walk to d'feet

We participated in the Walk to D'Feet ALS walk in Fort Collins yesterday. My great-aunt Dorothy has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and her granddaughter puts together a team last year and this year to raise money and walk for this great cause. It was POURING rain yesterday, so it wasn't as much fun as it could've been. My sister went last year and it was perfect weather. Brecken didn't seem to mind the weather yesterday, he had on his winter coat and hat and mittens and was nice and cozy.

This picture is my uncle Earl, my aunt Dorothy in the middle, and her daughter Becky. It was on the CSU campus. I don't normally like CSU, but it was really pretty yesterday. Their leaves are just beginning to change colors. The loop we were walking in had green leaves, red leaves, yellow leaves, and peachy-pink leaves. How pretty!

another win!

Saratoga knocked off Burns this afternoon! Hip, hip, hooray!! We were the underdogs but we didn't even struggle, led the whole game. The score was 27-6. What a great homecoming for the kids, and an even better for those Seniors since it was their last regular-season home game. I think the win today made it official that we'll go to the play-offs. If it will be at home or away will depend on next week's score against Pine Bluffs.

men.

I think the most hilarious thing that has ever happened in one of my classes happened today. I was doing an activity with my 4th graders and our principal's son goes, "Mrs. Sandlian. You aren't supposed to make us guys' armpits wet!" Somehow, the discussion between the boys then turned to how boys don't sweat, men do. And at that moment, a normally very quiet, serious boy goes, "You guys, she's making men out of us."

I almost died from having to keep the laughter in!!

what a boy.

I picked B up from daycare today and Loree had quite the story to tell me! Apparently during his nap, Brecken managed to squirm out of his pants (not surprising since his pants are too big) AND his diaper! That has never happened before. She thinks she didn't put it on tight enough. Anyway, instead of waking up and leaving the diaper in the crib, he tossed it over the edge. That sounds like him- he tosses things he doesn't want anymore. I laughed though- what a boy thing to do! I told her I hoped it was an accident that he got out of his diaper instead of him figuring out how to do it on his own- that's a can of worms I'm not ready to open yet! :) He didn't mess with it at all tonight though, so I think it was an accident.

Josh wasn't on call tonight and Brecken was in a good mood so we tried to go out to dinner after Josh got home from practice. We tried our Mexican place and it was closed! So we went to the Saratoga Inn, and THAT was closed too! Wonder what the deal was. We ended up having to come back home and cooking a late dinner.

Josh has had a lot of heart calls lately. He had 3 on Saturday alone. The first one, the guy didn't want to go to the hospital, so they had him sign the forms to refuse transfer. As they were finishing, they got another call for a heart attack in Encampment. The people met the ambulance on the highway and the family was doing CPR in the car on the guy. They got him into the ambulance and continued CPR. The doctor in charge of emergency medicine was in Saratoga giving a class, so they called him to meet them in Saratoga. Josh pushed heart drugs for the first time ever, but it didn't matter. They lost the patient. :( I personally think the guy was gone long before the ambulance got there, but Josh sure feels bad about it. That was the first patient that he has lost. I felt bad that he was so sad. :( Then, late that evening, they had ANOTHER heart attack call. Good grief. This guy didn't want to go to the hospital either- they talked to his heart doctor in Casper and made a plan and didn't take him to Rawlins. Josh came home saying, "If that pager goes off again, PLEASE make it be for a broken arm!" :)

Busy week this week- it's Homecoming for Josh's team. Lots of practices and film watching and so on and so forth. This is the last home game of the regular season- here's hoping for a play-off game!

itsy bitsy spider

So here he is, the goofy itsy bitsy spider. I sure wish he would leave hats on, it completes the costume! (Not that you can see much of it as he is falling down the slide!)

win!

Josh called a little after 4:00- they won BIG against Pinedale! 39-0!! I knew they were going to because a guy at the game called the school this afternoon and that's what the score was when he called in the 4th quarter. :) Their quarterback had a record game for him with 6 touchdown passes. Now if Burns will beat Lusk and we beat Burns, we can be #1 in our conference!

So yesterday was so nice outside that I got home and put B in his Halloween costume to see if I could get pictures of him out in the leaves. He was not interested. He only wanted to play on his slide. It was HYSTERICAL. He'd crawl up, quite the feat in his fat round spider costume! Then he'd stand up and either go down the slide on his belly head first or belly feet first, and he'd go zooming down the slide. He was laughing so hard at times that he would fall down the slide. But in his rolly poly costume, it didn't matter because he'd be padded and he'd bounce a little bit, which would make him laugh even harder! I was out of breath from laughing so hard at him. What a goof.

a sleeping partner

Brecken has been an awesome sleeper for the past week or so. Hasn't woken up in the night. I put him to bed about 8:30 last night and shut his door all the way so the cats couldn't get in there. Josh and I went to bed about 10:00 and had just fallen asleep and Brecken cried. He fell back asleep but then about 5 minutes later cried again, harder. I went into the hallway and noticed his door had opened somehow- I must not have latched it all the way. Charlie was in his room on the glider, and I looked in the pack and play (where he sleeps now- he hates his crib for some reason) and curled up right next to Brecken was Ditka! It was so cute. Brecken didn't think so though- he wasn't awake, but he was crying and holding his arm up like he was saying, "HEY! There's something here that's not supposed to be and it's yucky!!" So I got Ditka out of there, put both cats in the hallway, and Brecken fell right back asleep (even though he really wasn't awake to begin with.) Poor Ditka- he loves Brecken and Brecken usually loves Ditka right back, but I guess he doesn't love his kitty when he's trying to sleep!!!

new picture spot

I was driving home from picking Brecken up yesterday after school, and as I drove down the hill, I noticed this beautiful old barn/garage that looks like it's about to fall down. The colors are really pretty though- the front is really weathered, more brown, but has a bit of green in it. The sides are more green. It was behind the house of a teacher I work with, so I asked her today if I could use it for pictures. It was probably the strangest question she's ever been asked at school, but she was really excited about it. I had to take Brecken down there this afternoon and take some pictures. When I picked him up from Loree's, he was in the greatest mood, laughing and playing peek-a-boo, but by the time we got down the hill, he didn't want much to do with the camera. I only got one semi-good one.

The sun was a little bright, causing bad shadows, and the other side of the garage was ALL shadow, so I'll have to find another time of day to use this garage. I'd love to get the green side of it!

aspen alley

This morning we got up and drove to Aspen Alley, on the highway past Encampment. We were a weekend too late, I think. There was several inches of snow up there and the aspen trees in Aspen Alley were dead and didn't have any leaves left. :( It was pretty with the snow and fog, but would've been breathtaking with the yellow leaves! Next year we will have to go a weekend or two earlier.

Some more pictures from our drive:

Here is the fog moving in. I'm glad I got pictures of this when I did, because on our way back you couldn't even see the lakes anymore!

football weekend

This weekend was busy with football. Friday afternoon Brecken and I packed up and went to Lingle, where Josh's team was playing. Saratoga won, 34-22. I really enjoyed sitting in their visitor stands- it was right there on the grass, in front of the track, so Brecken could get down and crawl and I didn't have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he didn't eat rocks! After the game Lennie served the boys dinner in the school gym. We didn't get back to Lennie's house until late- Brecken was soooo tired. It was 11:00 before we got there. Then we got up early on Saturday morning so we could go to Laramie for Josh's JV game there. It was cold and windy so I didn't stay for the whole game. My sister and Ryan were there too, so we left early and took the boys to lunch. We got home yesterday afternoon, and despite sleeping the whole trip yesterday, Brecken was TIRED. He fought hard to stay awake but finally gave in at 6:45 last night. He has never gone to bed that early! And he slept straight until 5:45 this morning. 11 hours is unheard of for him. He came to cuddle with Josh and I after he woke up this morning and then slept some more, until 8:30. He was one tired boy!

going home

So at this time on Sept. 26, 2006, I was at Kristen's apartment waiting for Josh to come get Brecken and I. I got to the hospital that morning, bright and early, just in case I happened to miss the pediatrician when he came for rounds before he went to his clinic. I didn't even bother to bring Brecken to his hospital room, I just hung out in the nursery with him, waiting, waiting, waiting. FINALLY Dr. Klep came and checked B out, and gave us the go-ahead to get out of there! I thought my face was going to burst with the big smile that was on there. I got Brecken dressed in his going-home outfit and took his "First Photo" picture that all newborn babies get when they go home. He was 2 weeks old by then, but we didn't get to get it taken when we were in Laramie originally because he was flown out of there.



Then the nurse got all our papers for me and helped me to David's car- he was on a business trip that week so I was lucky enough to have use of his car. (Even though technically I wasn't supposed to be driving for 4 more weeks due to my c-section- but what's a lady to do when she's by herself?!) It felt weird to be leaving the hospital with B in his car seat and me WALKING him out- most new mothers get to ride in the wheelchair. :)



It was cold that day, I remember that. We had to go to Wal-mart to get some things I needed for Brecken at home that we didn't have time to get before he was born, and then he and I hung out at Kristen's for the rest of the day. Josh had to work AND go to practice, because his boss wasn't being very understanding about the whole thing, so he didn't get to Laramie until late that evening. I was never so glad to see him though- I was beyond excited to be going home with our little guy! We stopped a couple times on the trip to make sure B was OK- he was, just sleeping and at one point was holding on to the blanket on his lap- we thought that was the cutest thing. :) The house was pretty quiet when we got home because the dogs were still at Craig and Lennie's house. I remember putting Brecken in his crib when we got home and he was SO TINY in that big huge crib.

Boy, how things have changed.

one year ago

One year ago, I was getting ready to feed Brecken my last feeding of the night before I gave him back to the nurses to keep in the nursery in Laramie for the night. I would head back to Kristen's apartment for the night, but I don't remember sleeping that much, because I knew the next morning we would be released from the hospital FINALLY! What an exciting night that was- knowing it was time to pack up our hospital room for the final time, get his going home clothes ready, and get ready for Josh to come get us and TAKE US HOME!!

drive

Josh went out on two ambulance calls today and had a coach's meeting this evening to watch film. I got bored at home so I loaded Brecken up and we went for a drive up the mountain a little way while the sun set. The colors are getting beautiful up there!

rainy day

Cold and raining today. I wanted to drive up to Aspen Alley and have a picnic and see all the pretty trees, but that will have to wait until next Sunday I guess.

Brecken stood all on his own last night! Actually, he did it on Friday night too, but only for 3 seconds so I didn't count it. :) Last night, he was standing at his ball popper with a ball in one hand and batting at the one coming out of the tube with the other hand and he probably did that for a minute! He wasn't supported on anything- just his own two feet!!

Josh's team lost to Lusk on Friday. 24-6 or something like that. Haven't heard how the JV did yesterday, Josh called Heath but didn't hear back.

Liliana Michelle

My friends Greg and Michelle welcomed their first baby into the world on Wednesday! Welcome to the world, Liliana Michelle! She was 7 lbs, 13 oz, and 20 inches long. And she's absolutely gorgeous!

a laugh

I always have to laugh when people use the following excuse for being late: I was in the library today and a lady walked in looking for the teacher she was meeting with. She said, "I'm sorry I'm late, I wanted to be here an hour ago but I got stuck in traffic."

Now, WHERE IN THE WORLD would she get stuck in traffic around here?! Encampment is all of 300 people and none of the streets even have stop signs. Saratoga has no stop lights in the whole town. You have to travel an hour and a half to find a town with more than 5000 people in it. Where is the traffic these people talk about?!

They must not realize that we're not dumb and we know that ridiculous story is a complete lie.

We have to go to Heath and Peggy's house at 7:30 tonight. We better leave now in case the traffic is heavy.


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(excuse all the lines. Brecken likes touching the buttons on the computer.)

skinny minny

Brecken had his one year check-up today. I'm a bit sad to report that he only gained 2 oz. in a month. That's right, TWO ounces. I thought the scale was lying to me. He's "up" to 17 pounds, 2 oz. That's still way below the charts. Dr. Jake said if we're comfortable with waiting for blood tests, he'd like to give Brecken until 15 months to see some good improvement. I'll keep monitoring him every month to see where his weight is, and I think if we don't see any improvement at all again next month, I'll ask for the blood tests. My thinking is it's better to get him tested and nothing be wrong than to wait and maybe miss a problem that needs attention. I'm not exactly sure what they would test for, but Diabetes is one of them. I'm sure he's just a skinny minny like I was, but I'd rather know for sure. I looked in my baby book tonight and at one year, I was 16 lbs, 12 oz. and 28.5 inches long.

Anyway, he is still 29.5 inches, like last month. As far as we know, anyway- I don't think length measurements are very accurate on babies since they move and squiggle- they draw a line on the paper where the head is and then strech out his legs and draw another line, then measure between those two lines. So we think he is 29.5 inches. :) Still has a big noggin, same as always. :)

He had to get four shots. It was horrible. Actually, I think it was more horrible for me than it was for Brecken. Josh has always held him for the shots, but he had football practice tonight so I had to do it. I was told that the Chicken Pox and the MMR shots were going to be pretty bad. Brecken cried, but only for a minute and then he was fine. The nurse said he was one of the toughest kids she's ever had to give shots too, since he didn't really cry! I got him out to the car and he was smiling already. I buckled him in and he immediately tore off all four band-aids like he thoguht they were for sissys and he's been playing and smiling ever since we got home. What a trooper. Much better than his mommy. :)

pictures

The picture above is one of the many beautiful ones Stacey captured this past weekend. We got to see them all last night and I am in love with them! You can see the rest at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/8125773@N08/790C8n

I'm so excited about them- they are absolutely GORGEOUS, Stacey! You captured my little boy perfectly!!

flying

I booked tickets for Brecken and I to fly to Chicago in December. My grandma is turning 90 and we're throwing a big party for her since she's not in the best of health anymore. I wish Josh could go, but that's his 2nd week of basketball and has a game the day of the party, so it will just be myself and Brecken. My mom and dad are flying out too, so I got tickets on their same flights. My mom and dad are flying from Gillette though, so I'll meet them in Denver. I now have to figure out how to get Brecken, the stroller, our suitcase, and the car seat from the car to the airport, and then how to get Brecken, the stroller, and the car seat through the airport all by myself!

...and your world comes to a screeching halt.

Phone calls at 6:30 in the morning are usually never good news. Josh's phone rang at that time this morning and it was our babysitter, calling in sick. Those are the worst calls. Your world just about comes to a screeching halt- now what are you going to do? We feel really bad today, because good ol' Dr. Jake, who has today off and was planning on working on his new fence, is now babysitting Brecken instead. His wife Deb usually does it for us but she works at the hospital in Rawlins on Tuesdays and Jake stays home. I hate when the babysitter is sick!! Not only do we have to scramble to find someone to take over for the day, but then Brecken has a really bad day because he's not used to going to a different house. Oy.

We had a fun weekend. We got up and went to Cheyenne on Saturday morning so Stacey could do B's one year shots. I think we got some great ones- we went to Frontier Park and found a little path that goes through a tree area, and there was a little stone shack down there too. So we took lots of pictures there, and then in a different outfit took a bunch in her pretty backyard. Brecken liked smiling for the camera. :) She now has 3 of them up on her blog, so make sure you check it out! http://staceyjphotog.blogspot.com

Then Sunday morning we got up early and went back to Laramie to drop B off with Kris and David. We met Heath and Peggy there and we went to the Bronco game in Denver. What a crazy time that was!! We had stopped at the store on our way into Denver and got sandwiches and chips to eat in the little park across from where we parked so we didn't have to spend a fortune on food at the stadium. Our seats were up in the upper level but only 6 rows up. Pretty good seats. There was a Raider fan right in front of me that wouldn't shut up and I thought a couple times there was going to be a fight. Yikes. But there wasn't. There was a lightning delay though. It happened right as Peggy and I went down to get something to drink and then everyone else came down beneath the stands too- I thought we were never going to find Josh and Heath. But we did. And then there was overtime, so we got home pretty late. After the game it took forever to get out of the stadium, then forever to get out of Denver. After picking up B, we got home at about 11:30. We were both pretty tired last night.

hooray!

Josh's football team won last night against the #2 team in the state, Sundance! YAY! Sundance is who we lost to two years ago in the State Semi-finals. So it was a good win last night. We won 28-7. Saratoga had a couple really good interceptions, including one that was run back for a touchdown. Our guy was wide open and the ball was thrown right to him. He could've walked back to the endzone and still scored. :)

Here's a funny story: The other night we were at Heath and Peggy's house for the traditional coach's get together before the game- and Brecken crawled into their kitchen, found the dog's water bowl, and leaned his head down to drink it like a dog. What a silly boy.

We're off to Cheyenne here in a little bit, and we'll be gone all weekend. Go Broncos!

airplane ride

Exactly one year ago at this time, Josh and Brecken were getting ready to go in the Flight for Life jet! I asked Josh after they landed and he called, if they had in-flight snacks for him. He said they had a cooler and the nurse said to help himself. :) They send a pediatric nurse and a respiratory therapist as the flight crew- I thought that was pretty neat that they sent specialists for specific problems to be the flight crew.

Then: all ready to get into the airplane

Now:

i'm so jealous.

I thought the Children's Hospital was amazing while we were in it last year. Amazing. The only complaint I had was that the little cubicles we were in were tiny, and you could barely fit the bed, two chairs, and the nurse in there. You had to do a lot of stepping over cords. Here is an article about the new Children's Hospital, with a slideshow of pictures. NOT THAT I WANT ANOTHER CHILD IN THERE, but I'm so jealous- what a beautiful place! And the NICU looks incredible- couches for the parents (much needed!), TONS of room in there, and lots of windows. I wanted windows so bad- I had no idea what it looked like outside because we had no windows!

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/health_care/article/0,2808,DRMN_25396_5692042,00.html

happy birthday!

Brecken turned one today! This morning before we went to work, he got to "open" his present from his Gram and Gramps. I say "open" because it was too big to wrap, so we just put it together last night so he could see it this morning. They got him a Mickey Mouse fire engine that plays music and makes lots of sounds. It's like his tractor from his Grandma and Grandpa, you can ride on it and push it too. He likes to get up behind it and walk with it. He also loves pushing all the buttons and dancing along with the music.

Tonight we had dinner at the park with all the coaches and their families. He got a big board book from the preschool teacher in our group. And the gift that probably had the most thought put into it was from Deb's daughter Morgan. She's 3. She picked out a toy from her own toy box to bring to Brecken- a car that plays noisy sounds. Brecken loves it. She also had her dad write on a piece of paper, "Happy Birthday Brecken, Love" and then she signed her own name and drew him a picture. What a sweet present!

Then we came home and opened the rest of his presents. From Josh and I he got an Elmo laptop to play on. It has 10 or so keys on it and Elmo talks. It's pretty cute. We had him another present but somone else gave it to him so we have to exchange ours for something else. Loree, his babysitter, also gave him 2 presents. A book, and a Little People brand toy carwash. How fun. That was really nice of her.

Let's see- one year ago at this exact moment, 9:00, I had been moved to my own room at the other end of the maternity ward. It was a small room, because they knew my baby wouldn't be staying in the room with me like all the other moms. I told Josh that next time we have a baby, I don't want to be moved down the hall because that doesn't mean anything good! Brecken was under the oxygen hood, and I was begging a nurse to help me down to the nursery so I could see him. We had had a couple visitors, and Josh had to take them to the nursery to look through the window at him since he couldn't come to our room. That's another thing I want differently next time- I want a big room, with my baby with me in it, and the visitors can come IN my room and hold him and not have to look through the window at him!

Well, both cats are outside and it's supposed to get below freezing tonight, so I better go find them and go to bed. Both of my boys are already.

one year ago

One year ago today, I was sitting in a hospital bed, in labor, worried about what was about to happen. I hadn't eaten since about 11:00 that morning, and they wouldn't let me eat, in case I was to go in for a c-section soon. (turns out, I was.) They had tried to stop my contractions with a pill, and it didn't work. They tried to stop my contractions with a shot that HURT LIKE THE DICKENS- it stung so bad. The nurse said it would, but I never expected that much pain. And it was all for nothing because I kept contracting. The doctor on call (who I didn't like, by the way) did some ultrasounds and pushed on my belly to get Brecken to swim head down, and he did, for the first time ever, but then later that night I felt him swim back to head-up position. The nurses kept having to come in and reposition my monitor, because Brecken was moving around so much he kept knocking it off. I KNEW he swam back to the head-up position, but the dumb doc-on-call wouldn't believe me. I counted down the hours until he went off-call and my wonderful doctor, Dr. Keeler, came on shift. Nobody would let me eat, and it is VERY mean to make a pregnant woman with hypoglycemia not eat, especially when everyone else in the room was eating in front of me!

I know I keep saying this, but I really can't believe that was a year ago. I still get super emotional thinking about that rollercoaster ride we went on starting a year ago today, and I don't suppose that will ever go away. I woulnd't change anything that happened, I would keep it exactly the same, because I feel like Josh and I both are better people for going through what we did. You can never understand what it's like to be the parent of a preemie until you've been there. Sitting in the NICU day in and day out is a very draining thing but it brought Josh and I closer together, and I feel like we have a bond with Brecken that nobody else can experience unless they've had to do it too. And I still wonder, to this day, what has happened to little Joseph, who was in the Infant Care Center (ICC) next to us- he had a cleft palate and a short lower jaw, and his dad was terrified to do anything about it because he didn't want that poor baby to have scars. He did have surgery, and I hope he can breathe better because of it. He couldn't breathe and he would panic. And little Sam, who was also a 36-weeker but born with Down Syndrome- he sure was a cutie. And Karson, across the hall from us in the ICC, who was a 28-weeker that had been there a month already when we got there. And Gia, who's cubicle exploded with pink stuff. And that poor mommy and daddy next to us in the NICU who had to take that sweet baby off life support after being alive on it for 3 days. What a horrible decision to have to make.

See, now I'm all in tears. Denver Children's has a new hospital opening up- I'd love to see inside it some day (but on my own, of course- not because I have a child in there!). They are also opening up their own Ronald McDonald house so the other one can be used by the other 2 hospitals surrounding it. Both places hold special places in my heart!

Brecken's crying- I better go put him to bed.
Love,
Kara

"but little boys' knees are SUPPOSED to be black!"

That's what Josh told me yesterday when I said B needed a bath because he had black knees. B has been on a bath strike in the past couple weeks- screams and screams when we put him in, like it's burning him! It isn't- the water is the same temp as always, but he hates it anyway. Last night he wasn't sure about going in again, and started to cry, but then Ditka got in the bathtub too and B decided he'd be OK taking a bath.

What a strange cat we have! I've never seen a cat that likes the bathtub.

birthday party

We went to a birthday party this morning for Loree's son Carter. He turned 2 today. Brecken got a favor bag, even, with some crayons, a popper toy, and some sunglasses. He likes his sunglasses, because he always wants ours. :)


We had hot dogs for lunch and then a Mickey Mouse cake. B has decided he hates hot dogs, so he didn't eat too much. He thought it was pretty fun that Mom and Dad stayed at Loree's with him today, though. :) He showed us all the toys.

As we were leaving, Josh's pager went off. So we hurried and got B in the truck and we dropped Josh off at the ambulance barn and B and I took the truck home. As soon as we got home, B took a nap. I took one with him. :)

Then, we've just been playing this afternoon. I've dug dog food out of his mouth twice, so I put the food up on the table. We played outside, and we played with Ditka. Brecken was giggling up a storm, and Josh and I looked over, and Ditka and B were playing with the balloon that we got at the party. B would throw it and Ditka would bat it back. It was pretty cute. Ditka is a good playmate for B.

much better

Josh team played much better yesterday and beat Soroco, CO 39-8. They put their young guys in during the last part of the game and that's when Soroco scored. They held them to 0 points until right there at the end!

We went up to Heath and Peggy's house after the game with pizza. We didn't get home until 11:00. Brecken was asleep on their beanbag in the living room, with Macy (the 2nd grader) sleeping right next to him. It was his first sleep-over. :)

Craig and Lennie were here for the game but then went on to Lyman for the weekend. They'll be back tomorrow night, I think.

Right now, Brecken is sitting on the floor laughing hysterically at Ditka, who is playing with anything he can find. Brecken thinks it's hilarious. We are going to a birthday party later this morning- his daycare lady's son Carter turns 2 today.

a broncos game

Yesterday was school picture day. The Senior class always helps out with that, in order to make a little extra money. I'm Senior class sponsor, so not only was I here helping, but it was in my room. The guy from the photography place got talking with me and it came up that he has season tickets to the Broncos games, and he needed to sell the tickets for the first four games because he isn't able to go. He had four tickets for each game, so I went and asked Heath if he and Peggy wanted to go with Josh and I to the Raiders/Bronco game. So, that's what we'll be doing on Sept. 16th! We're going to Cheyenne on the 15th to have Stacey take Brecken's one-year pictures, then we'll stay the night in Cheyenne and on the 16th we'll bring B to my sister's house so he can play with Ryan for the day while we go to Denver with Heath and Peggy.

It's Friday! Hooray! Josh's team plays Soroco, CO here in Saratoga this afternoon. Go Panthers!

a new kitten

B and I had to go to school tonight. It was open house night from5:30-6:30. Yuck. I don't like those nights. Josh had practice and thena fire meeting, so I had to bring B with me.

Brecken got a new kitty for his birthday. One of my 2nd graders had them at the football game last week and was "selling them for free". They sure are cute little things- there were two of them, both solidorange just like Nugget. Brecken LOVED them. They sat on a little boy'slap and SLEPT during the football game!! A teacher Josh works with took one home. I told Josh that I almost brought one home because B loved it so much, and HE actually said, "Well, why didn't you?" Micaiah's mom subs at our school so the next day I told her I'd take the other one home. She brought it to me after school yesterday. That kitten came right in the house, jumped on the couch, and took a nap! Then he followed Brecken around all night. He went right next to him while B crawled, and rubbed his head on B's, and it even got to the point where B had to push him away!! The dogs are pretty excited, and we have to keep the kitty in the cat cage while the dogs are in, until they get used to him. Right now, the kitty is in the cage in the living room and Hogan is laying down staring at him. Charlie doesn't think too much of him, but hopefully she'll learn to like him so she's not lonely when we have to go out of town!

I think we'll name him Ditka. I wanted Satchmo, but Josh hated that, andI can live with Ditka.

I took some engagement pictures for Beth and Jeff this past weekend. You can see them on the internet at http://www.jeffreyandbeth.shutterfly.com/ It was fun- they're so easy to photograph!

a hard loss

The Panther football team opened their season yesterday in a game against Hanna-Elk Mountain. Luck wasn't with them though, they lost the game 20-13. First time in 20 years that we've lost to Hanna, someone said. That made Josh feel even worse. :( The head coach asked the boys if they wanted to practice tonight or if they wanted the long weekend to think about it, and the boys all wanted to practice. So we won't be getting out of town very quick tonight. Josh's school doesn't have school today, but we do, so they have to wait for the Encampment kids to get out of school and get to Saratoga.

Hopefully this will wake the boys up a little and they get their heads more in the game and we can win from now on!

tooth #4

I keep forgetting to mention that tooth #4 finally popped through on Saturday. Hooray! It was a rough one.

the sandlian snore

So B is laying in bed right now with Josh while I got up to take a shower. I came out of the shower and heard not one Sandlian, but TWO Sandlians snoring in the bed. B has inherited that "wonderful" Sandlian Snore!! All we needed was Hogan and Charlie, who both snore also, and we could've had a snoring symphony!

too funny

You have to read this, especially if you are a mom. It's an auction on Ebay that already ended, but the description of the item is totally hilarious. Perhaps the fact that I'm exhausted made it more funny, but I was laughing so hard I had tears while reading it. Enjoy!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675#description

casper

Brecken and I were out of the house by 6:45 yesterday morning so we could go to Casper to watch Josh's team scrimmage. Lennie and Pee-Wee came up, as well as David and Beverly, and some of Lennie's cousins, because their son plays for Wright, who Saratoga scrimmaged. My mom and dad came up also, and we had a nice day together. Brecken had fun flirting with everyone.

Lunch was a disaster, my mom and dad and B and I went to Old Chicago, which we all love. We waited 15 minutes for a waitress to come take our drink orders, and one never came. Finally the host had to do it. Finally a waitress came, we ordered, and we WAITED and WAITED. It's never been so slow when we've been there! I had asked her to bring B's food out as soon as it was ready, but it didn't come until my mom and dad's food was brought out. B was STARVING. So was I but my calzone didn't come with the rest of the order. The waitress said it was still cooking. She came back later and said they had to start over because they made it wrong. My mom and dad were done eating and I still didn't have anything to eat! I finally ate a piece of my dad's pizza and we told the waitress to box mine up because we were leaving. It was a disaster. The only good thing was that they took my lunch off the ticket.

Then we did some quick shopping and B and I headed home. He slept all the way to Casper, but not the way back! He slept for about an hour but then cried the rest of the way because he wanted out of his car seat. It's so hard to travel by yourself because you can't have one person in the back entertaining the kid if need be!

When we got home we got ready to go out to dinner with Heath and his wife and some friends of theirs from Worland. B was so tired but he did a great job- we didn't get home until 9:15 and he never once had a fit. What a great kid I have!

first cold of the school year

Well, we found out why Brecken was so hard to deal with on Tuesdsay and Wednesday. Wednesday night at home his face about exploded with liquids. I kept sucking out his nose and I was still wiping it every two minutes. Josh came home and asked why Brecken was crying. He wasn't, it was just his really watery eyes! And he about lost his voice. The little cough was so sad. He didn't have a fever, so he was still OK to go to Loree's house yesterday. I guess he had a pretty good day, too! The best of the week. What a relief. Hopefully it will stay this way. By Wednesday night I was sick to my stomach with worry that we were going to lose our babysitter. Hopefully he'll have a good day today, too, and then get over his cold this weekend so he's back to his normal self on Monday. Our backup babysitter always tells us that she wishes Brecken could come live with her because he is so much better acting than her own kids, so I KNOW he does a good job at daycare! Loree just hasn't seen it all yet.

B is on a milk strike at Loree's though. He will not take a bottle at all. Won't even let her put it in his mouth. He does fine at home though, so I'm not sure what the deal is. She finally gave him Pedialyte yesterday to keep him hydrated, and he drank that. Strange.

B had to go to Loree's house today even though Josh doesn't have school. There is an EMT conference somewhere and Josh is the only EMT left in the town that didn't have to work today. So he's on call, and when he's on call he can't be alone with B. So he's up at Loree's.

Tomorrow we are going to Casper to watch Josh's team scrimmage. My mom and dad are coming down so that will be fun. Lennie an Pee-Wee are coming to, because Josh's team is scrimmaging Wright, and some of that side of the family has kids playing for Wright, so they'll be in Casper watching too.

miserable day

Brecken had a miserable day. I don't know what the deal was. Loree even had to call me at work for suggestions. I called Josh and he went over to her house to help calm him down because he wouldn't quit crying. He can't do that tomorrow, since we have kids tomorrow! B had a slightly better afternoon, but I still feel really bad for Loree. I don't want her to change her mind about babysitting!! We all thought maybe he was just upset with the change in routine, but he was miserable tonight at home too. Crying lots and very clingy. He had medicine for his teeth, and Orajel, and food, but he was still miserable. Maybe he'll have a better day tomorrow. (LET'S HOPE!!!)

first day back

Today was Josh's and my first day back at school- we had meetings today. Our new babysitter called at 6:15 am saying she had a bladder infection and had to go to the clinic, and asked if we could find someone else to take B for the morning. Good thing we have a good backup babysitter! He loves it at Deb's. So we took him there in the morning and went over lunch to take him to Loree's. He had a pretty good afternoon at the new house. His teeth were bugging him though so he got a little grumpy toward the end. And man, you should have seen him love me when I picked him up- he was kissing me all over. And even a half hour after we got home, he'd crawl up me and wrap his arms around my neck and pat my back and go "mmmmm", then pull away and kiss my face. Then he'd play, but then come back for more hugs and kisses on his own every few minutes. :) I love that.

teeth

Brecken got tooth #3 on Friday- and tooth #4 should be here any day. They are his top middle teeth and boy, are they making the poor kid miserable! He won't sleep, won't eat, is whiny, and just wants to cuddle. I wish that 4th tooth would just hurry up and pop through!!!

bbq

The football team had a BBQ up at the school tonight to celebrate the end of 2-a-days. Then they had a "Madden Football" tournament on x-boxes. They set up about 6 x-box systems in Josh's room and they had big brackets and everything. I stayed long enough to see Josh beat Heath and then B and I came home. He needed a bath, because he found the one puddle in the whole county and laid down in it. He even put his hair in there. Silly boy. Luckily it was right before we came home, so I was able to stip his shirt off and he was OK. (He already had his pants off because he was hot.)

B sure had fun tonight, he's doing so much better with the separation anxiety thing. He let Macy, Heath's 4th grader, tote him around and all the coaches kids were playing with him and he took them walking around the hallways and showed off his crawling. He really had no interest in me, which is a big change from a couple months ago!!

brecken's birthday

Brecken's birthday is coming soon!! I can't believe how fast the year went. For those of you that are able, we are having a birthday party on Sept. 2 at 6:00 in Lingle. I've had a couple people ask what to get him, so here are some ideas:

Clothes: He is wearing 12 month sized shirts and 9 month sized pants right now. For the most part. Sometimes I buy him a pair of pants that doesn't fit so I have to exchange them for another size- baby pants are weird like that. He is wearing size 3.5 shoes too.

Toys: Toys are always good! We are getting him an Elmo laptop so maybe our laptop won't be so appealing to him, and a Leapfrog Fridge DJ. It's a little boom box that goes on your fridge and plays songs. Anything that goes on the fridge would be great- he loves being in the kitchen with his walker and playing with things on the fridge. I keep some pictures of my cousins up there and he likes to take them down and look at them, and then carry those pictures around with him. He also LOVES anything musical, so that is an idea too.

Other ideas: Bath toys, something to keep all the bath toys in, outside toys (he only has one- a slide.). He LOVES "The Wonder Pets" on Noggin- everytime it comes on he gets a big grin on his face and he dances and watches it- so anything Wonder Pets would be great too.

Some people give diapers- he wears Pampers Cruisers size 3.

Please don't feel you have to get him anything though. I just posted this because a few people have asked what he would like for his birthday!

sharing

Brecken is very into sharing today. He shared his lunch with Josh this afternoon, and a few minutes ago was sharing bites of his graham cracker with Birdie. And just now, I saw him take his bottle, pick it up, and try to put it in Birdie's mouth. I caught him before he could talk Birdie into it.

He's also now walking around the furniture. The cat isn't sure she likes that. Brecken just scoots right on over, stands up, and is right in Charlie's face. He made it almost all the way around the couch "walking" today. Now he needs to figure out how to sit back down!

We're about ready to get some long pants and sweatshirts on and go watch Josh's football practice. It rained this afternoon so it's kind of chilly out now. The thermometer on my computer says 69 degrees.

visitors

We had lots of visitors this weekend. Craig and Lennie came late on Thursday night and then Jeff decided to come over too. Beth was going home to Alliance this weekend to work a golf tournament, so on Friday Jeff rode to Rawlins with her and we all met him and took him home with us. Craig and Josh had been golfing in Rawlins and Lennie, Brecken and I went over to meet them for lunch, so it worked out perfect to get Jeff while we were there. While we were gone, I'm pretty sure we had a mini-tornado of sorts. When we got back to Saratoga we discovered a mess at our house. Brecken's slide was blown over, and the back yard was a disaster. Two of our heavy steel patio chairs were blown completely into the lawn, the sun sail was ripped off the house, and one of the big fat wooden posts that holds one of the ends of the sail in the yard was snapped off! Not taken out of the ground, it completely snapped the wood in half. And the grill was blown over into the yard on the back, too. And the dogs' swimming pool that we keep out there for them to drink out of and stay cool in was gone as well. Nowhere to be found. The strange thing is, the other two patio chairs were still where they were, as was the citronella candle, still sitting on the table where it was. It's the strangest thing. I'm super glad the metal ring attached to the sail that was ripped out of our house didn't go flying into the glass patio table. It would have shattered the glass and we would've been out a table!!

Saturday morning the boys went golfing and B, Lennie and I went downtown to Crazy Days. Not much out this year, so I didn't buy anything but a new swimming pool for the dogs.

Today we just took it easy and our company all left around 1:30, I think it was. Now we are trying to get B to go to bed. He's fighting it hard tonight. We're having to take turns getting him to sleep- while I was in there I laid him down from standing up 10 times. He's figured out this standing up thing and thinks he's pretty hot stuff. Now Josh is in there trying the same thing. I needed a break.

Josh starts football two-a-days tomorrow. The morning practices are in Encampment and the bus leaves at 5:30. Yikes.

lightweight

Josh took Brecken to get weighed today since he'll be 11 months in 2 days. We both thought for sure he had gained good weight because he really does feel heavier to us. However, he only gained 6 ounces in the month! :( He's 17 pounds even. I'll have to measure how long he is tonight when he's sleepy, so he'll stay still long enough for me to do it.

little daredevil

We've had quite a few bumps and bruises the past couple days. Brecken has decided to be a daredevil and it's not working out like he planned. He's a pro now at pulling himself up on anything and everything he can. The problem is, sometimes those things move (like his walker) and he goes down pretty hard. He's also decided once he pulls himself to standing in front of the couch (or chair, or table) he's going to climb up it. He then finds out that his feet slip off it and down he goes. And the other night, he pulled himself up to standing in front of his little green chair, then put his knees up on it so he was sitting on his knees in the chair, and then pulled up to standing, then put his knees on the end table so he could climb up there! Pretty smart, this little almost-11-month-old Brecken! He didn't make it onto the table though, his mean mommy was there to pull him off it.

We went to visit his babysitter, Loree, yesterday. Josh came with so he could meet her, and we let Brecken get to know her a little more. This time, he let Loree hold him. And he took her walking around the living room. He then found toys and played with them. And then the other 3 kids woke up and he let them play with him. YAY! I'm glad he seems to like it there. Even Loree's dogs laid in Brecken's lap. No joke.

whirlwind weekend

Boy, did we have a busy weekend! Saturday, Josh was golfing in a tournament in Cheyenne with our friend Mark, Josh's dad, and Josh's grandma. While they golfed, Erin and Avey (Mark's wife and daughter) came shopping with Lennie and Brecken and myself. We had fun. Then we all went out to dinner. WARNING: DO NOT ORDER A BOWL OF APPLESAUCE AT RED LOBSTER- It cost $4!! Good golly.

That night we went to Lingle to sleep, then got up and left for South Dakota. My sister was a camp nurse at the music camp we both went to every summer while growing up. We went up so I could show Josh the camp, and my mom and grandma ended up meeting us there. We took care of Ryan while Kristen did camp check-ins. We walked around camp and then took the boys to Mt. Rushmore. Then we went down to Keystone to see all the bikes since it's Sturgis Rally week. Crazy busy with all the bikes!

Sunday night we spent at my mom and dad's house, and then came home yesterday evening. It was a fast weekend but we had a lot of fun.

my friend

I got a call from my mom early last week, saying she had just gotten the mail and about fell over to see a wedding invitation from one of my very best friends from high school, Katie. I had lost touch with Katie, we really haven't talked since our freshman year of college, I don't think. I was really excited that I finally had a way to contact her again- I didn't even know where she was anymore! So my mom sent me the address that was on the return-address label and I sent her a card. I gave her my email address and I'm so excited- on Monday I heard from her! It's been FOREVER and it was so good to her from her again. She's getting married in Idaho over Labor Day weekend but she's living in Syracuse, NY now. She's a coordinator for an after-school program at their YWCA. That sounds like a tough job! We definitely have a lot of catching up to do- both of us have had major life-changing experiences since that long ago!

Anyway, I just had to share because even now, 4 days later, I'm still so excited to have found her again. YAY, TATORS!!!

shopping

We had a fun day yesterday in Loveland and Ft. Collins doing some school shopping. I only got 2 shirts, but Josh found some pants and Brecken got some things too since he's outgrowing his 9 month outfits. We bought him some jeans, and they're size 6 months, but we put him in them today and they're about right in length but when he's in them and you pick him up, they fall straight off. I wish I could find long pants with skinny waists! I can't find any baby belts either. :( I did find a website that sells them, for $18, but we're going to have to bite the bullet and buy one because B can't go pantless once winter comes!!

We also found "big boy" car seats we like. We bought the same pattern for both cars. Brecken sat in it at Toys R Us and had the biggest grin. He was patting the arm rests and laughing. I think he liked it. :) It's a Graco Pedic so it's super comfy to sit in. And the straps are bigger. He hates getting in his car seat now, and I think it's because the straps are so small he has to twist his arms to get them in. This is a forward-facing only seat though, so I hope he gets to 20 pounds soon so we can put him in the new seat so he's more comfy!

glasses

Both Josh and I had eye appointments in Rawlins on Monday. JOSH NEEDS GLASSES! I've had glasses or contacts since I was 9 years old, so I didn't feel bad for him. In fact, I laughed at him because he was always bragging about how he has such good eyesight. However, he's "very far-sighted" according to the doctor. HAHAHAHAHA!! Josh pouted all the way home- he's being a big baby about it. :) The office didn't have a big selection of frames though, but they had a Nike catalog, so he had them order a few of those frames for him to try out. :) He really couldn't see very well though because his eyes were dialated. He was a big baby about that, too.
Apparently, he's never had it done before. They did NOT dialate my eyes, so that one of us could drive home. :)

AND, we have a new babysitter! It's the lady that we tried to get Brecken into last year but she didn't have room for a baby. Josh called her again Monday morning and she said she'd do some age figuring and call us back. She called on our way home from the eye doctor and she said she could take him! Hooray! She's in Saratoga, so that will be nice. We've heard lots of good things about her. We'll go meet her on Friday. We'll still use Deb, because she'd be sad if she didn't get to babysit, but we'll use this lady, Laurie, the other days. I really liked how Dana was with Brecken last year, but now with her step-son's trial coming up this fall she won't be
around until that's over, and plus- her extended family freaked me out a lot. (for instance, her ex-husband isn't allowed in her house but sits in the street in his car every day so he can talk to his kids. That freaks me out.) So I'll send her a big flower arrangement to tell her thanks for being so great last year with Brecken.

gross and disgusting

Well I woke up to a disgusting surprise this morning. Brecken woke up at 6:30, so I put the dogs out before I went to get him. Birdie was in Brecken's room, so I don't know if she left me the surprise or if she was just checking on Brecken, and Hogan was sleeping next to my bed. I went out to the living room and there was diarreha (or however it's spelled) in a path from where the carpet starts next to the front door all the way to the kitchen. It was definitely from one of the dogs. GROSS. I cleaned up as much as I could (and I didn't puke- I was proud of myself!!) and called Josh, (who went to Casper Thursday for the Coach's Clinic) and he said to go to Rawlins to get a Rug Doctor from the grocery store. So that's what B and I got to do this morning. I got it home and Brecken had a snack in his high chair while I cleaned up the stains. Got most of it out, I put Spot Shot on the big ones that are still faintly in the carpet and when Josh gets home this afternoon (hopefully around 1) we'll do it again and the rest of the carpet, too. Brecken didn't like the sound, he cried, so it will be easier with 2 people here so one can take him outside while the other one cleans the carpet.

Dang dogs- neither one ever asked me to go outside during the night, so it must have been a really big emergency!

However, in the car on the way to Rawlins, I had in one of Brecken's kid CD's, and the "Patty Cake" song came on- he patted his hands right along with it! Then on the way home it came on again. He was drinking his bottle so he couldn't pat his hands, but he patted the bottle! That was the only song he did that to, so he must know!! He sang along with the songs too. He likes to sing.

Oh, and something funny to go along with my disgusting morning- while we got dressed and ready to go, the "Wonder Pets" show was on Noggin. Brecken likes that one because it's all music. Today, the Wonder Pets saved a puppy that had to go "wee-wee", but he couldn't because he was stuck in a house. I thought that was very appropriate for my morning. :)

sleeping

I think we FINALLY might have had a visit from the sleeping fairy- Brecken has been sleeping through the night for the past week or so. HOORAY!! (But now that I said that, he'll stop sleeping so well. Isn't that the way life works?) I had ordered a book a few weeks ago called "Good Night, Sleep Tight", and it's been a lifesaver. I ordered it because it's a much gentler way to get your kid to not rely on you in the middle of the night, and to teach them how to soothe themselves back to sleep. I cannot do the "Cry-it-out" method- it just seems incredibly cruel to me to put your kid to bed and leave them in the dark by themselves screaming and crying. This method, you put them to bed, and sit by the crib until they fall asleep so they know you are still there. You do that the first 3 nights, and do the same thing when they wake up during the night. Then the next 3 nights, you move your chair farther away from the crib, so they know you are still there but you are farther away. So on and so forth. We never made it that far though- he's been falling asleep great and staying asleep at night too. I had waited to start this until we got an OK from the pediatrician I took Brecken to a couple weeks ago. I didn't know if I should still be feeding Brecken in the night since he's underweight. The ped. said nope, his stomach is big enough that he does not need to eat, and he'll learn to eat more in the day. It's been wonderful to sleep through the night myself!! I had only done that 4 times since bringing Brecken home from the hospital.

another tooth!

Brecken's 2nd tooth popped through! It's his bottom left tooth. It wasn't nearly as miserable as the 1st one. No blood this time, and only a day or so of crying.

AND, he's getting SO close to crawling. He now can move both of his knees but when he moves his hands he falls down. He gets right back up to try again though!

This picture was taken right after a graham cracker snack. He gets a little messy when he's in a good mood, eating a snack. He was showing me how big he is, pulling up on his crib.

the joys of being mobile

Brecken is definitely more mobile and it's making me exhausted! :) Yesterday I was putting things away in his room after we got home from Casper, and he was playing in his crib. I looked over, and he was looking over the edge of the crib, while standing on his feet! He had pulled himself up to a standing position. I guess we need to lower the mattress now.

Then today, I was cleaning the kitchen and Brecken was cruising around in his walker. I was almost finished with the kitchen when I hear Birdie's food dump all over the floor. Brecken had cruised over there, picked up the bowl, and dumped it. There was a few pieces left in the bowl, and I got there just in time to watch Brecken put it in his mouth. GROSS! He didn't have time to form an opinion because I was over there getting it out of his mouth.

Oh, the joys of being mobile.

a doctor's appointment

I took B to Dr. DeHart today- the pediatrician that took care of him when he was born. We were concerned that he hadn't gained even a pound in 2 months at his 9 month appointment, and I wanted her to check on his heart murmer and his hernia. At 9 months, he weighed 15 pounds 13 oz, and today, at 10 months, he weighed 16 pounds 10 oz. So I was glad to see he gained almost a pound in a month- back to his "normal" gains. He got tall though- an inch and a quarter in the month! He's now 28 3/4 inches! That's in the 50th percentile, and his head is in the 60th percentile.

His weight is still below the charts, but she said since I was like that when I was little, we'll just keep an eye on it. If he continues to gain weight and stays in a nice curve below the charts, she'll be OK with it. If he goes even lower below the charts at his 12 month appointment, she wants us to bring him back and do bloodwork on him to make sure his blood counts are OK.

His murmer is still there- she heard it right away. I asked why Dr. Jake didn't really hear it last month, and she said with these kinds of murmers, they might come and go before they go for good, so that's why Dr. Jake might not have heard it.

Brecken's hernia is still there too- she said it's not totally uncommon in infants, and those muscles will develop later. You can see it when he arches his back, it sticks out his belly. :)

Brecken was really good at the doctor- he didn't like her looking in his ears, that made him mad, but he was smiley and waving and jabbering the rest of the time. She gave him a tongue depressor to play with to keep him busy- it was grape flavored and he sucked it all the way to lunch even. :)

Then I had to take the pickup to the Honda dealer to get something checked on the console, and the tires rotated. We ended up being there for TWO HOURS- they found a big huge ugly screw in one of the tires so they repaired it- I'm glad they found it so I didn't get a flat tire on my way home! Josh couldn't come with me today because his football team left for Sheridan to scrimmage tomorrow morning. Then he will meet me in Casper- we are going up there to meet my mom and dad, as well as my sister and her family, and hang out for the weekend. It's the only weekend we ALL can get together all summer long, so it should be fun. We'll be back on Sunday afternoon.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A TOOTH!

FINALLY! A TOOTH! It's just barely showing through, and knowing or luck, it will go back down and nobody will believe us, but honest to goodness, I saw his tooth for a brief moment! He only opens his mouth if you hold him upside down, but the second we try to look in, he shuts his mouth tight. :) And seriously, after all this drama, I only want him to have one tooth. We had blood dribbles the other night, severe drooling, severe CRABBINESS, constant (or so it seems when you're the only one home with him) crying, it was just not fun. So one tooth is plenty for me, if it means we don't have to go through this again.

*sigh* Wishful thinking.

And to update on B's bumped noggin- It wasn't his noggin. He woke up from his nap with a red bump right above his eyelid on his eye socket. :(

and the bad mommy of the month award goes to...

I sure have put myself in the running for the Bad Mommy of the Month award the past few weeks. First, while in Worland, Brecken threw himself out of my arms while we were in the swimming pool and he went completely under the water. I scooped him up and he came up sputtering and crying, but got over it eventually.

Then, while packing for our week away last week, Brecken rolled off the bed. I hadn't turned my back for more than 3 seconds and I heard the most sickening thud. He just rolled right off. I don't think he hit anything, but he cried and cried. Josh had run out to get the mail, but was back real soon after it happened and gave Brecken a head-to-toe assessment, and couldn't find anything wrong thank goodness.

Then today, while getting ready for a nap, I accidentally hit Brecken's forehead with my elbow. I think he cried harder about that then he did after falling off the bed, even. Granted, he was tired and everything hurts more when you're tired, but still. I felt so bad. He finally fell asleep and was doing the shuddering thing you do when you recover from crying hard. Poor baby.

And poor Mommy.

a new sister-in-law!

I see that Annie already beat me to this, so all of the Sandlian side of the family already knows this news if they read Annie's blog. But for the rest of you, I'm getting a new sister-in-law! Josh's youngest brother, Jeffrey, asked his girlfriend, Beth Brown, to marry him on Saturday. Beth teaches 1st grade at Jeff's school and they met last summer while getting their classrooms ready to go. It was fate that they both took jobs so far from home! Beth is originally from Alliance, Nebraska. She's super nice and we're excited that she'll be joining the family next July! After July 19, 2008, all the Sandlian boys will be married and Lennie, the mother of 3 boys, will have 3 daughters. :)

wow! this boy can move!

You should've seen Brecken scooting tonight! I laid him down on the floor in the dining room at Craig and Lennie's house so I could change his diaper, but the diapers were in another room. I went and got one, and went back, and he was almost to the kitchen, about 4 feet away. I said, "Hey! Get back here!" and he laughed and got all excited and scooted FAST the rest of the way to the kitchen!! Then he realized Lennie has lots of things in there and laughed at them and looked at us like "LOOK at these things I can touch!" He then realized the slick floor of the kitchen is fun to scoot on! He made it halfway through, then discovered that if he's on his back he can push himself backwards- he liked that too! Then turned over and made it the rest of the way through the kitchen, through the hallway and to the living room and about 2 feet away from the front door before he got tired and cried about it. But that whole time he was scooting, he was going fast and laughing, not crying and grunting! He figured out it wasn't that hard and that it was fun! He scooted all over the living room floor the rest of the evening, finding all the stuff he never knew was there. (After I had chased him down and finally got his diaper changed. :))

We had a fun time in Gillette- I'll post pictures when we get back home to my own computer. We had fun in Lingle before Gillette too- Craig and Lennie bought the 3 grandkids cowboys hats and we got some great pictures. Trevor especially will be very embarrassed when he turns into a teenager to see the pictures- teenage boys don't like to see pictures of themselves in a cowboys hat, a tank top, a sagging diaper, and cowboy boots and that's it. :)

travels

We are doing a lot of traveling lately. Monday morning, Josh and some of his football team went to Thermopolis for a football camp. I didn't particularly want to stay with Brecken by ourselves again, so he and I went to Worland to visit my Grandma. Brecken had never been to her house and she hasn't seen him since Christmas, so a visit was due. We got there Monday afternoon and had a great time. We went to water aerobics with my grandma twice while we were there and Brecken LOVED swimming in the pool. It totally wore him out! Tuesday night the three of us met Josh in Thermop at his aunt and uncle's house, then the six of us went out to Bev and David's cabin for dinner. That was fun. Wednesday morning, Brecken and I loaded up and went to Thermop to watch the end of the camp and then traveled back with the team.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Lingle. We'll spend a couple days there and then head up to my mom and dad's for the 4th of July. We haven't been there for the 4th since the summer we were married. Gillette always has a big parade and a fantastic fireworks display so it will be fun. Then it's back to Lingle for Matt's wedding, and then finally back to Saratoga. Phew! Lots of travels. Hopefully B will do well in the car.

scooting!

Brecken figured out how to scoot on the floor today! He scooted on his belly halfway across the living room to get to me this morning! And you would've thought it was the hardest thing ever, with all the grunting and sighing! :)

Baby proofing, here we come, I guess!

THE BEST NEWS OF THE DAY: Josh had his final EMT-AI test this morning and he passed! He is now an Advanced Intermediate EMT, which is one step below being a paramedic. He can do IV's, give drugs, shock heart patients, etc. And he's still not allowed to practice IV's on me. :) So not only did he pass, but he's now done with going to Rawlins twice a week for classes. Hooray!

rolling

Brecken figured out how to roll over and over, in order to get somewhere this afternoon! He rolled all across the living room and was pretty proud of himself. :)

football field

SHS is getting a new football field! They finally got the sod laid this week- Josh and Heath, the other coach, were pretty worried about it getting laid in time. They finished laying it on Tuesday night, but wouldn't you know, Saratoga is on a water restriction because a part at the water plant broke. The houses can only water certain hours, on certain days, and the school district isn't allowed to water the new sod on the field. The supertintendent was pretty worried about losing the grass, but the fire department is loaning them (read: Josh) a firetruck to go up there and water the grass. So Josh and Heath, along with Heath's daughters Macy and Lily, watered the sod all afternoon. They plan on going up again tonight after Josh gets home from his EMT class, and then early tomorrow morning, too. Heath ran the hose all day- he had a blast. So did Josh- he didn't want to leave to come home to get ready for class! Brecken and I went up for a few hours this afternoon. It was HOT, and Brecken never took a nap, but he was great the whole time we were up there! It was nice to come home to a cool house though.

new patio

We got our back patio all finished up yesterday and are now able to be outside enjoying it! We always had a cement pad out our back door, but never did anything with it. So over the weekend, we stained the concrete, we installed a sun shade above it, and yesterday put together the new patio set that we bought while in Gillette a couple weekends ago. Now it is a usable area! Brecken enjoys sitting out there with us- he can laugh at the dogs playing in the yard.

birthday party!

We went to Ryan's birthday party on Saturday. It's hard to believe that he will be 1 year old on Wednesday the 20th! I know I keep saying this, but MAN, time flies. There were lots of little kids there and everyone had a great time. Kristen and David got him the wagon that the boys are sitting in. Below is the water table that his Grandma and Grandpa Winegar got him. It was a HUGE hit at the party and everyone got plenty wet.

We got him a sandbox and my mom and dad got him a little plastic bike (like the Little Tykes brand) that first starts off as a rocking bike, then a bike with a handle on it so Mom and Dad can push it down the sidewalk, and then finally a "real" bike when he can finally reach the pedals. Ryan loves rocking on it.

His birthday theme was Elmo, complete with his own Elmo cake. David really wanted him to do a face plant in it, but instead, he was very clean and took teeny tiny little pinches of frosting, put it aside, and then took a teeny tiny pinch of cake and ate it very neatly. He finally got into the spirit a little later. :)

My aunt, uncle, and cousins from Helena, MT were on their way back home from a vacation in Alabama today and happened to be in Laramie over lunchtime. So Josh, Brecken and I got in the car and went and had lunch with them and Kris, David, and Ryan. We haven't seen my aunt and uncle since Thanksgiving, so they were surprised at how big both babies have gotten! My cousin Ian went to Space Camp in Alabama, so they made it a family vacation.

takes after his mommy

So I got out my baby book to see how much I weighed and how long I was when I was 9 months old. Sure enough, Brecken is taking after his mommy so far. I was 2 ounces heavier and 4 centimeters shorter than Brecken. I'd say that's pretty identical!

Brecken tried so hard to crawl tonight. Every time he was sitting up, he'd twist over onto his belly. He'd grunt and strain to try to move foward. He scooted an inch or so two different times, but that was about it. He's pretty determined though- he would try every time he was sitting up! It wasn't me making him try- it was all his own will. I don't think it will be too long now before he's at least scooting.

Josh had another EMT test tonight, over cardiac drugs. He passed! He was pretty nervous about it, because if he didn't pass tonight, he can't finish the class. He has two more classes, I think. After next week and one more test, he'll be an Advanced Intermediate EMT. YAY!

below the charts

Well, Brecken fell below the charts on this doctor visit. I thought for sure he gained a lot of weight because he's been eating a ton and he certainly FEELS heavier, but he hasn't even gained a pound from 2 months ago! At 7 months, he weighed 15 pounds, 2 oz. Today, he only weighed 15 pounds 13 ounces! That isn't even on the percentile chart. I'll have to go dig out my baby book and see how much I weighed at 9 months- I know I was below the charts until I started elementary school!

Brecken is around the 10th percentile for his length, at about 27 inches. He's gained about a half an inch in those two months.

The good news is, neither Dr. Jake nor the med student that was in with us could hear much out of the ordinary in his heart, so I think he may have grown out of the heart murmer! YAY!

Brecken has gained more in his "vocabulary" in the past couple days- he now says "nanananana." Still laughs when I ask him to say Mama! Yesterday, he began pointing at things. He pointed at his toys, and the tree outside, and the cat outside. And his new favorite food is Rice Krispies. Makes a mess of them on the floor, so the dogs love them now too. :)

summer!

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this! We have been very busy since school got out. In fact, Brecken and I have only been home for 2 days of summer so far! Last Monday, Brecken and I went to Denver to hang out with my sister and Ryan, who were down there while David was on a business trip. Josh had to work on Monday and had EMT class on Tuesday, so Brecken and I went down by ourselves. We had a great time. Monday, we went to the zoo! After Brecken got super hot and had to be stripped down to his onesie, he happily hung out in his stroller. And I mean "hung". He lounged back and kept his feet up on the cupholder tray and just totally relaxed!!

The zoo was fun, I hadn't been there in several years. We saw lots of beautiful animals and had fun walking around. Ryan did not have fun, he cried for most of it because he was tired and couldn't fall asleep in the sun and noise. But the other 3 of us had a blast.

Tuesday morning we loaded up and went to the Children's Museum. It was really neat, but it would've been more fun for the boys if they were a little more mobile. Since neither of them can crawl yet, the only thing they really appreciated was the infant area where they could lay on the "pond" and play with the mobiles. We will have to take them back in a couple years. We did get some good pictures on the firetruck for Josh though. :)

After the museum, we went to a great outlet mall in Castle Rock. They have a Carter's, Osh Kosh, Gymboree, Eddie Bauer, and a bunch more. We spent the afternoon there and got some great deals.

Brecken and I came back on Wednesday and met Josh in Cheyenne. He was supposed to be getting fitted for a tuxedo for Matt's wedding, but we got there and the tux place had gone out of business! They made new plans and we came home. I-80 was WINDY, so we both got off in Laramie and went over the Snowy Range. I'm not sure that was any better because we drove over it in a BLIZZARD! No joke. Snowing so hard we couldn't see the road at times.

Thursday was spent doing laundry and packing again. Friday morning we dropped the dogs off at the kennel and headed up to Gillette for the weekend. We hadn't been there since Christmas so it was good to go back. Brecken had a great time and even got to stay with Grandma one night while Josh and I went to Casper for the Shrine Bowl. Josh had 2 players from him team playing in it and Saratoga's head coach was a coach for the South team, so it was a good game to go watch. The South won, 20-17, so the trip was well worth it!! We weren't gone overnight, but 10 or so hours.

Now we are back and the house needs cleaned. We have a lot of projects lined up for the coming weeks, including finishing the outside paint, adding a fence in the back yard so the dogs can stay on half of it while we're out during the day, and we'll seed the bare spots in the other half of the yard so we have a nice back yard to play on. We also need to assemble the patio set that we bought in Gillette so we can eat outside, but before that, we need to stain the concrete so it looks nicer. We also need to figure out what we're doing with the kitchen- whether we should fork out the tons of money it will cost to replace the cabinets and countertop, or just refinish the cabinets ourselves and spend a little more on the countertop. Decisions, decisions, and it all means WORK!!

Brecken has his 9 month well baby check on Thursday, so I'll update then on how big he is now!

crawling?

Brecken crawled across the living room mostly on his own tonight! He's able to rock back and forth on his hands and knees now if we put him in that position. Tonight he really tried to get from sitting to on his knees so he could go get the cat. He couldn't quite make it so I put him in that position and then held his belly and he moved his arms and legs all the way across the living room! He was pretty proud of himself. It helped that I was taking a little weight off his middle for him, but he did most of the work!! Won't be too long and he'll be able to do it on his own!!

Sunday

We took Brecken to the park Sunday evening and he had a great time. We played on the swings and went down the slide. Then we sat in the grass and helped Josh study for his drug test that he has on Tuesday.

Saturday

We had a fun day on Saturday. Josh's football team was having a golf tournament and our friends Mark, Erin and their daugter Avey came to play in it, along with Brady, Stacey and Parker, and two of Brady's friends. The boys played golf and the girls stayed with the babies. (Avey is 2, Parker is 1 1/2.) We went downtown to see all the shops and then came back to the house to play since it started raining and we couldn't go to the park. We had a good visit with everyone. They all went home on Sunday morning.

koosh ball

Brecken got a Koosh Ball this past weekend. We were at the store and I saw one, so I handed it to him. You should've seen the look on his face when he felt it- he hated it!! He made a terrible face and pulled his hand away. I gave it to him again, and he got used to the feel and then played with it until it was time to check out. He thinks it tickles when I rub it on his feet, and he does NOT like it brushing on his head, but he'll play with it with his hands. What a great texture toy!

Brecken also started clapping this weekend. He thinks it's funny until he notices you looking, and then he will usually stop. You can hardly hear the clapping, it's very, very soft, but it's cute anyway. :)

Apparently, he has gotten to the phase where he cries when Mom and Dad leave him. Josh dropped him off at the babysitter's today and he burst into hysterical tears. Then when I picked him up, he was getting his diaper changed and cried just as hard because he couldn't get to me. As soon as he was done getting changed, I picked him up and he immediately stopped crying and grinned at his babysitter, like, "HA! I got my mom!!!" What a goof. He had a great day, he loves it at Deb's house. Luckily, if this phase is going to happen, he only has 7 more days of daycare before we get to stay home with him for the summer. Hopefully he will grow out of this phase before school starts again- although maybe after a whole summer home with Mom and Dad, it will be harder for him to go to daycare!

Deb said today that she and her husband were talking once again about how they wish their own kids were as well behaved as Brecken is. She tells me this a lot. She said Dr. Jake came home for lunch and their 2 year old was crying, their 3 year old was crying, and Brecken was happy as a clam, sitting on the floor playing with measuring cups. I'm so glad they talk about how good our baby is instead of what a holy terror he is. :)