NEW BABY?

I’ve been getting a lot of people asking what I need for this baby, and I keep saying “I don’t know,” but four of our cloth diapers crapped out on us this week (wahmies brand, I’m seriously sad) and I’m in my third trimester, I thought I’d better do something like this.

If you’d like to help us out here are some things we still need:


Things that can be acquired any time:

- Scented candles, or oils for the birth
- Cloth Diapers from http://www.momsmilkboutique.com//gift_registry.php?mode=guest_view&gid=170
(also I’m not opposed to used cloth diapers and I don’t care about things like colors…waste not want not!)
- We are registered at Target for a few things: https://www.target.com/registry/baby/UE3BW3HO4B6N
- Please no plastic toys or stuffed animals. We have a ridiculous amount already!! If you’d really love to buy toys, please support local business, we love Birchleaf Designs! Here is a link to their shop online: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5404541

Things you might not want to bring till I’m full term, After Nov. 17th:

- Stuff for smoothies
- Dinners that can be frozen

If you’d like to get food, let me know and I can write it down so I can plan for who’s bringing something.
We’d also make trades for any of these things if you know of anything you might need!


Thank you all sooo much, if you cannot provide anything, don’t fret, we’d love good vibes for a happy healthy baby sent our way too! J

Missed us?

Sorry it's been so long. Life has been crazy busy. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Lilian is still suffering from a bad diaper rash. It seems to be getting better, but we are hoping she'll soon pick up potty training. The truth, however, is that she is not ready. She thinks the potty is a chair and otherwise hates it. But we still try.


Here is Lilian reading a book about The Louvre on the potty. It's her favorite Potty Book.


Here is Lilian being bad and crawling into the lazy susan. With a pacifier no less, which she's been weaned of, but found it and couldn't resist.


Here is me! I'm 23 weeks pregnant. Almost 6 months. Much bigger this time around than I was with Lilian.


Lilian loves to play outside. This particular day she was bitten by a bug, we think and her eye swelled! It went down fairly quick but really scared me at the time! That's Will and Katelynn in the background near our fire pit.


Lilian fits into very small spaces. This is Lilian who got into the diaper station which was TIED off. She still managed to get in.


These next few pictures are of Lilian "helping" daddy build our new deck. She was really into "helping."







More pictures to come when the deck is truly done. It's 90 percent done, I would say.



Last but not least, I know this picture is blurry but Lilian put pants on all by herself!

Handy Husbands.

Glad Kyle is so handy. He fixed the wall (look a few posts back to read all about it) and it looks great. All except for now there is a big white splotch but we decided we will wait to paint till the baby comes, that way we can paint according to his or her personality. The baby will be in our room for awhile any way so this will work out great.

Perfect!

Before! Ugh! It was a deep hole(s) to fix!

Keskey Vacay Pt. 2. (TONS OF FUN PICTURES!)

We stayed at Missy's lake house till 5:30 pm ish yesterday, July 4th. We had a blast! Friday, (the 3rd) Lilian woke Kyle and I up early and we made coffee, did some laundry and went into Curtis, a town nearby. We went to a very classy (see picture below) store called "The Store" in search of some kind of rawhide for Nina, our barking dog. We then went to a gift shop and bought sandals for me and a coffee cup for Kyle. Then we had breakfast at "Grandma Will Ya's."

This brand of Beer is called "Beer Lite" and it's catch phrase is"Anytime is the Right Time!" And it also features a clock logo which says "Beer Thirty" where the 12, 3, 6 and 9 generally are.

Friday afternoon we went to Tahquamenon Falls. Here is Kyle walking to the falls with Lilian horsey back.

Here is a picture of the falls.

Juliana took this Family Photo. I look a little weird.

After the Tahquemenon Falls, we went to a brewery and restaurant located on the site. Here is Anna and Julianne waiting to order. They look happy! More happy than I was at the time, Lilian was all wet from pouring water on herself and throwing a fit!

This picture is lovely! If you click on it, you can see it closer. It's Kyle playing water fetch with Nina and Lilian and Neil (Missy's son) playing on the other end of the dock, the morning of July 4th.

Julianne, Missy, Neil, Lilian and I went to a parade in Curtis Saturday morning.

Julianne at the Parade!

Neil, his aunt and his cousins getting candy at the parade.

Julianne, Lilian and I at the parade enjoying the festivities.

I was trying to take a picture of this float. It's a "Yooper" themed float and it was very strange. I think the theme of this parade was something about snow. Weird!

Fireman were actually spraying the crowds with hoses, and it wasn't very warm at this point so most of the crowds backed waaay up.

Lilian walking down the dock after she woke up from nap time.

We changed Lilian into her swim suit so she could go play in the water.

Lilian and Missy were having lots of fun together!

Julianne and I were really soaking up the sun, since it had been cloudy for days!

Kyle's friend from Line School was up on vacation visiting relatives and stopped by on his new Jet Ski. Obviously Kyle had to try it out.

Kyle and his dad drove John's truck in the water to jump the boat battery because it died. Julianne is excited about it.

After we took a nice, fast boat ride, we headed home. We met Kyle's mother and sister at our house and then all went to the Marquette Food Festival to get some food and listen to a little music.

We had to trek a ways to get to the festival because there was no parking anywhere! Lilian is hanging out there on Kyle's back.

It was pretty packed at the Food Fest.

We hung around awhile, but left just before fireworks when Lilian had to go home. She had a very busy day.


Today, Kyle's family is coming over again and we will have lunch. I don't know what else is planned but we shall see!


Sally

Vacation in Lakefeild

It's morning and Kyle is out walking the dog, Lilian and I washing diapers and playing. Julianne (my sister in law) , Lilian and I left Wednesday night to visit Kyle and Julianne's father and girlfriend Missy in Lakefeild, near Curtis Wednesday. Kyle came around seven o'clock on last night after work, he has today off. We have been have been having fun even though the weather has not really been that nice. In fact it's been pretty crappy. But we are hoping that by today (friday) it will get warmer, we are staying on a beautiful lake after all!

Missy's daughter Anna and Lilian Wednesday night.

This is Thursday morning. I told Lilian to make a "funny face." I think she did a good job.

Lilian looking out the window upstairs at Missy's Lake house and playing with a wooden toy.

Grandpa John and Lilian outside. How cute!

Lilian gets a tractor ride. This is a tractor right?

Lilian and Daddy have something to keep them going early this morning.

I just realized there are no pictures of Julianne. We will have to make sure to take some soon! We are here today and tomorrow still so I am sure there will be plenty of oppurtunities to do so.

Dogs.

If you are thinking of getting a dog, remember you could end up with one like our dog. She could get into EVERYTHING, bark all day long, steal your child's food or she could do this:


She broke out of her kennel this morning and chewed through the drywall in the guest bedroom, all before I even woke up.

She eventually started barking at 6:50am so I woke to this lovely surprise.

Kyle is gone till tonight, I don't know what I am going to do, but I really want to send her to the pound.

So I did a stupid thing!

Kyle, Lilian and I went out to Curtis, Michigan near Newberry to see Kyle's dad yesterday and in the rush to get out of the house I forgot the camera!

But! We had a blast! We went to Missy's lake house and swam and cooked out and just laid in the sun and it was lovely.

Julianne is coming home in one week and I'll remember to take lots of pictures if we go back to Curtis!

Loving life.

Life has been really great here for us on Green Garden Hill. Things are in full bloom so to speak.

Sunday Kyle, Lilian and I started some seeds in a "jiffy greenhouse" and yesterday we saw our first green little sprouts yesterday! We planted mint, lavender, chamomile, chives and peppers. I know we started a bit late, but we thought it would be something fun to try. I'm excited to see if we can actually grow anything. I've never really considered myself a green thumb and I don't think Kyle has either.

Sprouts!

Yesterday Kyle mentioned how it would be nice to have a tree swing in our yard, so we went outside and found a place for one. We chose a maple tree on our side yard. Then we went to the hardware store and picked up some rope and went to Grandpa Dave and Grandma Mary's and found a board that was perfect. Kyle used his chainsaw to cut it 28 inches, then we drilled holes in the board and Kyle climbed a tree to hang it.

It looks great! Not to mention it is a lot of fun!

Beautiful! We chose this adorable rope. So cute! Kyle's skillful knot tying came in handy here!

Kyle Left the extra rope up in the tree in case we ever need to lower it or whatever.

Lilian getting sprayed with water when she went to the sprinkler in the front yard.
Look at how beautiful the apple trees are! This one is right out our kitchen window.

A pretty butterfly.

Lovely!

PS:

The Mining Journal wrote about the PEOPLE magazine issue. Here is a link:

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/528296.html?nav=5006

Breastfeeding Promotion Act

PLEASE HELP OUT: EMAIL BART STUPAK, ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY :)



To all breastfeeding activists/lactivists/concerned citizens!

Rep. Carolyn Maloney is going to reintroduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to Congress in June. With a change in leadership in both Houses and a White House that is attuned to work/life balance issues, this year we need to push hard for passage! The Breastfeeding Promotion Act will:

* Add breastfeeding mothers as a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964
* Provide incentives for employers to have private lactation areas for workers
* Create a performance standard for breastpump equipment
* Create tax deductions for pumping equipment

Rep. Maloney and other co-sponsors will hold a press conference on June 3rd at 11:30am on the Cannon Terrace at the Cannon Building on Capitol Hill. Once again we are gathering as large a presence as we can to attend the press conference in support of the bill.

Here is what we need from all who care about this issue:

We need you to contact your Rep. in the Congress (find him or her here http://www.house.gov/ ), this week, and ask them to sign on as a cosponsor of the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. The more cosponsors a bill has, the more attention and support it garners. We need all 435 Representatives to know how important this bill is to the 70% of mothers who work and may desire to breastfeed once they go back to work. So call AND email your Representative and ask to speak to a legislative aide today.

Here is Bart Stupak's web address:

http://www.house.gov/stupak/

PEOPLE Magazine Update and Pictures of Cuteness

So, word has it that the PEOPLE magazine issue featuring the Charles Moses story will be out THIS FRIDAY. I was told this time it is "for sure" but who knows. I really hope it is this week so I'm not telling you all wrong! Go get a copy!

Also, I will be 13 weeks pregnant tomorrow. So I think that means I am just about out of the first trimester. I am feeling alright, some days better than others. I am not as sick as I was with Lilian, thank goodness but I swear my hormones and emotions are a bit crazier. I don't have as much time to think about my pregnancy this time around either. With Lilian all I could think about was my pregnancy, this time I haven't been able to think about much at all!

It may be wishful thinking but I orderd Lilian some potty training pants online. I'd love it if I could get her at least PARTIALLY (at home during the day) potty trained before the next baby comes. She will be about 23 months so hopefully it's not wishful thinking. She likes to sit on the potty when I go in, but I can never get her diaper off fast enough. We shall see.

Lilian being just her normal cute self.

This was just after it rained the other day, but it's unfortunate I took this picture on this day, because the next morning the blossoms on the trees exploded! It looks beautiful now.

Here is another yard picture. I need to take one of the side yard soon because Kyle has been doing a lot of yard work and it is looking great.


This is Nina in her cast. She ended up having a broken foot from jumping out of the truck. That dog is HIGH maintenance.


Here is Lilian in wearing one sock, and one shoe over a sock-less foot. We just can't figure Lilian out! Most kids hate wearing shoes, but she isn't happy unless she is wearing hers which she endearingly calls her "roh rohs."

Kyle, Lilian and I drove up to the top of mount marquette yesterday to see how many of the trees have turned green again.

Aww Daddy loves Lilian. Except I was SCARED when I took this. Made me nervous.

Lilian was so tired on the way home yesterday! But so cute.