a sleepover?

So Brecken LOVES his new babysitter. In fact, this afternoon, I had to chase him down to get him to put his coat on! He didn't want to come home. His friend Chandler, Deb's 2 1/2 year old son, told me, "Brecken can stay." I said, "Oh? Are you going to have a sleepover?" Chandler said, "Yeah!" and I look over and Brecken was nodding his head with a big smile on his face. :) I told him we probably needed to sleep at our own house but that he could come back tomorrow and play. Boy, was he mad at me for making him come home! I guess that's a good sign, that the new place is working out! I know he's getting a lot of attention there- Deb asked me to put new books in his diaper bag because she read each one (there were three in there) four times today. :)

Here's another one of B's new things: He now sits on the dogs like he's riding a horse while they are laying down. He thinks it's fun to bounce up and down on them like he's on his Bounce and Spin Zebra that Santa brought him. Birdie isn't so hot on it- she gets up and bucks him off. Good ol' Hogan though, just lays there and tolerates it. I swear, if dogs can roll their eyes, Hogan certainly is!!

playing

Brecken and I spent the day playing hard and reading lots of books. He's such a goof lately- laughing and flirting and trying to trick me- it's pretty funny. He has two new things that he does a lot- he will now say, "uh-oh!!" when something drops (whether on accident or on purpose!) and his really funny one- he turns his hands over and almost shrugs his shoulders in an "I don't know, Mom!" pose when you ask him a question he doesn't know the answer to. It's quite funny.

lonely

Well, Josh isn't coming home tonight. His teams were in Yoder playing ball this afternoon. The two buses decided to wait in Cheyenne for the Speech bus who was also in Cheyenne and then all decide what to do. Josh's principal was on his way home from Cheyenne and called and said the summit between Laramie and Cheyenne was pretty nasty, and then some parents of one of the boys called and said they slid off the road on the summit. I've been checking Road and Travel and after Laramie, highway 230 (through Wood's Landing and up through Encampment) is no unnecessary travel, but highway 30 through Rock River, Medicine Bow, and Hanna is normal- slick in spots and windy. One of the bus drivers freaked out and won't drive tonight, so they all have to stay. Josh is ticked- they keep getting calls from parents saying once you get to Laramie, the roads are OK if you pick the right road. Josh said they could've been home by now if they would've just kept going and not waited for the speech team. And his poor head coach really wants to be home- she's VERY pregnant (being induced on the 14th unless she goes sooner) and was barely even allowed to go on this trip, and now she's stuck overnight with kids, making her more tired. Josh said everyone is blaming me for being stuck in Cheyenne because I made Josh bring an overnight bag. I jinxed them. :)

So, I'm on my own tonight. :(

Don't know how the boys' games went but both girl teams lost. By a lot, from what I could gather. Josh didn't tell me the scores, but he was kind of laughing when he told me they lost, so I'm gathering they lost by a ton. I'll have to go look on the web.

new daycare

Brecken is starting with a new babysitter tomorrow. He'll now be full time at Dr. Jake and Deb's house. If you want to know the story, email me and I'll let you know. I don't want to post it on here because it's a public blog and I don't want say anything negative. But Josh and I are excited about the new plan!

15 months old

Brecken had his 15 month appointment before we left for Christmas. He's a growing boy! He's now 19 pounds even and getting closer to that percentile chart. His head grew as well and is in the 75th percentile and he is now 31 inches tall, in the 50th percentile!

We got some stuff taken out of his room and rearranged his room so that he can now have his bigger toys in it. He sure likes playing back there. And it's nice to not have everything he owns in the living room. :)

quick catch up

It's been a while since I've been around a computer to update everyone! We had a great Christmas. We went to Worland after Josh's game on Saturday and stayed for a few days. My grandma's friend down the street was gone out of town, so my family got full use of her house. It was WONDERFUL. We could let the boys leave their toys out and not worry about being in the way. :) Brecken did a great job on the trip and loved his presents.

Then we went to Lingle for Christmas with Josh's family for a few days. We had a great time there, too. We came hme with a TON of presents that almost wouldn't fit in the pick-up. I was holding some things in my lap. :) We came through Cheyenne with Beth and Jeff following us yesterday, all on our way home, but ended up getting stuck there because all roads in and out were closed due to weather. So we hung out at the mall and did some shopping, and then all stayed the night with Brady and Stacey. Sure glad they lived there so we had somewhere to stay! Josh's aunt and uncle live there too but not sure we'd make it out to their house in the country.

We finally made it home around lunchtime today. It's nice to be home finally!!!!

counting down

I'm counting down the minutes until school's out for Christmas break. And the minutes are going by VERY SLOWLY. The kids are horrible this week. Coal-worthy horrible. In fact, my jr. high choir was SO NAUGHTY on Tuesday that today during class, they will be reading their silent reading books. And that's it. I even bribed them at the beginning of choir on Tuesday, that if they worked well that day, I'd let them bring in Guitar Hero, which they've been BEGGING to play. Not even that bribe worked. They'll be very, very angry today. That's OK- they can think I'm the wicked witch of the west all they want- some day, they might realize that it's THEIR attitude that hurts them, not my "mood", as they put it.

Josh's school goes through today and they're out on break. We go until 1:30 tomorrow. :( It won't be too bad- I'll have my kindergarten class, then all the elementary kids break into groups to do centers, and the Spanish teacher and myself are in charge of teaching them a Christmas song in Spanish. Ought to be interesting since I don't know a lick of Spanish past "margarita, rapido!" :) Then during silent reading time and 5th hour, the whole school will be watching a movie in the gym. Then finally, we get to go home. I can't wait- it took a lot for me to get up and come to school this morning, so I'm definitely in need of a break.

Our babysitter's son was sick on Monday and Tuesday, so on Monday B went to Deb's house and Tuesday Josh had to stay home with him. Yesterday B was back at Loree's house and he even got a Christmas present from her! We opened it last night so that we didn't have to haul it to Worland with us. B is way into bows this year, so he got real excited when he started opening the present, but after he got the bow off, he walked off with it very happily and didn't care about the rest of the present. :) Inside was a Leapfrog letter school bus. He LOVES it. We vroom-vroomed it and danced to the songs all night last night. That's two things my boy loves- cars (he even makes the "vroom vroom" sound while driving them!) and dancing to music!!

Tomorrow while I'm at work, Josh will bring B in for his 15-month well baby check. I was thinking the other night about the fact we were supposed to have him in for shots at 15 months and then all of a sudden it dawned on me that we HAD an appointment scheduled, for last week! I totally spaced it. So he goes in tomorrow instead. Then we'll pack up and Saturday morning after dropping the dogs off at the kennel, we'll head up to Ethete for Josh's game, then head to Worland for a few days of snowmobiling, family, and CHRISTMAS! Then down to Lingle for a couple days and then finally home for a couple days of resting. If I don't get back here to blog before we leave, I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!

ho, ho, ho!

Brecken was in the bathtub this afternoon, when I heard sirens coming up the street. We live on the edge of a very quiet town, so sirens coming up the street are unusual. I got B out of the bathtub and wrapped him in a towel so we could run to the door and see what was going on. Lo and behold, there was Santa getting off the fire truck and coming up to our door! He had a sack of candy for B and tried talking to him and saying "Ho, ho, ho!" My suspicions were then confirmed: Brecken hates Santa. Oh, he cried and tried to get away from this Santa who was giving him candy. Santa was a good sport and laughed, then drove away out of sight, on the big red sleigh also known as a fire truck.

lion hunting

My friend at work said today that her husband was coming to my house today to hunt for lions. I guess the game warden called a group to come to town and try to find the mountain lion. I haven't seen tracks in our yard since last week but with the sightings around town, he's still here somewhere. No word on if they found it today though- I'm going to assume they didn't because I think the game warden would've called Josh to tell him.

It was 17 below zero when I left for work today. I knew it was terribly cold when I drove down the street and could see steam from the river above the trees all the way across town. What a beautiful sight that was!! Too bad I didn't have my camera with me.

scare of the night!!

So last Thursday night, the game warden was over at our house until 10:30, tracking the mountain lion tracks that went across our front porch and in our yard. Talk about freaky- a mountain lion walking around your porch!! I guess there were a couple sightings around this past weekend. We've been told to be very careful walking outside since it seems to be hanging around this neighborhood. So tonight I hear a big noise on our porch so I tiptoed to the door to look out the window and this HUGE dog was looking right back at me. I just about had a heart attack. My heart is still recovering and the incident happened 30 minutes ago!

Please excuse the poor look to my post below, I really do put spaces in between my paragraphs but Blogger is not putting them in when I post, no matter how many times I edit it.

grandma's party

Well, Brecken and I made it to Chicago and back. We left about 9:00 on Friday morning and made it to Denver in plenty of time. The roads from here to Cheyenne weren't very good at all, but Cheyenne south to Denver was great! I'm glad we were early though, the interstate from Cheyenne to Ft. Collins closed that afternoon due to the weather that came in.

Getting through security was horrible. I got Brecken out of his stroller to get everything ready to get folded up and he took off into security and I had to run and get him. Folding things up and getting things into the bins with a toddler in your arms is horrible. THANK GOODNESS the next time I had to go through security, my mom and dad were there to help me! Brecken did great on the plane rides.

Saturday morning we drove downtown and went to Marshall Fields (now it's Macy's though) and looked at the windows that they do for Christmastime, then went inside to see the huge Christmas tree. We tried to see Santa but the line was absolutely ridiculous. Then we went to a few other stores, then back to the hotel for a rest before we needed to get to the party.

The party was fun- I got to see cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in 10 years. I also got to meet my cousin Beth's fiance, and my cousin Christine's pretty serious boyfriend. There were balloons for decorations so Brecken had a great time as long as he had those balloons.

Yesterday was a long day- we got to Laramie OK but then two out of the three routes home to Saratoga were closed. We didn't get home until 8:00 last night. I was exhausted.

Super quick weekend but it was a good one and I'm sure glad we had the opportunity to go.

busy, busy, busy

This week has been super busy for us already and it's only going to get worse! Tonight, I have my jr. high/high school Christmas concert. I also have to pack suitcases and get everything together for Brecken and myself to fly to Chicago tomorrow afternoon. I'm still not sure how I'm going to get from the car to the check-in counter and then through security with the suitcase, stroller, car seat, diaper bag, winter coats, and my camera, and then add Brecken along with that! Thank goodness after I get security, my mom and dad will be there to help me out. Then I'll have to figure out how to get all of it back to the car by myself after we fly back on Sunday afternoon!

Then Monday night I have my elementary school Christmas program. I can't wait until these concerts are over- a big load of stress will be lifted!!!

candy canes

I was thinking yesterday, "I need some candy canes so I can see if Brecken likes them as much as I do." Besides, I thought that would make a really cute picture. :) And voila! there were candy canes in my mailbox this afternoon in a birthday card from Barb! Thanks, Barb! You must have read my mind. She also asked about what I did for my birthday: Not much. Josh had practice until 8:00 so it wasn't much of a celebration. We were able to go out to the Hotel Wolf the night before though, for a fantastic steak dinner. So at least we were able to do that. The night of my birthday though, was just me and my best boy, Brecken, hanging out together!

I've been trying and trying to figure out the settings on my camera so I can take better inside pictures without using my flash. Today I found some of my settings were locked, and as soon as I unlocked them, things were much easier and lots less frustrating for me! Here's one I got tonight. Hopefully soon he'll be in a good mood so I can get some smiles, and in the daylight so I have some lighting help!!:

ear infection

I picked up B at lunch today because I had the afternoon off, and Loree said he'd been poking his fingers in his ears all morning. So I called the clinic to get him checked out before the weekend came. They managed to squeeze him in this afternoon. Sure enough, B has an ear infection. He did NOT like Jake putting the light in his ears, especially his left one, which is the one with the infection. Jake said it was medium-bad but was going to get worse and not better so B is now on antibiotics for 10 days. After the appointment, Brecken got to pick out one of the Ty beanie bears that was in the lobby to take home with us, but B wanted nothing to do with them- he only wanted to play with the bead rollercoaster thing!! Oh, he threw a fit when I made him put his coat onto leave!! He cried and cried and I had to pick out his bear for him. While we were waiting to get in to be seen, B had loved those bears and picked them all up, but hugged one of them, so that's the one I picked for him. :)

We didn't take his clothes off to get weighed today, but he weighed 19 pounds, 7 ounces! He only weighed 18 pounds 3 ounces 2 weeks ago. I don't know how much a onesie, jeans, slippers and a diaper weigh (and I changed his diaper before we went to the doctor) but he seems to have gained some good weight for 2 weeks! WAY more than the 3 ounces in a month that he gained last!

this is why i love my commute!

Driving home, I saw TWO huge bald eagles right next to the road sitting on a fence. I was 5 miles out of Saratoga and didn't have my camera. So I drove home, got B so Josh could go to basketball, grabbed my camera and headed out to see if they were still there. They WERE! Only, I got out of my car and they flew away. I could only find one and he was a long way away, so I zoomed as close as I could and had to crop the pic when I got home.

Josh had to go get Brecken at lunch today, Loree called him at work and said B wasn't feeling good and needed to go home. He slept from 1:00-3:00, which is crazy long for B! He's been pretty normal since then though. I'm not seeing much sickness, other than a few coughs.

home sick.

Not me, but Brecken. He woke up crying hysterically last night and it took forever for him to calm down. Then this morning, his nose wouldn't quit running and he couldn't quit coughing. He also woudn't quit crying and wouldn't let me put him down. He can't go to daycare like that, so I stayed home with him today. Josh has already stayed home once AND brought him to school with him, so it was my turn. So, I changed back into my sweats (I was already dressed for work) and got comfy with Brecken. He's feeling a bit better after a nap and some juice, and we managed to get my Christmas Village put up. It was quite comical- at one point, Ditka had shoved himself into one of the styrofoam boxes and Brecken was wearing another one of them on his head like a hat. Silly boys.

too funny.

My dad apparently has a lot of time on his hands, because he made this really funny video starring Brecken, Ryan, himself, and my grandma. It's hilarious to watch, check it out: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9559253829

Brecken is now walking. Saturday, he was only walking a few steps at a time and on Sunday he was walking a lot of steps at a time! He's getting really good at it!!!

I've been gone for a few days, I went to Wheatland with a couple of my students for an honor choir. We left Sunday and got home last night. This morning, B and I are finishing up packing and when Josh gets home from basketball practice we're headed up to Lingle. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

babysitting, sharing, and mountain lions

We have the babysitting thing all figured out. Whew! Josh talked to Jake at 5 am this morning (they go lift weights at the school together) and Jake said they could probably do Mondays and Tuesdays for us, even though Tuesdays are his days off. I felt really bad thinking he'd be babysitting on his day off!! He babysat for us today because Loree's husband had his surgery to repair his back, but Deb was home when I got there and she said she'd rather have Wednesdays and Thursdays so that Jake wouldn't have to use his day off. But then she said that if things get too crazy at Loree's, just bring Brecken to their house for the whole week. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's nice to know we won't be scrambling if Loree changes her mind again!!!

Brecken has been very into sharing lately. He likes to force feed you. Yesterday he grabbed a handful of Cheerios and tried to shove them all in my mouth. He cried when I wouldn't eat them. Silly. He tried to force his sippy cup into Birdie's mouth the other day. Birdie was too startled to actually take it- otherwise she would've jumped at the chance to have B's milk!! :)

I guess our next door neighbor had a mountain lion on his front step theother morning. He went outside to leave for work and scared it and it went running. THAT'S a little scary! I worried about the dogs being outside while we're at work but Josh said the mountain lion wouldn't come
in the daytime- I don't know how he would know that... We now make sure both cats are in at night now though!!

fired

I was messing around at school the other day and created this photo. I thought it was kind of neat.

Well, we got "half-fired" from daycare today. Loree is pregnant, due in June, and is very afraid of having a miscarriage, since she had one earlier this spring. She's cutting down her daycare kids. She's keeping the 3-year old full time, but we only get to go half time, and poor baby Sophie doesn't get to go at all. What a frustrating feeling. Brecken is already going to Deb's house tomorrow, so we're going to ask her if she'd be a regular babyistter again and do two days a week, plus Fridays when Josh has away games. If she doesn't want to be that permanent, I don't know WHAT we'll do. And poor Sophie's mom- she doesn't know anybody to ask! I feel bad for Loree, I really do- I wouldn't wish a miscarriage on ANYONE, especially with our troubles to get pregnant, so I know how precious a new life is. But at the same time, I wish, for once, we could have a "normal" daycare situation!!! :) Annie, wanna move here and open one? You'd be rich!!!

sick boy

We found out why Brecken wouldn't eat and was whiny yesterday.... Josh finally got home at 1:11 this morning and just as he got into bed Brecken started crying. Josh went in there, thinking his coming home woke Brecken up, but instead discovered that Brecken had thrown up. :( Brecken cried and cried and cried. We had to change his jammies and pull the blanket from his pack and play mattress. No fever according to our ear thermometer but I think he had a bit of the stomach bug. So Josh took him out to the couch and he watched the end of the movie he missed, and a while later Brecken came crawling into my bedroom so he laid with me and fell asleep again. He wasn't interested in breakfast this morning, or lunch today, but is finally now snacking on cheerios and some milk. No more puking, luckily!