What a big girl!

Shiloh is such a big girl!

She got her first haircut this week

Slept in her new twin sized bed this week (and has really transitioned quite well!)

And takes her bath in the regular tub (we finally gave up hope of saving water as she has most definitely outgrown even the toddler side of the infant bath tub!)


Now...if only we could convince her that using the potty is an important part of being a big girl too....other than talking about it, she is just showing no interest. I am getting used to the fact that we will have two in diapers at once. I will become quite good at doing diaper laundry!

Camping!

We took our first camping trip with Shiloh over the July 4th weekend to the family campground at the Bible Camp Chris and I both worked at. We had beautiful weather (thanks to the weather experts who predicted rain later in the weekend, convincing us to go camping earlier than we first were planning!). The campground was quiet and we remembered most of the supplies we were hoping for...Really, who needs things like hand soap or blankets/sleeping bags to keep warm with anyway when you're out in the wilderness?

Shiloh and this friendly kitty hit it off. She was thrilled that the cat stuck around our campsite the whole night. And when she sees this picture says "kitty was petting me!" which it really was, I suppose!

Playing at the playground was a huge hit. Shiloh loves to climb up ladders. She has yet to demonstrate any fear of falling, though and will just sometimes decide that she is done climbing and let go...

It's not camping if you don't make some sort of tasty treat that will stick in your hair!

Sleeping turned out to be the most challenging part of the trip for all of us! I normally enjoy sleeping on the ground when camping, but this time around I decided we needed to have an air mattress in hopes I would get at least a little bit of sleep. We showed Shiloh her sleeping bag and offered the mattress as well, but it was still hard work to convince her that we would come join her in the tent. She was pretty skeptical about going to sleep in there all by herself! She talked and roamed in the tent for quite awhile while Chris and I sat around the fire and enjoyed our s'mores, and where does she end up finally crashing? Horizontally on the air mattress! We managed to all squeeze on the mostly inflated mattress for the night, but I'm pretty sure Shiloh is the only who slept!

We spent the next morning picking wild raspberries. Shiloh had a blast. She was completely unaffected by the scratches on her arms and just dove right in to eat the berries. Her face and hands were totally stained, clear evidence of a good raspberry picking morning!

Despite Shiloh not contributing a single berry to the bucket, we still ended up with quite a large stash of berries. I made two batches of my Mom's tasty raspberry coffee cake and we made a quadruple batch of raspberry gelato with the leftovers that we couldn't eat with our cereal any longer. What a fun way to end our camping trip. We'll definitely do it again, and this time with a more complete list of what not to forget at home! Check out our picasa photo site to see some more pictures of camping and visiting the camp farm during our morning outing!

Brand New Life

Things are changing for the Family Trip. We have started what my friend Emily likes to call a Brand New Life (or BNL). And we're anticipating a brand new life to join our family in 7 short weeks!

Our BNL actually began June 1 when I started work as a part time employee! Wow! What a huge blessing this has been. We have been praying and searching for a way for me to be home a little bit more and I was able to become one of the first employees ever to go part time at my agency after a proposal I submitted about a year ago was accepted.

This definitely hasn't come without adjustments. I feel like my life used to be work with everything else squeezed in to the weekends and sometimes evenings. I had little left to give to my family! Now I feel like I have life and work is just a part of it. So it took me a few weeks to sort through my thoughts on my self-worth (especially as I sacrificed a part of my job that I have been most passionate about for the last 4 years to do this); who I spend time with (I have some great co-workers who used to be pretty much my only social interaction as well!); and how to spend my extra time constructively. I'm learning how to just spend time playing and being with Shiloh, even though I'm so driven by checklists and to-do lists! And I love not having to squeeze quality time with her in on Saturday when I'm trying to do laundry, get groceries, clean the house, and everything else it takes to run a household!!!

In my BNL, I strive to practice my cello more often, exercise more regularly, spend time with God more regularly, plan outings for Shiloh, connect with friends and family more, cook healthy meals, be more consistent with taking care of our home, and actually get to see my husband too! I'm not there yet, by any means. Especially if I let you know that blogging is one on my list to do at least once per month!! And even as I try to find a new "normal" I'm reminded that it will all be flipped upside down when Baby #2 comes very soon! So I've also been working away (and "encouraging" Chris to work away) at projects before time is devoted to caring for an infant again!

I love feeling less stressed and more willing to get out and do things! I've gone to yoga class at church when I've been able, we went camping over July 4, Shiloh and I went to Omaha this past weekend, we go to the park a lot, we have fun at the grocery store, Shiloh and I did a 5 week Kindermusik class together, and we planted our first garden. Woohooo!

I promise I'll be posting again soon with accounts of camping and trip to Omaha. But for now, these ultrasound pictures are FAR overdue. Pregnancy has been treating me fairly well after getting over the ickyness of the first trimester. Baby is healthy, very active, and has a heart rate around 150. I'm 33 weeks right now and we're joining up with our Bradley childbirth classes again to freshen up on the information tomorrow.

For now, enjoy the long-overdue ultrasound pictures of our little babe. We're getting very excited to meet him and cuddle him up!

This is his face from the most recent ultrasound (June 2)--it might help if you squint!

More shots of baby's head

Liloh L'Bet Pipnono

To follow up from the previous blog when Shiloh would tell me my name when I asked her what her name was...she now answers quite easily, but you never know what part of her name you might get. Sometimes I get just her last name, sometimes just her first, sometimes first and last, and lately, all three together. She'll have to work on enunciation if she ever wants someone to be able to spell her name correctly, but I think we're on the right track

Things she says...

"Silly Daddy, there's more in there" (when Daddy told her the cheerios were gone)

"Please Mommy hold lou (you)" which she quickly corrects to "Please Mommy hold ME!"

"I see Walwa Tooting Dod book!" (I see Walter the Tooting Dog book. The real title includes the word Farting ,which we are not really against, but since she already knew what tooting was, the word seems to have been permanently replaced....)

And while praying during breakfast one Saturday morning, right before we returned a Walter the Farting Dog book to the library...."Thank you Walwa Tooting Dod be home."

Other sweet prayers include "Thank you Daddy be home, thank you Mommy be home"

Shiloh is our constant commentary on life. Within a few minutes one night as I picked her up from Robyn's house she said "Mommy get keys now" when I tried to open the door and it was locked. Followed by "Mommy orange peel" which she saw in the car. Followed by "Mommy get milk now" as we drove up to the dairy outlet.

And that's how life goes.
"Liloh has pink shirt on"
"Daddy has brown eyes"
"Mommy has blue eyes"
"Liloh has blue eyes"
"Lucy eat dog food"
"Mommy eat edd (egg)"
And on and on and on!!!

Since we're still working on pronouns, she sometimes gets confused as the following conversation shows...
Me: What is your name?
Shiloh: Erin.
Me: Really? Hmm...What is Daddy's name?
Shiloh: Chris
Me: What is your name?
Shiloh: Erin (in an I-already-told-you voice)
Me: Well who are you?
Shiloh: Liloh!
Mostly I'm just amazed that she knows our names.....

A blog post at last!

And really, instead of writing a whole lot, I'm just going to give you links for all the pictures I finally got around to uploading from December up through March. Check the captions-that alone was enough writing to fill up this blog post!
Winter photos
Spring photos

Since the news is out about Baby #2 (thanks to Facebook...)

I apologize for my long absence from blog-writing. Not that I feel the need for excuses, but our post-Christmas has looked like this:

• Wonderful trip to Colorado
• Return from Colorado to cold, bleak, and very snowy Iowa
• A broken camera
• A new camera, but without a USB cord (and we don't have a card reader either)
• Plenty of fun pictures, but no way to share them yet (we're working on it, just need to take time to go to the store!)
• Chris working lots at church, including several days of helping install a new sound system
• And me working all day, doing supper & bedtime for Shiloh and then crashing due to extreme fatigue. Oh yes, and wishing all day that I was throwing up because it might relieve the nausea. I'm now seeing a light at the end of the 1st trimester tunnel, and I actually find myself with a bit of energy still and it's already 8:30 p.m.! And I've cut back significantly on the crackers and 7up. Hooray!

While I'm feeling guilty about neglected thank-you cards to loved ones, dirty dishes left for Chris far too often, and in general, not doing well at communicating with friends and family the past month+, every ounce of energy has gone to Shiloh and to helping my body grow Baby #2. We heard a strong, healthy heartbeat today, and while it's no fun to be sick and tired for weeks on end, I'm very thankful that it is a sign of a healthy baby. We are just in awe of the miracle God is weaving together. September will come before we know it, and a little over 2 years after Shiloh's birth, we hope to welcome Baby #2 into the world. So there's the biggest news of the day!!

I can't even begin to catch you up on Shiloh's development, funny moments, and beautiful personality. I'll try some bullet points and we'll go from there!

• Happy 18 month birthday Feb. 4!
  
• She's speaking in mostly 3-word sentences, sometimes more
• She adores the new baby, Ernie, at Robyn's house (her beloved babysitter) and has since named several other baby dolls after Ernie. She also has a doll named Heavy and one named Light at Robyn's house. And according to weight, she has named them correctly.
  
• She is consumed for much of her day by taking care of her baby dolls. Dressing them, changing poopy diapers, feeding them, strolling them around, putting them in high chairs, putting them "nigh-nigh." She is a very busy little girl.
  
• She has an obsession with poopy diapers which has resulted in a few successful potty chair experiences, but mostly just a lot of talk about who's poopy, who's on the potty, etc. And I can't help but share my favorite quote of the week, "Daddy toot."
  
• We're enjoying singing some songs and allowing Shiloh to fill in the words when we stop. She does such a great job!
• There are endless moments of laughter, more frequent moments of frustration as she is definitely into the "testing" stage of toddlerhood, but it is just delightful to watch her grow! I knew I would love several aspects of being a parent, definitely including the infant stages and the 3+ years. I was a little worried I wouldn't handle the toddler years well, but it is so much more amazing and rewarding than I could have ever imagined. We are so blessed by this little girl!

And now my burst of energy is over....the bed is calling my name. Hopefully more posts to come soon!