Monday, December 28, 2009

Operation: Potty Train Day 1

So since I'm home this week, I figured I might as well go all out on the potty training business. Some say Emily's too young; others, like my mom, claim I was potty trained way earlier. So I've gotten the necessary accessories: 21 pairs of big girl panties (I couldn't decide between Tinkerbell, Elmo, and princesses), Disney Princess pull-ups, and a book that has stickers and a chart.

Day 1 - Emily loves the pull-ups, loves the panties....but refuses to poop in the potty. She's done well with peeing, but we still have a long way to go. In the Potty vs. Diaper battle, the potty was definitely the loser today.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Santa's Message to Emily

Copy and paste the link below to see a special message from Santa to Emily!



http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/f7019b99fc127177a2be4bde0e9843f3

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Cookie Time!

Our annual cookie baking Sunday at mom's:

"Are they done yet?"

Jingle bells on her head


Dutch Winter Wonderland

We usually head to Rocky Ridge County Park to check out the Christmas lights. However, this year we decided to do something different since Emily's a bit older. We took her to Dutch Wonderland, where they not only have a bunch of Christmas lights, but most of their rides are also open. We had so much fun, although we froze. It was so cold! Here are some of the photos:





Thanksgiving 2009

Some images from our Thanksgiving (which also happened to fall on our 4 year wedding anniversary).

Owen's first Thanksgiving...he's modeling a hat Emily made at school.

Everyone getting ready to eat:

Apparently, Thanksgiving is a time for presents (at least according to my Aunt Sharon). She got the kids super cute jammies. Emily's is from The Princess and the Frog.
And Owen's is to help him on his way to becoming a racing superstar. According to Dad, he already has the perfect NASCAR name - Buddy Bilodeau.
Owen and Grandma March:

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Owen's 9 month stats

Yesterday Owen visited the doctor for his 9 month check-up. His official stats: 18.0 pounds, 29.5 inches. His weight gain slowed, but the doctor told me that's normal around this age as kids become more mobile and active. He's also been sick for awhile, so he isn't eating as much as he used to. We did get the okay to start him on soft, very small pieces of table food, so that will be a new adventure for him. He did great...didn't make a peep when his finger was pricked, and the nurse said he had the highest iron count she's seen for awhile.

The only downside to our visit was that he needed a breathing treatment. Owen's had a cold off and on since Thanksgiving. He developed an ear infection, and that's been treated and gone. Last week he was running a fever off and on with the cold, and he sounded very congested, so we took him back to the doctor. Again, she listened to his chest and lungs, said everything sounded fine, and we were reassured. The doctor we had yesterday listened and said she heard wheezing, which is the noise we reported back at Thanksgiving. She was concerned enough to try a breathing treatment of Albuterol with Owen to see if that helped. Five minutes of treatment (read: five minutes of me holding Owen down while the nurse held the mask to his constantly moving head) made a difference. So, now we have a nebulizer, and he is to get at least two treatments a day for a week. His bedtime treatments should be fine...there are two of us to do the required pinning of the baby and holding of the mask. However, I'm not yet sure how mornings are going to go since I'm all by myself. It will definitely be a lesson in who is strongest willed.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Here We Go Again...

For anyone who has ever had a child with recurring ear infections, you know the dread that comes with the first sniffle or cough. With Emily, I knew every time she had a cold we'd be getting a call from daycare. She'd spike a high fever, and that was our cue that she had yet another ear infection. Finally, last April, she had tubes inserted in her ears, and we've been ear infection free ever since.

Well...until last weekend. Emily had a cold. Owen got the cold. Friday night the kids stayed with Mom and Ron while Dan and I celebrated our anniversary. When I called to check on the kids, the report was that Owen was fussy (and he rarely cries or fusses), and he was yanking on his ear. Being the weekend, I couldn't get him to the doctor until Monday (which meant several sleepless nights for me). Owen had an ear infection, and now I'm back to worrying over every sniffle, cough, and sneeze.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Family Christmas Pictures (or...the misery that is taking pictures with two kids)

Below are the five shots that were even close to being normal from our family picture session. We have always gotten the kids' pictures taken at the same place, and we're happy with the results. However, yesterday was an exercise in futility, mainly because Emily has decided that she doesn't like getting her picture taken. Our goal was to get a picture of all of us for the Christmas card, but my main hope was to get some cute pictures of the two kids. End result: One picture for the Christmas card which I'm not totally loving, and zero pictures of the two kids together. Emily wouldn't take a picture without us, and even then she had to be bribed with a flower the photographer would give her between snaps. We also discovered that it's next to impossible to get a 7 month old and 2 year old both looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. What follows is the best of the shots...and that's not saying much.




Tuesday, November 10, 2009

If it's not one thing...

I can remember my mom using the phrase, "if it's not one thing, it's another!" I usually try to stay away from any phrase my mom uses a lot (Dan and I have an entire list we love to tease her with), but it totally described the last week for us.

Picture it: it's Wednesday morning. I am (unusually) early when leaving for work. I am excited because it means I can stop for coffee AND I'll not be the last person to walk into my meeting. I made it all the way to Hanover when....BAM!...I got rear-ended at a light. Until I got out, checked my car, exchanged info, and listened to the guy who hit me swear up a storm, I was late to that meeting.

Thursday morning: I take all the stuff out to the car. Everything appears normal. I wake Emily, forcibly dress her as I do every morning, get Owen up and dressed, suit everyone up in coats, and head out to the car. I am not early this morning. I will make it to work just in time. I turn the key in the ignition. Nothing. I try again. Nothing. I take both kids out, walk back up to the house, and proceed to try to reach Dan for 25 minutes. Smoke is coming out of my head. I consider how long I will lay in a hospital alone and dying if a true emergency ever strikes me. Dan finally picks up. I was almost an hour late for work that morning.

Saturday: I am optimistic. My Friday went well, and while I have to be up early for the SAT's, the promise of a cream filled doughnut has made me giddy. I get to work. I get everyone set up in their testing rooms. I rush to grab one last answer sheet and speed walk it to the room. The clumsiness I am notorious for kicks in, and I fall - hard - onto the floor. As the day wears on, my foot and ankle hurt more and more. But...I have a job to do, and College Board takes SAT administration very seriously. So, it's not until I get home and kick off my heels that I realize something is very wrong. Dan makes me go to the ReadyCare. A cute doctor feels up my unshaven leg (it's winter!), takes some x-rays, and decides I've sprained my foot and possibly sustained a hairline fracture. Yep, giving the SAT's. Who knew it could be so dangerous? He hands me a very unattractive boot type thing, prescribes some painkillers, and sends me on my way.

This week is, however, looking up. Yesterday I got a new hair color that I love. I have been able to avoid wearing the hideous boot in public, and my foot is feeling better. And, I remember another favorite phrase of mom's: what's seconds is thirds. By my count, I had my three things...I'm due for some easy times.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Someone's Got Teeth!

Owen's first tooth pushed through last Wednesday! It's on the bottom, and he handled it pretty well. The big clue was the copious amounts of drool that poured from his mouth. He's got one right beside of it getting ready to break through...I give it a couple of days, tops. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get a picture of my little man with his new teeth :)

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween was so much fun for us. For one, we helped Owen celebrate his first Halloween. His babyhood has seemed to fly by; it's hard to believe that only a year ago, I was just beginning to look pregnant rather than just chubby, and we didn't even know if our new baby was a boy or a girl! Mom got the kids shirts to wear to their Halloween parties at school. Here's Owen modeling his (and sitting up all by himself)!
Emily wasn't much for having her picture taken that day, so unfortunately I only got two quick shots of the two of them in their matching Trick or Treat shirts. This was the only one I was allowed to post, though, since the person holding them is missing his shirt :)

Owen had a special My 1st Halloween shirt to wear on Saturday. We decided not to dress him in a costume since he wasn't actually going trick or treating.
Emily decided she wanted to be a pink fairy over a month ago. I was trying to get her to change her mind, since I figured something else (a princess, maybe???) would be warmer. But, the girl is stubborn, and no matter what I tried to suggest, she kept saying, "Fairy. Pink Fairy!" It actually worked out well, since Halloween turned out to have temps in the low 70's. We went up to my school where the Student Council puts on a Haunted Hallways for the employees' family members.
Emily loved having her picture taken this day! She couldn't get enough of her wings or star wand.
After the school's celebration, we went over to mom and Ron's for dinner and trick or treating. Our neighborhood doesn't really have a lot of houses that hand out candy, and mom and Ron's neighborhood is kid central on Halloween, so we ate, got dressed, and Dan, Emily, and I went out. Owen stayed home with Grandma March, Grandma Sipe, and Grandpa Sipe overseeing candy distribution. Emily LOVED trick or treating for the first time, and we were so proud at how polite she was. She would wish everyone a happy halloween and say thank you at each house.

Monday, October 26, 2009

For Sale!

As of Friday, our house is officially up for sale! It seems like a very long process; I think we've been back and forth about doing this for about six months now. However, we decided that the time was right, and we'll see if the market works out for us. We're not in any hurry, so if it doesn't sell right away, it's not a big deal. But...now that it's up, we keep wondering if anyone's shown interest in it yet :) I've attached some pictures that our realtor shot to put on the website. There are many more on the actual listing, but I wanted to post a few so that I would have a record of how clean and bare the house looked! Now we play the waiting game. If we get a contract on our house, we then scurry around looking at everything we're interested in so we can try to coordinate closing times. I'm sure we would have a place to camp out if we absolutely had to, but I think for the sanity of everyone, it will be best if we get into a new place before we have to leave this one :)





Sunday, October 11, 2009

6 month pictures

We had Owen's 6 month pictures taken today. He did such an amazing job! Emily is still sometimes difficult when it comes to pictures, but our little guy just smiled and posed with ease. The photographer kept saying what an easy shoot it was. He loved it! We had such a difficult time picking the ones we liked best, but the next few posts are all of the shots we had done. Enjoy!


6 month pictures





6 month pictures





Tuesday, October 6, 2009

So Big So Fast!

We had Owen baptized on Sunday, September 27th. It's hard to believe he's already 6 months old! It was so nice to see our out of town family, and Emily and Owen had a chance to spend some quality time with all of their grandparents. Of course, it wasn't until our out of town relatives left to go home that I realized I took zero pictures! So, we tried to snap a few before we got him changed. Here are some of the whole family, then some of the little man on his special day.




Owen also had his six month checkup yesterday. He is now 17.4 pounds (50th percentile) and 27 3/4 inches (90th percentile). He got four (!) injections, and I was so proud of him. He actually stopped crying before I even picked him up. He's rolling over all the time, he's smiling a ton, and he's really doing well with his food. It's crazy to believe that he's already half-way finished with his first year!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Saying Goodbye

My grandpa was such an important person in my life. I have so many memories of him that will stick with me forever. Some of my favorites are the times when he and my grandma would have the kids on their own. I remember how fun it was to ride in his El Camino and play the horn he had so the car sounded like the General Lee. I remember going down to Ocean City with them, and how he'd always seem to find something for me with his metal detector. Later, once I learned to drive, I don't think I ever pulled into their driveway without grandpa coming out to inspect my car. He'd kick tires, listen for weird sounds, all to make sure I was safe. Most recently, I've seen how much he loves my kids. No matter what he was doing or how he was feeling, if I stopped by with the kids, he'd be upstairs playing in minutes. I can still see him running around the living room/dining room/hallway chasing Emily (or in earlier years, having the dog chase him). His passing was shocking and unexpected, and it's been difficult to deal with the fact that I won't get to see him anymore. But, I take comfort knowing that my grandpa is still looking out for me and the entire family, making sure we're safe, and loving us from up above.



March, Sylvan A.
View/Sign Guest Book

WEIGELSTOWN Sylvan Augustus March, 76, died unexpectedly Saturday, September 5, 2009, while working at his late sister's home. He was the loving husband of Betty Jane (Diehl) March. The couple celebrated 56 years of marriage on December 6, 2008. He was born June 7, 1933, in Warrington Township, a son of the late Wilbert A. and Alice M. (Myers) March. Sylvan retired in 1997 following 29 years of service in Quality Control for FES, York. His job gave him the opportunity to travel to several countries. Sylvan attended Shiloh Lutheran Church. He was a life member of Viking Athletic Association. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge York 266; Tall Cedars of Lebanon York Forrest 30; and the Hawks Gunning Club. Sylvan enjoyed woodworking, watching NASCAR and traveling to Las Vegas with his wife. He also loved spending time with his grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. In addition to his wife, Sylvan is survived by two daughters, Susan Sipe and her husband, Ron and Sharon Oberdick and her husband, Art, all of Dover; four grandchildren, Courtney Bilodeau and her husband, Danny, Jason Koons and his wife, Jen, Matthew Kinard and Megan Kinard; four great-grandchildren; two sisters, Mae Schrum and her husband, Paul and Jan L. Snyder, all of Weigelstown; a brother, Chester March of Weigelstown; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by three sisters, Emma J. Becker, Martilla Dennis, and Verna Reigle. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral at 11 a.m. and the viewing from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Emig Funeral Home, 47 N. Queen St., Dover. Burial will follow in Susquehanna Memorial Gardens. Officiating will be the Rev. Kathy Swords, pastor of Shiloh Lutheran Church. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Lupus Foundation of Pennsylvania, 5405 Jonestown Rd., Suite 110, Harrisburg, PA 17112; or the York County SPCA, 3159 N. Susquehanna Trail, York, PA 17406.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Ch..Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes

Well, we've finished our first week! Owen did so well at daycare; he's eating his cereal like a big boy, he's jumping around in the Jumparoo (just like Emily did), and he's all smiles! His naps are still very short, but he's adjusting, so hopefully they'll lengthen as he gets used to napping with other kids around. Emily fell right back into her old routine and is having an amazing time. She's playing with her friends, and we have many art projects that get brought home. The best part of the week, though, is that I absolutely love my new job! I have to get up at 4:00 in the morning to get there on time, and I still don't mind :) And anyone who knows me knows that's a huge deal. I get there 15 - 20 minutes early, and I'm excited to start my day. I'm exhausted at night since I haven't had to work all day then come home to play with kids for awhile, but I'm happy.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Cousins!

At the end of July, my sister-in-law unexpectedly came back to the area with my niece and nephew. Although the reason for her visit wasn't a pleasant one, it was so nice to see the kids get to play together. I also got to meet my new nephew for the first time.

Emily loves Isabelle. Isabelle is almost exactly a year older than Emily, so everything she does, Em tries to imitate. They were so funny together...they'd chase each other and laugh and shriek and giggle.


Mom and I took the girls into the pool, and again, when Emily saw Isabelle jumping in, she wanted to do it too. We got a workout though; both girls made us jump repeatedly up and down in the water while holding them. Our legs were a bit sore the next day :)
The boys don't play together yet, obviously, but they did have fun looking at each other! Schuyler is so tiny next to Owen...it's tough to believe that just a couple of months ago, my little guy was that small!
And here's one of all 4 of them. I hope that my brother and sister-in-law will find time to come visit more...I love when the kids can play together. And now that I know Jen is superwoman (driving the entire way from Indiana by herself with two kids), I expect to see them more :)