The life of the Auker"mans" and Women:-)...

so behind...

2009-11-12T19:16:00.003-06:00

Ooops, kinda forgot about this blog, not that anyone reads it! Brynne has changed so much in the past 2.5 months since I last wrote....and right now she's getting into something, so i don't even have time to tell you how! ahahahah

Let's just say she climbs, runs, climbs some more, and says about 15 words. She LOVES her baby doll and still loves to torture Byson. She's a handful at times, but we love her so much!

Pictures!

2009-08-24T18:51:00.003-05:00

Brynne loved turning one!

Happy Birthday Brynne (August 23)

2009-08-24T17:11:00.001-05:00

I posted this yesterday.....but it accidentally got posted on Jason's blog! Oops!

Today is Brynne's first birthday! We had a party for her yesterday with family and a few of our closest friends (pictures to come), and today, we're going to celebrate by letting her have her first McDonalds Happy Meal. AHAHAHHA..I know...way healthy, and such a great thing to introduce a kid...but come on, it's her birthday! ahahah Currently, there is a police man out front....dealing with our car that got hit by an old lady. When he's done...it's time to take Brynne birthday shopping and then for dinner. I'd post pictures....but they are loaded on another computer, so pictures are to come eventually! I'm way behind! Oh, I'm back at work now....so these postings will be few and far between!

Ramblings...

2009-07-28T20:11:00.006-05:00

Tonight Brynne and I made a quick trip to Bath and Body Works. We love their hand soap...and they're having a sale (plus if i got some soap I got a free bottle of lotion!) Sales get me! Anyways, on the way out of the mall, I decided to stop and check prices on tennis shoes for Brynne at a shoe store. Currently, she only wears shoes every so often since it's summer and she's a baby. We take her bare-footed (is that a word?) everywhere we go probably 90 percent of the time. Well, she's walking now and it's going to start getting colder...so we'll need to find some comfortable, neutral colored shoes she can wear. So far all of the shoes she's ever worn were given to her as gifts or hand me downs. I refuse to spend money on something that she'll grow out of in such a short time (Unless it's on clearance that is....so if anyone sees any good sales, let me know!) The other day I was at Target and didn't even want to spend 12 dollars on some cute shoes that I'll probably end up buying....OK, so back to the shoe store. SUCH cute shoes....SUCH HORRIBLE PRICES! I could never spend thirty dollars on a pair of shoes for a baby! They were cute as can be....I think I'd even wear them in my own size, but still...Wow, it shocked me. When do kids feet start slowing down? Maybe her foot size won't change so much anymore now that she's almost one. (Anyone know? Maybe she'll be in a four for a year? I have no clue about how all that works. I just know shes gone from a newborn to a 3 in less than a year...but it is the year babies triple their birth weight!) OK...i'm continuing to ramble and the whole point of this shoe store story was not the prices...it was the fact that Brynne was in HEAVEN when we walked in. She squealed so loudly and got giddy because of all the shoes. She loves shoes. She especially loves to eat shoes. Yea....that's the end of the story, and now it's not even as cute or as funny as it was when it all happened. I ruined it. I guess you had to be there. AHAHAHAH....so let me write something else that's cute instead...
Brynne's latest loves (besides her shoe fettish)...
1. She loves kissing her baby doll
2. She loves kissing us and our big dog (She's a huge kisser. We're going to have to watch her closely when she gets older if she keeps it up!)
3. She really enjoys eating toilet paper! GAG.
4. She still continues to love the dog's water and food ....man, she's so fast!
5. She enjoys the show Yo Gabba Gabba.
6. She loves to do her little squat and bounce dance when music is on.
7. She enjoys riding in shopping carts.
8. She loves Gerber Yogurt Melts. (She'd eat them all day if i'd let her!)

OK, I think I'll stop there....
Mainly...Brynne is just a very FUN baby to have around! :-) (Yet she is getting to be stubborn and sassy!) ;-)

Accomplishments, Deals, Food, and Fun!!!! What a week!

2009-07-11T21:41:00.004-05:00

We've had a great week!

Tonight (July 11....10 1/2 months old) Brynne took her first steps. She was squealing when we cheered for her. I think she realizes she did something fantastic. ahahah. We'll see if it continues tomorrow!

I found some great deals online...summer clothes for Brynne for next summer!!! I shouldn't have spent money...but I saved money, right?! ahahahah I also found a good deal online on a car seat for Brynne...YAY! Good week, but expensive week!

We had lots of fresh fruit in the house this week....dumb detail, but it made me so happy! I love eating watermelon, strawberries (shortcake and pie), blueberries, and bananas!

Brynne tried lots of new foods this week and liked them all pretty well. Some of her favorites include yogurt, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, cheese, watermelon, and of course her yogurt melts and puffs. We've been working on her taste buds with eggs...and adding cheese did the trick. She especially loves anything that we're eating and will come up and make a noise and open her mouth as to say..."Sure, I'll have some too!"

We also went on walks, babysat Brynne's cousin and friend (Brynne had a lesson on sharing and keeping hands to herself), played with cousins, watched movies, cleaned the garage, ate daddy's yummy black bean portabella soup, and took a family trip to Oberweis to spend a gift card we were given.

Yay for summer!!!!

Just a few words...

2009-07-02T17:52:00.001-05:00

1. I can't believe it's July.
2. Brynne now has four teeth and she's discovered how to grind them. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I get mad at her when I hear it. It makes me cringe!
3. I am so thrilled to say that I organized my tupperware cupboard. Phew! (We barely use tupperware anyways....so I wonder, what's the point in keeping it? )

Man, I stink at this....

2009-06-30T20:38:00.012-05:00

Sorry Everyone. Once again, I've slacked off....
This post will be a bunch of pictures with some explaining....that's about it. I do want to mention though that I'm SICK that tomorrow is July 1. The summer can't go fast. It just can't. UGH. (It has been so awesome to be home with my daughter and I don't want it to end....I love being her mom!)
OK, because there are so many pictures...let me give a general update that will give you info about them. (This is going to be random, unorganized mess of info that probably won't make sense, and I apologize!) We went to Indy to see Jason's family a few weekends ago. They have a new puppy, Cocoa, who you will see in the pictures. Brynne was afraid of him at first (yet she's not afraid of Byson???ahahah) but learned to love him...and he loved her too. She also loved playing with her aunts and uncles(and the Chamberlains who are like family)...and grandpa as you can see in the pictures. (She loves her grandma too...but somehow I didn't get that on film!) We also traveled to Kentucky last weekend for Jason's five year college reunion. Brynne had her first taste of Chick-fil-a waffle fries and Maggie Moo's ice cream (YUM). She also enjoyed meeting all of daddy's (and mommy's) friends (you'll see Major and Missy in the pictures)....and loved the big king size bed in the hotel. She was a trooper during the long car ride too.
We are so blessed to have a WONDERFUL baby girl! (The latest developments on her part: She got her top left tooth about a week ago, and the other top middle tooth is on it's way. She LOVES to clap. She LOVES to stand without holding on to anything and can do it for about 20 seconds (give or take a few seconds). She's getting more and more brave and is starting to take some steps with our help. She didn't want much to do with that before (besides walking along the couch and her toys on her own). She is so fun and funny.(She enjoys playing in the dog cage, she laughs at nothing and rolls around the living room floor (sometimes I think she has ADHD) and you'll also see a picture of her with a toy stuck in her diaper. She played with it in there for HOURS before I noticed it). She also enjoys eating ANYTHING we're eating and is very verbal if we're not quick to share with her. ahaha.
We love our Brynne!!!!!

Happy Summer!

2009-06-16T15:06:00.005-05:00

Oh brother, I'm so bad at blogging. ahahah

Sidenote: I just looked at the ticker for Brynne at the top of my blog and about passed out. She's seriously almost one years old?! Gosh!

We've had a great summer break so far, but I don't feel like it's been much of a break so far! We've kept so busy! Since the last post:
1. I enjoyed my tradition of a weekend away with some of my best girl friends. We met in Ann Arbor, MI this year and had a blast! Brooke brought her new camera and captured the fun....I'll have to post some of her pictures soon!
2. While I was with the girls, Brynne had her first 2 nights away from mom and dad as she hung out with my parents. It was hard to leave her, but I know they took great care of her!
3. We got new carpet!!!! YAY.
4. We had to get a new hot water heater. Boo. (we've needed to replace ours for about a year and we finally did it before having a major incident) But....I'm thankful for hot water on cold mornings!
5. I've had some teacher meetings....fun. ahahah
6. We've tried to clean, clean, and clean again, yet our house still needs help! I'm still hoping to sort and organized and get rid of the unwanted junk in our basement! It's just so hard to work around nap times! The window of time is too short!
7. I finally planted flowers in the pots out front (and I stink at it. They look better than they did, but still...Ahhh, not my cup of tea.)
8. I participated in Relay for Life for the first time and was touched by how many people have dealt with cancer! The event was so awesome....
9. Brynne had her 9 month check up and her 9 month pictures...(to see them, visit kimberlyjewellonline.com and find Brynne under the online veiwing (the password is our last name)
10. And best of all.....I've had some time to spend with Brynne, Jason, and Byson! I DO NOT miss the stress of the school year and PRAY this summer goes by slowly!

One day shy of a month...

2009-05-24T11:17:00.005-05:00

It's one day shy of a month that I've posted....that's how insane life has been. This blog has obviously been last on my priority list. I decided that since I have an extra day this weekend due to Memorial day, I'd update people QUICKLY on what's gone on here the past month.

We've had a rough one....and UGH, it can only get better from here, I hope. As you all know, our first "son" Reggie (our cocker spaniel) died on May 2nd. I still miss him so much and find myself crying for one last day to cuddle with him on the couch. He was an awesome dog. Byson is slowly adjusting to life without his buddy....and Brynne has become his new best friend. They have a mutual love for each other ahahah. She smiles when she sees him, doesn't mind his daily licks on the face, and she loves to stand at his cage and talk to him when he's locked up. When she figures out how to open the lock to his cage, we're done. He'll never be locked up because she'll want to play with him. ahahahha

In addition to our dog dying, the heavy rains caused issues in our basement...ugh. I had to throw away a lot of things that I wanted to keep! Ugh. I have lots of work to do down there this summer. Work has also been stressful as usual, and some changes taking place next fall have made me down. I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard, especially when I would love to just be a mommy and leave the work and stress behind!

On some happy notes....(because I know that even in times of storms, I am blessed!)

In the last month, Brynne has begun crawling high speed as well as pulling herself up onto everything. It's so cute to go get her in the morning and find her standing up in her crib. She's 9 months old now as of yesterday...and she's just getting so big! She loves cheerios, remote controls, and the computer still. I guess we should also add to that...the dog's bone and food too....we are in need of some baby gates now that she's very mobile!

This month, Brynne got to go to her first baseball game, got to feel grass for the first time, and hang with her grandparents and aunts/uncles on the Aukerman side. She was also able to meet Nate and Ryanne, our best friends who will someday be her in laws (they are expecting a son in September). Last weekend, Brynne got to hang with her Crawford side grandparents who came to visit her cousin for his birthday.

Well, the school year will end in less than two weeks, and I am very grateful for that! I need some time with my girl, Jason, and the dog....and some time to sort out life, mail and bills that have been shoved in an old Bath and Body Works bag, and time to clean the house! Ahhh! Thanks for your prayers....we, well, I, desperately need them right now!

What a week.

2009-04-25T15:08:00.005-05:00

Oh brother, this week! ahahahah That's all I have to say to that. It was a crazy one. First, here are some pictures:
Asher, my nephew.

Brynne (She's kinda crawling...not really? ahahha)

Brynne and uncle Dennis

Brynne with a bow in her hair. She doesn't have much hair but I tried to see if something would stay (it stayed for about 1 minute) ahahahah, and it looks silly, but she's still cute.

Brynne and daddy cuddling...

The dogs cuddling...

Brynne playing her piano

Here's a look at our week:
Sunday night: The stomach bug that my mom had hit Brynne....ugh.
Monday: I wasn't feeling to great at work, but once I was home, my body gave up, and the bug also got the best of me. I even had to take part of the following day off from work. I try to avoid missing any work in general, but especially this year since I"m already docked pay for taking some extra maternity leave days! Ugh, life goes on....
Tuesday: Jason got the bug.
Wednesday: Our babysitter and her baby got the bug. (Jason stayed home with Brynne and disenfected the house like CRAZY!)
By Thursday, we were all feeling better, and thankfully, Jason's sisters Alissa and Kara came to watch Brynne so that our babysitter and her family could recuperate! It was so nice to have the girls here. Brynne was reunited with her aunts, and we had a great time catching up with Alissa since she's been studying abroad for the past four months! (Somehow I managed to not get any pictures of them with Brynne!) Yesterday (Friday) my mom and her friend came into town for Ladies Day at ONU, but of course they came a little early to see us! We had a good time eating pizza with them.
Other highlights of this week: Brynne now says her "Mmmm" sounds...and i've heard a few "mamas" come out of her mouth (does she know that's me? not sure...but I will tell myself she does). Also, Brynne had her first swinging outside on the swingset experience, and loved it. (My camera was inside at the time, so my mom got a cute picture, but I didn't!)

Brynne and Mommy's Quick Trip to Michigan

2009-04-19T10:26:00.004-05:00

Mom tried to work on the fact that she's such a scheduled person, and she decided to take me (Brynne) on a quick, spontaneous trip to Michigan. It was fun to see my family and meet mommy's friends.
Here's me being silly for the camera!

On Saturday we got to go to a Tea Party at Grandma's Church. Everyone loved my dress and headband....and for the most part I was a good girl. I saw soooo many people, and I especially loved mommy's friend Ahminda. I usually only kiss family members...not strangers, but I kissed her lots! Here is a picture of me being very sleepy with mommy!

I liked reading my book to my mommy and Grandma...

I got to meet mommy's friend Brooke and mommy's friend Michelle (not pictured).

I got to play with toys with my Uncle Matt...

I love my Uncle Matt!

And, somehow Grandpa and Grandma lucked out because mommy didn't manage to get a picture taken with them! Grandma didn't feel well, so she tried to keep her distance as much as possible. Grandpa played with me lots and I even slept next to him! I loved the noises he makes and how silly he can be! He worked hard on fixing a toy mommy' bought me, and now it works! Thanks Grandpa!

Now we're home and this is the last day we have to get work done and play before returning to work and the babysitter tomorrow! BUT...we're much closer to summer break!

Our little Beauty...

2009-04-12T16:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter from Brynne!

I'm in love with my daughter!

2009-04-10T13:41:00.007-05:00

I'll begin with some more recent photos of Brynne!

This first one I've fallen in love with. It's our new picture from Brynne's 6 month shots with our photographer. I just hung it on the wall this week and can't get enough of it!

Here's Brynne with her cousins....they decided to copy her and eat their feet too!

Here she is being cute on her chair...

And here she is enjoying Daddy's reading chair in his office. It makes her look so little!

Brynne in her green star shirt looking so precious!

Enjoying the laundry basket! She loved playing in there!

Her new BIG flower headband...I was trying to find something she could wear for Easter and was inspired by our friend's cute baby Charlotte when she wears big flower headbands!

Her new white flower headband...

Her pink flower headband...

Mommy being silly and making Brynne try on bunny ears with her flower headband! She didn't seem to mind!

AND...that's enough pictures!
Well....now that's it is spring break, I finally had some time to post a few more recent pictures. I never remember what updates I've already given when I space my posts this far apart! Brynne's two bottom teeth are super cute...and she notices them being in her mouth now because I'll catch her putting her tongue on them to feel them. She's also been very talkative, and she says "da da da" when Jason is around. We think she might know those sounds need to come out of her mouth when he's around because he's daddy? Who knows. She loves to make spitty loud noises still and will play the game where we go back and forth making the noises. She likes to imitate. She's still not crawling all over...but is up on all fours and rocks back and forth. She scoots everywhere though and has gotten into a few things that she shouldn't play with like the dog's bone, dirty movie rental cases, the remote control, and mommy's school papers. She also knocked a bowl of her rice cereal off the kitchen counter before I added liquid to it so the dogs enjoyed licking up the powder off the floor! I've gotta be careful with her now because she doesn't just sit in my arms! She's definitely discovered what her hands and arms can do! Brynne also loves to laugh when daddy burps (he purposely burped for about 15 minutes the other night because she found it hilarious) and she loves playing patty cake!

I'm so excited to have a week off to spend with her!

Happy 7 month birthday, Brynne!

2009-03-23T21:21:00.002-05:00

So today she's 7 months old! I've also forgotten to tell everyone...we think her goopy, tear duct problem eye is done and healed?!?!?! It hasn't been bad since the day after she got her 6 month pictures. I hope it's over with!!!!!!!!!! (Of course it had to way til the day AFTER her pictures) ahahahah. One more thing....last night, Jason discovered that Brynne's right ear is bigger than her left. Somehow, we've overlooked that for seven months. I think it's super cute. I just told Jason...we can never point it out to her because she'll be so paranoid about it when her hair is pulled up ahahahah.

Now...back to my little tired grunter. (She grunts and makes elephant sounds when she's tired ahahah)

Prunes

2009-03-22T16:31:00.004-05:00

Does anyone else love prunes as much as this kid?! She was so excited to eat them, I had trouble getting them into her mouth! She looks like a little monster with her messy face. She went right into the tub after these pictures....ahahahaha. Usually we don't have such a mess because she eats in her high chair. Our kitchen was a disaster, so I decided to feed her in the bouncy seat. I learned my lesson. She had too much freedom! :-) (Notice how big she's gotten. She's hanging off her seat. It's probably time to pack it up...but I love it,and so does she!)

I'd also like to announce....Brynne will be 7 months old tomorrow! OH MY GOODNESS....more than half way to ONE. Where does the time go!? I'm loving EVERY DAY with this girl! She's fun stuff. Here's a few pictures of her before church this morning.

Now...back to laundry and school work. I keep getting distracted doing things that are much more fun!

Our little doll...

2009-03-21T12:19:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of our little doll from the past week! She is changing so much every day. I think she's so smart and funny of course. She is SO much fun!

Brynne trying to type on "facebook" as you can see my profile page is up on the computer screen!

Here's Brynne at our friends Rob and Kraz's place....she was on the floor and so far only manages to move backwards....she moved herself right into their movies and tv cords. ahahah

St. Patrick's Day...I think I take pictures of her almost every morning before taking her to the babysitter.

Sitting up so well!

Happy girl in her comfy feece outfit

Brynne managed to crawl backwards again...this time landing under her crib. AHahahah She was a little puzzled at the time. ahahah

6 month check up results and more! AHAHA, I hate coming up with titles (can you tell!?)

2009-03-15T10:41:00.014-05:00

As you can see from the pictures above, we made a visit to the Dr.'s office last week and had Brynne's 6 month check up (a few weeks late).(Mom, the picture where she's eating her toes I took just for you!) Brynne's doctor said she's doing well....and was very proud of how well she sits up. She was measuring in the 75th percentile for her length which is surprising since neither Jason nor I are very tall. She recognizes strangers now and cried at one of the nurses, but not at her doctor. I think she associates the nurses with shots. She did well for her shots and only cried for about a minute. The Hello Kitty band-aids made it all better. :-)

She can sit up without falling down now, and it's funny to turn your head for just a minute and look back to find her on her tummy many feet from where you sat her. Oh no...the mobile days are coming....and our pack and play is going to get more use!

The following pictures are actually from last weekend. I put her on the blanket to play and went to get some things taken care of in her room. Jason was in the room playing Guitar Hero...and when he turned around, he saw her on the floor under the table and asked if I had put her there. AHAHHA.

Brynne's favorites sounds are "da" and "sss". She loves to laugh and giggle, and she's just SOOO fun. She has turned many depressing or stressful days into happy days for her mommy and daddy! Who can resist such a precious smile?! Jason has been so helpful with her. He loves to cuddle with her and get her back to sleep when she's having rough nights. It's a beautiful sight to see your husband and your little girl....both loving each other...Awe. Ahahaha.

I'm forgetting a few updates...I just can't think of what they are at the moment. We are happy it's getting warm outside. We can't wait to take walks and enjoy the outdoors with Brynne! Alright, well as she naps, I need to get some laundry done!
I wanted to include one last picture....Brynne in her sweatsuit from Great Grandma and Grandpa Aukerman, all ready to go face the cold!

Brynne's 6 month Pictures are Posted!

2009-03-10T21:55:00.004-05:00

If you want to see LOTS of Brynne pictures, as well as a few of our family....go to this website:

www.kimberlyjewellonline.com
Click on "You" at the bottom of the webpage
Click on "Brynne" at the left side of the list
Type in password "Aukerman"
Then click on "Easter"

There are 232 with her edits (obviously some pictures are repeated with different effects), so it will take awhile to scroll through, but the slide show goes pretty fast. Brynne had so much fun with the little chicks...and even tried to squeeze their heads and eat them! UGH. Jason was grossed out. ahahh I have about 15 favorites that I need to choose between. (I love some of the fist pictures and about the last 10 pictures which are some outdoor family shots. There are TONS of the farm background in the middle...so you can scroll quickly through those!) DECISIONS! Her eye was acting up, so that helps me lower it down some....luckily! I can't get them all! I love our photographer! She does a great job!

Our baby girl finally discovered that sleep is good!

2009-03-07T19:23:00.014-06:00

We've had a very eventful last few days and our biggest news is that Brynne is finally sleeping better!

On Thursday, she slept 11 straight hours in her crib! After our traveling during Christmas break she slept back in our room in the bassinet because it was easier to care for her in the middle of the night. She was waking up a few times in the night from being thrown off over the holidays! Well, I decided on our long weekend last weekend that we'd move her back to the crib. She has done so much better sleeping there! Why didn't I do this sooner? (Because I have attachment issues and miss my baby so much when she's not next to me!!!) On a funny note, she has been sleeping horizontally in her crib instead of vertically...ahahahha. Weird, but as long as she's comfy, that's fine! I say she gets these sleeping habits from her daddy who tends to move all over the place in the night!

Yesterday I took Brynne to Chuck E. Cheese's for my friend Kristin's birthday celebration! Aahaha We had a great time reminiscing about how great the 80's were when we went to Showbiz Pizza (as it was called back then) and thought it was the coolest place ever. Well, the pizza wasn't that great, but the arcade games were addicting! I enjoyed using tokens to play the silly games! Brynne was just dragged to each game in her car seat and was over stimulated by the lights and noises! (I'm sure I looked like a crazy mom....and I'm young looking, so I'm sure people thought I was 14, had a baby way too early in life, and was being way immature playing video games instead of getting my baby to bed!) Ahahahah In addition, you will see a picture with a cute little girl, Brynne, and my friend Sara. The little girl was a stray...walking around the place alone who decided she loved Brynne and wanted to hold her and touch her. Brynne didn't like her (as you can tell by her face in the picture). Brynne fell asleep in the car on the way home....and slept in her clothes and car seat til 6am. I heard her make a noise at 6 and thought I'd go feed her if she was starving, but as soon as I took her out of her seat, she was back to sleep, so I laid her down in her crib and she slept til 9:15am! 12 hours! YAY! (Pictures of Chuck E. Cheese below)
With Kristin, the bday girl...

With Sara and the random little girl...

Brynne loved playing with the cup...

Brynne with Mommy...

Today Jason's family came for a visit. It was so good to just relax and talk (while watching Planet Earth in the background-which is awesome if you haven't seen it). We also ate at a great restaurant in town. My camera got lost during the day and I ended up finding it in the couch....but when I went to grab it, it fell inside the couch. We had to lift the couch, undo staples, and rescue it! Phew. I can't live without a camera! Because the camera was lost, I missed out on a lot of great picture opportunities today. Here's what I did get...
Brynne taking her nap with Grandpa!

Thanks Dad A and Bud for rescuing the camera!

Watching Aunt Anna and Shayna laugh!

Brynne playing with Uncle Colin!

Alright, well, we've already changed our clocks ahead so that we don't forget before bed. Today, Jason's little brother Brendan gave us back our Guitar Hero...so as I type Jason is playing it while Brynne watches for the first time. She's kicking her legs and squealing. We think she loves it.

I think that's all that is new around here! Night!

My little Cutie Pie...

2009-03-04T18:35:00.002-06:00

A few pictures I can't resist sharing...
The first one is of Brynne wearing her daddy's sweatshirt from when he was a baby. The second...Daddy playing Hide N Seek with Brynne, and the third picture is of Brynne and mommy playing on the couch!

Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!!!!

2009-03-02T09:00:00.005-06:00

Well, having Casimir Pulaski day off every year makes one good reason to live in the state of Illinois! ahahah

Today I'm home with my Brynne girl....trying to make up for the unproductive weekend we had! (Don't get me wrong. We had a great weekend with friends...playing, eating, etc....however, I didn't get much done at home!) I'm going to try to get some laundry done, go to the bank, write a letter, get some cards together, grade school work, finish our taxes, take care of the child, clean the house, etc.....the list just never stops growing! Plus, tonight is the season finale of the Bachelor! Ha!

The pictures above are from Brynne's mini St. Patrick's Day photo shoot. My co worker and friend Carrie took some pictures of her with some props she had from when her little boy was a baby. It was fun! :-) Happy March~!

Brynne's getting naughty!!!! (This is from last week but my camera wouldn't upload! I tried again tonight and it worked!)

2009-02-25T20:03:00.008-06:00

Brynne wanted to show off her fun "Grandma" shirt and favorite little toy monkey that Grandpa Crawford gave her for Christmas. She loves to play with Mr. Monkey!

Now getting to the title of this post...
Also, as I was grading papers tonight and watching American Idol, I had Brynne playing on the floor next to me. I didn't realize she had gotten ahold of one of the pages I'd already graded! Oops, sorry Jazmyne! :-) I've also included a picture of that. Luckily this math assignment was just a practice page and nothing too important!

Guilty...

The Damage

6 months old!

2009-02-23T17:03:00.003-06:00

k/m gggggI"c hkl0 0
1.416
3:

The above message is from Brynne! She's sitting here with me now as I type, and since she's 6 months old as of today, I figured I'd let her type! You can never start teaching them things too young, right?!

Wow, where does the time go!? I can't believe how much she's going to change the next 6 months....

Happy Half Birthday Brynne!!!

I'm stumped for a title...

2009-02-21T14:03:00.008-06:00

Here's a picture of Daddy and Brynne sleeping on the couch. She likes playing with faces! (As you can tell if you see my newest 3 scratches ugh!)

Nothing new to really tell you...so I'll just type as I think and I'll babble on.

Brynne was laughing so hard at me the other day. It was cute. We get an occasional giggle from her, but on this particular day, she found me rather amusing. All I had to say was, "Do you want to get your jammies on?" and she burst out into laughs. I tried to tape her but of course then she froze and watched the red light. I decided i'd at least set the camera down and get the sound recording....so you can see a little of her in the video, but you can hear her well and that's what matters!

Today I'm feeling lazy and need to take advantage of the weekend! I have laundry piled high, and I don't know how that happens because I did many loads not too many days ago! UGH! I used to wear some of my clothes more than once before washing them if they didn't get dirty, but now with a baby around, everything gets dirty within minutes of me putting it on! Brynne is great at spitting up and drooling!

Brynne also loves to take off her socks...maybe i've already mentioned that, but it's become annoying to me, so it's on my mind again! ahahah I think it's cute that she likes to pull them off or kick them off, but putting them back on her feet over and over again, and searching the house for a missing sock is no fun!

I know there is something I should be updating you on, but as of now, it's not coming to me! I'll close with a few pictures from a playdate I had on my President's Day off with some college friends and their babies!

Brynne with her friend Ava at our playdate. Ava wasn't thrilled to take another picture, and Brynne looks a little nervous...ahaha...

The gang...Ruby, Mike Jr., Collin, Ava, and Brynne

One more shot of the gang!

Proof that my husband is a great father...and some other side notes.

2009-02-15T13:36:00.005-06:00

Currently, as I type, I hear Brynne yelling and cooing and having a grand time in the living room. What is even funnier is that Jason is watching a movie, and if you know my husband, he likes to watch movies in complete silence...no distractions. He's only asked one time, "Honey, When is Brynne going to be ready to take a nap?" I think he's a little annoyed because he can't get the full experience of his movie, but he's tolerating it because she's just too darn cute. She is going to be good for him...:-)...and his tolerance proves he's a great daddy! Brynne also "sang" along at Daddy's church today...(an Orthodox church where she was easily heard since there is not any pianos or other instruments!) Everyone came up to me after the service to compliment me on our little girl's great singing! Ahahahah.
Well...I'm off to do some laundry and school work, very thankful that tomorrow is President's Day and I have a day off of work! YAY!

OH and i better add a few side notes...
-Brynne loves pears.
-She's doing very well in her attempts to sit up.
-Brynne still loves to give kisses and grab my face (she's scratched me so many times this weekend because I can't seem to get her nails to be smooth!)
-She loves her seahorse toy from her Grandma Aukerman...see picture below.

-She had a trip to the Doctor this week only to find out it was just a "bad cold." Phew...glad it was nothing else.
-Also...I need to add that Brynne made Jason and I the most darling card at her babysitter's house! (Obviously, Kelly, our babysitter made the card...and we are so thankful!) I tried to include a few pictures....
-Valentines Day is kinda overrated....but, after hearing my begging, my wonderful husband bought me a heart shaped pizza. (It's way over priced....and much smaller than the "Large" size they say it is.) Anyways, it was super cute and tasted good too. We tried to get a picture....this is what we got!

Have a good Sunday!

Happy Valentine's Day from Brynne!

2009-02-14T10:06:00.002-06:00

Mommy just can't keep up!

2009-02-08T10:07:00.009-06:00

I just don't know how people do it! Being a mom brings on another role in my life that I absolutely LOVE, but it is so hard to be your best in all areas! I realized this week how many roles I have to fill....and being a perfectionist makes that very difficult. I can't be perfect in all my roles! I'm a daughter, daughter in law, wife, mom, friend, cousin, aunt, sister, sister in law, Christian, teacher, housekeeper....and I'm sure there's something I've forgotten. Anyways, I reminded myself this week...God doesn't want me to be all of these on my own! He'll help me! Thank you Lord! OK....so...(I guess I could add Blogger and Facebooker to my roles)...an update since I last wrote about 3 weeks ago!
Our baby is almost 6 months old. SERIOUSLY, how did that happen? A half of a year? Brynne has been so precious as usual. There's not a day both Jason and I don't say how blessed we are to have her. She makes us smile all the time, and after an argument or bad day, that is needed! :-) She is growing so much and changing everyday. Her latest...screaming while she's playing. She's starting to get loud. I took her for a walk yesterday in the random heat wave, and I figured someone was going to look at me as I walked by and wonder what was wrong with my kid! She was screaming happy screams though! :-) She also absolutely LOVES carrots. She's tried green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots. I love that she's becoming a real human being that eats food, and I've enjoyed making her baby food and freezing it in ice cube trays! (Moms...you need the magic bullet...it's pretty fun.) OK...so back to yesterday's first try at carrots. Brynne was opening her mouth like a bird as I shoveled the food in. I couldn't get the spoon refilled fast enough for her! When she was done, she whined for more...so I thawed more from the freezer and thought...maybe i'll add rice cereal to it to make her feel more full. BAD IDEA. She immediately knew the taste was different and she didn't want it! Her temper came out (the temper she got from her daddy ahahh) and finally, she won and I gave her plain carrots. Jason reminded me that if i give in all the time, she'll always think she should get her way. Wow...this parenting thing is only going to get harder! :-)
What we've been doing lately: cleaning, watching Big Bang Theory, the Office, and American Idol, playing with Brynne, more cleaning (however you wouldn't be able to tell coming into our home ahahah), laughing at our dogs (see the picture included), enjoying a visit from mom/grandma Crawford for nephew Caleb's 8th bday, watching plenty of movies including my pick...Fireproof which was very motivating to me, enjoying the Super Bowl (well...our Colts weren't there so I guess I shouldn't say "enjoyed") with our friends (might I also add I'm going to miss Tony Dungy :-( )....um...that may be about it. It's the winter. We're basically bums ahaha that stick around the house to stay warm. So, we eat, sleep, clean, and watch tv....for a season though, it is enjoyable. I'm ready for Spring though! (minus the mud that it brings when we let the dogs out).
Alright, well....let me close with some pictures from the past few weeks.....(well the first one is from when Brynne is one month old)

This is Brynne with her bear at one month (I wanted to get shots next to the bear each month so we could see how's she grown compared to the bear...which I've not been faithful about...i've missed some months). Anyways, this is her frail little skinny body at one month old (at the time I didn't think she looked like an alien).

This is Brynne yesterday with Mr. Bear (5.5 months old...all round and chubby).

Brynne playing in her pack n' play. Thankfully, she plays well independently (so far).

Daddy and Brynne like to read together.

Playing with Baby Noah. He's 3.5 months younger, and SO TINY!

Super Bowl with Daddy and Noah's Daddy...

Tummy Time with Cousins (she decided that day that boy's are wild and crazy!)

Grandma came to visit!

Brynne in her cute green and brown outfit. (I love the color combo...and green is still my favorite color).

Kissing mommy (which she does ALL the time, so even though I look a terrible mess, I had to include this!)

The dogs...cuddling. I'm glad they have each other because nowadays, they're pretty neglected.

Happy Five Month Birthday to my Baby Girl!

2009-01-23T18:25:00.004-06:00

Brynne is 5 months old already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! This is a lovely picture that Jason is so proud of. This is not edited...she really flipped off the camera! Ahahahah. Sorry about the gunk that's still in her eye here! It's starting to get better after a few days of drops....I'm hoping the tear duct issue will go away soon!
Here's another one of our girl...

A Lesson Learned! Ahahaha

2009-01-19T11:18:00.004-06:00

So this morning I was ordering checks online....and set Brynne in the bouncy seat behind me in our bedroom while I ordered. I have only buckled her in the seat a few times ever in the past five months, but today, I learned my lesson. She was kicking and playing and cooing as I was on the computer so I carried on without concern....and then, when I turned around to check on her, this is what I saw:

Aahahahah I jumped becuase it startled me, which caused her to be startled too....and then I couldn't stop laughing. I proceeded to tell her, "Stay" as if she is a dog, so that I could go get my camera, but then when I remembered I had no idea where it was at, and she didn't know what "stay" meant so I picked her up (not turning her around), found the camera, and returned her to the exact spot in the room to get a picture. I love that pictures come before safety in my eyes. ahahah I think I've learned that you must buckle a 5 month old in their bouncy seat! AHahahhhaha. My days of setting her down and not worrying about her getting into trouble are over!!!!!!

On a much lighter note, here she is taking a nap....I couldn't resist taking a picture of my sweet, darling little girl! I've also included a picture of her sitting up in her boppy pillow. (Her poor tear duct is still causing her issues, poor baby!) She's getting so big!

Baking Gone Bad...

2009-01-17T20:28:00.007-06:00

So I decided to bake Jason some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies tonight since I have a little extra time this weekend. Here's the run down for all of you who don't live in the mid west. Mainly, I feel like we've moved to Antarctica. On Thursday and Friday, it was SUPER DUPER cold...cold enough for ONU (Jason's work) and my school to close down! It was quite the shocker, but being that we already had a snow day in December and have to make it up...why not make up two more. I needed those days off. I was feeling burnt out and so tired. Thank you Lord. I'll be mad about it come the end of May when school is suppose to be out....but for now, I'm thrilled.

We were planning a trip to Kentucky this weekend for Jason's annual camping trip with some college buddies...so after hearing that we wouldn't be working again on Friday...we decided to get packed up even earlier and hit the road. We were all packed, everything loaded, Jason took the baby out the to car, I locked the door....we got in the car,....and as he went to start it...it made a horrible clicking noise and wouldn't start! Of course he was SO MAD....and after calling my brother who lives down the street, he tried our other car....and that one wouldn't start either! It was so cold that both cars were frozen dead. After trying to thaw the battery, we concluded that we would need to replace the battery to our main traveling, newer car. This took a few hours, but praise the lord after a jump from my brother and a new battery, it started. (However three or four warning lights came on in the message center,....making us realize God didn't want us traveling this weekend.) SO....we're home....staying warm (now a heat wave has hit as it was 25 degrees out today!) and trying to relax if you're Jason....and being productive if you're me. We're sad to not be able to see our friends....but life must go on.

SO...Back to the Baking...Jason opened the chocolate chip bag for me because my hands were messy. Sidenote: Brynne was "watching" me back in her bouncy seat. Well,...as Jason opened the bag and stole a few chocolate chips to eat...he dropped one. He thought Byson ate it....and left it at that. Well, about 10 minutes later, I was done in the kitchen and was trying to hold Brynne so she could fall asleep, and I kept smelling chocolate. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, and then realized it had to be her! I laid her down and searched her pjs....no chocolate chips....and then, when she turned her head....I saw it! Her bib had twisted around to her back, and it was covered in melted chocolate, as well as her ear, neck, and the creases and folds of her neck! AHAHHAHAHA We're great parents, huH!? Poor baby! And she doesn't even get to enjoy eating the chocolate! :-)

Daddy acting silly and Brynne all cleaned up!

Pictures...

2009-01-16T12:43:00.005-06:00

Brynne is all ready to go to Auntie Kristin's house while mommy and daddy go out for their five year anniversary! This reminds us of the kid on "A Christmas Story" who is bundled up so much he can't move....ahahhah poor thing....but she's warm!

Brynne in her crib

Smiley girl! THIS is what makes me LOVE her SOOO much. This beautiful smile she gives me when she sees me!

Mommy, Brynne, and Reggie reading about the little boy who was on Extreme Home Makeover last week...

Brynne loves Reggie and wouldn't stop reaching for him this night...(sorry about the lighting. I was too close...)

Daddy and Brynne! She loves her daddy!

Yum....first try eating NASTY, i mean...YUMMY peas! (she loves them)

After her bath....just being cute.

Wearing Brenna's hat....Thanks Brenna for sharing!

Cry Baby...ahahah (bad lighting, but funny expression that had to be posted for all to see!)

I love this little heart outfit on my big baby!

2009-01-09T19:27:00.003-06:00

Brynne is hopefully getting over the worst of her cold. It's been here for a week now and I'm so ready to stop treating the nasal aspirator like it's my best friend! She had her 4 month check up yesterday (at 4 1/2 months old due to the holidays) and got her second round of shots. She actually hasn't had much of a reaction this time around, and I'm thankful! She weighed in at 14 lbs 8 ounces (she was 15 lbs when I weighed her a week ago but hasn't been eating much at all since her cold started) and is 25 and 1/4 inches long now. She's in the 75th percentile....but i'm sure someday when she's older she'll probalby become a shorty like me. We continue to LOVE our little girl and feel so thankful to have her in our life! I better stop typing...Reggie is sitting on Brynne's arm!!!!

Byson loves his little sister!

2009-01-07T18:00:00.001-06:00

This happens many times each night. This time, I happened to capture it on film! Brynne always smiles after he kisses her! ahahahha

What a BIG girl!

2009-01-03T18:39:00.004-06:00

This is what's been going on the past few days...Brynne is pretty sick right now with a bad cold.:-( Not much sleep happening in our house. On New Year's Eve...she had her first try of rice cereal....and, yesterday, she sat up by herself without us pulling her up. She's been sitting up for a few seconds once we set her up, but yesterday she actually used her tummy muscles to sit up...and stayed for longer! Yay! She also loves her new toy...the excersaucer that Carrie let us have cuz her little guy was done with it. On Wednesday, she enjoyed her first trip to Starbucks...with her new baby friend, Noah Thompson. Enjoy the latest pictures!

Highlights of Christmas Break 2008

2009-01-02T16:00:00.013-06:00

We were blessed to have 2 weeks off to spend with our family this year! I need to learn how to do one of those picture slide shows on here...but since I don't know how and don't have the patience to figure it out right now, here are MANY pictures from the past few weeks! We went to Jason's family's place near Indianapolis and then to my parent's home in Vicksburg, Michigan. We had a great time and there's just too much to tell, so I'll let the pictures tell the highlights! By the way, thanks to all who sent Christmas cards! I didn't get any out this year....but I'll try to be on top of it next year!
Christmas Eve...She slept through the service in her car seat so it was pointless to get her dressed up!

Mommy and Brynne

Brynne's first movie theater experience for Aunt Kara's 11th bday! We saw Madagascar 2...had the theater to ourselves...and she slept the entire time! Phew! I love this picture ahahhaha.

Meeting Santa with Aunt Alayna

Meeting Susie, mommy's friend from 2nd grade on!!!!

Another of Brynne and Mommy! I finally had someone to take my picture with my girl since I usually do the picture taking!

Dad's new lamp from Matt and Jen....in his front window of course. AHAHAHA

My precious girl in her new polka dot pjs!

Brynne and Mommy after church...(notice cousin Caleb in the background looking out the window and Jason who is letting the dogs out ahahahH)

Brynne in my hat I wore as a baby (i was the same age at Christmas since I was an August baby too, and the pictures we took of her in my outfit look identical to my baby pictures at Christmas!)

Meeting Aunt Jen for the first time...

Meeting cousin Emily....

Meeting Uncle Matt...

Meeting Counsin Hannah....and taking a picture by the tree with all her cousins...

Aunt Alayna loves Brynne!

First Christmas outfit

Uncle Bud imitating Brynne, however i think he looks more like some sort of animal playing dead ahahaha

Brynne loved her new outfit from Grandma

Reggie got a haircut thanks to Aunt Lissy....(and she worked on him for FOUR hours!)

Christmas girl...

2008-12-20T23:18:00.004-06:00

She kept smiling after the flash....so all I could get was the deer in the headlights look....

Mommy! Not another picture!!!!

Ahhhhh!

2008-12-20T22:56:00.005-06:00

Wow....what a week. The week of work was pretty crazy as the kids were very excited for their upcoming break causing them to be a little out of control! Thursday we had pj day and went to the local movie theater to watch the Polar Express. It was a fun day! We were warned of a possible ice storm hitting us that evening and told that school may be cancelled on Friday. Of course with our long break only one day away, all the teachers would've much rather have been at work on Friday for the easy, fun early dismissal day rather than make it up the spring and have to go back in June instead of getting out in May! UGH....the weather won though, and the ice that hit caused power outages and no school! My "snow day" home was worthless. The power was out for us....and didn't return until today at 4pm....so we had a very dark, cold past 31 hours of no electricity! Thankfully, my friends let me come shower, bathe Brynne, and do a load of laundry. While the power was out, we decided we'd just leave town earlier than planned for the holidays since it started to get so cold, and then of course as we were packing the last items, the power returned. We're home tonight trying to "fix" the mess that we made in the house, as well as fix our packing that we did in the dark, do some laundry, and leave on a good note in the morning!!!!
Ahhhh! And Pray! The wind is causing the icy tree limbs surrounding our house to fall...and i'm scared they are going to cause lots of damage to our house or car!
Here are the latest pictures....

PJ Day...my second grade team. I LOVE THEM and couldn't survive this year without them!

Daddy trying to keep the dogs warm in our freezing house with no power!

Mommy hugging and squeezing the dogs!

Our bundled baby sleeping and trying to stay warm in our house of no heat! (It didn't seem to phase her!)

So Fun!

2008-12-14T21:10:00.004-06:00

Having a daughter is just that....SO FUN! It's been a hectic few weeks since I last posted. I kind of wonder what I used to do with all my time. I thought I never had time to get things done before a baby??? Yea, I had no idea! ahahha Brynne has been a joy....we are constantly smiling and laughing at her. My favorite thing is to go get her out of bed after she wakes up....and I get the biggest smile ever. It melts my heart. Tonight she was talking non stop for about 10 minutes....and it was so precious. She also sticks everything in her mouth now and seems to enjoy sucking on her hand! I can hardly believe she's almost four months old!
I wanted to post one picture from tonight. After she talked forever....she fell asleep on the floor....and when I turned around to look at her, she had ahold of Reggie's fur while she was sleeping! So funny!!!!!

3rd post in one day! Ahahah

2008-12-03T17:23:00.004-06:00

I'm trying to catch up on some pictures I wanted to share. Here are the last 2 I had to share with everyone....
The first is a picture of my baby girl all ready in the morning to go to the babysitter. She took her baby doll with her that day and just looked so precious to me.
The second is a picture of Byson and Reggie on the way home from Thanksgiving in Indiana....I couldn't see what they were doing in the back so I held the camera in my hand and stuck it over the seat. That is what I saw ahahahah. So cute.

Aunt Alayna LOVES Brynne!

2008-12-03T17:15:00.002-06:00

I had to give Aunt Alayna (who is 18 months old) her own little post recognition. She loved baby Brynne and pointed at her and played with her whenever she got the chance. Here are some pictures to prove her love....:-)

We love this time of year!

2008-12-03T16:57:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas are so special!!!! I love celebrating with friends and family and following traditions that we've made! This year Jason and I sat down and planned out some traditions that we want to start now that we have a child. I'm thankful that I have the holiday break that I have from work so that I have time to enjoy the season and relax a bit! Anyways, I'm a bit behind on my blogging, and I have a trillion pictures to post! We had a great Thanksgiving with Jason's family. Brynne however did decide to have an exposion in her diaper at the dinner table and had evidence coming up her back! Ahahaha, way to ruin the meal!
Here are some of Brynne's first Thanksgiving pics:
Uncle Colin and Brynne

Uncle Adam and Brynne

Aunt Shayna, Aunt Alayna, and Brynne

Grandpa, Aunt Alayna, and Brynne

3 month photo shoot

2008-11-25T22:23:00.004-06:00

Brynne's 3 month pictures are posted now! Visit this website: http://www.kimberlyjewellonline.com/proofing.html and click on "Brynne 3 months" in the far left column! The password is aukerman! I had my ordering appointment today and had the hardest time choosing!!!!!!!! They're only this little once! :-)

3 Months Old!

2008-11-23T13:36:00.004-06:00

Hey Everyone! I'm three months old today!!!!

My eye has been yucky the past few days!

Mommy finally got me to smile while taking a picture and then didn't have the camera centered! Awe man!

Me again...

Getting so big!!!!

Where has the time gone?! Our little girl is 3 months old today!!! That's 1/4 of a year! If the next 9 months go as fast as these first 3, I'm going to cry! She can't grow up!!!! ahahah Today we are putting up Christmas decorations....and as we predicted, Brynne loves the Christmas lights! We are so excited to start some family traditions with our baby...ya know, the usual....put up decorations together, watch the same Christmas movies, make and decorate cookies together, etc. Yay!!!! It doesn't feel like Christmas yet, but we didn't want to wait much longer to decorate, otherwise with our traveling over the holidays we're not home long enough to enjoy it!
Alright, well I'm going to go in the other room now and enjoy the sounds of "White Christmas" playing on the t.v. and the smell of our cinnamon candle burning in the kitchen!

Thankful...

2008-11-22T20:15:00.004-06:00

I am thankful for my heavenly father and his never ending love, mercy, grace, faithfulness, and blessings!
I am thankful for the most precious baby girl whose smile melts my heart and who has shown me my purpose in life.
I am thankful for my husband who loves to joke with me and loves me enough to help do the dishes!
I am thankful for my stinky dogs who love me no matter what I do or say.
I am thankful for family and friends who take time out of their day to listen to my worries, complaints, and crazy nonsense stories of life.

When I sat down to write a post tonight, I was wondering what I should blog about. Not many updates here....and when I asked Brynne, she didn't have an answer, however she did laugh at me and smile. That reminded me how blessed I am....bringing about this "Thankful" blog.

THANK YOU Lord for life, no matter how hard some days may be!

A First!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-15T09:02:00.008-06:00

Brynne rolled over from her tummy to her back yesterday for the first time! YAY!

Smiles...

Tummy Time. She's doing so much better holding up her big head lately!

With her bear (I've meant to take a picture with Mr. Bear each month. I can't remember if I've done it or not ahahah)

Lounging on the couch...

When I got home last tonight, in celebration that it was Friday and I get to spend the next 2 whole days with my baby, I went camera crazy. The weekdays are so hectic I forget to take pictures, and the fact that she's rolling over now reminded me that she's getting older each day and I need to capture more shots! Above were just a few pictures from our evening!

2 in 1 day!!!!

2008-11-11T19:49:00.003-06:00

I forgot how much I loved this little picture of Brynne....so here's my second post in one day!

It's been awhile...

2008-11-11T15:40:00.012-06:00

I am home enjoying this day off....and very thankful for those who fought for our country making this day at home possible!

This day has of course flown by as I've tried to clean up the house, do laundry, and get caught up on life! I think maybe we should flip the normal work week and that maybe we should have school only two days a week and have the weekend last five. Yea, that's a dream. Today we had a very fast play date. Brynne and I left early to go to the doctor to make sure her cold wasn't turning into an infection. When she woke up today, I had suspicions that it was...but the visit brought good news that she is fine and that we need to just continue using the aspirator, eye drops, and saline drops. Phew. OH...and she's up to 12 lbs and 5 ounces! She's growing!

On Sunday Brynne was baptised at the Greek Orthodox Church that Jason attends before he meets us at church....(He's pretty much a celebrity there and is one of the only people who isn't Greek. People love him and he's on the church council. It's cute.) Anyways...so we didn't realize how big of a deal this baptismal service was going to be. It lasted forever, and Brynne was stripped naked, dunked in water, had oil put on her, and had her hair cut (her first offering!) The hair cutting made me gasp a little....but I'm over it now. ahaha She was also given so many gifts and a beautiful Christening gown...with a shawl, bonnet, cute shoes and socks, and a cross neclace. We enjoyed fellowship during a church potluck afterwards, and we also came home and had an extra afternoon visit by my parents. It was a very crazy, but fun day! We felt so loved.

I think this is my first post since being back full time with students. Let me just say I'd love your prayers. It has been a big adjustment for me and my students. I keep hearing, " But the other teacher let us do that...or....we're suppose to do it like this...etc." I know this transition period will take awhile as we get to know each other...and as they realize that I'm in charge now. :-) Luckily, we love our babysitter, and Brynne has done just fine adjusting to being away from her mommy and daddy. That's one thing I don't have to stress over during the day. I've made a huge effort to leave everyday after work....and I just bring home what I HAVE to do. I'm working really hard at leaving work at work. UGh. So, for now, I'm trying to stay positive and be content with life as a working mom. I'm trying to remember how blessed I am....and how much I love my husband and baby girl even if I do have to work! Thank you Lord for holidays and days off like today!!!! :-)

Here are some shots of the past week...

Brynne in her new winter hat...It's COLD outside lately!

Daddy and Brynne watching Ice Age together...

Grandpa Crawford and Brynne...

Grandma Crawford and Brynne in her Christening Gown...

During the baptism service... (This was before she started crying because she was starving and past her feeding time!)

Jason, Brynne, and me with Brynne's Godmother...Ya Ya (Greek for Grandma)

Getting dunked...

Brynne all ready to go see her babysitter, Kelly!

Brynne wearing her new bow made by her babysitter!

Krista and Brad's Wedding

2008-11-02T15:58:00.006-06:00

Here are some shots from our wonderful weekend in Indy for Jason's sister Krista's wedding! My camera kept making everyone close their eyes! Boo! We had a great time seeing family and friends. Brynne enjoyed her first long car trip, and was such a good baby at the wedding! Congrats Brad and Krista!!!!!

She's a person now!!!!

2008-10-29T09:51:00.005-05:00

So....Brynne is technically a person now with a number. Her social security card and number came in the mail yesterday. AHAHAH. I cheered, and she smiled. I'll also say she's really been smiling a ton at Jason and me lately...and it's just too cute! Maybe it's because she got her social security card in the mail. Ahaha, probably not.

Here are a few pics...not the best quality, but the one in the picture sure is! Ahahah, corny, i know!

She was watching t.v. in this one...The Pumpkin Charlie Brown movie...can't think of the the title..ahahah.
I can't seem to keep her bibs on straight! They are always twisted. Still though, she looks cute...

Had to put one of the boys. I feel bad for them. They are no longer one of my biggest priorities...awe....

And the chaos begins...

2008-10-28T23:35:00.003-05:00

So tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last full day at home with my baby girl before returning back to work! Boo! I'm trying to stay positive....but it's hard. I took her to the school today to touch base with my sub, and oh gosh, I forgot how overwhelming running a class full of 2nd graders can be...especially with new curriculum! I'll make it though......I have a wonderful team of teachers to work with, and I have the Lord on my side ready to give me the strength I need!!!!

We've been dealing with a very fussy, mad baby at random times lately! It kills me to not know how to help Brynne...but then she's also been super smiley after the fits! She did, however, sleep 9 hours last night! I just love watching her sleep. She looks so peaceful and precious, and I just want to squeeze her little cheeks (but i don't or i'd wake her up!)

Since I wrote last, our poor Byson got his foot caught in his dog cage. Reggie was in the same cage at the time and was scared to death when I went down to see what the HORRID dog scream was all about. I heard it from upstairs...the opposite side of the house and for sure thought some lady was screaming and hurt outside our house. Then I realized the noise was traveling through the vent...and let's just say it was SOOOOOO scary. I felt so bad for the guy! He was in so much pain but was relieved after Jason got him lose.

OK, i need to get sleep while the baby is sleeping! I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow (Everything I kept putting off the past few months!)....laundry, packing for the weekend trip to Krista's wedding, lesson plans, cleaning, and most importantly, enjoying my time with Brynne! I'll post more pictures soon!

Fun times...

2008-10-26T12:34:00.010-05:00

I'll start with pictures(and then you can read more about them in the paragraphs ahead!!!!

My cutie all ready to go to the reunion breakfast with mommy...

Here is Brynne with Ryanne...along with the adorable blanket Ryanne made her!

A cute thigh with a Sponge Bob band-aid...

Brynne crying in pain after her shots....and her cute Barbie band-aid on the other thigh! (This picture was taken when I took her to the school to plan a little with some teacher friends immediately after her shots)

At the Doctor's Office....2 months old!

She's so sleepy!

We've had a great weekend! This weekend was my alma mater's homecoming. My best friend and her husband (who has become one of Jason's best friends...they have so many of the same interests it's crazy...God knew what he was doing when he found them for us because our husbands HAVE to be friends!) came to stay with us. Ryanne and I, along with the baby, went to our class's 5 year reunion breakfast. It was nice to see some old friends, and it's crazy how much our campus has changed! You'd think I'd be more aware of the changes since I literally live a quarter of a mile away and since my husband works there...but nope, hadn't see them yet! Last night, the guys enjoyed movies and video games while we watched hours and hours of home videos I took during our college days. Ryanne also brought the finished blanket she made Brynne! It's so cute and she even made it polka dotted! What an awesome friend! I know it will be one of Brynne's favorite blankies!

In addition...since I've blogged last, Brynne had her 2 month check up! That's right, our girl is getting SO old! ahahah It's starting to be hard to remember what life was like without her. I'm still so overwhelmed with joy that God blessed us with her, and I love her soooo much! She got her first shots at the doctor's office....which she thought was horrible of course. The days since have been a little difficult....lots of crying, loss of appetite, and very sleepy, but she's doing a lot better today! I think the side effects are over! I, of course, had to take pictures of her cute little thighs with the band-aids they gave her: one of Barbie, and the other being Sponge Bob. ahahah, cute. OH, and I probably should add, she's gained 2 pounds since her one month visit...so she's now a whopping 11 pounds, 7 ounces!

Well, as I close, let me remind everyone that I could use your prayers this week! On Thursday I return to work (parent teacher conferences)...and same with Friday. Then this weekend will be a big one as we travel for the first time with our baby, to take part in Jason's sister Krista's wedding! When we return, Monday will be my first day back with students! Yikes, it will be a BIG adjustment, and before I think too deeply about it now, I better stop typing or the tears will start flowing!!!! Happy FALL!!!!!!! The best season ever!!!

Some cute pictures...

2008-10-18T22:13:00.006-05:00

8 weeks old...

2008-10-18T20:55:00.007-05:00

Well, I've been hoping October is such a SLOW month...but it's not happening! Where did this past week go!?
Today marks 8 weeks of Brynne in this world! I cannot believe she is getting so old and big...and I should probably add...so CUTE! Jason and I fall in love with her more and more everday. Her smile melts our hearts! She's been smiling a ton lately....even at Byson. Who could smile at a hairy, smelly dog that has a licking problem? Her! I turned around today to find him licking her face...ugh....and she didn't mind! That crazy dog! Anyways, every time she smiles, i get the video camera out, and then of course, she's so perplexed by the red light on the camera that she goes from being smiley to serious. Ahahah.
OH GOSH, and I better add that this week....for the past four nights, Brynne has slept almost 8 hour stretches! I'm so proud of her!
Brynne also went to her first play date with some friends of mine from college on Wednesday. She now has new friends her age! Yeah!
Last night, Brynne went pumpkin carving....but slept through most of it! We took some pictures of her with the finished pumpkins....
Alright...i'm going to stop blabbing and post some pictures before the little one is ready to eat again!
Ruby, Ava. Collin, and Brynne

The finished pumpkins with our little punkin...

A Weekend of Firsts, Family, and Fun!

2008-10-13T12:41:00.005-05:00

Mom and Dad Aukerman, as well as Jason's sister Alissa came to visit us this weekend for Jason's birthday! (Well, actually mostly to see Brynne of course :-)) We went out to eat for Jason's bday, which happened to be Brynne's first restaurant experience. We're proud to say she slept the whole time and didn't cause a big scene! Phew! We also enjoyed a relaxing day on Sunday with church, a Colts game, and a nap!

Had to get a shot of the restaurant sign so Brynne could remember her first restaurant experience!

The fam...(Lissy had a cuter version on her camera, but this one will have to do becuase if I don't post this now, I may never get another chance ahahah)

Dad, Lissy, and Mom

Brynne in her Colts cheerleading outfit!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-10-10T20:53:00.003-05:00

Today Jason turned 27! He can finally say his wife isn't older than him, and that his younger brother Adam isn't the same age as him! :-) Jason loves the number 7. Since I didn't know him when he was 7 ....and I didn't think I'd remember to care when he's 77, I decided to make his 27th a little unique. He doesn't like suprise parties, and he enjoys his Friday nights lounging in our living room as a family while watching movies blaring with sound.....so I decided to keep it low key, but make him feel remembered and loved. So....Brynne and I took a few shopping trips this past week....to the Dollar Store, Target,and K Mart. We purchased 27 gifts for Jason.....ahahaha....and wrapping them took forever! As he opened each gift, I told him who it was from (Bryson, Reggie, Brynne, me, or all of us ahahahah...). It was fun to see him open all of his favorite treats, a few movies, a pumpkin, and some random things too(that Brynne picked out of course)! Here are some pictures from tonight...

Here he is reading his cards and sitting next to his basket of gifts!

All 27 gifts. I had them numbered so I'd remember what they were, but he opened them so fast that I didn't have time to look. It was kind of fun to guess what it was as I handed it to him!

Jason opening the pumpkin candles from Reggie as the boys and baby girl look on....ahahah, they were super excited!

Now it's time for his favorite desert....apple pie and Breyers vanilla ice cream! YUM!

Pretty girl...

2008-10-06T14:36:00.003-05:00

I just LOVE her!

Byson...

2008-10-05T23:38:00.003-05:00

Oh brother....
So Byson got in trouble for eating some chicken wing bones off of Jason's plate yesterday.....those are dangerous for dogs! Jason made him get in Reggie's box (a.k.a a dog crate but we've always called it a box for some odd reason). Reggie is half the size of Byson.....therefore....so is his cage! AHAHAH. Well, Jason came in and woke me up at about midnight last night to tell me I had to come see something really funny. I was so mad because I had just finally had fallen asleep. Well...it was worth it. This is what I saw...

He turned his body the shorter way the rectangular shaped cage and since he didn't fit...he stuck his paws and head through and was pretty much not going anywhere. He was stuck, and his moaning from the basement is what made Jason go down to check on him...finding him looking like that. We were obviously laughing at him, and I could tell he felt stupid and sad that we were making fun of him. ahahahah Luckily, he made it out alive...:-)
So in continuation to that story...this afternoon, Reggie found that same plate with chicken bones (which was now on the kitchen table and was missed when i loaded the dishwasher) and ate some too! He spent the day in his box today too....and was puking up chicken bones tonight. GOSH! Dogs keep ya on your feet! :-)

Blogging Instead of Cleaning....Oops!

2008-10-03T13:59:00.004-05:00

So...i was carrying Brynne around and she fell asleep and i didnt want to wake her by taking her out but i wanted a nap too, so.....yea! Side note: nice outfit i'm wearing, huh? Thats a whole other story....ahahahha

So I have a few minutes before Brynne should be waking up to eat, and she's actually sleeping in her crib without me holding her! (That's not an extremely happy thing. Of course I'd rather hold her all the time, but I've found that not getting a single thing done during the day due to holding a sleeping baby is a little frustrating after the mess builds up!) I can't remember what I've updated everyone on lately, and to stop and go look in old posts would take too much time and effort, so if any of this is repeat info...sorry!
So....here are a few updates about us:(well, about Brynne mainly!)
1. Brynne has slept in her crib at night for three nights now! She goes down at night pretty well lately, and hasn't had her extreme fussiness since I've given her a bottle of milk I pumped instead of nursing her at her feeding right before bed. I think this has helped her get a full feeding....and....she's slept better since doing this! Yeah!
2. I'm still desperately wanting her to smile at me on purpose. She smiles for daddy occasionally, and has smiled for me two times....but since she'll be 6 weeks tomorrow, I'm thinking she should be doing this more often. She changes so much every week though, so i'm sure with a little more time, she'll be all smiles!!!
3. Brynne had her first trip to Target on Wednesday. ahahah (i had to throw that in there cuz i love target!)
4. We got a tub of cute clothes from a friend for her to wear this fall and winter....and I'M SO THANKFUL! Thanks again Jen!
5. I've found that Brynne is very impatient. ahahahah. She knows what she wants....and she wants it. But on a serious note, I've felt more at ease this week and feel like I'm beginning to know what will make her feel better when she cries. Yeah!
6. Brynne loves to pull my hair. ahahah
I just love being a mom! AND....she's crying now.....gotta sign off! Happy Friday!

2008-09-29T14:09:00.001-05:00

Precious girl...

Mommy can't ever seem to get a good picture with Brynne as you can see once again in the following picture!

Daddy loves tormenting Byson...(Reggie does still exist by the way...I guess i've left him out lately, oops!)

Daddy and his girl...

Brynne and her baby doll

There ya have it. Some shots from our weekend. Besides changing diapers, feeding, and holding a baby, the only other thing that really goes on here is taking pictures ahahha. We had a great weekend. It was beautiful, and I even was brave enough to finally go somewhere with Brynne! She attended her first soccer game and cried through the entire third quarter. Ahahah. It was fun though, and I need to start taking her more places so I can get over my fear of annoying people when my baby cries!

Parenting a dog...and the case of the mysterious caps!

2008-09-26T15:07:00.005-05:00

So today I had one of those moments where you have to discipline....yet, the problem that you're trying to discipline is the funniest thing ever so you try not to laugh! Here's what happened....
I was holding my crying baby trying to get her to eat or stop crying....when all of a sudden, I realized I heard Byson chewing on something in the kitchen. Now, the boys were not used to being locked in the kitchen with a gate until Brynne came along, so I think they are still a little bit mad about it. Byson is still a puppy, and he can get bored easily if he's not sleeping so usually he chews his bone. Yesterday I caught him chewing on my magnetic shopping list notepad which he took off the refridgerator....so I figured it was probably another fridge item today...or being postitive...maybe just his bone. Well....he found the gallons of water Jason bought for us to drink since our water tastes weird lately and we're scared to drink it. He chewed the caps off of three of the gallons. When I looked in the kitchen to see what he was chewing....I was thinking, "Where in the heck did those come from?" I knew I just took the garbage out, so he couldn't have gone digging through it. Then, it hit me....and I looked to my left to notice the gallons missing caps. Then I looked back at Byson to tell him he was a bad boy...but I started to laugh...so I looked away, and then tried a second attempt....and smiled while telling him that was naughty. OH brother...I better work on keeping a straight face before our little girl needs some disciplining! Way to give a mixed message huh!? ahaha Here is a shot of Byson and his caps....and the water gallons missing caps.... He's pretty guilty looking!

One Month Check Up

2008-09-25T16:40:00.002-05:00

Hi, I'm Brynne Aukerman, and I went to see Dr. Oo today! I love my Dr. Oo. He was so nice. I weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces, and I was 21 and 3/4 inches long. He said I was a growing girl! Here's me at the doctor's office. Burrr, it's so cold and they make you lay there in a diaper!
Here's a picture with my mommy and me sleeping. We were sleepy heads!

Here's a picture with me and my baby doll.

Thanks for reading everyone! I love you! Love, Brynne

Better Intentions, Sorry!

2008-09-23T16:28:00.003-05:00

Oops...it's been a week! (hence the title of this blog...i meant to update you more!)

We've had a great week together! Here are some shots to show you what we've been up to!!!!

This is the first picture of Brynne that I actually see in her myself as a baby....she loves her bath time and tends to surprise me with "going potty" each time we take a bath! ahahahah

This is another shot of bath time...i just love her silly little face here! She's gettin' to be a chunk!

We met up with my friend Anne from college who has a baby one week older than Brynne. The girls are destined to be college roommates at ONU someday...

Here is the picture of Brynne and Ellie that we plan on hanging in their dorm room in 17 years....The day they first met....

Finally, here is Brynne all ready to go for a walk in her new stroller! (Her first walk, and she loved it!)

Let's just say Jason was glad I was the one it happened to...

2008-09-16T16:54:00.003-05:00

So today, I was part of a another explosion...an explosion from Brynne that happened in the middle of changing her diaper! ahahah This has happened quite a few times before, but this time, it caught me way off gaurd! I screamed so loud! Ahahah Of course she was wearing an outfit for Daddy that I wanted him to see her in......well, she'll just have to wear it for him another day after it's washed! So anyways, I laughed so hard....kissed her head....and laughed some more because she was completely confused and clueless about what was happening. It was just too cute. I put her in the tub, got her clean, and thanked her for being a good sport! Awe, babies are just too precious!!!! Next time, she'll have to get Daddy!!!!!

Fun away from home...

2008-09-13T19:49:00.006-05:00

Last night, Brynne and I went to Auntie Kristin Miller's house to watch a movie! She looked so cute in her seat all ready to go!
This afternoon, we spent some time down at Uncle Dennis and Aunt Alana's house. Brynne loved seeing her cousins!!!

All ready to go...

I love my pacifier!

Mommy, Brynne, and Cousin Andrew

Mommy and Brynne

Mommy's Little Monster...(i look like a boy when i wear this!)

Brynne and her cousins...we love that they live just down the street!

Brynne and Cousin Asher

3 weeks old!!!!

2008-09-12T16:22:00.005-05:00

Wow, it's weird to think three weeks ago today Brynne wasn't here yet! The time has flown by though, and before I know it, she will grow up and not be our baby anymore!!!! I'm cherishing every day with her, and I LOVE being able to be at home with her for now! It's been so awesome to watch her change so much in the past three weeks! She's getting so big! Here are some recent pics...

Play time...

Sleepy Girl...

Mom, not another picture!!!!

Brynne and Mr. Caterpillar...

Brynne watching her first "movie"...Baby Einstein's Mozart Movie! She loved it!

Brynne's first Colts Game!

2008-09-08T11:01:00.004-05:00

Ok, so the game was pretty upsetting, but Brynne didn't seem to mind. She just decided to sleep through it all! ahahah

Here are some shots of our little colt!

2 weeks old!

2008-09-08T10:45:00.006-05:00

It's been quite a fun week! Brynne has been such a little sweetheart! She eats well, sleeps pretty well, and is a champ at dealing with hiccups numerous times a day! I took her to bible study on Thursday and she slept the whole time without making a peep. Here are a few shots of our sleeping girl this week...
(the one with the mail is her first mail addressed to her from her Grandpa Crawford ahaha)

1st check-up

2008-09-03T13:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Brynne had her first Doctor Check up since birth. We were so happy to find that she regained her birth weight plus some extra ounces! The doctor said that is great considering we're not using formula. Yeah! I'm so glad to know she's getting enough to eat! Everything else looked good except she does have a little bit of an eye infection in one eye. We got some medicine today, so hopefully it will clear up for her! It doesn't seem to bother her...it just looks yucky at times. Poor thing!
Well, it's time for Brynne's lunch....so i better go! More pictures to come soon!

Our little princess...

2008-08-28T21:40:00.006-05:00

Well, our baby girl is already five days old, and we're loving life with her! For those of you who have a facebook account, you've seen these pictures, but for everyone else....here are some of our favorites so far! We have gone camera crazy...seriously, I snap about 10 shots an hour probably! ahahahha I'm sure that will die down as life gets more and more hectic, but for now, I'm so in love with this new precious baby I can't help it!

After her first bath, 3 days old...this gown outfit made us laugh! She looks like a glow-worm. We love this picture!

Such a precious girl!

Here she is 3 days old...already so alert!

In her outfit she wore home from the hospital...

Meeting 2 of her cousins for the first time...

Brynne Reece Aukerman

2008-08-26T12:54:00.003-05:00

She finally arrived!
(pronounced: Brin):-)

Saturday, August 23, 2008
7 lbs. 3.5 oz.
21 inches
Sooooo cute and little!

We love being parents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

39 weeks

2008-08-19T18:40:00.003-05:00

So, I have one week left. I cannot believe it. Seriously, the time is here! Woah! Here is hopefully one of the last pregnancy shots....

And, I had to include a cute shot of my boys playing....I love them!

Today was the first day of students. Quite a tiring day of collecting school supplies....and that's pretty much what we do on the first day! I forgot how tiring it is to manage a ton of 7 year olds! :-)
Overall, the day went as well as it could! Another school year has started....and i'm in shock!

We're out of 8's...

2008-08-18T23:10:00.002-05:00

Ok, today was the 18th....no baby.....so i'm giving up on 8's. I don't think I want to go past my due date and hit the 28th....so now, any number is great! ahahahah
Goodnight!

38.5 week appt. update

2008-08-15T10:09:00.002-05:00

So I just returned from the doctor....she checked me today and doesn't think I'll make it to my due date. We'll see....:-) She said I'm 2 cm dialated and 80% effaced.....so, hmmm, maybe I could manage the 18th. 18 is a good number. ahahah I told her that and she said, "What's wrong with the 17th?" I was like...um...???? Then she said, "Well one plus seven is eight." ahahah I told her that was good positive thinking and I'd take that day too! :-) Who knows....maybe I'll still be pregnant in a few weeks....so i'm just gonna continue to go with the flow and take advantage of my freedom. :-) Alright, happy Friday!

2 weeks to go...

2008-08-12T09:05:00.002-05:00

Down to 15 days! (OR LESS....or more ahahahah gag) So every little contraction or weird pain I've had in the past few days...I start thinking, could this be the one to start it all and get this show on the road!? But then, so far, it hasn't been....:-)

This is the last week before school starts. I have some final preparations to make, and then the kids will be here next Tuesday! Oh my word! I really feel like it was just Christmas! I'm excited for this new phase of life that I'm about to enter. It's going to be a learning experience, and I know I will need to rely on God's strength to learn how to prioritize to be the best mom, Christian, wife, and teacher I can be. When did I get old?! Ha!

Well, I have a meeting in 45 minutes, and of course, I'm not ready to go yet! Thanks for your prayers in the next few weeks. We need them....(I NEED THEM). Last night I was laying in bed thinking, Lord, if this is just a little clipping of the pain I'm going to experience, I cannot do it without you! ahahahahha OH BROTHER!

08-08-08

2008-08-08T18:17:00.002-05:00

Well, unless some miracle happens, baby Aukerman isn't going to be an 8-8-08 baby. That's okay though, I figured she wouldn't! :-) I think anyone who is born today has to be a very cool person though. ahahahah

37 weeks, 27th bday, and the dogs...(what a creative title)

2008-08-04T22:57:00.005-05:00

So, it's late, and after my first day back at work, I'm starting to remember how tired I can get! :-) This will be a quick post because of that!
So, the past few days have been awesome! I had a wonderful 27th bday. Jason helped me have a very fun, relaxing day. We went out for my favorite breakfast at Cracker Barrel, got some girly movies to watch, took a walk with our dogs, he cleaned the house, and we got pizza at Monicals (a tradition now for three years on my bday). OH, and I can't forget to tell everyone, he once again made my funfetti with rainbow chip icing cake. He drove all over town to find the frosting (i'm picky about very few things...one being that frosting). What a great day! (please enjoy the picture of Jason and his cheesy smile. ahahah) While Jason was cleaning he made Byson stay in the kitchen (that's the cute picture you see on this post....he was sad). Um.....i think that's all the update I'll give now! We're down to something like 21 days or so.....Let's go baby! We're so ready to meet her!

August!!!!!!

2008-08-01T17:16:00.002-05:00

Yeah! August is here! This is going to be a very busy month, and I'm hoping part of that busy-ness is the birth of our baby! She's an August baby....not a September baby! (I hope!)
This has been my last week of freedom. Starting Monday I will be in my classroom getting things around for the school year. I'm trying not to think too deeply about that because I start to get anxious! I wish it was summer break all year round! :-)
We really don't have much else to report. I had another doctor appointment today....and I think I probably only have 3 left unless our baby decides to come late. That's crazy to think about! The end of the month will be here before we know it! I think Jason is really getting excited too. He asks everyday if the baby is going to come that day....and I just say, I don't know?! :-) I wish I did....the planner in me doesn't like the suspense!
Not much else is new here. My little nephew starts his soccer games tomorrow so i'll be attending one of those.....as well as trying to finish a book I started last week because if I don't finish it before school work on Monday, it'll have to wait til next summer!
I'll try to post some updated pics soon!

July is coming to an end...

2008-07-29T10:47:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm at 36 weeks now...and my doctor said that once August hits, if I go into early labor, she wouldn't stop it. YEAH! Not yeah about the childbirth part, but yeah that it's almost time for our baby to arrive! We are getting very excited. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Baby time also means back to work time for me.....school starts August 18th and I have a bunch of teacher prep stuff to do before that date. Luckily, i'll only be back for one week before my maternity leave begins, but still...the stress and changes and stuff that each new school year brings makes me so nervous!
On a side note, Saturday was our lamaze class. Yikes....pray for me. I'm so scared about giving birth. SO SCARED. ahahah I've had numerous people remind me it will be okay and that these doctors and nurses are very experienced and they, along with God, will help me through it! I just can't wait for it to be over with! :-)
Happy Tuesday!

The past week...

2008-07-24T12:07:00.005-05:00

Well, we've wrapped up our travels for now until our baby is born. I had such an AWESOME time with my friends last weekend. We met up for our annual weekend in Merrillville, Indiana this time so that I didn't have to travel far. Let's just say our first hotel that we booked online was HORRIBLE. After being assigned to 3 different rooms and the manager trying to get us to go to a fourth room, we got our money back and decided to search for another hotel. Some soccer conference was going on or something because everything in the area was booked. Mary and Brooke worked hard to find us a room while we ate at Cracker Barrel on Friday night, and luckily, this crazy fiasco turned into a blessing! When it was all said and done, we ended up in a nice, clean, modern hotel for even cheaper than we had planned.....with a buffet breakfast too! YEAH! The girls had a suprise baby shower for me....fondue, games, gifts. We also of course did our traditions of a Panera lunch, trip to Maggie Moos for ice cream, Sunday church at a random church we find once we're in our meeting place, and pizza and board games in the hotel Saturday night. Somehow we didn't get kicked out for being SO LOUD from laughing! (Have you ever played the game, "Pit?") It was so much fun!
On Sunday when we all went our separate ways, instead of going home, I drove towards the big, windy city. Jason had a conference for work at the downtown Chicago Marriott hotel, so I went to hang out with him. I literally had 3 days to be as lazy as I wanted. The king bed was SOOOOOOOOOO comfortable. I slept in, read Karen Kingsbury books, and watched tv. At night when Jason was out of meetings we'd go eat at some of our favorite Chicago restuarants: Gioradono's pizza, Grand Lux Cafe, and California Pizza Kitchen. This is probably the last relaxing I'll be doing for a long time! I'm so thankful for the time I had to be a bum!
It's great to be back home to our boys! We missed them!
Here's some pics from our trips...
The baby shower...

Yummy Fondue!

Me, Mary, and Brooke

Michelle and Jayme at "Old Time Pottery" (Thanks for recommending this store Kristin!)

Maggie Moos! YUMMY!

Us minus Brooke (she's taking the pic) at the hotel

All of Us....

The awesome view from our downtown hotel room...

I loved this bed! Not sure why the picture is coming out sideways though...

34 weeks....

2008-07-17T22:37:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest belly shot. I've gotten a lot bigger in the past few weeks and I'm feeling it by the time night time comes! Also, since I posted about Byson yesterday, it's only fair to post about Reggie. He looks like a little rat now...he had to get mostly shaved today at the groomers because he was too matted (oops, we're bad parents who don't brush our dog enough and wait too long to get him haircuts ahahah)!!!!! Oh well, it's summer and he probably feels so much better without all that hair!

Sick Puppy...

2008-07-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

Poor Baby!

Daddy let him lay on the couch for once!

I wish all of you who have met Byson in person could see him when he's this cute and calm. We think he's not feeling very well tonight...he's just laid still and has been pretty quiet...AND...he's not been licking much of anything (anyone who knows him knows that's not normal!)

Yikes!

2008-07-14T11:33:00.002-05:00

OK, so I'm praying this baby comes early so I have more time with her before returning to work, but I'm also having nightmares of her coming early. I'm scared I'll be out of town or won't be able to get ahold of Jason. I'm starting to panic about the pain and the scariness of giving birth (not that I truly know what to expect). Then I get the thoughts that I have no idea how to be a mom or how to raise an newborn. I guess once it happens, they say you just know and have mommy instincts, but ugh........then I remember how tired I am during the school year and all the work it brings and I hope that our baby knows me! Soon oh soon....this will all just be a memory! I can't wait for her to just be here! We're down to 44 days (6 weeks left). 44 days sounds shorter than 6 weeks to me....and then I start thinking...she could come earlier, and then I realize this is going to happen before I know it!
OH, and Jason and I were sitting in the living room the other night and talking about how much our baby weighs right now and her approximate length. Then he asked what is an average length for a baby at birth. After I told him, he did the math and reminded me that this little one probably has another 4 inches and 3 pounds to go in the next 6 weeks. How in the world........where is she going to fit!??? AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ahahah This is crazy!

I love power...

2008-07-11T17:20:00.002-05:00

So after losing power for 18 hours, I've decided that I'm very thankful for the invention of electricity. :-) Candles don't provide enough light! That was my reminder of the week...short and sweet.

FREE dinner and limo ride...I love free things!

2008-07-09T16:15:00.005-05:00

So about two months ago, I attended a teacher appreciation karate night for two of my students. There was a drawing there for a free dinner and limo ride, and I WON! Last night was the night. I could take a guest, so of course, I chose Jason. ahahaha We had a great time and ate great food at a local restaurant. The limo driver took a few pictures of us...and I took some too for your enjoyment. Ha!

One month from today...

2008-07-08T21:28:00.002-05:00

Today is July 8th. That means in exactly one month, our baby is going to be born! I had a talk with her last night about how she needs to come on August 8th....and if she's like me, she'll want to please everyone and never do wrong....so she'll hopefully decide to obey and arrive then! ahhaahha Since my favorite number is 8, it would just be cool to have a baby on 08-08-08 maybe at 8am or something...but she WILL NOT weigh 8 pounds. That's the only area I told her she's okay to keep away from 8's. Maybe she'll weigh 6 pounds 8 ounces. ahahah If not the 8th, i did tell her the 18th would be okay too....

Family Fun!

2008-07-06T16:25:00.006-05:00

We had a great time in Tennessee with Jason's family. We were on Norris Lake in a big house boat. It was very relaxing and the weather and food were great! :-) Here are some shots from the trip...( I guess i didn't even get an outside view of the boat or its cute little water slide!!!! I didn't get a shot of what our view looked like from the boat either! I'm a horrible camera lady!)

Colin being cute...

Random shot showing the inside of the boat...

Jason, Brad, and Krista fishing...

Us driving home (we were in five states in one day!) UGH, long trip. Lets just say my tailbone HATED me!

Kitchen...

Alana being SO cute!

The stairs to our downstairs room...yes, I know, it's a mess! Sorry!

Some of the gang swimming next to the boat...

Jason being cute...

Me in my polka dot suit...32 weeks

Our Boys...still the center of attention, but not for long!

2008-06-28T21:01:00.004-05:00

So I've had a week mostly at home and had a lot of fun with the dogs. They were being cute, so I got some pictures.....

Reggie was so, so sleepy.

Sorry, this one is sideways! Byson was so sad that mommy blocked him in the kitchen cuz he had muddy feet!

Balloon fun.... I was given some balloons at baby showers, and Byson loved playing with them. Well we decided to tie one to his collar, and it drove him crazy. Ahahaha. I gave him another balloon to play with too, and he really had a good time and it was hilarious to watch!

31 weeks belly shot and a VERY rough look at our baby room...

2008-06-25T14:39:00.012-05:00

Sorry about the shadow...Jase's hand must have gotten in the way of the picture or something! 31 weeks....

OK, so I've finally got our baby room looking somewhat ready, however I still have lots to do! I still need to hang things on the wall and organize a bit, as well as get the right size rug and wash some things. The rug I got (it's in one picture i'm including) is too small, and of course there isn't the next size up....they just sell a big one and the size I got. Bummer! I think the big one will work okay though...of course it just costs more!
So....I thought I'd post some pictures of what the room looks like so far. I have to be sneaky because I have some rough draft paper letters hanging on the wall of the baby's name...just so i have an idea of what the real thing will look like when it's hung ahahah. I won't post that picture! Sorry to those who are going nuts trying to guess! Soon, you'll know too! :-) Anyways, I also took some individual shots of the curtain, my chair that has the comforter on it, and the hamper cuz I think they are cute and I love the polka dots!

This shot shows the rug I need to take back....and the lamp ribbon needs gluing still....

The hamper...

The chair and comforter...

The curtain...

The crib...it was Jason's dad's crib, as well as Jason's crib...and his syblings! It's full of junk in the picture and the bedding needs washing....

Wow, and I just realized I posted something three days in a row! ahahah

Our baby girl and her 31 week photo shoot!

2008-06-24T22:11:00.008-05:00

Today we had our complimentary 4D ultrasound....what fun! Here are some of my favorite shots. We were given so many prints and a disk full of shots! It was hard to pick and choose! :-) I'll also have to post a picture of her baby bedding that finally arrived today! Yeah!!!!!!!

My favorite photo...

She's got daddy's nose.

She's smiling! (i think)

Her foot was by her head the whole time! How uncomfortable!

This one's not the best...kinda unclear, but her mouth is open! ahaha

WE CAN'T WAIT FOR HER TO ARRIVE! Only 9 more weeks....i think we're at um....64 days left maybe? Unless she comes on August 8th (or August 18..second choice) like I'm hoping....then even less!

Our poor baby boy...(Byson)...and his trip to "Camp"

2008-06-23T22:12:00.005-05:00

Well, Byson went off to what I called "Camp Neuter" yesterday.(Reggie knew that camp really meant surgery....but of course I kept that secret from Byson! ahahah) We dropped him off at 7am and picked him back up at 6:30pm. They put all the dogs in a trailer and drove them up north to the clinic! (We heard about this 10 dollar deal in the paper thanks to our sister in law, and let's just say it saved us 210 dollars! Vets are expensive!) He came back SO drugged up it was kind of scary. I actually worried about him last night. He was sooooooooo out of it (as you can see by the pictures i'm posting) but he was sooooo precious too, and his daddy helped comfort him. Today he's been acting more normal...licking things, fighting with his big brother, and eating and drinking food. I'm glad!

A weekend finally spent at home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-14T18:33:00.002-05:00

My goodness, we've been traveling every weekend for the past um....3 or 4 weekends so it's great to be home this weekend! Jason is graciously helping me with a project I started back in March...painting the kitchen. We had to take down wallpaper first. I HATE WALLPAPER REMOVAL! After some patience, we got most of it down, and he's actually priming the room as I type! He's also in the process of fixing the nursery ceiling so I'm thinking tomorrow that room will be ready to finally get ready for our baby girl! YEAH! Now if we can find the time to do that! Jason is busy with work and my one week, all day grad class starts on Monday (but will be done Friday!) I'm still waiting on the baby bedding to arrive in the mail too...and like the curtain, they keep switching the expected ship date. UGH. I'm just praying it's here soon becuase I can hardly take it! :-)
We had a dr. check up yesterday and things went well. I'm measuring just right or a little ahead of where I should be....and what's crazy is I only gained 1 lb. (well not even a full pound) between my last appointment last month and this appointment! I was a little concerned, but the dr. said I probably won't gain a ton more because I'm mainly just gaining what the baby gains....I hope she stays little so I can have an easy birth! ahhaha Doc said I graduated to the every two week appointment stage....so my next appoinment will be here in no time! I'm also looking forward to our 4D ultrasound which is scheduled for the 24th of this month.
Alright, well, I better get busy! I feel like time is flying by and I can't believe it's already the middle of June!
OH, and I never did post anything about my baby shower in Michigan last weekend! It was great....we got GREAT stuff, and I'm so thankful for my family and friends up that way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll try to post pictures of our finished kitchen and baby room as they come! (I'm nervous about the kitchen. I don't know if I like the color of paint we ended up going with...I haven't seen it on the wall yet, but it's just not what I invisioned (more cream than beige). Jase thought maybe a lighter shade would be better because our house is full of darker shades.....and at this point, i just want it painted so anything is fine!!!!!!! :-) We'll see!

School's Out for the Summer!

2008-06-05T08:23:00.002-05:00

Well, we've been out since May 30th, however, I've been working so hard to be productive and check off things on my list that I haven't sat down to update you all! This week I have been working my part time job (therapy sessions with a child with autism) and have had two meetings at work for our new reading series, but other than that....i've been sorting, cleaning, and working around the house. Jason helped me move the desk and computer out of our old "office" so that it can become a baby room soon! I also cleared out the closet of anything that wasn't baby related, so now we just need to fix the ceiling (it leaks..ugh) and then move all of the baby stuff that is taking over our living room, hallway, and bedroom into the baby room! Our baby bedding is set to ship on June 10th, so I hope by next weekend it is here! Let's see....what else....I set up our complimentary 4D ultrasound yesterday for June 24th. I'm excited to see our little baby again! Alright...well, now that I'm home for the summer....well....i don't think there's day on the calendar in June that doesn't have something planned....but I'll try to be better about updates!

Memorial Day weekend...and the curtain

2008-05-27T21:10:00.006-05:00

27 weeks...My girl and I...

My beautiful grandma(She lost her teeth earlier in the week, but she's still so adorable), my baby, and I...

We had a great time in Michigan this past weekend! I was able to reunite with some of my best friends, saw my extended family, got more fun stuff at a family baby shower, and ate great food! :-) I should say more about the weekend, but I'm soooooo tired. Thankfully, tomorrow is the LAST full day of students!!!! OHHHHH and before I forget.....for those of you who have known my curtain dilemma (ordered on April 15th and have been waiting ever since)....IT FINALLY ARRIVED! I think I like it lots. I can't wait to see the bedding. Mom had me order that as a gift from her tonight.....so who knows how long that will take to arrive, but I'll post as soon as I know if it's cute or not! :-)

Baby Showers...

2008-05-23T19:50:00.005-05:00

Well, the showers have begun, and I feel so blessed to have people who care enough about Jason and me to shower us (well, me cuz i'm the one at the showers...he's a guy) with so much love and gifts for our baby!
Last week my 2nd grade team threw an awesome staff shower at work. They had my mom surprise me and she showed up at the shower! A few mom's of kids in my classroom threw a party in my classroom with my students this week. They surprised me with a homemade scrapbook of advice on how to raise a baby. Each student did an advice page as well as their mom (so I received some "real" advice). Oh my word, kids say the cutest things...such as "Don't drink beer and do good things to the baby," "Make sure you watch her so she doesn't go out into the street," and "Baby car seats face backwards just so ya know..." We got such great gifts at both showers...I was overwhelmed with joy! :-) THANK YOU everyone!!!!!!!!!!
Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment...ahaha....OK, maybe not.......they won't scan for me!!!!! I'll try to post more another time! :-)

98 days...

2008-05-21T06:41:00.003-05:00

OK, so i'm under the 100 day mark and got so excited, I had to tell everyone! ahahah 98 still seems like a ton until you think of the fact that the countdown started at um....280ish days or something. I know it will go so fast.
So I haven't put an update on here in awhile, and I have quite a bit that has happened since two weeks ago when I posted! I'll have to try to get to that tonight! If I do it now, i'll be late for work!!!!
Have a great day! I'm on my last 5 full day of student-stretch. Phew!

24 week shot...

2008-05-12T22:34:00.003-05:00

So I had to post this picture because I find it hilarious. Notice my white tank top that you can see through my green shirt. It's my regular tank top that I'm probably stretching out too much to wear again in the future, but anways, it used to sit at my hips, and as of now, it sits just above my belly button. AHAHAHA. Can you tell finding something to wear in the morning isn't easy!? ahahah I'm always running late for work!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T18:45:00.002-05:00

Well, my Jason sure did make my first Mother's Day special. :-) He gave me a cute card and roses, and he also suprised me with a glider chair for our baby nursery. It's super cute and I love it. It is also a gift from my in laws who wanted to give us a gift for our new baby, so they went in with Jase to get me a chair. I guess the chair was shipped last week and has been in our garage the whole time! I didn't figure that one out! He said I was even here when the UPS man dropped it off....but he happened to be outside doing yard work, so he was able to catch him and hide the chair! AWE....what a guy! :-)

:-) Awe...

2008-05-01T13:53:00.007-05:00

This first shot proves she just might be a runner like mommy!

Here's the run down of our appointment at the University of Chicago today... We just got home....wow, long morning...but overall, good. First of all, the rush hour traffic on the way there was insane, but luckily we left early enough we got there on time (well, early actually). So after making a fool out of myself driving in the city, then asking crazy questions and not knowing where the heck to go....we found the place. We met with the genetic counselor who was VERY informative and did what every regular doctor office should do. She went through all of my records and previous ultrasounds with us and explained what measurements meant what....and explained the heart thing more. She talked about some stats of downs syndrome and gave us her direct number to call her with any other questions we might have. She was SO helpful.
After that, we went to the ultrasound room. A tech did the ultrasound and confirmed once again, it's a girl. Phew! :-) She also printed some 4D shots for us and we got to see our baby 's face and stuff. It was so exciting. Once again, I was blown away at how amazing technology and the miracle of life is! I love ultrasounds. It's so cool to see the baby. Of course, I think she's the cutest thing ever. :-)
Then, a dr. came in and looked at the heart again....explained that it wasn't a defect but just a dense area of muscle, and said they didn't see anything else that turned up as a marker for downs syndrome, so she didn't think we needed to worry (Not that I would worry if my baby had down syndrome. I learned that the risk is small today, and so if my baby does have downs syndrome, that makes me know how even more special she is because God wants her that way!) SO.........we were there 3 hours (woah) and then on the way home Jason took me to Panera! :-) Most of you who know me well know how passionate I am about that place! :-)
I am thankful we had the opportunity to go today. This has definitely eased some confusion for us....and reminded me that God is in control no matter what!

Thank you!

2008-04-28T17:42:00.002-05:00

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! The Dr. called and told me my blood showed antibodies to the virus....so she said i must have had the infection before sometime in the past. She said I should be fine! YEAH! Thank you Lord!

Prayer request...

2008-04-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

I'm copying this from an email I sent out to some people asking for prayer...so those of you who got that email, this is a repeat! :-)

Ok, i'm going to attempt to make this quick and sum it up, but I need your prayer!

I was exposed to fifth's disease this week. It's something mostly kids get but then can pass on to adults and it's contagious until kids break out into a rash on their face. That's the only way you even know they have it. Anyways, if you want to know more...look it up on google! It's kinda a weird thing.

Anyways, it's only dangerous to pregnant women. Lovely. So, we sent the student home, who i'm sure has infected otheres in my class(because we share EVERYTHING), but i won't know until they have a rash....and i'm freaking out. So after a crazy morning of work yesterday...principal and secretaries in and out to tell me updates of the girl going home and me needing to call my dr, i finally heard from my doctor. She had me leave school early and go get blood drawn....and i haven't heard results yet. Mainly, if you've been exposed it the virus before, you're immune, and that's my prayer because otherwise i'm going to freak out the rest of the month being in my classroom around kids. (I did have a rash in the spring during track season in high school one year. They never called it fifth's disease, but maybe they were dumb and maybe that was it. That would be really cool.) If i caught the virus....i've heard from everything i've read (not from my dr yet because we didn't have time to talk when she called) that i have to go weekly to get ultrasounds and get blood checked....for 8-12 weeks so they can look for fetal anemia...something called fetal hydrops...and something with that which could cause the baby's heart to fail if it's serious and would cause death for the baby. They dont' think there are any other effects to a baby's development as far as birth defects go if those other things don't show up. A girl in my building had the same thing happen to her, but she was about 8 weeks ahead of me with her pregnancy, so she was fine. Still....that's good to hear that she's fine and her baby was fine.

They say half of all adults are already immune, so i'm praying and trying to be positive about that otherwise i don't want to go back to work! UGH! I'm frustrated about how much money those appointments will add up to be too....when it wasn't my fault! I shouldn't have to pay! Because I'm past the first half of my pregnancy, I'm at less risk than someone who is at the beginning stages, so that's a good sign....but i'm also scared becuase they say it can wait to show that you have it until weeks and weeks later and a lot of times adults don't have any symptoms so you wouldn't even know you had the virus (or something like that) ahah! So....unless i'm immune, I will worry for the next 3 months that something is wrong and UGH. (I'm probably not explaining this all correctly, so maybe you should just read about it online if you want to know more ahahah http://www.fifthdisease.org/pregnancy.html) If you go to that link you can read a little more...then click on the treatment tab and it will talk about that.

So yea, another worry for me. I'm still concerned about the heart issue we heard of at our ultrasound a month ago, so Dr. Rama is sending me to University of Chicago on Thursday to meet with a genetics counselor who will do another ultrasound to look specifically for downs. She told us this is an option if we wanted to go, and I guess it wouldn't change anything about my baby to me...but it would help me be prepared if they found something that I need to be aware of. Also, a baby of Jason's family friend just died this week due to many complications at birth...one being with the left ventricle, so of course that is on the back of my mind too. Then I remember that God is so awesome and he has a plan, and I only want that for my life....so whatever that is, I will be okay! He is in control, loves my baby, and has his own plan.

God's still making me work on the sin I'm so talented with..WORRY! I've just gotta give this to him and trust him to take care of my baby. Worry won't make anything better.

:-)

Thanks for your prayers....and sorry, that wasn't quick like I said it would be!

Karla