Jason turns 30

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but we have the dearest friends, Jason and Beth. Jason and Brian moved up here together from UK back in 1999, and they were involved in campus ministry together for years. Jason was Brian's roommate when I met them and got involved in a Bible study they were leading at the time. Eventually Jason met Beth and introduced us. Beth and I ended up living together for the year before she and Jason got married, and Brian and I got engaged. So there was a lot going on back then. Now all four of us have gotten involved in the same church, we're leading a life group together, and they are our closest friends here. So ANYWAY, Jason's turning 30 tomorrow. (He's a month younger than me but way more mature.) On Sunday, Beth threw him a little get-together (read: PAR-TAY).

There were lots of kids for Katy to play with - which she LOVED.

So much so that she didn't want to leave...

The newlyweds make an appearance.

The ultimate 30th birthday present. Representin' (do those of you outside of Ohio know what this is?).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note, I have realized lately that I am somewhat of a slacker when it comes to reading. I have noticed recently how many people read. Alot. For pleasure!!! There are a few things drawing attention to this. One is the release of Harry Potter. Also there are posts from Pam and Kelsey that lead me to believe that they are avid readers. My moms club is starting a book club, and everyone's all excited, listing all the books they've read this year, what they're reading now, and what they'd like to read next. And I'm looking on with a blank stare.

And let me clarify up front, I would love to be a reader. On the occassion that someone physically hands me a book and says it's really good, I will usually read it (though it takes me a looooooong time), and most of the time I really like it. But I'm so slow, and I guess I'm just not used to carving out time to read in my schedule, and I just...don't. Am I the only one? I'm starting to think so.

And don't worry Kels (future school librarian), I read to Katy everyday and she loves her books. I'll try not to let my slack hinder her reading potential.

Smarty Pants

Battle Wounds

Exhibit A: Bump on the Forehead

Exhibit B: Scraped Nose

Exhibit C: Busted Lip

These injuries are the result of 3 incidents in as many days. Each of these incidents occurred while I was watching her participate in activities that I would not consider especially dangerous (like walking, for instance). I fear that this says something about a) my supervision or b) her coordination. As you can see, it has had no long term effect on her demeanor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sickie update:
On Sunday night when I posted that things were on the up and up, I planned to sleep through the night and wake up feeling well. That's not what happened. Instead, I was kept awake half the night while I experienced something like an earache. Actually, it was exactly like an earache. I don't remember that last time I had an earache. I wasn't even one of those kids who got ear infections. But I went to the doc and it's confirmed: like a 5 year old, I have an ear infection. But anyway, after 24 hours of antibiotics, I am feeling much better, and this time, I'm hoping to be through with it.

Mr. Mom strikes again

First of all - off topic - but I wanted to share the news that Erin had her baby! Erin is a fellow blogger that I know through Cindy, Kelsey, etc., and her blog cracks me right up and is so fun to read. So I'm excited for her to welcome her 2nd son Emmett home today.



As for our weekend, I had big plans for a relaxing, entertaining, and productive weekend at home. I had a list of chores, errands, and activities that would've made any list-maker proud. But where did I spend the weekend instead? Sick. In. Bed. Unlike the stomach flu that I had just a month ago, this was apparently just the regular plain old influenza, or at least as best as I can determine with the help of WebMD. It was once again miserable, and Brian was forced to play Mr. Mom for the majority of the weekend. And that beautiful, organized, masterful list? There it sits, completely untouched by anything that resembles a "cross-off". But this evening things are looking up. I am definitely feeling better, and so far so good, I'm praying that the rest of my family avoids catching this little bug.



So in order to help me to feel better, Katy decided to turn on the charm. I'm not kidding, this kid could not be any cuter if she tried. Once I felt well enough to come downstairs and sit on the couch, she played beautifully with her toys, spouting off new words, demonstrating new skills, following commands...it's like some kind of switch went off in her little head. Lately she's been very interested in sitting in chairs, so I bought her this little number. By the way, have you noticed that it's nearly impossible to purchase anything for a girl under 3 that does not have Dora on it?

At first she just wanted to carry it around...

Then we worked on the whole concept of sitting in it...

Shew...that's alot of work.

When Doctor's Appointments Get Complicated

Today I have a dentist appointment and a doctor's appointment. What I was thinking scheduling them on the same day, I will never know.

When Katy was small, it was stressful to take her to the doctor with me (making sure she's well fed and rested in perfect timing with the appointment, trying to keep her entertained while we wait the 30 minutes for the doctor to make his/her grand entrance), but at least it was possible. When the time came for the exam or whatever I'm there for, I could plunk her in the baby carrier, and there was nothing she could do to cause trouble. Except for maybe protest.

And I can see how when she's a little older, maybe I ask her to sit down and color for a minute or two, and that might be a reasonable expectation.

But right now, it's just really not an option to take her. I don't have anything comparable to a baby carrier (do they make a "toddler carrier"?), and I can't imagine the terror she could cause in 30 seconds of being loose in the examining room without me restraining her.

But surely some people must bring their toddlers, right? Not everyone has husbands with such kind supervisors who will let employees' kids wreak havoc on the office for an hour while the wife is away (this is my lucky situation). So what do you do? No seriously, any suggestions?

---------------------------------------------------------------

Today Katy is 14 months old. She has been amazing me with new developments. Last night Brian taught her to pass a tennis ball back and forth, and we actually sat in a triangle with Mommy, Daddy, and Katy, and passed the ball around between the 3 of us. Katy kept cracking up when the ball came to her. It was so cute.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Is this the year of the wedding or what? We have been invited to SIX weddings so far this year, (3 in a row in September) and only one of them was in town. It's hard, because we would truly love to attend them all, but it's just not logistically possible, you know? I have a really hard time turning down a wedding invitation, because I know it's such a special occasion, and you really want to share it with everyone.

Grandparents Galore

I'm sure you wouldn't be able to guess what we're doing this weekend. Traveling? No, surely not traveling. We never go anywhere.

Ok, yes, we are traveling again. But then we're going to stay home for awhile! Katy is being spoiled with lots of love and attention of the grandparent sort. On Friday we picked up my Dad and Sue and came down to KY to visit Brian's folks. The grandpas have been enjoying some golf and the rest of us have been glued to the side of the pool. It's perfect weather for this activity and Katy has been loving it.

Last night we visited Cumberland Falls, home of the moonbow:

It's been so much fun to hang out with Katy and so many grandparents all at once!

Grandpa's Lake

When I was growing up, our family visited my grandparents' cottage on a lake in northern Indiana several times each summer. My sister, who was small at the time, would refer to it as "Grandpa's Lake." My grandparents still own this cottage, although I haven't been there in 10 or 15 years. So this weekend, for our 2nd anniversary and our maiden Katy-less voyage, we went back to Grandpa's Lake. Our weekend had a couple of highlights:

1) We slept. (a lot)

2) We ate. (a lot)

When I woke up and saw that it was 8am, guess what I did? I rolled right back over and continued to doze. And after a short walk, if I felt tired? That's right. Slept again. It was perfect.

I probably didn't need all the calories I consumed, but I sure enjoyed them. I enjoyed them without coming up with a toddler-friendly version that needed to be cut into little pieces and then picking up a third of those pieces up off the floor and wiping another third out of a vinyl seat. I also ate when I wanted to eat, as opposed to scheduling meals, as well as every other activity, around naps and bedtimes. Again, perfect.

But I must say, gosh, I missed that little girl. I called often, and my mom was kind enough to send picture messages to keep me up to date on their activities ("Look mom, I'm swinging!"). And Katy did surprisingly well. As well as she possibly could've done. So well that I'm jealous that I wasn't here to experience this level of toddler perfection. But I'm glad that Oma got to experience it, and I was happy to come back, which is really nice. Our reunion was a sweet moment that I will remember for quite a while.

Our trip did have some other highlights. We went to get pizza on the lake and happened upon a ski bee. If you aren't familiar (I wasn't), it's like a spelling bee, except on water skis. And without the spelling part. Anyway, it was really cool. We saw things like this:

Some friendly neighbors also took us out on their boat to see the fireworks over the lake, which was great since we hadn't been able to see any back home.

On the way home, we were able to stop in a see Brian's Grandma. She wanted ice cream, and we got to experience the most generous creamery in all of Ohio. It was really nice to see her, and we promised next time to have Katy with us (I know we're pretty boring by ourselves).

One final Katy update: she's started to be interested in coloring and drawing, so today I bought her a coloring pad and crayons. So you think she has a future in art?

Rest for the Weary

Lately it seems like our weekends have been so busy that we need the week to rest up for them. So we didn't really do anything for the 4th, except that Brian got a chance to put together his Father's Day gift:


Also, Katy's 2 little friends, Jack and Ella, turned one this week. Ella (next door) got a sandbox that predicts many baths in Katy's future. And Jack had us over for a pool party. I forgot to take my camera, so you can read about it on his blog.

We are getting ready for another first: leaving Katy overnight. She'll be staying home with my mom while Brian and I get away for the weekend to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. Katy was about 6 weeks old on our 1st anniversary last year, so I don't even remember what we did, maybe went out to dinner or something, but I was still in a postpartum fog. So I'm really looking forward to this getaway. Of course I'm nervous to leave Katy, especially because she's had a cold, but I know from experience that she's in good hands. Everyone have a good weekend!

Congratulations Art and Kristen!!

Brian and I have known Art and Kristen for 6 years now. We've worked together, minstered together, lived together, (not all together, but you know what I mean), and generally helped each other through a lot in life. It's been fun because until last September, we knew Art and Kristen as individuals. But then, after some anticipation that this might happen, they started dating. Pretty soon they were engaged, and then this weekend, they got married. Brian was the best man and Melanie was a bridesmaid, and there were lots of old friends in attendance, so it was really a special occasion. (Okay, if you just read my previous post, I'm feeling like I'm using the word special too much. But this weekend was just unique, so I promise it won't become a habit.) Everything went beautifully, and now they're all married! Have fun in Cali and we'll see you in a couple weeks!
This was Katy's first wedding

Aunt Mel

The Kentucky crowd

Katy did a lot of this...it was late.

Kristen and Neil (it was chilly)

Beth and Jason (go table 12!)

JT's quitting his day job to be a DJ

Joe & Judy hosted the rehearsal dinner at their house, which was really lovely

The Big 3-0

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. And my golden at that. Ever since the ball dropped on 2007 I've been thinking about how crazy it is that I'm going to be 30 this year, and wondering how I might like to celebrate it. And ever since I turned 29 last year, I've been telling my 2 best girlfriends from high school (Cindy and Dutcher) that we have to do some big trip or get-together this year because we are all turning 30. But since we span the width of the United States and 2 of the 3 of us have toddlers, I wasn't really sure how the logistics of all that were going to work out. Then I found out that our close friends Art and Kristen were getting married this weekend (I'll post about that later), and I kinda figured that my birthday would just be a regular birthday, which is of course nice in and of itself.



So Brian was going to be occupied for most of yesterday throwing a bachelor party for Art (which I heard was awesome), but on Friday night he told me that he had made some plans for me, complete with gift certificates from his family. I literally spent the day doing the things I love to do, it was truly the best. We started out by hitting a few garage sales, in which I found some really good bargains on clothes and toys for Katy. Then around lunchtime, Melanie, Susan, Beth, Katy and I all headed out to my favorite shopping area and had lunch at Chipotle (where else would you eat on your birthday, please). Then we happened upon the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale, and we cleaned up. It was sweet. The other thing I love about this mall is that it has water fountains that kids are allowed to play in, so we had a blast watching Katy run mostly around the fountains. She also discovered this bench and would not stop climbing on and off of it.

Once we were home, I called my mom and told her about the lovely birthday I had had, and how much I appreciated the time with my friends. Then I told her how my Dad and Sue were coming over to take me out to dinner. They arrived and I opened gifts and we were trying to decide where to go eat with a toddler on a Saturday night. Just then I noticed someone on the front porch...oh, it's just Cindy and Dutcher...WAIT A MINUTE! Wait just a MINUTE! There's no possible way that my 2 best friends from high school, who live halfway and all the way across the country, respectively, are standing on my front porch. But there they were.

Oregon, Ohio, and Illinois, representin'

Everyone erupted with excitement, anxious to tell me all the details of the preceding weeks as my sweetheart of a husband had planned this glorious surprise. It turns out that Dad and Sue had come to babysit, and I was in for a night on the town with my girls, including good conversation, laughter, and reminiscence. I proceeded to put on my party clothes and we headed out to the hot spots. We finished the night by collapsing slumber party-style all in one room for a generous 3 or 4 hours of sleep before getting up to head to the airport. It meant the world to me that they came, and man, it was sweet.

Normally I think the anticipation of the event is half the fun, but with a surprise such as this one, the post-game is equally as exciting. Everyone at the wedding was asking "Hey, (double elbow nudge), how was your birthday?" and I got to tell the story over and over again. It really was an incredibly special birthday. And I can't even express how thankful I am to have such a generous husband. Even though he was overwhelmed with wedding activities, he still managed to plan a jam-packed birthday from dawn till dusk with so many people who are so special to me. I am a lucky, lucky, 30 year old girl.