the stink eye! You have such a beautiful smile but I can never catch it on camera because it is quick and then you're off to the next thing. I hope you continue to wear your heart on your sleeve and let us in to what you're thinking even when we get the stink eye :) I love you baby girl!

Changes ahead

2011-03-13T20:19:00.003-05:00

2011 has started with some pretty significant changes for us. Most of them pretty exciting, but a little scary none the less. This week in particular will be interesting because by the end of it we may be looking for a new home. We've been close before, but this time it might be the real thing. More details to come and a post soon about another significant change coming for us later in 2011.

Learning how to jump!

2011-03-02T20:04:00.002-06:00

We've been practicing jumping with Bethany. She doesn't quite have it yet, but it is pretty funny watching her try :)

Phoenix

2011-02-28T19:30:00.004-06:00

I had a work conference in Phoenix last week and Dan and Bethany tagged along. The conference is always so busy so I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to hang out with them, so we stayed a few extra days with our really good friends the Button's.

We were HOPING that Phoenix being in the desert would mean that it would be hot, or at least warm but unfortunately it was pretty cool and rainy a few of the days we were there. We did miss a big snowstorm back home though, so we're not complaining! On Saturday it looked like rain so we decided to get an early start on a hike in the Superstitions (is that the one we did, Lindsey?) It was supposed to be about a 4 mile hike but about half-way up it got a little windy and looked like rain. Instead of getting stuck with 3 kids on a mountain we decided to turn around early. We were bummed we didn't get to see the whole trail but we got a taste of it!

To get our energy for the hike we stopped at the Burrito Shack for breakfast. It was this awesome for real shack that had the most amazing burritos. I was craving them the rest of the trip after this day! Good thing we had a lot of Mexican food while we were there because in Phoenix they know how to make tasty food!

Hayden, Bethany and Owen waiting for their burrito

Dan and Nate enjoying their burritos

Bethany and Owen

Dan and Nate got to take in a Suns game one night (Dan has always loved the Suns) and we got to see my aunt and uncle and cousins that live in Phoenix too. Tamara even came over to our hotel to babysit Bethany the night they went to the game as I had a work event that evening. Thanks again Tamara - Bethany loved playing with you!

On Sunday Ian and Courtney came up for the day to go to the zoo but because it looked like rain we went to the Children's Museum instead. It was an awesome museum (my favorite part were the hundreds of noodles (like the ones you swim with) hanging in one area that you could walk through - so fun! It was so nice to meet Charlotte too for the first time, what a doll. Thanks again for making the trip up to see us Ian and Courtney!

The rest of the trip was filled with walks to the park, long naps by Bethany, yummy restaurants, great conversation and a backyard fire with pie irons. We had such a great time Nate and Lindsey - thanks again for your hospitality!

Bethany traveled so well. On the way home the lady sitting next to us commented on how good she was. I was pleasantly surprised she slept so well and played so nicely... I think we found a fun new toy: stickers! She loved to have me peel one off and stick it on her shirt. Each sticker lasted about 5 minutes where she'd put it on me, Dan, the seat in front of us, her shirt again and then finally the sticker book. Yea for the dollar section at Target with sticker books!

I can't believe she is 16 months old today. She loves to copy everything we say and do, especially funny noises. The ice maker at our hotel in Phoenix made a noise when the ice fell into the bin and every time she turned and looked at it and made the same noise! Anything we ask Bethany to do (take a bath, let's go eat, go downstairs, put your jacket on, find your hat) she does and with a smile because she knows what we're saying. When she has a dirty diaper I wrinkle my nose and say stinky so now when she needs to go, she runs over to me and wrinkle's her nose. It is the cutest and funniest thing ever and amazing that she's starting to potty train! I just ordered some pull-ups but had a hard time finding them in a small enough size... she's still only 22 lbs - I know most kids aren't starting before 16 months! But, I figure why not help her start if she is interested in it. She also loves to spin in circles which we take advantage of and try to get her to do it on command like a puppy :) At Westwood she moved to the Toddler class today which had 3 new changes: 1) drinking out of a glass (no sippy cup!) 2) sitting at the table with chairs for meals and snacks (no high-chair!) 3) sleeping on a cot during scheduled nap time. So many changes, but day 1 went great!

Bethany - you are a full-fledged toddler and growing up so fast! We love your new discoveries and how you have such a passion for life. Your bright eyes and excited "ooohs and ahhhs" when you see or learn something new is adorable. We love you!

Yum, spaghetti!

Fun with Chicago-land cousins!

2011-02-28T19:20:00.003-06:00

Bethany always loves it when her cousins from Chicago come to visit! She had so much fun running around with them trying to keep up with the older boys and walking together with Emily. It was COLD the week they were here so we didn't get to go outside like we hoped, but it was fun hanging out and spending time together. On Sunday we all went to Bennihana's and watched them perform as they made on our meal. It was yummy and the kids loved watching all the action.

Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Bethany, Paul III and Jacob at the McDonald's playland a few hours before I went to the ER for my surprise appendectomy
Bethany and Emily - do you like french fry's Bethany? That was one of my favorite things as a toddler my mom said.... when we'd go through anything with a drive-through I would say from the back seat "fwef fries please!"

Aunt Melissa, Paul II and Jacbo with our gingerbread train - good job boys!

Thanks again for all the fun when you were here! We can't wait to make plans to see you again.

Who needs your appendix anyway?

2011-02-08T11:42:00.002-06:00

Warning: This post contains information and a picture from my recent surgery, read more at your own risk!

I promised a post about our time with Dan's sisters family from Chicago but I will do that in a little bit. First, at the end of their trip is where my dramatic weekend started. Bethany had her 15 mo appointment and everything looks good.

Her stats:
Height- 31 1/2 in 80%
Weight - 21 lbs 14.7 oz 25%
Head - 45.5 cm - 40%

We're working on Bethany eating better at meals and getting rid of a persistent diaper rash. On the plus side (but still a little TMI) she's pooped in the toilet for me 3 times (and grandma once) so we're hoping that means she'll be an early learner in that arena? They are happy with her level of understanding of words and although she's active, she is a toddler! She was a champ with the shots in her legs and even got a Dora sticker afterwards which she proudly showed her cousins at lunch at the Eden Prairie McDonald's.

That afternoon I started having a stomach ache and after Dan came home from work I called the nurse line and got a second opinion by calling Amber to see if I should go in. I went to Methodist Hospital ER at 7 and by 10 when Amber made it over to be with me, they decided it was my appendix and I needed surgery that night. It was so nice Amber could be there to ask questions and stayed with me overnight in the very loud observatory area. The surgery was about an hour and all I remember is getting the mask put on in the OR and then waking up to people giving me warm blankets awhile later. Everything went well and it was my appendix so it was good to have the surgery. I was extremely nauseated after the surgery and they had these leg squeezy things to prevent blood clots but also prevented me from sleeping. In the morning I tried sitting up to use the bathroom but couldn't do it... so we just kept trying to keep on top of the pain, nausea and see if I could get some sleep. By the middle of the day Saturday I was getting to the point of extreme anxiety from the vicious cycle and just wanted to go home. Dan came that morning to let Amber go home and Dan's parents kept Bethany at their house. I'm sure it was tough for him too as he felt pretty helpless. I was finally able to eat a few grapes and spoonful's of soup which allowed me to get some much-needed rest. 2 hours later I felt like a new person and accomplished my three tasks for discharge: walk to the bathroom, walk around the unit twice, and eat. We hurried home that night so I could sleep in my wonderful sleep number bed. It never felt so nice to be home! Bethany came home Sunday afternoon and we watched the Super Bowl with some friends, but I laid low. It was wonderful not to have to clean ahead of time, cook or clean-up. The rest of this week I'm working half days Monday and Tuesday and from home the rest of the week until I'm off the pain meds. Fingers crossed that I'm better by next week when we have plans to go to Phoenix for a work conference and to extend a few extra days with friends and family.

15 months old!

Allison getting Bethany to read the WHOLE book

The three incisions from my surgery - the swelling should go down in 2 weeks

Fun with Bethany and Charlie

2011-01-30T20:50:00.004-06:00

This weekend our nephew Charlie had his 1st birthday party! It was fun to see him dig into his cake especially since Bethany was so careful with hers. Is that a boy vs. girl thing? It was fun to celebrate with family and eat yummy food and watch Charlie open so many fun gifts. Bethany acted like an old pro and wanted to show Charlie how to open everything first. My Aunt Lynette was so thoughtful and brought Bethany a book so she'd have a present too, isn't that sweet?

Bethany and Charlie had so much fun - especially with the balls in the inflatable pool that my sister got! They were so excited to play in them but Bethany wanted to keep all the balls in the pool while Charlie was trying his best to throw them every which way. I think both of them slept well that night after Charlie's fun day!

Yay, balls!

We went to the Children's Museum awhile ago together and I wished we lived closer because I would get an annual pass. They had some really neat toddler areas and this water area below was fascinating for both of them.

Exploring a tunnel

This concludes another episode of "Fun with Bethany and Charlie", tune in next week for "Adventures with Chicago-land cousins"!

E-I-E-I (O)

2011-01-23T11:53:00.003-06:00

Bethany loves the song Old McDonald. At her early childhood center whenever they start singing that song she runs from where ever she is to sing along. At home we sing together and she'll sing the E-I-E-I part over and over and usually never gets to the O. This isn't her best singing since she was distracted by the camera but at the end you can hear her saying the E-I-E-I part.

Words Bethany says at almost 15 months

2011-01-17T20:19:00.007-06:00

Bethany is my little cling-on these days. Today I had the day off for MLK Jr day and she wanted to be with me at all times. There is something very sweet, and flattering about someone wanting to be with you every second they are awake, but sometimes it can be a little bit frusterating as well. But then I stop what I'm doing and look down at the pleading little face saying up! and swoop her up into the air and smother her with kisses. The smiles and giggles that follow are absolutely priceless.

When I was cooking dinner tonight Bethany wanted to watch me and after I took the salisbury steaks out to cool, she started smacking her lips. I took a piece off the edge and started blowing on it so I could give her a taste and she leaned in and starting blowing too! Everytime I gave her a new bite she did the same thing.

I love that Bethany understands what we ask of her now and "usually" obeys us. She does her best to leave things alone, but I can tell we are getting to a point where she doesn't have all of the words to tell us what she wants and that frusterates her. If we take something away from her she sometimes throws little temper tantrums, but thankfully those are few and far between. We also are dealing with fake biting where she gets really close to biting us, but stops and either calms down or if she is really upset bites her own hand. She was bit a few times at her early childhood center awhile ago and now she has bit a few kids too. I know it is just a phase, but just like her wanting to be more mobile I hope for her sake she starts talking more soon so we can talk about what she wants.

She is adding more words to her vocabulary all the time. Her favorites are uh oh, bye, hi, dada, cheese, ba-ba (bottle), bebe (baby and blankie), please (sounds like cheese), mama, socks, ah done, ba (ball and bath), na na (good night), book, no (no and nose), eye, and ma (milk). We have a ways to go where all of these are words are understood by everyone, but it is a great feeling to hear her say something and know what she wants. I'm sure her language will explode even further over the next few months which will be so fun to see!

Christmas pictures

2011-01-11T19:00:00.004-06:00

stealing all the bows

ready to go in

ooooh, snow

cozy cousins

Charlie all snug in his new hat and scarf

Make shift sled... or the luge!

Bethany and mommy

Bethany and Daddy

Time with Morfar

little folded hands

2011-01-09T21:36:00.002-06:00

Ever since we brought Bethany home from the hospital, Dan and I would read her a Bible story before bed. The books all said to develop a routine so that your baby would know what to expect at nighttime which would eventually lead to an easy, cry-free bedtime. We decided that most nights we'd do a pretty basic schedule of bath, milk, Bible story and then bed. It worked like a charm. Bethany has always loved her baths and now we just have to say the word and she runs to bang on the bathroom door trying to take off her clothes along the way. Playing with toys, washing her hair, practicing blowing bubbles, and Rub-a-dub-dub three pigs in a tub story and we're done. The trick is to get a diaper on her before she escapes and in one case pees on cousin Charlie's clothes (but that is another story!). I treasured feeding Bethany until she turned one, and now she takes a bottle like a champ. We've moved to a sippy cup during the day for milk, but at night we get some cuddle time with Bethany all snug in her sleep-sack rubbing or pinching our arms or necks for comfort (she is a sensory little girl). Once she's done eating we go find daddy and head to her room to sit in the rocking chair my mom used when my sister and I were babies. Bethany gets so excited when she see Dan walking with us into her room. She leans towards him and sits on his lap while I sit on the stool in front of them and open the Bible Story book my Morfarmor and Morfarfar (great-grandparents in Swedish on my mother's side) gave to me when I was a little girl. We are nearing the end of the book (and are so thankful Dan's parents gave us a new one to start when this one is finished complete with a daily Bible song if we so desire) and tonight learned of the stoning of Stephen and how he didn't even run away but trusted God. Bethany loves books and likes to look at the pictures as I read. After the story Dan holds Bethany and I fold my hands near Bethany's as he prays. She knows this routine and tonight folded her little hands with me! We have prayed that Bethany will love God and choose to follow Him with her life, and while I know that she is too young to understand I know that she is watching us. She is growing everyday, but how confusing the world must be to a little baby. All she knows is the routine and consistency that she sees each day through her activities, and through us, her parents. It made my heart hopeful that one day she will connect the dots and remember the Bible stories, prayer time, the love that she sees displayed through us and the rest of her family to make a conscious decision to follow Christ. In the meantime, we will pray, and continue to ask God to guide our paths as we raise our precious little girl.

something is a little fishy around here...

2011-01-03T22:48:00.002-06:00

Here is one of Bethany's humorous faces caught on camera! She is 14 months now and seems to be growing up so fast. My parents got her a doll stroller for Christmas and she really enjoys pushing it around with her doll in it. She is becoming so smiley and loves to interact with friends and family by laughing along with them (even though she doesn't realize it is usually at her!) Anytime she sees something new and exciting she runs over to it with her mouth wide open and looks at us and then back at the item saying oooh, ahhhh. She also received a play kitchen from Dan's parents which we just put together and she is actually learning how to pretend with it. We drink out of cups and eat the play food and she even makes exaggerated sipping noises complete with "ahhh" at the end.

I can't wait to get pictures of Christmas (we left the camera at the cabin) so I can see how they turned out and post a few on here. We had a great time!

A Social Network Christmas

2010-12-26T19:55:00.000-06:00

Christmas in Kerkhoven

2010-12-20T21:14:00.005-06:00

Sunday we went to my childhood hometown of Kerkhoven to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents and family on my dad's side. Last year Bethany was just 2.5 months old, so this year she was into everything! She liked having it at the Civic Center because she could run around without getting into trouble. It is always fun as nostalgic to go back to my hometown and remember all the childhood memories. Grandma and Grandpa gave Bethany and Charlie very special gifts.... at Hallmark they have the recordable storybooks and they recorded them reading a story just for their great-grandkids. It is about a little princess and my grandpa sometimes said Bethany instead of she when referring to the princess in the book which was so sweet. We read it when we got home and Bethany kept running over to the book to look at it when it played their voices on each page. Thank you for the wonderful gift Grandma and Grandpa, we will cherish it always!

Bethany "helping" pass out the gifts - she is saying one of her new favorite words "oooooh"

yeah, we can share food again!

Bethany, me and Great-Grandma

We are celebrating our third Christmas on Christmas this weekend with my family at the cabin. With all the snow we are getting I hope the roads are safe for everyone this week!

13.5 months and Christmas at the Dells

2010-12-18T20:53:00.009-06:00

Bethany is almost 14 months old! She is getting better at saying words we understand however I wish one of them were not "no" :) She loves saying "cheese" and "uh oh" and tries to do the "uh oh" thing over and over and looks at us to see what we think. She is climbing on everything! I find her on top of her little rocking chair in her room holding her book and trying to read like that... silly girl. In the tub at the cabin she tries to climb onto the seat part but because it is slippery usually slips back into the water. I'm right there, but she doesn't mind if she goes under the water for a second, she is a little fish I think! She likes climbing into the dish washer and fridge whenever they are open too. I love that she enjoys reading and grabs books all over and if she sees an open lap climbs right in or backs up and plops down and says "booK" with heavy emphasis on the "k" sound. We're still working on her picky eating habits. If we put food on her tray that isn't cheese she signs all done and shakes her head no and says no. Sometimes we get her to eat her fruit and shredded chicken, turkey or pork is good sometimes. Veggies are usually tough along with pasta and anything mixed together she won't touch. However, if you say the magic word she runs over to the fridge yelling "chhhheeese" and bangs on the door smiling from ear to ear. We've learned to spell it now along with a few other words. The other day I dropped Bethany off at Westwood and said we were working on her screaming. On cue she starts shrieking from across the room. I think it is a phase but I felt bad that she was playing nicely and heard me mention it and then I had to leave... sorry, gotta go to work, good luck with that! I told them I'd spell it from now on. She has a good friend Abe that she plays with and that day he ran over to say hi and when the screaming incident started he thought it sounded like a great game and chimed in.... whoops.

Here are some recent pics of freedom after her bath. Bethany with her beloved cheese.

Typical

Being very gentle with the tree, but we do have the decorations on the top half only :)

Last weekend we missed the big blizzard in Minneapolis because we were celebrating Christmas at the Dells with Dan's family. His sister came with her family from Chicago and we stayed at resort with Dan's parents. There were 2 units so the kids could have their naps and Monica cooked all the delicious meals. Friday evening we celebrated all the birthday's between Bethany's on Oct 28th through Emily's on Dec 20th.... 5 in total! We sang and blew out 5 sets of candle's :). Saturday was Christmas and we opened so many fun presents while it snowed and snowed outside. In total my guess is about 12 for the Dells vs. the 17 we got at home in Minnetonka. We were very excited to get a new camera and also a little netbook! The pictures below are from the new camera which is a step down from the DSLR camera's, but has a bigger lens than our current camera so hopefully we can get some great shots of Bethany. I am very happy with my mini-laptop so I can blog more, shop online and read my digital magazines/books in the evenings after Bethany goes to bed. If I don't have my work computer open I'm always trading off with Dan's computer, so it is so nice to have my own! Bethany got a mini kitchen and a bunch of play food. She is going to really enjoy it... now if we can only get her more interested in eating real food!

We went to the resort pool several times and Bethany is getting so good at jumping off the side. She also started blowing bubbles in the water when we showed her how to do it. It is fun to see her be so brave and enjoy the water like she does.

Bethany was sad to come home, I know she missed all the activity with her cousins! Thanks for all the fun Totmans and Springers! Can't wait to all be together again soon!

Running around being silly after her bath

Bethany hanging out with Papa

Family pic in front of the fireplace The 4 grandkids on the couch, it took several tries to get one this good! Maybe next year they will all be looking at the camera :)

Jacob hugging his sister Emily and cousin Bethany in front of the new tent

Recent pictures

2010-12-03T13:10:00.004-06:00

We went to the 8th floor of Macy's with some other moms from Cross of Glory and ate lunch afterwards on the 12th floor. Bethany enjoyed all of the elf's but didn't enjoy the long lines :) We had hoped to see the puppet show too, but it was sold out and the kids probably wouldn't have made it to the next show!

Gentle touches to cousin Charlie

look at my teeth!

"Cheese"

It's brisk baby

I love my rocking chair that Morfar had as a little boy

The Alamo

a room with a balcony, fun to roam around in

Ready to go exploring

Christmas Cards

2010-12-02T22:26:00.003-06:00

I've been procrastinating doing my Christmas cards this year! We used Shutterfly last year and it was the first time we did a photo greeting card. It was fun to use one of the pictures Linnea took for our card. This year we haven't taken many family pictures so I think it might end up being another one of just Bethany! Shutterfly has some cute cards again this year so I need to find a few favorite pictures and get to work. Honestly, I love getting photo cards in the mail... it is fun to see friends and family that we don't see often enough when I run through the kitchen during my day. This year we also did a lot of greeting cards of Bethany for family from Shutterfly. It's the same price as cards from a store, but everyone ALWAYS oo's and ahh's about how fun it is to have a personalized card. And, I usually see those cards out (how can you toss a personalized card with a picture of my sweet baby?)

If you haven't done your cards yet this year - here are the links I've been perusing... can't wait to get your Christmas Cards!

· holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards
· greeting cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/5x7-folded-greeting-cards
· Christmas photo cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

13 months

2010-12-01T21:53:00.001-06:00

We are having so much fun with Bethany. She loves the cold air when it hits her face outside, it is quite funny when she looks at us at laughs at her breath in the air... I don't think she'll think it is funny in March when it is still cold! We try to keep the doors closed to rooms in the house we'd prefer her to stay out of. We've found her splashing in the toilet, or depositing things in there too often. When our bedroom door is open she likes to run in there and turn around to see if we'll follow her. Either way she'll try to grab things off the dresser like Dan's phone, any remotes, his work badge etc. We pretend to "chase" her down the hallway as she tries to escape which sends her into fits of laughter. Her words are not completely clear yet, but she says cheese, socks, book, mommy, daddy, eat, milk, bottle and night-night. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few words... When we read her animal book and get to the bear, tiger or lion she roars. She also tries to cluck like a hen or make a fish face for those animals. We have started to spell things so she doesn't understand us, otherwise when we say something about dinner or food she runs over to her high-chair. She could be playing contently and then I say something about her bottle and she gets up and runs to the fridge and wants to be held. Sometimes if I say goodbye, she'll go get her coat and hat and bring them to me and start waving. Or if I ask if she needs a bath she will walk over to the bathroom and start banging on the door. She likes to open and shut doors if they are ajar and we aren't concerned with her going up and down the steps anymore- we made it through without a baby gate!

Charlie came over on Saturday because Brent was sick and Amber had to work. Bethany played really well with him and kept patting him on the head gently. He is doing so well at crawling and if he could keep up with her he was happy. They were being silly on Sunday afternoon laughing at each other’s noises. Charlie would happily scream and then Bethany would join in. She’d run around shaking her head and he’d laugh at her hysterically – it was so cute. We put their highchairs next to each other so it was easy for me to feed them but Bethany kept stealing blueberries off Charlie’s tray! He didn’t seem to mind, but liked it when she shared a cracker with him. Her favorite food is cheese. She also likes fruit and sometimes bread (she’d do well in Paris). Anything else is hit or miss, so we take advantage of it when she likes something. Shredded chicken or turkey works sometimes and carrots once in awhile too. Hopefully the picky stage won’t last long J
A few weeks ago Dan and Bethany came along with me on a work trip to San Antonio. Bethany really enjoyed running around the hotel room and onto the balcony. She didn’t enjoy her bed though which made for some long nights with her in bed with one of us… during the day she and Dan did some sight-seeing and swam in the hotel pool. She did incredibly well on the flights again! We just booked another trip to Phoenix in February which will be fun because we have a lot of family and friends there. I work 3 days, and then we’ll extend through the weekend and two days the next week. We are looking forward to seeing Nate and Lindsey and their kids – it has been a few years since we saw them, was it in Singapore? Ian and Courtney may also come up from Tucson while we’re there and then we’ll try to spend some time with my family too.
I’ll try to be a little better about posting! December is always busy with Christmas - we’ll be at the Wisconsin Dells with the Totman’s and Springer’s in a few weeks and then with my family over Christmas at the cabin. The good news is that I am almost done Christmas shopping! I really dislike shopping, but I love it when I find good deals and with a lot of retailers discounting merchandise early and offering free shipping we were able to get a lot done online over Thanksgiving – yea!

Bethany's first birthday cake

2010-11-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

Bethany's First Birthday from Jon Foss on Vimeo.

One year old

2010-11-03T20:08:00.005-05:00

At the zoo

Her birthday cake!

Aunt Amber, mommy and the birthday girl

the happy family

Our baby is officially ONE. Last Thursday I took the day off so that Bethany and I could go to the zoo together. Dan's mom joined us and we had fun going through the inside exhibits and especially liked the animals we could get really close to like the monkeys, fish and sea otters behind glass. That evening my parents came over for dinner and Bethany got to open a couple of presents. She had more fun walking around holding the presents before opening them I think!

Saturday, October 30th we had family and friends to our church to celebrate with lunch and birthday cupcakes. Byerlys gives you a free birthday cake on your first birthday so Bethany had a good time picking the frosting pieces off and eating that. She didn't get overwhelmed with everyone singing, or get scared that we let her have the whole cake to herself, she was just her happy, busy little self. She was so excited about her fun presents and playing with friends.

Bethany is so much fun at this age! When someone else laughs she runs over and laughs too, when someone claps or says "yay!" she joins in clapping, and when we say "dance" (or even something similar like pants) or she hears music she bounces up and down on her legs to the music. I love her smiles and waving "hi" and "bye" and that she knows EVERYTHING we're talking about. Even though she can't say all of the words yet, when we ask her to do something or get something she knows exactly what to do.

We are moving towards all solid finger food now and she's doing pretty well! She also drinks out of a cup too. Sometimes she's a little picky, but now that she's realizing that is what we eat she's decided eating is better than not eating!

Bethany is scaling the stairs up and down. She is starting to walk pretty fast and sometimes even looks like she is running! She is still really enjoying music class at daycare and they sang happy birthday for her... she danced :)

We love you so much Bethany and are so thankful you are here! All week I remembered what we were doing at this time last year... my water breaking, going to the hospital, holding you for the first time, taking you home. Those first few days with you were a blur but I remember being so happy and in love with you... and being your mom. You have filled our lives with so much joy -I can't imagine life without you. While there were so many fun new things you accomplished in your first year, there are so many more to come and I'm excited to see you as you grow. I love you Bethany, Happy Birthday!

1 year stats:

Height: 30 in (75%)

Weight: 19 lb, 14 oz (25%)

Head: 45 cm (50%)

Happy 1st Birthday Bethany!!!!

2010-10-28T11:22:00.002-05:00

We are so thankful that you have joined our family! You are full of silly noises, smiles and hugs for people that you love and are walking around all over the place. Today I'm so excited to celebrate with you by taking you to the Minnesota Zoo for the first time.

I love you baby girl!

Your mommy

Cousins!

2010-10-21T21:47:00.004-05:00

Dan's sister and family came a couple weekends ago when it was so warm outside and Bethany enjoyed the extended time with her cousins! We went to the park, an apple orchard, jumped in leaves and carved pumpkins. She had so much fun trying to keep up with the boys running around and Emily thought watching Bethany walk was pretty neat too.

Bethany jumping in the leaves
The girls trying some lemons

More leaves

The pumpkin carved with Bethany's current "teeth"

Thanks for the lemon Grandma!

walking on a mission

At the orchard on a wagon ride. The boys were so nice to hold Bethany, but almost immediately would say "she is getting wiggly Aunt Heather!"

Paul's design (and my work) on the left, and Bethany's teeth on the right

Papa was busy trying to keep all 4 grandkids going on the swings

The babies are getting soo big!

Bethany was lonesome after they all went back to Chicago but she has fun memories from your visit! Come back soon!

Getting closer to 1....

2010-10-08T16:02:00.003-05:00

We have had beautiful fall weather this week! Bethany has been enjoying crunching in the leaves and I even caught her rolling around in them at the apple orchard with the MOPS group from our church :)

Path near our house - I love fall!

Off for a hike!

Wow... how did you like your meal Bethany?

Hmmm... a little case of bedhead

11 months old

2010-10-01T09:56:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago when Grandma was overseas, Papa came over to watch the Vikings game (they lost) and then go to the park. Bethany loves to swing, but doesn't like riding in her stroller to get there. We have to pick up leaves to keep her interested and even if we give her snacks or special toys she cries and draws too much attention to her predicament. I really hope that next summer she enjoys the Chariot Cougar a little more!

Bethany is so busy finding new activities at home and especially likes crawling under the chairs and coffee tables

Funny girl wearing her noodles instead of eating them

It is getting harder and harder to take pictures of Bethany with her monkey. Apparently she doesn't like to share the chair with it anymore. Most of the pictures were of her flinging the monkey on the floor.

This is the best 11 month photo we got!

Bethany, we love you so much and are enjoying this stage with you! You love to show off your new walking skills, and you are getting so good at bending down to pick up toys to carry with you. It is funny to get you up from your naps and sometimes find you standing and clapping for me when I walk into your room! We are working on words right now and you seem to say bird, book, puppy in addition to mama and daddy although not many people could understand you yet but we know what you are saying. You like to test your boundaries and know what we mean when we say "no" but you think it is funny to go to the "no" item. When someone does something new like making a funny noise you get very quiet to watch what they are doing. Sometimes you can copy it right away, and other times a few days later I hear you practicing your new noises. In your room you can turn on the music on your swing and then bounce along to the music. A few commercials on tv in the background have a good beat and you stop what you are doing to bounce and dance. When we ask "How big is Bethany?" you bring your hands to your head for "so big!". We can't wait to see the next things you figure out. You bring so much joy to our lives and in a few weeks you will be 1 years old!

Bethany walking - almost 11 months

2010-09-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

Bethany has been taking a few steps over the last couple of months, but this past weekend she took 17 steps in a row and Dan caught it on his phone. She really wanted what I had and I kept taking it away to try and get her to walk a few more steps - I'm sure she was annoyed with me :)

Good job hunny, you are getting so big!!!

Mexico!

2010-09-16T20:29:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful time on vacation... and wish we were back there now that it has been cold and rainy yesterday and sort of today. When we found out Dan's mom would be out of the country for a few weeks we knew we needed to take time off to watch Bethany for a few days so we decided to go on vacation. There were some great deals in Mexico since it is hurricane season so we chose an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya district south of Cancun. It was an amazing resort with wonderful service. We had lots of fun swimming in the pools and in the ocean. Bethany enjoyed her first real experience in the sand and had a lot of funny expressions tasting it as well as the salt water! We just hung around the resort and ate, slept and swam all day. Sometimes we'd nap at the same time as Bethany, and other times we'd take the video monitor out with us to the pool to relax and it even reached one of the outdoor seafood restaurants. They had a big screen setup on the beach so we watched the Vikings game Thursday night and also parts of Avatar another night. The variety of restaurants was nice and the people were so friendly. I realized that with a baby we are only known as "Bethany's mom and dad" and all the locals loved picking her up and watching her for awhile. While dining we'd see someone take her on a "kitchen tour" and try to "sell" her to other tables for $20. She loved the attention and would crawl right over to new people to meet them. There were 2 older couples we met on the van ride to the resort that we ran into all the time and they would yell "Bethany!" and come over to talk to her. She always had big smiles for them and would happily babble away. She did great on the plane rides and it was nice to have a layover in Atlanta to let her get out and crawl for awhile. She enjoyed looking over the back of our seat on the plane and saying hi to other passengers. It was her own game of hide and seek and she would laugh contagiously until she had the attention of everyone around us. I was so glad she didn't get too antsy on the plane and slept most of the way. Everything was so much fun that we are already talking about our next vacation. It would be fun to go with another couple with kids to trade off watching the babies but we really enjoyed the family vacation together. So relaxing!!

View from our room over the marina and adult pool- we had great weather except for one brief shower (while we were taking a nap)

family pic along the ocean

Bethany's waiter friend

Bethany's football game friend

The two ladies that loved Bethany

Someone smiling at Bethany

On September 11th they had a whole program on remembering the event and flew the American flag at half-mast

Our "babysitter"

Wearing my swim diaper

They had these awesome lounging beds along the ocean - fun to watch the sunrise from

Trying all the fun new food

I love the beach!

Yea, sand!

Hi, Dad

They had these fun swings along the ocean too

We took a ton of pictures, but this is a good sampling for now. Bethany is soooo close to walking. She pulls up to standing all the time and stands for 20-30 seconds sometimes. She pushes her walker around like a pro and even turns sometimes although ramming into furniture doesn't bode well for her driving skills quite yet. She tries to sound out new words sometimes, like saying "brr" for bird because we saw a lot of those near the open-air restaurants. She was so brave in the water and could crawl out of the pool on her own. She does "so big" and claps when she is happy and bounces up and down too. Her laugh is so funny and cute. We love you Bethany and really enjoyed our first family vacation together!!!

Jesus Drama Video

2010-09-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

I love this video... very powerful.

summer pictures

2010-09-06T13:41:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures from August/September 2010 - Bethany is 10 months old!

Peek, I found you!

At the RiverRats water ski show with my parents, Amber/Brent/Charlie/Bella, and Aunt Lynette

Aunt Lynette with both babies!

Bethany and Charlie love their watermelon!

I love Auntie Amber!

Helping Uncle Brent

swimming with daddy

ahhh, I just woke up

what you looking at?

moooo!

I like Sweet Martha's cookies at the fair too!

Bethany and her boyfriend Wilder. He is a few weeks younger, but will be a big boy - already 24 pounds and 34 inches tall!

10 months old and summer catch up post

2010-09-06T12:59:00.004-05:00

It has been awhile since I've posted so I'm going to attempt to catch up. The last few weekends we have had friends out to the cabin which is always a lot of fun. We had Dan's friends from Mankato there one weekend - usually we go up to the Gjovik's north of Brainerd but this year it worked out better to come to our cabin. It was fun to go boating and for Bethany to meet Asa who is a few weeks younger than her.

Climbing the stairs together.
Here they are playing on the musical table together

Then we had my sister and her family and my parents over. We actually took Charlie on Friday while Amber and Brent went to a wedding and so Bethany and Charlie had some cousin time. Here are some cute pictures from bath time. I was very wet sitting there watching them because they splashed so much!

We went to the State Fair this past week and enjoyed cheese curds, endless cups of milk, Sweet Martha's cookies and Australian battered potatoes. Bethany grabbed one of the cookies while we were darting under cover from a pop up storm and had chocolate everywhere! We also visited the Miracle of Birth center where Bethany got to come face to face with some of the animals we read about in one of her books. She loved seeing the little pigs, sheep and calves.

Labor Day weekend we finally had our Bethel friends out to the cabin. We'd been planning it since before Memorial Day trying to find a weekend where everyone could come. It was a blast! Kevin and Jon both brought their cameras to take some pictures of Bethany and we got a few cute ones I think. When they send them to me I'll be sure to post a few.

I'll do another post of some other pictures over the past month as well, but in the meantime Bethany turned 10 months old! She is learning so many new things like raising her hands by her head when we say How big is Bethany? She claps a lot and sometimes waves too. She definitely knows the meaning of "no" but usually does the no thing and looks at us to see what we will do. I thought we were going to get by, but Bethany has learned to drop things over the edge of her high chair. She eats 3 solid food meals a day and loves to try everything we give her. We play hide and seek and peek-a-boo around corners a lot and she loves it! She loves to be chased too if we crawl after her but usually stops and turns around to try to have us pick her up after awhile. She is standing on her own for longer periods of time and goes between pieces of furniture by taking a step sometimes. I think she'll walk by her 11 month birthday....

She gets sooo excited when she sees people she recognizes, especially us when she hasn't seen us all day or for a few hours. When she is interested in something she'll get quiet and look at it with her big eyes and sometimes make high-pitched noises or squeaks with her mouth slightly open while switching between looking at us and the item of interest. She sleeps very well with 2 solid naps during the day and between 11-12 hours of sleep at night. Very few times does she wake up and need us - mostly she can put herself back to sleep. She loves her books - especially the animal book when we make the sounds. We read a Bible story every night before bed and I can tell she knows its bedtime when she sits on dad's lap in the rocking chair while I read the story. Dan prays and then I cuddle her for a minute or two while she lays her head on my shoulder. Then she lays down in her crib and usually doesn't cry before drifting off to sleep.

Bethany you are at such a fun age where you love mommy and daddy and others too! We love your sweet personality and how you comfort others when they are sad like the kids at daycare or friends at home. We hope you continue to display empathy for those around you. We can't believe that you are standing on your own and feel a little sad that you may be walking soon! That means you are becoming more of a little girl than the tiny baby that we took home from the hospital last fall. We love you so much!
Here are some fun 10 month pictures of Bethany by her monkey:

She looks like a little girl instead of a baby in this picture I think

Keeping up with Bethany

2010-08-19T21:23:00.003-05:00

Wow, I'm glad Bethany waited to crawl as long as she did! We are busy as she has perfected crawling up stairs (not down yet), can pull up on anything and everything and even lets go for a short time, and has figured out how to un-babyproof the outlets by taking the plugs out - yikes!

She is so happy with her new found freedom but it is certainly harder to watch to make sure she isn't getting into something she's not supposed to! Bethany enjoys a lot of finger foods these days too: macaroni, crackers, all fruit cut-up and her favorite... eggplant. Funny girl.

Here are a couple of pictures of her in the last few weeks at 9.5 months.

This is an extension of our peek-a-boo game.. one of us hides and Bethany peeks around a corner at us and then erupts in laughter!

Here is a picture of her putting something in her mouth to transport while crawling. This is a mini makeup item from my purse - as you can sort of see she already ransacked the rest of the purse items. She takes random things, puts them in her mouth, and crawls somewhere else to play with it. Sometimes it is a stuffed animal and looks so realistic like she is a mommy cat bringing her kitten to safety. So funny!

There is that tongue again

She loves the musical table that Kathryn found on Craigslist for her a month ago

Getting brave

9 months old and some birthday pics

2010-08-03T21:04:00.005-05:00

Bethany is 9 months old and full of personality! She is so excited with herself for being able to crawl that she is exploring everything. She is getting close to knowing how to clap and when she is really happy she makes her signature sound and flaps her arms together which sometimes results in them clapping. Pulling up to standing and letting go with one and sometimes both hands is her favorite activity - especially when there is something new nearby that she wants to reach. She is feeding herself some finger foods and her bottle. Her favorite book is her animal book which we have to read over and over and make the right noises each time. She loves family and familiar faces, and really likes it when someone gives her their full attention. Her hair is really thick (like Dan) but fine (like mine) so it sticks straight up and look like she has a mohawk. Because she knows how to sit up and pull to standing it has made bedtime a little more challenging. I've seen her chewing on the handrail in her crib and sleeping sitting up from the video monitor so we are hoping she figures out how to lay back down and sleep soon.

We got her passport picture taken this week for our upcoming trip to Mexico in September. It is funny to get a baby picture for a passport and I hope she does well on her second plane trip as this one is a little longer than our trip to Dallas! We're looking forward to our first family vacation.

Bethany's 9 month Dr. appointment went well and she has had a growth spurt since her 6 month appointment!
Height: 28 1/4 inches (75%)
Weight: 18lbs 1 oz (25-35%)
Head: 43.5 cms (40%)

It is funny she was in the 25% for height at her 6 month appointment and is now in the 75%! The Dr. said she is doing great and thinks she'll be walking before a year given how comfortable she is pulling to standing and letting go with one hand... who knows! Bethany is also learning how to get places crawling with the toy she is playing with. She simply puts it in her mouth, crawls, and then has it to play with again!

Me and my baby on my birthday
cutie pie

mmm, grass

I am a little cowgirl

Let's eat some cheerios daddy - I dumped some out for us

Hi Charlie - let me fix your hat

What a good nap under the umbrella after a fun day at the water park!

Summer Catch-Up

2010-08-03T20:32:00.004-05:00

We have had a fun and busy couple of weeks! My birthday was a week ago and we had a great time at the cabin with friends and then celebrating with my family at a waterpark near Apple Valley. We had some cute pictures that I will have to post here sometime.

Then Dan's sister and her family came from Chicago for the week and it was the first time they met Bethany and the first time we met their daughter Emily born in December. Both of the little girls crawled everywhere and really enjoyed all the activity provided by my nephews Paul III and Jacob. The week was filled with visits to parks, walks and good food and then we spent the weekend at the cabin. The boys had fun going on a boat ride, fishing, sleeping in a tent and having a campfire. We drew all of the fun experiences with sidewalk chalk on our patio and it was funny to hear what the boys wanted us to help them draw. Bethany really liked Paul III because he would imitate her funny ah-ah-ah-ah noise and then she would "talk" back to him very seriously making the noise again. Paul thought this was hilarious so it made for lots of laughs all weekend.

Who knows how often we'll all get together, but we certainly made the most of this visit.

Here are some pictures from the past week and a half.

Bethany enjoying black beans for the first time

Bethany's first Twins game!

I love swimming with daddy (and I love saying "da-da-da-de")

Family pic - only the babies weren't looking so we think this is successful

How do you like our matching Huggies jean diapers?

a little less than 2 mo apart

Family pic

Dan's sister Melissa and smiley Emily

Grandma and Papa with the girls (nice tongue Bethany)

the boys getting ready to make s'mores

Paul, Jacob, Paul III and Uncle Dan with some of the sunnies

All the cousins - the boys in their Toy Story 3 costumes

I like my rocking chair that used to be mommy's and originally Grandpa's!

Bethany is crawling!

2010-08-01T20:48:00.010-05:00

On July 20th we got home from dinner and started playing in Bethany's room and she started crawling! We got the video camera and captured the moment. I know she is so much happier now that she can get to where she wants to go on her own. A little over a week shy of her 9 month birthday, and in the same week she learned how to pull herself up to standing and go from her tummy to sitting more consistently. I guess we need to start babyproofing the house now!

8.5 month photo shoot

2010-07-13T21:43:00.003-05:00

I took Bethany to get some pictures done again. We are never right at the 3, 6, 9 month mark so this is at 8.5 months! She has such a fun personality and I posted a few of my favorites. I see her in each and every one of these expressions.

On Sunday we were helping friends of ours move and their little boy was pushing a cart around and walking. Since Bethany loves to hold our hands and walk, I put her hands on the cart and gave her a push on the back. She surprised me by walking several steps holding on! She made it across the room and was very proud of herself. It will be awhile before she is sturdy enough to go farther distances or let go and walk on her own, but it seems like she is closer to walking than crawling.. silly girl :)

The pickle post

2010-07-06T16:50:00.001-05:00

My mom and I took Bethany to the park in Wayzata a few weeks ago and Bethany enjoyed experiencing her first pickle taste :)

8 months old

2010-07-06T16:19:00.003-05:00

Bethany is a very active little girl! We get comments a lot about how "busy" she is, and "wow, look how energetic she is!" It's true, she is squirmy, wiggly, loud and needless to say, not shy at all. I'm not sure when this stranger anxiety will happen, but Bethany loves to go to anyone who will play with her. We are struggling with this a bit at daycare because Bethany would prefer to have someone walk her around from toy to toy and have a dedicated play person all day. There are other kids, so it would be great if Bethany would be better at self-directed play or perhaps crawl to the toys on her own. She is getting much better at tummy time, but instead of crawling she decides to turn herself to the nearest stable object and pull herself up to standing. Bethany also loves to make funny noises. One sounds like a coughing noise and it is made when she is very excited to see someone or something new, and her mouth and eyes are WIDE open. She is such a funny girl! I also taught her how to make noise with her lips pressed together and blowing so that is also a constant noise. She is getting so good and picking up tiny things and has fed herself Cheerios and pieces of a banana. The lake is a big bathtub for her and she has fun splashing and trying to lean out of our arms to drink it (not allowed). We play "humpty-dumpty" sitting on the dock and now she leans forward to tip off into our arms when we say "fall!" We will see if she starts to get the hang of crawling soon but we are still enjoying the freedom of having her stay in one place :)

We'll have another weigh-in at the end of July with her 9 month appointment, but we went in today to make sure her cough was just a virus (which it is) and they weighed her in fully clothed at 17 lbs! We've just started her in size 3 diapers, although size 2 fits fine too. She still just has the 2 bottom teeth that arrived at 6 months, but her hair is finally growing back in and its blonde. Very fine, but relatively thick hair so it all stands up :)

8 month picture with her monkey

Lots of lake pictures!

cousins

loving the lake!

Father's Day

2010-06-20T22:00:00.003-05:00

Hard to get us all looking for family pics, oh well!

Auntie Amber and Bethany

Just me and my dad

Today we had Charlie's dedication at Amber and Brents church and Charlie had a little accident while on stage.... Amber quickly got a blanket to wrap around him but it will be a very memorable dedication! Afterwards we hung out with yummy food and celebrated all of the fathers. Then Dan's parents came over for dinner and we grilled bacon wrapped steak, potatoes, garlic bread and salad. Lots of good food today!

I made Dan a card from Bethany with some recent pictures of her. She loves her daddy so much and I think its cute how excited she gets when she sees him. You are such a great dad to her and I love watching you as you care for her and teach her new things. Thanks for being such a great role model for her - I love you!

Fun at the lake

2010-06-20T21:51:00.002-05:00

Annika (1o months) and Bethany hanging out in the hammock

Jon and Bethany

Jenna, Jon and Squirt

Bethany and Daddy

Eric and Megan with their daughter Annika came out to the cabin this weekend and it was so fun for the girls to play together. They did really well and it was funny to watch them grab the same toy back and forth from each other - neither got upset but they just kept taking it away from each other over and over! Jon and Jenna came with their ducks and we heard another boater say "that ain't no wild duck" about Little Jerry following Jon and Dan as they kayaked around the lake. Squirt is just a few weeks old and was funny to watch running around with its little wings flapping and mouth wide open. Fun weekend!

New pics

2010-06-20T21:39:00.004-05:00

Her new trick - breathing out of a little corner of her mouth (she looks kind of like popeye when she does it!)

Bethany hanging out with her friend Drew

Bethany loves little puppies

All bundled up in the tent

Camping last weekend was a bit cool and quite a bit rainy so although we had good intentions of staying overnight we ended up coming out for the day on Saturday with our friends from church. Bethany didn't quite know about sleeping in a tent for her naps but had a few short ones. Maybe next year!

7 months old!

2010-06-08T21:52:00.002-05:00

Bethany is 7 months old! Well, she is almost 7.5 months, but I'm a little delayed in posting. These days she is very entertained by peak-a-boo. I hide behind Dan and pop up on one side and then drop back and reappear on the other. She knows this game very well so anticipates me on the other side but still giggles hysterically when I jump out and say peak-a-boo!

She is eating 3 meals of baby food a day and does very well. She opens her mouth so nicely after each bite most of the time. Bethany also likes water from her sippy cup and has decided she likes to chew on Cheerios. There is no Dr. appointment this month so I'm not sure where she is on the height and weight chart but it seems like she might be getting taller! We just packed up her 3-6 month clothing and so she's in her 6-9 month ones now even though quite a few are too long or wide on her. The one-piece pjs fit perfectly though.

Bethany loves the water and has enjoyed her swims in the lake so far! Bathtime is still the most fun because it is warm and there are so many toys to play with. She is also getting good and reaching for her toys while sitting. Sometimes she ends up on all fours but gets stuck there and hasn't figured out how to move forward on her own yet consistently. Books are a favorite too and we read several each day with Bethany helping flip the pages. She is sleeping very well - 7:30 to 6 most nights, although she has been flipping over lately and since she doesn't like tummy time wakes herself up and its sometimes hard for her to get herself back to sleep. Hopefully its just a phase and either she won't keep flipping over, or will figure out how to get back on her back, or just enjoy sleeping on her tummy when she does flip... this too shall pass.

Bethany - you are such a fun little girl! We love your smiles and that you enjoy meeting new people! We are so excited that you are learning new things and although we know crawling/walking will happen sometime, it is fun to have you in this non-mobile stage right now to enjoy. We love you so much!

7 month picture with monkey - I can reach both sides!

Still more interested in talking than smiling for the picture!

Snuggling in the warm laundry after my nap

The new Huggies jean diapers!

Memorial Day weekend

2010-06-08T21:21:00.003-05:00

We are behind in our blogging! Memorial Day weekend was beautiful at the cabin. We spent a day driving to Kerkhoven to visit my grandparents, Bethany's great-grandparents. She enjoyed their pond and dipping her feet in it to cool off from the hot day. It was so nice to see them and enjoy a yummy meal together that Grandma made.

Then we spent a few days with my sister and her family and then my parents joined us a day too. Lots of fun in the sun and water with the babies and a boat ride which put both of them to sleep :)

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Bethany enjoying her mobile. There is a similar picture of me at this age doing the same thing.

Great-grandparents

hold on tight, I'm wiggly!Grandpa brought his old cell phone from the 90's and it was huge compared to Bethany!

Sleepy baby on the boat ride

Charlie I love you so much, come here for a hug!

Mommy and me

So big!

Bethany's first visit to the park

2010-05-23T19:55:00.004-05:00

It was a hot and humid day in Minnesota today. I think the temp was in the upper 80's but with the humidity it felt a lot warmer! After bringing out the boat to the cabin this weekend we spent our Sunday afternoon taking naps in the comfort of our air conditioned home and then ventured out to the park. Dan found a Chariot Cougar stroller, jogger, bike trailer on craigslist and we've used it a few times so far this year. Today we took it to the park and Bethany tried out the swing, slide and sat in the toy car. She really like the swing. I sat on the ground in front of her and every time she'd swing towards me she'd giggle and laugh hysterically!

She is really getting good and reaching for things and grabbing. At the lake we'll walk around outside and she'll be hanging over my shoulder pulling at the nearest leaf or flower. She likes to grab paper - like junk mail or fliers we get - which is fine for her to hold, but everything goes in her mouth these days so it just comes out a messy, soggy blob. She gets extremely upset if we try to take her paper away from her, so we'd better come up with something else equally as fun soon! Actually I think she just likes everything we have. So, if Dan or I are on the computer, or phones, or reading mail she will reach and grab and try and get whatever it is we are doing. Another funny thing is that while playing with a toy if we happen to walk by and she thinks there is a possibility that we'll pick her up, she'll throw the toy sideways as far as she can away from her and reach her hands up towards us. I think she's trying to say "I don't have anything I'm playing with, really, so just pick me up!" It is very cute and flattering. Dan said that when she's in her teens and doesn't think we're 'cool' anymore we'll think back to this stage when we are her favorite people in the world.

Sliding down the slide? No thanks, I'll walk down

Bethany's new thing is to bite her lower lip - she looks like she is really concentrating on driving in this picture

Daddy and me

I LOVE to swing!

After bath time hanging out in her giraffe robe from Grandma Bauman

Some more pics of Bethany with her monkey: 6.5 months old

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T20:03:00.003-05:00

Today was my first Mother's Day! I guess Bethany wanted me to know how much she needs me because she started out by fussing during the night which she never does anymore. In order to get some sleep I let her cuddle with me in bed for awhile but she was still sleeping very fitfully. When we got up (early) Dan made me breakfast in bed and I was about to dig in when Bethany decided she needed to eat - right then. So, after that fussy moment she was ok for awhile, but then started crying again and only wanted me to hold her. We made it to the early service at church and then she went down for a short nap before brunch with my family. Charlie slept peacefully through the whole meal at Redstone but not Bethany. She would be good for awhile, but then fussy again until I fed her and she took another short nap in my arms while I tried to eat. I'm getting rather good at eating while holding her! After brunch the guys watched the babies at home while my mom, sister and I celebrated at a spa in Edina with a massage and pedicure. It was very relaxing! Once we got home Bethany needed me again so I carried her around with me, fed her some dinner and got her to sleep. Although it was an abnormally clingy day for her, it was a nice reminder that she loves her mommy and I love her! I can make everything better and love it when she reaches her arms up towards me to pick her up.

Bethany - I never knew how much I wanted to be a mom before you, and I never knew how much I could fall in love with someone that I've only known for a few months. You are my beautiful, happy, cuddly baby and I love you so much! Thank you for being my sweet little girl.

Brunch at Redstone

Playing with ducky during bath time

Sitting all by herself, playing with her toys

I am 6 months old and have 2 teeth!

2010-05-03T20:15:00.004-05:00

Bethany's real half birthday was last week and for everyone that knows that tradition in my family it was fun to celebrate it for the first time with Bethany. Even Dan sang every other word to Happy Birthday for her!

Bethany pushed through her first tooth on April 23rd, and the second one on the bottom came through a few days later right around her 6 month birthday. She was really fussy and had trouble sleeping for that first tooth, and was very drooly too!

Here is a picture - it is hard to get her to let me see them but we can really feel them!

After bathtime in her ducky towel

Her feet are one of her favorite toys right now! I consistently find her with soaking wet socks, and sometimes they are stained if she chews on them after a meal of fruits or veggies.

I don't mind doing laundry when I have this little cutie to watch me

6 month picture by her monkey!

6 month stats:

15 lb 12 oz (50%)

25.5 inches (25-50%)

Everyone thinks it is so funny that Bethany is average for weight and head but not for height! Maybe she will have a growth spurt later on, or maybe she just has the short recessive gene. The Dr. said she is doing really well and said we can keep feeding her anything we want at this point in puree form. We borrowed her friend Alyce's jumper and Bethany loves to bounce up and down with a big smile on her face. It is in viewing distance of my piano keyboard so she has been jumping to "The Entertainer" these days. Bethany has found she can make high pitch noises and we hear her happily screaming and laughing to herself about the funny noise she makes. She loves to grab anything near her so walking through a store I have to watch or she'll grab clothes off a rack behind my shoulder, or try to "help" me brush my teeth. She is still perfecting her sitting and practices flipping from front to back and back to front, but her favorite thing is still to stand! We love you Bethany!

Cousin photo shoot

2010-04-24T10:14:00.003-05:00

Amber and I decided to get some pictures of Bethany and Charlie together and dressed them in overalls and hoped we could get a few cute shots. They did very well and not only did we get a few of them together, but they had some fun ones by themselves and with all 4 of us! Bethany will be 6 months next week and Charlie 3 months. It will be fun to do this periodically as they grow since they are so close in age.

Sitting Up!

2010-04-24T10:04:00.004-05:00

On Friday April 16th, Bethany was able to sit on her own!

She felt confident enough to smile about it...

Then she got brave and started to reach towards me...

And promptly toppled over!

But, good job Bethany! You are doing so well sitting up a couple weeks before your 6 month birthday! We are so proud of you and happy that you are continuing to sleep through the night. Right now you go to bed around 7:30 and usually sleep until 5 a.m. and sometimes 6 a.m. for an early morning feeding before falling back asleep until 7:00 or 7:30! You are enjoying your rice cereal and little bits of veggies and fruit. We've tried peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce and prunes. You start out with a funny face and then eat a Tbs of a fruit and veggie along with a couple tablespoons of rice cereal 1 or 2x a day. Big girl!

Easter!

2010-04-07T22:42:00.003-05:00

We had a great Easter at Amber and Brent's house last weekend. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed visiting their church. Bethany wasn't having as good of a day though... she was rubbing her eyes and they were all red and watery. After looking online and talking to the nurse line we are wondering if maybe it is allergies? It seems to happen when she is outside, or when we have the windows open. I hope not, as she was clearly miserable on Sunday.

But, we still enjoyed a great meal, and a fun Easter basket and egg hunt outside. Bethany and I beat Amber and Charlie in the egg hunt :)

Thanks Amber and Brent for hosting such a fun day!

A family photo

"What are these things on my head and why are you all looking at us wearing them? Stay back Charlie - I'll try to figure this out." - Bethany

Snuggling my red eyed, sniffly baby

Carrying on the tradition of coloring eggs with Bethany (although she doesn't appear to be enjoying it as much as we are!)

5 months old!

2010-04-01T20:50:00.004-05:00

On Palm Sunday Bethany turned 5 months old! Only one more month until her real half birthday :) We went to Dan's parents church for the first time and then had a nice day at their house watching basketball while Dan got our taxes done for the year. The weather was nice so we went for a walk, and all this week its been even warmer! I can't believe today, April 1st, was over 80 degrees! We took Bethany for walks yesterday and today and she seems to be tired out from the wind and just being outside. Hopefully it turns into another long night sleep like last night.

Last year on April Fools Day we told my parents we were pregnant. It is funny to think how much has changed in one year!

We don't get updated stats on height and weight until her 6 month appointment but I can tell she is getting bigger. She is long and lean, but she does have chubby rolls in her little legs that are so cute and squeezable! Her hair is really getting worn off and all that is left is the ring of hair at the bottom of her neck... it looks like there is some blonder hair coming in so we'll see when she gets more hair again!

Bethany is getting really strong at pulling herself up into a sitting position when she grabs onto your fingers while laying down. She can't quite hold herself sitting straight up yet, but she's getting closer. She also really likes to grab things and study them and if you get your face close to hers, she loves to press her head next to us and grab and touch our faces. It is very sweet. She also likes to look around and know everything that is going on. When both Dan and I are in a room and one of us leaves, her eyes follow the one leaving and then she waits until we return and then gives us a big smile.

Bethany is also getting very good at putting herself to sleep! I'm sure we'll always have ups and downs, but she has been talking and humming herself sometimes instead of crying. And, if she cries at all it is usually very short and her eyes are closed as she drifts off. Her bedtime is around 7:30 or 8 and she sleeps until 5:30 for a quick feeding and then back to sleep until 7:30. Her naps during the day are usually 1 hour around 8:30 or 9, another nap for 1 or 1.5 hours at 11:30 and then a 2 or 2.5 hour nap at around 2 p.m. We are glad she is happy with a routine or schedule so she knows what happens next in her day, but also seems flexible when we have to adjust for changes. Now that we've been working on sleeping for about a month I am feeling more comfortable that she is starting to get it and changes once in awhile won't be as bad as they were before!

Bethany and her monkey at 5 months

Bethany - we are so happy you are growing and doing so well at putting yourself to sleep at night! You are getting to be such a big girl! We love your open mouth kisses and snuggles, and how your eyes get so big when you experience new things. Now that the weather is getting warmer we can't wait to show you how fun MN is outside. Pretty soon we can show you the boat at the lake and take you on your first ride.

We love you so much! Love, Mom and Dad

rice cereal

2010-03-25T22:07:00.003-05:00

We started giving Bethany a little rice cereal a few weeks ago and she really seems to like it. Its at dinner so that she can see us eating too and learn that is what we do at the table. We give her a spoon so she gets used to it and its funny to see her expressions when the new texture hits her tongue. We'll probably hold off on introducing other solids for a little bit, but its fun experimenting with something new!

Bethany is almost 5 months old! We are working on figuring out the best bedtime for her, and so far it seems somewhere around 7:30 or 8 p.m. She wakes up around 2 or 3 a.m. for a little bit, but on the monitor we can see her eyes are closed and she eventually drifts back to sleep. She's doing pretty well so far so we'll keep working on sleeping well at night!

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:
Bethany practicing with her spoon

Another new pass time is playing in my exersaucer from the Espensons. Bethany has also found her tongue and spends a lot of time sticking it way out, or blowing bubbles with her tongue out spraying everywhere!

Drooling, chubby legs baby

I can even get rice cereal on my eye lashes!

I like being messy!

Snuggling with her rubber ducky valentines present from Papa and Grandma

Some people have bald spots on top of their heads, but Bethany likes hers right in the back.. so she can still have her little mullet :)

"reading" her book from great-aunt Marsha and great-uncle Bob

We celebrated Dan's great-grandma's 95th birthday a few weekends ago. Edna is an amazing lady - outliving three husbands and still going strong! It was fun to see Dan's extended family and for Bethany to meet her great-grandma for the first time. Here Edna is telling stories to her great-grandchildren.

Fun pictures from Bethany's 4.5 month photo shoot

2010-03-12T14:50:00.003-06:00

I wanted some pictures of Bethany with her fun hats since she still doesn't mind wearing them. We put her in a few Easter outfits and she even gave us a few smiles :)

Pouty face

2010-03-12T14:47:00.002-06:00

I have been trying and trying to capture Bethany's pouty face on our camera since she was born, but by the time I grab it she is full out wailing but this time I got it. Sorry hunny... I know you were sad, but I think the pouty face is so cute!!

Pictures of Bethany at 4 months

2010-03-12T14:40:00.004-06:00

One of my new favorite things is to "growl" - maybe its because I like my giraffe so much.... I am a tiger eating the giraffe!

I like to grab my clothes and blow bubbles :)
I like tummy time on my boppy!

Wiggly baby with mommy

What's wrong Charlie? Is it hard to get the burp out?

Loves to chew on her hands

Flying baby!

Bethany and Daddy

4 month stats

2010-03-03T13:31:00.003-06:00

Height: 23 3/4 inches (25-50%)
Weight: 13 lb 14 oz (50-75%)
Head: 40 cm (25-50%)

We went to a new clinic today near our house and really enjoyed the experience. Everyone was very informative and we spent nearly 30 min with the Dr. asking questions and talking about Bethany's history. She's doing really well and is in the normal ranges for her age in all measurements. She was very smiley to everyone and enjoyed meeting new people. I love that this clinic is less than .5 miles from our house!

Bethany, we are really enjoying this stage with you. You are such a joy and make us smile with all your babbling, smiling and cooing. You are growing up and learning new things every day. We are so thankful that you have been remaining relatively healthy. Thank you for making our lives so much more fun - your dad and I love you!

Here is Bethany by her monkey at 4 months. So big in her overalls!

4 months old today! "Talking" video

2010-02-28T20:02:00.003-06:00

I mentioned Bethany has been starting to talk/hum/sing and tonight she was doing it so much we decided to try and catch it on the video camera. She gets distracted by the light of the camera, but we got a few of her "hmmm, hmm, hmm" sounds. Besides being interested in her hands and always trying to put them in her mouth, she grabbed her foot today. Babies are so flexible, I don't know how they can bend all the ways that they do.

We have her 4 months appointment on Wednesday so I will update soon with new stats!

More pictures of Bethany, almost 4 months old!

2010-02-26T10:31:00.004-06:00

On Sunday, Bethany will be 4 months old! She is now grabbing toys, holding them and either looks at them or puts them in her mouth. She is also humming/singing a lot. She received a praise and worship CD from Grandma and Papa Totman for her dedication and loves it! Baths are still a hit, and she especially loves wiggle time afterwards in her diaper in our bed. She is pretty sturdy sitting now and if we lean her back against pillows she sometimes tries to lift her head forward to sit up.

My boss gave me a teether giraffee for Bethany named Sophie. Apparently it is the thing to have and Bethany LOVES it! She grabs the legs and the height is perfect to reach her mouth for her to chew on. Sometimes she tries to put multiple legs in her mouth at once. It is a soft rubber and I think she likes touching it and hearing it squeak.

She has been sleeping really well lately. Earlier this week when I got sick she was up every 3 hours... not fun when I was trying to get extra sleep to feel better. But, the last few nights she has been sleeping 7-8 hours at once.

Her 4 month apt is next Wednesday so it will be fun to see how much she has grown! She fills out the length of her 3-6 month one-piece outfits already. At least the 2-piece ones she'll be in for awhile longer.

Bethany with her new toy giraffe

Her new toy bear from the Stantons

Looking at dad over the couch

Sophie is fun to chew on!

She is starting to play with her toys

Another picture with her bear

Snuggling after her bath

Picture of her room before we take things out of her crib. She has been moving all over at night and we usually find her facing the opposite direction when she gets up! This started a few weeks ago at 3.5 months and since we are still swaddling her we think she is scooting with her legs only... silly girl!

Bethany laughing!

2010-02-17T21:06:00.003-06:00

We thought we heard Bethany laugh a few times over the last few weeks, but tonight I was blowing raspberries on her tummy after her diaper change and she was really laughing! I called Dan in to tape it, and while Bethany was a little distracted with the video camera she still let out a few funny squeals. She is so funny!