capturing a moment

My sister always talks about "capturing the moment", well here is truly a moment captured.

The story...my parents and I were trying to get Sam to smile and get it on camera for my mom. So I was trying to be silly and mom had her camera trying to capture the smile while Pawpaw was holding Sam. Chris was playing with our camera trying to get the video function to work. SO here is what happened as mom struggled to get her camera to take pictures fast enough to capture the smile... (if you have a weak stomach DO NOT WATCH!)


SO FREAKING FUNNY! And did you notice that our camera is working again? LOVE MY HUSBAND. More videos of rolling over, yelling, etc. to come!

history

History was made last night. I laughed, I got teary, I got inspired and felt proud of my country for the first time in eight years.

Did you see it?

If not, it is worth a listen go here to see the whole Obama Nomination Acceptance speech.

I cannot wait until NOVEMBER!!

*insert creative title here

Just some fun photos of Sam and Chris.


He wants high fives....She wants to eat his fingers!!
Her response to me yelling at her to look at the camera! Cute face, right?!
Oh yeah, she found her feet. Okay it was a while ago, I had just never caught it on camera.
I think it is so funny how determined she still looks to get her hand to grab things.

P.S. I was struggling with the title so Chris came up with that one! Kind of clever, don't ya think?

i needed to cut the grass

An afternoon of no napping, not wanting to eat and just overall fussiness left me counting the minutes till Chris came home. He had to work late today, which means he stayed until 4:30 (I know rough schedule right...he is normally home by 3:30) and by 4:15 I just need to hand off the parenting duties. So when Chris came home and said that the lawn needed to be cut and he would head out to do that I said "No, no you do not need to cut the lawn. You need to be dad and I will go cut the lawn." Can you believe that dirty, sweaty, manual labor was actually more appealing than being with my daughter? Bad mother or not I had reached my limit of tears, spit up and drool; I needed to cut the grass. The lawn looks good by the way and Sam's mood of course changed when she saw Chris and they had fun playing together; everyone won.

I am so excited that my mom and dad are coming to town this weekend. It is amazing how much I can miss my family even though I just saw them a couple of weeks ago. Those of you that have in town family I hope you know how lucky you are. I hope you are so grateful for every family dinner, every shopping trip, every favor, every bit of free babysitting, every moment. Because some days, days like this afternoon, I would give my right arm to be able to drive to my mom's house or my sister's house and have someone else that can help with Sam, someone else to talk to in person that loves me no matter what. Even an hour away, I think I would at least give my left hand to be within an hour of family members. Okay, I know I am exaggerating but it is just so hard sometimes to be away; missing the good days and the bad days, it is hard to be away. Anyway, having my parents come is awesome and I cannot wait.

And, here are a few photos from tonight. Aunt Jojo requested a few new shots so I got Sam to cooperate right before bedtime. Pretty cute.

baby food

So my sister always posts pictures of the projects that she is working on. Lately she has been showing the most amazing educational and home made games and activities that she is making for her three kids. So I decided that I needed to show off the project that I have started and become OBSESSED with!

This is all of Sam's food.

I have now made green beans, peas, yams, peaches, avocado, apples, pears, bananas and plums! You are looking at 6 Ziploc baggies, each containing a different vegetable or fruit, three ice trays loaded with apple, pear and plum and the Tupperware container that now lives in our freezer helping to organize all this HOME MADE BABY FOOD! It is just so easy, so much cheaper and I actually enjoy making it; so all around it is turning out to be a great thing. Not to mention have you ever seen organic avocado baby food in the grocery store because they don't sell it in mine! I love that I can buy the organic fruits and vegetables or buy local produce and turn it into Sam's food. I am off to Target in a little bit to pick up more ice cube trays and then work on the butternut squash tonight. I have not yet attempted homemade cereals, I am still buying the boxed stuff but I am thinking about trying that this week.

Sam's hair and an update

I don't consider myself to be too much of a hypochondriac, paranoid mother but Wednesday I entered that category. I have been worrying about the shape of Sam's head, her flat spots (yes there are more than one) and a slight lump. So I called the doctor, got her in the next day and Wednesday we went to the pediatrician to have her tell me that she is fine! The doctor also said that she thought is was mostly Sam's hair cut that made her head look so flat in the back and on the side. That statement led me to today's drastic design...our nanny gave Sam a REAL haircut. Not just the back or bangs but ALL of it! Here are a few before pictures (just recent pictures that show off the very long hair) and the post pictures from today.

Pre-haircut photos - Notice the long hair in the back and extremely long side burn hair.

Post haircut photos!

In this one I know it looks like she missed a piece in the back but its just the way that one piece is laying; trust me I have looked!

So, its a bit boyish looking in these pictures but PLEASE TRUST ME it is so much cuter now than it was before and will stay out of her eyes now which is good.

The other news in our life is that she is officially rolling over! We still can't roll from her stomach to her back but she is rolling from back to stomach (isn't that reverse order from the way they are suppose to learn?). I discovered her ability to roll over today when three times she rolled over in her crib while she was suppose to be napping, got stuck on her stomach, started wailing out of frustration and I had to come to her rescue. What do you do when they are suppose to be sleeping but just constantly roll over? Do you let them cry until they fall asleep on their stomach? Do you constantly flip them back over? This is a bizarre new situation. But I am excited at her growing strength and mobility.

five month favorites

Sam will be five months tomorrow. I cannot believe it is possible for her to be that old. But she is and I am really enjoying this time right now. There are so many things that I just love about her at this stage.

Favorite #1:
I love her "wake up" smile. Each time she wakes up, either from a nap or in the morning, when she sees me over the side of her crib she gets the biggest smile on her face. She starts to wiggle around and look at me as if to say "Okay, pick me up now, lets go!". I think the wake up smile is the most beautiful smile that she has.

Favorite #2:
I love that I can read her anything. At this stage the content of what I am reading doesn't really matter. I mean she can't say "Mom this is boring, lets read Dr. Seuss". And so Sam and I are reading Aldo Leopold's "Sand County Almanac"; it is one of my favorite books. A lot of the words are over my head so I don't think Sam understands any of it but she sits and looks at me while I read and enjoy Leopold.

Favorite #3:
I love her stages of anger. She doesn't usually just break into an all out cry. There are several stages of frustration and anger that she goes through first. She first has to get just a little frustrated and lets me know with grunting and wiggling. The grunting is not that loud but unattended will increase in volume and amount. The grunting gradually turns into yelling and talking, letting me know that she is getting angry and wants my attention. Finally mixed in with the yelling will be small whimpers with the cutest little tears beginning to form (is it sad that I think her tears are cute?). Finally the wailing begins and full fledge water works erupt. Now this whole process can take a long time or just a few seconds depending on whether or not she gets distracted in the middle and has to start all over again. I know someday she will figure out that if she cuts straight to the wailing she will get her way faster so I am enjoying this process while it is still around.

Favorite #4:
I love her "Don't take away my bottle!" screams. So I know in the last one I said that she doesn't break straight into crying but the one time that she does involves her bottle. We have figured out that in order to minimize her spitting up we have to burp her more often during her feedings. So after a couple of ounces we have to pull the bottle out of her mouth and attempt to burp her. Now sometimes when we do this she will immediately begin screaming. Why do I enjoy this you ask? Well, in my mind it makes me smile because I know that she can't possibly be SO hungry that she needs to scream like that, she is just pissed. I try to tell her that she is okay and will get the bottle back in a second but she doesn't listen and continues to cry. Someday that crying will turn into "Mooooommmm, I am huuuungrrrrry. What's for dinner?" and at that point I think I will miss this crying stage.

Favorite #5:
I love her lack of depth perception. She still struggles a bit with making instant contact with her hand and toys that are in front of her. It amuses me to watch her miss on her first attempt sometimes. Gosh I hope it is normal for babies to still be working on this at five months and that I am not enjoying a symptom of a larger developmental problem.

Favorite #6:
Lastly, I love that she is my little girl and is actually still little. I know very soon she will be a "big girl" and not want to be called little anymore. But right now I just love cuddling with her still tucked nicely in my arms, head resting on my shoulder. She is my little girl and I am glad I get to enjoy that just a little while longer.

Happy Five months sweetheart...please don't grow up too fast.

WI River...GONE!

Okay, not gone totally but almost. Okay, and it was just for three days but still crazy!
Apparently there was some repair work that needed to be done on some part of the dam in Stevens Point so they had to let the WI river go low, very low. While the water level was down they did some major clean-ups of the river bank; you know tires, oil drums, bike parts, a cash register and unsubstantiated reports of several hand guns and a sawed-off shotgun! There were piles and piles on the shore of broken glass bottles, bricks, rusty metal parts and other trash (dad you would have loved walking around the river bank!!). Chris and I went down last night to check it out.

This use to all be water.

Apparently the clams did not get the memo about the water level going down! Poor things.

You can see that there is still some water in the middle to keep all the fishes alive but the water level is MUCH lower, see the boat dock?

They are suppose to be slowly refilling the river this week.

Pretty cool thing that will probably never happen in my lifetime again.
And here is Sam clearly showing so much interest in the lack of a river!

lonely perfection

The perfect night has looked very different over the years; from high school to college, from single life to married life and from being a kid to having a kid of my own. Well tonight I am looking forward to a rather strange perfect night.
See, Chris has headed down to Milwaukee for the weekend to golf with his alumni golf friends leaving Sam and I home alone all weekend. Of course I am going to miss him, however tonight I am indulging in a kind of night that I have not had in a long time.
1. Sam is in bed and stays in bed (the staying in bed is the key here, I am keeping my fingers crossed). Yes I know it is only 6:30 but she didn't nap very well and was fussy so to bed she went. Who cares if that means she will wake up ready for the day at 4:30am; I will deal with that then!
2. The house is a mess but I am ignoring it. Dishes, laundry, dusting and vacuuming can wait till tomorrow.
3. The wine is poured and the bottle is chilling; not to be emptied tonight, I do have to stay fairly sober to be a responsible parent.
4. The ice cream is in the freezer, it will make its appearance later on!
5. A trip to the video store earlier today provided me with the best part of the evening (don't worry the Olympics are on DVR!). I have rented all of the movies that I could never watch with Chris. Watching girly movies with him is just not fun because it gets hard to hear what is going on over all the mocking, sighing and complaining. SO I have five movies to watch, are you ready..."Mad Money", "Definitely, Maybe", "Jane Austin's Book Club", "In the Land of Women" and "27 Dresses"!! Does it get much more girly than that?

A night alone, at home, in comfy look-like-crap-but-who-cares clothes, with a sleeping baby, wine, ice cream and some hopefully great movies...what could be better!

I love my husband and I am sure by Sunday morning I will miss him, but tonight is all about me.

BRING ON PERFECTION!!

more like flopping

not quite sitting up or rolling over but we are getting close. Practice makes perfect even if it results in a lot of falling over!! hahaha

prayers please

A message from my sister, her words can explain better then mine could. Please read.

Hi...

I am writing you all to ask you to help me and many many others in praying for some friends of mine who have a very sick little boy. Their son, Noah, was diagnosed not long after his birth with a disease called leukodystrophy that is causing abnormalities in his brain. The life expectancy for this disease is not long, but his case is so rare he is only the second child ever with this form of the disease so no one really knows what his future may be. Noah, who is not even a year old yet, has been in the hospital for over two weeks now struggling to breath on his own. Deb, his mom, posted on her blog today that after an MRI it looks like the disease is now affecting his brain stem which controls the most simple of tasks, like breathing. She didn't say much but it doesn't look good.

Please visit their blog at www.thelauers03.blogspot.com and read more of their story.

And then please start praying. Please ask your friends and family to pray. Spread their story and share their blog with others. This is a family that needs all the prayer they can get right now as they face the unimaginable.

Thanks,
jodie

--
Jodie Allen of Jodified Designs
www.jodified.typepad.com

beer butt chicken

Well, they weren't actually chickens, and we used pineapple juice cans not beer cans but it is the same concept as my dad's beer butt chicken!

Aren't they cute? haha

This was our fun/creative dinner tonight. We didn't need a whole chicken/turkey so we found some small game hens and used those instead. Then you fill a small can with juice or beer (we put beer in one and then juice in the other) and shove it up the bird's butt. The meat turns out very juicy and tender. It didn't have as much flavor as we had remembered from in the past when my dad has done it but it still tasted great. Thanks dad for the assist on the grill temp and instructions for doing this.
It made a fun mid-week dinner. Sam enjoyed more green beans, cereal and a bottle!

big girl walk

This is Sam in her stroller as a big girl, her first real walk in the stroller not in the car seat. She seemed to really like it but kept turning around to look at me. I think she missed being able to look at me the whole time while we walked, so that was pretty cute. I know the straps are a bit big still and look ridiculous but I thought it was time.

dirty little secret

I hate laundry.

Okay, right most people do, no secret there. But I hate laundry so much that I re-wear things as often as I can to lessen my amount of laundry.

Right, again most people (at least I think!) do this as well. However today I actually hung a shirt back in the closet that I had worn to work this morning. Now I work in an office so it's not like I am sweating or getting all that dirty. But you all have seen my daughter and know that what goes in most frequently comes out on me! Which it did this morning. The shirt that I decided was "clean" and could be hung back up in the closet had a small spit-up stain on it! My hatred for laundry has caused me to be a dirty person!! Oh well, the shirt is staying in the closet!

So, what is your dirty little secret...

Wordle

Go here and create one of your own!

Today's lesson: Green beans = green spit-up!

Yes, we learned the lesson today not to wear a white shirt with no protection when burping Sam after eating green beans and a bottle. The green spit-up was just beautiful! And I thought formula spit-up was bad. SO here she is with her first bites of green beans today.

Before the fun of green beans.

Yummy!

I mean doesn't that look appetizing?

Chewing with her mouth open...don't worry we will work on the manners!

What a big girl, holding the spoon all by herself. That ended quickly before the green beans ended up on the ceiling.

I put this picture in not because it is a great shot of her feeding but because I love the dimples on her elbow. So cute.

We started out with Gerber Organic green beans but I am so excited because when I get a chance next weekend I am going to stock us up with homemade baby food. My sister's friend Emily has told us about a great website ( www.wholesomebabyfood.com ) to make your own baby food. So while Chris is out of town golfing next weekend I am going to go crazy with baby food making!

We had a great weekend with a night out with friends on Friday night and then a day of golf with friends for Chris and shopping with the ladies on Saturday for me and Sam. A good weekend for all.
And the big news in my life...I AM HEALTHY! FINALLY the very not pretty health problem that I had been having seems to finally be getting under control. It just took me overdosing on fiber (which it now seems I will have to do for the rest of my life...everyone buy stock in Fiber Choice!) but the doc gave me the all clear and I don't have to have any more appointments or exams, at least for now. So glad to be done with all of that.

Okay, looking forward to a good week and more baby food.
Not to worry for future burping I will be protected.

More about the party

We owe a HUGE thank you to Grandma for a wonderful baptism party for Grayson and Samantha. There were a lot of family and friends that were able to make it; some even flying in from out of town! It was a very special day. Here are some more photos from the baptism, the weekend and the mini photo shoot that Aunt Jojo did with Sam.

Sam in her baptism gown.

Great-uncle John and Great-aunt Cate with all FOUR of the little ones.
My amazing niece Parker. This is her "smile" right now and we love it!

Sam eating my nose.
I love the lighting in these photos and how you can see all of her rolls and baby lines.

the good pics are still to come...

What a weekend!
Sam and her cousin Grayson were baptized in St. Louis this weekend and it was a wonderful visit with lots of family. One very exciting thing is that my whole family (sister and her whole gang, us and my parents) had a family photo taken. I cannot wait to see the pictures, get them printed, framed and show them off on here...but you will have to wait. My sister also did a really neat photo shoot with Sam and I want to show off her skills and my cute little girl but I don't have that cd right now so those will come later today.

But here are some photos from the baptism and the party afterwards.
Grandpa Enlund, Me, Sam, Chris, Great-Grandma Hill, Great-Grandpa Hill and Nana.
Me, Chris, Jodie, Sam and Chris (Jodie is my sister with her husband Chris, yes we both married Chris' for those of you that may not have known that!!; they are Sam's Godparents).
This is my "Grandma" Berta (not really a grandmother but my mom's mom's best friend), Sam and Grayson.
Kuhn-clan; Aunt Cate, Megan, Uncle John, Sam and cousin Chris (yes another Chris!)

WHAT A FACE!

Okay, more to come later when I get a chance.

This week will be filled with laundry, catching up on sleep (for both Sam and I!), housework, meetings, and doctor's appointments (for me not Sam!).

Sam is sleeping so laundry here I come!