Uh-Oh

...is all I'm hearing from Isaac these days. He must love hearing himself say it or something. He's also saying dog (it's always dog-dog...he says everything in 2's), that (dat), no (that's another favorite), yes (which comes out ja...he must know German :D...with a little head nod) da-da and ma-ma (although when I ask him to say ma-ma, he says da-da...I think he's just being a little stinker though). He waves hi and bye and he points to everything!! He's getting a little better at not being so attached to me now...thank goodness. I mean, I love him and all, but geez. It was getting to the point where I couldn't do anything without either holding him, or him being right next to me. I can actually get things done now!

We have decided not to go to Denver for Christmas. Mike will be most likely be working and he only has about 6 hours of vacation left for the year, so I'm glad we got to go for Thanksgiving. I would love to take the kids to Crown Center and the Plaza sometime this weekend, while their Christmas stuff is still up. So be looking for upcoming pictures from that!...hopefully we get to go!!

Our new dog!!

I guess I should start at the beginning of why we made this rash decision to get a puppy, seeing as how we have 4 kids...2 of whom aren't potty trained yet. (Yes, Elijah still isn't...that's a whole other story) Mike and I came to a decision last Saturday that we would postpone our Disneyworld trip till 2010. It just worked out better for us in many ways, but we're planning on going with Mike's side of the family, and the timing worked out better for them also. So since we aren't doing that for the kids next year, we thought it would be nice for them to have a puppy....I know, the logic may seem a little weird, but it makes sense in my mind. We've been wanting a boxer for a while, after our first boxer, Remi, got taken out of our backyard. She was the best dog ever! We still really miss her. We really wanted to go through a breeder, as that's how we got our first boxer and it's nice to be able to see the mother and father and get all of the info on their bloodlines and such. We came across this website and spoke with the family that runs it and set up a time to look at 2 of the females they had that were 7 weeks old. The one we picked was a little smaller than her sister, but she was the one the kids, or Laney and Chloe, fell in love with. She is a little sweetheart. We almost have her potty trained!!! or housebroke, or whatever. Her name is Lily. Me, Mike, Laney and Chloe all wrote down 2 names on paper, put them in a hat, and let Isaac pick one. Lily was one of the names Chloe had. I really wanted to name her Zoe, but we agreed that, no matter what, which ever name was picked, that was the one we were going with. So that's how we came about naming her Lily. It's cute and it fits her! :) She's so snuggly!!

Precious little face :)

And for memory's sake, here's a picture of our old dog Remi. She was the fawn color. Lily is brindle.

Remi and ELIJAH...that's how long ago we had her!!! Aww..I miss her!!!

Tag, I'm it

I've been tagged by my friend Nicole, and have to follow the rules. Here they are:

Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I HATE winter, but I love snow. If it could snow in the summer, that would be the best! I just really hate cold weather. Hate. It. I always tell my hubby that I should have been born on a tropical island somewhere.

2. I have to play with my hair to fall asleep. I twist it around my finger and then rub the soft part with my thumb. I've done this since I was little, and I just can't stop! The funny thing is, Laney does it too. She started doing it when she was about 2...when she actually had hair to do it with.

3. I am OBSESSED with pregnancy and labor and delivery. (see last post) If hospitals (and the mothers, of course) would let me go into rooms and just watch women give birth, I'd be there! Oh, and if we could afford it, I'd have as many kids as I could :)

4. I hate to cook! I like to bake, but cooking is just not for me!

5. I have to smell everything. Especially if I'm gonna be eating it. But it doesn't just stop with food. I love to smell my kids' feet, especially if they're stinky. Really. :)

6. I love 80's music. I think it's caused by having sisters that are 10 and 11 years older than me. When I was growing up, that's what they listened to and I got hooked.

7. I had the first cabbage patch with teeth. My dad glued teeth on my favortie cabbage patch kid, way before they started selling them like that...I have no idea how he made them, but it looks really cute! Now my girls play with him.

Ok, so I'm only gonna tag a few people

LaTisha
Andrea
Julia
Layna

To Doula or Not to Doula

So I've been thinking for a while now that I really want to go back to college and get my nursing degree. I realize that this isn't going to happen any time soon...I love being at home with my kids and don't really want to take any time away from that. In a few years when my mom retires, she has offered to watch the kids...whoever is still at home...so I can go back to school. I really want to be a labor and delivery nurse, as nowhere else in the hospital really interests me. My sis-in-law just completed nursing school, and yesterday was offered a job in postpartum. I am really excited for her! I told her she had better call when she has some interesting stories! :) Something I've been thinking about doing instead of becoming a nurse, is taking some classes to become a registered doula. Money, or getting paid, has nothing to do with it...other than the cost of college if I were to pursue a nursing degree. The only reason I would love to be a L&D nurse is because I would love to help women through labor and delivery. With every one of my pregnancies, I loved being in labor and delivering my babies. There's truly nothing like it! I've found the DONA website to be extremely helpful in where to take courses and things like that, and I've contacted a lady here in the metro KC area that is part of the KC doula group. I'm really praying about this, as I realize that it will take time away from my kids as well. I know that I will have to be on call and leave whenever the mother goes into labor, so this idea may have to wait until mom's retirement also. Mike isn't going to be able to get the girls off to school if I'm not here, as he leaves for work way before they even get up. It's just something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I want women to have the same amazing memories of the births of their children as I do. Even though I was in miserable pain through 2 of them, I still remember them to be 4 of the most incredible moments of my life! I am also obsessed with watching labor and delivery shows (Birth Day, Maternity Ward, Babies: Special Delivery, Deliver Me...etc.) You name it, I've watched it! Anyway, I just wanted to get some of your thoughts on the idea, as well as prayers for me. I would appreciate it very much! And if any of you are expecting and would like a labor support, I would love to be there! :D One of the requirements for doula certification is being present at 3 births. Finding volunteers is going to be the difficult part!

Thanksgiving in Colorado

We were able to travel to Denver for Thanksgiving and we had a great time! We had dinner with our family, Mike's parents and his uncle James. While we were there, it snowed a few inches, so the kids got to play outside. Since we weren't really prepared for snow play, we had no boots or anything, so we put plastic bags on the kids' feet with a pair of Mike's dads' socks over the bags. They had fun...especially Elijah. He threw a fit when it was time to go inside. We also went to a place called Mr. Biggs, it's a little like Paradise Park, but much cooler! It has an indoor golf course, a bowling alley, an arcade, a go-kart track, a kids place (called Little BiggTown) with different themed rooms (like a salon, a kitchen, a dress-up room, an auto shop, a sand pit, and much more) and a foam ball factory. We let the kids play at Little Biggtown and at the foam factory. They had a BLAST...well we all did, really!!! It was very cool! We also let Mike's mom give Isaac his first haircut. He looks like a little man now :) She did a really good job! The drive down went okay...it could have gone better, but the car ride home was a disaster! We got delayed about an hour because of slick snowy roads that were actually a little bit scary, and then Isaac got sick and threw up all over! But it was worth being able to see family. Here's some pictures from our trip.

The girls ready to play!

Chloe making a snow angel

Chloe eating the snow

All bundled up!

Mike cleaning the snow off Elijah's face

Laney throwing a snowball at Pa-Pa

This picture is hilarious...I think it's pretty self-explanitory :)

Isaac playing with Ma-maw in the music room at Mr. Biggs

Playing dress-up

The girls in the salon

Elijah in the racecar room

The boys in the toy room

Elijah running on the track that was meant for the little bikes.

The girls in jail...where they should be!

The foam factory

Little ham

Isaac getting his 1st haircut

View of the back

All done!!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that this little monster started biting while we were gone.

Like Father, Like Son

So, Elijah loves to play any type of video game...I wonder where he got that from. Thanks, Mike. :D He plays the Mario Kart on the Nintendo DS all day (he's actually really good!), and he LOVES when we play Mario Kart on the Wii...especially when we're downstairs, and it's on the huge screen! I should probably start limiting the amount of time he's on the DS, but he's so quiet and still when he's playing on it...hey, I'll take a moment of peace from him any way I can get it. I mean, really, right now as I'm typing, he's doing laps around the kitchen table as fast as he can...

Sitting so still.

Don't mind me...carry on with your game...

We're thinking about taking a last-minute trip to Mike's parents' house in Denver for Thanksgiving. It's very bittersweet though, because his sisters won't be there. They'll be there for Christmas, which is when we were originally supposed to go, but Mike just found out that he isn't working Wed., Thur., and Fri. of this week, and he's using the rest of his vacation days for it, so he won't have any left when Christmas rolls around. I figured we might as well go when we are able to.

I should probably start packing.

Book Parade

Last Friday, the girls had a book parade at school. They dressed up like a character in a book, and the Kindergarten and first grade classes parade around the halls in their costumes and with their books. Laney took a Christmas/Winter book and wore a scarf and a hat, and Chloe took a Noah's Ark book and dressed like a kangaroo! :) Parents are invited to attend, and I was able to make it to Laney's last year, but this year I told them that I wasn't going to be able to go. Chloe was a little bummed because she remembered going to Laney's with me last year, and she wanted me to be there for hers. Anyway, Mike ended up leaving work early and he snuck over to their school to watch the parade as a little surprise for the girls! It was towards the end of the day, so he was just able to bring them home with him. They were very excited that Daddy got to be there! He rarely gets to attend special things like that, so it was a treat for him too. :)

Here's some pictures! (sorry they're so blurry...Mike's not the photographer in the family ;D)

Here's Chloe's class lining up

There's my little Chloe-roo!

Laney in her hat and scarf

Chloe at her desk