Okay, I'm all caught up on emails, websites, etc.! It is nice to know what is going on with everyone again!!!!As for me, my post partum hairloss can stop any time, please. Aside from our bathroom looking like a forest every day, I have the same bald spot that I had after Logan. With him I got extensions, but they don't match my current hair color so I've just been having to hide it every day.
As for the children, Krissa turns four months old tomorrow! She is still a smiley, sweet-natured little girl and Logan still thinks of her as his favorite toy. I overheard him the other day telling her, "When you grow bigger, you can play with me!" :-)
As for our family, we are sooooo happy in our new house and living in Waukee, Iowa. I really have felt like this was the best decision that we moved here. As much as I liked Omaha and our suburb of Papillion, there had been something missing for me. Now, everything feels so right. Life just clicks. . .it's like, I've had a key in my hand and have been searching for the right lock and now it fits! I don't need everything to be perfect (it's not) and yet I'm the happiest I've been in a long time because I feel I am exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I can be who I am, and do what I'm supposed to do. To be honest, I hadn't felt that way in 8 years. I don't understand why all it took was moving back to Iowa. . .I guess I'll save analyzing that thought for a rainy day. All I know is that I no longer feel a need to live anywhere else, whether that be North Carolina or Chicago, I am content with staying here for the rest of my life if that's the way it works out -- when up until now I was always thinking about where I wanted to live in the future. But that's because I was searching for this feeling. Now I've found it.I was going to make this post just some additions that should have been in my last update five weeks ago, but now it seems like so much has happened since then that things I write about in the future might not make sense without giving you the full story. . .SO. . .what the heck, despite my earlier decision not to, here goes a full update. . .! :p (Yes, this is one of those to read when you have time to spare.)
On October 7th, I wrote The Last Big One! (I'm sorry for eating my words; THIS one is. :p) As planned, that weekend we moved the remaining things out of our old house. We arrived to Omaha on Friday evening and I went to my old Hy-Vee for the final time. I'm still getting used to the Hy-Vee around here not being set up like that one. I had gotten my mom and dad's area all figured out after living there for 10 weeks, and this area actually seems easier, so I think I'll have all of "my places" down pretty soon.
Logan did well sleeping in his old room by himself, but Krissa got up every two hours! As you know, I'd been spoiled with there being only two nights in those twelve weeks that she didn't follow her pattern of sleeping 5 hrs+5 hrs the first week, 6 hrs+4 hrs the third week, 7 hrs+4 hrs the fifth week, 8 hrs+4 hrs the sixth week, 9 hrs+3hrs the eighth week, and 10 hrs+2hrs the tenth week. That weekend I was worried that rather than increase to the next number (as had been her previous pattern) now we were going backward!
The next night (Sat) she slept four hour intervals and then (Sun night) six hours. She slept 10+2 hrs again Mon through the following Mon -- which happened to be our first night in our new house. Despite being only 13 weeks old at the time, she must have known we'd moved because she was up every two hours again -- and she dropped the "8 am to 10 am sleep" (in other words, every morning since then she has been up for good at 8 am rather than 10 am).
Just like our weekend in Omaha, the next night she slept four hour intervals -- only, unlike Omaha, that continued the next two nights until we set up the pack n play next to our bed. She immediately went back to 10 hrs straight through. We had wondered if maybe because we'd had no choice but to all sleep in the same room at my dad's house, she could now sense us being further away.
Sure enough, the following week, at 15 weeks I put her to sleep in her crib (she began wanting to go to bed at 9 pm opposed to her previous 10 pm), and she went back to the four hour intervals because she was getting her legs stuck in the bars (at least she still happily puts herself to sleep which is amazing to me considering the first couple of weeks of her life, although I do have to put her on her left side with her head to the west and give her a pacifier and stuffed animal. That's the only time she takes the pacifier nowadays, and her hands HAVE to be touching something. She uses her hands all of the time and wants to feel EVERYTHING. For a long time I didn't let her have a stuffed animal if I wasn't watching her because of SIDS, but after turning three months old she seemed big/old enough that a small one would not smother her [although she's still too young for blankets and regular bumper pads. . .heard a horrible story of a 7 week old baby here recently that died because his mom didn't know she shouldn't put the bumper pads in]. She absolutely loves dolls and stuffed animals, I had no idea it started this early). So, I returned her to my room because, what can I say, I prefer sleeping straight thru the night. :p
I can not believe what an acrobat she is. I really assumed that she would be less active than Logan was (or maybe I just thought that if I told myself that then it would happen since once he got mobile I found him to be harder), but the reality is that she is even more active. She's continued to roll over non-stop since 11.5 weeks old (or since she was one week old if there wasn't that six week break after five weeks) -- to the point that I should have baby proofed the house as soon as we moved in because she can move from one side of the room to the other. She seems frustrated that she can't crawl, but to me she seems to be moving plenty. Just as I wrote here that at three weeks old she was moving 180-360 degrees from where I'd put her in her crib, she does that every single time I put her down anywhere now. For the past month she has hated her play gyms for that reason, so I am going to put them away this week (which is sad because she only used them for a month).Strangely, she actually likes the swing now. I was about to put it away a couple of weeks ago because it had been over three months and she'd never liked it -- and then suddenly she did! However, I have to strap her in which I never had to do with Logan (ironically, this was the age that he stopped liking it as much) -- because she tries to climb out. She's also not liking the bumbo chair as much anymore because she can't climb out (as well as the carseat). She seems to be trying so hard, so I keep asking her what she expects to do once she gets out! :p Thankfully, she loves the bouncer! We put together Logan's old bouncer on Nov 9th and she's been doing awesome with it!
Anyway, on Nov 10th (after two weeks of getting caught in her crib bars) we put breathable bumper pads in her crib (although it won't help with hitting her head). It has seemed to help with her nights, as the past four nights she's slept in her crib from 9 pm to 4 am (7 hrs); then I bring her in my room where she goes back to sleep until 8 am (4 hrs). 
My next goal is to keep her in her crib for all of those 11 hrs, even if I go in to nurse in between. Because, when Joe put together the pack n play, we noticed that there was a large hole that must have happened during the transfer from my dad's house to our new house. After only a week of her sleeping in it, we just didn't feel comfortable putting her in there anymore because we kept visualizing her head getting stuck in the hole during the night and strangling her. So Joe made the pack n play into the play pen, pushed up against my bed so that Krissa's been next to me in bed and won't fall off. But she's so active now that she kicks me and moves around so much that it's not comfortable anymore for me to co-sleep. Now I understand why 4-5 months is the average age for those who stop it.I never co-slept with Logan because it didn't feel right with him (if anything, I was the complete opposite -- "under no circumstance would I ever do that"). But, as with everything else, Krissa is different! My parenting philosophy is to do what feels right at the time. Kind of opposite of what we hear when it comes to living our every day lives, but I've found it has worked best during my 3.5 years as a mother. To not worry about consequences (seriously, it all has a way of working itself out and why regret something later that worked well and had good effects for everyone) -- as long as you are going by what cues your child is giving you for what you should do. That philosophy hasn't let me down yet.
So, with Krissa, it's felt incredibly natural and right and has helped make her more secure. (I can understand why most all other countries do it, as studies keep showing that it's best for babies.) However, now rather than helping me sleep better, it's doing the opposite, so the cues point to bringing it to an end. :/
I was reading my old blog posts that I wrote at this point with Logan (linked at the end of this post) and saw that around the same time that Krissa STOPPED sleeping through the night, Logan STARTED! It lasted for two months and then he didn't do it again consistently until nine months old. So, since Krissa's sleep pattern has been on & off for five weeks now, maybe she will return to consistent the week after Thanksgiving since that will be two months (although tonight would be fine with me).
Thankfully, she just does a quick nurse when she wakes up in the night and then goes back to sleep until the exact same time Logan gets up -- the three of us all get up at 8 am every day (Logan goes to bed between 8 and 9 pm these days and has had no problem sleeping in his new room; yes, we're on a much healthier sleep schedule than when we lived at my dad's).
Back to moving weekend. . .on Saturday, October 8th, the four of us went to my friend Stacy's salon so that Logan and I could get our hair trimmed. I also got my highlights removed so that I can go through the winter without having to worry about making a trip back to Omaha for a hair appt.
Joe took Krissa and Logan to the park during my turn. Thankfully, Krissa did well, although she refused to take a bottle. She didn't take one the following week, either. At that point I had been trying for a month to no avail (just like sleeping at night, it was a step backward), so I was just about to give up and then she took one from Joe! However, she hasn't had one since but that's because I've just been too busy to pump.My friend Andrea back in Omaha said that her doctor actually had her start using a cup with her daughter at 4 months because she never took a bottle, either, so I might go that route soon if it's going to be hard either way (since a cup you don't have to wean from)!
Stacy and I shared identical monster moment stories from our three year olds. . .but guess what? Since we moved into our new house, Logan has been an absolute angel!!!! We haven't had to do time out the entire time we've lived here!!!! Is he out of his terrible three's? Oh I hope so. Seriously, this past month he has been awesome!!!!
I'm sure some of that has had to do with Joe and me being able to relax now. Toward the end of our stay at my dad's we were getting snappy at each other. One day I yelled at Joe because twice he'd put a wet towel on Krissa's clothes and they'd gotten moldy (that wouldn't come out) so I had to throw them away. Logan came into the laundry room where I was and said sadly, "I'm sorry Daddy did that. I'm sorry he got the clothes all dirty." I felt HORRIBLE!!!! I really don't want to be the wife/mother who yells at her husband/kids' father in front of the children because I know it is not good for them to feel their parents aren't getting along. (When he said that, it made me realize he was taking our issue onto himself which I don't want him to do.) Thus the downside of living in one room for 10 weeks (although even in our new house, away from the kids, I still don't want to be like that for Joe's sake)!After our appointments, we picked up Chinese for the final time from a restaurant we used to like there -- China Road -- and then my mom and stepdad came to help us move all of our furniture so that everything was in our front room with easy access to the Uhaul. Sadly, a chair got dropped on Logan and he still has a mark on his back :( He also hurt his leg, arm, and face during our move -- I told him he'd covered all body areas so there was no need for anymore owies!
On Sunday, October 9th, Stacy's husband Matt and my friend Lisa's husband Darin came to help Joe and my stepdad load the Uhaul. It was A LOT of work. Those guys were incredible.
We had hoped to have more helpers but it was a beautiful fall weekend and everyone else had plans. I ordered pizza and breadsticks for everyone from Godfather's (I savored each bite since you might remember me mentioning that it's not as good in the Des Moines area). Logan played outside the whole time and at one point it occurred to me that he hadn't come inside for a long time to use the bathroom. Joe said that he caught him peeing next to our tree in the front yard!!!! For a couple of weeks he seemed to think that whenever he had to pee he could just do it right then and there if we were outside (this was because there had been a couple of times when there was no bathroom nearby and so we had let him); hopefully he understands now that's just when there is an emergency. :p
We all worked from morning to night. After saying goodbye to our neighbors on both sides, Joe returned to my dad's house at 10:45, while I got there at 12:45 am. He'd wanted to leave earlier than me because he had to drive that huge Uhaul three hours in the dark, and right before he left the wind picked up! He said he would not want to be a truck driver.
Meanwhile, I tried to fit the remaining things in our SUV (that hadn't fit in the Uhaul) and I came SO close, but there were a few items left in the entry way -- and that area also needed cleaned -- so we made the decision to return one more time.Monday, October 10th was my mom's birthday. I feel bad that I didn't have a gift for her -- but Mom, I want you to know your gift is coming! She said she had a nice day, though, because Logan had gone back with her and my stepdad Sunday eve (they arrived home around 9:30) and then they brought him to my dad's house Monday eve.
After Joe got off work on Tuesday, October 11th we were going to go back for the things in our entry way, and my dad said we could use his truck and he'd go with us to help, so after hurrying around we were all ready to go and then Joe learned that we had to get a cashier's check from our bank in Omaha that would be closed by the time we got there. So, we went on Wednesday, October 12th -- and since my dad had band practice, Joe's mom brought her truck and helped instead.
After I finished cleaning (apparently the new residents told our realtor they were impressed with the condition of the home when they had the walk thru on Thursday), Joe and I grabbed some Little King sandwiches before heading home (Logan stayed at my mom & stepdad's again because we didn't get to my dad's until about 10:30 pm).
Thursday, October 13th was the walk thru of our new house. You might remember that we had hoped to move everything from our Uhaul (which had been parked at my dad's all week) into our garage. Well, our realtor and builder had informed us on Tuesday that there was a new rule -- we would have to pay a renter's fee!!! We were a bit annoyed that we had discussed our plan with them several times and they didn't mention that until the last minute. Of course we chose not to pay the renter's fee and instead wait until closing on Friday (thankfully, Uhaul had given us the truck free through Thursday, so we only had to pay an extra $40 for Friday).
On the bright side, the walk thru was spectacular. I hadn't seen the house in two weeks and it had changed a lot since then! I was very happy with everything. . .and I've continued to be! It felt like home right away! It has been so cozy and perfect for us. Our builder has stopped over already once and our realtor has checked in with us a couple of times -- I have no complaints.
Joe and I ate at Chick Fil A afterward and it felt like we'd come full circle since the last time we'd eaten there was right before we were leaving Des Moines back in May when we'd gone house hunting and thought we were heading home without finding "the one." I remember waiting for Joe as he used the restroom after eating, and I saw I had a voicemail. It was from my realtor, and when I called her back she told me about our builder...so we went over to our [now] neighborhood...and the rest is history!Friday, October 14th we went to Iowa Realty and signed the papers! Logan was with us and he hadn't seen the house in like a month so he was super excited to know that it was finally done! He kept telling everyone, "Our house is finally built!"
It's been really cute how much he likes our new house. He's said more than once, "We didn't have the baby at our old house. I'm so glad we have a baby AND a new house now!" Thank God! The adjustment was nothing to him and he's completely happy with our life here. My previous concern that he was watching too much TV at my dad's house is no longer an issue, as his reunion with all of his toys after three months apart is keeping him 110% entertained!
My dad and stepdad met us over at the house after we were done closing, as well as Joe's friend Andy, and they all unloaded the Uhaul into our garage. It was a lot easier unloading compared to loading!
We returned to my dad's house that night, and then spent Saturday, October 15th moving things from our garage into the new house. By the way, that was Krissa's three month birthday. :-) Here she is in the same outfit that both Joe and Logan wore at 3 months old (Wow, I see a strong resemblance between Joe and Krissa -- more so than than Joe and Logan! You know what's crazy? I've blogged here before about how Krissa has a dimple in her cheek; we've all remarked for three-and-a-half months how cute it is. Then the other day I looked at Joe and said, "You have a dimple in your cheek!" He's like, "Yeah, I know." OMG I'm a terrible wife, I didn't even know that.):
The POD was also delivered that weekend, so we emptied that as well on Sunday, October 16th. My stepdad came over again to help, so we took him out to lunch at the closest Mexican restaurant, but didn't care for it. :(
Our first night in our new house was Monday, October 17th. We still had a lot of things at my dad's house, so I spent the rest of the week at his house all day, every day packing everything into boxes, loading them into my car, and cleaning up.
On Tuesday, October 18th Logan had his first dentist appointment! I was worried that maybe I'd waited too long (our old pediatrician had recommended we go on his 3rd birthday, but I know other people who started going at age two); it turned out to be perfect -- Logan was old enough to understand so he did great (he smiled the whole time) and his teeth were in excellent condition. I really liked the place, the receptionists, the hygenists, and the dentist.
My mom came to watch Krissa in the waiting room so that I could give Logan my undivided attention. Yes, it is nice having help like that from family now!My college friends Joel and Kathy were the couple due to have a baby this month. Two weeks after her due date, Kathy was induced on Wednesday, October 19th. After spending almost 48 hours in the hospital and still no baby, a c-section was performed at 4:43 am on Friday, October 21st and Teagan Ann Petersen weighed 10 lbs, 1 oz. She was in the NICU for five days but then went home and everyone has been great.
I had never heard of anyone being induced for TWO days -- I'm so glad everything ended up okay. I can't fathom getting pitocin longer than I did. I have described my two labor experiences as this: with Logan (no pitocin) it was bad period cramps. With Krissa (pitocin) it was like someone slowing stabbing a knife into me, then twisting that knife, and then slowly taking the knife out -- then repeating again and again for 43 minutes. I mean, I'm sure that unlike me she had the epidural but still...being two weeks late and then in labor for two days...what a trooper she was! I didn't hear the reason for the NICU, but pictures of her baby girl look to be in top health.
That week Logan tried on his Halloween costume that he'd picked out the week before: Superman :-) It was the first year that he'd chosen it, so that was fun. As we walked through Target he'd say, "I want that one. No, wait, that one. No, that one!" LOL. So I guess I still sort of picked it out since after I narrowed down which ones were his sizes, which ones didn't have masks or things that went around his head, and which ones he'd actually heard of (for example, there was some character from a movie that we'd never seen) -- Superman was the best choice.
Logan looked adorable in the costume (he loved the big muscles) and couldn't wait for Halloween. I was happy that he remembered everything from last year, as he recounted being a tiger and saying "trick or treat" as he rang the doorbells and received candy.On Saturday, October 22nd we got DirectTV/a satellite dish for the first time (something Joe had been wanting for awhile). I was bummed he had to work for the first time on a weekend since starting at his new job in June so I was glad my stepdad came over to help us unpack since we hadn't gotten much accomplished over the week since it had taken me until the day before to be done at my dad's house! Our new house was a complete zoo. Times have changed since my 8 Years Ago Today post when I wrote how I was unpacked and organized in less than 24 hrs at our first apartment. Our first house took the weekend and our second house took a week. This time it took a month!
On Sunday, October 23 Joe had to work again. You might remember me mentioning that I wanted to go with Logan to a pumpkin farm by my dad's house that my mom & stepdad had taken him to one day (Geisler Farms). Joe's mom offered to go with, so that was a big help since it was hard to play with Logan and tend to Krissa at the same time, since she only takes two naps a day now (Logan went down to two naps at this point, too, until 11 months old it dropped to one nap through the present. Well, except that since we've moved into our new house he's only taken one nap but that's Joe & my fault rather than Logan's doing. We just have so much going on that it hasn't been convenient, but I was glad that the day he did take one was his old 3 hrs because I have a feeling I'm going to want him to take a nap most days when we're stranded this winter)!
Unfortunately, just like how Krissa's nights and bottle-feedings reverted, so did her clinginess to me. Sandi looked after her while I rode the hay rack ride with Logan,
and once Krissa realized I was gone she screamed the whole time. :( She had been doing SO well with other people and then we had to start all over. So there's been no leaving her/being away from her since whenever the last time I blogged about it was. Much different than at this point with Logan I wrote, "So far he seems independent so I hope that continues. He's perfectly fine playing by himself under his gym or laying in his crib, pack n play, or carseat just looking around." Krissa really loves Joe now, though -- he's even been able to put her bed twice!!! :-)I already told you about Monday, October 24 (when Bella had surgery). That Thursday, October 27 was my stepdad's birthday! Once again, my apologies, Pops, for no gift -- it is a joint gift with Mom's that I mentioned is coming soon!
He came over on Friday, October 28, as well as Joe's friend Joe Grife and wife Jeannie (who had two month old Cooper) -- they came to see our house for the first time. We had gotten our fence and washer & dryer that week. (Black vinyl chain link was our neighborhood ordinance for the fence, and the stainless steel front loading washer & dryer was a great deal from Sears.)
We'd also had our pool table put together that week (and we joined a bank here) so the guys played pool and we ordered pizza from my new fav joint by our house. It's called Sarpino's and it reminds me of Mancino's, a pizza parlor by my first apartment in Omaha that I loved but went out of business and I've tried to find a place like it ever since. Sarpino's has a huge menu of pizza, sandwiches, calzones, salads, etc. Joe and I had eaten there the week before, and we've since gotten their food a third time! I'm going to have to be careful with Dairy Queen in our neighborhood, too, as I've eaten there three times already as well! I plan to finally start working out this week, but somehow I'm four pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight (which is one pound above what I weighed when I got pregnant with Logan 4 yrs ago). I've decided I'm not making any promises that I'll stop breastfeeding once Krissa reaches her first birthday. :p
On Saturday, October 29 we met Joe's mom at another pumpkin patch: Carroll's Pumpkin Farm. It was another fun day for Logan.
Sunday, October 30 my grandma (mom's mom) and aunt Rita (mom's sister) came up from Kansas City to see our finished house (and my aunt met Krissa for the first time). We all had a really nice time, I'm glad they were able to come. We joined them and my parents at an Italian place for lunch and then hung out at my house until supper at the closest Chinese place by my house. Both restaurants were good. (Here is a 4 generations pic!)
Afterward, it was Beggar's Night here which means trick-or-treating the night before Halloween. I admit I like the way they did it in Omaha (trick or treating on Halloween) but oh well :-) Krissa wore the same costume that Logan wore for his first Halloween (a clown) and Logan did great saying "trick or treat" and "thank you." I enjoyed meeting many people in our neighborhood.I had joined the neighborhood's facebook page a few weeks prior and hadn't expected anyone to say anything to me, but they had wanted to know who I was (lol) and so when I explained that I was going to be moving in, I got several friend requests from people in the neighborhood! Everyone was so incredibly welcoming and friendly. A lot of people even recognized that we were "us" when we were trick-or-treating, and stopped to say hi. One of them was a woman (Shelly) running for City Council. She has a three year old boy (who will be 4 in December) so we talked about getting together for a playdate sometime since she is a stay at home mom, too, and lives in the house closest to me (although it's on another street since we're the first house on our street -- but the house next door to us is almost completed). Joe and I have never voted in local elections before, but we went to vote for her last Tuesday -- and she won!
I was really surprised that everyone had their lights on. Never have I lived in a neighborhood where everyone participated! It was just one happy family after another, both inside and outside. The entire street was lined with luminaries -- it looked like something out of a picket fence TV show. :-)
Not much to report for the week of Monday, October 31st, other than we got internet at the end of the week. We had gotten recommendations for doing it through our cell phone as well as two other options -- we chose doing it through our landline even though the speed is over 10x slower than our previous speed at our old house. There isn't a contract so we can cancel at any time if we decide to go with one of the other options (which are only a tad faster). Fortunately, it hasn't been as bad as I thought. I was really prepared to get stressed out, but that hasn't happened yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it continues.On Thursday, November 3rd, Brooke from Omaha stopped by to see my new house on the way to visit her parents. On Friday, November 4th we met at the indoor playground at the mall (7 minutes away -- and this mall has a nursing station, yeay!) for a playdate with Logan and Kaelyn (and ate lunch at Chick Fil A)! It was like old times. :-) I've been wondering a lot lately what the point of us moving to Omaha was for 8 years since we are right back to where we came from. But maybe it was simply to meet the people/friends that we did. And, also, maybe I wouldn't have appreciated Iowa as much. I think that had I never left, I would have always wondered if I should have and then wouldn't be as content as I am now. Even though Nebraska wasn't exactly moving far, it WAS somewhere different.
That evening, Joe's oldest sister and her husband came over from Colorado to see our house and to meet Krissa. Mark (father of five and grandfather of six at the end of this month) said he would have guessed her to be 6 months old, intellectually. I have been saying that to Joe since I "met" her in the hospital (she responded to her name when she was only a week old) but figured I just sound like THAT mom: "Yes, Andrea, your child is bright, blah blah blah". . .BUT, in case she is a future brain I can tell her I wrote it on my blog the year she was born. :p
They gave her her first boots (adorable pink!), socks, onesies, hats, and pants! Desiree also made Logan his first sticker book (sooooo appropriate for my sticker-obsessed-boy). We met them and Joe's mom at The Machine Shed for supper and then came back to our place for pie. (Krissa looks so happy with her gift, haha)
At the restaurant Krissa cried unless I held her. . .she's at the age now where going out to eat is going to have to be put on hold. I remember the same thing happened with Logan at four months old. Suddenly she wants to be where the action is, she has to be involved, she's not going to just sit to the side. At the indoor playground she was so interested in the other kids and acted like she wanted to run around, too. It's like a switch happened with both my kids when they got to be four months where the upside is that they get social (Krissa loves to "talk" and has the funniest sounding squeal that is her voice when she "talks" to us), but the downside is that they are no longer live dolls (when all they do is smile and watch the world quietly, or sleep). . .they suddenly are humans with wants and thoughts of their own! This caused me to want my first break at this stage with Logan, but then five months old was one of the best/easiest months ever, so I got rejuvinated and didn't end up feeling that way again until nine months. (So far I'm okay; my escape is watching Ringer -- it's the only show that I've continued to watch from those that I listed in The Last Big One! of new shows this fall that I had tried watching. Our DVR recorded the episodes that I'd missed when we'd been without TV and so I am hooked.) Hopefully this time "month four" won't seem that big of a deal since I've been through it before.For example, Krissa started teething last week (week 16). It's the same pattern Logan had -- they both started showing all of the classic signs (she is drool city but thankfully hasn't projectile vomited since my last post 5 weeks ago so I think she is over both that and the choking during feedings, although she still spits up every day) -- but with no buds for another two months! Logan didn't get his first two teeth until six months old (which will be January for Krissa). With Logan, I didn't have a clue what to expect when it came to teething. But it's amazing how three years ago suddenly seems like three days ago because it all is front and center in my mind! (Also just like Logan at this stage she has been blowing bubbles which is cute.)
Saturday, November 5th my stepdad came over again to help us with more unpacking. Joe had to work for his second weekend. On the bright side, this is his last week at the downtown location -- he is moving a month earlier than expected to the location by where we bought our house so he'll only have a 7 minute commute compared to a 22 minute commute. Also, today the project they have been working on has been submitted, so hopefully he won't have to work weekends now for awhile.Sunday, November 6th we went to church for the first time since Krissa was born. It's a non denominational church called Point Of Grace, recommended by the couple who I went to both high school and college with who I mentioned here late spring/early summer lives in this area and actually gave me the recommendations for everywhere (pediatrician, pediatric dentist, etc). It is only five minutes from our house and we loved it (it's the rock concert type) so we will have no problem going every week -- yeay! Brad showed us around and made us feel comfortable. Shelby couldn't attend last week, but I got to see their daughters for the first time in 3.5 years (since my baby shower for Logan)! They have Kaylin who is 6 and Avery who is 4 (both have September birthdays).
I was really impressed with their Sunday School -- Logan is going to start this coming Sunday! It'll be good since he hasn't been to preschool since the first week of July. My mom's been sort of "homeschooling" him when he goes to her house, lol, (she's a former teacher) but without our weekly playdates he's not getting the social aspect of school. (Although he's been totally out of his shell the past month -- I think his shy phase is over, as he talked to all of the work men who came over and has been hyper and crazy anywhere and around anyone.) He sat with us during the service and was a bit antsy in his seat. In the same voice/way that I ask him before we go to a pumpkin patch or the zoo or The Amazing Pizza Machine, etc. I said, "Are you excited to go to church?!" and he was like, "Not really." LOL. Then afterward I said, "Wasn't that fun?!" and he said, "Actually. . .no." So he was a lot more interested afterward when we checked out the classrooms (it is like an actual preschool), I hope that he likes it.
Afterward, we went out to lunch at our fav Mexican restaurant here so far, El Rodeo (Joe and I had gone one other evening).
The week of Monday, November 7th I finished unpacking all of our boxes, but it took another week (until today -- the month anniversary of when we closed and four weeks from our first night here) before the house was organized. It is nice to be finally settled!!!!
Tuesday, November 8th was our first snowfall. I'm not really ready for winter (autumn went way too fast due to our move; I didn't even get any decorations up this year other than our pumpkins -- this pic was taken at the beginning of October, obviously)
. . .this means it's time to start Christmas shopping (which feels overwhelming right now, but at least we won't have to travel this year -- yeay!!!!) That day Logan went to Joe's mom's house for a few hours. He'd spent the night there a couple of weeks ago after randomly asking to go one morning, so I have felt like I've still been getting enough of a break each week. My mom & stepdad and I kind of made a plan that Logan will go to their house once a week and spend the night since now we are 36 minutes away and it's getting to be winter so I haven't been going over there every day like I did when I was living at my dad's house. Joe's mom is now 1 hr-7 minutes away. My dad is 43 minutes away. (Sandi used to be three hours, my dad 2 hrs-45 minutes, and my mom & stepdad two-and-a-half hours. We are now 1 hr and 59 minutes from Omaha, LOL.)
So, for this week Logan went to my parents' house on Friday, November 11th. (Joe was going to have the day off but instead had to work, however they gave him that day of vacation to use at Christmas since otherwise he wasn't going to get any vacation since he used it when I had Krissa, until January.) My mom & stepdad had a $25 voucher at the Walmart Portrait Studio because they'd gotten Christmas pics with him done there two years ago and been unhappy with their experience, so they gave it to us to use. It was one of the few chain places I'd never tried (our first place was Target, then Portrait Innovations, then JcPenny, then PI again, and then Picture People). I can see why my parents didn't like it -- they were the worst place ever!!! (And I even went to a different location.)
I hadn't planned on doing any professional photos until Krissa turns one year old since we spent $ on her newborn photos with the private photographer. But, Walmart always has that $9.99 special (where you get an 8x10, 2 5x7s, 4 3x5s, and 8 wallets of the same pose) so I thought I'd do that for Logan since he didn't have a three year pic taken, and then buy an extra sheet ($20) of the two of them together and that way only have to pay five bucks+tax!
Well, after we'd already done our session they informed me that their Christmas season is the only time of year when they DON'T have that special -- or any special/discount for that matter! I was like, are you serious?! So it was either pay $20 per sheet or get one of their packages which were all over $100. We've always spent $85 at all of the past chain places so I did not want to go over that since the other places took way better photos. The only reason why these even came out was because Logan was 3.5 years old so we could tell him to smile and he did. But they only took TWELVE shots! That's their rule -- it's 12 poses no matter if they look good or not. All of the other places took 75 pics and tried to make each one good! So, Krissa didn't really look good in any of the poses of her & Logan together, but it seemed dumb to not buy one since we put her in a dress and brought her there. I think I am also more particular now since I've been taking such good photos of the kids, it feels like wasting money when I go to other people. I can just print out an 8x10 or 5x7 of pics that I take and you'd never know the difference.
I really didn't want a ton of photos, but it made more sense to do their cheapest package which was 11 sheets, so we decided we'll just give them to family and friends at Christmas. With the $25 off we ended up paying $90 (that included tax) so at least it wasn't a whole lot more than what we've spent in the past. . .but it was still overpriced so I'm never using Walmart for pics again, that's for sure!When I'd cooled off, we ate supper at On The Border, a Mexican restaurant we'd tried when we were here in May looking at houses, but I didn't like it at all this time. Also, Joe and I just had to pass Krissa back and forth so it confirmed what I said earlier about our decision to take a break from restaurants for awhile.
Logan returned home on Saturday eve, November 12th (my dad's birthday!) and Joe and I worked on the house all weekend (as well as watched The Chicago Bears win on Sunday, November 13th -- yeay)!
I'll end this post with something special. From the moment Krissa was born, she immediately reminded me of my grandma -- the one who passed away in June. But I didn't say anything to anyone because I didn't know if was just my imagination. But I've continued to think she looks more like my grandma than anyone else in my or Joe's families (despite that earlier comparison pic of Krissa & Joe). Then one day when we were living at my dad's, he walked into the room and said, "Wow, hello Frances!" (That was his mom's name.) He thinks she is the spitting image of her. Since then, I've had several other people say the same thing. How special is that?! My grandma lives on through Krissa. I wish that she could have seen her/met her. . .I remember in May when we saw my grandma, she asked, "When is your baby due again?" I said, "July" and she nodded with a look like, I will be gone by then. But maybe it's because Grandma passed first that Krissa is so much like her -- in other words, a gift from beyond.
Here were the posts I wrote during this past month when Logan was Krissa's age:Pregnancy Ruined My Wrist
He's Left The Newborn Stage
Look-A-Likes
Trying To Figure Out A Schedule
Four Months Old
It sounds like you are really adjusting well to the move. Congratulations! Now you can feel like life is moving forward again.
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