Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted anything. I would say I feel lazy, but exhausted is more like it!! :-) Let me tell you how crazy it is to work at a daycare all day and then come home to The Gooneybird Zoo! :-) Actually, I am really enjoying my job. (Just don't ask me when the last time I cleaned any portion of my house.) In a similar fashion, I have been totally slacking at posting pictures. Hopefully I'll be getting the Halloween ones up soon. To tide you over, here's a picture of the munchkins that was taken at "school"...the photographer was amazing with the kids. Check it out...

This weekend has actually been pretty relaxing, too. Nate's at deer camp until tomorrow, so I've been hanging out with my 2 favorite little people! :-) (And secretly, I'm rejoicing because so far there hasn't been the news that we'll have a deer hanging in our garage...shhhhh--don't tell!)

A new chapter...

has begun. :-) I started working at the daycare that Kaylynn attends last Wednesday. It's really the only place to work that will allow me to bring home any money after the cost of daycare is subtracted...and we just have too many payments for me to not work. It's a good thing, though, because Kaylynn gets to interact with kids her age, and the little man can meet all sorts of baby friends. :-) Getting back into the working-mom-mode was a little hectic, though. So hectic, that I just realized today, while talking with Julie, that I completely forgot to watch The Office last Thursday night. Yeah, that's bad!!! But thank goodness for NBC putting the episodes online! I watched it today, and I have to say that it was definitely an awesome episode!!!

Funny Stuff...

So we were getting out of the car at church today and Kaylynn saw the Bible and said proudly, "That's the Bible...it tells me so." :-)

Remebering a Good Laugh...

So I just found a new facebook group to join called "I Have More Foreign Policy Experience Than Sarah Palin." I'm only writing about this because I remembered the SNL skit with Tina Fey...which was hilarious...I laugh just thinking about it..."I can see Russia from my house!" :-)

And by the way...I am SOOO excited for The Office tonight!!!!!

Sidewalk Excitement

Kaylynn drew a bunch of pictures today. (She instructed me on how to label them.) Here's my favorite one:

My happy little man...

...is 8 weeks lold already!!!

Latest news...

Well, we sure have been busy lately...circus last Thursday was great! Kaylynn said her favorite part was the zebras. Then a few minutes later her favorite part was the horses. I think she liked it all. Her favorite thing to say when you ask her if she saw elephants is, "Yeah. They were standing on their nose. Silly elephants!"

Next stop was apple picking on Saturday. We made the tail end of Honeycrisps and also got some Golden Supremes for baking and making applesauce. Good thing we had Kaylynn, because most of the trees were very picked over...the only ones left were the ones no 1 person could reach alone! Nate lifted Kaylynn up to get them. She thought it was the best job ever!!! Then we went to eat at the little restaurant where we took Julie & Dan during the "MI Monsoon" a few weekends ago. Mmmmm....veggie sandwich.....Mmmmm...apple dumpling...soooo delicious!!!

And the latest breaking news.....drumroll, please......I am officially a stay-at-home mama. Yup, I decided not to go back to work at the bank. It's just not worth working full time at a job I'm not sure I'll like to earn a couple hundred dollars each month after paying for 2 kids in daycare. Yeah. And that's pretty much it. :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to Holli & Tony!!!!
(They got married in Italy 1 year ago today!!)

Fireplace & Park Fun!

Over Labor Day weekend, Nate installed our fireplace. :-) We've only had it in our garage since January. :-) We still need to build the mantle...and by "we" I really mean Nate!!

Yesterday I decided to take the gooneybirds to the park. I figured I'd walk there for some exercise...it was quite the walk. It took us almost 1.5 hours! :-) One of the closer roads was closed, so we had to go quite the ways around it. Nevertheless, it was great exercise for Mama, and Kaylynn got a good nap in for half the trip! Kolton, on the other hand, slept the whole time!

Michigan's Adventure

Yesterday we went to Michigan's Adventure for Nate's work picnic. Kaylynn had a great time riding tons of rides. One of her favorites was the log ride which had a "big hill" and lots of water. :-) She rode it twice with her Daddy!

Kolton also had a great time...he slept almost the whole time. Highlights for him were riding the ferris wheel and the train. :-)

Little man has been sleeping through the night the past few nights! Yeah! :-)

Kaylynn got a little camera for her birthday, and it has some funny features. Here's some examples of what it can do. :-) Enjoy!

Sleep Revisited

Yeah, so sleeping through the night must have been a little joke Kolton played on me...last night he was up at the usual time (2:30 a.m.) again. I can't really complain, though. He only ever wakes up once. :-)

Sleep is an amazing thing!

It's amazing...Kolton slept last night from 10ish to 5 a.m.!!! Amazing. Super nice since I was up until midnight making Kaylynn some birthday treats to take to daycare today. The little girl turned 3 yesterday...I can't believe it!

She moved up to the "Blue Room" at school and today was her first day there. She was reunited with her friend, Regan, who moved up to Blue Room a few months ago. Her teacher said they were running around the playground holding hands. :-) She must have had a busy day at school, because she almost fell asleep on the 10 minute ride home...I turned around and saw her dozing off, and she promptly leaned forward a little bit and said very seriously, "Abigail got chocolate on her shirt." Must have been from her cupcakes...who knows where kids get this stuff from. :-)

One of her birthday presents we got her was a pretend medical kit. Here she is "checking out" Buddy. You will notice the band aid on his arm from where he got a few shots...and she is taking his blood pressure. What a good little doctor! :-)

Can you tell we're a dog family???

We were out and about earlier when someone came up to us and exclaimed to Kaylynn, "Oh, is this your baby brother?!" Kaylynn responded, "Yes, it is. He's cute! You wanna pet him?"

Quote of the Day...

"Every age has its massive moral blind spots. We might not see them, but our children will." --Bono

Kaylynn has been liking her hair in "piggy-tails" and I convinced her to let me braid them...

Miscellany

Today Kaylynn is at daycare, so it's a bit more relaxed for mama around the house. It feels like the past few weeks have been a blur...trying to get enough sleep and thinking of activities for a very busy (& talkative) almost-3-yr-old!!!

We have been having really nice weather lately. Yesterday we went for a very long walk...first time I took my $50 garage sale double jogging stroller out with both kids. It doesn't have a swivel wheel, but it must be comfortable, because both kids fell asleep! :-) Ahhhh...a nice quiet walk for mama! :-)

The Olympics are over now...which is a bummer, because I liked to watch them during the 2-3 a.m. feeding. :-) Now there's Conan O'Brien...which isn't too terrible, but the guests haven't been very impressive the past two nights...although I'm pretty sure they're reruns of some sort. Other than that, it's the Democratic Convention...which also has been somewhat interesting.

And now, I'll conclude with a little glimpse into a typical day...

The other morning, I was trying to convince Kaylynn to sleep some more, so I laid down in her bed while she played and talked to her animals (or "babies" as she calls them)...I dozed off because I was so tired, and I woke up to her putting chap stick on my lips. :-) That was definitely something new to wake up to!!!

A Few Minutes of Quiet...

Whew, both kids are sleeping...I don't know how people have tons of kids...it's crazy!!! :-) Grandma went home today...she was such a huge help the past couple weeks. I'm finally starting to get my strength back, and I'm feeling better (and taking less pain meds!) which is always good. Kolton is such a good baby...I thought we were going to be in for it since Kaylynn was soooo good, but it seems that I have most of the trouble with the pregnancy part. God must know that I need good babies to keep my sanity!!! :-) Well, the little girl's door just opened...so it's back to the zoo!

Kolton Thomas is Home!!

Well, we made it home today...what an ordeal. :-) Last pregnancy I had preeclampsia with really high blood pressure...this time I lost so much blood I almost didn't have a blood pressure! Seriously, though, they estimated that I lost 2.4 Liters of blood (normal people have 5 L total)...my hemoglobin count was down to 6.6 (it was 13.6 before I went into surgery)...so I am pretty exhausted and get tired easily, but I didn't have to have a transfusion, so I'm excited about that!!! Kolton is a great baby! He is sleeping really good and eats like a little piglet! :-) He only lost 4 oz. since he was born, which is really good. Kaylynn is a great big sister, too! She loves her baby brother and will be a big help to Mama and Grandma! Thank goodness we have Grandma here to help keep the zoo!!! Well, it's about that time to rest again. More to come...

The Real Zoo

Today we went to the Zeeland library to see some animals from the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. They brought a parrot, a porcupine, and a snake. Kaylynn was pretty adventerous and actually touched the snake! :-) Mama was a little grossed out...

So Kaylynn has been really into singing lately. She loves the "Wheels on the Bus" song and the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song. It's quite funny to hear her made up verses, although they are very appropriate for what she's doing. Last night her her new verse was, "If you're happy and you know it, poop! poop! poop!" :-)

We are counting down the days to Baby Brother's arrival...still with no name picked out. At least we have a deadline to work with, I suppose. By my counting, I have 5 days left--you can't count today, because it's pretty much over, and Monday doesn't really count since my surgery is at 7:30 a.m., right? Either way, it's coming soon, and I can't wait!!!

Today a lot was accomplished!

We moved some furniture out of our bedroom so we could set up the crib...now it feels like we're ready for a baby! :-)

Daddy is working hard in the basement on the electrical today, and the closet wall is finished from yesterday. We are making progress! :-)

So my neighbor, Rachal, got married yesterday in Wisconsin. We were super bummed we couldn't go, but my doctor said I couldn't travel that far away so close to the baby's arrival. :-( I heard that everything was perfect, though, which is the way it should be. :-)

Friday was a fun-filled day. Kaylynn and I met Grandma Gentry at Meijer Gardens. Kaylynn had a blast at "Fun Friday at the Farm" and really enjoyed getting soaking wet in the fountains!

POTTY UPDATE:

I stopped writing down the times on Kaylynn's potty chart because she was going so much I couldnt' keep track! :-) She is doing REALLY well...I'm suprised how fast it happened. We're still working up the courage to use public restrooms though. Today in Home Depot, she needed to go potty. We put the paper seat liner on and she sat down--ready to pee. Then the automatic flusher went off and scared her. That was the end of that attempt. :-)

Starting up...

Well, after reading Erin's blog at http://www.theboogers.blogspot.com/, I decided that it seemed like a good idea...you know, to keep everyone updated in my life as a zoo keeper of one silly gooneybird (and soon a baby brother). :-) Plus, I don't want my kids to grow up and ask incrediously, "Mom, you NEVER had a blog?!!!?" So here we go!

Only 11 days until "Baby Brother" comes out, as Kaylynn would say. Mama is counting down the days!!! Kaylynn is getting very curious about her baby brother...like when she asked me if her baby brother will be able to walk. Not right away. Can he talk? No, but we will teach him. Will he have feet? Yes, he will have feet.

BIG EXCITEMENT:
Yesterday was a day of potty-training triumph! 10 times total of going on the big girl potty...including *shockingly* 2 times pooping! I had to run to the store last night, and when I got back, Kaylynn was waiting for me. "Mama, I have a present for you!" You do? "I pooped on the potty! Come and look!" as she runs to the bathroom... What enthusiasm! Maybe I will only have to buy diapers for one kid...let's hope...oh, yeah, and I took a picture of her smiling by her poop in her potty before I let her flush it down...and then realized that I forgot to put a card in the camera. (Mommy Brain hard at work again!!!)