Best Thing AND Sliced Bread
3 times now I have ordered groceries on-line. I have no extra time and it turns out that with the promotions, we still haven't paid extra for shipping. They bring it to my counter-top and whala... grocery shopping in 15 minutes, without screaming kids and $5 gas. Love it!
Going with the grocery theme, turns out last Thursday I cut my eye with my contact or finger or something and has excruciating pain for 12 hours before going to urgent care. Then another 24 hours later... no better. So, off to a specialist. You know it is not good when my vision out of my right eye is like looking through a shopping bag. The doctor comes in, looks at my eye and says "this is not good". EEEK. As if I haven't had enough sleep deprivation, he gave me drops that I had to put in every 15 minutes for 6 hours and 30 minutes for 24 hours to help get back as much vision as possible. So for the 3rd night in a row... no sleep...none. the good news, so far my vision is mostly coming back and my vision in that eye is now 20/40. Let's pray that it comes back all the way, but the doctors were a bit skeptical. But, I did get to talk like a pirate.
Today is my first day "back" at work. Turns out I will be working from home this week since I can't drive. ut, my mom is in town for a month and it has been great having her around. Natalie has already grown attached to her again. love it.
Two-isms
More photos to come. Monday Susie and the girls have been so gracious to come all the way to our house and take new family photos of us AND toddler/infant photos of the kiddos. They are moving to Ohio and I am so sad to see them go.
But I have a great story. See, Daniel is not an easy baby- I take back what I said previously. But, he is sweet and beautiful and our family is so nice with him here. He has "grumpy guts" and is not a good eater, he just doesn't focus and gets too frustrated. So we are trying lactose-free milk to supplement the breast-milk and more pumping and bottle-feeding. Danny cries a lot given his early-life challenges.
At dinner tonight, Dan was in his seat on the table and Natalie in her hook-on-chair. We were eating and of course, Dan started crying. Natalie put her little pointer finger in each ear and in a very loud voice, sang "The people on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down..." It was so cute! She was doing what Jeff and I sometimes wish that we could. Drown it out with something pleasant... and she was that something pleasant.
We have been touring preschools for Natalie. She is brilliant and is so ready for interaction with kids and needs a structured schedule and help with potty-training and going to bed. We are all trying, but it is time. So, after about 20 on the list, we are down to one, we think. We will tour it again on Monday just to make sure. It is a Lutheran preschool with faith-based teaching and excellent play areas. The student teacher ratio is 6:1 and the people are so loving and nice. It is interesting considering what we have never considered before: outside time, playground grass and equipment, arts and crafts, structured activities, potty-training toilet sizes and partitions, engaging teachers, and of course, our guts. Natalie will be going to a half-day program in a few weeks for her and to manage the babysitting of the kids with Jeff, Connie and myself.
Sleep is hard to come by these days but is very slowly getting better. now it is about 4-6 hours of interrupted sleep per night with a nap about every-other day. The coffee in the morning is also helping along with the iced tea, cherry Pepsi and ice cream.
I'm so excited!
Natalie got into a Parent and child dance class for the summer. It is very introductory and is for ballet and tap. I am so excited about the shoes! She and I will do this class early on Saturday mornings and Jeff and Natalie will go to the "Jungle Gym" on Wednesday nights. I am excited to have our alone time together.
Grumpy guts, aka: Danny, has a hard time pooping. It keeps us up a lot of the night. Once it passes, and when he is not eating, he is a great sleeper. So it turns out that I am getting about 3 hours of interrupted sleep per night. I am getting used to it... argh. He is a pleasure and is looking different every day. He is 9 1/2 pounds as of last week.
Check out his Air Jordan socks... I love them!
Jeff has been working, for real, the last week. I love it I love it I love it. He is home by 6pm and is around to help once in a while. He made his first insurance sell on Saturday and has 2 more leads that were provided to him for groups. He is amazing and will be great at insurance. I was a bit hesitant mixing family with business so much, but so far it has been great.
Mike and Aubry are the first "East-coasters" to get out to see the baby. It was so nice having their company and extra hands. I was sad to see them go. The trip seemed particularly short.
More Photos Please!
You have no idea what a big deal this is getting more photos on-line. After days of Jeff's computer on the blitz and then the internet not working (still), 6 hours with Indians to help us and screaming babies who do not understand what is needed to be on the phone with IT for hours. Frustrating.
Sleep has been okay up until last night. Danny would be up every 3 hours and pee through his outfit and need to be totally changed every 3 hours. This kid is always hungry and eats and eats and eats without spit-up. My guess is about 6-8 ounces before he goes to bed and on average 4-6 ounces every few hours. I'm sore and now I am so tired. He is either eating or being changed or having digestive issues pooping all the time. He's okay, but I am pooped.
Jeff took our little 2-year old princess to Disneyland today. She has a bit of cabin fever meets panic attack meets 2-year old tantrums. It is wonderful. She does have more pleasant moments than not and we are turning her world a bit upside down. She'll be okay.
Enjoy the additional photos. We took Natalie to Downtown Disney for her actual birthday dinner on Monday. We went to the Rainfforest Cafe where she could see the animitronics of Elephants, gorillas, monkeys, butterflies... She even had a birthday song and ice cream sundae all for herself. It was a special time with the three of us to all focus on her.
Happy Birthday Daniel Ramsey Wetzstein
5/13/08. Jeff called it. It was his "lucky number".
Welcome to the family Daniel (Dr. W.). 7lbs, 15oz; 19 inches and 10 days early. A fast labor- 5 hours from start to finish with an epidural at 9cm and ouchy mama. What a beauty.
Natalie's expression says it all.
He is a fantastic baby. Very easy, laid back and gorgeous. So far so good. Natalie loves her little baby. She wants to "hold you" to the baby all the time and is so very cute with him. Enjoy the photos, I have to get some rest. We all are doing well.
Status Check!
We have moved into the new house and it is really nice. It will take me a few months to feel like it is "mine". I have to get used to yelling "where are you?" and "I can't hear you" since this house is not as open as our last one and we are talking through walls.
Thanks to all of our friends and family who helped us move! It was quite an undertaking since we actually had "real" furniture to move this time. Turns out it is a lot heavier.
We are 1 month away from baby #2. For Mother's Day, Jeff has taken us to get professional photographs of our family (which is all I really want- Thanks Suz!). But this year the timing is a bit off with the new baby coming, so we did it a few weekends ago. Natalie is just beautiful! (She took a tumble yesterday on her face so she's a bit scratched up- It hurt Jeff more than Natalie...)
Gidget ran away. She got out through the fence (Penny is too fat). The neighbors chased her up and down the street and finally caught her. She bit our new neighbor- how's that for introductions. No worries, she was very nice and doesn't seem like she is the sue-ing type. Oh yeah, Gidget's back now.
We are Nuts!
Saturday was day 1 of a 45 day escrow... yes, we're moving.
A few months ago Jeff fell in love with a home 6 miles from where we live. It was way outside what we could afford, and when we drove by I didn't fall in love right away.
So, in a last-chance setup (last-chance before it's too late with the new baby), Jeff scheduled a walk-through with our Realtor. And, 2 trips later, I too love the home and the property. We way underbid it and stuck to our guns, and to our surprise (and with a letter about our family with Natalie's photo), they accepted the offer! Yikes!
The neighborhood is great and it's on a flat half-acre, with a pool and a place to store our RV. It's perfect. Oh yeah, the house is great too.
For Aunt Barbie and Michael
Time is passing and in the absence of a journal, I should be blogging more often. Natalie is a doll and the video camera is definitely coming out (this week sometime).
Great grandma Ramsey has moved to Oregon and she will be missed. We will have to get to Oregon maybe at the end of the summer. We took more photos at her going away party and maybe the last 5-generation photo since it is unlikely that we all will be in Oregon at the same time.
My belly is growing and growing and I am feeling pretty good. I have MAJOR cramping in my legs nightly and it is soooo painful. I've tried everything and the doctor says at this point I have to just tough it out.
Work is very very busy. 3 years of working hard to get a backlog and learn what I am doing is finally paying off. I was top 5 last year in the National totem pole (of 30-ish). It has gained me a lot of respect from the top and major issues with my peers. My real friends at work are great it's just some of the colleagues that make my life at work miserable. But I keep my eye on the goal and realize that some people will not get over themselves no matter what- maybe we'll all grow up together and get past this. We'll see.
It's been great seeing mom and Charlie last week. Charlie came for the weekend, and don't you know it, Natalie and I got the flu, or something super miserable. We were "better" a day or two after he left and I felt so bad that we slept and were miserable. Natalie became super-clingy to mommy and nobody had a chance to hold her. Mom had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Natalie and helped me by babysitting one long day so I could get some work done. It was so nice to see them. I really miss them since they live so far away.
Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me
Today we went to Disneyland with Cathy Sue and Sherry and now we are proud annual pass holders. After today, I really think this was a good purchase and the girls had a great time. The winners for the day- The Tikki Room and Nemo's Submarines, the losers- Pirates of the Caribbean and Winnie the Pooh. It was a great time.
Super Saturday
It's 7:30pm and Natalie is out, 2 hours early. Here's why:
At 7am we woke up, took showers/baths and ate breakfast. Then we went to the "Jungle Gym" where she "graduated from Fall Semester. We ate more breakfast at the bagel shop and took an hour drive past the beautiful snow-covered local mountains and to Preston's first birthday at the park. Then, after playing at the park for 2 1/2 hours we drove an hour to Sammy's 6th birthday at the batting cages/mini golf/bumper boats/rides/arcade/race cars/pizza... fun zone. We played for 5 hours before heading home. We had a great and busy day.
And... in the interest of sharing my favorite photos of our adventurous day, I have added an album to the left of the blog to share.
Overwhelming Responses
It seems that folks like reading my blog... or at least like the photos- 5 people left comments and 2 more- Shelly and Jeff told me on the phone. So, enjoy the park and the aquarium photos taken in the last week with my new camera!
We have been hanging out with Cathy Sue and Sammy a lot more and they are really enjoying each other's company. Sherry has helped a ton this week since Connie is out of town and I have been swamped. She's the BEST!
Swamped and Stalling
Whew, I wonder if anyone even reads this anymore since I have not posted in so long. I guess an update is in order.
It's a boy! Due May 23rd. He is measuring (and so am I) bigger than his age, so this may mean I will deliver early or have a big baby again.
Natalie is the apple of our eye and is sooo much fun now. She is talking up a storm and takes things very literally. She was drinking out of her sippy cup and needed to lift the cup to get the juice on the bottom. So, I said "lift it up" and she put it over her head! So many cute examples like this, but that I think is my favorite!
Christmas was great and Natalie now has more toys than any single child should. (The Christmas cards will be on their way soon) She spends a lot of time with her cousins and grandparents and the toys get lots of use. She now has "big girl" furniture- a daybed and a dresser. The rest has been moved to the new baby's room.
Work has been very hectic and great all at the same time. I was ranked #8 of 30-ish sales people in our company for last year and we have a big year lined up. I was ranked #5 amongst my rank (not including my boss' rank which also sell and pushed me to the overall #8 position).
Jeff is working his butt off still and looking forward to his transfer to his dad's company come April. It is still uncertain if April will become mid-May when the baby is due. He cares so much and doesn't want big items to get dropped in his transition.
Thanksgiving in Connecticut
Before I go too far in this blog, I should announce that Jeff and I are expecting a second baby, due May 22. Almost exactly 2 years after Natalie's birthday. It is exciting and overwhelming, but I think we'll be ready. Also, Jeff had his 31st birthday on Thanksgiving. Happy Birthday Jeff.
In the past 2 weeks Natalie's speech has grown quite a bit! It is impressive how fast this little girl is growing and it is fascinating to watch her grow.
We had a great time in Connecticut. The weather was good and there was no raking leaves or shovling snow this trip. We did spend time watching Curious George, Nemo, cleaning Nana'a pantry and tupperware cabinet and office. Natalie was a champ on the plane and we enjoyed seeing the New Jersey Family and Cristin and Jeff and the kids too.
