Do you have a family photo?

My mom asked me if she could get a copy of a picture of all five of us.  This made me realize that, not including a photo taken 6 days post-partum that will never be circulated!, we don't have any pictures of all five of us.  So, I figured I would have some one snap a picture of us on my phone while at church this morning.  They did but I already deleted those photos.  Not flattering.

Still wanting to get a picture I decided we would try to get a group shot using the timer on our camera after church.  This required me to poke and jab at Lainey on the car ride home so she didn't fall asleep.  Very conducive to cooperative photo taking. She actually did amazingly well! I can't say the same for her older brother though!

Testing out the timer

Attempt #1 - Off center and Carson is sleeping

Attempts #2-6 are blurry for some reason

 Attempt #7 failed as the camera battery died!

I charged it for about 1 minute just enough to take one or two photos.

Test shot - battery is working again

This one was close but if you zoom in you can tell my eyes are closed!

Of course the battery dies again, off to recharge for another 30 seconds.

Everyone is grumpy now but I am determined!

Erik is no longer interested in the "magic" camera!

Victor wasn't either apparently!

Look at the camera or else their will be no milk before naps!

Finally! 

I do realize only 3 people are looking at the camera but we are all awake, turned the right direction, have our eyes open, and are in focus so that's the best I can provide for the moment.  

That was fun!

Ordinary Hero Blog

 Adopting a kid from Africa has always been something that interests me.  I think I first got the idea in my head when I was 19 and it's still there.   We clearly haven't pursued this avenue yet but during during the past 2 months I keep running into people who have adopted or are planning to adopt soon. This morning the magazine I picked up to read while working out had an article about adoption featuring this organization.

Please click on the link below.  Our lives are so blessed.



Ordinary Hero Blog: Team 2.....Street Kids find many blessings in Ethi...: "OH...the precious street children in Ethiopia!! They will break your heart. There are over 150,000 street children in Ethiopia. Most run lo..."

Can you believe the picture of that house?

I'll let you know if this desire I have ever moves further than an idea in my head.  For now I will just be praying for the poor poor babies living in filth.

Below is a link to an abcnews video about the current famine in Africa.  Amazing how an entire continent can be suffering and it barely makes the news while our budget balance issues upsets everyone.  Makes me a little crazy!

ABCnews

That video makes our daily troubles seem pretty insignificant doesn't it?

F35 Update

 Victor works for the Navy, as a civilian, leading a public affairs team here at PAX-NAS (Patuxent Naval Air Station). One large aspect of his job is coordinating public affairs for the F35 operation. The F35 is the marine version of the joint strike fighter (a state of the art fighter plane).  Today was a big day for Victor as the marine corp commandant General James F. Amos plus a large team of national media spent the day at PAX-NAS (with Victor).  The goal of the visit was to reassure the media and leaders that, while the F35 development process is significantly behind schedule significant process has been made.

This is important because the F35 program was issued a "warning" by past secretary of defense, Robert Gates threatening that if significant progress isn't made in the near future funding for the program will be cut.

As part of the program today media was allowed, for the first time, to capture a test flight of the F35.  Below is a video from fox news summarizing the event today....

F35 Test Flight 

The pilot in that demonstration is from Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 

On a side note: There were supposed to be four state senators present as well but they were stuck on Capitol Hill fighting about the budget! It will be interesting to see how they resolve that problem.  I'd have to say major budget cuts could greatly affect my life personally as we are double federal employees (Navy and civilian).  That being said I find it disgusting the the government has no interest in balancing the budget! C'mon people! 

What do you think?

Lainey Sings To Carson

Lainey is a great big sister.  If Carson is crying she immediately tries to comfort him. Recently, she has been singing to him if he is upset about something. 

She was willing to perform on camera for me.  Isn't she sweet?? 

Lainey Singing

More Lainey

Lainey was not a happy baby.  She wasn't colicky but she didn't smile much either.  Toddlerhood (12-18 months) was one big fit!  Thankfully, during the past 6 months Lainey has been a happier little girl.  She is still quite opinionated and not afraid to throw a fit but for the most part she is charming and funny.  She seems to be quite smart and uses this to be very witty.   She makes me laugh often! 

Lainey has lots of adorable girly pajamas but she LOVES to wear Erik's  pajamas.  He is almost always willing to share with her so this is what she wears most night.  She reminds me of an adolescent basketball player for some reason. 

She loves to copy people and be involved in EVERYTHING!! (I like to be involved in lots of things so I understand!) In the photo above, she is happily nursing a baby.  Erik tries to nurse dolls too- he even told me the other day that I didn't need to feed Carson because he already gave him milk from his breast.  Great!

Here is another video of the girl showing how persistent she can be! 


Lainey and Beer

She thankfully, doesn't really have any idea what beer is and just wanted what I had.  I am a bit nervous about the teenage years.  Neither Victor nor I were very rebellious teens therefore dealing with teen rebellion seems a little scary too me!  Good thing we have 9-10 years before any teenagers live in our house!

Erik's Stats and Allergy/Asthma Update

Erik had a follow up appointment with the allergist today.  He is currently doing well off of all medicines.  The allergist/asthma doctor still thinks he has a cough-variant of asthma which currently seems to only be triggered by allergies and viral infections.  He is currently comfortable letting Erik stay off of medicines in between flare ups.  This means that the second he (or anyone else in the house) gets a cold we need to start his budesonide nebulizers and use them daily until healthy.  He will restart the Singulair, Claritin, Budesonide regimen again next March assuming we make it through fall allergies okay again this year.  We will see! If he has more frequent flare ups or the trigger becomes less predictable then he will need to use the nebulizer year round. I hope to avoid that.

I mentioned that Carson had a bad case of bronchiolitis this spring and the doctor said that does elevate his risk of developing asthma too as the bronchiolitis damages the lungs.  Boo to that! 

Erik's stats...  

Weight: 35.5 pounds (52%)
Height: 40.75 inches (69%) 

Sweet and Sassy

Lainey and I went on a girl "date" yesterday.  This mainly consisted off errands (1 on 1) but we also stopped by PETCO.  They had some kittens available for adoption from a local shelter.  They were quite cute and a big hit.  Someday we will get a cat we are not quite sold on the idea yet. 

Here is a video of Lainey from this morning talking about the kitties....


"Sweet and Sassy"

She is full of spunk!  I do love her!

Lainey and Carson Stats

Lainey: 
25 months...

Weight: 26 pounds 5 ounces (fully dressed) -- 39%
Length: 35 inches -- 73%

"They" say you can double the height at two for the expected adult height.  This would put Lainey at 5 ft 10 inches.  We will see! 

By comparison:
Erik at 2 years was... Weight: 27 pounds 6 ounces (45%) Height: 34.5 inches (55%) This would put him at 5 ft 9 inches as an adult.


Carson:

4+ months....

Weight: 16 pounds 12 ounces (fully dressed) -- 76%
Length: 25.75 inches -- 71%

By comparison....
Erik at 4 months:  15 lbs 9 ounces (naked) and 25.5 inches
Lainey at 4 months: 14 lbs 4 ounces (naked) and 25.5 inches

Lainey and Erik Swinging

As you may recall, Lainey was quite ticked that Carson was in "her" swing the other day.  This is quite funny because Lainey has used a regular swing for the past 3-4 months.  She is quite jealous at times and deems anything that the other person is interested in as "hers" even if she has no interest in it at all!

My big kids swinging!

Who's Bigger?!

 

Lainey is such a proud big sister! 

Lainey and Carson have their 2 year and 4 month check ups later this week.

I wonder how soon Carson will pass Lainey up in the weight department!  

You should be praying for me as both Carson and Lainey have to get shots on Thursday!

As you might imagine, shots are quite a traumatic event for Lainey!

 

My sweet babies!

No! Lainey Do It!

This phrase is heard frequently through out the day!  Lainey, unlike Erik, is super independent and wants to do everything she possibly can on her own.  It leads to some fairly humorous results. 

Here is a list of things she likes to do on her own.  Most of these things Erik didn't start tackling until he was three or later....

1- Getting undressed
2- Getting dressed
3- Shoes on/off

She was proud! She can get her regular pair of shoes on independently as well!

4- Brushing teeth
5- Taking herself to the bathroom independently (using the regular toliet)
6-Washing her hands
7-Getting into the fridge
8-Pouring herself a glass of milk
9-Climbing on counters
10-Changing her brother's diaper

Lainey changing Carson's diaper; Erik drilling Carson's head; Carson just laying there patiently!

11-"Riding" a trike - she can't reach the pedals so just runs it with her feet
12-Picking out clothes, or more particularly pajamas
13- Asking WHY?  Ha!

There are others but these are the most frequent things that come up.  I love her streak of independence and hope she will remain confident and self sufficient throughout her life!

Guy Time

 Chris, Austin, and Carson watching baseball after a busy weekend in Kansas!

Ha Ha Ha!  

You may remember that Austin and Terri lost their sweet baby Jake last September.  

Please don't forget to be praying for their family!  

If you aren't familiar with their story go HERE for more info. 

Thanks!

More Painting Projects

Since 2 works trips for Victor and 2 family vacations for me and the kids wasn't enough to do during the past month, Victor kindly painted the bathroom and dining room over the 4th of July.  The photos aren't great but trust me when I say the house looks so much better now that 7 of our rooms are no longer white!  Thanks V!

Man's Best Friend?

I am not sure if Rally thought Carson was a friend or a chew toy.

Lots of interest from both parties though!

Carson Playing at the park!

 

I thought Carson would be way to small for the swing but I was wrong.

He loved it!

From this video you may think it was a relaxing experience... 

Carson Swings

Think again! 

Carson Swings-Real Life

Sharing is very hard for this poor girl! 

She did get over it after about a 5 minute tantrum and went mushroom hunting with Erik!

Now I am off to clean up a terrible poop explosion waiting for me in the bouncer.  

Real life! 

Happy 85th Birthday Grandma!

This weekend Carson and I spent 3 days in Kansas joining a large group of people who had driven and flown in to surprise my Grandma for her 85th birthday!  I always love being part of a surprise and had a great time!  We stayed at my Aunt Barbara's house (thank you!) and were able to spent time with Laurel, Dan, Melanie, Austin, Terri, Alex, Mom, Randal, Nancy, Grandma, and the Swans.  At the actual birthday party there were probably 10-15 more extended family and friends present.  It was quite a celebration. I am so happy that I was able to be there!

Grandma meeting Carson for the first time

Grandma celebrating 85th with Elizabeth her (almost) 89 year old sister!

The celebrators!

Baker family that came to celebrate

The girl cousins! Aliza-11, Melanie-21, Me-31, Carley-15

Grandma with Carson, her 4th great grandchild

Grandma and her 4 kids  Laurel - 53, Anita-59, Barbara-55, Randal-57

Now we will know who really reads this blog! :) 

It was a great weekend and fun surprise!

Carson- 4 months old!

This has been a BUSY month for our sweet baby boy!  I flew to WI with all 3 kids and spent a week at my parents.  We had a great time and Carson traveled well.  Carson and I also spent 3 days in Kansas visiting family and celebrating my Grandma's 85th birthday!  Lots and lots of fun this month but I am now quite tired!

What's Carson like at 4 months??

Personality:

Carson is such a joy! He loves people and is full of smiles.  He is most definitely the happiest baby I have ever met.  He just makes you smile because he is always flashing his big, dimpled grin at you.  He is very social and "talks and talks" with us.   He has a delightful little giggle as well. 


Eating: 

Still nursing exclusively.  No issues with that.  His reflux has been quite a bit worse the past few weeks.  I cut dairy out a week ago and switched him from Zantac to Prevacid and things are improving.

Carson is a BIG boy!  I am sure he is between 16-17 pounds but he hasn't had a check up for a while.  

Beautiful Boy!

Sleeping:  

Carson's sleeping pattern has been quite poor this month!  He is going to bed around 8 pm now and getting up 2-3 times a night.  Prior to switching him to Prevacid he was spending 3-4 hours awake at night just squirming and crying because he was uncomfortable.  This has resolved with the new medicine but he has still been getting up every 2-3 hours most nights.  I am hopeful we will get back to 1 feeding a night soon but we will see.  I am very tired!

Carson takes 3 naps a day.  He usually sleep for 1-2 hours about 2 hours after waking up, 2-3 hours in the afternoon, and 45 minutes in the early evening.  Most days we are out and about in the morning though so the first nap gets disrupted.  He doesn't complain too much and will usually sleep in 20-30 minute chunks in the morning.  He is always happy when I put him down for his afternoon nap.

Carson is still swaddled tightly when sleeping.  He sleeps in his "bouncy" chair still due to the reflux.  Hopefully, we will get him in the crib soon as he is outgrowing the chair.


Development: 

Rolls from front to back
Plays with his feet and toys
Loves to have his hands in his mouth
Smiles, laughs, coos, shrieks
Actively seeks out social interactions and tries to get our attention by talking to us or shrieking if we aren't paying attention
Dislikes the carseat
HATES pacifiers
Doesn't like bottles either but will tolerate them if hungry enough!

A little blurry but cute

Love These Kids

Erik, Zach, and Lainey

We stayed home this 4th of July as we were just getting back from a week in WI.  I think the kids had more fun at home as two nights in a row neighbors were lighting small fire works.

Carson has found his feet.  These photos are for GG as I know she loves that stage!

Look at that lip!

My sweet happy boy!

June Budget

Goal: 

Save $500 of Victor's primary paycheck

How did we do this month:

Food: Under by $50
Fixed: Under by $140
Household: Over by $120
Entertainment: Over by $40
Unexpected: Over by $ 435  (Not taking V's travel expenses into account as they will be reimbursed)

Total Saved: 

$420 (yay!) of his primary pay

Where did our money go?

Gas: $300
Healthcare: $36!! :)
Unexpected Car Repair: $250!  Yuck!
This month was birthday/graduation/wedding month.  I think I bought gifts for 10 people!  I am thankful to have so many wonderful people to buy gifts for!

Victor traveled a lot this month. Some of it was for his civilian job which doesn't benefit us financially but most of it was Navy which is good from a paycheck perspective.

July will be very ,very tight as we have to inspect, repair, and register the RAV!  I anticipate that will cost us $400-500.  We will see! 

I am going to do a 6 month budget review as soon as we get unpacked from our WI trip.