I fell off the face of the earth - well almost

I have totally fallen behind on blogging! There has just been too much going on to stay on top of things lately. I'm going to do my best to catch my loyal readers up on what's been happening in our world the last month.

Bradley returned from China safe and sound luckily did not get sick! We were all glad to have him back.

We finally got Blake and Lauren back in good health. Blake has officially cut all of his teeth now except his two year molars so I hope that means our sickness will be cut down also.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Bartlows in Springfield at my aunt Gloria's house. It was a wonderful time together. Lauren also enjoyed her first Thanksgiving feast at preschool. Very cute to see the little Indians and Pilgrims.

We began preparing for Christmas. With this being our first Christmas in the new house, I felt like a fish out of water not sure how to decorate! It's taken me almost a whole month now and there is still more I want to do but there is always next year! I'm hoping to pick up some good stuff at some after Christmas sales.

Stay tuned I'll be posting pictures soon!

Sick kiddos

This week has been a trying one for me. Bradley has been gone since last Friday to China and won't return until late this coming Monday night. I had predicted my kiddos would get sick while he was gone and sure enough they have done just that. On Tuesday am Blake woke up with fever. He had an ear infection at the beginning of the month and has been fighting a bad cold for a couple weeks now. When the fever showed up I knew it was time to take him in. He has tonsilitis and a rash or something or another on his cheeks. He was one miserable boy until Friday when he finally started coming around.

Lauren complained her belly hurt and her throat hurt and started with a fever on Friday. So I took her in and sure enough she's got tonsilitis too. So she is on antibiotics now too. I was hoping this was all we were going to deal with.

Wrong!!! Lauren woke me up at 1:30 am on Friday having vomited in her bed. So after getting her settled back down and the mess cleaned up, she continued to get sick continuously until 5 am or so. Luckily it has subsided now and she's just down to a sore throat and fever. She is finally eating and I'm hoping that is the sign that we are over the stomach bug part.

I'm just thankful this is the only sickness we've had. I keep thinking it could be a whole lot worse! I had predicted we would have H1N1 and thank the Lord we have not had it yet. Now I just hope everyone is healthy by the time Bradley comes back and for Thanksgiving.

NHS Talk

I was asked to give a talk last Sunday to the new inductees of the National Honor Society at my high school. I was honored they asked but frankly did not feel qualified to give such a talk. I reluctantly accepted though not wanting to let down my former teacher. Since I was going to be up visiting my mom and dad anyway, it really wasn't asking too much.

My old habits have not changed and I procrastinated until the wee hours on Saturday night. I gave the talk on Sunday and surprisingly it went really well! I received a lot of compliments and my mom has too. So I guess it went okay.

It was great to see my old stomping grounds which are actually brand new. My high school burnt down a few years ago and a state of the art facility was rebuilt in it's place. My former high school coach Mr. Fox who is now the superintendent gave me a tour of the great place. I wish I could have attended high school there! It truly is an amazing place. Thanks for having me NHS!

Brenna's 3rd Birthday

Admiring her gift


Addison and Lauren relaxing with Uncle Andy


What an awesome cake Brekin made!

Braden's Baptism

My nephew (Aaron and Brekin's youngest) was baptized last Saturday in Macomb, IL. It was a private baptism which was great given the loudness and activity of all the cousins! Delaney discovered mini marshmallows during the service and Blake the holy water, it was very entertaining to say the least! Afterwards we headed back to Brekin's mom and dads house to celebrate Brenna's 3rd birthday along with the baptism.


Braden was tired of the Priest talking!

Farm Kids

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Bartlow's for a visit last weekend. Bradley left for China on Friday morning so it was a good opportunity for us to go. Blake and Lauren loved their time on the farm. Blake really got into all the equipment there like the gator, four wheeler, TJ, combine, semi's, grain carts, etc. He had to try out driving all of them. Lauren enjoyed playing dress up with all of Grandma Marcia's new costumes. Despite the heavy rain on Sunday forcing the guys out of the field, it was a great weekend.

Hand washing 101

We've been doing lots of handwashing at our house trying to avoid all the nasty stuff going around. Blake has really gotten into it lately and truly enjoys washing his hands. Whenever I say, lets go wash he rubs his hands together and climbs up on the stool to get to the sink. Then when he starts, he giggles at the water running and the foam he makes.


Blake is taste testing the bubbles! Yucky was the word that described his facial expression!

Taylor Swift Wanna Be

Lauren enjoyed watching the CMAs last week on TV. She put on her own dance show as they were airing.


Blake was an adoring fan! He truly loves and is always entertained by Lauren.

Meet Peaches and Pepper!

Since Tiger "ran away" we decided we needed to replace him. We went to our friends Beau and Tina's house to pick some out on Nov. 8th. We planned on just getting one but ended up with two. Their names are Peaches and Pepper and we are enjoying them very much. They are very good natured and have adopted their new family very well. I love hearing Blake say kitty, kitty, kitty! Lauren is taking her new found responsibility very seriously which is wonderful!

Remote Man

Blake is fascinated with the TV remotes and phones. One of the many things we fail to keep out of his reach!

Build a Bear Wishes

As I mentioned in a past blog, Lauren is very excited for Christmas this year. So to help her in her wish list making, we decided to go to Build a Bear and make a photo wish list. She loved doing this. Now we just have to find some time to hit Lagoona Magoo and Toys R Us!

Dance Class

Lauren is taking dance and ballet classes this year at Starlight Dance in Highland. She is enjoying it very much! Last night was parent observation night. Prior to class she was really upset not wanting me to go. She has issues with anyone watching her "perform." So I told her I wouldn't go in. Lucky for me by the time we got to class she had changed her mind and agreed to let me watch her. Here are a few of my favorite pics from her class. I can't wait to see her recital in May!

Ear Infection & Shots

Blake ran a fever over the weekend and I thought my fears of H1N1 hitting us might be coming true. Luckily though he never showed any other symptoms besides fever which made me think it wasn't the flu. On Monday went to see Dr. Chris and sure enough another ear infection. So now I need to go back and check his chart to see just how many we've had now. I'm hoping we aren't setting up for tubes but if so, so be it. I'm just thankful it was nothing more.

Because of his ear infection he was not able to get the H1N1 shot at Lauren's school Monday afternoon. Lauren did go ahead and get hers though and did great! She didn't even cry, just said "owww". I was very proud of her. Of course she was pleased to fine a new dress up outfit waiting for her when we got home. Thank goodness for half price halloween costumes! You can never have too many dress up outfits with this girl!

Trick or Treating!

The kids had lots of fun trick or treating this year. It was Blake's first experience with T or T since he was too little to participate last year. He thought it was great getting to take a walk at night! He was in awe of all the sights!

Lauren trick or treated in style on a decorated golf cart with four of her little friends. So that left Blake and his pals (the younger siblings of Lauren's little friends) to trick or treat together with wagons and strollers. I don't have a picture of the golf cart because my camera battery died (should have charged it) . When I get one from a friend, I'll post it.

Lauren has been thoroughly enjoying her candy and Blake has gotten his fill of teddy grahams! So much fun!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkins. Since Bradley is in South Dakota pheasant hunting, Grandma and Grandpa came over to lend a hand. Lauren enjoyed the experience and picked what designs we were going to carve. I think they turned out pretty well! We choose a moon and star design and the tin man in honor of our Wizard of Oz theme this year!

Halloween is Here!

Lauren had her preschool Halloween party today at school. She enjoyed dressing up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She can't wait until tomorrow when she gets to go trick or treating. Blake will debut as the tin man. He's obviously not as excited as his big sister!

Here are a couple pics of Lauren and her friend Kaylee as Snow White. Aren't they adorable?

Planting Trees

Over the weekend we selected and planted trees for our home. Lauren helped by deciding which trees had the prettiest leaves when we were at the nursery. Blake assisted by eating grass as we were planting them! We decided on oak, maples, and pecan trees. We will add a red bud and crab apple in the spring. I can't wait for the trees to get big! Now we just need fence and landscaping in the front and we'll have the outside of our home nearly complete!

Our First Hay Ride and Wiener Roast

On Sunday we had some friends and family over for a hay ride and wiener roast. It was lots of fun! I hope we can make it an annual event. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Kitty, where are you?

Well I managed to lose the cat. Tiger seemed to think he was a dog and everytime I took a walk with Blake in the stroller, he came along too. He was always pretty good about getting off the road whenever a car came, etc. Well we went on a walk last Thursday and he went with me. He got over to the side of the road to get out of the way of a car, and when I called him to tell him it was safe, he wouldn't come. I went on home because I had other things to do and thought he would show up later. He was just in the corn field across from our house so I thought. Well, he hasn't come back and it's been almost a week now. I feel bad I lost our cat! My father in law is not happy with me at all. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Lucky for me, Lauren isn't upset so that is a very good thing!

One year pics

I finally got Blake's 1 year pics taken. Only a month late. They didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped. It's a long story but we got thrown in a training session when I specifically asked not to be. Anyways, Blake wasn't impressed by all the people trying to get him to smile. He's much better with a calm, one photographer approach. We finally did manage to get some decent ones though.

He's got it now!

Blake is officially walking! He officially decided to take the leap on October 22! He walks with very deliberate steps and with his arms straight up for balance. It's pretty cute, I must say. He's so delighted with himself. Now the real destruction begins. I just hope he takes a while before he starts running!

The little man

I am blogging this because I know I'm going to forget if I don't write it somewhere! Here are Blake's latest achievements

- Walked 10 steps today across the kitchen - it won't be long! Now if I could just catch it on video. Everytime the camera comes out we'd rather tackle it than perform.

- What does a cow say Blake? Moo! What does a sheep say? Moo All animals say moo!!!

- He has figured out how to open doors. Now if I can only make the stupid door locks made for french door handles actually work!

- He dearly loves his sister! His favorite thing to play is anything with Lauren! I hope their love lasts a lifetime (I know it won't though).

- Climbing stairs - he is a speed demon going up the stairs. Now the trick is getting him to come down correctly!

- He can finally get on and off his ride on tractor correctly! Now he just needs to figure out how to make his feet make him go forward instead of backwards.

It's the little things in life you know!

Stitches

Lauren had a field trip today to Eckert's in Millstadt to visit their pumpkin patch. Grandpa Floyd took the day off to attend the field trip with her. They had a wonderful day together. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it but I'll post one of her pumpkin after she paints it or decorates it this weekend.

After the field trip, Lauren went to the park with Grandma and Grandpa and her friends Kaylee and Makenna. All the girls were having a great time on the monkey bars. Lauren decided to drop off the bars and instead of landing on her feet, she landed on her knees and fell face forward into the pea gravel. Her chin was banged up pretty good. I was in Fairview Heights at the time getting Blake's 1 yr. pics taken (we're behind at this house). I rushed back when they called (thankfully we were in the car driving towards home when they called). After looking at her chin we decided to take her to the ER and have them take a look. As I suspected, she needed stitches. Of course this freaked her out but after a little numbing and then some local anesthetic she was all stitched up. She was very brave and handled it all extremely well for a four year old. The ER staff was awesome and had us out of there in an hour. They gave Lauren and Blake both big stuffed animals which thrilled them.

This was our first time to the ER for stitches so it was a new experience for us all! I'm so thankful it was not worse.

He's got teeth!

While we were in Punta Cana, Blake brought in three more teeth! I can't believe how fast they are all coming in. He finally popped another top molar through, a top incisor, and the lone bottom one we've been waiting on. The poor boy doesn't get a break either. He's got a few more that I can see are coming fast and furious too. Not that that doesn't make him crabby enough, he has to go get the second half of his flu shot tomorrow. Poor boy! Why does teething have to be so hard on little ones???

Punta Cana

Bradley and I just returned from a five day trip to the Dominican Republic. Bradley was asked to give a talk at a conference in Punta Cana so I tagged along and we made a mini vacation out of it. It was a wonderful trip and exactly what our marriage needed! We have not taken a trip for more than two nights since Lauren was 18 months so we were overdue. We had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed just relaxing! I actually read a book which I haven't done in four years (except for child rearing ones of course). We went on a side trip to Cap Cana which was the most amazing place I've been too! Donald Trump owns part of Cap Cana so you can only imagine what this place was like. I'm hoping to travel back to the DR soon with the kids! Lauren would have been heaven with the ocean and the pools. The kids stayed back with our parents and did great without us. God bless wonderful grandparents who allowed us to have this time together!