When is Grandma coming?

I woke up this morning to Lauren saying, when is Grandma Marcia coming to our house? Is it Thursday yet? Lauren is totally pumped that Grandma and Lucy the puppy are coming to our house tomorrow. My parents live 3 1/2 hours away, and although not that far, we don't get to see them very often. So Lauren is so excited Grandma is coming to stay at our house for 4 days while Bradley and I head to the Ozarks for a company retreat. Each day for the past week she's been asking when Grandma is coming and tomorrow is finally the day! Get your play clothes packed Grandma and swimsuit too, you are going to be busy the next four days!

Thank goodness for in-laws!

I am very blessed in life, a great husband, two wonderful kids, great parents, a new home, a new car, great siblings and siblings in laws, great friends, just all around blessed. Perhaps one of the greatest blessings I have though is my in-laws! Floyd and Vernitta are saints. God really blessed me when they decided to move closer to us three years ago. I honestly don't know how I'd survive without them!

My mother in law is the best, never steps on my toes, always lets me vent when needed, does everything that I ever ask, babysits for me regularly, and never asks for a thing in return. Floyd is my mister fix it and the best gardner around. He is so very much like my beloved Grandpa Dale. Bradley travels quite a bit with his job and so Floyd always mows my grass and does whatever odd jobs I need done that Bradley normally would take care of. Vernitta is Lauren's favorite play mate and is quickly becoming Blake's too. She is just a saint! I could not ask for better in-laws! I could never show my appreciation to them for all they do! Thank you Lord for giving me them!

They tell us that in a couple years they will move back to Red Bud. All I know is we are going to have two very sad children and one very sad daughter in law when they do decide to move. I will be very lonely and frankly very lost without them. But until that day comes, I am going to keep thoroughly enjoying this blessing I have! In case they read this, THANK YOU for all you do! You mean the world to me!

Top newsmakers this week

This week has been crazy! Here is a recap of whats been happening at the Wolter Household!

1. I left Blake for the first time overnight last Friday as I attended a youth conference with four members of my church youth group. Blake did great and it was a huge relief for me since I have to leave him two night this upcoming weekend. While I was gone, Lauren, Blake and Bradley along with Grandma and Grandpa attending Bradley's work picnic and the closing program for Lauren's friend Kaylee's VBS program. They all had a good time at the picnic. Lauren did her normal stage fright before the program but survived I'm happy to report!

2. Monday Lauren started VBS at our church. Blake and I are attending too since I'm helping in Lauren's classroom. Blake is the youngest attendee! It's been a long week for us. We have a half hour drive each way to church. Blake has been a trooper though and Lauren has kept her energy level high for the most part. Sunday is her closing program which should be interesting. She refuses to practice the songs and actions at home!

3. Monday night we got our new car. We purchased a new Buick Enclave. It's so nice to have a third seat and to have cargo room too! Even Lauren is excited, so much so she's refusing to eat in the car! I wonder how long this will last.....

4. I discovered a leak in our basement and finally the source, a pipe that had a nail hole in it from our baseboards. So the plumbers were here at 6:45 Wednesday morning fixing it. Luckily it's all fixed now and the bathroom is put back together too.

5. We have a retaining wall around our walk out patio and also landscaping by our hearth room and down to the walk out area! We also have path way lights and spot lights. We only did the back for now to control the erosion on our patio below our deck. Now I'm anxious to do the front. However, we won't be doing that until next year.

6. Blake started CRAWLING! He's finally got the coordination down! He started really moving on Thursday morning. He had done smidgets of it last week and early this week but never enough to really count it as crawling, more like scooting. Thursday morning though he figured it out! He's even trying to pull up on things now and I keep finding him in his crib sitting up looking over the side. Bradley's #1 priority this weekend is to lower the crib. I've tried to upload the video I took on my camera of him crawling, but it's not working! Grrr... I don't do so well with video for some reason!






7. Blake discovered the art of playing with his food! Raspberries and blueberries seem to be the ones we like best. It's hysterical to see him squeeze them as hard as he can and just feel the goo going through his fingers. Not fun to clean up, but so cute to watch!

Weight loss plan??

Blake had his 9 month appointment today. He actually lost weight compared to his 6 month weight of 23lbs something! Doesn't seem possible given how much he eats, but he did. The doctor reassured me he's doing fine, but I never expected him to weigh less! His new stats are:

22lbs 3 oz (75th percentile)

31 inches long (+97th percentile)

18 1/4 inch head (don't know the percentile on this)

Needless to say he's doing great and growing up way too fast!

We had another busy day at our house. My friend Selena had her birthday today so I made lunch for her and the kids. We had strawberry soup and sandwiches - yum, yum. Then this afternoon Blake and I went to get his picture taken. He's such a happy boy that he doesn't take a bad picture! Thus, I spent what seemed like forever trying to decide. Here are a few of my favorites!

9 months old already?

Blake is 9 months old today! It just doesn't seem possible. I'm so lucky to have a little boy who has stolen my heart. God has truly blessed me with two wonderful kids (and husband too!). Tomorrow we go for his check up so I'll post the update then on his size. All I know is he's big - very big. Lauren wasn't in 18 months clothes until she was 18 months. Blake, in 18 month clothes now! Crazy! His feet are huge too. I ordered three new pair of pedipeds today. I have a bit of a shoe fettish with my kids!

The good, the bad, the ugly....

Yesterday I went in for an MRI on my back. Today I got the results. Not good, not bad, but ugly. I have a herniated disk! So whats that mean? I have to rest as much as possible for the next six weeks (ha - did the dr. forget I'm a stay at home mom?), then start traction and cortizone shots. If none of that works, then surgery. Wow - not what I wanted to hear at all! I'm trying to find the positive in this. Things can always be worse! I'm not sure what to do, get a second opinion? If anyone has any good advice for me, I'm all ears!

Now for an update on the kids. Lauren has been attending VBS this week with her friend Kaylee. She's really enjoying it but is really wearing out fast. She was asleep before 8 tonight which never happens! I'm not sure how she'll make it through another week of VBS next week at our church!

Blake turns 9 months old tomorrow! Where has the time gone? He's still not crawling but getting closer every day. He's become a champ at feeding himself. In fact, he eats more than Lauren does at this point! He has his 9 month check up on Thursday and then pics Thursday afternoon. I'll update on his stats after that.

Sunday night we had visitors from Norway. Bradley is bringing in a new genetic line of pigs from there so we hosted the folks from the genetic company. They were great visitors and really enjoyed having strawberry pie!

Last night I went and bought a new car. We've been looking for a while now and finally decided to take the plunge. Bradley was gone and the deal needed to be closed so I took my father in law with me and headed to Highland. I didn't get quite as good of a deal as I hoped for, but one that will work. It looks like I'll pick the car up next Monday. I'm looking so forward to having three rows of seats! Hello Buick Enclave!

I left my camera cord at my mom and dads so I'm out of luck on posting pics for a while. My blogs aren't nearly as interesting without pics!

I'm behind as always!

Wow a lot has happened at our house since my last blog. We had a great weekend as a family. We honestly don't get many that we actually get to have family time without a million obligations! Bradley and I have both said how much we enjoyed it and hope we can repeat it soon.

Saturday I took both kids to get their hair cuts. Blake still does not like the experience! I can't say I blame him either. He just has so much hair though, I have to keep getting it cut off in the back and around his ears. Lauren took the plunge and cut hers short - shoulder length that is. She has had it long since she's had hair so this was a big step. It looks so much better now! Now we just need her bangs to grow out and then we're good to go.

Following the hair cuts Lauren had a birthday party. She had lots of fun with the other kids. Then Saturday afternoon we went car shopping. My Trailblazer has lots of miles on it so it's getting time to replace it. We need something with more seating so when Lauren brings a friend home we have more room. We didn't buy anything yet but at least have narrowed it down to what we want to get when we find the right deal. Then later Saturday night we went over to our neighbors house for a Relay for Life benefit they were hosting. Lauren had great fun feeding the fish on thier lake and we enjoyed tasting their homeade wine. Did you know you could make wine from dandelions? It's surprisingly good too! Lauren talked me into bidding on an autographed Taylor Swift CD on the silent auction. Lucky for her we won it! So she's a happy girl now that she can listen to Love Song whenever she likes.

Sunday we spent the day doing home beautification projects. Lauren was thrilled to wear her bathing suit most of the day and playing with the sprinkler ball. Blake got so much fresh air he tuckered out in the walker! That'a first!

This week we are visiting my mom and dad. Bradley is out of town all week on business so since we have a free week before the summer activities start for Lauren we decided to come visit. It's always nice to visit your parents and have mom do the cooking instead of me! I'm so fortunate to have a wonderful mom who dearly loves my children. Lauren keeps Grandma hopping with all kinds of pretend games, etc.

The one negative since my last blog is my back/pelvis/hips. For those who aren't aware, I suffered from hip distocia when I delivered Lauren. Ever since I have paid a price with my hips aching all the time. I have been through physical therapy and regular chiropractor visits. Needless to say it gets better then worse and the cycle continues. Today I had one of the worst days yet when I had tingling down both legs. My chiro has decided its time for an MRI. So I'm not looking forward to that on Monday. I do however want to have a better understanding of the problem and how it can be fixed because I can't deal with the pain much longer! Lugging my 26 pound almost 9 month old around does not help it any! He's a true momma's boy who dearly loves to be carried which is not a good thing for me. So say a prayer that we find a solution!