WE'RE OFF!

...well, we're supposed to be off--in 5 hours or so. what in the world am I doing up? i don't know really...the car has been packed for 3 hours now, I have a small pile on the living room floor that goes in tomorrow, the bathrooms are cleaned (my big pet peeve before I leave), and all I have to do is load the cooler and vacuum the carpets in the morning (my other pet peeve). I have misplaced my journals which is really irking me so I guess I keep thinking if I sit here longer they will appear. go figure.

before we head out I have to give a little shout-out to the following:

my older sister, for folding upteen loads of laundry today and feeding & rocking my daughter so we could get packed.

my mother, for sending me a much needed email last night after having a crummy, stressful couple of days (our baby sitter quit us...more about that later).

my 3 in-laws, who we are leaving behind to finish the NYR packing so that we can go have a little fun!

my baby sis, because, well, she's just her and we kinda love her! (and she tried to fight the good fight so my hubby could see harry potter at midnight last night but it didn't work)

and my dad-e-o, because it's after midnight here which means it's officially his BIRTHDAY! happy birthday, dad...WE LOVE YOU!

okay, folks...we're off. see you in 3 weeks or so. love to you all...you know how to find me if you need me :)

p.s. corin, did you think I'd forget you? happy birthday to you, too...have a great day!

oh yeah, here are a couple of fun pictures from this past weekend that I'm pretty in love with...

remember this post?

remember last year when I wrote this post titled "nostalgia"?...

the last few days i've been feeling a little envious of all the nyr packers that are getting ready to head back out to colorado next week. i hate not going even though i know i'm probably making the best choice for my body & my baby (the altitude does funny things to my blood sugar).

mike hasn't gone without me since the first year we started dating in 2002 & although i'm super glad he's going i want to be with him. the last few years both of us have stepped up in different ways and taken more active roles while we're at nyr. mike has been helping with security and this year will probably help with med services, while i've spent more and more time in our camp's kitchen. some people would wrinkle their noses at the thought of missing a service or two, or coming back early from them, but nothing is more rewarding then having a cold drink & warm meal ready for the kids in the afternoon when they come back from classes & a hot drink with a cookies after the chilly evening service.

there was never a time when i came up to our camp when i was a camper that someone wasn't there--whether because my blood sugar was acting up or because i needed to talk to someone. there was always a cheerful face in the kitchen (usually aunt marcia & the lady that has now come to be my mother-in-law), acting like they'd been expecting me & i'm so happy to be that person to the group of kids we take out now. for me it's not a sacrifice to miss a class here or come up from a service early there--its an act of love...you see, nyr is about the kids (nationwide youth round-up)& i want them to have the most rewarding experience that they can have, so if that means that a class is skipped so lunch can be eaten on time so the kids can let their food settle and get to recreation on time then that's okay by me. i still get ministered to and my cup is filled by the services, but more than that i'm filled by the light and the passion that i see in our students' eyes.

crazy or not, mike and i are planning on taking our family out to nyr next year...we'll most definitely be going out early--another experience that makes nyr more worthwhile for me (nothing like the calm before the storm), so we can get set up & have the kitchen ready before the campers get there. i'll be excited to see old friends that i'll miss this year & to introduce my baby to the mountains. i'll also be ready to get back into the swing of serving those just like was done for me.

okay, enough rambling...to all of you going this year, have a great time! i'll be thinking of you!!

true to my word we are heading out to Colorado. we are actually leaving this week and going on a little vacation of our own...we'll be spending a couple of days catching up with our friends, the Ulrich's, and then head to the Springs to sight-see and catch up with my cousin, Aunt Nancy. then we'll be heading up the mountain to set up our tent and get Natalee accustomed to life in the mountains...the next day Mike's folks will join us and we'll set up the kitchen and get things organized. and then the kids will start pouring in (ours included) and things will hit full swing! we can't wait, and although I'm feeling nervous about things I'm also looking forward to it all.

7 months old

My girl is seven months old...and my heart's officially broken. She's now closer to 1 than 0, a fact that I'm not ready to handle. But dang, I love her a little more every D.A.Y.
This month...

• she became a blankie baby...in particular she loves the thermal fabric Noah's Ark blankies that Nannie & family got us for the shower. I bought her 2 of a different brand so we'd have 4 total...she really prefers the other ones better...oh well.
• she got her first tooth!
• she began using rolling as a mode of transportation.
• she developed a hatred for green veggies.
• she began eating meat, yogurt, cheeses, scrambled eggs, and other "big girl" foods & purees--some that I make and some that we buy.
• mommy calls her Bean.
  
• she's learning to balance herself on her feet.
  
• she actually "plays" with toys...mostly she chews on them but sometimes she shakes them, laughs at them, loves on them. In particular she's started "talking" to her Scout baby in her crib before nap time.
• she throws temper tantrums. When we tell her "no" or remove something she wants but shouldn't have, she arches her back and kicks her feet.
• she makes a wrinkly nose, snorting noise that is adorable! (kinda like a pug dog). She does it to be funny and when we laugh at her she does it more.
• she began rolling herself over and sleeping mostly on her tummy. Usually the thermal blanket ends up wrapped around her and mostly underneath so after she falls asleep I tuck her in.
  
• she started noticing the tags on toys so I reintroduced her Taggies loveys and she really enjoys them.
  
• she said mama!
• she started eating baby puffs.
• she wears 6-12 month clothes, size 2 shoes, and size 2 diapers during the day, size 3 at night.
• she learned to do an Indian chant (thanks, Grandma Cindy!)
• she went to her first water park!
• she got a bigger car seat.
• she still only drinks a 6 oz. bottle at the most in one sitting.
• she weights 17 lbs., 10 oz. & is 27 3/4" long.
• she is learning to give open mouthed kisses...when she's in the mood she is overzealously in the mood & when she's not you can't talk her into one!
• she figured out how to squeeze her Seahorse and turn her back on.
  
• she is beginning to truly love books and will often sit while we read 4-5 short ones at a time.
• she loves to be sang to!
  
• she is now and always mommy and daddy's joy!

My night-night Jellybean. I can't decide if I'm cluttering her sleeping area or not but she truly enjoys her loveys. Scout Baby, Sally Seahorse, her Taggies snuggler, a paci, and one of the 2 favorite thermal blankies. Look at her with her arms out, touching every one of the items. I dare you to try and take one away.

Happy 7th month, my Natalee Cynthia....and here's to so many more!
Love, Mama

I'm just...

...in deep thought and prayer tonight for friend & former co-worker, April. She delivered a nice sized baby boy this morning, but he was still too early. He's in Columbia now receiving treatment for underdeveloped lungs. The truly tough part is that he was born via C-Section so she is recovering in Kville and can't be with him right now. So, pray tonight for her peace of mind and heart and that she can be released tomorrow to go be with him and hold him and love on him.

Fourth of July Weekend

WARNING: This post is picturelicious!!!

Here's a picture walk of our Independence Day:
We started the day out being lazy at home. Around noon a friend of mine called to tell me she was in town visiting her family if we wanted to come over for a mini-playdate. So, Natalee and I packed up a jaunted over.

We had a great 2 hour visit with my friend, Dannon, her mom, Wanda, and brand new baby Carter who is just over a month old.

Natalee had a super cute Americana dress compliments of Grandma Cindy that we sported indoors during the day (who knew the fourth of JULY would be so chilly?)

After our playdate we came home and continued the lounging act...because we are free and we can! Mike barbecued us some supper (what else should you eat on the 4th?). Then, around 8:30 we headed to the Country Club to watch the fireworks show. Sure, we could have seen them from our house but it doesn't hurt to be social once in awhile!

Miss Thang couldn't decide whether to cry about the loud booms or laugh and coo at the pretty colors...so she did a little of both! The air kept getting continually chillier, & even though I'd dressed her in long sleeves, pants, socks and shoes, I kept bundling her tighter. The last thing we need is an earache right before leaving for vacation.

Leave it to my daughter to not look at the camera--she never does that--usually she plays it up! In her defense the flash was very bright!

After we got home from the fireworks we took some random pictures of the little miss because I thought she looked adorable in her jeans and t-shirt...like such a big girl! She was in a particularly sugary mood so we did some kissing...

and smooching...

and loving.

Then we put her down and she babbled and rolled all around and was in general just a dolly!

And, of course, this mama had to stand her up so you could see what a big girl she looked like in her jeans, t-shirt and shoes! Be still my heart...

Here's hoping you all celebrated a glorious, wonderful, proud-to-be-an-American Fourth of July!

Buccaneer Bay Indoor Water Park

We had a really good time today at Buccaneer Bay water park. We had some direction mess-ups...mostly my fault b/c I was the driver and although I thought I knew where I was going I apparently didn't. I did however give us a nice tour of the campgrounds, lake, and boating area. Who knew the water park would be on the other side of the dam than the campground? Anyhow, after seeking help from a nice fella at the information station, we finally made it!

The water park is perfect for youngsters...both of my sisters went, along with my niece and my pseudo sister, Corin and her little boy. Since pictures are worth 1000 words I'll leave it at that...I have lots but I'm only going to post the ones of my own kid since I know Andrea and Corin will probably want to make their own posts...don't want to be a show stealer! Overall we had a great time...Natalee was probably a little young. If we'd have been staying there and had a room so she could get a good nap she would have been cheerier but we made do with a sling nap (thanks again, Shonya) and she had a pretty good time! Enjoy the pictures & videos...

(I can't help but share this video...if you watch closely you can get a glimpse of all 3 kids. Natalee splashing in the beginning, Emma coming off the slide in the middle, and Lauren catching Levi at the end. He came down head first some how, poor guy! Please excuse my camera's inability to focus...I just had the little camera with me and it apparently had bad 'tude.)

mmmm, I did forget to mention that Natalee did have a little incident. If you look closely you'll notice that she had on 2 different suits throughout the day. After her little catnap, I floated with her on the lazy river for about 20 minutes. I gave her to Lauren so I could get out of my floatie and then took her to the sitting water to splash. Lauren went to use the restroom and comes barreling out and tells me she was peeing when she looked down at her arm and saw something. I'd like to have been a little fly on the wall when she realized it was poo! Turns out swim diapers aren't made for poo...not sure what else you can do...the rules were that she had to wear one. I don't think it actually floated away but the water swishes in and out...well you get the picture. Anyways, thank goodness I'd thrown in both suits and extra swim pants! We got her cleaned up--a chore that included the sacrifice of a hotel towel and lots of wipes! We also let that water in the lazy river filter good and long before we went back in! :) Sorry, Lorn Lorn!

Thousand Words Thursday

She finally did it...cut a teeny, tiny, sharp & shiny little tooth! At just over 6 1/2 months she had a busy week...first she said mama & now a tooth (came in on Sunday!). It's the most beautiful little tooth I've ever seen (but maybe I'm biased about the beautiful mouth on the beautiful baby?).

trying to sneak a peak...she wanted the camera instead!

daddy finally tickled her into submission for me so I could get a snapshot of the white pearl!

Check out more Thousand Word Thursday submissions at:
Cheaper Than Therapy.

Notice Anything?

Grandma Sara got Natalee a new tankini swimsuit, and as we were trying it on (& taking pictures, of course) I leaned her up against my legs and let go. Do you notice her standing there all by her lonesome, just leaning on me? SOOO BIG!

And just now as I was waiting for these pictures to upload I was holding her hands and she was standing on the floor. She looked at her feet and it was like the coordination just clicked, and she took 2 little steps towards me (with me holding her up, of course!). Mommy's not sure she's ready for the big girl stuff...where's my cuddler? Now, if we can just master crawling...

so proud of herself!