February 25 - Feeling a little better...

Not much to write tonight, it was a pretty boring day. Alaina seems to be feeling better. Still a little cranky, but, not nearly as bad as Monday and yesterday! We even did our tummy time tonight which Alaina isn't a HUGE fan of. She will do it for awhile and then she gets mad. We are trying to work on rolling over but she just can't seem to get that silly arm out of the way! Thought maybe if she got mad enough on her tummy she might roll to her back, but, no cookie on that idea! I think she isn't in any hurry to roll over because she doesn't really want to be on her tummy anyway! Oh well - I am just glad she appears to be feeling better! Teddy has bowling tonight so it is just Lainey and Me until about 9:00. She is taking a little nap at the moment on her Eeyore blanket and Duncan is lying next to her making sure she doesn't go anywhere (he is so protective!) And in case you are wondering, sheep is still not far away!

February 24 - Ear infection won't keep Lainey down...

So, today we went to the Dr. and bad news, we have an ear infection again. That explains the crankiness... She also weighed in at a wopping 12 pounds and 3 ounces WITH her clothes on... Little peanut!! I left the Dr. to take Alaina back to daycare. I gave her a dose of tylenol to try and help until I could get the antibiotic filled. I felt like the WORST mom in the world leaving her at daycare when she didn't feel well, but, I have already been home twice this year and I get five sick days the whole year. Plus, she wasn't contagious... Guess I need to save the days where we HAVE to stay home. But...it was still horrible. I left the daycare and ran to drop off her prescription so that I could pick it up after work, grabbed something to eat, and ran back out the door to go back to work. As if the day wasn't bad enough, I backed out of my parking spot and the guy across the aisle from me wasn't paying attention and backed into the back of my SUV. He, of course, had no damage, but my car has a small dent and some scratches. *sigh* It isn't even worth turning into insurance, plus, they would probably rule it no fault because we were both in reverse in a parking lot. Ugh. Thankfully, the guy was super nice. I do appreciate that. He apologized profusely and gave me his information in case Teddy wanted to talk to him and all that, but, ugh. Just not what I needed. So after all of this, I had to go back to work!!! I couldn't wait to get out of there at 3:30 but at 3:25 my manager stops by my desk and wants a "quick meeting." He knows my baby is sick and I need to go and he says it won't last more than about 10 minutes. FIFTY minutes later I was walking out of his office. I was FURIOUS. Not only did I feel horrible taking her back to daycare but NOW I am late picking her up. Thankfully, she did pretty well. The tylenol helped and we picked up her antibiotic and started that, so, we are on the up and up.
As you can see above though, the ear infection didn't affect her mood 100% of the time. She was a smiley for a little bit last night, but, we definitely weren't happy the whole night!

February 23 - Duncan's New Toy

I mentioned in the prior post that Duncan got a new toy on Sunday. The "newness" has not worn off yet as you can see... We even have to take a nap on the couch with the sheep!! Well, at least he is entertained I guess! (Also, note Sam in the background doing what he does best, napping!)
Today wasn't a great day. It was a busy day at work and when I went to pick Alaina up they said she had been extremely fussy all day, so, something was wrong. I called the Dr and they were full for the evening but got us in for tomorrow morning, so, we will go then. She has been fussy at home too. She doesn't appear to be pulling at her ear but she didn't last time she had ear infection either. I guess she could be teething... We went to Daddy's last basketball game tonight and Alaina got a lot of attention from Molly and Lacey again. Too bad basketball is over because Alaina really enjoys the "action" and appears to be trying to pay attention!

February 22 - Mr. Belvedere

Meet the newest addition to our fish family, Mr. Belvedere. Mr. Belvedere comes to us from PetSmart and is going to be replacing Rosie as the cleaner of the aquarium. He has a BIG job to do and I don't think he will go hungry for quite some time... Welcome Mr. Belvedere!
Today was a productive day. I ran errands this morning and did some housework this afternoon while Alaina slept. She has been a little cranky today for some reason... Then this afternoon we took Alaina and Duncan to PetSmart to get Mr. Belvedere. Duncan also got a new toy. It cracks me up that he knows exactly what toy is his. He never tries to take any of Alaina's toys - he knows exactly what belongs to him but when he gets a new toy, it is hilarious. He plays with it non stop for HOURS and talks to it, throws it in the air, etc. It is very entertaining. So, needless to say. Duncan has been entertaining himself all evening with his new toy! Well, time for me to get another load of laundry in and get some dinner on the table! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

February 21 - Not quit big enough yet...But we are in no hurry!!

So today we tried out the jumper that Daddy had put together. It is pretty sweet, but, our feet don't quite touch the ground yet! Still fun to play in though, and mommy and daddy can make it bounce! It is great because you can hang toys all over it, plus, the seat swivels 360 degrees with 4 play stations around it. It plays music, lights up, everything. Soon enough, those feet will touch the ground, but, Mommy is in no hurry. Mommy is okay with just letting the baby be small. Don't know if any of you listen to country but I heard this song on the way home the other day. It's by Darius Rucker and it is from the Dad's point of view but that didn't stop me from bawling pretty much all the way from work to the daycare. They probably thought something horrible happened when I walked in to pick her up. But, now whenever anything happens with Alaina this song just pops in my head.

"It Won't Be Like This for Long"

He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all night
Laying there in bed listening
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It gonna be OK

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laughin'
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
It wont be like this for long

Four years later bout four thirty
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two

It wont be like this for long
One day soon we'll drop her off
And she wont even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It wont be like this for long

One day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times you'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she's up and cryin

And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers
He lays down there beside her
Till her eyes are finally closed
And just watchin' her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows

It wont be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is
gonna be All grown up and gone
Yeah this phase is gonna fly by
He's tryin' to hold on

It wont be like this for long
It wont be like this for long

Now, if you are a mommy, even if you aren't, tell me you aren't crying right now? Yeah...that is what I thought...
So, now that I am crying again... that is about all for today. Tonight we went to Red Lobster for
dinner because we had a gift card. Apparently it was bring your baby to Red Lobster night. There were...at least six I think. They ran out of carseat slings!! So that was fun but other then that, pretty boring day. Just spending time with my baby, who thankfully, is still a baby. :o) So this dishes can wait because it won't be like this for long...

February 20 - We need a "Meow Fit"

I know I just posted about my Wii Fit but it cracked me up to see that my overweight cat has taken to napping on the Wii Fit box... I think they need to make a "Meow Fit" for overweight kitty cats that need to get in shape, like mine. And also my parents kitty Wilson. He he he!!
Anyway, thank goodness today was FRIDAY!! I did my Wii Fit session when I got home from work and we spent the evening at home with Teddy and Alaina. Alaina has been a little stuffy with a cold so she has been sleeping a lot. She was probably awake for a couple hours the whole night. Teddy and I watched a little TV and had some dinner. Then we all went to bed in pretty good time. Teddy had to be up early on Saturday and Alaina and I were just tired from getting up around 5:00 this morning.

February 19 - Mommy's Favorite Toy

Oh my goodness!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Wii fit! It is so much fun AND it is really helping. You can set goals for weight loss and I can already tell a difference in both pounds and inches. Everything fits better. My posture is getting better. My brother also gave me Jillian's (From The Biggest Loser - LOVE that show!) game for the Wii Fit for Christmas. I haven't played that one yet. Thought I would try and master the Wii fit game first. My favorite right now is probably the aerobics stuff {Love the Hula Hoop Game!}. The balance stuff is fun too and and I really enjoy Yoga but on this it seems a little slow. Hard to get that calm at home! Ha ha! Regardless though, whoever thought of this deserves a big hug! Fun way to lose weight and be on your way to a healthier life!! :o)

February 18 - Sammy Sam Sam

He he he! Well...since I showcased Maggie yesterday I had to show off Sam. The picture is a little blurry, but, he smiled. :o) This is Samson Cat a.k.a. Sammy, Sam, Sambo, Fuzzy Butt, Fatty... Why do we have so many names for the same animal?? Ha ha. Actually when we first got Sam and Maggie (they are brother and sister believe it or not) I named them Samson and Delilah. Teddy put the kibosh on that one. He said he wouldn't have his little kitten named after a prostitute from the bible... So, Delilah, became Maggie. The name Teddy picked. Here is a fun fact for you. We argued the entire 9 months over a name for the baby and 3 days before she was born Teddy looked at me and told me that it was really my decision all along. He just wanted to make sure I was thinking about it. (WHAT!?!?!) I don't think I have ever wanted to stangle someone so badly in my life... Ughhhh.... So anyway, off the subject. We are talking about Sam now. Sam is a sweet cat. He thinks he is a baby and wants to sit on your lap and love on you, well, me. I am normally the only person he cuddles with. He likes to get right up around my face and kneed my neck and purr, but, the issue is that he drools. Severely. So I tend to not like that for very long. :OP Most of the time I make him just sit on my lap while I pet him. He is a cute kitty cat and very very ornery. His favorite thing to do is go in the nursery and steal small stuffed animals and play with them and carry them around like a kitten. Sounds cute but it is SUPER annoying. He even gives them a bath...with his tongue. GROSS! Duncan doesn't even steal Alaina's toys... Naughty naughty Sam. We love you!

February 17 - My Maggie Moo Cat

Today was a pretty boring day. Teddy and I went to work and Alaina went to daycare. I was super busy and was really glad when the day was over and I got to go see my Lainey!! We came home and waited for daddy to get home and then we ran an errand to the grocery store to get food for daddy to take to work for food day on Wednesday. Then I had to come home and cook it. ;o) Anyway, in the midst of everything, I noticed that Maggie had made herself at home in the very beautiful and very expensive hand made basket that Teddy's mom gave me for Christmas. I guess since I hadn't decided what to put in it yet, Maggie made the decision for me. What is better in a basket than a kitty cat?? Maggie is a beautiful and sweet cat. She isn't much for cuddling unless it is on her terms. (Female?? Ha ha!) I think she is so pretty because she is a black calico but she has a lot of white. She has little mittens on her front feet and socks on her back feet. She comes to you whenever you whistle and she goes by many names. Normally Maggie Moo or Maggie Moo Cow. Sometimes Magpie, Magzilla or Magaroni to name a few. He he! We love her and our family would not be complete without her!

February 16 - Star of the Week

When I went to pick Alaina up today I took a picture of her "Star of the Week" bulletin board. Awwww - how cute is she?? I told the ladies that work in the room that I knew I was a nerd but I just had to take a picture and they both just smiled. One admitted she took a picture when her baby was up there too, so, I guess I am not the only crazy mom. Ha ha! Here it is a little closer. Not sure how you are suppose to know a 3 month olds favorite songs and colors and all that so, we just kind of went by what she responds to... Ha ha!
Anyway - the rest of the day was pretty boring. I had the day off because my work was closed today for Presidents Day. I went ahead and had Teddy take Alaina to daycare anyway. #1 Because we are paying for it no matter what and #2 Because I knew I would get more done being home alone. So, while everyone was gone I got the entire downstairs cleaned up, swept, vacuumed AND carpet cleaned. Woo hoo! Then I also got laundry done and even worked for a little bit so I can be caught up for tomorrow. I went to pick up Alaina at 3:00 and we spent some time together. Tonight Daddy had a basketball game. Alaina and I did not go this week. We stayed home to make dinner and all that fun stuff. And now, my friends, it is time to get myself and little miss ready for bed! Goodnight!

February 15 - A new member at the zoo

Meet our new Giraffe from Aunt Amanda! It is soooo cool! :o) (I think that is what Alaina's 'Gooo' meant...) AND when you pull out on his tail he plays music! Oh how we love things that play music! So, we had to get a picture with the Giraffe.
Today was a good day. This morning we went over to Teddy's parents house after saying goodbye to my family and Ashley's friends. We ended up going to lunch with Teddy's Mom and Dad and Aunt Amanda met us there later to give Alaina her gifts she got in Las Vegas. After that we loaded everything up and made the trek back to Omaha. On the way home Alaina awoke from her nap and was inconsolable so, I ended up using my battery pack for my pump for the first time. Believe me, you have not LIVED until you have pumped going down the interstate at 73 mph with a baby screaming next to you. Ha ha ha! ;o) We safely got the milk pumped into the bottle and I fed her like a little calf while she sat in her car seat and then she was back asleep the rest of the way home. When we got back it was time to start laundry, do dishes, wash bottles, and all the other stuff that has to happen to get ready for the work week. Then, I just spent what was left of the evening trying to catch up on blogging my pictures and spending time with Lainey. What a fun day!

February 14 - Happy Love Day (Secret Project Revealed!)

Thank you Lord!! The weather cleared and they got the roads cleaned up! We were able to keep our plans of going back to Iowa this weekend. Alaina and I were sooooo happy because we worked so hard on our Valentine's Day gifts!! This is a picture of Papaw and Grammy getting their gift. Pictures of Lainey!! I thought I had a good picture of the actual project but, this is one I took after it was hanging and it has the reflection of the windows on it. (Sorry!) I will get a better picture next time I am home for my own sentimental reasons. I could have sworn I took some...
We made a little footprint butterfly that you can see on the heart in the middle and then lots of pictures. Here are some of my favorites that I took.

February 13 - Snow Blows...

I know I got severely spoiled last week with all the beautiful weather. That made this round of winter weather just that much worse. Ugh. Over 7 inches fell today at our house. Here is a view from our back door. A lot of people didn't come in to work at all and then most of the people who did come in ended up leaving early. I did not. Teddy left work at noon and picked Alaina up from daycare to try and get her home before it got really bad. He got to our street and only got about halfway up before his car wouldn't go any further. Thankfully, some of our neighbors were home and they watched Alaina while he went and parked his car in the lot at the bottom of the hill and walked up. He then carried Alaina in her carrier from their house up to ours. So, they had a daddy & baby afternoon. He called and told me I might as well just stay at work until the plow came through. Even with four wheel drive, our neighbor didn't make it to his house either. So, I stuck it out and that ended up being the best thing anyway. By the time I left work most people had already gone home so there was very little traffic, the snow had stopped, and the plows had been out and it was so warm the roads were just WET. I drove 55 most of the way home. The plow had been through the neighborhood and I drove right up to my house with no problems. Sadly, we were going to travel back to Iowa tonight but that didn't happen due to the weather. We stayed home and made some dinner and spent the night watching TV and hanging out as a family but went to bed in pretty good time in case the weather cleared to make it back home.

February 12 - A favorite dinner that always makes me laugh

My picture for today is another picture of dinner. Looks a little weird in the picture, but, this is a favorite at our house and was a favorite at my parent's house growing up. It always reminds me of my Grandma Carolyn when I cook it because my grandma always called it "Barnyard Sh!t." If you knew my grandma, then you are laughing. My mom rated G'd it down for us and changed the name to "Junkyard Dog." (Where did you come up with that mom?) Anyway, all you really do is brown some Jimmy Dean pork sausage in the skillet. I remove that and place it on a plate on a paper towel to help drain the grease. Then I put a little cooking oil in and dump in my bag of Ore Ida Potatoes O'Brien with the peppers and onions in them. Fry those up. Add a can of corn and dump the sausage back in and then layer cheese on top. Mmmm - so good. Also good for breakfast but we usually have it for dinner. I am sure this is probably bad for you, but, delicious, however, in looks it probably does resemble some "barnyard sh!t...." He he - Love you Grammy!
Today was a busy day at work but I got to leave early because we GOT ALAINA's THREE MONTH PICTURES DONE!!! Hooray! I am really excited to see them. We have some friends we play sand volleyball with and John is an amazing photographer so, I can't wait to see them! Anyway, after that Alaina and I came home and daddy went to be a sub for a different bowling team tonight. Alaina and I also finished up our "secret project." It was a fun evening for mommy and baby!

February 11 - I know it's February, but, just had to try it out...

So Grammy bought Alaina a swimsuit already for swimming in "Grandpa's Pool" this summer. She saw it and immediately thought of Lainey Bug because it was a Lady Bug. We decided to try it on tonight to see how it looked. Since there isn't really much else to talk about tonight I decided just to post some cute pics I took of her in it. Enjoy!! :o)

The Front with the Hat

The Cute Back...

Cover Up and Hat

Back of Cover Up

Just Cute Chubby Cheeks and Big Eyes!!

February 10 - This is what I call "Two Fisting" it!

Not much to write about today. It was a busy day for both Mommy and Daddy at work and Alaina just went to daycare. Daddy picked her up because Mommy had to work late. I fed Alaina when I got home and she went to sleep so I made a mad dash for Target to pick up a few things. (Unfortunately for Daddy the nap didn't last after Mommy left! Ha ha!) When I got home I multi-tasked cooking dinner and feeding Alaina. *Insert mental picture here* I got her to sit in the high chair while we ate and then Daddy took her again for a bit so Mommy could get some bottles washed. Then it was bath time! This picture is after our bath. We put on our onesie to go under our jammies and I was taking pictures. This is definitely NOT the cutest picture in the bunch but it cracked me up because she is trying to shove both fists in her mouth... I also like her onesie. Daddy picked that out before she was born. He thought it was funny as it says "Milk Enthusiast." Yes yes...he is so witty.

February 9 - Daddy's Basketball Game

Tonight was Daddy's basketball game. He plays in a league for work and Alaina and I have not been to a game since she was about 4 weeks old...so it was time! Alaina had a great time.
#1 Two of daddy's teammates wives were there and she got held and loved on all night.
#2 She loved the action!!
She watched as they ran up and down the court each way. I am not sure how much of it she actually took in but she appeared to be watching and there was the occasional "Oooooo" coming out. I wanted a picture of Daddy (a.k.a. Uncle Fester, or, as we referred to him Monday night, the "White Shaq") and Alaina but Daddy is camera shy and was really sweaty. So, when we got home we got a good picture with Daddy's basketball!

February 8 - Go Spurs Go!!

The Spurs played the Celtics today at noon so Alaina got dressed up in her Spurs gear to cheer on Tim Duncan and the rest of the team and YAE! We won!! :O) Lainey and Daddy had a lot of fun watching the game together and having Daddy/Baby bonding time. After the game Lainey was ready to eat and then she went down for a nap. Mommy took advantage of the free time to run an errand to Toys R Us and ended up visiting Babies R Us as well. Ugh...those stores. So hard to not walk out of either one without SOMETHING! At Toys R Us I picked up some stuff for my mom that their store didn't have. She got Lainey Bug a Lady Bug swimsuit to swim in the pool this summer and it has little sandals but they didn't have the cover up in her size, so, off I went to look. Thankfully, they did have one at my store. Of course, they also had some stuff for St Patrick's day and a cute little lady bug dress and little size 1 sandals... Yeah. Then I ran to Babies R Us real quick and I ended up getting Lainey this ADORABLE stuffed lady bug. She seemed to like it a lot!
So anyway, when mommy got home we had to work on our secret project. I have some cute pictures from that, but, it's still a secret, so, you will have to wait. Tonight we did dishes and laundry and got bottles ready. We had to fill out the paperwork and pick out pictures so Lainey can be "Star of the Week" at daycare this week. And, we, well, Mommy shaved Daddy's head. (He wouldn't let me take pictures...) He has been talking about it for quite some time. If you have seen my husband or a picture of him you know he doesn't have that much hair to begin with but he has been baby stepping to shaving it all off. We bought our own clippers at Wal Mart on Saturday and we were just going to cut it. Then once we cut it short he was like, well, maybe I should buzz it... Then once it was buzzed he decided to just go for it! It is all gone now. Thankfully, he doesn't have a hideously deformed head. Hooray! He he he! Well, gotta go! Time to take a shower and get off to bed! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

February 7 - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Oh my goodness! Almost 65 degrees the first week of February?? Today was beautiful! The only sad thing is that it isn't going to last... But, we took advantage of it today and took Lainey for her first walk in the park!!
Here she is all situated in her stroller. You can't really see her that well because she is bundled in her sweatsuit and has her blanker but you can see the whole stroller. Here is one of Lainey.
Her hood kept creeping up around her face so I unzipped it a little for her...
There is a happy baby! :o) So cute in her Baby Gap! Ha ha! Daddy won an award at work and he got a Baby Gap gift card for Lainey with his points so Lainey got a fun new outfit to wear! I like it because it has butterflies! So, that was the highlight of our day. We took a trip to WalMart because we had to get a few things. Alaina got a little cranky toward the end of that trip so we ended up coming right home so she could eat. This evening I worked on my secret project. I feel like Ty off of Extreme Home Makeover when I say stuff like that - he he! There will be more on the secret project in next weekends blog. For now, you just have to wait! Well...it is getting late. Time to get to bed. (Lainey is already asleep!) Goodnight!

February 6 - Hand Made, Home Baked

Mmmmm - Papa Murphy's pizza on a Friday night. I love it! What a long week it was! I couldn't wait for it to be over. When Teddy got home from work we ended up running some errands. I wanted to browse around Archivers and Teddy wanted to go to Best Buy. We bought Lainey Madagascar 2. She has no idea what is it yet, but, someday she will love it! Ha ha! Anyway, by the time we did all that it was after 7:00 and the thought of going home and cooking just did not sound appealing. Papa Murphy's to the rescue! Their pizza is soooo good and since you can cook it at home it is hot and fresh right out of the oven. As you can see, we like EVERYTHING on our pizza! Ha ha! Lainey got tired while we were eating and apparently we were annoying her because this is how she ended up sleeping...
Poor sleepy baby! The nap didn't last long but she ended up falling asleep with mommy in the chair before we went up to bed and slept all night! I guess this was a long week for her too!