The Aftermath

Wow. The destruction these tornado's left is incredibly scarey. Check out these ">photos.
My Supervisor's parents house was leveled and have lost most of everything. Also, our Center Manager, here at work, also lost his home. My best friend Lori's dad and his wife live in Parkersburg also, and have heard that they are all safe and sound...no word yet on his house. My friend Gretchen has said that her brother's house got hit in Dunkerton as well. I'm sure everyone has some connection to this disaster. I know its easy to say, but most importantly is that their families are safe and unhurt. Please continue to keep all those affected in your thoughts and prayers!

Well, my Birthday weekend (besides the storms) was pretty uneventful at our house. Spent Saturday with my parents cooking out and eathing bday cake. Then we went to a graduation open house for Tim's cousin Zeb and his wife.
Sunday we spent the afternoon at Tim's dads. We spent a lot of time letting Becca run around their beautiful yard and playing on the swing set. She loved it! Until the storms hit of course. But we waited it out in the basement!
Yesterday was spent doing yard work, laundry and just plain relaxing!

Tornado Warnings

Hey. Just a quick note to everyone out there that may be checking in. Tornado's hit Parkersburg, Waterloo and Dunkerton this afternoon. We were in Denver this afternoon for supper with Tim's dad and Paula. We rode out the tornado warning in the basement, keeping an eye on the weather outside and the reports on tv. Denver had HUGE amounts of rain and HUGE hail..golfball size to gumball size. But thats all, wasn't even windy, but 3 miles down the road on HWY 63, the Tornado took the same path it did several years ago on Dunkerton rd. On the way home, we saw barns leveled, siding and shingles everywhere, HWY marker signs bent in half, street poles and street sings broken, trees split in half or twisted up. Pretty scarey that it was so close! Thank God for keeping us safe.
We got home to our house, and still have yet to see a drop of rain. Weird. It still thundering and lightening, but still no rain. I'm sure its on the rain though.
So...we're ok. Keep everyone in the storms paths in your thoughts and prayers. They are saying 2 confirmed deaths in Parkersburg and possibly one in New Hartford. I have friends in both small towns. Aerial shots from KWWL showing Parkersburg, shows 30-100 homes leveled.

Long Weekend At Last!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy memorial day! Have a great long weekend. Hoping the weather holds out for us!

We don't have big plans, other than a birthday cookout for me at mom and dads. And Tim is going to help dad set up and figure out his new laptop! This should be interesting. I have no doubt that dad will be ok, Mom on the other hand...ha! I love ya mom!

I think Becca and I might hit the library for story time tomorrow morning! Maybe even the farmers market if its dry out! I love little events like that. Big enough to seem like a fun day, but small enough that there isn't a huge crowd, no traveling, and free...incase you buy alot of course! I'm in the mood for Rhubarb. Don't know if this is the right time for it or not, but I have a reciepe from Aunt Linda that she gave me about 10 years ago that I still haven't used! I promise myself that I will do it this year!

A super Saturday

Wow! We had a great, fun filled, busy non-stop Saturday! The three of us woke up early and hit the road to pick up Wendy to go neighborhood garage sales! We didn't find anything tremendous...but some Dr Suess books, some fall cloths for Becca and a great red bookcase for Wendy. It was a fun morning and Wendy was Becca's best friend! Becca was an excellent shopper. We didn't have room for the stroller, in case we found something big (gee..like a bookcase...ha!)so she walked along with us through two neighborhoods! Actually no...she ran the entire time. We stopped for lunch on the way home and while Tim and Becca took naps, I just couldn't stand to be inside!

Because I had already planted the 4 plants we had to put in the ground still...I needed an excuse to be outside...So I went and bought more plants! Becca woke up as I came home so she helped and played while I dug the holes! She's pretty good about helping when asked!

Daddy came out to play when he woke up, and we played outside most of the rest of the afternoon. It was perfect weather. 72 and a beautiful breeze. After dinner, and 5 successful trips to the bathroom for Becca, we opted for Dairy Queen as a reward! We enjoyed eating it at the picnic table at home, rather than at the store.

We ended our day by getting the last bit of energy Becca had with a wrestling match between Daddy and Becca on the living room floor! That is always amusing! Somehow, Becca always wins! Before bedtime, she sat with me and we painted our toenails bright pink. Like blinding pink! She's so happy about that!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I don't know if I've mentioned before or not...the really funny ShoeBox Blog that I found. You know, the Shoebox that is a division of Hallmark! Well, they post funny renditions of top news stories, cartoons, as well as rejected cards. The rejected cards are my favorite. The girls in the office will attest to this, as I often giggle and share with them what I've just read. Well, today of course, they have rejected Mother's Day Cards. I've copied and pasted them below...enjoy!

Mom, if they celebrate Mother's Day a day later in Canada,
I want to take you across the border and do it again!

Also, we can get Grandma some cheap meds.
Start packin'!
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I always knew you had it in you to be a mom.

By "it", I mean a uterus. Kind of critical for baby having.
------------------------------------------------------
Grandma, you can't be beat!

Everyone knows not to beat grandmas.
That should be obvious.
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Always knew you'd make a great mom, sis...

Or, evil stepmother. You could probably swing that one too.
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Complimentary waxing:
not a good Mother's Day gift.

Learned that one the hard way.
Happy Mother's Day
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Whenever I see a dedicated mother bird feeding a hungry baby bird,
I think of you, Mom

You made great fried chicken.
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Grandmas make lousy ninjas.

But other than that, they can do pretty much anything!

Make it 4 Days!!!!!

Ok, I know, I don't want this whole blog to be about Becca's potty training. But I'm a proud Mommy! Becca wore the same pull-up today, keeping it dry from 915 until 630 tonight! She has 5 successful trips to the toilet today! I'm so amazed by her!

Ok, onto other happenings of our day. We visited the Waterloo Public Library this morning for Family Story time! There was only one other Mommy and her 3 yr old daughter. We made quick friends with them! It was also their first story time trip! After the story, the librarian got out some crafts for us to do with them. We had a lot of fun. But I'm embarrassed to say that we didn't even exchange names! But we did say that we hoped to see each other there in the coming Saturday morning story times! Good fun and free entertainment!

We came home for lunch and nap...which for the 2nd weekend, turned out to be a 3 hour long snooze. We obviously needed it. I was surprised to find Becca dry, even after that long nap! We got ready and off to Kmart to stroll and then to Church. Becca spent time in the Kids Zone tonight. It helped that Aunt Wendy was working in her room.

There was a moment in church tonight, that Pastor Dan asked all the mom's in the group to stand, so that he could pray for them. I was honored to have been prayed for by so many. But at the same time, my heart broke. The memories of being childless, and wanting so bad to be in a different spot...to have a baby of our own, for God to bless me by making me a mom..and we couldn't. I started to cry during that prayer, and started saying my own, asking God to please comfort all the childless couples who long to be parents. That tomorrow will be a hard hurdle for them to get past. But to reassure them, that in His time, those couples will be blessed on many levels.

Please remember those woman tomorrow, that may be trying, or have lost little ones. Love on them and comfort them. I know, I've been there...and they will be thankful for it.

3 days in a row!

Becca seems to be getting this potty training thing down. 3 days in a row she has been successful with at least 1 trip to the toilet! We're extremely proud! She has told us several times as well, when she needs to go, but we have been quite fast enough. Tomorrow, I think we will try to stick around home, and set the timer and go to the bathroom every hour. We'll see how that goes.

Work this week was interesting. Alot of moving around in the office. So they moved me to a new location. Its always hard to hit my stride again when they move me around. You get comfortable in one spot, and everything is just kinda off for the first few days after a move. Grainger also announced last Friday that they have a finalized purchase agreement for a new building! They are breaking ground this month and hope to have the building completed by next spring. March or April is what we are hearing! Very cool. And luckily its not far from the current building. Just up the road at the new Ansborough interchange off San Marnan and across the street from VGM.

Tim is on his fishing tournament trip this weekend. So its just Becca and I. Tonight, Wendy & Xavier joined my Mom, Dad, Becca and I for supper at A&W, then Becca and I had to hit Walmart for a couple staples to get us through the weekend (chocolate and pull-ups!)Becca loves that the pull-ups have Cinderella on them. She says,
Momma...My Lala! (Lala is what she calles Cinderella)

Poop Party!

Ok, I know this may be a bit too much information for some..but hey, sharing updates, trials and tribulations as family is the exact reason I started this blog!

Becca went in the toilet for the first time! And to top it off...it was a goop!(pooped)

Yahoo!!!!! We've been attempting the big toilet for months. Admitedly, not whole heartedly or consistantly though. However, tonight, I saw that she was going to go hide to poop...and quick swept her up and put her on the toilet! She did it! She pooped in the toilet!

Daddy and I did quite the song and dance in celebration! He came running upstairs with treats in hand as a reward! We definitely need to keep m&m's on hand now! (oh dear....this will be an issue for me).

Join us in the celebration dance!

This weekend was full for us! Seems we hit both ends of the spectrum...from the 3 of us all taking a 3 hour nap on Saturday afternoon, to spending hours doing yard work today!

Becca and I started our morning on Saturday by eating our breakfast from McDonald's in the car, as we sat in the John Deere parking lot, and watched them blow up one of the smoke stacks from the old John Deere power plant downtown. We watched it tip over and go " timmmmmmberrrrrrr " as Becca said. As soon as Tim was done working security for the blast, the 3 of us hit the big Garage Sale event they had in Cedar Falls. People could rent out booths in the old Hy-vee, and for just a $1 for adults, you could hit all the booths! It was alright. Very busy. We did manage to pick up a couple play outfits for Becca to wear in the yard or at Daycare through out the summer. Stuff I'm not worried about her ruining! We also found a Doll house with little people and furniture. She's loving that! Its so fun to watch her have imaginative play time with that! Very cute.

Today, we hit Walmart early for some necessities and ended up with a couple "extras"...in the form of garden plants! Every year we are adding plants to and around the pond. We still haven't found the perfect combination. So while Becca slept today, we cleaned out the boat, and started moving some plants around in the yard. I enjoy that, and really do wish we had a bigger space for me to garden. Right now, all we have are tiny litte beds, either surrounded by concrete ( i hate it) or against the house. I would love to have island beds that I could play with. I need an acreage! In my dreams.

But it was a beautiful day to spend outside. Becca joined us once she woke up from her nap, and enjoyed riding her scooter and playing on the slide. But we noticed as soon as we headed back inside, that the poor thing had broken out on her legs just from that short time being outside. Darn eczema. Just a little bit of whatever it is (either sunshine or grass...we haven't figured it out yet) and she's red, splotchy and itchy all over her legs.

Phew...thankful thats over!

Today we had a scheduled home visit from Cody's p.o! He was to check the place out and feel out the situation, in hopes that when Cody comes home from Clarinda in August, that he lives with us. We are anxious about this. Good anxious...because we are excited for the opportunity to get to know each other better and hopefully provide a nourishing environment for him to "grow up" in. But there is also a bit of nervous anxious involved to...mainly for the exact same reasons just mentioned! Really though, I look forward to this next step. It will be a challenge, or perhaps..." a change " is better terminology to use. A Change, going from raising a two year old, that we know how to handle most times and are familiar with....to living with and being parents to a 17 year old that we are not so familiar with! But if it is God's will and we can be blessed with this opportunity...we will take it!

The visit went well. Todd (the p.o.) told us to expect some family dynamics interview questions, some discussion on what is to be expected, as well as seeing the living conditions Cody would be in along with making sure we have running water and electricity! HA....Well, he came in, sat down in the recliner, had a nice visit with us, did the interview questions, said, " well, I can tell you have electricity, because the lights and tv are on....So I'll just assume you have running water as well! " He didn't tour the house, didn't look around. Didn't even as much as peek around the corner to see what was here besides the living room! Ha...He left!

After all the prepping, decluttering, cleaning and cookie baking I've done to make it as home-y as possible...He didn't even leave the recliner! I made my bed for the first time in probably 4 years, and he didn't even leave the recliner!
We laughed about that, and I still laugh about it! We definitely take it as a compliment that he was very comfortable in our house, and could trust us by seeing only one room in our house, and by the answers we gave in our discussion, that Cody will do ok here. At least we hope! Shoot...maybe he didn't like the way I decorated and made his decision not to see the rest of the house based off that! Haha! Lets hope not!

Tim is NOT smarter than a 5th grader *wink*...

...We found this out on Saturday when we traveled to Clarinda to see Cody for the afternoon! We had a good time, lots of laughs, played some games (hence the reference to Tim not being smarter than a 5th grader) shared some fun stories and talked about future when he's done!

Cody looked great! We believe that he has matured since going 3 months ago. He's playing baseball and throwing disc on the track team. He was in good spirits, and jumped at the chance to gang up on Tim with me, when Tim wasn't up to his usual smart self answering his trivia questions!

We are waiting to hear from Clarinda on the status of Cody's home passes. Tim would really love for Cody to be able to go on the week long fishing trip that they started planning last fall. Thats coming up at the end of June, so we're hoping they will allow this alone time with his Dad, for an extended pass. I think it would do everyone some good, and hope his case manager agrees!

Anyway...we had a good time. It was hard to leave him there, but he is doing so well!
In fact, we received grades! He's getting all A's and B's, and is on track to leave in August with his GED! That means not going back to public schools once he comes home. He has plans to attend Hawkeye's welding program and holding down a job!
We're excited for him and can't wait for him to come home!

"She's Growing like Gangbusters!"

Thats what Dr Julie said today in Iowa City! Becca surprised us with the amount she has grown since last visit in November! She gained 4lbs 6oz and 2" !
She is now 25.6 lbs and 33 1/2"! Thats even 1.6 lbs and 1/2" since March 10th appointment with her Pediatrician! We are sooo happy about this. Dr Osterhaus was very pleased and reassured with her recent growth, as are we!

Rebecca did very well, with her own Dr kit in tow! What an excellent birthday gift idea, Aunt Wendy! It came in handy, and transitioned her well from one "check up" to the other. Dr Julie even stocked it up with Tongue depressors and band-aids! She's so neat! We love her!

The blood draw for the tests was the only real meltdown, but it only lasted a few minutes. Daddy made it all better and we were done and out of the hospital within an hour today! She's a good little patient. We told her over and over how proud of her we are for her perfect behavior and for growing up to be a big girl!

We stopped at Walmart once we got back into town. We needed to stock up on goodies and games for Cody's visit tomorrow. While we were there, Daddy didn't forget the promised "treat" that was coming for being such a big and brave girl at the Dr today. That treat, that I figured would be in the form of a snack food.....turned out to be a SCOOTER! Its a My First Scooter for toddlers. Wider base and wheels on each side, so that it isn't as easy to tip. We haven't gotten it out yet, but I'm sure this weekend it will be broken in fast!

We love you Becca Boo! We are so incredibly proud of you!

Introduction to Earthday...in the backyard!

With beautiful weather the last 2 days, we have finally been able to spend some much needed time outside! Tim cleaned out the pond and raked the yard. We cut down all the dead stuff so we can now see the new growth in the flower beds! Becca discovered some ants and some potato bugs! She loved to watch them work their way around. I accidentally found a nest of baby bunnies in our yard while cleaning out a flower bed, so she met them as well! Last night I came home from work, to find her and Tim watching the 12 goldfish they just bought and dropped into the pond! She thought that was so cool! I asked her to count them and she said, "ok...6-9-4, all done!"
It was cute.

This weekend will be a busy one for us!
Friday, we head to Iowa City for her quarterly thyroid check up! We're praying for another growth spurt, in hopes that she doesn't have to go through the Level 2 Growth Hormone testing they "threatened" us with. Ok, so it wasn't a threat, it was more of a warning that they may need to do it if she is still showing not enough change in her growth charts. Long story. But it would be filling her with insuline (she's not diabetic) and then doing blood draws every 15 minutes for 2 hours. THat is so they can measure how her body is recoverying with the growth hormone. But, shootin her up with insuline, being so small, and not being diabetic, means possible seizures, migranes, induced diabetic commas, fever. Just overall misery for her. And to not be able to understand it all, being so little....I just can't even fathom how hard it will be to comfort her. Please, keep her and us in your prayers. We're hoping she doesn't have to do this. We know that she gained 2lbs and 1" since last fall, we're hoping thats enough to satisfy them.

Saturday, Becca will be spending the day with Wendy and Xavier, while Tim and I go to Clarinda to visit Cody! We're looking forward to the time with him.

Well, I'm on my lunch while I type this, so I better eat quick before my time is up!
I'm sure we'll have updates after the weekend!

Thanks for everyones prayers!

Go Avalanche

Its been a long time since I've posted!

Time has been flying by. Helping mom and dad with the move nearly every day for the last week, they have officially moved in to the new place. They spent their first night there, after sharing a lasagna dinner with us.

The weather continues to be crappy lately. We're itching to get out and spend some time outside. I have green stuff peeking thru all the dead stuff in my gardens, and haven't yet had a chance to get stuff ready!

Becca will be having a blast once the weather is nice! With a new fire truck, Tricycle and my childhood wagon...she'll have plenty of outside toys to choose from!
We've made one walk. But we would love to get out more. I'm just hoping we don't go from cold and damp to hot and humid. We want SPRING!

Have to share a picture. Becca received "THE BEST GIFT SHE WILL EVER GET...EVER" from Dave, Lori and the boys! And in perfect timing to wear to cheer on the Av's durring playoffs!


Ok, so I will promise to post more later.

Well, as expected, we did make dinner out on Friday night, minus the trip to Lowes! I'm sure it will come yet though! I was in CF Friday afternoon for a Dr's appointment, so Tim and Becca just met me at Texas Roadhouse. As usual, it was excellent! If I could afford it, I would eat there every night!

Saturday was a beautiful day! We enjoyed a skillet breakfast and then opened up the house for a short time while Tim and Becca napped and I cleaned. Becca and I then went to check in on Grandma Deb.

Shes is doing just fine! She was up and packing boxes for the big move. They have little less than 2 weeks until moving day. I can't believe it. The house is looking pretty bare without its decorations, but filling up with boxes of every shape, size and weight! We had a good time as we pulled out Wendy and my Barbies, accessories and clothes. That was a hoot. Oh, we were creative way back then! Velveeta boxes for Barbie bathtubs, wooden strawberry crates with napkins folded up to provide Skippers' kid sister a bed...you name it! We made it! Hilarious. Along with that is the treasure trove I found of all my old New Kids on the Block stuff. *gasp* Wow. And all in time for NKOTB reuniting! I'm sooo at that concert!

We stopped by home to grab Tim and made off to the park! Becca was sooooo happy to be there. She skipped from slide to bridge, to ladder, to slide and all over again! She would clap when she was all done and say, " More this! " On the other hand, she wasn't so happy when it got crowded and we decided to leave. Broke her little heart.


I've been feeling pretty lousy with a cold I'm sure I picked up from my sister. And I'm afraid that Becca now has it. She's definitely not been herself today. Very cuddly, quick to melt, no appetite, and a little toasty. We're keeping an ear and eye open on her breathing, but discovered I need to make an appointment for her with Dr Christiason, so we can get refills for her nebulizer. Our meds expired 14 days ago. Dang! Wouldn't ya know!

Finally April and Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe the first week of April has already come and gone! Right there with that, I can't believe Tim and I are celebrating our 10th Anniversary! Yesterday was our anniversary, though I'm sure we'll celebrate this weekend. More than likely dinner out and a trip to lowes will be about it! Thats usually how it goes. This year, we'll be purchasing a new waterheater! Woo Wee! Every year at this time there is another project that needs to be completed! Oh well! I woudln't know what to get tim anyway. I joked that the traditional gift for 10yrs is Tin or Aluminum and the modern gift choice is Diamonds. This is true ~ according to Hallmark! So, I guess I could gift wrap a box of Reynolds Wrap for Tim. lol

Well, we didn't celebrate yesterday, because Mom was admitted to Allen Hospital after midnight /Early Thursday morning for Kidney Stones. They wouldn't pass, so they were doing surgery last night to remove them. She's going home today, and will need to make an appointment to get another blasted out that is the size of a nickle!
This all came as a surprise to her! She's never experienced them before!

Last weekend we did dinner out with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Joe. They came up to spend a little bit of time with Becca, since they were traveling on Becca's bday. It was nice to catch up and visit a bit before they returned to the new Casino and met some long time friends.

Well, I've done it again. Joined another weight loss challenge. This one is 12 weeks. Longer than I have done it before. But maybe at 12 weeks I won't pittle out and fall back into old habits like I do EVERY time. I'm hoping the 12 weeks will get me more into a lifesyle change. I am trying something different this time though. Trying Weight Watchers. I haven't actually attended a meeting, but the girls in my office are doing it also on the points system, and I'm thinking that with their support and knowledge, and point tools, I can do this.

We received a letter from Cody this week! It was very upbeat and long! 6 pages! He's got some goals in mind, some possible hobbies he would like to try a hand at, and seems to be getting along pretty well in Clarinda. We're happy to hear from him that his faith is still strong and he's working at making better choices. This was a huge relief and made us smile, especially his playful attitude in the letter!

Becca has a new favorite song! She loves to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat! She'll help with the row-row-row...and before you get to the merily-merily-merily-merily.....she gives her version with Weeeeeeeeeeeeee! When you get done with the song, she'll make the rowing motion and say row-row-row really fast! Its hilarious. She looks so funny doing it! its not so much a rowing motion, as it looks like when you do a bunny imitation, with your paws in front of you? You just have to see it!

Becca is also counting very well. Every other number that is. If I say one, she'll say two, and so on up to ten! We get so tickled with this game! She's also doing better on her colors. Most times now, she will pick the right color when we ask her to show us.

My friends Jennifer and Jessie welcomed Caleb William into this world on Wednesday night! I'm so looking forward to meeting this little man! I knew it was going to be boy! I'm sure Becca will love him up as well. We decided not to make the trip to the hospital to visit. We'll let them get settled at home for the next week...then make a point to go and visit!

Yesterday, my cousin Josh and his wife Meg were in town for a baby shower! They are due in June with a girl! It was great to see them. We're sorry we couldn't stay longer, but it was fun to catch up with all the fam!

it only took 2 weeks....

For Becca to ATTEMPT to climb over the gate in her bedroom. We placed the gate on her bedroom door, considering now she is in her big girl bed.

So this morning, she decided to dump out the basket in her room ~ turn it over and use it as a step. So I took it away. She then found an unopened package of diapers. Yep, tried again. So I took those away. She then attempted to use the papermache' boxes that Grandma Deb made for her. Yep...those have been put away to now.
*shaking my head*

So her room should look clean and uncluttered at all times now. Bed, Dresser and Night stand is all she's got!

She's such a monkey!

Happy Easter!

The cutest and coolest Easter Bunny came to our house! Check her out!

We've continued to be busy this last week! I felt like I wasn't ever home!
Had a "mandatory" party for work Monday night. That sucked. Didn't get to see Becca before her bedtime. Tuesday was Xavier's birthday, so we ate dinner and cake at their house after work. That was fun! Becca and Xavier don't get to spend as much time together as they used to, now that Xavier's in Kindergarten. I can't believe he is 6!

Wednesday was a fun day! Wendy, Jill and I took a day trip to Des Moines to his some antique and scrapbook stores! That was a blast! We laughed a lot and spent a lot! But it was all so worth it and we all soooo deserve it! We'll definitely be doing this again! Thursday I only worked 1/2 a day and spent the afternoon cleaning Becca's closet out and packing away clothes and toys that are too small.

Becca has come into her own language this week! Its hilarious. She's really trying sentences now. There is a lot of babble and noise, and about 3 words tops that you can recognize. But we can mostly get the jist. We laugh a lot...and Tim and I give confused looks to each other a lot too! But we always reassure her by saying, "Good talking, Becca!"

Yesterday, Becca painted her yearly Easter Egg. Last year I started buying the wooden eggs you can get at the craft stores. I let her use craft paints, and paint one egg each year. I'm marking the date and her age on each egg, so that when she is 18, we will have a huge collection of her craftsmanship through the years! Not a lot of change from last year...besides the thickness of the paint! We joked that it will take about 10 days to dry, because there are just GOBS of paint on this egg!


The Easter Bunny left some new playdoh, sunglasses, cookie cutters (for the playdoh) and a bubbles wand for her today. Oh, and we can't forget the eggs with Spiderman treats in them!
ok, just have to share one more picture....she's so funny

So much in such little time!

This week has been crazy busy for us! We had Dr's appointments, errands to run, church group and extra hours to work and recooperating from last weeks birthday party, we also had the unexpected...

...like Tim falling through the back door cement steps on Friday evening. Luckily, he didn't get hurt. Not even a scratch, but we did have to wash off a couple of brats he was carrying to the grill! Ha! So, yesterday we took some time to go to the Home Depot to figure out our next "STEP"...ok, bad joke. I think we will be building some nice wooden steps, and when things dry out a bit this spring, we'll replace a few warped boards on the deck and stain it. Anything to help this deck look better than what it does right now!

Becca made it through the night every night this week in her big girl bed! She's an ol' pro at it now! She's done so well. We did have to give in and give her back the paci to help her feel safe. We'll attempt that hurdle again in a week or two. Here is a picture of her the 1st night in the bed! I love the perspective of this one. Shows just how little she is in this (not so big anyway) twin bed.


This morning, we took down the crib! No going back on that one! She didn't hesitate at all! She even attempted to help. That is when she wasn't trying to climb the crib as we were taking it apart. Tim says, " as if it isn't frustrating enough to take these things apart, but its a whole 'nother story when a 2 year old is crawling over your face and jumping off your back!"


I think the best news we had this week, and I'm surprised I didn't mention it sooner...is that Becca is growing! I mean physically! Its been a long time since we've been able to say that! At her 2 yr well-baby check on Monday, we discovered that she's gained 2 lbs and 1" since November! We love this! So she's now 24.8 lbs and 32 1/2". Still small. But her pediatrician is happy with the long awaited growth! We go to Iowa City at the end of April, so hopefully they will be just as pleased, and we'll not have to do the level 2 testing for growth hormone! Please continue to pray that she continues to grow!