Random Remembrances

Happy

2011-01-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

Apparently blogging just wasn't in the cards for me for the entirety of 2010. It may not be for 2011 either, but I guess we'll see. The latest on my life is the same as always - the perpetual balancing act between being a mom, wife, and lawyer. Currently, I'm trying to focus on the blessings in my life because I have an abundance. For one, I'm typing this in the middle of the day on a Saturday because Ryan took Kerensa to the grocery store and Brennan is still napping. I looked around and noticed that the dishwasher needed loading and, in general, items should be picked up and put away. I then thought about all the photos on my phone that I really should upload to the computer, so I chose to do that instead, which then lead me here.

So without further adieu, here are a few things in this life that make me happy:

Yum, these are awesome!

So I've realized that I rarely take pics of Ryan - oops! He has a place on this list too!!

December '09

2009-12-23T21:53:00.001-08:00

So rather than play catch up on past events this evening, I thought I'd upload pictures from this month before Christmas consumes my memory card. We've been busy as I'm sure most people are this time of year. We did our Christmas shopping pretty early, but have continued adding things. While we try not to spoil the kids, I think they are going to have quite the haul. We baked the traditional cookies, although I have to say Ryan's batch turned out much better than mine.

Kerensa's preschool class had a Christmas party. It turned out to be a birthday party for Jesus and was really cute.

The following shots just depict the kids playing with Kerensa's doll house. Brennan kept opening and closing the front door giggling to himself.

After asking us every day if it's Christmas, Kerensa opened her first present this evening. We had our littles over for gift exchanging, and Kerensa and Brennan were thoughtfully included.

Of course it wouldn't be December in the Northwest without some snow. We haven't had much, but what we did have wreaked some havoc. Here's our share:

Fortunately, the responsible party stopped, gave us his information, and provided us with a check 2 days later. It's back to new already, which is great because our chihuahua can't resist chasing people who happen to be on the sidewalk back there!

As usual, a post from me wouldn't be complete without a few videos!

Merry Christmas!

Working backward

2009-12-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, that's not entirely correct. I probably have some photos/video on my camera currently that I haven't put on my computer. But, be that as it may, here's a taste of our lives from October and November (with the exception of Brennan's birthday, which deserves a whole post of its own!).

Before it got too cold, we took the kids to Greenbluff, which is a collection of farms that are very family friendly. On weekends, they'll have various entertainment. Here's Kerensa riding a pony. She's a pro at this sort of thing already.

So, even though I haven't shared pics from our time in Ohio, my parents came to visit us in October. The kids really enjoyed having them here. They've been gone for several weeks now, but Kerensa still asks on occasion where they are and if they're coming over.

Here's our kids in their costumes. You may recall that Kerensa was a mouse last year. Eh, the outfit still fit her; she loved being a mouse; and we didn't have to buy a new costume. End result - everyone's happy.

Here's Kerensa with her pumpkin. She talks about it in the video below.

I just thought these next two of Brennan were cute. It also gives you an idea how mobile he is!!

And last, here are two videos I thought I'd share.

Interruption

2009-12-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

I interrupt this unintended and extended blogging hiatus to say, wow - complete fail for me re updating. It first occurred because I didn't feel or necessarily have the energy to post, but now so many months have gone by that it's turned into a block for me. I'm so far behind and have so many pictures / moments that have taken place that I should share that I don't even really know how to start. Today, however, I realized that I miss this blog and that I will start posting again (sporadically as usual). I just have to get home to my photos! :)

Checking in

2009-06-23T20:56:00.001-07:00

We're still here. I don't really have a good explanation for the lengthy delay since my last post. It was a combination of my general haphazard approach to this blog and my decision to read the Twilight series. Those books are hard to put down. While I wouldn't consider that genre my usual cup of tea (hmm, I don't even drink tea), I enjoyed the story. The third book got a bit soap opera like for me and the last book at times seemed like a horror movie, but the writing was compelling. I also liked how each novel was a re-envisioning of a classic.

Anyway, we've been busy. At Brennan's 6 mo check up, he weighed 17 pounds 9 ounces, which means his growth has slowed some. That's just fine for me because he was getting too big too fast! I think during the latter part of 5 months and at 6 months he was having teething pain that interfered with his desire for bottles. There were a few days Lynn couldn't get him to take one. Good thing we had some solids to start on. It took him awhile to decide he liked them, but he finally is downing complete jars! The baby food stage is so fleeting that this time around I'm not nearly as worried about the added grocery expense (I really would like to entertain the idea of making it myself, but when would I do that??). He was sitting up at 6 months, and we got some good professional pics done. I'll have to do a separate post for those. He worked hard at crawling for a few weeks (there's a couple of pics below). He did a combination of an army crawl and a real crawl for about a week before he perfected his technique. It was kind of funny - he would lunge himself forward by his toes and then just sort of drag his legs. Already though he's been pulling himself up on everything! I know it took Kerensa longer before she tried to do that. Not sure if he'll be an early walker or not, but he loves standing and even manages to cruise a bit.

We celebrated Kerensa's 3rd birthday on the 11th. We went to Chuck E Cheese, and she had a blast! I'll have to upload those pics later since I'm so behind in sharing prior ones. I have to amend my prior posts about her counting abilities. At times, she won't even count to 3 right, although it had seemed to me before that she could count to 10. She will sometimes, but other times she seems like she doesn't know which number comes next so she'll guess. I'm assuming this is typical for toddlers. In any event, she is so hilarious! She loves talking on the phone to me now when I'm at work, and I never know what to expect from her. I need to do a better job recording her cuteness!

Well here's some random photos from the last few months. We leave in two days to spend a week and a half with my fam in Ohio, so I'm sure it'll be awhile before my next post.

Princess parties and petting farms

2009-05-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have quite a bit of catching up to do before I can get up to the present! I'm not even ready to post Easter pics. Anyway, this post is going to focus on two fun events Kerensa did in April. The first was a princess party. Kerensa hardly knows who the Disney princesses are, but she certainly caught right on to the dress up part. Someone lent me a dress for the event and was sweet enough to let Kerensa keep it. She talked about that dresss for days afterwards!! So here's my princess (and a glimpse of a little prince too!):

We had a few nice days in April, and on one of those I was fortunate to be able to take Kerensa to a petting farm. They also offered pony rides, and I was just sure Kerensa would not want to get on the horse. Turns out, I was wrong. She didn't even hesitate! It was really fun to watch her riding and trying to feed the animals. She was so excited!

Since this post is about Kerensa, I have to share 2 big accomplishments of hers. First, we are done with pacifiers. Yeah, she's almost 3, but since somewhere around age 2, she's only been allowed to have a pacifier at nap/bedtime or in the car. They actually proved to be quite useful tools in getting her to stay in bed at night. We went through a period where nothing seemed to be working to get her to stay in bed. We tried all the suggestions you read about to no avail. Finally we decided to take away her beloved pacifiers for 10 minutes if she got out of bed after bedtime. I know I'm a cruel cruel person, but it worked! Now I'm not saying she never gets out of bed anymore ("I have to go potty" became a whole other issue!), but it's not near the problem it used to be.

Now where was I, oh yeah, getting rid of this addiction. We've been planting the seed for months that she'd be saying bye bye to her "fiers" when she turned 3 or broke them all, whichever came first. She has 4, and they were dropping like flies over the last few weeks. It was actually pretty cute to be tucking her in and her showing me which pacifiers had holes. Finally, the last one gave out on Saturday on her ride home from the grandparents house. Ryan and I geared up for a rough night, but she was fine! She acknowledged that all of them had broken, and it was a total non issue. She even told me that she was a big girl now and didn't need her pacifiers anymore. Woot!

Accomplishment number two is on the potty training front. We have moved from pull ups at night to underwear! I nonchalantly asked her the other night if we should get her pull up on, and she told me "no, I want to wear undies." Now you need to know here that her pullups have been consistently dry for months. I can only think of 2 times it hasn't been. It's obviously much more fun for Kerensa to get out of bed and go potty than it is to go in her pullup, but I still hadn't planned on moving her out of them until she started preschool or something. But she asked, so I took a deep breath and let her independence take flight. So far so good . . .

One last thing I want to mention is her complete adoration of the phrase "no thanks." She thinks it has magical powers or something. Granted when she first started saying it, I encouraged her because she was being polite, right? Then she began bringing it out when I'm not asking a question, but am asking her to do something. I suppose I can't blame her for thinking she can make things optional just by adding "thanks." So funny!

Bath time

2009-04-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

Kerensa has always loved bath time. Fortunately Brennan does too, but he's definitely getting too big for his infant tub!

2009-03-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

What can I say - I just haven't felt like blogging lately. I feel like I'm continually moving from one thing to another, and computer time has moved to the back burner. I haven't even been on facebook in ages. To sum up the last month and a half, I've settled over 1/2 my caseload at work, which is a good thing. I believe that lawyers are better served making peace among people, so even though I do litigation, I aim toward resolving matters on parties' own terms rather than submitting the case to 12 random people. Not only that, but trials are expensive - plain and simple. With that said, I have 2 matters coming up this summer that don't look like they will settle. Should prove interesting . . .

On the homefront, we spent the 3 of the last 4 weekends working on our master bathroom shower. I thought I liked tile showers before having to help Ryan regrout and recaulk ours. We'll have lived in this house 5 years next month, and during that time, I had never used either of our guest bathroom showers. I had to do that recently, and it was quite eye opening. For starters, I couldn't even get the shower in Kerensa's bath to work. If I've ever stayed at your house, that might not surprise you because I seem to have difficulty figuring out different showers. Anyway, the problem with ours seems to be corrosion where one would turn on the shower. Ryan had run to the hardware store with Kerensa, and Brennan was sleeping. So I went downstairs to try our other shower. We put it in after we bought the house, and while we didn't buy the highest end shower, it wasn't cheap either. The water flowed quite suitably, and I enjoyed it just long enough before I heard Brennan stirring. I'm glad I now know what guests to our house can expect when it comes to showers, and we've already bought a new spout for Kerensa's bath.

I haven't posted about Ryan for awhile. He's doing well. We settled his case with our insurance company in January. It would've been better had the other driver been insured, but we were pleased with the results. In the two months that have followed, we've managed to kick Sallie Mae partly out of our house, thanks to that settlement and an unexpected bonus from my work. It feels great to be partway out of the abyss that is our college loans. Thankfully, Ryan doesn't seem to have any lingering cognitive difficulties. His biggest complaints are his scars, particularly the one on his lip which continuously peels.

Kerensa and Brennan are doing great. The temp is finally starting to eek toward 50 degrees, and I can't wait to be able to get outside more. We've already gone out 2x this week after work, and Kerensa is working hard learning to pedal her tricycle. Brennan is already 5 mos old! At his 4 mo appt, he weighed 16.4 pounds, which I don't think Kerensa attained until she was almost a year old. He continues to be the most laid back baby ever and smiles frequently. He's started deep belly laughing, which just makes me melt. I've included a video of it below, along with some much needed recent pictures (I hadn't downloaded them for ages and had 90 new ones!)

Catching up

2009-02-14T20:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated in awhile, which is not so unusual for me, but I have been extremely busy with work lately. I'm potentially working myself out of a job because I have been fervently settling cases. Hopefully, I'll have some new ones come in to replace the ones that have settled. While I really would like the opportunity to try a case on my own one of these years, I truly believe my highest calling as a lawyer is to make peace when possible. This is particularly true since I'm paid by the hour, and preparing for and presenting your case at trial isn't cheap.

On the home front, Kerensa had a viral infection all week. She was so miserable, but she did get to watch a bunch of movies, which is a rarity for her. She's been better the past 2 days, so hopefully tomorrow we can allow her some social interaction. I haven't posted on her accomplishments for awhile so here's a rundown:

• I think I can officially say she's potty-trained. We haven't had an accident in over 2 weeks. We let her go out wearing just her underwear, and she only wears her pull ups for bedtime. Even that has been dry a few nights. Before she got sick, she was even getting us up in the night when she needed to go. It's been really freeing letting go of diapers (well, at least for one kiddo)!
• She can count to ten, and she's not just repeating the numbers. The first time I heard her do it, she was actually counting grapes in her coloring book.
• She knows all of her colors (which she's known for quite some time) and most shapes.
• She dislikes saying her ABC's. For the longest time, she would tell me to stop anytime I started singing the song. Here lately we've gotten her to sing along with us (fairly quietly, though, so it's hard to know how many she knows).
• She does recognize the letters. The only ones she occasionally mixes up are W and M.
• She's a computer whiz! A little bit before Ryan started staying home she had mastered using the mouse on her own. Since he's been home and they like to have computer time after nap time (picture Ryan at his desk and Kerensa sitting at mine - it's too cute), I've been amazed at how adept she's become. We bought a new laptop at Walmart at the beginning of the school year when they had a blow out sale that ended at 6 am or something crazy like that. So we've let Kerensa essentially take over the old one. It was running very poorly, but now that we've taken everything off and reformated the hard drive, it works fine for simply surfing the web. We have the home page set to starfall, and this site has her well on her way learning to read.
• As for her language development, it's coming along. It's been neat as a former language instructor to see how the brain works when you are learning to talk. If she wants to hold something, she points to the item or says its name and then says "my hand." Instead of saying "where is it," she says "it's where?" She also repeats bits and pieces of things Ryan and I say. One cute thing she's picked up from me is, "we'll see."

Little mister Brennan is doing great. He can roll over both ways and has been doing that for about 2 weeks. It still surprises me, though. You'll leave him one direction, and he'll stay that way for awhile. Then all of a sudden, you'll look down and he'll have turned himself the other way. He also is already trying to sit up, but I'm assuming we still have quite a bit of time before he manages it. Anyway, he does little baby sit-ups on his changing table all the time. He loves to smile and watch whatever Kerensa is doing. He'll turn 4 months old on the 18th, which means its time for Ryan to go back to work. His first day back is this Tuesday. He has done a fabulous job holding down the fort, even on days I didn't get home until after 6.

Well, I should upload some more recent pics, but I haven't. So I'll leave you with the Christmas pictures we had done. Oh and Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas & New Year's

2009-01-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas at home, just the 4 of us. Kerensa's big gift was a play kitchen. We were up way too late Christmas eve putting it together. I think we kept Kerensa up too with all the noise, so we all slept in Christmas morning, which was nice. We also got Kerensa a playdoh kit, some duplos, and a couple of games. We were a bit disppointed with the duplos since the set didn't come with that many pieces and all you could really build was a tower (or a very odd looking small house). Instead of paying $20 for a duplo building base, we ended up buying a fairly large lego set after Christmas. Kerensa has really enjoyed making creations with her daddy. We'd take the duplos back, but Kerensa formed an attachment to this little cat that came with the set. So we're keeping it. They are easier for little hands to manipulate, so maybe Brennan will use them. As for Brennan, we didn't get him anything. Considering all the money we've spent on him leading up to and following his arrival, it didn't make much sense for us to buy him something else just because it was Christmas. He still got presents, though, including some clothes and a toy boat that he' s pictured with below.

On New Year's we decided to go to TGIFriday's. They put one in our area a few years ago, and we were disappointed on our first visit. We figured we'd try it again, and while I think it was better this time, it's just not the same as the ones in the south. We managed to stay awake until midnight, which was actually the time I decided to turn in. One of our neighbors set off fireworks (illegally I might add), which just made it hard for me to fall asleep, and sleep is not something I'm getting enough of these days.

In other news, our snow has almost all melted. Some meteorologists are predicting snow this weekend, but so far we haven't seen any. The kids are doing good. When it comes to potty training, Kerensa earns a piece of play food for her kitchen every day she doesn't have an accident. Recently, she managed to stay dry 4 or 5 days in a row, and then the past 3 days she's had accidents. I'm trying to stay positive and keep moving forward (ala Meet the Robinsons). Brennan's already 3 months old, but he looks to me like he's at least 6 months. He's huge! And he's also fighting sleep, so I've gotta run.

December 2008

2009-01-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

Since I neglected to update last month, this post will endeavor to bring you up to date on our household up to Christmas. I'll upload some pictures from Christmas later.

For me, December flew by! I spent the first 2 weeks of the month (which were also my last 2 weeks of maternity leave) diligently potty training Kerensa. She had been a sporadic pottier at best, so I finally decided I need to be a bit more proactive. We made a chart, and she not only got to put a sticker on her chart when she went but she also got a "treat" of reese's pieces. I think she deliberately held back emptying her bladder so she could get another sticker and treat a few minutes later. It seemed like we were spending the majority of our time in the bathroom! I'd like to say she's a pro by now, but we're still working on it. We're onto our third chart, although we've pretty much abandoned the candy every time. I tried to change over to a sticker for a whole day of staying dry, but that seemed to cause some backsliding.

Ryan took the baton on staying home for the last two weeks of the month, and the transition has been relatively painless. He is definitely enjoying more time with the kids, but I keep getting in the way! On my third day back to work, it started snowing and snowing and snowing! We got almost 20 inches in 24 hours. No one could get anywhere the following day, and that is really saying something for this area. If that weren't enough, we have continued to get regular snow. For the month of December, the Spokane area received 52 inches of snow, which is usually what one would expect to see for the year. I've therefore worked from home a number of days in order to avoid the hazardous conditions and actually have more time to work. One day it took me an hour just to get to the office!

As for Ryan, he keeps wishing for a snow blower. Before this year, we've never thought we needed one because our driveway is not that long. However, when you have to shovel your driveway 3 times in one day and keep having to shovel day after day, your limits get tested! We also have to keep our back deck clear along with an area for Sadie to do her business. One of our neighbors has helped out a few times, and we had to hire someone to move the enormous berm once the plows finally made it to our street. The snow on either side of our drive is now so high, you can't see over it to pull onto the street. These pictures don't really do it justice, but will give you an idea.

Brennan also turned 2 months old in December. At his checkup, he weighed in at 13.2 pounds and 24 inches long. He really did not like the shots, but stopped crying the instant I picked him up. We've had to move into 3 to 6 month clothes, and he is just growing so fast! I think it took Kerensa until around 5 months before she reached this weight.

As always, here are some recent pictures:

Modeling her snow boots

Adjusting

2008-11-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Usually when I update this blog, the words flow freely, but this post hasn't. I actually sat down to write a few days ago and just kept deleting every sentence I typed. I think my problem is that I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because I certainly feel very fortunate and blessed to have Brennan and to spend two months at home with my children. It's just been a big adjustment, though: adjusting to having a newborn again along with a very active toddler and adjusting to being home full time while still keeping abreast of my caseload. As if that weren't enough, I'm even having to do the laundry!

Anyway, we're here; we're alive; and we're making it! I can't wait to see how Ryan does when his turn to be Mr. Mom rolls around. We're fortunate to be able to do this time around what we did with Kerensa, which was that I stayed home for 2 months and then Ryan stayed home for 2 months. I'm thinking he'll find it a bit more difficult this time to get much computer gaming in.

Well, what this post is really all about is to upload photos of some of the cutest kids around. : ) I'm probably the last person on earth to put up Halloween pictures, but you have to see our little mouse trick or treating at the mall (she also dropped in on our neighbors)--

Kerensa captures a wild animal.

Best wishes to all my readers for a Happy Thanksgiving! We're going over the river and through the woods to the grandparents house.

Two weeks later . . .

2008-11-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

It seems odd, but the past two weeks have passed both slowly and quickly for me. It's been slow simply because the recovery process has been a challenge for me. At the same time, it's hard to believe Brennan is already over 2 weeks old!

To give you a brief synopsis of his arrival, I started having contractions Friday night that were 30 to 45 minutes apart. I decided to go to bed anyway, figuring I'd wake up if they got stronger and closer together. At about 5 am, it became impossible for me to sleep, and I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I then woke Ryan up and told him he'd better go shower because we would need to head to the hospital soon. Ryan's mom had spent the week with us and had been planning on going home. When we were up early, however, she surmised pretty quickly that there would be a change of plans. After having gone to the hospital the first time around in the middle of the night, Ryan and I were both pleased to have had a good nights sleep.

I looked at the clock in our hospital room as I was getting into the bed, and it read 10 til 8. Not knowing how long it would take and seeing my contractions were still about 5 minutes apart, Ryan set about connecting to the hospital's internet access. We managed to watch half an episode of Pushing Daisies (great show, btw) before anyone came and checked me, which seemed to be about an hour later. To their great surprise, I was almost fully dilated. The nurse asked me if she could get me anything to which I replied as calmly as I could "an epidural."** I was told I could have one so long as my water didn't break, but the anesthesiologist was in surgery. It became a bit more difficult for me to concentrate on the show after that, but Brennan obliged his mommy and stayed in just long enough!

Kerensa popped in for a visit mid-morning and gave me some kisses and hugs. I think we started the pushing process around 12:30, which was blissfully brief, and Brennan made a quiet arrival three minutes after one (it really was quiet - he didn't want to cry at all). The delivery nurse took this photo of the three of us:

Here's some additional photos (some from the hospital and some from home):

Well, the baby boy is waking up, so I've gotta run!

**I'm sorry to fail those of you who managed to have a child naturally. I actually had been managing the pain pretty well, which is why the nurses had left me for so long (they apparently did not think I was really in labor - really they told me that), but I frankly did not know if I could handle the remainder. Since my epidural wore off on my left side for awhile and I could feel everything, I think I made the right decision.

Brennan Dale

2008-10-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Arrived at 3 minutes after 1:00 on Saturday. I will have to type more about his birth story later, as well as pictures because I'm not really up to doing it at the moment. You can catch a glimpse of him here, though. He weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces and is 20.5 inches long He's very healthy and has hardly cried at all. Kerensa loves him already, and her newest phrases are "my turn" (to hold him) and "wake up!" We're all doing well and maybe we'll manage to take daddy out for a birthday dinner (his birthday's today!).

Hospital, here we come!

2008-10-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

Just an FYI, we are getting ready to leave!

Odds and ends

2008-10-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - I've let a whole month pass without an update. I'm actually surprised I managed to post anything in September because my work schedule was really hectic last month. Things have finally slowed down, and I'm happily just waiting at the moment for baby boy to decide to make his entry. For the majority of this pregnancy, Kerensa has been saying she doesn't want a little brother. Now that the nursery is put together (for the most part) and she has seen us preparing for the arrival of a baby, she is finally showing some excitement and approval to a baby joining our family. It has been ages since I've posted some pictures of her, so prepare yourselves for some cuteness!

The last photo we took yesterday. For a better idea of how large my stomach is, see this photo-

Kerensa's languge skills continue to progress, and she will try saying almost any word you want her to. She doesn't say many words with three syllables, and I'm not sure if "W" counts as a word - but she says it so well! Here's a video:

Last but not least, I promised to post pictures of the nursery upon completion. While we probably will add at least one more piece of furniture with a lamp, here is how the room looks at present (although the walls are more lime green than blue).

Stay tuned for baby news!

The Scooter

2008-09-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. Work is busy as usual, and I don't think I really even sat down at the computer any this past weekend. In negotiating over the value of Ryan's scooter, the insurance company wanted to know if we wanted its salvage. That was all it took for us to decide to go look at it for ourselves. I took these pictures the week before last and had meant to upload them before now. Anyway, the damage the scooter sustained reveals exactly how Ryan hit the other car . . .

Head on - with an emphasis on head. Ryan spoke with the driver of the car immediately behind him this weekend who told him he'd had no time to stop and had hit the side of the car like a brick wall. We knew that he'd hit the front of his head because of an abrasion he had where his helmet cut in, but apparently, that was the focus of the main impact. He then must have fallen off to the side, which is where his helmet showed damage. I'm not sure if you can tell anything from this photo or not, but this is his helmet.

The rehab doctor gave him a conditional return to work release last week, and Ryan worked Tuesday through Friday, although he had therapy appointments both Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Ideally, he should have waited a bit longer to go back to work, but sick leave is precious when you are expecting a new member of your family to arrive soon. He found work exhausting, but did a little better today. He has started physical therapy for his ankle, which seems to be helping. He actually has his first follow up with a doctor tomorrow, the rehab doctor that is. I'm not sure exactly when he'll follow up with the neurosurgeon, but that will be soon also.

This weekend we mustered up the energy to clean out a room in our house that we haven't really stepped inside for 2 years. It houses an indoor hot tub and is off our master bedroom. When we bought this house over 4 years ago, it had an extremely old hot tub in there, which we replaced with a smaller more energy efficient one. We used it quite a bit until I got pregnant with Kerensa, and it has been neglected for awhile. With Ryan being so sore, we both knew the hot tub would help somewhat, but neither of us felt up to the cleaning task after work last week. We worked like you could imagine 2 semi-disabled people would work. I could only bend over for so long without feeling nauseous, and Ryan can't really stand that long. Needless to say, we took a lot of breaks. At least we had one little diligent helper. Her newest words are "hot tub," and she got to try it out yesterday. The long and short of it is that Ryan is recuperating, slowly but surely.

Since he's been home . . .

2008-09-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks again for all your words of encouragement! I think all 3 of us have just been trying to rest for the past 3 days. I guess "rest" does not really describe Kerensa, though, because she oozes energy most of the time. At least she is getting back to some normalcy. One downside I have noticed about her routine is that she's lost her desire to go potty. I'm hoping that comes back soon because it seemed we had been making good progress before being at the hospital so much threw us for a loop.

Ryan's doing okay. His whole body and head still hurt most of the time, and he just has soreness all over. He's been getting around the house okay without a cane because we have a lot of rails and walls to grab onto if needed. When we go out, he takes his cane, and I don't really have to help him any. It's a bit weird, though, because Kerensa and I will end up yards ahead of him, so I have to purposefully remember to walk slow. As for the brain injury, it's hard to tell where he's at. He had a therapy appointment Friday, which left him feeling like he has a ways to go before he'll be back to "normal." I wish I could go to his visits to see for myself, but I have too much work to do for that.

It's hard to believe it's around 6 weeks before baby #2 arrives. I probably will just get caught up with everything at work before I'll be out on maternity leave. My due date is October 15th, and I am toying with scheduling matters through the 8th or 9th -- but I'm assuming that would be crazy. Kerensa's arrival couldn't have been better planned. I was due on a Sunday and worked the whole week prior except for Friday, just because I had everything done that I needed to do. We arrived at the hospital at 2 am Sunday, and she arrived at 10:11 that morning. I'm thinking I shouldn't bank on the fact that her brother will be similarly prompt, but what if he's contrary and comes a week or two late? Then I'll be kicking myself for not scheduling things into October!!

Discharge Day

2008-08-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update that Ryan is home. I have no idea why discharges take forever, but when I spoke to him around noon, he was on his way to the elevator. He planned on eating and then taking a nice long nap. : )

Day 6 PM

2008-08-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

In Ryan's words, he's making it through today just thinking about being home tomorrow, so I hope it works out this time. As for inpatient rehab, I've had several people tell me very good things about it, but wild horses probably couldn't even drag Ryan there. He's getting sick of all the interruptions. I guess between 4:30 and 5 this morning, he had 3 different people come in. His mobility has markedly improved, and he can go several paces without a cane, but he probably will need one for awhile longer. He mentioned having moments where his brain seems to lose its focus. I think he was better today, but his head still aches.

Day 6 AM

2008-08-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm at work at the moment attempting to attend to things that need attention. I thought I would update, though, that the neurosurgeon decided this morning that Ryan was not ready to be released today. They are running some additional tests and another CAT scan. It also sounds like Ryan didn't get much rest last night and is hoping to nap today. That's pretty much all I know at the moment.

Day 5

2008-08-26T21:34:00.001-07:00

I think today could appropriately be labeled therapy visits. Ryan saw the doctor at about 5:30 am, which means I missed him again. My morning consisted of getting myself and the little person ready, dropping her off at a friend's house (thanks Kelly!), swinging by my office, going to a doctor's appointment, and then presenting two orders at the courthouse were I received a parking ticket! After that, I went to the hospital and got there right before lunch. Ryan had already seen the physical therapist and a speech therapist. I arrived in time for the occupational therapist. She took Ryan through a series of tests which showed some cognitive deficits, mainly with short term memory and multi-tasking, but I thought he did really good overall, all things considered.

He then met with a rehabilitation doctor who recommended he spend a few days as an inpatient at the rehabilitation center. Ryan, of course, wants to be home, and after some convincing from his mother that she would be around to take care of him, the doctor agreed that he could try the outpatient program. So long as the main doctor signs off on this course of action, Ryan may very well be released tomorrow. I think being at home will be good for him for at least two reasons: (a) except for Sunday he's had a hard time sleeping during the day, there are just too many noises and interruptions at a hospital for a person to get decent rest and (b) with family members doling out pain meds, there won't be these 10, 15, 30 minutes to an hour delay with his next expected dosage. With constant pain, you need your next dosage before the first wears off, and the nurses have been sporadic at best with their timing. If myself or others hadn't said something at times, I'm not sure when Ryan would've gotten some of his meds.

Last but not least, a big thank you to our friends at the Levy church of Christ for the edible fruit basket - it is really cool. It not only gets the hospital staff's attention, but also is very good to eat. Oh, I also love how Ryan has been getting "mail" in the form of emails that the staff of Sacred Heart have printed off for him. They even put them in sealed envelopes! Ryan has enjoyed your messages!

Day 4

2008-08-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

Just a brief update tonight (side note - I tried to get online at the hospital today with our laptop to no avail). I missed the doctor's visit today - he made a very brief pop in at 6 am. My inlaws stayed home with Kerensa until after her afternoon nap at which time they brought her to the hospital. That allowed me to get to spend quite a bit of time with Ryan, which was nice. He was awake a lot more today than yesterday. At times he was in good temper, and at other times, he wasn't. This fluctuation tracked pretty well with how long it had been since his last pain medication. His short term memory still seems to be having some misfires, as he didn't remember yesterday's shower or some of his visitors. He is still having difficulty getting around, and they actually ran an x-ray this evening on his right ankle. It might very well not be broken, but it sure is causing him pain (although I don't think it's as much as his head). We won't get the results on that until tomorrow.

Ryan thinks he'll be back at work next week and wants to get out of the hospital asap. I'd like to think that would be the case, but I hope he doesn't get too frustrated if there comes a realization that his recovery will take longer than he hopes.

Thanks again for keeping us in prayer!

Day 3

2008-08-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

So many people have told me that their church prayed for Ryan today, and he did seemingly have a better day. He got out of bed for the first time this morning to take a shower. One of his ankles is swollen and has several large sores, and his legs have their share of cuts and bruises. I hadn't realized that before. It hurt him to stand, and his head became very dizzy. The whole effort took a lot out of him, and he blissfully drifted off to sleep after he got back into bed and talked with the doctor.

The doctor's report hadn't changed much. He advised that another CAT scan won't be taken for a few days unless Ryan shows signs of worsening. They will, however, want to check on the progress of the brain's healing in another day or so. He couldn't say how long Ryan would have to stay in the hospital, responding with a vague "it depends on his progress" response. Lastly, he ordered physical therapy vists, and Ryan had a brief session around 4:30 today with a therapist.

Other than that, he slept. Literally slept most of the day. I couldn't tell you much about his cognition because I did not manage very many conversations with him. Sleep is a great healer, and you aren't in pain when you're sleeping. So I certainly don't begrudge him his rest. I just hope it lasts through the night. When he's awake he hurts, and while they've upped the pain meds a little, they only take the edge off his throbbing head.

Kerensa, by the way, has done very well with all the time at the hospital. We pretty much had the visitor lounge to ourselves, and she took her nap in there in her pack n play. She enjoys going in to see her daddy and wants to hug on him. She'll pat his arm and tell him 'night 'night. Her aunt Jenny came up from Oregon and spoiled her with gifts from the gift shop, and her cousin Jordan graciously indulged her requests that he play with her. I appreciated them coming so much and was sorry to see them go. Well, that's about it for now. As for me, I'm hanging in there, trying to think about just one day at a time.

Day 2

2008-08-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the encouraging words many of you left after my post yesterday! It does help to know so many people are praying for us. The accident details as I understood them from the police officer are that Ryan was in the far right lane of travel (on his scooter) and the vehicle next to him stopped to turn off. Another vehicle, noticing only the stopped vehicle, proceeded to cross the right lanes of travel, and Ryan ran right into the side of her car. He had the right of way and would have had no reason to stop. While I haven't seen his scooter, I can only guess what it must look like after finding pieces of it in the clothes bag I received.

As for todays events, I woke up early, but Kerensa understandably slept in awhile. When we made it to the hospital, Ryan still hadn't seen the doctor. In obvious pain, he implored me to free his hands, which I knew I could not do. His neurosurgeon doctor came in shortly thereafter and removed the neck brace. Ryan complained of pain in his neck, head, and pretty much everywhere, but the doctor advised he would receive nothing stronger than tylenol because of the brain injury. Apparently, you can't monitor a person's mental capacity when that person is taking narcotics.

The doctor reported that the morning's CAT scan mirrored the one from the night before. This is good in the sense that his condition hadn't worsened, but the bruising/blood hadn't subsided any either. The doctor further told Ryan to start thinking about his recovery as a matter of weeks, not days. I did not find such news very encouraging. We learned, however, that Ryan could be moved from ICU that day, and that in fact happened around 4:30.

He managed to sleep quite well after a minuscule midday meal (his first since lunch yesterday), but the transport 8 levels up put a kink in that sleeping span. His older sister arrived with her son around the same time, so Ryan was able to interact with them. As soon as he was in a position to have all of us gathered around his bed, he wanted to know where Kerensa was. She was not allowed in ICU, and Ryan wanted to see her. He phased back into sleep, and upon wakening, he asked me again where she was. His mentation had improved at least incrementally from yesterday, but he continued to say and ask the same things. Once he got some slighly better pain meds, I left to pick up Kerensa and some dinner.

While he did sleep for a little while during my absence, his pain had only increased when I returned. We anxiously waited for the next round of pain pills, but after their administration, he continued to feel the same. It was hard leaving him this evening because of the obvious pain he was under. I can only hope the nurse decides to give him something to help him sleep. His dad decided to stay the night with him again, and I am longing for sleep myself, although I wish I could have stayed as well. He will see the doctor again in the morning, and I'm hoping we can hear a more detailed prognosis than what we've received so far. For those of you who know Ryan well, yes he can even joke under these circumstances. His humor showed through a few times today, but the difficulty he's having could still be seen behind the humor.

An unwanted update

2008-08-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

Time just flies by in-between blog posts it seems, and I wish I were able to write something light and happy about Kerensa instead of having to recount for you what happened today. Ryan was in an accident on his way home from work. It seemed like something had to be wrong when he wasn't home shortly after 5 and my calls weren't being answered or returned. I fixed some dinner for Kerensa and I and then decided to call his parents around 6:30. They told me they would call around and call me back. While I was waiting, I started feeling anxious particularly after Ryan's dad mentioned that Lynn heard an accident report on her way home that fell within a route Ryan might have taken home. I decided to call the nearest hospital and felt my fears were put to rest when they told me no one had been admitted under that name.

A call back, however, destroyed my sense of calm. My in-laws had spoken with an ambulance service who reported to them they'd taken Ryan to a hospital downtown. Sacred Heart is known for its emergency care, but that did not bring me much calm either. I packed up Kerensa's diaper bag with everything I could think of and then realized I needed to bring some of Ryan's personal items too. By the time I actually made it out to the car, Ryan's mom called to let me know she'd spoken briefly with the doctor who told her not to hurry and that Ryan was alert.

After traversing a maze of corridors and elevators, I found my way to the ER where Ryan's mom was already waiting. We were taken back to see Ryan, and I frankly had not prepared myself very well. Apparently, "alert" can have a myriad of meanings. I think I'll avoid detail, but suffice it to say he didn't look very good. I started hearing terms like "bruising on the brain," "closed head injury," and "some blood in his brain." Having defended personal injury cases for over 4 years, I know how serious head injuries can be. Ryan kept coming in and out of awareness. The doctor told us he was disoriented and kept repeating himself (both of which are normal in such a situation). We stayed in the ER for a little over 2 hours before they moved Ryan to ICU. It took awhile for the staff to get him set up there, and while Kerensa had gotten to see him downstairs, the nurses now told us she had to stay in the waiting room.

Ryan seemed a bit less able to rest in his new quarters and his eyes kept fluttering open to see me standing there. Almost every time he told me his head hurt. We kept telling him he'd been in an accident, and he kept telling us he hadn't. When I decided to come home to put Kerensa to bed, I told Ryan that and that it was after 10pm to which he told me it wasn't. We won't know the extent of his injuries for awhile yet, and he has to stay in ICU for the next 24 to 48 hours for monitoring of his cognition. I don't think he meant to be humorous, but certainly some of the stuff he said made me laugh. When the ICU nurse gestured toward his dad and asked Ryan who that was, Ryan said "dad pops," which is similar to how he refers to himself at times to Kerensa, i.e. "I'm your daddy pops."

I know I need to go to bed now and try to get some rest. I have no idea what the next several days will bring, and I have already been stressed with how busy I've been at work. Your prayers for our family are appreciated. I will update when I can.

Summer fun

2008-07-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Unsurprisingly, this blog is in dire need of an update! As always, I am incredibly busy at work, and anymore once Kerensa goes to bed, I am completely devoid of any ability to hold coherent thoughts. Well, I suppose I could if I tried, but that takes effort.

Anyway, we are fortunate to live near a number of parks, and as time and weather have permitted this summer, we've visited a number of them on weekends. I haven't always taken my camera because sometimes you just want to "do" and not "capture," but what follows is a sampling of recent excursions.

So, hiking with kids doesn't really count as hiking. The backstory in the above pictures is that Kerensa kept picking her own path, getting way far away from us, and then finally deciding to run back to where we were. I was reminded several times of the introduction to little house on the prairie where the kids are running down a hillside; fortunately, Kerensa didn't take any spills.

After a traditional cookout on the 4th and nap time, we went to feed the ducks at Manito Park. Kerensa had a blast feeding the ducks and catfish, and we went through a whole loaf of bread! As you can see, she ate a few bites herself.

These last two shots are from this past weekend. It only took Kerensa about 20 to 25 minutes to put more of her body in the water than just her feet/ankles. There were quite a few kids in the wading pool with her, and I think she mostly enjoyed watching them.

2 year stats

2008-07-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Kerensa saw the pediatrician in conjunction with turning 2. It's hard to believe she doesn't have to go back until she's 3. She weighed 24'10" and is now 35 inches tall. She has jumped to the 25th percentile for weight (yeah!) and is now in the 50th percentile for height (which is a bit of a drop). She handled the shot she had to get relatively well. Is it just me or do the shots seem to get worse the older they get and the more they understand? Her vocabulary has really exploded lately, and she tries to say almost everything. One thing she won't say is cat, though. It's really funny because she will just say "meow." I know she got this from me saying "that's right" all the time with her meow because it is just too cute.

Oh, we are not potty-training yet. I thought I was going to start a little bit ago when she started showing interest. But then I bought a potty ring, and she didn't want to sit on the potty anymore (go figure). But she has gone 2x in the last several days without any prompting. So I'm not sure where to go from here, but to give lots of encouragement when she tells me she wants to go.

Her birthday was also a good time to get some professional pictures taken. Here's the ones we ordered.

I thought we just end up getting a family picture taken at Walmart and go somewhere else to have individual shots of Kerensa done because she has not done well at Walmart for awhile. We ended up lucking out with one of their better photographers, and she managed to get some great shots of Kerensa, albeit she is sitting on my lap the whole time. I'm leaned way out of the pictures, which was rather difficult given my pregnant belly. I've given in to maternity clothes now, but I wasn't then. I don't think the photographer realized I was pregnant or she might not have had me give my belly such a workout! We managed. :) Have a great week.

Kerensa turns two

2008-06-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Prepare yourself for quite a few pictures! Kerensa turned 2 on the 11th, and we spread our celebrations out over a few days. First, she opened presents from my parents:

As you can see, she now has proper riding gear and some things to girly up her tricycle. She got some streamers too, which aren't in the picture because we put them on later. She also got a fun little felt book. I took pictures of her opening that while I was videotaping her, and for some reason those shots are not of very good quality.

The next day she saw her first Disney movie ever as we went to see Kung Fu Panda. It was cute, and she incredibly sat through the whole movie (maybe it had something to do with the ability to munch on popcorn?). Occasionally she said "uh oh" really loud, which was funny, and hopefully we didn't disturb the people around us too much. The next day, which was Friday, we had birthday cupcake and more presents to open from Ryan's parents:

She didn't quite grasp what to do with the candles, but did not enjoy the flames going out. I relit them for her so she could watch them go out again. She got her own purse, some jewelry, and some big girl underwear (which she is not wearing yet, and I'm not sure yet when potty training will begin in earnest). We then enjoyed a nice dinner at Outback. She ate a ton! She decided she preferred the butter that came with the bread more than the bread itself and simply decided to eat out of the butter container with her fork. It was a long meal, and she managed it quite well.

As for her present from mommy and daddy, I found a dollhouse at a garage sale a few weeks ago that I thought would be perfect. It didn't have any dolls or accessories with it, so I ordered the loving family set off Walmart's website. It took awhile to come in since it was backordered, so she didn't get to play with her gift from us until this last weekend. After playing with it on and off on Saturday, it was the first thing she went to upon getting up on Sunday. So I'd say she likes it. I've taken some video of her playing with it, but I guess I haven't taken any pictures.

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!! Words cannot even describe how my life has changed since you've come along. You definitely make the world a brighter place by your presence, and I am truly blessed to be your mommy.

One night down . . .

2008-06-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

Whew, this past week was super busy for me at work. I'm hoping for a little lighter load this next week. Anyway, we set up Kerensa's big bed yesterday. Last night went okay. She generally sleeps from between 7 and 8 pm to between 7 and 8 am. She is a great sleeper! Last night, though, she woke up crying around midnight. Probably because of the unfamiliarity. Then she ended up falling out of bed around 5:30 am. There was no real going back to sleep after that. We did have her crib mattress on the floor next to her, and she didn't hurt herself or anything. It was just hard for her (or us) to go back to sleep after that. We've added pillows to the mattress beside her bed for this evening, so she'll have even more cushion. She definitely likes the bed though. Even after she fell out, I asked her if she wanted to get back in bed, and she nodded yes. I asked her today if she missed her crib, and she nodded yes to that too, which made me a bit sad!

While we are going to make more changes to her room, here's the angle with her bed. I bought the frame off craigslist, and we got the mattress set on a closeout special. It's really comfy. I moved her nightstand next to her bed and moved the mattress off the floor for these pictures.

The ultrasound . . .

2008-05-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

revealed (much to our suprise) that we're having a baby boy!! I didn't get to talk to the doctor, but the technician told us all the vital limbs/organs were there. Baby boy was awake and put on quite a show for us - moving and twisting all over. He was a bit shy in showing us his face as he always had one hand in front of it or some fingers in his mouth, but I think the technician saw everthing she needed to.

Now begins the process of picking a name and getting the room ready. We're also going to move Kerensa to a twin mattress very soon. We've bought the bed and the mattress/box spring. We just weren't sure where we would be setting it up. Looks like we'll be dismantling her crib and moving it (instead of her) to another room. Maybe I'll post pictures of the room transformations.

A whirlwind of travel

2008-05-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

So the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. What that meant for our recent trip was the deposition ended up being canceled for reasons outside of my control. We decided to go anyway, and we had a great time. We went down to San Antonio to begin with to see Ryan's sister, her husband, and two adorable kids who had never even met Kerensa. While there, we went to the Alamo, the riverwalk, and the zoo. Here's a picture of the three kiddos in the courtyard of the Alamo:

Kerensa really enjoyed meeting her cousins! The San Antonio zoo was great and the weather was just right! I'm not sure what Kerensa's favorite part was, but the butterfly area captured her attention. Here's a family pic of us at the entrance to the zoo, and one of Kerensa looking at some fish/birds:

It was hard to say goodbye after a few short days, but we had a long drive ahead to Little Rock. We had hoped to make it to the border, but decided to stop 30 to 40 miles outside of Dallas because traffic had slowed us down quite a bit. We found a great hotel with suites that consisted of two rooms. We tried out the indoor pool the following morning, but that didn't last too long. Kerensa decided she liked the hot tub better (note to concerned readers - I only put my feet in).

We got to Little Rock as planned on Saturday and met up with several friends we've missed since moving away. We hung out at the park, and Kerensa went crazy on the play equipment. I thought I'd snapped a better picture, but here she is at the bottom of the bigger slide which she went down more times than I could count. Seems she no longer has any hesitancy with slides.

It was nice worshipping at our old church, and Kerensa amazingly sat through Bible class and some of children's church without my presence. She had so many little friends to play with, and we all had a ton of fun at small group that evening! I should've snapped some pictures, but slacked off a bit! We had a big play group Monday morning. I thought the following photo of Kerensa and Asher was adorable - they are only 1 day apart!

Later that day we headed over to Searcy to meet up with friends and take a look at Harding's changes. There have been quite a few! Kerensa particularly enjoyed the fountains and running down the hall of the newly remodeled Heritage hotel. Here's us and our good friends Carl and Cheryl in front of one of the fountains:

The next day we packed up again and headed back to Dallas. We spent the night with Ryan's aunt and uncle who are always great hosts and flew out the following day. In all, we kept busy and tried to see everyone we could. We are so glad we went and hope to do it again without letting as much time pass. For those of you reading this that we visited with, thank you so much for spending time with us! It was great to see you! In closing, I want to thank Dwayne and Laura for giving us free room and board for several days along with good eats! Here's a picture of us I reappropriated:

Dwayne and Ryan together are a hoot, and I laughed harder than I have in a while! We'd be happy to return the favor sometime, and that offer is extended to any of you Levyites (for lack of a better word :P) who want to visit the Northwest.

Trip itinerary

2008-05-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well, turns out tickets from [here] to [there] were a bit more expensive than I'd hoped. That just required a little ingenuity on our end. So here's the plan, we fly out next Wednesday (sounds so soon!) to Dallas. I am scheduled to take a deposition of some corporate bigwig on Thursday. Our Friday plans are a bit up in the air, but in any event, we will be en route to Little Rock no later than Saturday! Combining work and pleasure will help with expenses, and we will fly out the following Wednesday, again from Dallas. We still have plenty of details to work out, but now you know the master plan.

In other news, the weather has finally gotten warmer, and Kerensa is enjoying some much-anticipated time outside. I went to the doctor last week and heard that reassuring heartbeat, so all seems well with the pregancy. We also scheduled the ultrasound for May 29th, but that date may change depending on our respective work schedules. And yes, we will find out the sex. I can't take (a) the suspense, (b) the task of picking two names, and (c) the inability to plan ahead.

A couple of videos

2008-04-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the videos I mentioned in my last blog. The first one is Kerensa playing with a doctor kit her Aunt Rachel got her for Christmas. The second one is of Sadie,the dog. Everytime I get the camera out, Kerensa wants to be behind the lense. So I had it on Sadie to show Kerensa how the camera works and started recording her talking. BTW, Kerensa calls Sadie "Dee."

Happy Monday!

7 Things

2008-04-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks Stephanie for the tag, which gives me something to write about that doesn't require the posting of pictures or video (I actually have 2 additional short video clips that I took of Kerensa while trying to get the one in my last post that were so cute I want to upload them here). Anyway, getting back on topic, I'm supposed to post 7 random things about myself. So here goes:

1. As a working mom, it's hard to keep everything together. Three things that really help me are planning meals, having my terrific mother in law come over everyday to watch Kerensa and also to help me keep the house up, including doing the laundry (I know - I am totally spoiled here), and hiring someone to do the major cleaning every two weeks (Ryan decided I needed help here, and I didn't disagree. I've had this luxury since mid-December, and it's great!)

2. We want to take a short trip somewhere this summer. I've been thinking Seattle, but we are considering the possibility that we could even fly to Little Rock and stay with friends for about the same expense. Anyone want to put us up?

3. We have been in our current home 4 years this month. That is the longest we've lived anywhere! I do love our home and this area, but part of me still misses Arkansas, not so much the place but the people.

4. We have been following Dave Ramsey's debt snowball plan since sometime in 2005. We have knocked out several small consumer debts (that were no interest btw), one college loan, and both our cars. We have two things left: the bulk of our college loans (consolidated separately) and our house. We have a fairly sizeable debt snowball attacking the loans, but figure it will still take us between 5 to 6 years to make them disappear. As for our house, we bought at a great time, have a good interest rate, and plan to stay in it for the foreseeable future.

5. I'm running out of fuel here - going to have to throw in some work stuff! I settled a case last week for $400,000. After reading that figure, you might be thinking - "Wow, how much does she get of that settlement?" Actually, it was my client who agreed to pay $400,000. Now you are probably thinking, "Ouch, what kind of an attorney are you?!" A good one of course! The additional expense and increased exposure in moving forward would've been a much greater sum.

6. Okay this one is not about me, but about Ryan. With gas prices ever on the rise, we decided we needed to do something. Ryan's vehicle is a gas-guzzling Dodge Durango, and while we generally use it only for him to drive back and forth to work, it simply is not economical. We didn't think we could afford to trade it in for something smaller, so he bought a Kymco scooter for commuting purposes. It gets maybe 70 to 80 miles per gallon. The problem is that it still isn't warm enough here yet for him to drive it everyday, but warmer temps are coming!

7. Some of you already know this about me, but I've never talked about it on this blog before (that I recall). I play World of Warcraft . . . I'm not really the computer gaming type, but it is something Ryan and I can do together (and I also blame Paul and Katrina for their bad influence :) ). We started playing a little while before Kerensa was born, and it has turned out to be something we do (besides watch a movie) after she goes to bed. My character is a Level 69.5 Human Priest, which means I am almost to the top tier Level 70. I'd probably be there by now, but I haven't felt like playing that much in recent weeks. I think I'll dust my character off for a foray this evening.

Well, there you go - 7 things. I can't imagine having to come up with 100! I know I didn't mention the pregnancy anywhere in there, but I'm not really feeling pregnant at the moment. I'm feeling great for those of you that asked. :)

Kerensa's Announcement

2008-04-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this and can't watch the video, it's my attempt to have Kerensa inform you that Ryan and I are expecting a baby! Our due date is October 20th, which is Ryan's b-day. Given how much Kerensa loves pointing at babies and saying the word "baby," I'm hopeful she'll be happy to have a sibling.

All's well again

2008-04-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

So even though Kerensa got a flu shot, I'm pretty sure she had the flu. She was sick from Wednesday through Sunday. Thankfully, she seemed pretty much back to her "old" self on Monday. Apparently, she wanted to eat all day that day, obviously trying to make up for her inability to eat on previous days. Here are some pictures as promised, and I'm hoping I'll get the video I want to post up this weekend.

Note the cell phone being held up to the horse's ear.

Kerensa finding new uses for her ball pit.

I just thought the last two were cute!

Exhausted

2008-03-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Kerensa has been sick before, and when I heard that dreaded sound over the monitor this morning at 5:45, I was not prepared for this onslaught! From the time she woke up until I put her down for the night about an hour ago, she has been sick again, and again, and again. It was really quite unreal. I did go to work for a few hours after having to change my clothes twice and salvage my hair as best I could after it got no attention at all when I got out of the shower (and my hair definitely needs attention right away!). While I knew grandma was taking excellent care of her, I still couldn't stiffle the worry and feeling that she needed her "momma." I therefore rushed home late in the lunch hour.

I have held her almost non-stop since I got home, and between trying to get some pedialyte down her (btw does this stuff really work? she didn't keep it down) and her intermittently sleeping or (add unpleasantry here), it has been quite a day. I just hope she sleeps tonight because I know I need some beauty rest!!

In other news, I have been doing fairly decent keeping on the meal planning train. The beginning of this month, though, I slacked a little, and Ryan and I's spending money suffered! Last week and this week have been good so far. Being up early this morning worked nicely since I had planned on using the crockpot. Ryan and I both enjoyed this creation, so I thought I'd share it here. It's also a weight watchers recipe, so that has to be a good thing. : )

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

4 chicken breast halves
Pkg Stove Top Stuffing (I used cornbread flavor)
Can of Chicken Broth
Can of FF cream of mushroom soup (I actually had a regular version in the pantry & used it)

Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken on bottom. Pour broth over chicken. Mix together the stuffing and soup. Place on top of chicken. Cook on low for 7 hours. Serves 4.

I think I had it cooking for almost 8 hours, which turned out to be fine. To give credit where credit is due, I found the recipe here. As you can see, it is really easy (and yummy).

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:35:00.001-07:00

I keep having these long absences from blogging, for which I don't really have an explanation except to say that like everyone else I keep pretty busy. I usually blog after Kerensa goes to bed, but if Ryan wants to do something, then I do that instead. I do have some pictures that I'll upload and maybe some video will be coming soon. In the meantime, here is Kerensa with her Easter basket this morning. She also participated in an easter egg hunt at church and got a lot more loot, which we added to her basket. I can't remember a prior occasion that we've let her eat as much chocolate as we did today (but she didn't eat that much - this candy should last awhile if Ryan and I can keep our paws out of it).

Pics from Playdays

2008-02-27T18:24:00.001-08:00

I believe I mentioned that a friend watched Kerensa for almost three weeks recently, and Kerensa got to play with her little boy. Here are some fabulous pictures of the two kiddos playing together. Thanks Kelly!!

In other news, I finally got around to making the sweet potato and black bean burritos. I got a little off with my meal planning last week. Anyway, they turned out really good, but weren't the easiest to make. I'm glad I made them on a weekend because it was a little too time consuming to do after a work day (in my opinion).

18 month checkup (2 months late)

2008-02-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

Wow - thanks so much for your comments on meal planning. It's really nice hearing what others do! I'd love to know some of your easy standby recipes. I wish I could tell you how the burritos turned out, but I actually didn't get a chance to make them Friday. We had friends over, so we (okay, Ryan) cooked something we knew would be good for a group. We'll have leftovers of that for several days, but I'll get to that recipe this week.

This past week Kerensa and I finally got in to the pediatrician for her 18 month check up. I delayed it in December because I wanted to get in the new insurance year, but the office got really backed up. Anyway, Kerensa's weight has definitely picked up. She weighs 21.10 pounds, which is still small but a greater gain than where she has been. She is 33 inches tall, which is about the 50th percentile. She is getting too tall for 18 month clothes, but the 24 month clothes seem way too big. Her development is great, and she either meets or exceeds expectations with her abilities. She does say between 5 to 10 words, and while I thought more would be expected at this stage, the pediatrician isn't worried. I was told the main thing is her ability to communicate, not necessarily using words. Kerensa definitely communicates, and it is easy to know what she wants.

She uses her pointer finger constantly; she will go get her bib if she's ready for a meal; and she will go pick out a snack and show you what she wants. She can point out all of her body parts and loves sharing drinks, food, and her pacifier with her stuffed animals. She's quite the little mommy with her baby doll and will dress/undress it continually throughout the day. She's also great with utensils and can eat cheerios in milk without too much of a mess. Here's a few recent pics:

Meal Planning

2008-02-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, those of you who know me, know that I do NOT enjoy cooking. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I loathe it, but it certainly wouldn't find a place in my top 20 things to do. Since my family of two became a family of three, I have tried to overcome my aversion to cooking. I am also much more cognizant of the fact that Kerensa needs to eat healthy (and I know Ryan and I do too).

Since November, Ryan and I have also endeavored to follow Dave Ramsey's envelope system for budgeting your money. We've had a budget for years, but we never really got on the cash-only bandwagon. We are on it now, and I think it's been going well. This system also made me realize that if you don't plan how you will spend your grocery budget, it will eat you alive!!!

The culmination of these two realizations have turned me into a meal planner! I am very discriminating in my recipe choices, though. They have to have about 5 to 6 ingredients and sound easy to make. If I like all the ingredients, I figure I can't mess it up too bad when I put them together! I found the above-referenced website through a Harding alum's blog, and it has helped me and inspired me to become better in this area of service to my family. Every Monday, the host posts her weekly menus and others add links to their menus. I'm thinking that participating will help keep me on track with one caveat: I don't plan my meals weekly. I do it two weeks at a time for two reasons.

First, it works with my budgeting process. I take 1/2 of our grocery budget out in cash at the beginning of the month and make myself stick to that amount until the 15th. Then, I take out the rest. I figure if I don't do it this way I wouldn't have any money left by the time the last half of the month rolls around (really).

Second, I don't think I could stand going through recipes and making a grocery list more than 2x a month. As already mentioned, cooking and making grocery lists are not activities I really enjoy. I therefore spend the least amount of time I can thinking about it. An added bonus is only going to Walmart twice! So without further ado, here was my plan for the first two weeks of this month. I'm into the second week now obviously. :)

Monday: Salad

Tuesday: Black Bean & Gumbo Soup w/cornbread

Wednesday: Sausage Spaghetti Pie

Thursday: Chili w/cornbread

Friday: Easy Enchilada Casserole w/Doritos

Monday: Salad

Tuesday: Meatloaf

Wednesday: Grilled Fish

Thursday: BBQ Meatballs w/rice

Friday: Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

I don't plan for Saturday and Sunday as inevitably something happens during the week, and we get a little off. Last week, it ended up being one of our little's birthdays, so we ordered pizza for him Thursday night. We ate the leftovers on Friday. So I made the enchilada casserole Sunday. Tonight we'll be having chili instead of salad. I try to make something easy on Mondays since I'm generally more tired that day. Fridays are usually Mexican because that's Ryan's favorite. I also make vegetables as a side dish, which consist of some assortment from the frozen food aisle. There were three new things for me in last week's menu, and they all turned out great (the soup, the spaghetti pie, and the casserole). You can find those recipes on the MPM site, but if someone would like me to post them, I'd oblige you.

Also, I would welcome any suggestions/tips any of you may have. When it comes to cooking, I am definitely a novice!

Christmas Redux

2008-02-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Hrm, I think it goes without saying that this blog needs an update! Well, since Christmas, I was super busy at work getting ready to go out of town. Then, we spent a week in Ohio visiting family and friends. I was worried about the plane rides, but Kerensa did fabulous!! I might be willing to try another trip with her in the not too distant future. We enjoyed our time in Ohio, but the weather was just as cold as it is here! We got back on the 22nd of January, and the following weekend it snowed literally for 17 to 20 hours in a row. I worked from home on Monday, but braved the roads on Tuesday and Wednesday. We got more snow Wednesday night, so I didn't drive to work on Thursday. Since then, the roads have gradually been getting better.

I've also been busy toting Kerensa back and forth to work with me and leaving her with a friend. Kerensa had a blast there and got to play with another toddler. Most days, she didn't seem too pleased to have her playdate interrupted by my arrival. On Wednesday, though, I picked up Ryan's parents at the airport. It is really nice to have them home again. Lynn helps me out around the house so much. It's also nice just having to get myself ready in the mornings!

Here's a sampling of pictures taken from Christmas on:

Christmas survey

2007-12-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!! We had a great day! It was such a blast watching Kerensa open her presents and be excited about each one. I'll post some pictures once I download them, but in the meantime I wanted to answer an email I received from a friend by posting my answers here.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? usually wrapping paper
2. Tree--Real or Artificial? artificial, but we almost went with a real one this year (they really mark them down on Christmas eve, and let's just say for a myriad of reasons I didn't put ours up until then)
3. When do you put Christmas tree up? usually the week after thankskiving, but see previous response for this year
4. When do you take the tree down? as soon as I possibly can - probably this coming weekend. I try to capitalize on energy left over from having a few days off of work.
5. Like egg nog? It's okay
6. Do you have a nativity scene? no
7. Favorite gift received as a child? that's a tough one. Most memorable would be a blue and white bike.
8. Hardest person to buy for? ummm, Ryan's older sister's kids because we don't see them enough to know what they really want
9. Easiest person to buy for? Kerensa - so many choices!
10. Worst Christmas gift? probably a coffee mug because I'm not really a coffee drinker
11. Mail or email a Christmas Card? mail
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Probably a toss up between It's a Wonderful Life and the Muppets Christmas Carol
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? usually don't start until November
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite food to eat on Christmas? probably buckeye balls made by my mom
16. Clear or colored tree lights? color
17. Favorite Christmas Song? traditional - Oh Holy Night - nontraditional Sing Mary Sing by Jennifer Knapp
18. Travel during Christmas or Stay home? depends on lots of factors - usually we stay home and travel in January when the tickets are cheaper
19. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer,Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.
20. Angel or Star on Tree top? Neither
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? 1 on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? hrmm - crowded stores? I've had such a great past 4 days it's hard for me to think of something annoying.

That's it for me. Gotta get to bed because it's back to work tomorrow.

18 months

2007-12-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Work has been keeping me super busy lately, and when I get home, a certain little lady keeps me largely occupied as well. Speaking of Kerensa, she turned 18 months on the 11th. I'd give you her stats, but I haven't taken her in for her well baby check yet. I have to wait until January for insurance reasons (meaning we'd have to pay for it out of pocket if we took her in now because we've used up her allocation of preventative care (as if that makes any sense at all)). If I were to guess, I'd say she has moved up on the weight scale. She has a very good appetite anymore and is willing to eat pieces of your meal after she's finished her own. She loves meats and fruits, but is not too crazy about vegetables.

She is a girl of few words, but suprises us every day with her methods of communication. She definitely has "mine" down (such a strong personality). If I didn't know any better I'd think she is going to grow up to be a scientist. She is so fascinated with manipulating her environment, but I'm guessing most toddlers are that way.

Here's some recent pics:

Ryan's Mom

2007-11-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't really lived up to my goal of posting more this month, but I have been busy. Thank you to everyone who has told me they are praying for Lynn. She saw the specialist who confirmed an auto-immune disease (these can only be diagnosed once everything else is ruled out), which is treated by steroids to suppress the immune system. She will be starting that treatment in the next two weeks. The prognosis I guess is guarded, but the steroids should prevent further damage from occurring.

Ryan and I had a quiet Thanksgiving. We ended up going to a buffet! Kerensa was a little picky, but she managed to eat plenty of mashed potatoes. We spent most of our time relaxing - playing with Kerensa, watching movies, or gaming online. We are in the climbing on everything phase of toddlerhood. Everytime Ryan gets up from his computer chair, Kerensa has to get in it.

Our Halloween

2007-11-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

This year seemed like Kerensa's first Halloween even thought it technically wasn't. But this year we dressed her up, went to a party, and carved our first pumpkin together. I didn't grow up carving pumpins, so I believe this one is my first attempt. It really is not that great, but I wanted to start this tradition. Hopefully, our creations will improve over the years.

Kerensa is Cheer Bear, if you can't tell. The outfit has a hood with bear ears, but she didn't like that on so much. Here's a picture of Kerensa and I next to our pumpkin. Truth be told, I had to do most of the work. Kerensa just kept track of the innards and seeds for me.

Perspective

2007-11-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

So NaBloPoMo means national blog posting month, and the goal of Nablopomoing (?) is to update your blog everyday. My friend Katrina encouraged me to try it, and I've realized that for me it should simply mean to update more regularly this month than I usually do (which by usual I mean pretty sporadic). I have enough stress in my life to worry about composing a blog post everyday, which is why I let yesterday go by without updating. So from my perspective, I haven't failed, the fact that I've posted as much as I have already is a triumph! Right?

In case you were wondering . . .

2007-11-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

I did it!! I actually managed to put together 100 pages worth of photos in two days. I placed the order in the nick of time and paid only $19.95 plus shipping. Whoohoo! The hardest part was paring down the gazillion plus photos we've taken of Kerensa!

Better late than never

2007-11-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

I am working feverishly to take advantage of a good deal on a photo book and scan in professional photos we've had taken of Kerensa. I am not crafty and am definitely not a scrapbooker, but digital I can do (or at least try to do). Since my parents don't live in the area, I started making them a photo book last year for Christmas so they could have their own album. We ended up ordering 3 and simply loved how they turned out! I have been meaning to do a one year baby book the same way, but have gotten behind. Then I came across a great deal at winkflash (although I like shutterfly) that expires tomorrow, so I am busily trying to put the book together.

What this means for my blog is that I am finally posting the family pictures we had taken for Kerensa turning a year old!!

Prayer request

2007-11-02T20:30:00.001-07:00

This will be a short entry as Ryan and I have friends over for a night of WoW playing!! Whoohoo! I thought I would post though about my mother in law (Lynn). Many of you know that she watches Kerensa while I work. Words cannot even begin to express how much that has helped me go to work everyday and leave my little baby. She helps out in so many ways too. Over the last year and a half, she has been going through tests to determine what is wrong with her liver. Less than a week ago she learned that her liver is in Stage III (of the four stages of liver disease - four being total liver failure). The doctor can't treat her until he can confirm the cause, though. She is going to be seeing a liver specialist in San Francisco on the 19th. Please pray that the doctors can determine exactly what is wrong, that a treatment can be started, and that the treatment be successful.

Tired . . .

2007-11-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

NaBloPoMo?? More about that later, but I don't think I'll make it. Even so, I don't want to be done in on the very first day. So while I don't have time to post pictures or even ruminate on any grandiose topics, I thought I would at least make an appearance. Here's a quick synopsis of my day today: Wake up; Shower; Get Kerensa; Get Ready; Make lunch; Drive to Work; Work; Go Home; Spend 30 minutes with Kerensa; Get her ready to go; Leave home; Pick up little sister; Come back home; Make dinner for 4; Eat; Clean up; Hang out with little sister vis a vis x-box gaming while keeping track of Kerensa; Put Kerensa to bed; Take little sister home; Go to Walmart and grocery shop; Come home and unload car; Put groceries away.

It's now 10:14 pm, and I think you can appreciate that I am spent for the day.

Maybe you will see another post tomorrow, maybe not. : )

Cuteness

2007-10-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how cute my daughter is! I'm sure all parents feel this way, but as a new parent, I didn't know that I would find almost everything she does adorable. What follows is a sampling of recent cuteness.

She can reach all the drawers in the house now. One of the finds she came across in her pursuit to pull everything out of said drawers was Ryan's duck call. Ever since she found it, we have been trying to show her how it works. I'm proud to say she can successfully call those ducks now!

This past weekend Kerensa and I were home alone for awhile. I was busy in the kitchen, and she wandered down to her room. Usually she comes back out shortly with a handful of pacifiers (out of her crib), her blanket, or a giant stuffed pooh bear. This time she didn't come right back. I figured she was just engaged in one of her favorite pastimes, i.e., pulling her clothes off the shelves in the closet, so I thought I'd better go check on her. When I got to her room, I found that she had managed to climb into her rocking chair (not a child-sized one), had gotten herself a book, and was sitting there pleased as punch with herself. It was adorable!

One of the sweetest things she has started doing in the last three or four days is actually giving you a kiss when you tell her good night. We thought it was a fluke because she hasn't ever consistently given kisses when you ask for them, but it isn't! So long as she knows she's about to go to bed, if you tell her good night she will open her mouth and come straight for you (you don't even have to lean in)!

I have always enjoyed twirling with her (think of Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail and her story about her mother) and sitting down when we are both dizzy. Well she has started doing that on her own. She will just start turning around in circles and then go over to the couch and flop over or just lay down on the floor. Again, adorable!!

The pictures that follow are of our trip to a pumpkin farm, her first time in a backpack, and her attempt to talk on the phone.

Here's a video that just shows Kerensa playing with one of her favorite toys. When it plays a song, she moves her arms to the music, which is why you see her start to wave them at one point.

Checking in

2007-10-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Over the last month a lot has happened. My job search ended before it really even started, and I just finished my third week at my new job! I had a couple of interviews the week following Labor Day, and I accepted a position that week as well. The new firm wanted me to start as soon as I could, and my old boss graciously let me finish up my work in just one week! Let's just say that was one busy week, and I had to pack up my office too. I filled 9 boxes worth of stuff!! That's a lot of law books. I'm really glad I didn't have to bring them home.

I am still adjusting to my new position, and while I'm still doing civil litigation, it is not the defense of personal injury suits that I've been doing. I have a broad spectrum of cases, some as plaintiff's counsel and some as defense counsel. There are two partnering attorneys and four associates (myself included). They hired another associate at the same time as me, and she started a week later than I did. So I'm not the newest newb! We took a photo for the firm website this week, and I'll post a link when it's available for those of you who are interested. I know my mom will want to see it (hi mom!).

In other news, Kerensa is getting more independent every day. You can definitely see some of Ryan's personality traits coming through. For example, if she is trying to do something (like latch a buckle or open something), she will try for a few seconds and then get frustrated. We are trying to teach her to blow kisses, and she will make the smacking sound. She hasn't gotten down blowing yet, although she has successfully used Ryan's duck call. We used to spend time outside everyday when I got home from work, but it has gotten too cold for that now. I can tell that's still what she wants to do when I get home, but hopefully we will find some fun indoor activities to do too. Here are some pics of her for all you adoring fans!

Ryan and I are prepared for the long winter, though, and have revived our WoW accounts. Thanks to Ryan and a friend of ours, I have a new desktop at home and monitor. I've only played once so far, but it was a blast. Well, no promises, but I'll try not to let too much time go by before posting another update. Thank you to all of you who prayed for me to find a new job!!

Randomness

2007-08-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I know this blog is in dire need of an update. The problem? I haven't had the time lately, and I'm a bit stressed these days. The next post I did I hoped would have our family picture in it, but because we weren't able to get an electronic version, I have to scan it in. Obviously, I haven't done that yet, but I do have some really cute pictures of Kerensa outside playing that I need to put up.

So why am I stressed? That is probably too harsh of a word, but my emotions are somewhere around there. About 3 weeks ago, I learned that my boss has decided to retire and stop practicing law. This was not a huge surprise in and of itself as I always knew he wanted to cut back within a few years of my joining the firm. I had anticipated, though, being in a position to continue the practice, but for a myriad of reasons, Ryan and I have decided not to go that route. That leaves me in a position to look for another job, which is never fun! I am confident that I will find something, but I have gotten more discriminating in the type of job I would take now as opposed to when I first graduated 4 years ago. Given that the area we live has an abundance of attorneys (and hundreds graduating every year) (that's just what we need . . .), I do have some misgivings about finding that "perfect" position.

The timing is also weird because just recently Ryan and I were contemplating selling our house and using the equity to pay off at least one of our college loans. For reasons not so clear to me now, we changed our mind, painted the downstairs, and bought new furniture. Then, we learned about my precarious job situation, but we both would really like to keep our house after the improvements.

So consider yourselves updated! If you happen to live in the Inland Northwest, are looking for an awesome employee and are willing to pay me a good salary to work flexible hours, let me know. Otherwise, please keep me in your prayers.

One year pics

2007-07-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

I guess we are now into Kerensa's 13th month of life, but here is a sampling of her one year pictures.

We also had a family picture taken, but I haven't gone to pick that up yet! We had the above photos taken at JC Penney's and went to Walmart for a family picture. The pictures have been in for a little while, but I ordered something from Walmart and am having it shipped to the store. Our Walmart is always so crazy that I hate to go more than I have to.

In the past month, Kerensa has been working hard at teething! She finally has 2 teeth on the top and 2 more coming in. Her nap schedule has also become rather erratic, as has bedtime. She loves being outside, but we have been experiencing temperatures in the 100's for at least the past week. That does not seem to deter her! I have yet to get that sandbox, though. We actually went to get it, and Toys R Us was out!

Anniversary review

2007-07-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

As you might have noticed from the well wishes in the comments to my last post (thanks Cheryl!), Ryan and I have had an anniversary. On the 21st, we celebrated 10 years of marriage! We marked the occasion by trying an area steak and seafood place, which turned out to be really good! We took Kerensa with us, and she tried her first PB&J sandwich (that we had brought from home). Unfortunately, she didn't like it (but don't worry we're still working on that), so she ate bits and pieces off our plates. After dinner, we went home, put Kerensa to bed, and went back out (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa McCrea who manned the baby monitor!).

Now what do you think Ryan and I did with our free evening? I'm sure the answer will surprise you. First, we went to Toys R Us and checked out all the fun toys that Kerensa can play with now that she is 1. While I had my eye on a sandbox for her, we bought her a corn popper (you know, one of the classics) and a big ball (at a whopping cost of $1.50). You might wonder why on our anniversary we would go to a toy store, but I have found that it is tremendously fun to pick out things for Kerensa. I don't want to spoil her, though, so I try to be judicious in my purchases! Ryan tries to reign me in, but that is hard for him to do because over the past ten years I have held our purse strings rather tightly! So he is continually amazed how I will buy things for Kerensa and still won't buy things for myself. Anyway, I digress, but I am going to be buying a sandbox soon. Although, Ryan tells me I have to help him restain the back fence first!!

After Toys R Us, we ventured over to Barnes & Noble. We spent quite awhile here just browsing. Out of my perusals was a book on toddlers and a book on weaning, so you can see my focus was still on that baby! We almost made it out without buying anything, but we did buy something for ourselves. (This past weekend I found a good toddler book at a garage sale for 50 cents, so I made the right decision when I put that book back on the shelf). After B&N, we went through the drive through at McDonald's for some milkshakes.

We had a great day and did some reflecting on our marriage. I looked up the sign for ten year marriages, and it is tin/aluminum because at 10 years your marriage has shown that it is durable and can stand the test of time. I would agree with that statement, although all marriages can falter -- no matter the time frame. I would change very little over the last ten years of our lives, and I think that says a lot.

While I was pregnant, someone at church told us that we would have a hard time remembering what we did for those years without children. That hasn't proven true for me. I can remember how things were and don't regret the years we spent by ourselves. We had a lot of time to learn and grow as a couple and had time to indulge in some selfish pursuits in "DINK"dom (aka dual income no kids). Over the last year, it has touched my heart to watch Ryan become a daddy, and it has added another layer to our relationship that I could never have imagined. So Ryan if you read this, thank you for being you, for sharing your life with me, and for evolving into fatherhood with your own unique style!

Birthday Party!!

2007-06-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Kerensa has officially entered toddlerhood! We were in Ohio visiting my family for the big day. We had a small gathering of family and friends, and Kerensa had a good time! Here's some pictures of her cake and her first taste of chocolate!

It was really great getting to spend time with my mom and dad and my sister and her family (and my best friend that I've known since kindergarden). Kerensa enjoyed hanging out with her cousins. Thanks Reece, Erika, and Austin for spending time with us! I think the highlight of the trip for me was roasting marshmallows and eating smores in my parent's backyard. Too bad Kerensa slept through that activity (twice!). Living in town, we don't really get that treat.

When we got home, I took Kerensa in for her one year check-up. She weighs 17 pounds 2 ounces. Teeny weeny, I know! She can still wear 6 to 9 month clothes. She also really took off walking the day or so before her birthday. She wants to be down continually so she can walk. I thought she was a fast crawler, but now I look away for a second and she's gone! We took her in for her one year photos (which I'll hopefully be able to post once they come in), and she kept trying to walk off! Well, I think that brings you up to date. Ohh, and she did pretty good with our flights. On the way home, she did fabulous - I don't think she cried any. : )

Excuses

2007-06-02T23:36:00.001-07:00

I'm reminded of a song about excuses and you hear them every day . . . Anyway, nevermind that, but my excuse is that my boss has been in Italy the last three weeks, so I have been super busy. Sorry to Kerensa's massive fan base! Here are some pictures of her getting into things. I'm sure it is not unique to Kerensa, but that every child enjoys going through cabinets. They hold such interesting things.

(Don't worry she didn't try to eat the hairspray). In other news, this past Sunday, Kerensa decided to walk more. She had done it here and there and Saturday actually took about 4 steps. But Sunday evening, every time I set her a few feet from me she would cross the distance and walk to me. It is so cute to watch. She's not zooming all over yet, but she is making strides (pun intended).

We are off to Ohio next week where we will be having the big one year birthday. Pictures will definitely follow!

More crazy hair

2007-05-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Kerensa's hair is getting long! I think it is naturally curly because it doesn't like to lay flat! Her daddy took these pictures after a morning nap when her hair was sticking up all over. Thought I would share them.

Two weeks worth of updates

2007-04-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I guess it's been more than two weeks! Sorry! We got a new camera that also does video, and I have been delinquent in getting pictures off it! Anyway, we have been busy! I thought you might like to see how Kerensa was dressed on Easter Sunday. She was soo cute!

She didn't really care too much for the ears and kept pulling them off! We went out for lunch afterwards with Gma and Gpa, and Kerensa spent her time watching two little girls behind us. She pretty much turned herself all the way around in the high chair. The Monday after Easter Kerensa began swimming lessons at the Y. "Swimming" is not really the right term. In actuality, I hold her in the water while the "instructor" leads us in some songs that involve splashing or bouncing or she give us props to play with like toys, kickboards, and noodles. It is really a lot of fun, and Kerensa enjoys it. It meets twice a week for five weeks. You are supposed to work up to dunking your child underwater, and I tried that this week. I dunked her three times, and she didn't really like it very much! Here are some pictures from class. We bought her a swimsuit before the second week of class, but in the first two pictures she's half-dressed!

(the instructor)

In other news, last Sunday we discovered a tooth! Then the next day she had another one! So she has two, both on the bottom. She is doing really well with table foods and wants whatever anyone else is eating. Baby food is apparently losing its appeal. Ohhh, I can't forget that she is now literally sleeping the whole entire night, sometimes from 7 to 7. Other times she will wake at 5 to eat and then go back to sleep. It actually took me a few days to get used to having more sleep! Since I posted that she slept really well following her doctor's appointment, she has kept it up. Last but not least, she is working on standing by herself. You can see those little leg muscles really strengthening. I will have to learn how to post some video soon so you can see her in action.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Windows

2007-04-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Quite a while ago, Kerensa discovered the blinds. When you take her to the window to watch someone leave and wave bye bye, she is much more interested in playing with the mini-blinds and the plastic rod that rotates them open and closed. I've tried to get her to look out the window, but to no avail until recently. Lynn (otherwise known as grandma) called me at work this week to let me know Kerensa had discovered the window! Our main living area has three big windows that are perfect pulling up height for Kerensa. She never seemed that interested before, but for some reason she decided to crawl over there and see what it was all about. Lynn pulled the blinds up so she could really see out, and boy did she like that! Ryan took the following pictures of her when he was home for lunch. It is too cute to watch her go over and look outside. She does it all the time now! : )

Update

2007-04-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Kerensa finally had her 9 month doctor visit this week. She lost some weight while she was sick, but she did gain that back and then some. Even with that though, she wasn't over 16 pounds, so we are going to start adding some snacks in during the day too. It already feels like I am offering her something to eat every time I turn around. For dinner, she almost always can eat a full jar of dinner and sometimes another jar of fruit. She only had to get two shots this time, and she really didn't like it! In the past, they've made her sleepy, and I think they helped her sleep practically the whole night through Tuesday night, which was nice for me! She did good sleeping last night too, but because Lost comes on sooo late here, I don't really feel like I got the benefits from it! I will leave you with some pictures as usual.

Standing room only

2007-03-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday in Bible class I had a lot of fun. We sang lots of songs, and I got to taste several different animal creatures. As you can see from the picture below, we had a full house! I enjoy watching babies my age, so it was nice to see so many of us in one place!

Before Allison came, I was the only girl with five boys!

Class tired me out pretty good, and I slept through most of services! Mommy held me while I slept, and I bet her arms got pretty worn out as I am getting heavier! She didn't complain about it to me, though. I have a doctor's appointment next week, so I will be able to tell you how much I've grown! Bye for now!

Play dates

2007-03-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Kerensa, here. I had a lot of fun this past week. Mommy and daddy gave me plenty of opportunities to play with other babies, which I just love doing! Baby Ben came over on Tuesday. He's only 4 months old, and he let me kiss him on the forehead! A few days later, two other boys came over: Larry Jr who's 2 and a 1/2 and Jake who's less than two weeks older than me. Mommy got some pictures of me playing with Jake. They were a lot of fun, but mommy made me take a nap before they went home, which I didn't really appreciate. Lastly, I played with Baby Allison. She is 11 months old! You might remember her from an earlier post where she and I were holding hands. Thanks mommy and daddy for the fun week!

Food update

2007-03-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lapse in posts! We have been pretty busy lately. I have taken a lot of pictures though, so I hope to add quite a few this week. Kerensa is doing great with meats. She's had turkey, chicken, and beef so far and really liked all of them. This week I also threw in macaroni and cheese, which she seemed to enjoy! Next up is ham. She'll probably have that later this week. She still doesn't have any teeth, but I think one must be close. We've started some finger foods anyway, but not the chocolate bunnies she's pictured with in the photos that follow! Incidentally, she also spent a good part of this evening playing with ketchup packets, but I didn't take a picture of that!

Daddy and me

2007-03-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Budding musician

2007-03-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Kerensa is finally feeling better. Her nose has stopped running for the most part, and her cough is nearly gone. I didn't even run the vaporizer in her room yesterday, but I am this evening just because she sounded a little raspy. It has been hard to get good pictures lately for a couple of reasons. First, she hasn't felt well, and second, she keeps anticipating the flash and closing her eyes. She is 9 months old now, and we bought her the Fisher Price Baby Grand Piano about a week before her birthday. She seems to really like it! She loves music and pulling herself up to standing, and this toy allows her to experience both. Here are a couple of pictures of her playing with it. She was also having flyaway hair that day, which was too cute.

Seattle trip

2007-03-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

I may be sick, but that didn't stop me from going to Seattle over the weekend. Mommy had some sort of work engagement, and Daddy and I went too. I got pretty restless during the 4 and 1/2 hour drive there and back, but overall, I had a good time. I spent the daytime Friday and most of Saturday with Daddy, and I enjoyed having some one on one time with him. He gave me a tour of the hotel and took me to swim in the pool. I wasn't very cooperative and didn't let him get me in the pool! I did try out the hot tub, though, and it felt good to sit in the steam. Other highlights from our trip included watching people, singing in the car, and seeing mommy try and change my dirty diaper in the car, but I didn't really enjoy that last one.

I am still feeling bad and congested, but I am getting lots of cuddles and snuggles from everyone. That surely will help me start to feel better!

First cold

2007-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

As milestones go, I would rather skip the first illness, but I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. Kerensa came down with a cold Sunday evening, and it is still going strong. You can tell that she is feeling pretty bad because she is normally so happy and smiley. Now, she is crying / whining a lot, and her sleep has been very disturbed. Her little sniffles and congested coughs make you feel so bad for her. As for her starting meats, we have tried turkey, but she isn't eating that great at the present time.

Pretty in Pink

2007-02-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Before we left for church this morning, I amused myself by pulling up on the couch to grab the remote. [What is the magnetic attraction kids have to anything with buttons?]

Daddy and mommy give me lots of neat toys, but some of my favorite things to play with are the remote(s), wooden spoons, paper, mommy's cell phone, and mommy's checkbook. This evening I hit a bunch of buttons on mommy's cell phone and also managed to hit the send button. I didn't get connected, though, because mommy took the phone away from me, which of course made me cry! This week I am going to start having baby food three times a day instead of just twice. I'm also going to try some meat. I will let you know how I like it. I'll leave you with one more picture too. :D

Meeting milestones

2007-02-21T23:01:00.000-08:00

Gee, Kerensa has really been delinquent lately in updating this blog. Just kidding, obviously. Well, let’s just say a lot has happened in the last week and a half. Kerensa has not been content just crawling. She took her first few cautious movements forward last Saturday, did a few more on Sunday, and by Monday, she was a pro. So on Tuesday, she was on to bigger and better adventures, namely trying to pull herself up to standing. She accomplished it on Thursday and ever since then she wants to keep on doing it. It is too cute!! Lynn (my mother in law) found her standing in her crib after a nap on Friday, and for most naps now and sometimes in the middle of the night, she decides to stand up when she should be sleeping. She is now working on getting herself back down, so I am looking forward to that.

Having a three day weekend was great, and Kerensa took her first "cruising" steps along the fireplace. And then today, she surprised us all by going up the steps in our sunken living room (two steps total). She still has a way to go before she is truly cruising and then walking, but it has been amazing to watch her recent progression.

As Kerensa interacts more and more with us and her environment (oh, she waved bye today!), she has also grown more aware of what it means when I leave in the mornings. She has started crying when she sees me going out to the car. While I know she stops almost immediately after I drive away, it is hard to hear because it is her way of communicating that she wished I wouldn’t go. The smiles I get when I return though are irreplaceable!

Eight months

2007-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, . . . You get the idea. It is my birthday today, sort of. I am officially 8 months old! I am now much closer to one than to my birth, which makes my mommy sad! She thinks I am growing up too quickly. Everyone tells me I am such a busy little thing. I like to get into everything, and it is really hard for me to sit still. Just this evening, someone was holding me, and I tried to take their hands off me. Fortunately for me, though, they didn't let go because I probably would've fallen down. I just get ahead of myself I suppose. This evening at small group I also showed off my crawling skills! This new mobility is sure cool. I also let mommy take some good pictures of me in Bible class this morning. Enjoy!

Crawling

2007-02-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

So over the past month, I have really perfected the backwards crawl. This week while mommy was getting ready I was down on the floor playing, and I backwards crawled my way into daddy's closet.

It was kind of fun checking out what was inside of there. Anyway, today I decided to start crawling forward. I have only taken a few steps so far, but it's a start. Look out Sadie, here I come! [the babyproofing begins . . .]

Crazy hair day

2007-02-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

After several naps in one day, a girl's hair can get crazy!! My daddy thought I looked pretty funny when he came home from lunch, so he took the above picture. My hair is getting longer, so it can be hard for mommy to manage. After lunch, I took another nap, and my hair got even crazier. Then I ate my dinner and got my face messy too.

Here is me drinking water out of my sippy cup. Believe it or not, this is the highlight of my mealtime!

Parties

2007-02-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went to two parties! The first one was for a friend of mine who turned 1. He had lots of toys that I tried out. Happy Birthday, Malachi! Thanks for the fun party. Here is a picture of me on the floor just hanging out.

The next day mommy and daddy had some people over for a party that seemed to center around the television. I don't watch television, so I don't know what all the fuss was about. I enjoyed all the attention, though. I don't think Sadie (my doggie) did. She kept running around in circles. I think she appreciates me more after having several little ones on her tail.

Looking back again

2007-01-31T16:29:00.000-08:00

Here is my mommy with me in the hospital. My 8 month birthday is coming up soon. Daddy says that the first year of life you celebrate your birthday every month. That works for me! I would ask for some presents, but I don't know the words for anything. While I talk quite a lot, I haven't figured out any real syllables or words. I'm working on it though!

Looking back . . .

2007-01-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Mommy has been delinquent in taking pictures of me in the last week, so while it might be a tad early to "look back" already, I thought you might enjoy seeing my daddy holding me in the hospital when I was born. I look so small!!

Things are going well with me. I am moving along with solids. Yesterday and today I had carrots. I didn't like them as much as I like apples, bananas, and pears, but I ate them. Outside the snow is melting, but it is still cold!!

Ducky Fun

2007-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

I love taking baths. In fact, I just plain love water. I like drinking it, watching other people drink it, looking at it, and playing in it! To help me get a bit closer to the water (and not hurt myself falling over), mommy and daddy bought me an inflatable ducky tub. It quacks and everything! Here is a picture of me sitting in it in the living room after daddy blew it up for me.

And these next two pictures are my first bath in my cool new tub. In the second one, I am sticking my tongue out. I recently discovered that I have a tongue, so I stick it out a lot!

Our Home (and my job)

2007-01-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering after the last post how much snow we had, take a look at our house.

In other news, this coming March I will have been at my job for 3 years. Because I have been in school for most of my life, this is the longest job I have held. I am happy to report, though, that I really enjoy what I do. At present, my boss and I are the only attorneys in our firm, and we largely practice insurance defense litigation. Actual trials, however, are not commonplace because most cases end in settlement. Just last week though, my boss finished up a two week trial. Unfortunately, I was pretty busy with other matters, so I did not get to watch very much of the testimony. The case involved a widow suing two product manufactures, alleging their product caused her husband's death. The jury returned a defense verdict (meaning the plaintiff failed to prove her case and recovered nothing). There is no better result than that, and I for one am glad to know that today's jurors can still apply common sense and not fall prey to the victim mentality or the idea that businesses can afford to pay judgments so why not award some money. On that note, I will leave you with a bit of humor (even I can enjoy a good lawyer joke).

" Amazing Courtroom Questions
Was it you or your brother who was killed in the war?
The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
Were you alone or by yourself?
So you were gone until you returned?
How long have you been French Canadian? "

Lawyers (P. Reagan Ed., Andrews McNeel Publishing 2004).

I'm glad none of you have access to transcripts containing some of my less than articulate questions.

Brrrr!!

2007-01-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

I thought you might like to see a picture of me in my snowsuit. I have to put it on everytime we go somewhere. It is cold outside, and lately there have been a lot of little white flakes falling on us when we're out and about. Mommy always makes me keep my hat on, but somehow it's missing in these pictures. Anyway, I don't mind the cold too much. Daddy always tries to get the car warm for me, and I get so cozy I often fall right to sleep. Bye, bye for now!

Making Friends

2007-01-11T22:28:00.000-08:00

I love weekends because I get to spend a lot more time with mommy and daddy. On Sunday mornings they take me to church. Sometimes I go to class with other babies, but other times (when I get up too early) I have to take a nap as soon as I get there. Sometimes I think mommy and daddy would like to nap too, but they drink something they call coffee from Starbucks and perk right up. Anyway, my mommy hasn't gotten a picture of me in Bible class yet because I like to have her right next to me! I am warming up to Miss Miranda, though. My mommy did take two pictures of me sitting on the pew with my friend Allison.

Allison took my hand! Aren't we sweet?

Ooooh, presents!!

2007-01-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I woke up in my crib all smiley like usual, but I had no idea what was in store for me!! My mommy took me into the living room and handed me one of the boxes under the tree that she wouldn't let me play with a few days before. Anyway, I love paper, so I just started tearing into it. Then, there was another, and another, and another! It was a lot of fun.

I would have preferred to eat my way to what was inside, but I decided to suck on my pacifier most of the time.

Check out these fun piggy slippers I got!

Well, that's all for now. I'm sleepy.

Christmas Photos Cont.

2007-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more of my Christmas pictures. My mommy and daddy made me sit through two sessions worth! The picture-taking people were a bit scary, but then my daddy started making faces at me. I couldn't help smiling at that point! He knows how to make me laugh!

Next post I will show you me opening some of my presents!

Meet Kerensa

2007-01-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog! I have been after my mommy to create this for me as I have lots of things going on that I would like to share. Occasionally, I will let my mommy and daddy post too, but for the most part, I am taking center stage here.

Well, I am now 6 months old!! I thought you might like to see a few of my Christmas pictures (which were taken right around my 6 mo b-day).

As you can see, I can sit up all by myself. I have recently started scooting across the floor. Mommy and Daddy tell me I am going the wrong way, but I'm not sure what they mean.

I hope you check in regularly to see what I am up to!